by Julia Mąkosa, Julia Marchlik, Mariia Safonova and Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi

As part of our research project on the regional representation of Chinese cuisine in Berlin, we set out to conduct interviews with restaurant owners to understand the stories behind the menus. Yesterday, our group conducted its first field interview as part of our project and it turned out to be far more personal, insightful, and moving than we first expected.

After several weeks of coordinating and trying to schedule the meeting, we finally sat down with the owner of a Chinese restaurant located in Kreuzberg district. Even before the interview began, we had already learned that arranging interviews is not an easy or quick process and we were really stressed before the actual meeting. The restaurant was closed that day so we managed to get a 1:1 meeting with the owner which was really nice for the interview but also limited us in observing the environment and customers. Since it was our first interview without a professor’s guidance, we were initially nervous. But as the conversation progressed, the atmosphere became warmer, and the owner seemed genuinely happy to share his experiences.

At first, based on the restaurant’s website and social media presence, we had a certain image of the place: a regional Chinese restaurant specializing in the cuisine of a specific area. But the moment the owner started speaking, that assumption began to shift. We discovered that the restaurant’s name wasn’t simply chosen to reflect its menu. Instead, it was deeply rooted in the personal history and identity of the owner. While he was born and raised in Germany, his parents had emigrated from a village in China and the restaurant’s name was a tribute to that place. For us, it was an unexpected and valuable moment: we realized that a restaurant’s identity isn’t always tied strictly to regional menus. Sometimes, it’s more about the owner and their passions, goals or dreams.

Although the owner was born and raised in Germany and speaks native German, he shared that opening a restaurant in Berlin is still a challenge even for someone with local experience, let alone foreigners. Before this project, he had already worked in the restaurant industry, so it was easier for him to start a noodle business in Berlin and expand to other locations. He chose to focus on hand-pulled noodles, simply because they have been his favorite childhood dish. The menu is built around that passion, and every item reflects something meaningful to him.

At the same time, he spoke about the difficulty of staying fully “authentic.” Traditional Chinese food can often be very spicy or oily, which doesn’t always appeal to a broader audience in Berlin. So, he decided to offer two versions of his noodle dishes: one that stays true to the original, with a richer, spicier broth which he enjoys, and another that is more adapted – still flavorful, but a bit lighter and easier to enjoy for those unfamiliar with the cuisine. Instead of offering a wide range of options, he prefers to keep the menu small and focused on the dishes that hold personal value for him.

He also shared his thoughts on creativity in the restaurant world. For him, it’s important that every chef finds their own voice. While it’s fine to be inspired by others, simply copying ideas is something he strongly avoids and disapproves of. When he opened his restaurant back in 2021, there were only a few places in Berlin serving this type of Chinese food. Today, there are many more, which, in his view, shows how open-minded and curious Berliners are when it comes to trying new things. Interestingly, most of his customers are not Chinese, but rather international

tourists and local Berliners. His story reminded us that authenticity doesn’t always mean following a tradition exactly. Sometimes, it means creating something new with traditional roots.

We all felt that the interview has given us a lot of information and insight for our project. Firstly, we now know how important early outreach is, even just setting up a single interview can take weeks. Secondly, preparing and sharing questions in advance really made a difference. The owner came prepared, which led to richer answers and a much more engaging dialogue than a spontaneous Q&A might have produced.

Knowing this, we aim to conduct more interviews during the course of our research project which we hope will be as smooth and as informative as this one. For our first interview, we think it went really well and encouraged us to do more.

Julia Mąkosa, Julia Marchlik, Mariia Safonova and Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi are students in the Master program Global East Asia at Freie Universität Berlin.

by Lena Danz and Lidia Gaspara Salvador

Even in our native language, interviews can be unpredictable. From formulating the right questions to building a good relationship with the interviewee to being able to react quickly, interviews require a combination of preparation, intuition, and self-confidence. Now imagine doing all of that in a foreign language. In academic fields such as Japanese studies, there are few opportunities to put these skills into practice, which makes it all the more exciting when such opportunities arise. We would like to take you on a journey and not only tell you about the interesting conversation we had with a Japanese student from Seikei University, but also give you insights into the planning and execution of our first interview in our third language, Japanese.

