Once you've experienced an earthquake, typhoon, fire or other disaster, you can truly understand the importance of disaster prevention. It is necessarily for every citizen to make an effort to minimize the damage caused by natural disasters.

          At the Kyoto City Citizen's Disaster Prevention Center, you can learn about different types of disasters by experiencing them first hand through simulation rooms. In these rooms you can be blown away by the 30 meter per second wind speed of a Typhoon, get shaken up by a level 7 simulated earthquake, escape from a room filled with smoke and hot air, and learn about the importance of disaster prevention by viewing high-vision imagery. The center uses the latest technology to replicate the feeling of a real disaster, so you can have a fun time while learning important information about disasters and their prevention.

          The Kyoto Guide Club recently went of a tour of the Kyoto City Citizen's Disaster Prevention Center with 15 foreign residents of the city. According to one Chinese participant: "In China we don't have many earthquakes, so it was my first time feeling a room shaking like an earthquake. It was so scary I hid underneath a table and didn't want to come out again!" "It was more fun than I expected, and I learned a lot of useful information," was the response we received from many of the participants.

          The Kyoto City Citizens Disaster Prevention Center is open from 9:00-17:00 most days, (last entrance at 16:00). Holidays are Mondays and the third Tuesday of every month. Admission is free. Reservations are necessary for a group of ten or bigger, a reservation can be made by calling 075-662-1849.
The Kyoto City Citizens Disaster Prevention Center is located at 7 Sugata-cho, Nishikujo, Minami-ku, Kyoto.
The center can be accessed by taking city bus 19 or 42 to Shimin Bosai Center Mae, or taking Kyoto City Subway Karasuma line to Jujo Station and walking 18 minutes west.

More information can be had by calling the center of visiting their webpage:
http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/bousai_s/

You can view the Kyoto City English language disaster prevention page at
http://www.city.kyoto.jp/shobo/frame_foreign.html

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Step One: Keep Necessary Supplies on Hand
It's important to have a stock of clothes, food, medicine, drinking water, blankets, first aid kit, etc. prepared in case of disaster. After an earthquake, roads may be closed and government assistance may not be able to get through. Keep important documents such as bank book, health insurance, passport, etc. in an easy to find place, along with a battery operated radio and flashlight.
Step Two: Secure Furniture Around the House
Secure furniture within your house.During the Great Hanshin Earthquake, many people died as a result of being unable to move while trapped beneath heavy furniture that had fallen over. Make sure to secure tall furniture (such as chests of drawers) and electric appliances against the wall to prevent them from falling over. Make sure that there is nothing that could fall on top of you when you are in bed.
Step Three: Fire Preparedness
In the case of a fire. Alert nearby people by yelling "Kaji" (fire!). Have someone call the 119 emergency number for help. The first three minutes are the most important in controlling a fire. Don't waste time- use a fire extinguisher, water, or a blanket to smother flames. Once the fire has reached the ceiling it cannot be controlled- evacuate as quickly as possible.
Step Four: The Importance of Community
Over 6,000 people died in the Hanshin Earthquake. Of the 35,000 people who were rescued, 80% were aided by family members or neighbors. Particularly in the epicenter of Awaji Island, many people were buried alive within their own homes as the result of the destructive earthquake. People within the neighborhood worked to rescue each other. As a result, three hundred people were rescued, and the missing person count was zero.

The Hanshin Earthquake has made us realize the importance of interacting positively with the people we encounter in our daily lives. Our cooperative efforts can be ones of our greatest strengths during times of disaster.It is important to build relationships of trust with the people in your local community as another kind of disaster preparedness.

-Article by S. Onda, Translation by B. Jarvis

Japan has a mild, humid climate that is suitable for growing a variety of natural produce, but also makes food susceptible to spoiling through the growth of bacteria. Resultantly, a lot of the seasonings used in Japanese foods originated as preservatives to help control the growth of bacteria. In the case of seasonings such as shoyu (έ–ϋsoy sauce), miso (–‘‘X fermented soy paste), mirin (–‘ηΜJapanese cooking sherry) and so forth, natural bacteria was combined with malt to create a new flavor through fermentation.

Other Seasonings:

Sake (Japanese rice wine) adds depth to flavors, removes unpleasant odors, and helps keep fish and meat soft. It is typically used in stewed dishes known as nimono (ŽΟ•¨).

Mirin (Japanese Sherry) is sweet seasoning sake, and is an indispensable seasoning for Japanese cooking. It adds a sweet taste and an appetizing flavor to foods, and is frequently used in glazes.

Ponzu is a light lemony soy sauce which can be used as salad dressing, or as a dipping sauce to be served with nabe hotpot dishes.

