[For Seniors] Brain Training with Ehime Prefecture Local Quizzes! Enjoy Rediscovering the Region’s Charms

Spirited Away

Spirited Away is a Studio Ghibli film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 2001. The bathhouse that appears in the film is a beautiful example of traditional Japanese architecture and is said to be partly modeled on Dogo Onsen Honkan in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. Dogo Onsen is one of Japan’s oldest hot springs and has long been beloved by many people. The building is depicted memorably in the movie, and when you visit Dogo Onsen, you can feel the world of Spirited Away.

shrimp

Senbei made by crushing and baking shrimp is called “Yukari.” Shrimp are highly nutritious and rich in minerals such as calcium.

6:00 AM to 11:00 AM

The “morning” sets offered at cafes and similar places in Aichi Prefecture are generally available from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. They’re a great deal because, in addition to a regular drink, you get items like toast, a boiled egg, and salad.

I'm exhausted and sluggish.

A dialectal use of erai that’s often positive. In Aichi Prefecture, it’s something people say when they’re tired, for example.

tempura rice ball (tenmusu)

Tenmusu is a rice ball with shrimp tempura inside. “Miso katsu, tenmusu, and fried shrimp” are known as the three major specialties of Nagoya.

rabbit-ear iris

The flower of Aichi Prefecture is the rabbit-ear iris (kakitsubata). There is a legend that when the Heian-period poet Ariwara no Narihira visited Yatsuhashi in present-day Chiryu City, he was so moved by the beauty of the blossoms around him that he composed a poem incorporating the five characters of “kakitsubata.”

turtle

In the Nagoya dialect, “yattokame” means “long time no see.” Some sources say it can also be written as “the eightieth day.”