Bicycle Buying Procedure in Japan

 

I am very sure that some of you possess a bicycle. So my question now is how do you buy a bike?

Of course, first, you go to the supermarket or any market, then select the bicycle you wanted most, and when you fell in love, you directly buy it, pay it and bring it to your home. Later, you can go bicycling.

In Japan, when you want to buy a bicycle, there is a procedure that we must follow. Here is my experience when I bought a bike while I was studying in Japan:

1. I looked for a bike  from the amazon website (actually, I could buy it from the home center near my Campus);
2. I selected and bought it;
3. The delivery service  sent the bicycle package to my dorm;
4. I brought my bicycle to the home center near my Campus and registered my bike to get the number. In Japan, we call it “ Bouhan Touroku.” It means the bicycle registration with the prefectural police. Bouhan Touroku is mandatory for possessing a bicycle in Japan.
5.  I reported my registered bicycle to my Campus, so I got my campus label as well.

After I completed all the procedures, I could go bicycling. Though I was studying in the countryside, we still had to enforce the law, no exception for a bicycle. 

Here are some pictures capturing the moment when registering my bicycle. 

At the Home center, I had to bring all the documents needed. At that time, my friend, Rafli, accompanied me.

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The female checked my bicycle.


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She attached the label. 

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My Bicycle with the label 

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Let's go bicycling 

Nameko is in Your Miso Soup

 

What is Nameko?

Yup, it is a name for a type of edible mushroom in Japan from the kingdom of Fungi, well known by the name Pholiota Nameko. But, people call it, Nameko. Previously, I did not see the name of the mushroom. But, it is Nameko that we usually eat in the Miso Soup.

The first time I discovered about the Nameko, from the hiking activity with IUJ friends and Japanese communities to mount Botan in the Fall of 2019 (September 2019) when I was still in Japan.  One of our tour guides showed us Nameko mushroom growing on the dead trees or bed logs when we climbed down the hill.

These pictures show what Nameko looks like:

 

It is surprised me that Nameko actually can be cultivated in the wild. After discovering Nameko, every time I cooked Miso Soup, I would not forget to add Nameko.

The description of Nameko

Here is the description of Nameko:

• It is edible 
• It grows in bed logs/dead deciduous trees/mossy tree trunk
• It is the gelatinous coat
• It is sticky, but I like it
• It is available in the supermarket 

The price of Nameko in the local store at my time was about 400 yen.

All About MISO

 

What is Miso?

Miso is such a kind of ingredient made by fermenting soybeans and other components.  Miso is used primarily for cooking a Miso Soup. It is very well known in Japan and has been a part of the dietary life of Japanese people for more than 1300 years. In other words, Miso is a fermented food and created by the activity of microorganisms. I found 2 (two) kinds of Miso. First, Miso contains alcohol. Second, Miso without alcohol, and recently I also found Certified Halal Miso. Miso is available in the supermarket in Japan. Later I knew that Miso not only can be used as the main ingredient for Miso Soup, but it can also be used for cooking any saute. 

From the official Miso Company website, I get the information that Miso is divided into 4 (four) categories:

• Rice Miso: Made with rice, soybeans, and salt. White Miso is also a type of rice miso.
• Barley Miso: Made of barley, soybeans, and salt. Main producers are located in the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu regions.
• Soybean Miso: Made of soybeans and salt. Main producers are located in the Chukyo region.
• Blended Miso: Made by blending two or three types of rice miso, barley miso, or soybean miso. Blended Miso can also be made from rice koji, barley koji, or soybean koji. Miso other than rice miso, barley miso, and soybean miso are also categorized as blended Miso.

When I was studying in Japan, I used to shop at the local supermarket, Cupid Yamato. We usually call Cupid Yamato a Supa. In my second year, I intensively cooked Miso Soup. 

See the picture below is a kind of nonAlcohol Miso that I bought in Japan. For as long as I remembered, the price of this Miso is not been over 500 yen.

The type of this miso can be checked here. The type of the Miso is : KOJI BIJIN MISO 650G

Made with 100% Japanese rice and a lavish amount of rice koji, this additive-free Miso is mildly sweet and deeply savory.

Ingredients: Rice, soybeans (non-MGO), salt

They also announce if this Miso is Additive Free, No MSG added, and vegetarian.

This is the recently known Certified Halal Miso from Website Cupid Yamato. 

How is the Taste of Miso?

From my experience, the taste of Miso is unique and flavorful because I add it with soy sauce and broth. But, according to the website of the Miso Company, Miso flavor is created in a complex combination of sweetness, saltiness, umami, sourness, bitterness, and astringency.

• The Sweetness Miso : Starch in the rice is broken down by amylase in the koji. A higher rice koji content will result in sweeter Miso. When Miso is allowed to age for a long time, the yeast and lactic acid bacterium consume the sugar content. If the sugar content is dramatically reduced, it creates a so-called "dry" state.
• Aging and Umami: Umami of Miso is influenced by amino acids (mainly glutamic acid) formed when the soybean protein breaks down. The umami increases with aging. Umami is not formed solely by glutamic acid but is formed when saltiness, sourness, and sweetness are blended, and a pleasing aroma and moderate viscosity are added. As aging progress and the soybean continues to break down, the stimulation felt on the tongue softens, and the Miso develops a broader and richer taste.
• Saltiness of Miso: The extremely salty Miso in the early stages of preparation loses some of its saltiness as it matures. This phenomenon, in which the salinity perceived by the tongue decreases even though the salt concentration does not change, is called "shio-nare" and is the result of the sour and umami components. Lactate, peptides, and amino acids are all substances that cause "shio-nare."
• Additive-Free Miso: Additive-free Miso is prepared without adding alcohol to the kuradashi Miso (removed from the aging tank). It is directly filled into the container. The container may expand during the distribution process since the yeast activity continues and promotes fermentation.

That is the explanation about the process how the taste is made for Miso.

I have my recipe for cooking my miso soup. I just knew another ingredient from youtube to make my Miso Soup is more delicious.

Here is my recipe:

Broth:

1. Acnhovy
2. Dried Seaweed

Vegetables:

1. Nameko (Type of mushroom)
2. Chives 
3. Tofu

Ingredients: 

1. Soy sauce 
2. Miso 

How To Make : 

• First, I will make broth from anchovy and dried seaweed. Then, we boil it with water for about 15 minutes. After the broth is made, I take out anchovy and dried seaweed from the water.
• I  add the tofu that has been cut into small pieces and Nameko into the broth.
• Add soy sauce and Miso. Wait until it is boiled and is ready to serve.

The broth makes the taste of the miso soup stronger—no need to add salt. You can also look for another recipe for making the broth from YouTube.

When I returned to Indonesia, I also brought 1 (one) Miso from Japan. Then, I am so happy when I found Miso in Indonesia Supermarket with the halal label.  I can keep cooking with Miso.

Here is the Miso that I found in Indonesia. I found it in All Fresh. 

The ingredients of this Miso are: 

• Water 
• Soybean 
• Rice 
• Salt 
• Rice Starch 
• Aspergillus Oryzae
• Potassium Sorbate (as Preservative)

Yup, unfortunately, there is a preservative in the ingredients while

In Japanese Miso, there is a type of additive-free Miso.  But, It just okay for the moment to me enjoying Indonesia food.

 Another source