October, November,December 2017

That Old Chicken CharmIssue 88

In the past, Oita has ranked number one in terms of how much chicken we buy. We’ve recently slid
down to number four (according to the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunication), but that doesn’t mean we’ve laid off chicken so much as it means other prefectures
have dialed their enthusiasm up to eleven.
If you’ve been in Oita for more than a few days, the prevalence of chicken can’t be all that surprising.
Although Oita produces a variety of famous products, including kabosu fruit and shiitake mushrooms,
two of Oita’s most beloved signature dishes are tori-ten and karaage.
Despite how delicious Oita’s karaage is, the history of karaage extends far beyond Oita Prefecture.
Karaage (think of it as Karaage Sr.) came to Japan during the early Edo Period (1603 – 1868) from China in the form of “fucha”
cuisine. Fucha is a style of vegetarian cuisine originally consumed by monks in the Obaku school of Zen Buddhism. That’s right.
One of Oita’s signature chicken dishes didn’t used to have meat at all; the original karaage was made of fried tofu.
Modern day karaage (Karaage Jr., if you will) did not come into being until around 1932, some
300 years later. The restaurant that holds the honor of being the very first shop to put karaage
chicken on their menu is Mikasa Kaikan in Tokyo. Interestingly enough, while modern karaage
calls Tokyo its birthplace, according to the Japan Karaage Association (yes, this is a realassociation), the “holy land” for karaage really is in Nakatsu and Usa, right here in OitaPrefecture.
After the end of World War II, chicken based dishes gained in popularity and dishes the likes ofkaraage began to grace the dinner table as a delicious, cost effective meal available in postwar food shortages. Northern Oita had
a particularly large number of poultry farms and soon developed a love for karaage. Nakatsu eventually grew to have over 60
karaage specialty stores—after Usa gave birth to the nation’s first karaage specialty store in 1955, named Shousuke.
In comparison to karaage, the history of toriten is shrouded in mystery. The dish originated sometime during the 1960’s in OitaPrefecture, but that’s all that can be said for sure. Exactly which restaurant made it and put it on the menu first is a mystery forthe ages. At least four different restaurants spread across Beppu and Oita City would like to claim the title for themselves.
I’ve taken the liberty of eating at one of these restaurants—for research purposes of course. First or not, the toriten I had(pictured on the next page) was mindblowingly delicious. It’s hard to go wrong with bite sized fried chicked, after all.

Nanban Style Toriten

Toriten withGreen OnionsClassic Toriten
Toriten Iro Iro at
Toriten Ikoi (とり天いこい)
1-8-5 Nakatsurusaki, Oita City
Access: 30 second walk from the Tsurusaki Eki Mae bus stop / 8 minute walk from Tsurusaki Station
Funnily enough, “bite sized fried chicken” more or less sums up both toriten and karaage. So what’s the difference between thetwo? A plate of toriten is easy to tell apart from karaage once you’ve had both, but why?
The difference lies in how karaage and toriten are respectively cooked. Karaage is treated like your average fried food. You coat itin some sort of flour product and then fry it into hot oil until it’s cooked through. Toriten, as the “ten” in the name suggests, is aform of tempura. Toriten is coated in some sort of flour, similarly to karaage, but that flour has been mixed with water. Afterbeing coated in the water-flour mix, the chicken is then fried in hot oil.
And there you have it.
On that note, you’ll be able to easily find karaage no matter where you go in Japan. A family restaurant, an izakaya, a stall at afair… You’ll never really have to seek it out; karaage will come to you. On the other hand, the farther you get from Oita, theharder it becomes to find toriten if you’re not looking for it. So if you plan on moving around in Japan, don’t take the abundanceof toriten you have available to you now forgranted.
However, no matter where you are in Japan, you can always make your own karaage or toriten at home.

Karaage
Ingredients (for two to three people):

Directions:200 - 300 gchicken thighs

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.

3 tbs

soy sauce

Mix the soy sauce, sake, grated garlic, and grated ginger. Soak

3 tbs

sake (or cooking sake)the chicken in the mixture for at least 15 minutes.

1 clovegrated garlic

Put the potato starch into a plastic bag and coat the chicken

1 inchgrated ginger

pieces with it.

3 tbs

potato starch

Fry the chicken in oil heated to 180° C.

Oil (for frying)(Recipes continued at the bottom of page 3.)

Plate and serve.

