That's a very interesting story. I love these stories that you post about Japanese culture. I don't think I'd ever want to live there, and I doubt I'll ever even visit, but learning about all the ways it's so different from America is very interesting.

VAMP

*wants curry too....*
o-o....share?

Nekokazzie

Nice! I like udon... but I'd trade it for your son's curry rice. Love it!

Anyways, I saw some delivery guys carrying stacks of udon bowls around when I was in Japan. Nice!

We ate a lot on those restaurants with the ticket machine...

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

Well, as I see it America is infamous for a combination of arrogance and ignorance in general, but I'll vouch that I've met a great number of highly intelligent Americans online. Sadly it's the idiots who get the attention (and often, make the rules which is what really shows internationally...)

Here's a meaner one quizzing Americans with less pretexting:

+ Watch video

But then the guys who made the video go on to say that it doesn't prove the country is stupid and you can pick people like that anywhere. Here's the British side:

+ Watch video

But facts and statistics aside, this is the kind of thing that contributes so strongly to America's reputation. That, and *cough* repeated support of Bush II...

fuchikoma

@blackdice:

If you want a specific explanation as to why I chose America, as compared to any other country that could possibly be deemed as below-average in terms of education, then that's simple: America on the top of the list. Fuchikoma's video is a prime example.

Now, when I say 'top of the list,' I don't mean it as in any statistically proven way of the country and the majority of their inhabitants being sub-par. There are many ways to interpret this.

My personal reason would be all the attention America gets. Just like Fuchikoma's video which was posted. I have yet to see a video as such; of another nation, besides America. Of course, there has to be some, out of sheer probability. Even so, put those videos in comparison to the number of videos and attention that America gets.

It's a rule of generalization and example. The majority of the people in the world know America. So when given an example, and America fits the criteria, it would be the logical choice to make, if you were trying to get a point across that readers would understand.

It's either that, or I could make a long list of all eligible countries or peoples. In which case it would just turn into a list, and too specific while at it to the targeted peoples, while not being as broad in whole.

Although, as I have said before, generalizations can be double-edged, as it can be interpreted as maliciously targeting said group.

JooNkeN

God Bashcraft that ain't fair, how come the kid didn't get Udon? bah curry my ass

excel_excel

@Go Team Venture:

The udon noodles themselves are really bland, as with most noodles.
They're thick white noodles, but really soft.
The broth is usually soy based, and can go with any number and combinations of additional toppings: seafood, beef etc..
Then there are different variations of it, like the yakiudon(fried, kind of like american chow-mein).

If that made no sense, maybe wiki can do a better job for you:
[en.wikipedia.org]

If you've had other noodles before, or like noodles, give udon a try.

JooNkeN

oh come on, that is obviously a damage control remark. what's the point of, again, targeting america, but then giving every other place a generic "whoever you are" at the end in parenthesis? your targeting of america is rather blatant. why try to cover it as opposed to explaining why?

blackdice

On the lighter side of digs at the US... (many go both ways anyway. Dish it, take it.)

+ Watch video

fuchikoma

ive never had real udon.
whats the appeal or taste like?

Go Team Venture

@Billkwando:

You said,
"Just because someone in our country MIGHT do something so stupid, doesn't mean that there isn't SOMEONE in those other countries who would too."

I said,
"...because the bowls are usually not stolen or desecrated."

I never said that every single person in japan abides by the given rules. Also, when I said 'american,' it was a generalization and not to be taken in it's entirety by accounting for every single american/mindset there of.

I agree with you on generalization, although it may be double-edged in many cases, such as this.

JooNkeN

@blackdice:

You said,
"it just seems odd that you'd plaster your post with america as if they're the only ones..."

I said,
"...stop of thinking like an american (or whichever cultural mindset you have that seems to obviously criticize anything different)."

Loop hole closed.

JooNkeN

@JooNkeN: "There are cultural differences, people. Just because your country would do something so stupid, doesn't mean other countries will too."

I think I may smell japanophilia? Maybe not.

