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Tea is very important in Japanese culture. Although a wide variety of teas and tisanes are routinely enjoyed, it is green tea, or nihoncha, which receives most attention in Japan. Many festivals, celebrations and ceremonies are associated with the production, harvesting and consumption of green tea. Interestingly, organic green tea has, largely due to Japan’s vibrant youth culture, become very popular in recent years. By way of example, Itoen’s organic ryokucha (pictured), a fragrant green tea with a wonderfully clean taste, is now available throughout Japan. Its quality, at least in my opinion, is much higher than the non-organic “to go” varieties currently on the market. And for around 160円 it represents good value for many Japanese...

When I was young my Obachan (Aunt Misato), who was spritely right up until the time of her death, would prepare home made creams and lotions. She made these for family and friends, and as gifts for special visitors to take with them. Word would spread around Nagano prefecture’s southern villages that my Obachan would soon be knocking on doors to deliver small jars of sweet smelling cosmetics that she had made by hand. People loved receiving them. And I loved accompanying her on those short delivery runs. It always made me happy knowing that I was related to Obachan – a proud, self-reliant woman in what was, and in many ways still is, a male-dominated society. Although Japan is slowly changing, I know that being a single parent was never...