EXHIBITIONS & SCREENINGS
DatethSep. 14 –thOct. 29stOct. 1 –ndOct. 22th
Oct. 6 –thDec. 5thOct. 20 –rd
Dec. 3thOct. 24 –thJan. 28th
Nov. 11 –rd
Dec. 3th
Nov. 17 –stJan. 21th
Dec. 8 –thFeb. 6

Description

Place

Admission

Contact #Genius, Dali Exhibition

Oita City Art Museum¥1,100097-554-5800¥500

097-541-3316¥300

097-533-4500¥310097-837-2100¥310097-837-2100

FREE

097-554-5800¥1,000097-533-4500¥300097-533-4500rd

The 53 Oita Art Exhibition“Shizen e no Shōkei” (Aspiration Toward Nature)
thSpecial Exhibition “1300 Temple Founding Anniversary–Rokugomanzan and Ninmon-“The Holy Mountain

Letters to Hika Kaku
Artful Road Project 2017GO Downtown, I Want to Discover Art
The multi-talented artist of 20th century
Isamu Noguchi ―from sculpture to body and garden―

Oita Prefectural Art
Museum (OPAM)
Oita Prefectural Art
Museum (OPAM)
Oita Prefectural
Museum of History
Oita Prefectural
Museum of History
Oita City Art Museum
Oita Prefectural Art
Museum (OPAM)
Oita Prefectural Art
Museum (OPAM)“Collection no Daigomi” (Pleasure of Our Collection)***Most Museums and Centers are closed on Monday, or Tuesday if Monday is a public holiday. Student admissions vary, highest cost shown.***STAGE & MUSIC EVENTS
DatestOct. 1thOct. 6Time
11:00
13:30

th

13:00

Nov. 5

th

14:00
18:30

th

13:30

Nov. 14stDec. 1
Dec. 18

Artist/EventThrilling Art Playground for All Ages
One Coin Relay Concert vol. 3 Yasuko Miyamoto Marimba &Percussion Concert: "Sound Magician" Passionate Sounds fromthe Soul
Opera "Der Rosenkavalier"Composed by Richard Strauss
Shochiku Kabuki Grand Performance in Oita
Hanako Oku Concert Tour 2017 ~The Today That Was Seen
From Far Away~
One Coin Relay Concert vol. 4 Violin:
The Voice of Strings, the Oita Born Prince of Violin

Venue
iichiko Grand Theater
iichiko Oto-no-Izumi
HallCostFREE¥500

Contact #097-533-4004
097-533-4004

iichiko Grand Theater¥4,000 - ¥12,000

097-533-4004

iichiko Grand Theater
Brick Block¥3,000 - ¥8,000¥4,300 +drink097-533-4004
097-536-4852

iichiko Oto-no-Izumi
Hall

¥500

097-533-4004**Ticket prices range from student to most expensive general admission. Prices shown otherwise indicate price for purchase on the day of the event, they may becheaper if purchased in advance. “w/ drink” prices include a drink, “+drink” prices require the additional purchase of a drink. Times shown indicate start times, doors
usually open 30 minutes beforehand.

VENUES
Brick Block= 5-7-5 Ikushi, Oita City
iichiko Oto-no-Izumi= Oasis Tower 1F Oita City

iichiko Grand Theatre= Oasis Tower 1F Oita City

ToritenIngredients (for two to three people):

Directions:

200 – 300 gchicken breasts

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and season it in a bowl

1 tsp

grated garlicwith the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sake for up to 15

1 tsp

grated gingerminutes.

1 tbs

soy sauce

In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, cold water, wheat

1 tbs

sake (or cooking sake)flour, and potato starch.

100 gwheat flour

Dredge the chicken into the flour mixture and fry it in oil

100 gpotato starchheated to 180° C.

1egg

Plate chicken with vegetables (commonly cabbage and cherry

60 mL

cold water

tomatoes). Eat the chicken by itself or dip it into the ponzu

Other vegetables (pair to taste)
Ponzu sauce (optional)
Oil (for frying)sauce.

FESTIVALS AND EVENTS
Date

Event Description
Oita Agricultural Park’s Autumn Harvest Festival - Fruit picking (from 11:00,～
numbered tickets from 9:30) and harvesting fresh vegetables (from 13:30,thNov. 19
numbered tickets from 13:15).
～KUNISAKI ODAYAKA HAKU Events - A variety of workshops, events, and morethDec. 16
to be held throughout Kunisaki City (inquire for more details).
stthOct. 1 ～ 19 Oita Art Culture Festival - A variety of exhibitions, performances,thNov. 30workshops, and more to be held throughout Oita Prefecture.
th30 Beppu Yukemuri Health Walk Rally/Marathon - This event will take place
thOct. 8at lake Shidaka and Lake Kagurame in Beppu (inquire for more details).
Sanko Cosmos Garden 2017- 28 million cosmoses are in bloom on approx. 16 ha ofth
Oct.8 ～ the foot of Mt. Hachimenzan. The location changes yearly; this year the Haruguchi,thOct. 29
Naritsune district will transform into a pink and white carpet. Shuttle bus service(20 min., free of charge) from JR Nakatsu Station on Sundays.
thOct. 7
Beppu Fisheries Festival - This event is about local seafood produce. Enjoy lotsth～ 8of local cuisine here at Kamegawa Port.
rd43 Beef Eating and Screaming Contest - Yes, you read it right! Come eat beef
thOct. 9
raised in Yufuin and scream to your heart’s content, or just enjoy watchingothers do so (held at Namiyanagi no Bokujyou)
thOct. 14
Beppu Agriculture and Forestry Festival - An event promoting local goods atth～ 15
Beppu Park. Here you can enjoy local products, wood working and workshops.
thOct. 15