Just because someone in our country MIGHT do something so stupid, doesn't mean that there isn't SOMEONE in those other countries who would too.

Case in point, the Japanese guy who went around stabbing people in the neck.

Aren't generalizations grand?

Billkwando

Hey Brian, I love udon, but don't know how to prepare it. Can you reccomend some good ready to eat udon? thx

Great Merol

@blackdice: Well, since you said something so dumb, you lose out on criticizing privileges. Sorry. :(

eastx

@blackdice:
Everyone loves to hate on whites, men, Christians, and Americans. It's just part of life. The American bit comes in part from the fact that people who don't understand US geography _at_all_ like to get self-righteous about the fact that Americans are often equally as clueless about world geography. But then, you also get the occassional exception like Japan, where they generally don't care for anything foreign _unless_ it's American. It's a weird world, and you learn to deal with it, or you don't.

Purple Dave

watch out they might have LEAD!!!!!

ivan225

So what happens if, for whatever reason, the bowls and plates aren't there the next day when Mr. Udon arrives to pick them up? Do you get blacklisted until you return them, or cover the cost of replacing them? Do they just write off the loss? Do they politely stop by regularly and ask you how you're enjoying _their_ dinnerware until you get the hint?

@battra92:
When I was in high school, on a dare, four of us got dressed up in nice semi-formal clothes, took a tablecloth, real dishes/tableware, and candles, ordered in at McDonald's, and proceeded to eat our meal in the centermost table we could find. They asked us to put out the candles because it posed a fire hazard or something.

Purple Dave

@JooNkeN:

yeah but the problem here is that i'm from busan, not america. people do ridiculous things in all parts of the world. i wasn't serious when i said it anyways so i guess it doesn't matter.

oh, and just so you know, you're stereotyping a bunch of americans in your post which is a bit ignorant and rude. why target america only when everything you said goes the same for many countries. why forget a lot of europe? you don't exactly get plates from delivery service in the UK, yet you go straight for america and basically say that they're too stupid to handle such a service. it just seems odd that you'd plaster your post with america as if they're the only ones...like you know everybody.

blackdice

CURRYMAN FTW!
[www.colkid.com]

rainofwalrus [XBL]

is that katsu-curry? mmmmm. CoCo Ichibanya FTW!!!

rainofwalrus [XBL]

The closest I have ever been to eating udon was making it in Rune Factory... It looked appealing, but everything looks appealing in that game.

Superstar90

[edbatista.typepad.com]

First, this is the case that the delivery man uses for delivering noodles. Riding either a bicyle or a moped to make the delivery. Sadly, that was the best picture I could find, as I don't even know the name of it.

Usually it's bigger than this picture and carries about 4 or more bowls.

Second, to all those people saying "How many people steal the bowls?" "How many people desecrate the bowls before returning it?"
Questions like that basically put up a red flag saying you're an american.

There are cultural differences, people. Just because your country would do something so stupid, doesn't mean other countries will too. If they did, they wouldn't provide a service like this in the first place. This kind of service can be provided simply because the bowls are usually not stolen or desecrated. To them, it's a common part of life. If you were to do this in the US, it would fail, that's why we don't have it.

Third, in my opinion, I don't think it's an environmental issue that they're doing this. It's more along the lines that this kind of service has been around for years, and they're keeping the tradition. (If it isn't broken, don't fix it.) Remember that neighborhoods are really cramped in Japan, so you would normally just need a bicycle for delivery, and maybe a moped if you're covering a larger area. It's not a big of a hassle as delivering pizza with a car. The delivery radius would probably fall under a 1-2mile radius, if that even.

Lastly, whenever you see something that's not a part of your 'culture,' and you think that it's odd or out of place, stop of thinking like an american (or whichever cultural mindset you have that seems to obviously criticize anything different). Rather, ask yourself; How and why. Put yourself in their shoes.

