"Friends of Rice": Discovery through Japanese Cultural Events

Sharing from Miss Okawara Namiko, the Japanese International Tutor

What surprised me the most after I came to Hong Kong was that many local people had visited Japan multiple times and frequently experienced Japanese culture in Hong Kong. In addition, it is not uncommon to find Japanese supermarkets and restaurants and Japanese culture-related activities in the city.

For a year and a half that I worked at EdUHK, I was constantly thinking about organising activities that would attract people who are already familiar with Japanese culture. My conclusion is that travellers to Japan are seeking the "out of the ordinary", thus what was "ordinary" to Japanese people might be "special" to Hong Kong people. With this in my mind, I have organised 14 cultural events at EdUHK and "Friends of Rice" is among the most successful ones.

 "Friends of Rice" was held on 17 March 2023. The main goal of the event was to deepen participants' interest in Japanese culture via experiencing Japanese food culture. As it is impossible to completely cover all aspects of Japanese food culture in one event, I decided to introduce "common" rice toppings that Japanese people frequently eat.

During the event, participants first answered my quizzes on Japanese eating etiquette and food. Then they could choose their favourite rice toppings and try them with rice on the spot. The participants who had travelled to Japan before said it as being nostalgic, while others said they had never encountered any of the toppings despite being familiar with Japanese food culture.

The event attracted 63 participants who greatly enjoyed it and learned new things about Japanese food culture.

Participants and the organiser’s interaction

Japanese rice toppings prepared for the event