Big in Japan: Sisters hide billions of yen in their tool shed

by Matthew Firestone on

Today in Japan, the tabloids are buzzing with the latest news of two sisters from the city of Osaka, who were arrested yesterday after hiding US$58 million from the tax man.

Now, I know you’re probably thinking to yourselves: “Did they hide all of that money under the mattress?’

Good question, but they actually kept all of the money in cardboard boxes and paper bags that were stowed away in a shed attached to their house!

Awesome.

According to prosecutors, the two sisters in question, Hatsue Shimizu and Yoshiko Ishii, inherited about 7.5 billion yen (or US$73 million) when their father, who owned a property and finance company, died in 2004.

In Japan, inheritance tax can take a serious chunk out of your assets, and this dastardly duo wasn’t about to lose their hard-earned money to the government.

So, rather than losing an estimated 2.86 billion yen (or US$28 million) of their newfound fortune, the free-thinking pair simply declared a small amount and stashed the rest.

Again, awesome.

So how will the story end? Keep on reading to find out!

Needless to say, governments tends to notice when wealthy businessmen die, especially when they’re considered to be industry leaders and property moguls.

So, the Japanese government wasn’t about to just sit pretty when their cut of the wealth never trickled back to them in the form of taxes.

It what must have been an amazing raid to witness – Japanese police officers stormed the home of these two little old ladies, and proceeded to tear the place apart.

The Osaka taxation bureau had previously made a list of ten possible locations where the money was stashed, but they weren’t prepared for the spectacle that unfolded.

In fact, not only was most of the money lying in a tool shed, but it was actually neatly arranged in plastic bags that were packed into cardboard boxes.

According to one tax official, “We have confiscated somewhere around 50 cardboard boxes.”

Indeed, this makes for some great visual journalism. For those of you without Japanese TV stations, think two sobbing old ladies, and a line of police officers hauling away boxes upon boxes of cold hard cash.

Anyway, let me be the first person to applaud these two women as you can’t help but feel sorry for them, especially since they’re bound to lose all of the money and face prison time.

Of course, if I was planning to skip out on inheritance tax, I’d like to imagine that I’d investigate somewhat more legit options, like a bank account in the Caymans, or at least a buried treasure chest.

But, I guess there’s nothing wrong with the tool shed method, assuming of course that your neighbor doesn’t need to borrow your hedge trimmers.

So, I guess this of course brings up my question for day: if you had millions and millions of dollars lying around, and weren’t too keen on paying taxes, where would you hide it?

** By the way, if the IRS is reading this, I filed my 2007 tax return on time, so no worries! **

What strange things have been found on planes?


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Big in Japan: Zen and the art of ramen appreciation

by Matthew Firestone on

I love ramen…

For some, it’s the marbled fat and delicate color of farm-raised Kobe beef. For others, it’s the delicate flesh and buttery taste of wild salmon.

For me however, it’s got to be ramen, Nature’s most perfect food.

Although I’ve spent several years living in Tokyo, for some strange reason I never had the privilege of dining at Ippudo (?????), a world famous chain of ramen noodle shops.

Originating in the city of Hakata (????) on the island of Kyushu, Ippudo pays homage to its roots by serving up some of the best damn Hakata-style ramen on the planet.

Hakata ramen is distinguished by its rich and milky pork-bone broth, thin noodles and unique toppings such as pickled ginger, crushed sesame and pickled greens.

So how good is Ippudo you ask?

Put it this way – one doesn’t merely jump right into a bowl of Ippudo’s signature Hakata ramen.

On the contrary, it must first appreciated and respected before even a single slurp of soup and noodle can be savored.

So, without further adieu, I present to you today Zen and the art of ramen appreciation.

Upon arriving at the table, don’t lose face in front of the chef by diving into the bowl like an uncouth barbarian.

Instead, take a moment to appreciate the immaculate presentation, the intoxicating aroma and the beauty of the meal before you.

Ippudo ramen is best served up with a dollop of fiery red miso paste and a squirt of black sesame oil.

However, don’t let these culinary flourishes distract you from the heart and soul of the meal, namely the honorable pig that gave up its life for your dining pleasure.

Indeed, the fat from the humble pig comprises much of the bulk of the broth, while cuts of tenderloin float delicately on the surface like sakura petals on a still pond.