P.S.
If you still don't get it, and refuse to try and understand anything, then don't complain the next time you go traveling get charged $5 for Orange Juice when the sign right next to it says $4 for Jugo de Naranja

JooNkeN

wow haha this would never work in the states. i wonder if udon delivery boys get robbed while make deliveries like pizza boys over here haha. god bless 'murica

pandafresh

@badasscat: That is true that the packaging is very wasteful like that, however when you have to recycle all the stuff (if you are a good little citizen) what does it matter if everything gets recycled?

Norsehawk

They make you wash the dishes before they pick them up? That's insane. In korea they deliver food in real dishes as well but you don't have to wash them. They pick them up as is and they wash them when they get back.

firelogic

i know in korea, ontop of bringing the udon in real bowls to you, i heard they acutally have someone ride over on some kind of a cart and cook right in front of your house to eat.

is it the same in japan?

zeropoint.0

I am not a fan of the udon, I'm afraid. I find the texture unappealing. I am, however, a fan of this delivery method. I wish I could have real dishes with delivered food.

etho

IN BEFORE FIRING

Traceur

i wonder how many people spit crap and piss on the plates before whiping them off and sending them back to be reused. and believe me, out of millions of people, someone is going to do it. repeatedly.

blackdice

I had udon for dinner last night, too! :) Then again, it probably wasn't as good as yours :(

jayntampa

@kylenalepa:
What you are talking about is called Soba.

RinoaRyder

すき家 all the way..

ItsHammerTime

@fuchikoma: Yes they do still have elevator operators! Not everywhere, but certain places. And some of them are even cute.

Hopefully this works - this was the elevator girl in Kyoto Tower when we visited: [picasaweb.google.com]

@battra92: Believe me, this has nothing to do with environmentalism. The Japanese have horrible, horrible habits when it comes to the environment. Like, they'll individually wrap every single cookie in a box of cookies in plastic, then they'll wrap the box itself in plastic. If you buy a cake, they will cut the cake into slices, then put every slice on its own paper plate, then wrap each slice in plastic and put it back in the shape of a cake. Then they'll put the cake in a box and give you a big vinyl bag to carry it in.

I mean in a certain way it's really cool, because everything is just so neat and perfect and it's all obviously done for the convenience of the customer. But it is almost disgusting in how anti-environment it is, especially these days.

I've never seen a grocery store there where paper bags were available either. It's all plastic. And people *will* look at you funny if you reuse an old bag.

badasscat

me wants.. asian food... -drooooool- 0.0

laencythe

Udon is absolutely delicious. I love the cold udon that you dip in the sauce before eating it (forgot what it's called). I also love udon with ebi tempura. So good!

kylenalepa

Wow, I could totally go for udon or curry. Right now.
It's 6am, though. =/

I was about to complain about eating curry but not wanting CoCo, but then I guess I'm lucky. Some places don't even have that.

Channing

Mmm.... Udon. Mmm... Curry. I really miss the food from Okinawa. I will have to go back there just for some good CoCo's. Luckily I have a restaurant that makes authentic Udon here, but they don't make curry like CoCo's does.

Woden501

This practice harkens back to the old days when the milkman would deliver to your doorstep in glass containers, and take back the empty glasses you left out for him.

I find it amusing how so many first impressions were, "Can you keep the bowls?" Shows the difference between the two cultures. As Angryrider said, it probably wouldn't work in the US. Unless there's a shift to value resources versus the convenience of being able to just toss when done, it will probably be business as usual. With the advent of plastic, I guess there's no going back.

0ldb0y

Ah, for those who have no fogging idea what udon is

Click on the jump for a photo of the udon I took from my fridge which i was saving for a late night supper..udon with sphagetti sauce...*drool*

[b.imagehost.org]

Banedon38

The delivery from my local Chinese restaurant comes in similar bowls. Admittedly, its are a little more Tupperware-y, but it also lets you keep them.

A serious portion of my daily flatware is based upon those bowls.

Slatz_Grobnik

It sometimes amazes me where you find service in Japan that just wouldn't fly here. Hell, if you left plastic bowls outside here they'd be gone in the morning, but it wouldn't be the Udon shop's doing... and the one taking them probably wouldn't even want them, they'd take them because they weren't nailed down.

