Anna Matsushita

A few years ago, in a tucked-away corner of Tokyo, we found ourselves burning the midnight oil, utterly engrossed in researching Cyprus. At the time, we were working for a small travel agency, and one of our clients had approached us with a request to create a bespoke tour for this enigmatic island. Determined to craft a memorable itinerary, we threw ourselves into the task, pooling resources with our local Cypriot partners and scouring every bit of information we could find in Japan. Cyprus, a sun-kissed island adrift in the Mediterranean, sits tantalisingly close to Turkey. With connecting flights conveniently offered from Japan, it’s an accessible yet slightly offbeat destination. The island’s history is a mosaic of cultures and empires: from the ancient Greeks who settled there, to the Hittites, Assyrians, Egyptians, Romans, Crusader knights, Venetians, Ottomans, and, finally, the British. It’s no exaggeration to say that Cyprus is a crossroads of civilisations, much like many of i...

    Nearly 40 years ago, while living in Britain, I was once asked an intriguing question by a Swiss friend:   "Japanese eat raw fish, don't they?"   When I confirmed this, the response was swift and unfiltered: "That's disgusting."   The phrase "raw fish" conjures up visceral, almost grotesque imagery—the notion of biting into a fish, freshly plucked from a stream, scales and all. To clarify, I explained that what we eat in Japan is akin to Italian carpaccio—thinly sliced fresh fish served with soy sauce rather than olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My friend appeared somewhat reassured, if still perplexed, by this cultural culinary nuance.   Curiously, the term "raw fish" persists today in articles about Japan, especially those catering to Western audiences. While such descriptions aim to demystify sashimi, they inadvertently evoke a sense of barbarism, fostering reactions like the one I encountered: "disgusting....

  About thirty years ago, in mid 1990’s, I was waiting for her at ticket gates of Kensington Underground station in London.   As I leaned on the stone object, which looked line a fountain, I noticed there was a young man   looking at me.   I was slightly startled, thinking why he was looking at me. Then he came forward with soft smile on his face   “ Anna ？”   I could not recognise his voice, but behind his adult face, I remembered his younger days Besides, there is no one who knew my name   “ Kamire ？”   Bingo.   He was brother of my best friend from a language unit of an international school in London. We sit at the same class, and we had lots of fun during the brake. 7 years passed since then   The boy who was a12 years old at that time, became 17 years old grown-up boy now. His voice changed, and was wearing thin beard. I nearly gave him a big hug, but realised that he is no longer the little b...

 In my early years, I resided in the Tohoku region of Japan. Near the housing complex nestled in the mountains, there was a forest where various fruits grew.   Among them, the mountain grapes held a special fascination for my young heart. Simply put, they looked delicious. Despite being warned by adults never to eat them, they seemed even more tempting.   During that time, I heard a folktale called "Saru-zake" (Monkey's Wine). It narrated a story of a monkey living in the mountains who hid the mountain grapes he had gathered in a tree hollow. Over time, it miraculously turned into wine. A woodcutter who discovered it tasted the wine, found it incredibly delicious, drank too much, and ended up drunk—such was the essence of the story, if I recall correctly.   This wine made from mountain grapes (Vitis coignetiae) is considered one of Japan's oldest alcoholic beverages archaeologically. Its origins can be traced back to the Jomon period, approximately 10,000...

 In 1990, I came back to Japan from the UK, in an attempt to go to a university in Tokyo. Back in those days, high school diplomas given by scholls in abroad were not really accepted by universities in Japan, Even though you finished A-level or SAT, you still have to go through an entrance examination. Not many universities let students who studied abroad, so we were left with very few choices.   I failed my first university examination. I have not used Japanese for a while, and I was not familiar with essay writing in Japanese. It was pressurising to write these Kanji characters in handwriting, hoping that I didn’t make much mistakes – which, probably I did.   I took summer course for students who graduated from high schools abroad, to brush up English and Japanese languages, as well as essay writing, Withing two months intense course, I became much more confident using the both languages.   I took another entrance examination at a university in Tokyo....

