Habu Sake, Eggs, and Mochi

I bet the Okinawans would scoff at the Mexican tradition of putting a worm in the bottom of tequila. They add venomous snakes to their alcohol. This is a bottle of habu sake, habu being the poisonous snake, sake being rice wine. However, most of the habu sakes are actually just called sake and are not sake at all, but awamori, also a liquor distilled with rice but stronger. Supposedly the alcohol nullifies the venom in the drink and not only is it then safe for human consumption, but is also beneficial to your health. Habu sake is said to cure all sorts of things like arthritis and insomnia. There is also a rumor that it acts like Japanese Viagra. So I guess you'd be served habu sake if you asked for a stiff drink. Har har.




I might be a little too amused with the packaging I see over here, but you have to admit this is a better way of packing eggs. Who among us has not opened up that egg carton made of...what ARE egg cartons made of? Some kind of cardboard pulp? Anyway, and run your hand over each egg to make sure there are no cracks in them? What a waste of 15 seconds in the grocery store. This clear plastic egg carton makes it super easy to see if there is anything wrong with your prospective purchase, and I daresay the little air pockets built into either side of the egg helps reduce breakage even better. Kudos, Japanese. You have bested us in packaging yet again.



This is a Kagami Mochi, a New Year's decoration. The white is mochi, made of--you guessed it--rice. I bet they could make nuclear arms out of rice if they put their minds to it. I never thought of rice as particularly diverse material until I got over here. The orange is a daidai, which looks a lot like a little tangerine to me. Supposedly this pretty piece is edible. You break (not cut) it sometime after the new year and chow down. From my questions, I got the impression that the kagami mochi represents the continuation of a family for generations. In addition to seeing them at New Year's time, I think they can be given as gifts at weddings. This one I would not quote me on, however, as I deciphered this information through pictures on an advertisement.