Do you still have elevator operators over there?

fuchikoma

@aeonpulse: lay off the weed...seriously

Banedon38

Yep, South Korean restaurants also have this type of service. Really, Asia has everything...

kanashimaru

@AnthraxJunkie: udon is Spaghetti's thick sexy sister

akilshohen

How can you make bad udon? It's just noodles in hot broth with random filler.

He

I'm so hungry right now... At least now I have an idea of what I'd like for lunch.

Pezdispenser

they do this in korea also and you can pretty much order anything to be delivered. no washing after also. you just leave the dirty dishes out side and they come to pick it up in a few hours.

warhol101

Wow that's neat! I wish I can go visit Japan again (and probably stay longer then two nights)

chirokitsune

That curry looks so good to me right now...at 8:10am. Maybe I'm pregnant? Hope not, the wife would kill me.

sonofnone

I <3 udon...it's a staple for me and for any of the folks that come over. (Maybe THAT'S why visitors are beginning to increase their ranks...'cause I cook for them???)

Being half-filipino, I was raised on noodles/ramen. So I have a good number of excellent recipes for udon, pho' and ramen. My personal fave being ol' fashioned niku udon. On one of my visits to japan, one of the students there said she had ordered udon for everyone and it was all brought to us in the same manner...in plastic bowls & chopsticks. Didn't really make myself aware of the fact that we weren't using traditional "take-out" utensils. Meh, was too busy flirting, lol.

That curry indeed looks damn tasty....!

djgil

Damn I wish you could get Udon delivered in the US like this, even if you did it would come in a crappy, landfill-clogging styrofoam container.

Oh well.

DaiMacculate

i miss japan...

siamgx

See that whole plastic plate thing...would not have known about that if it weren't for your existence Bash. Thank you once again for giving us glimpse into Japanese lifestyle...even if it's just about ordering food >_>

Jenstar: The O.C. Ninty Rep

If you can trust people to recycle and separate their trash, you can trust them to return your bowls.
This definitely will not work in America because let's face it we're pretty wasteful. What are the chances that an American customer is going to return a porcelain bowl to a restaurant? Slim to none!

I actually learned about this in Gokusen the Second Series. Heh. Although I learned about the bowls in Ranma when there was a race for the best deliverymen.

Angryrider

@AnthraxJunkie: And how!

tkshredder

@Brian Ashcraft:

Oh and nice touch on the kiddie table-mat by the way. Looks like a tomato with a worm for a body and that chicken from McDonalds...=D

excaliburps

@Brian Ashcraft:

What happens if you leave them on the doorstep dirty? Will they stop delivering to you or charge you something?

It is a bit distasteful to eat soup in a styrofoam cup/bowl. Not to mention the hot soup corroding the styro.(heard it's a health hazard too)

@nxp3:
Some people don't like the hassle of transferring hot soup to a bowl (a bit messy and scalding adds to it I bet).

It's a nice touch. Though I'd say most people wouldn't return the bowl much less clean it before leaving it to the delivery guy. (Hell most people would even steal it if they see it on your doorstep).

excaliburps

Real plates huh? That kind of reminds me of when I was a kid my parents once in a great while would go to Burger King or McDonalds and bring us home a Happy/Kids meal and then my mom would put them all on real plates.

Of course sometimes they were smarter and just bought a bunch of hamburgers and like two large fries and divided them up amongst the five of us (mostly four of us since my youngest sister is a bit younger than the rest) and drink our own soda or Kool-Aid to save on buying drinks.

Maybe my parents are the reason I'm a cheapass?

@calpchen: That's awesome. Imagine how much less garbage we'd have if we stopped using styrofoam, cardboard, and plastic bags for all our take-out dining.

I'm all for saving on garbage and 99% of the time in life reducing is always good but I don't want to return dishes from take out.