Balancing student life, club activities and work: A portrait of a 19-year-old student’s food practices

Our interview partner was a 19-year-old female student from Tokyo, who studies at Seikei University and lives with her parents, as is common among young Japanese. Commuting between home and university takes her about two hours each day. In addition to her studies, she’s an active member of the university’s tennis club, which meets twice a week, and works up to 15 hours weekly at a tutoring school. The student herself is not particularly interested in cooking and only prepares meals occasionally, as her mother is usually responsible for cooking at home.

At university, she usually buys food from the university’s convenience stores for breakfast and lunch, since the cafeteria is often too crowded. She usually opts for onigiri, Japanese rice balls shaped into triangles with various fillings wrapped in nori (seaweed), and karaage, deep-fried meat (usually chicken), vegetables, or fish coated in a fine batter. Although she sometimes brings home-cooked meals, these are usually prepared by her mother. At university, she eats with her classmates in the classroom and has dinner with her family at home. This is a common pattern for young people in Japan, as we have both noticed while spending time studying there.

Her favorite food is sushi, especially salmon and buri (sushi with Japanese yellowtail). Although she prefers Japanese cuisine, she also enjoys affordable Italian dishes at restaurants such as Saizeriya, which offers localized versions of Italian dishes. After tennis practice, she often goes out to eat with her club mates, her favorite restaurant being one that serves omurice (rice with creamy omelet, topped with ketchup). Although she finds eating out more expensive than cooking at home, she still does so quite often. As for alternative diets such as vegetarianism or veganism, she is aware of them, but they do not play a role in her everyday life. When asked, she recalls seeing plant-based milk alternatives at Starbucks, but has not noticed any vegan dishes in typical Japanese restaurants. We experienced this during our time in Japan as well—vegan options were rare, and it was often a challenge when vegan friends from Germany came to visit. It was interesting to see how different our perceptions are: as Europeans, we immediately notice the lack of such options, while she herself doesn’t pay attention to it.

Healthy eating is important to her, particularly consuming enough vegetables. Her favorite ingredients are miso and dashi, both staples of Japanese cooking. She has little experience with international versions of Japanese food, having only traveled abroad once for two weeks to London. While she saw Japanese food there in shopping malls, she didn’t try it. However, she’s open to exploring such variations in the future.

The interviewer’s perspective

Conducting an interview is always challenging, but doing so in a foreign language adds a whole new

layer of challenge. For our interview, we opted for a semi-structured format. This meant walking a fine line between preparing enough questions to guide the conversation and not overwhelming our interviewee or turning it into an interrogation. Our goal was to create a relaxed, open atmosphere in which genuine dialogue could take place. Preparing the questions was a process in its own right. We started with questions in either German or English, which we then translated into Japanese. Although translation tools can be useful for an initial draft, they often fail to capture cultural nuances. Concepts that are familiar to us might not translate well or be widely understood in Japan. We also had to research topic-specific vocabulary and terms that might seem obvious in our context, but which could require an explanation in another culture. A large part of the preparation involved reflecting on our own perspective. Being aware of our Eurocentric lens helped us reframe questions. In this regard, working as a group was an advantage. We could compare notes, help each other identify potential issues and give each other honest feedback.

