[English/Japanese]
Across the street from the school is Koujiya Hachioji, a store specializing in rice koji. Rice koji is rice malt, which is made by propagating fungi on cooked rice, and is used in a variety of Japanese dishes. It was very cold in Hachioji today, so I ordered a rice koji smoothie (hot). The gentle sweetness made my cold body feel warm and refreshed. In Japan, both adults and children often drink amazake, which is made from rice malt, in winter. When I tell this story to foreign students, they are surprised and say, "Children drink sake, too? They are surprised. Amazake is sake, but some amazake is alcohol-free. Please give it a try.
Across the street from the school is a shop specializing in rice malt, Kojiya Hachioji. Rice koji is made by fermenting cooked rice and is used in a variety of Japan dishes. It was very cold in Hachioji today, so I ordered a rice koji smoothie (hot). The body that was chilled by the gentle sweetness became warm. In Japan, both adults and children often drink amazake made with rice malt in winter. When I tell this story to international students, they are surprised and say, "Do children drink alcohol too?" Amazake is "sake", but some do not have alcohol. Please give it a try.