Japanese Food Exhibition: Eat to Live

When I am abroad, I sometimes have an irresistible craving for Japanese food, not sushi or ramen, but simple white rice and miso soup. It's really brought home to me that I was born and raised in Japan.
 
The other day, I visited the special exhibition "WASHOKU: Nature and Culture in Japanese Cuisine” at the National Museum of Nature and Science. It approaches Japanese food from various aspects, and the amount of information that I learned was beyond my expectations. For example, the hardness of tap water varies even within Japan. Rice is not just a bowl of rice, it can be transformed into mochi (rice cakes) and rice bran for making pickles. In addition, Sake and seasonings are made according to the region, and some foods are fermented because of the weather. This is how our food culture has developed.

After seeing the exhibition, I now think having a meal is a precious act. In our daily lives, we are so concerned about calories in food to lose weight, and we eat snacks while watching TV without even thinking. But eating itself gives us the energy to live. It’s nutritious, for sure, but it’s not just that. It’s essential to feel seasonal ingredients and nurture a relationship with your loved ones, leading to your future wellbeing.

Through this special exhibition, it was impressed upon me that eating is directly related to wellbeing. It would be good to think about what I get out of the opportunity to eat.