In the interview, Lidia took on the role of the interviewer. Of course, no matter how well you prepare, interviews have their own rhythm. Even as an open, communicative person, interviewing a stranger presents unexpected challenges. You might have a rough plan for how the conversation should go, but it’s important to stay flexible. Asking too many follow-up questions for example can unintentionally shut down a shy or reserved interviewee. Rather than drawing them out, it  could cause them to retreat further. In our case, time turned out to be one of the key ingredients for a successful conversation. We conducted the interview online, which came with its own set of challenges. Technical hiccups caused delays and made it difficult to maintain a natural rhythm for the conversation. On top of that, our interviewee was sitting in a virtual room with three unfamiliar faces, which understandably made her a bit cautious at first. Her early responses were polite but brief, and it took some effort to move beyond surface-level answers.

To help her feel more at ease, Lidia tried to lighten the mood with a few jokes and shared some of my own experiences from Japan. That small shift in tone made a big difference. Slowly but surely, she began to open up, offering more thoughtful insights and speaking more freely. It reminded us that interviews are just as much about building trust as they are about asking the right questions. Sometimes, it’s those unscripted, human moments that truly bring a conversation to life.

The notetaker’s perspective

Taking notes during our interview with the student was both challenging and rewarding. As the designated note-taker, Lena focused on capturing the details of the answers while also observing how the conversation unfolded. At first, our interviewee seemed shy and gave very short responses, which made it harder to take notes. But as the interview progressed, she relaxed noticeably, especially thanks to Lidia’s friendly way of asking questions and sharing her own experiences. Lena was surprised how much our interviewee’s eating habits are shaped by her family and convenience culture in Japan. She rarely cooks for herself, as her mother prepares most meals at home. When she does eat outside, it’s usually at convenience stores near her university. Through her responses, Lena also got a clear picture of her busy life: she works part-time at a cram school and spends about an hour commuting to university each way. This helped Lena understand why convenience food plays such a big role for her.

Overall, writing notes helped Lena stay fully engaged and reflect on our interviewee’s answers in real time. It was fascinating to get such a personal glimpse into the daily life of a Japanese student. The interview also made us realize how much our cultural backgrounds influence how we think about food and health. Despite our differences, her openness and curiosity at the end made the conversation feel warm and genuine.

Lena Danz is a  a student in the Master program Global East Asia at Freie Universität Berlin. Lidia Salvador is a student in the Master program Japanese Studies at Freie Universität Berlin.

by Isabell Frank and Nils Ohnesorge

Thanks to an online exchange between Seikei University and Freie Universität Berlin, we had the opportunity to ask Japanese students about their daily eating habits and their perception of Western cuisine. Isabell and our classmate Julia had the pleasure of interviewing Akari*, a student at Seikei University, about her eating habits, her experiences abroad, and Japanese perceptions of Western cuisine. The interview was conducted via Zoom. Since Akari speaks English almost like a native speaker, they decided to conduct most of the interview in English.

Akari leads a life that is quite unusual for Japan. Due to her parents‘ work, she lived in Singapore and India for about seven years before returning to Japan at the age of eleven. Attending an international kindergarten and elementary school is reflected in her exceptional English skills. Surprisingly, her mother was able to cook Japanese food for her even while they were abroad, as there were Japanese supermarkets there that sold the necessary ingredients. As for daily meals, Akari’s mother cooks her dinner, which usually consists of Japanese, Chinese, or Italian cuisine. For lunch, she either eats a homemade bentō (lunch box), eats at the university cafeteria, or buys her lunch at a konbini (convenience store). She is quite picky about vegetables, but she tries her best to eat them because she doesn’t want to waste food. She considers this a trait of Japanese people. The food she cannot live without is Japanese rice, but since the price has doubled in the last year, she cannot eat it as often as she would like. When asked what image Japanese people have of German cuisine, she jokingly admits that it mainly revolves around beer and sausages. Akari also mentioned that some foreign cuisines, such as French cuisine, are considered luxurious and are only eaten on special occasions. Many young Japanese girls like Korean and Italian cuisine and choose restaurants based on their aesthetics, as they want to post photos of their visit on Instagram.