I find styrofoam being used less and less here. The local supermarket sells their fried haddock dinners in them but most restaurants seem to be switching to this thick cardboard stuff. I guess the fact that it can break down and is probably recycled to begin with makes a difference, though probably not in cost.

battra92

@calpchen: wouldnt you still have to put the bowls in some kind of bag for carrying? i sure the delivery person wouldnt want to carry hot bowls in his/her hand from the car to the door. not to mention the risk of spilling them while driving

bigman88zz

I suppose they don't worry about people stealing the plates. I mean, anyone could just nab them after you leave them outside. While Udon looking a bit better in ceramics is nice, I'm not sure I would risk losing plates over a minor touch like that.

Krytha

whoooooooaah. at first i thought the plate was at some weird angle, then i realized that the plate itself was oval shaped. my head almost exploded.

aeonpulse

same thing in korea! except no one washes them here. i guess they (i) should.

NickRumas

That's awesome. Imagine how much less garbage we'd have if we stopped using styrofoam, cardboard, and plastic bags for all our take-out dining.

calpchen

Wow...they take the trouble of delivering and picking up bowls? That insane. I'd go ahead and put it in styrofoam and have the customer put it in a real bowl before they eat it. Seriously, who eats noodles in styrofoam bowl, when I order noodles here, it comes in styrofoam and I have to transfer it to a bowl.

nxp3

Udon is ok, but I'm not really a fan of it, somehow.

Lyner

Girudon, omoni.

Billkwando

Korea does this also. Except they wait about 2 hours, so you have to eat kind of quickly :(

PooPooKaKaBumBum

washing plastic bowls?! do they make you wash plastic utensils too? and plastic cups?

bigman88zz

So, if you want free plates, you just watch for your neighbors to order from the udon place, wait for them to wash and put the dishes out, and then swing by around 3 am and get some free dishes?

Norsehawk

Udon is spaghetti's retarded big brother.

AnthraxJunkie

Udon is fine.. but never looks appetizing in any bowl

JimmyHACK

I dislike styrofoam bowls for eating soup based noodles in general. The heat from soup that's nice and piping hot can melt/dissolve chemiclas used in styrofoam giving an awkward "plasticky" taste. It works for those stupid cup/bowl of ramen noodles because they are dry but udon noodles are wet/frozen and need the soup to be extra hot to be cooked properly.

RPGr

Mmmmn, Udon. No Idea what that is, but if you pay me I'll eat some. Also, do you Have to wash the bowls? Or can you just put them out dirty. Also, could you just keep them? I have a little problem with keeping things that I am supposed to return. (Looks at the stack of 50 library books in the corner)

Xerxes 8933A

@tkshredder:
Nah. He ate the udon too. He was saying he wanted udon for dinner since lunch time, but then said he wanted curry, too. He ate both. :/

Brian Ashcraft

Interesting concept!

Though its things like that that would never work in America. Way too much work.

PepsiPerfect

*hates eating noises but loves udon*

eastx

Mini bash not a fan of udon i take it? i would think that kids would love this because of the slurping! just the thought of being able to make noise when i eat, especially as a kid, is most enticing to me.

tkshredder

I may be having to move to Japan soon with the little woman so that is useful info to know.

RSTStop780

Aw man that sounds so cool. Can you also keep the plates? Or is that frowned upon?

Cchrist

@bigman88zz: Well, generally, don't the Udon deliverymen put it in one of those metal boxes, for the purpose of not spilling? Considering it's not a gigantic leap in technology or anything, it wouldn't be a big problem here [in the US]. I think it's more a problem of time, as in, it's much easier for the customer to just throw away a styrofoam box/bowl/etc. and easier for a deliveryperson to not have to worry about driving back to the customer's to pick up plates/bowls/etc.

Anyways, I don't really like Udon. Although that's just my prejudice against big noodles. Also, at least in my local Japanese center, I find that the udon doesn't absorb the flavor for some reason, leaving a tasteless white noodle that is unappetizing. x_x

That curry looks delicious though...

simpleandpink

@fuchikoma: Dude, Dubya cheated his way into office and the great majority of people dislike him. However, the fact that some people don't always makes me sad for humanity. :(

eastx

uh... you don't have to wash them dude, you can just leave them in front of your door..

Andrew_Cho