Happy Thanksgiving! Here is how we celebrate in Japan...

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to every one of our customers and their families!

We are very thankful for having you!

In light of this festive Holiday, we thought we'd take the chance to share how Japan celebrates their version of the Holiday.

On November 23, Japan celebrates "Labor Thanksgiving Day" to express gratitude to one another for work done throughout the year. Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan is a national holiday.

How it came about?

In ancient times this festival was celebrated as the Rice Harvest Festival or popularly known in local language as Niiname-sai. The ancient festival’s origination dates back hundreds of years. It is believed that the festival was celebrated as early as November of 678. Tradition has it that the emperor would dedicate the season’s fresh harvest to the gods and taste the rice himself for the first time.

It was during the Meiji Era (1868-1912) that the date for this festival was set on November 23rd, and it has been maintained ever since.

The modern version of this festival was started after World War II in the year 1948, but the ancient tradition is still continued behind closed doors by the imperial family while the Labor Thanksgiving Day is celebrated by the public as a national holiday.


Giving Thanks

The Holiday events encourage people to think about the environment, peace, and human rights. School children in Japan create drawings for the holiday and present them as gifts to the local police stations.

From all of us at Ichiban, Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

(When you are sick of Turkey left-overs... we will see you soon!)

IBUKI Magazine

IBUKI Magazine is a website of bi-monthly print magazine articles celebrating everything relating to Japanese food and culture. The articles are about recipes, restaurant reviews, Japanese travel info, movie reviews, J-pop and more.

It's a great resource that we strongly suggest. Go ahead and download the IBUKI Magazine E-book at the link provided.

The Cuteness Contest

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

We've been posting a lot about cuteness lately. It all started with Halloween. We published a few blog posts that contained extremely cute pets dressed as sushi. Then, we even discovered a baby in a sushi Halloween costume.

Most recently, we stumbled on a sushi birthday cake that was not only super cute, but also delicious looking. 

Coincidentally, all of the cuteness is now coming to a head in the form of an online competition. It's the Ultimate Showdown of Puppies vs. Babies. Which is cuter? 

This contest is exactly as it sounds. You simply vote on a pairing of a baby and a puppy and decide which you think is cuter. For us, we think babies are cuter, but that might be because Asian babies are the cutest thing in the world (no offense puppies!). 

 

We encourage all of our customers and readers to check out and vote in the Puppies vs. Babies online contest. Also, we'd really appreciate it if you left some comments on your thoughts behind your voting decision below in the comments section. 

While we might promote a very cool contest like this, you can rest assured that we do not serve either babies or puppies at our restaurant. If you even thought that we might, you should be ashamed of yourself! :)

Thankful for all the recent Twitter Love!!!

Every once in a while we just have to dedicate a post to thank our followers on twitter for their support.

With thanksgiving a week away, this seems like great timing.

Here are some awesome recent @Mentions we received.

We are thankful for each and every one!

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MonicaJadeHeafy:

@orlandoichiban should be stoping by for some amazing sushi this weekend for sure!!!!!:) and eggrolls;)

AnyshaPanesar:

@orlandoichiban will make a visit very soon!! :) thankyou!

thelovelylyss:

@orlandoichiban I have not had your sushi yet! Looks like we'll need to make a visit and try it out!

JennaBarnes:

@orlandoichiban yep, finally got my fix!

Nusk1nCharley:

Celebrated @hemmepowered birthday at @orlandoichiban Hmmmm GoooD! pic.twitter.com/FPU362oE

Here is that Twitter Pic...

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And much thanks for the promo tweet of the week!

SpecialsORL:

$2 Sushi, $3 Rolls & Select Drinks. 5:30 PM-7:00 PM at Ichiban Sushi. @orlandoichiban #SpecialsORL bit.ly/a2cnSr

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Keep following us @orlandoichiban Thanks!!!

Sushi Vocabulary Cheat Sheet

If you are ever confused when ordering sushi, this vocabulary cheat sheet should help you out nicely.

Nigiri-zushi is the best-known variety of sushi; it consists of a piece of fish or seafood (or vegetable or even meat) placed on an oblong finger of lightly vinegared rice, often seasoned with a dab of wasabi. Fish is usually raw; shellfish is sometimes cooked.

When fish roe or sea urchin is the topping, the whole ensemble is wrapped in dried seaweed (nori) to keep it intact; this is called gunkan-maki (literally "battleship wrap"). Nigiri-zushi is actually a regional specialty of Tokyo, and it's also known as Edomae-zushi, "Edo" being the pre-1868 name for Tokyo.

Maki-zushi is made with a bamboo mat, which is used to form strips of tuna, cucumber or other ingredients along with a mass of vinegared rice into long, seaweed-covered rolls. The rolls are then cut into slices. Futo-maki is a variation where the roll is much fatter than usual, and traditionally filled with egg custard, pickled gourd and bits of vegetables.

Temaki is similar to maki-zushi, except that it's made by hand and the finished cone-shaped product is eaten by hand, with or without soy sauce.

Sashimi is an assortment of sliced raw fish served on a platter with shredded radish and other garnishes. It's often served as an appetizer with drinks.

Chirashi consists of sashimi and chopped vegetables arranged over a bowl of rice. It usually comes as a set meal, in price levels based on size and quality of ingredients.

Oshi-zushi is a specialty of Osaka, made by pressing a layer of fish (highly vinegared and sometimes lightly steamed) onto a layer of rice in a large wooden mold. Afterwards, the oshi-zushi is removed from the mold and cut into bite-size rectangular pieces.

Inari-zushi is rice and chopped vegetables stuffed into a pouch of fried tofu; it can sometimes be found in outdoor food stalls, grocery stores and department stores.

The first three types of sushi can be ordered individually, or in various set meals. Sashimi and chirashi-zushi are generally ready-made assortments (although if you're at the counter you can order most sushi items as sashimi). Oshi-zushi is generally found in the Kansai region (Osaka and Kyoto).

Your Welcome!

Now we want to see some confident faces when ordering next time your in.

Next Sushi 101 Course is Monday November 7th

Looking for something fun and different to do? Come join us for our monthly Sushi 101 class, and learn to roll sushi like the pros at Ichiban. You will receive personalized attention from one of our own master sushi chefs who will teach you everything you need to know about rolling your very own sushi. This fun filled night is a great date for couples, an enjoyable business outing, or for anyone that wants to learn the skills of the ancient Japanese.

Chef Owen helping Sushi 101 students.

In case you haven't been paying attention to us so far in 2011, we have been offering our popular Sushi 101 class every first Monday night of every month. Last month, we canceled the event due to a holiday, but next week, the 7th, we are back on!

Seats are already filling up and time is running out to partake in the momentous occasion.

If you've never been, you can find our sales pitch for the event below. If you have already been and already know what it's all about, there is no need to read on. All you need to know is that Monday is our next one and you should definitely attend again.



Price = $40 per person


Sushi 101 also includes:


- Your Choice of Beer, Wine or Saketini
- Ginger Salad, Soup, Gyoza & Eda Mame
- California Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll
- Green Tea Ice Cream or Chocolate Cake


Call us at (407) 423-2688 to book your spot.


We hope to see everyone there!