Nils and his classmate Mohammad conducted another interview with Keisuke.* We agreed to conduct the interview in English. Keisuke did very well. In the beginning, we were perhaps a little shy and awkward, but quickly warmed up and both sides enjoyed the relaxed conversation. We talked about the globalization of different cuisines, and Keisuke shared his experiences traveling abroad and sharing meals with international friends. Seikei University hosts cultural exchange events like international food parties, where Keisuke tried and liked sweets from the Philippines. He also mentioned that one can find any kind of cuisine in Tokyo. He told us that his Chinese friends preferred Chinese cuisine in Japan. When he travelled to Europe, Keisuke noticed that Japanese restaurants are usually fusion or mixed Asian restaurants. When Nils asked about European restaurants in Japan, we realized that in Japan, too, menus often offer a mix of dishes from different countries, for example, a mix of French and Italian dishes. At that point, Keisuke remembered a French restaurant that served Italian desserts. We realized that when it comes to food, cuisines are often reduced to stereotypes. While this can help to associate a country with a particular cuisine and thus highlight a specific dish, it is also a shame that other dishes may not get a chance in international conversations.

The interviews were for both of us an enjoyable and valuable experience and helped us gain insight into the everyday culinary lives of Japanese university students and how they view Western cuisine. Especially in regard to our own research project, which focuses on Japanese migrants’ perception of German food, we noticed that a similar image is associated with German cuisine. Both of our interviewees did not really think about German cuisine until this point and only associated it with beer and sausages. Keisuke also admitted that reducing German cuisine to only beer and sausages is very stereotypical and that he would not like it if people only associated Japanese cuisine with sushi.

*The names of the Japanese students are pseudonyms.

Nils Ohnesorge is a student in the Master program Global East Asia at Freie Universität Berlin. Isabell Frank is a student in the Master program Japanese Studies at Freie Universität Berlin.

by Cornelia Reiher

On June 28, the annual Long Night of Science once again opened its doors to the public—and this year, the Japanese Studies Institute, supported by 25 enthusiastic student volunteers, made a lasting impression. Across two rooms, we presented a lively and engaging program that offered something for visitors of all ages.

In the main activity room, six hands-on stations invited guests to immerse themselves in various aspects of Japanese culture. Participants could make their own onigiri, try out traditional calligraphy and suminagashi (Japanese marbling), fold intricate origami, create colorful temari balls, or challenge friends in the popular „edamame chopstick challenge.“ Another station offered opportunities to learn basic Japanese vocabulary or engage in conversations about Japan. The stalls were continuously bustling with eager visitors—so much so that even after many other exhibits had closed, guests continued to arrive late into the evening.

In the other room we screened the short films created by students from Japanese studies in the research and teaching project “Berlin’s Japanese foodscape“ over the past ten years. Seeing the films on the big screen was quite impressive.

We also hosted a panel discussion on the Japanese foodscape in Berlin with student filmmaker Richard Han, food writer and educator Debra Samuels, and JETRO representative and Japanese restaurant guide author Yumiko Sato to discuss how the Japanese foodscape in Berlin has changed over time. Following the panel discussion, two of our students gave short presentations on their own research. Cosmo Hümmer spoke about sports clubs in Japan and Jakob Hausburg introduced Kabuki to the audience.

Judging by the steady flow of visitors and enthusiastic feedback, the Japanese Studies event was very popular. Yet the success of the event wasn’t only due to public interest—it was also thanks to the dedication, creativity, and teamwork of our student volunteers. Despite the long and hot day, they gave their all, bringing energy and warmth to every part of the program.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to the planning, execution, and cleanup of this memorable evening. It was truly a shared endeavor in every sense.

by Cornelia Reiher

After our first onsite interview in English at Sake Kontor, our course visited a ramen restaurant in Berlin a week later. We had an appointment with Ribeka Sakamoto, the manager of Niko Niko Ramen, to conduct an interview in Japanese. Since not all course participants speak Japanese, those who were not asking questions were assigned to observe the interview situation and write fieldnotes about the atmosphere and the interactions in the restaurant.

