In the Mazda MPV we use as a family car we’ve got a navi (er, GPS car navigation thing, whatever they’re called in English) which greets me every morning and tells me what day today is. For example, on November 22 it informed that today is “Happy Married Couple’s Day” since 11/25 can be pronounced ii fuufu (lit. “close married couple”), while February 22 is “Cat Day” since 2/22 sounds like nyan nyan nyan (a cat’s meow) to Japanese ears. Yesterday my car announced it was nikuman-no-hi or Steamed Meat Bun Day, so I curtailed my driving activities, sallied forth, and infiltrated my local 7-11 to negotiate the vending of some meaty comestibles. Nikuman are basically steamed rolls of white bread with flavored meat inside, which are said to have been imported from China in 1349, and they’re sold in convenience stores to anyone who needs a quick bite. There are alternate versions, too, including butaman (pork), anman (sweet beans) and another favorite of mine, pizza-man, with pizza sauce and cheese inside. One of the highlights of going sightseeing in Yokohama is visiting Chinatown and enjoying the largest, most delicious steamed nikuman you can buy in Japan.
The best thing about winter is eating hot nikuman meat buns.
