From Tokyo with love: Young Japanese couple make Mangalore their home
Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Jun 26: Whenever we see people who have similar features like those of Chinese we often have a tendency to dub them as Chinese. So if I had spotted Fumiko Monoi and Masahiro Monoi somewhere on the streets of Mangalore I would have mistaken them for Chinese like anybody else. Just by providence, I must say I came across their website www.japculturestyle where they said they work for promoting Japanese culture in Mangalore. That information got me interested in this young couple who are planning to acquaint Mangaloreans with Japanese food, culture and customs with the small shop or café they are planning to open in Mangalore.
Picking up their mobile number from their website I call them up and ask for an appointment, to do a small write up on them for daijiworld.com. The Monois who are not well conversant with English language invited me wholeheartedly to their home at Sai Grandeur in Jail Road. When I arrived at their apartment the smell of chocolate cake wafted through my nostrils. They greeted me in their traditional Japanese style and I in return managed to say “konichiwa”, meaning good afternoon in Japanese, which I had learnt just a few minutes before I went to meet them.
Even as I began to savor the chocolate smell, little was I aware that Fumio was busy preparing me “Doroyaki”, a traditional Japanese cake, until she brought and placed a yummy cake in front of me along with a cup of tea. As I bite on the brightly coloured soft and yummy cake the couple sits across and tells me their life in Mangalore. Dorayaki cake consists of two small pancakes with red bean jam (rajma) in between. Those who are familiar with the cartoon Doraemon might be aware that it is the favourite food of the main character Cat Robot.
Taste of Japan among Mangaloreans
It is almost a year since the couple who have acquired one year business visa to India, arrived in Mangalore with their young daughter Yuki. They are quite impressed with Mangalore, Mangaloreans, Mangalorean cuisine and its climate. They tell me that they want to settle down in Mangalore permanently when I sat across them listening to their saga of choosing Mangalore to start their business and to settle down. Fumiko, a professional calligrapher is a little more fluent as compared to Masahiro. They apologise profusely saying their English is English language is quite poor but since they have joined an English speaking class in Mangalore they have improved a lot and are able to communicate better.
The Monois were told about Mangalore by a fellow Japanese Sam Mathsmoto when they told him about their plans to come down to India but had not zeroed in on any particular place in the country. “We wanted a place known for its culture, good education standards and well developed. We want to give the best education to our daughter Yuki and we chose Mangalore and we feel we made the right decision”, Sumiko tries to explain me with her limited vocabulary. They gratefully acknowledge the help rendered by Ravi Raj Rao who was introduced to them by Mathsomoto. Rao has a small project that connects Japan and Mangalore and was the perfect conduit to help Monois get a suitable accommodation and other required help in the city.
Monois explain that they decided to leave Japan “‘because we want our daughter Yuki to grow up in a place which is free from radiation. We lived in Tokyo which is nearer to Fukushima Daichi Nuclear disaster and the radiation released by the Fukushima nuclear disaster is very deleterious to the health of children”. The couple chose Mangalore as their destination though they were given to understand that Mangalore is very hot. But they were pleasantly surprised to find Mangalore weather quite pleasing and tolerable. “Though we have rains in Japan they are very hot. But I like Mangalore rains because they are so cooling”, Fumiko declares.
Monois find Mangaloreans very friendly and hospitable. As Masahiro points out “In Japan people generally keep a stiff upper lip and are not friendly. But we find Mangaloreans are quite affable and they never miss a chance to say a hello and flash a big smile whenever we come face to face with them”.
Monois have plans to open a small shop or a café in the city to give Mangaloreans a taste of Japanese food, customs and traditions and culture. “We want to introduce healthy Japanese food to Mangaloreans and we want to teach them how they can make “Miso” at home”, Fumiko adds. Even as I am made to taste a small portion of Miso Masahiro tells me that Miso is one of the popular condiments (soup) in Japan made from Soyabeans and malted rice. Miso is believed to be helpful in the prevention of cancer, stroke and in controlling cholesterol.
Apart from starting a Café, the Monois want to serve as Japanese Information Centre in Mangalore, promote Japanese Calligraphy and make way for the fusion of Mangalore-Japanese culture. The couple want to be the real ambassadors of Mangalore in promoting tourists in this port city. In April this year they organized a function at the City Centre Mall to give Mangaloreans the flavor of Japanese food and culture.
To carry out this task the Monois will be helped by four young Japanese girls who will be arriving in Mangalore shortly. The Monois have two companies “Japcul style and “nayuta trading” to promote Japanese food, culture, customs, traditions art and calligraphy. Masahiro who has worked as a chef in Japan loves to cook and he wants Mangaloreans to taste authentic Japanese food.
Impressed by people and food
The couple just love eating traditional Mangalorean dosas, roti and dal and have fallen madly in love with biriyani. “We like spicy food’, Fumiko declares. The couple is invited for a birthday party coming Sunday at a friends’s place and they are quite excited about it because they feel they will get an opportunity to savour traditional Mangalorean food.
The one year visa they acquired gets over by September this year. The family plans to go to Japan in September this year for three weeks and come back by obtaining a three year business visa.
Though they miss their relatives and friends back home, Monois are firm about their decision to settle down in Mangalore. Masahiru reveals that their decision to settle down in Mangalore did not go well with his parents whereas Fumiko’s mother was quite sportive about it. Their parents are terribly missing their granddaughter and the couple keep mailing them Yuki’s photographs so that they are able to keep abreast of her growing up.
Monois rely mostly on the map of Mangalore to go around different places in the city which comes in handy as they are not well versed with English. They may not get some of the Japanese ingredients to prepare their traditional food but they are not complaining. “We normally don’t get an opportunity to tell Mangaloreans about Japan and in a couple of months when we have our Café or shop we will be able to reach out to people in a better way”, the couple explain in unison.
Finally, for those who believe that features of Chinese and Japanese people are similar, and their food habits are similar, Fumiko corrects me saying there is a lot of difference among Chinese and Japanese and also in their food. May be the café they plan to open in Mangalore soon would help get rid of these misgivings. /-
For more information Monois can be contacted on email info@japculstyle.in or on mobile 819 772 3350.
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