When we arrived at the restaurant, it was noon and the weather was warm and sunny. Customers were sitting outside, enjoying their bowl of ramen for lunch. We stepped inside and were seated in the guestroom. The rustic interior, decorated with anime motifs and Japanese pop culture references, created an inviting and relaxed atmosphere, helping students feel comfortable right away. Following the customary exchange of business cards and thank you gifts, students started to ask the questions they had prepared in advance.

Topics included Ribeka’s migration story, her personal favorite Japanese dishes, the history and concept of the restaurant, and customer preferences in Berlin compared to those in Japan. Being multilingual herself, Ribeka tries to hire staff who speak English, German and ideally Japanese because of the international customers the restaurant attracts. More important than language skills, however, is that the staff are passionate and do their job well. Ribeka also shared interesting observations about the preferences of the restaurants’ European customers who do not seem to like katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) and fish in general as much as the few Asian customers frequenting the restaurant. However, most of the customers are familiar with ramen when they come to Niko Niko Ramen and the most frequently asked questions about the dishes are whether the noodles are gluten-free— a sign of dietary awareness and food preferences in Berlin.

After the interview, everyone ordered a bowl of their preferred ramen. Thanks to the restaurant’s inclusive menu, which has offered vegetarian and vegan options from the very beginning, everyone found something they could enjoy. Several students who had previously traveled to Japan commented that the flavors at Niko Niko Ramen were just as authentic as those they remembered from their time abroad.

This visit offered students not only a chance to practice fieldwork and language skills in a real-world setting, but also valuable insights into the cultural translation of food and hospitality. Interviews like this one highlight how culinary spaces serve as contact zones—where global migration, local taste, and tradition intersect in the everyday ritual of sharing a meal. Thank you so much, Ribeka Sakamoto for your time!

by Cornelia Reiher

On June 13, 2025, our social science methods class embarked on a unique excursion: a field visit and live interview at Sake Kontor, a specialized sake shop in Berlin. That day, the shop itself was calm and Anselm, the sales manager, had enough time to answer our questions with a mix of humor and candor. The students had prepared questions in English in advance and took turns asking Anselm about his job, the sake world and the store.

Anselm shared educational materials and guided us through the essentials of sake. We also discussed the shop’s customer base. According to Anselm, most people who enter the shop already know what sake is. However, when he represents the shop at department stores in Germany, he often meets people unfamiliar with the drink.

We learned that, in addition to retail, Sake Kontor supplies restaurants—including many Vietnamese-owned establishments—and sells products through an online shop. Despite having a small team, they remain active in the food and beverage industry by attending trade shows and various events, visiting restaurants across Germany, and organizing tastings.

Amidst the current sake boom in Berlin, social media plays a role in the company’s visibility. However, their strength lies in long-standing relationships with sake breweries in Japan and word of mouth. Many customers have traveled to Japan and appreciate that their favorite Japanese drink is available in Berlin, too. The shop’s busiest season is Christmas, when sake becomes a popular gift item.

Toward the end of our visit, Anselm treated us to two sake tastings. The first sake was fruity, while the second was less so, offering an interesting contrast. Both samples gave us a hands-on understanding of the cultural and economic value of premium sake. Some students who did not study Japan had sake for the first time, and the tasting and interview made a strong impression on them. Students learned that on-site interviews offer many opportunities to ask questions that researchers might not consider in different settings, such as online interviews.

We left Sake Kontor with new perspectives on sake and on how businesses like Sake Kontor navigate changing consumer tastes, global logistics, and cultural education. For the students, it was an exciting, hands-on, on-site interview experience and a reminder of how much can be learned when theory meets the real world—over a cup of sake. I am grateful to Anselm for his time and for inviting us to Sake Kontor. Thank you!

by Ian “Nai” Harano Grey, Wai Yi Lam, Lisa Hetterling

For our class in Professor Reiher’s course we were tasked and paired up with a student from Japan to interview. Our group was lucky enough to interview Yurika Kudo, a student from Seikei University. We set up an interview on Zoom and spoke with her in Japanese about food cultures in Japan. Our objectives were to understand the globalization of food within the area Yurika lived within. For many of us, it was the first time conducting an interview in Japanese or even our first interview with a total stranger, making it a valuable hands-on experience.