Location
Kitsuki City
Oita Agricultural Park
Kunisaki City
Various Locations
Oita Prefecture
Various Locations
Beppu City
Lake Shidaka

Contact #0977-28-7111
0978-72-5168
097-536-0522
0977-21-6161Nakatsu CitySanko Area

0979-43-2050

Beppu City
Kamegawa Port

097-532-6611

Yufu City
Yufuin-cho Kawakami

0977-85-4464

Beppu City
Beppu Park097-506-3544

Hiji Town
Hiji Town Community Center

0977-73-3158

Bungo Takada
Chuo Kominkan

0978-25-6219

Kitsuki City
Jouka-machi

0978-63-0100

Oita City

097-533-6006

28th Shonai Kagura Festival - In conjunction with the 36th Shonai Town “Furusato” festival.
There will be kagura performances from a number of groups and specialty goods for sale.

Yufu City
Shonai-Machi

097-582-1111

Beppu Dance Festa 2017 - This contest will showcase talented dancers
competing for the grand prize (to be held in Beppu Park in conjunction withanother local produce promotional event) from 13:00 - 16:00.

Beppu City
Beppu Park

0977-24-2828

21 Usuki Takeyoi Festival - Over this weekend, approximately 20,000 bamboo
shoots are lit up with candles all over the city.

Usuki City
Nioza

0972-64-6084

Sennen Akari - Festival of lights in Hita City. Bamboo shoots will be lit up withcandles throughout town and there will be concerts, food stalls, and more!

Hita City
Mameda-Machi0973-22-2036

Hita Tenryo Festival - This festival works to recreate Edo Period Japan with asamurai parade and various local performing arts acts around Tsuki-kuma Park.

Hita City
Mameda-Machi

0973-22-2036

Ono River Battle Festival - This is performed by cavalry, archers, and more on
the theme of the “Battle of Hetsugigawara,” which happened 424 years ago
between the Otomo allied force and the Shimazu army.
Taketa Chikuraku Bamboo Light Festival - Over three days 20,000 bamboo
lanterns will be lit across Jyouka-Machi (16:30-21:00). Visitors can enjoy live
music performances and taste local delicacies at food stalls.
Mt. Takasaki Free Entrance Day
Shimekazari and New Year's decorations making workshop - Make Japanese
New Year's decorations. Participation fee is ¥500, reservations necessary.
Wadako (Japanese traditional kite) making workshop – Make Wadako.
Participation fee is ¥220 (Incl. admission fee), reservations necessary.
Beppu Christmas Hanabi Fantasia - Approximately 10,000 fireworks are to be
fired into the clear winter sky to create huge original displays, accompanying aperformance of Christmas songs sung by 1,000 people.
Usa Shrine New Year’s Eve Festival - This is the final festival to round off the year.
Visitors visit Usa Shrine to pray for things such as good health and good fortune.

Oita City
Dainan-Ohashi bridge
Hetsugihon-Machi

097-597-1264

Taketa City
Jyouka-Machi

0974-63-2638

12nd Road of Xavier Walking Festival - Walking event to explore the road which ChristianMissionary Francisco Xavier walked in 1551 to go to Bungo-Funai via Yamaguchi.
rdthOct. 15stOct. 21th
Nov. 18th
Dec. 16th

Oct. 29rd

Nov. 3th～ 4th

Nov. 4th～ 5th

Nov. 4th～ 5th

Nov. 10nd～ 12th

Nov. 11nd～ 12th

Nov. 11nd～ 12th

Nov. 17th～ 19

Nov. 18
Dec. 2thndth

Dec. 16

Dec. 23rd～ 24th

Dec. 31st33 Oita Dialect Uncovered! Speech Contest - A comedic contest for linguistic
contortionists at Chuo Community Center. Come along to test out yournd
Oita-ben comprehension (reservations necessary, ～Sep. 22 )Kimono Appreciation Day - A monthly event where visitors can try on rental
kimonos, have their photos taken, and receive discounts at nearby facilities ifthey are wearing kimono.
th37 Oita International Wheelchair Marathon - Cheer on athletes inwheelchairs as they display amazing strength racing from the Prefectural
Government Building to the City Race Track.

