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housewife  prepares  bento
          boxes for the husband and
          kids, but today, bento boxes
          can also be purchased from
          convenience stores. On
          packages of Japanese food,
          you  can  often  see  words
          that state “shohi kigen”
          which means expiry date,
          and “shomi kigen” which
          means best before. “Shohi
          kigen” is usually stated on
          fresh  foods, which  are  not
 In  Japan,  table-  suitable for  consumption           Survival kits
 manners  are  after  the  suggested  date;    as  it  can  fit  inside  a  bag
 highly  valued.  foods labelled with “shomi
 Before  eating,  kigen” are still safe to eat   with no weight limit. These
 the Japanese say   after  the  displayed  date,   test one’s ability of “room-
                                               stuffing” skills to fit as many
 ‘‘itadakimasu’’,   just  that  its  flavour  is  best
 a polite phrase   preserved before that date   items in a limited space as
                                               possible.
 translated  as  “I   arrives.
 receive”;   after
 eating, they say   classmates’ lunches and bring them to the   Last but not least for food   When  talking  about
                                               Japanese
                                                                       one
                                                             food,
 “gochisous ama   classroom.  This  role  alternates  between   culture in Japan, there are
 deshita” which can   students so that every classmate is involved.   trends  called  “tabehoudai”   particular condiment that
                                               comes  to  mind  is  wasabi.
 be  interpreted  as   This  is  normally  applied  to  most  local   and  “tsume  houdai”.
 “thank you for the   elementary and junior high schools.  “Tabehoudai” means all-  But did you know that
 meal”. In Japanese   you-can-eat,  where  a   planting wasabi  requires
                                               strict conditions? Olivia
 local  schools,  For daily meals, the “onigiri” and “bento” are   guest pays a set amount,
 they have a lunch   go-to foods for Japanese locals. “Onigiri”,   approximately RM 80, and   Lim Sensei mentioned that
                                               wasabi can only grow at
 system  called  also known as “omusubi”, is a Japanese rice   then eats as much as they
 “kyuushoku”. In this   ball stuffed with a variety of fillings, normally   want  within  an  allotted   places with stable weather,
 system,  schools  formed into triangular shapes, whereas   amount of time. As for   which means no sudden
                                               chillness or torridity. It also
 provide  lunches  “bento”  is  a  Japanese  lunch  box  filled   “tsumehoudai”,  it  means
 to  students.  A  with balanced ingredients, including rice,   all-you-can-take,  where  has high requirements for
                                               water, of which will only
 student is assigned   meat,  fish,  and  vegetables.  Generally,  the   the customer can take as
 to pick up their   much as they want as long   grow well with the irrigation
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