Even though at first, we were a bit nervous we ended up becoming more and more comfortable the more we spoke.  It allowed us to put into practice the theories we had learned in our methods class and served as a meaningful cultural and language exchange. The experience also helped us become more familiar with an interview setting and prepared us for future research. At the beginning, we worked to have more fun simple topics and added more complicated questions as the interview progressed.

After the brief self-introductions and some light-hearted small talk, we transitioned naturally into the conversation, which flowed effortlessly thanks to Yurika’s openness and the easy dynamic among all of us. Since she is originally from Akita, we first discussed the specialty food of the region. As we learned, Kiritanpo and Okomen are Akita’s specialties. Her favorite food is sushi, more specifically salmon sushi, and she enjoys Japanese cuisine a lot.

Talking with Yurika also offered us a glimpse into how culinary cultures appear in Tokyo. Korean food, for instance, is super popular among her peers. She especially loves tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and gejang (marinated crab) and likes to visit Shin-Okubo (Tokyo’s Koreatown) for new flavours. Indian curry, she noted, has also established itself as a simple yet tasty favourite. For all of Tokyo’s international options though, we reflected that foreign dishes often arrive more-or-less subtly reinterpreted, familiar in some ways, but distinctly local.

Similarly, when comparing notes on how Japanese food travels abroad, we came to an intriguing conclusion. California rolls for example, with their avocado and cream cheese filling, initially struck Yurika as very odd, but she saw them as part of a familiar pattern. We recognised that every culture and market tweaks more foreign flavours to their own palate and that of its consumers, whether that means toning down spices or adding familiar, local ingredients. With all of these fantastic exchanges we left the call feeling very energized about such a wonderful interaction.

This experience was not only a fantastic challenge, but also a great deal of fun! After the initial nerves we were able to have such a wonderful cultural exchange even though none of us were native in any of each other’s languages. Yurika was such a kind and high-spirited person and gave us really wonderful insights. Not only could we relate to so many aspects of foods that have travelled from Japan, but also the interview also showed how food does change when it travels. We all have a different connection to Japanese food and that connection was able to have us bond even upon first meeting.

When wrapping up we all were so happy and even took a screenshot to remember the moment. Interviewing in another language leaves some fear of misunderstandings or awkward miscommunications, but luckily even when there were complications, we were able to speak around the language gap to get to our points with haste. When both parties are willing to learn and exchange with each other it really makes for an energetic atmosphere. We are lucky that Yurika could foster that with us and are very thankful for such a wonderful experience.

Seit zehn Jahren führen Studierende der Japanologie in der „Forschungswerkstatt japanische Küche“ eigene Projekte zu japanischen Restaurants, Lebensmitteln und kulinarischen Trends in Berlin durch. Die Ergebnisse haben sie in Videos festgehalten, die während der Langen Nacht gezeigt werden. Neben dem Filmscreening werden Akteure der japanischen Foodszene in einer Diskussionsrunde miteinander und mit Studierenden über den Wandel der japanischen Küche in Berlin diskutieren.

Wir möchten alle Interessierten herzlich zur Veranstaltung der Japanologie im Rahmen der Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften am 28. Juni 2025 ab 17 Uhr einladen. In der Holzlaube bieten wir ein buntes Programm aus Filmvorführungen, Diskussionsrunden, Vorträgen und Mitmachangeboten. An verschiedenen Ständen können Besucher*innen mit Studierenden der Japanologie über Japan sprechen, origami falten, Einblicke in Kalligraphie und temari erhalten, onigiri herstellen oder ihre Fähigkeiten mit Essstäbchen erproben.

