Unknown Nichigo

Learn more about the lesser-known aspects of the Japan-Australia relationship.
日本とオーストラリアの関係に隠れた、あまり知られていない側面についてもっと知ってみよう

  • No Holding The Horses When It Comes To Presenting Credentials*

    Japan’s Imperial Family undertakes as much pomp and paegantry as other countries with royals, though perhaps a little more subdued, with the profession of Presentation of Credentials being a good example. When an ambassador to Japan is appointed, they are given the option of getting a horse-drawn carriage ride from Tokyo Station to the Imperial Palace to present their credentials to the Emperor, the symbol of the state. I get to work in a place where you can see the ceremonies, which are a great show for me as a horse fan. The processions use zagyoshiki, which are ceremonial carriages drawn by a pair of horses. Most of the zagyoshiki…

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    オーストラリアの美味しいビスケットは馴染みのTimTamだけじゃない

    今では数多くスーパーなどがオーストラリアの代表的なお菓子「ティムタム」ビスケットを並んでおり、すっかり日本人に馴染んでいると言っても過言ではないと思う。 しかし、幅広い年代に愛されているようになっても、チョコレートで包めているお菓子である「ティムタム」がオーストラリアの最も美味しいビスケットでもない可能性がある。 もしかして、同ビスケットを生産するアーノッツ・ビスケット の冠商品でもないという人もいる。アーノツがオーストラリアの量産ビスケット市場の圧倒的シェアを持つが、美味しさだけを考慮して以下のビスケットが「ティムタム」という勝負出来ると思う。同社がこれら以上にたくさんブランドを作っているが、「ティムタム」に次ぐ日本での販売権を保有しているキャンベルジャパン株式会社を売ってほしいと提案したいです。 「チョコレートロイヤルズ」はカリカリなビスケットにマーシュメロ(ミルクがダークチョコ味)が乗っかってチョコレートにかけられている絶妙なビッキーだ! そして、ミント・クリーム入りビスケットがチョコレートに挟んでいるアッサリ味の「ミントスライス」もあす。 「モンテカルロ」は、2枚のビスケットでクリーム状のフィリングを挟んでいる。ビスケットはゴールデンシロップ、蜂蜜、ココナッツの味がし、クリームはバニラ風味のクリームフィリングで、ラズベリージャムの薄いタフィーのようなコーティングで囲まれている。「チョコレートモンテ」もあり、普通のビスケットがチョコがかけたもの。 「キングストンズ」は「モンテカルロ」に似ているが、一回り小さく厚い上、クリームがチョコ味で贅沢な味。美味しくて食べ応えがある。 「キャラメルクラウンズ」が甘いキャラメルクリーム入りビスケットがチョコレートに包まれている。美味しくてしょうがない! でも、なんと言っても、「ティムタム」の最大ライバルは「アイスドヴォヴォ」だね。小麦粉のビスケットにピンクのフォンダンを2枚のせ、ラズベリージャムをはさみ、ココナッツをまぶした。 これを読んでも、「やっぱり、ティムタムがいいなぁ」という方に、歴代「ティムタム」味は、以下の通りです。Original, Chewy Choc Fudge, Chewy Caramel, Mocha Coffee, Double Coat, Chilli Choc Fling, Tia Maria, Classic Dark, Creamy Truffle Temptation, Black Forest Fantasy, Hazelnut Praline, Love Potion, Red Velvet, Butterscotch and Cream, Choc Orange, Strawberries and Cream, White, Gluten Free, JatzとDark Choc Espresso Martini 。そして、デラックスシリーズであるCafe Latte, Decadent Triple Choc, Salted Caramel Brownie and TimTam ChocMint. 日本で販売されているコアな商品は7種類のようです。ここでは、日本で主に販売されている7種類について紹介。ティムタムオリジナル…オーストラリアでNo.1の商品。チョコクリームで挟まれたビスケットがチョコレートでコーティングされた商品です。ティムタム チューイカラメル…カラメルクリームサンドのビスケットをさらにチョコレートでコーティングした商品です。ティムタム ダブルコート…チョコクリームで挟んだビスケットをさらにチョコレートで全体をコーティングした商品です。ティムタム ダーク…ビターチョコレートを使用しているので、甘さ控えめな商品です。ティムタム ホワイト…ティムタムオリジナルのホワイトバージョン。ミルククリームが甘い香りです。ティムタム チョコミント…ミントクリームで挟んだ商品。チョコミント好きにはたまりませんね。ティムタム マレーリバー ソルティッドカラメル…フレークソルトがクリームに練りこまれた商品です。甘じょっぱさが癖になりそうです。 せっかく日本で販売しているだから日本独特な味を出してほしいよなぁ。「お寿司ティムタム」とか、「ラーメンティムタム」のような味はいかがでしょうか?おかしいと思ったら、以前考えRoo.comで取り上げたようにオーストラリアでは独特な野菜エキスで疲れれているペーストヴェジマイト味「ティムタム」があって「ブリティッシュ・コレクション」の「ティムタム」シリーズの味はフィッシュアンドチップスとバンガーズ&マッシュを含めた。 ああ、、、おなかすいた!

