Topic: Japanese life
Here's do it yourself snakeoil... or more properly in Japanese "FROG OIL" Gama no Abura / 蝦蟇の油 ....
NATURE IN SHORT / Getting to the root of Japanese pick-me-up drinksThe Daily Yomiuri / May 25
... a man in front of me was purchasing one of those small bottles of Jiyo Kyoso pick-me-up drinks that the Japanese love so much. I noticed he gave the cashier a 5,000 yen note, but only received coins for change....
I was stunned. This was a 50 milliliter bottle, small enough to fit into the palm of your hand. What could possibly make it so expensive?..The most common ingredient in many of the more moderately priced drinks, however, was a substance called Osei, or Polygonatum rhizome extract, made from a plant which was listed as naruko-yuri in Japanese. ....as soon as I realized what was going on I rushed out and harvested some Polygonatum rhizomes for myself. After several years of aging in a glass jar, my white liquor tonic is just starting to mellow out. I always take a tiny sip just before my first-year anthropology class. It gives me just that little extra boost I need to teach...