Next, use your chopsticks in a precise and exacting manner to explore the delicate coil of noodles that lie in waiting beneath the surface of the broth.

At Ippudo, these handmade noodles are thin yet resilient, and are expertly crafted to capture globules of rich fat and flavorful broth.

By this point, your mouth is salivating and your stomach is growling, so give a polite bow to the chef and say a small prayer for the pig.

Now that the appropriate amount of respect has been given, dive right into what will most likely be the most heavenly bowl of ramen you’ve ever tasted.

And of course, don’t forget to slurp your noodles – not only is it polite, but it also enhances the flavor!

Ippudo has several locations in Tokyo, though I tend to frequent the one on Meiji-dori in Hiroo-go-chome. If you happen to see a fellow gaijin noodle lover there, be sure to say hi.

** Special thanks to my fellow diner and all-around partner in crime, Will-san, who understands whole-heartedly that no two bowls of ramen are ever created equal **

Big in Japan: A taster’s guide to green tea

by Matthew Firestone on

Yesterday, I wrote about Japan’s national beverage, namely the humble yet refined glass of green tea.

However, just as no two glasses of wine are created equal, green tea is just as varied as the finest fruit of the vine.

Indeed, there are a multitude of specialty green teas, each varying in taste, texture and complexity.

While a true vinophile would never consistently drink glass upon glass of red wine, green tea connoisseurs take great pride in sampling the full spectrum of brews.

But how do you tell the difference between sencha and matcha?
Aren’t all green teas simply dried leaves seeped in hot water?

Ah, my young grasshopper!

You have much to learn, but fear not as today, I’m going to present you with a handy taster’s guide to green teas that will hopefully get started on the long road to green tea devotion.

To get started, click on the link below to take a tour through the wide and wonderful world of green tea, one of nature’s most perfect beverages.

With millennia of history dating back to ancient China, green tea has undergone some incredible transformations over the generations.

Of course, all aspiring aficionados of green tea should start with ryokucha, or quite literally true tea (緑茶).

Green tea in its simplest form is so common in Japan that it’s known as just ‘tea’ (お茶; ocha) or even ‘Japanese tea’ (日本茶; nihoncha).

Nine times out of ten, true tea takes the form of sencha (煎茶, broiled tea), which is distinguished as being the first and/or second flush of tea leaves that have been dried in the sun.

Of course, the Japanese are also extremely partial to matcha (抹茶, rubbed tea), a finely ground tea that is the centerpiece of the tea ceremony.

Somewhat reminiscent of green flour, matcha can also be used to flavor a variety of confectionaries including ice cream, rice flour cakes and sweets.

Another excellent brew is genmaicha (玄米茶, brown-rice tea), which is usually a hearty a healthy blend of sencha, matcha and roasted genmai (玄米) or brown rice.

Genmaicha in particularly has a unique history since it was first brought to Japan by Myōan Eisai, a Japanese Buddhist priest who also introduced the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism.

Are you with me so far? If so, also be on the lookout for the following:

Shincha (新茶, new tea) Freshly picked and dried tea leaves that tend to make an appearance in the markets a few times a year.

Bancha (番茶, common tea) This blue-collar brew is made from the trimmed unnecessary twigs of the tea plant.

Hojicha (焙じ茶, pan fried tea) Sencha takes on an entirely different taste after it has been gently roasted in a frying pan.

Gyokuro (玉露, jade dew): The highest grade of Japanese green tea that is famous for its pale green color and extremely high caffeine content.

See – this just goes to show you that with a little time and practice, anyone can become an aficionado!

** All images were courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project ***

Big in Japan: What is green tea?

by Matthew Firestone on

Quick question: when you think of Japan, name the first thing that comes to mind?

(No peeking – hurry up as time is running out!)

OK. Time’s up. Did you come up with any of the following:

a) Raked pebble gardens occupied by meditating monks
b) Kimono-clad geishas clip-clapping through Kyoto back streets
c) Scenic panoramas of cherry-blossom covered landscapes
d) Fluorescent-garbed teens wandering around futurescapes

Well, while all of these answers are certainly correct, today’s posting is on something decidedly more humble in scale, namely a simple glass of green tea.

Perhaps more than any other culinary staple, green tea has a long and distinguished history as Japan’s national beverage.