Ort: Holzlaube (Fabeckstr. 23-25), Raum 2.2058 und Raum 2.2059

Zeit: 28.06.2025, 17:00-22:30 Uhr

Tickets: https://lndw-tickets.reservix.de/tickets-die-lange-nacht-der-wissenschaften-25-jaehriges-jubilaeum-in-berlin-rund-50-einrichtungen-am-28-6-2025/e2394242

by Christoph Barann

This year, our class conducted interviews with Japanese university students about food as part of the master’s seminar on methodology and fieldwork in an annual cooperation with Seikei University in Tokyo. The class this year was open not only to students on the Master’s program in Japanese Studies, but also to students on the Master’s program in Global East Asia, which meant that some of the participants could not speak Japanese. Nevertheless, the division of labor within the groups went smoothly, as those who did not speak Japanese helped prepare the questions in advance and acted as observers during the interview, focusing on nonverbal aspects like body language and tone of voice.

The interviews were helpful as most of my classmates did not possess previous experience with interviewing native Japanese speakers. It was further useful in giving us an opportunity to conduct digital interviews through platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Experiencing possible obstructions, such as connectivity issues, with these digital interviews will be helpful in future situations.

We also learned through the interviews and later discussions within our class about specific things to consider in interviews. One of these aspects is the idea of starting off with simple questions that might engage the interviewee and to keep in mind a prepared structure to the interview while still allowing for open and developing discussion. The interviews as well as the prior preparation later group discussion were valuable experiences which helped us gain a deeper inside in the aspects which influence the efficiency of interviews. I would recommend the class to other students who are intending on conducting field work and qualitative research in and about Japan in the future.

by Kota Yamawaki and Hirotaro Yanase

In May 2025, students from Seikei University and FU Berlin met for online interviews about food culture and everyday eating practices in Japan again. This collaboration started during the COVID-19 pandemic and we have arranged for our students to meet online every year since then. Thank you, Yoko Kawamura for this wonderful collaboration! In this post, two students from Seikei University report on their experiences.

Kota wrote:

First of all, thanks a lot for the chance to talk with students from a German university! It was super fun to chat about each other’s food culture. I first got in touch with the students on Instagram, and we had some cool conversations mixing English and Japanese. During the interview, my partners were really friendly and always smiling, so I didn’t feel nervous at all. When they asked me how people in Japan see German food, I thought, “Wow, that’s an interesting question!” I realized I only had sausages in mind when I thought of German food. It’s kind of like when Japanese people say, “Hey, Japanese food isn’t just sushi!” — I bet Germans feel the same way about their food. I thought they’d learn more about Japanese food through the interview, but honestly, I ended up getting more curious about German food instead! Luckily, I’m planning to study abroad in Europe this year, and I want to visit Germany and try the food there. Hopefully, I can meet the two students from the interview again too! Thank you again for giving me such a wonderful opportunity.

Hirotaro wrote:

I had been looking forward to this interview and conversation with students from a German university. Both were very polite and kind, speaking slowly and listening patiently to my imperfect English. Regarding the questions, I had never thought so deeply about what we eat in daily life, so some of them were a little bit difficult to answer. However, this experience could be a great opportunity for deeper reflection. For instance, during the interview, I started wondering about the meaning of „洋食“ (yōshoku). „洋食“ refers to a category of food that can be translated as „Western,“ but it is quite different from authentic Western dishes. Examples include hamburger, steak, omurice and so on. I realized that this type of food is a product of cultural interaction: an attempt to modify foreign foods to suit Japanese tastes, resulting in entirely new and delicious dishes. In this way, the interview sparked my curiosity about the food we eat. Since my major is „International Cultural Studies,“ I felt a strong connection between this discussion and my academic field. I would like to express my sincere gratitude for this valuable opportunity.