Taste of forbidden drink Long time ago when I was living in the UK, I realized that cider (hard cider, or cidre) was available at pubs. However, when I go to the pubs with my English friends, they always tried to stop me drinking cider, saying “It’s not for young people” “Japanese won’t like it” “The Japanese people are weak on alcohol. Cider is too strong for the Japanese”. Those were their opinion, but I was baffled with their strong rejections. These English friends called themselves connoisseur of Japan, as all of them have lived in Japan for a bout year. They all rejected cider that it dose not match Japanese’ taste.  Looking back now, they probably experienced something uncomfortable when suggesting cider to the Japanese people. Possibly they did not want to let me down.  After long years passed from the incident, I finally found a chance to try British cider. A pub in Tokyo was displaying their drink menu on their website, and there were eight choices of cider. Recallin...

  During COVID-19 restriction, I did another project: writing essays on drinks in mainly in Europe, Japan and Caucasus.   As a one engaged in travel industry, I wrote many writings for my job to introduce European drinks, including wines, beers, whiskeys and liqueurs.   The work involves many research on internet as well as trying the drink myself. I felt it important to experience the drink itself, as I was introducing the drinks to potential Japanese travellers abroad – I did not want to sound fake.   This time, I could spend more time researching the backgrounds of each drinks. It was interesting to learn the history of each drinks and passion of those who made the first drink, and success of the business.   The main reason I wrote this subject was that I wanted to carry on researching food and drinks abroad. When I was working at travel company, the work involved many research. I wanted to carry on with that, in order to keep the antenna up a...

 When I was young, I came across with a picture of two entertainers in Medieval Japan, called Kusemai dancer, and Shrabyoshi.   They were one of the prominent street performers in Medieval Japan, and they were mentioned in a book called “Seventy One Songs on Craftsmen", illustrating various craftsmen which was established at the end of 1500’s   Here is the link to the original painting of Kusemai dancer and Shirbyoshi. (On the bottle left) 狂言・能楽の歴史｜文化デジタルライブラリー (jac.go.jp)   (Kusemai dancer on the left, Shirabyoshi on the right )   能・世阿弥｜文化デジタルライブラリー (jac.go.jp) So, what are Kusemai dancer and Shirabyoshi ? Kusemai, also known as Mai-Mai (Roughly translated as "dance, dance") is a male street dancer, usually paired up with a singer, and dance while holding a folding fan. Shirabyoshi is a female dancer dressed in men’s clothe and sing song while dancing. Kusemai | the-Noh.com | Noh Terminology Shirabyōshi - Wikipedia   In a boo...

The state of emergency was declared at many authorities in Japan from early .July to the end of September 2021. The number of Covid-19 positive case was high, and it persisted nearly 2 month and half. During this period, I was looking for a job. I briefly worked at a call centre in Tokyo, but I left there due to my lack of high-quality voice, as well as professional speech needed at call centre. Job market was quite fast during the spring of 2021. To be on safe side, I looked for permanent job, or temporary to permanent job, since I will be turning 50 years old soon, and I needed a stable position. While browsing on job agent’s websites and platforms, I came across many temporary position open for young people newly graduated from schools and colleges. It reminded me of recent concern for the job market for young generation in Japan. As far as media reports said, many young college or university graduates in Japan were reportedly struggling to find permanent job. Many can’t get c...

  The third COVID state of emergency was lifted in the Kanto region of Japan at the end of March 2021. People gradually started to go out more often. On the surface level the life seemed to be returning to normal – except that people were wearing face masks even those without cedar pollen fever – allergy similar to hay fever. On a weekend, I visited Yokohama. Yokohama is located about 30 minutes from Tokyo by train. It is known as one of the oldest port towns which started trade with western countries, such as France, Britain and America about 200 years ago. It is pretty big city with many areas to visit, such as the three towers of King, Queen and Jack, Hikawa-Maru ocean liner, Minato-mirai area, China town, Yokohama English Rose garden and many more. The Yokohama station is one of the spots where you can see some iconic figures which represent Yokohama’s history. Once you are out of central ticket gates of JR or other private railways, you might notice very small trails of the hi...