In fact, entire cultural pursuits such as sad? (?????, literally the way of tea) have been dedicated to this appreciation of this humble but highly refined beverage.

Which of course brings us to the next question at hand: what is green tea?

Green tea or ryokucha ( ?????; literally true tea) refers to any beverage made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing.

(In layman’s terms, we’re talking about minimizing the natural process by which tea turns black, which quite simply would result in black tea, not green tea!)

Intrigued? Hope so as there is plenty more to learn about the preferred beverage of Zen monks everywhere!

Like most things Japanese, green tea first originated in China several millennia ago, though the product was later refined – some would argue perfected on the islands of Japan.

Just as corn or wheat has numerous strains, the tea plant is extremely susceptible to different growing conditions and harvesting times, which has resulted in several unique final products.

However, the important characteristic of all green teas is that they are not allowed to oxidize to the same extent as traditional English style teas.

So, while your morning cup of English Breakfast can sometimes be powerful enough to necessitate a few added scoops of sugar, green tea is nearly always light enough to be drunk in its pure form.

As a result, green tea has significantly less caffeine than black tea and coffee, though this is not to say that the drink isn’t chock full of vitamins and minerals.

Indeed, green tea is thought by both Eastern and Western doctors to have a number of purported health benefits.

In fact, there exists a whole body of medical evidence (not to discount millennia of Eastern traditional knowledge) to suggest that regular green tea drinkers are protected from a variety of health ailments.

From preventing cancer and heart disease to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, there may be a whole lot more in your morning cup of tea that just a quick shot of caffeine.

Love green tea as much as I do?

If so, tune in tomorrow for a handy and helpful green tea taster’s guide that will have you sipping and characterizing rare brews in no time at all!

** All images are courtesy of the Wikicommons media project **

Big in Japan: Japanese create the world’s most accurate clock

by Matthew Firestone on

Disclaimer: This posting is also about science, which I know isn’t exactly one of the sexiest stories on Gadling at the moment. However, I can assure you in plain and simple laymen’s terms that this post will be really, really cool to read.

As I pointed out last week in my posting on how scientists were able to photograph mice memories, high technology is something that you take for granted when you live in Japan.

While the news in the States is usually full of ridiculous stories like Britney Spear’s latest drug-induced exploits, Japanese people take great pride in hearing about their country’s technological breakthroughs.

And breakthroughs they are – think about all of the cool things to come out of Japan in recent decades, like the Sony Walkman, the Nintendo Wii and the Hello Kitty toaster!

Anyway, if you’ll allow me to post another science-y article here on Gadling, I want to tell you why the future of clocks is awesome.

This week in Japan, researchers at the University of Tokyo allowed the public to take a peek at what is being hailed as the world’s most accurate timepiece.

Anything but a mere wristwatch, this new clock has the potential to improve our ability to make accurate measurements, as well as revolutionizing GPS technology.

The new proposed clock is being called an optical lattice clock. Although the actual definition of this timepiece is pretty daunting, the concept is actually fairly simple.

For instance, think of a box containing two sets of intersecting laser beams. Within this grid, imagine a whole bunch of mercury atoms floating in space.

Basically, one set of lasers creates a wave that holds the atoms at rest, while the other set reads the atoms’ energy levels to determine the time.

Although it is still in the experimental stage, team leader Hidetoshi Katori gave the following statement to the Associated Press (AP): “We hope that the proposed clock…will be the most accurate one, although it is not experimentally demonstrated yet.”

However, the clock’s accuracy is currently being tested, and it is hoped that the project will be deemed a success in a few week’s time.

Next question: why are optical lattice clock so much more accurate than current atomic clocks?

(Good question!)

To date, our most accurate clocks are based on the atomic vibrations of the cesium atom, a technology that is more than 50 years old.

Although to date this technology has served us well, the problem is that after 30 million years or so, the clock will be off by about one second.

However, researchers expect that the new clock will lose only a fraction of a second over 14 billion years, which is roughly the age of the universe.

Next question: So what’s the big deal you ask?

(Another good question!)

Basically, the problem lies in the modern area of GPS systems, which are based on determining extremely tiny fractions of a second differences between the signals of orbiting satellites.

So, if the experiment is a success, the Japanese could be paving the way for GPS systems that are so accurate, you could literally find a needle in a haystack.

See – science can sometimes be cool!