  • Cracking Kakegawa Is Shizuoka’s Stunning Secret

    Sometimes, delight arises where it’s least expected. And that’s precisely what happened for me over the weekend with a visit to the unexpectedly delightful Shizuoka Prefecture city of Kakegawa. We had the most amazing time in the city, watching birds, visiting traditional and modern attractions, and enjoying fine dining. I’d expected none of this, and found the city to be a hidden gem. Attracting us to the city was Kakegawa Kachoen, a flower and bird park, where we were treated to a magnificent time. We watched bird shows, got to feed and pet the birds, and took thousands of shots. It was simply sublime, and even had a strong Aussie…

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    Tilting At Windmills In Quixotic Pursuits

    All right, the title to the post isn’t really accurate, but it was the best possible choice considering Don Quixote gave us a brilliant day in spite of bleak weather. Mrs. Kangaeroo and I got to attend an absolutely stupendous performance by The Australian Ballet of Don Quixote by Rudolph Nureyev at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan. I’m a minor ballet fan at best, but absolutely love watching the dancers….for the first 90 minutes or so. After that, I find pretty much every performance has a sameness and so does my reaction: sleep. But the sets, dancing, musical accompaniment of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and story were enthralling and delightfully executed,…

  • Strolling Through The Centuries In The World’s Largest City

    One of my great delights is that I get to work in an office located in the heart of Tokyo, the world’s largest city with a population of 37.4 million, and I’m never more than a few footsteps away from incredible historical highlight. I got to spend my lunch break learning about Kamakura Bridge, which is located in Tokyo’s central Marunouchi district, and which I discovered bears the scars of the first sustained air raids the Americans unleashed during World War II. There is a monument on the bridge noting that bullet marks remain from the November 1944 attack. The Americans would obliterate Tokyo in a series of sustained raids,…

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    Canny Kate Raises Tokyo Comedy Bar

    Acerbic Aussie comedian Kate Hanley Corley‘s razor sharp wit got a cosmopolitan crowd (including superfans who traveled to Japan just to see her) at the Tokyo Comedy Club guffawing loudly. The comedian on a whirlwind tour of Japan put on a rapid-fire display of comedy focused on love, marriage, life and motherhood, using flawless delivery to tap into French, German and Swedish influences at times and touch a nerve with a multicultural crowd including Neddie* from Norwich, Chie* from Chofu, Patty* from Paris and Dorothy* from Kansas, enrupturing all comers. And commas**. She really had her finger on the pulse–and more–with an unbelievably clever and catch tune about an intimate…

  • Stumbling Across A Shogun’s Stimulator

    Just a few weeks ago I was extremely surprised to learn there is a monument to WIilliam Adams located just a few minutes from my workplace as I thought after nearly 40 years of life in Japan I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about the Briton who was made a samurai and inspired a shogun. The monument to Adams, the first English person to go to Japan in the late 1t6th century, is tucked away between a couple of buildings in Nihonbashi, the central Tokyo district from which all distances in Japan are mentioned. Adams is known to the Japanese as Miura Anjin and the…

  • Springing Into Action

    After an interminably long wait, it finally got warm this week, prompting me to spring into action. It was hard to believe that just last week Tokyo got blasted with heavy snow. Short sleeves and shorts were the watchword, even for typically well-covered types such as Mrs. Kangaeroo. Even though she notoriously feels that anything under 35 degrees Celsius is cold, even Mrs. Kangaeroo was walking around on Friday night in short sleeves due to the delightfully warm weather. My aches and pains eased a little with the warmth, too, which made it a bit easier to be mobile. It allowed me to work in the garden a little. Mrs….

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    Akiya Akita (空き家、飽きた), Or How I Got Sick Of The Idea Of A Japanese Home Too Cheap To Be True

    Having lived in Japan for decades, it’s suddenly strange to see the country become what seems to be the global flavor the month, particularly when it comes to the phenomenal interest in akiya, one of the millions of empty homes throughout the country. All of the photos in this post are of akiya on sale for less than 1 million yen, which is about A$10,000 at the time of writing, picked up off a site at random. Akiya has become a well-known word globally as people have become attracted by the prospect of owning real estate for a fraction of the price of property in their homeland. I understand the…

  • Show Me The Monet!

    Blessed with a shared day off for the Emperor’s Birthday, the Kangaeroos decided to spend it dealing with Monet matters. We traveled to Tokorozawa Sakura Town to take in the Monet: I Can See the Lights – An Immersive Journey exhibition. It was a decent show featuring a series of French Impressionist artist Claude Monet’s works projected against a massive hall to the accompaniment of soothing music. A series of prints by Impressionist artists and an informative, bilingual explanation of the art form and changes that were occurring as it developed, including the influence of Japonisme, completed the event held at the Kadowkawa Culture Museum. The museum is a dazzling…