stMt. Takasaki, Oita City
Kokonoe-Machi
Kuju Furusato Shizen Gakkou
Oita City
History Museum

097-532-5010
0973-73-0001
097-549-0880

Beppu City
Spa Beach

0977-24-2828

Usa City
Usa Shrine0978-37-0001

What’s Going On?
From the Plaza
Free Legal Consultations for International Residents
The Oita International Plaza is holding free legal
consultations for foreign residents on the third Wednesdayof every month.
●When: October 18th, November 15th, December 20th●Time: 13:00-16:00●Consultant: Sei Ito (Administrative Solicitor)●Venue: Oita International Plaza (iichiko Culture Center,B1F)
Free Tagalog Consultations
The Oita International Plaza is holding free consultations inTagalog.
●When: October 7th, 17th; November 4th, 21st; December
2nd, 19th●Time: 13:00-16:00●Consultant: Rhodora Yoshitake (President of the Oita
Philippines Friendship Association)●Venue: Oita International Plaza (iichiko Culture Center,B1F)
Free Chinese Consultations
The Oita International Plaza is holding free consultations inMandarin.
●When: Every Thursday 10:00-13:00 (except Nov. 23rd andDec. 28th)●Time: 10:00-13:00●Consultant: Cui Wenyu●Venue: Oita International Plaza (iichiko Culture Center,B1F)(*Dates and times are subject to change. Please contact theOita International Plaza before coming.) TEL: 097-533-4021
Free Consultations Regarding Immigration,Residency, and Citizenship
The Oita International Plaza is holding free consultations
regarding immigration, residency, and citizenship on thefirst Sunday of each month.
●When: October 1st, November 5th, December 3rd●Time: 13:00-16:00●Languages available: Japanese and English● Interpretation into languages other than Japaneseand English may be available with a reservation (thereare no guarantees). The reservation must be made 2days prior to the consultation day.
●Venue: Oita International Plaza (iichiko Culture Center,B1F)

International Event Notifications
The Oita International Plaza will be announcing someinternational events that take place within Oita
Prefecture on our social media pages in order to support
organizations proactively fostering international relations.
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/oitaplaza
Twitter - http://twitter.com/oitaplaza
If you are interested in relaying information about aneven, please send e-mail at the Plaza.
Mail: kobayashi-ikuyo@emo.or.jp

Japanese Lessons
Himawari Japanese Volunteers
Support for people learning Japanese in order to help themenjoy their lives in Oita, now at three different locations.
Wasada Public Hall Wed. 10:00-11:30
Meiji Akeno Public Hall Wed. 14:00-15:30
Tsurusaki Public Hall Sat. 10:00-11:30
For more information contact Ms. Fukata TEL: 097-527-2614
E-MAIL: nihongo_himawari_oita@yahoo.co.jp
Nihongo Rakuraku-talk
Beppu City Hall offers free Japanese lessons every Monday
from 14:00-15:30. For more information contact Mr. Kii inthe Beppu International Affairs Division
TEL: 0977-21-6133 E-MAIL: int-ma@city.beppu.oita.jp
Sakura Japanese Class
Come study Japanese with friendly volunteers and teachers
in a pleasant atmosphere. Sakura Japanese Class is held
every Monday from 10:15-12:00 at the Oita University
International House in Nishiki-Machi, Oita City. Classes arefree of charge. For more information call Ms. Ohashi
CELL: 090-7866-2486
AIUEO Japanese Lessons
Volunteers offer free Japanese lessons on Tuesday andFriday from 10:20-11:50 at I-NESS near Oasis Tower as wellas Thursday nights at Compal Hall from 18:30-20:30. Lessons
are also offered in Beppu at the Beppu Foreign Tourist
Information Office on Tuesday mornings from 10:00-12:00.
For more information contact:
Ms. Miyase CELL: 090-8353-2485 (day lessons)
Ms. Kato TEL: 097-532-5940 (night lessons)Missile Safety
The Tombo has run issues that detail different disaster procedures before, such as earthquakes or how to build
your own disaster preparedness kit. But the Tombo has never talked about missiles. Keep calm and carry on
reading the following basic missile safety tips.
1. If you are outside, evacuate to a sturdy building or underground.
2. If you are inside, stay away from windows as much as possible. Try to find aroom without any windows.
3. If you are outside and there aren’t any buildings around you, take cover, lie
down on the ground, and do your best to protect your head.
4. If you are driving, evacuate from your car to a sturdy building orunderground. If you can’t leave your car, stop in a safe area, curl up, and wait
for further news.