By: Braquel Campion

Sushi is one of the most famous dishes in Japan.

The two main types of sushi are nigiri-zushi and norimaki.

Norimaki has pieces of fish and/or vegetables rolled with rice

plates of sushi that pass in front of the customers on a conveyor belt.

Nowadays sushi can be defined as a dish containing rice.

Beer is the most popular alcohol beverage in Japan

Open-air beer gardens are open during the summer

Drinking in beer gardens is a summer tradition in Japan

Japan's $48-billion-a-year soft drink industry, second in size only to that of the U.S

Currently, 20 companies own 80 percent of Japan’s beverage market–with one U.S. firm alone holding 35 percent.

The original type of sushi was the so called nare-sushi

Nare-sushi was made of this gutted fish stored in fermented rice for preservation.

The earliest reference to sushi in Japan appeared in 718 in the set of laws called Yororitsuryo

Smelled like "a cross between blue cheese, fish, and rice vinegar".

The late 20th century saw sushi gaining in popularity all over the world.

Chopsticks were developed about 5,000 years ago in China

In Japan, chopsticks were originally considered precious and were used exclusively for religious ceremonies

The earliest chopsticks used for eating looked like tweezers

they were made from one piece of bamboo that was joined at the top

Japanese chopsticks differed in design from Chinese chopsticks in that they were rounded and came to a point

School Meals In Japan

There are no dining rooms, only classrooms

The food is sent up to

each classroom Upon arrival every child in

the class has a role to

play. They lay out their own

individual place mat

brought in from home. Each child in this school

aged 7 – 12 gets the same menu

Nigiri - Small rice balls with fish, shellfish, etc. on top.

Gunkan - Small cups made of sushi rice and dried seaweed filled with seafood, etc.

Norimaki - Sushi rice and seafood, etc. rolled in dried seaweed sheets.

Temaki - Temakizushi (literally: hand rolls) are cones made of nori seaweed and filled with sushi rice, seafood and vegetables.

Sushi is usually enjoyed on special occasions, such as a celebration.

An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane

Sets of origami paper are sold widely in Japan

Commonly the cranes are assembled as 25 strings of 40 cranes each

A thousand paper cranes is also traditionally given as a wedding gift

She would make 1000 paper cranes and give it to an admired boy

For centuries, bamboo has fascinated legions of craftspeople

And nowhere is bamboo used more elegantly and distinctly than in Japan.

bamboo motif has been used since ancient times in paintings, scrolls, pottery, and other art forms

pointing out that bamboo is a species of grass would have amazed many people.

bamboo in Japan has been and remains an important substance and an integral part of the culture.

I would love to visit Japan I love Sushi ! I would want to learn how to use

chopsticks the right way. I think bamboo is very pretty

looking. I wouldn’t want to have the school

meals though.