Teriyaki sauce is a flavorful glaze used for broiling meat, fish and vegetables and can be either bought at a store or made at home by simmering together 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup mirin and 2 tbsp sugar. You can also add other seasonings like ginger or sesame.

Wasabi is hot green horseradish paste that is traditionally served with raw fish, and sometimes used as a seasoning in other dishes.

Tsuyu is a thick, flavorful mixture of Shoyu, Mirin, and dashi soup stock which can be used as a dipping sauce for tempura or soba noodles, or as a base seasoning for boiled dishes such as nikujaga and nabe.

Umeboshi are pickled plums, not traditionally considered to be a seasoning, but is often used to add flavor to a dish. The citric acid contained in umeboshi stimulates the appetite and aids with sterilization.

Goma are roasted sesame seeds, available in black and white varieties. Goma is commonly used to make ohitashi (boiled vegetable like spinach mixed with ground sesame, shoyu and a little sugar.) Ground sesame and sesame paste are very useful for Japanese cooking.

Katsuobushi are flavorful flakes of dried bonito fish. It is used along with konbu to make soup stock known as dashi. It is also used as a topping for salads, udon, okonomiyake and so forth.

Konbu is a thick, broad type of kelp, and is used along with katsuobushi to make Japanese broth (dashi). It is also boiled with sugar, shoyu, sake and mirin to make a dish called kobu no tsukudani.

This is only a list of the most basic types of seasonings- you may be overwhelmed by the variety of dressings, sauces and dips available in the supermarket. Why not try making some seasonings and sauces at home using the following recipes?

EASY RECIPES USING JAPANESE SEASONINGS

=== Salad Dressings ===

Japanese Dressing Mix 1/4 cup each of shoyu (soy sauce) and lemon juice or rice vinegar with two or three tablespoons of salad oil. Add sesame seeds or grated ginger to taste.

Chinese Dressing Mix 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 cup each of shoyu and rice vinegar and 3 tablespoons of sesame oil. Add tobanjan (Chinese chili bean paste) to taste.

Umeboshi (Pickled Plum) Dressing Mix 3 tablespoons vinegar, 1 tablespoon of shoyu, 3 tablespoons salad oil, adding 1/2 tablespoon of mashed umeboshi last.

=== Flavored Vinegars (‡‚ν‚Ή|) ===

Nihai-zu Mix 2 tablespoons each of rice vinegar and shoyu (soy sauce). Serve with fish.

Sanbai-zu Mix 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar,@1/2 tablespoon of shoyu, and 2 or 3 tablespoons of dashi (katsuo broth). Serve with vegetables or seaweed.

Mustard Vinegar Mix 1/2 cup of Sanbai-zu, 2 teaspoons of mustard paste(karashi),and a little of salt. Serve with boiled greens such as spinach (horenso) or komatsuna.

Ama-zu (Sweet Vinegar) Mix 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 1 1/2 tablespoons of water and sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Serve with turnips or cucumbers.

Kimi-zu (Egg Yolk Vinegar) Mix 3 egg yolks, 1 tablespoon each of vinegar, sugar and mirin,1 teaspoon of usukuchi shoyu, a little salt and dogtooth violet starch (katakuriko). Serve with shrimp, crab, or cucumbers.

Sushi-zu (1) (Sushi Vinegar) Mix 4 tablespoons of vinegar and sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.Use for seasoning rice for inari-zushi (fried sweet bean curd stuffed with boiled vinegar rice)

Sushi-zu (2) Mix 4 tablespoons of vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Use for seasoning nigiri-zushi rice( hand-rolled sushi ).

Sushi-zu (3) 3 tablespoons of vinegar and sugar, 1 teaspoon salt. Use for seasoning chirashi-zushi rice (sushi rice topped with different ingredients )

=== Flavored Miso (‡‚ν‚Ή–‘‘X) ===

Su-miso (vinegar miso) Mix 100g of shiro miso (white miso), 2 tablespoons of mirin, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2-3 tablespoons vinegar. Serve with boiled green onions, wakame, or sea weed.

Karashi-miso(mustard-miso) Mix 100g of akamiso(red miso), 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons each of shoyu and karashi, 2 tablespoons of dashi stock.Serve with grilled fish.

Goma-miso (sesame-miso) Mix 100g of akamiso, 3 tablespoons of sesame and sugar. Serve with furofuki-daikon (boiled Japanese radish).

Dengaku-miso Mix 100g of akamiso, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of mirin and dashi. Serve with tofu, konnyaku, or eggplant.

Yuzu-miso Mix 100g of akamiso, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons mirin, shaved rind of yuzu (Japanese citron). Serve with tofu.

-Article and recipes by A. Tara