IN THE SKIN OF A LION

 Good evening!

Today I would like to share with you a book about Toronto. Unfortunately, I have not read it yet.

I always try to read books on paper and second hand as much as possible,  I will try to find an English version at BMW (a used book store in Toronto) Alternatively, I will go to a library.

ライオンの皮をまとって

マイケル・オンダーチェ　著

IN THE SKIN OF A LION

MICHAEL ONDAATJE

The author is a Canadian who was born in Sri Lanka and immigrated to Montreal, Canada at the age of 19. The story is set in 1930s Toronto,  a poetic description of urbanizing Toronto and the changes and dreams of immigrant workers. Surprisingly, it is being made into a movie. (I just found out about this)

Simon Beaufoy, Tom Harper, Robert Lantos to Adapt Michael Ondaatje's 'In the Skin of a Lion' Into Film (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/Czq43tqswj

— Variety (@Variety) May 19, 2022

The reason why I am interested in this book is that I currently have a part-time job in a store owned by a 70-year-old Canadian lady and she always says that Toronto has changed now and that she wants to leave and go back to her hometown (which is a much higher up city).

I am now interested in Toronto's background because I have heard that Toronto is famous for its diversity and was recently ranked 9th in the world's most livable cities, but I am beginning to wonder what it was like in the past and how it has changed. 

And it's almost time to vote for the mayor!

Is the book famous enough to be made into a movie? If you have read it, please let me know!

thank you for reading!

Haruka

 

Littile Tibet in Toronto

 Hello everyone. Today I would like to introduce Little Tibet in Toronto. You may have heard of Little Greek or Little Italy, but not many people have heard of Little Tibet. In fact, I had never heard of it either until recently.

Here is the location. It's located southeast of High Park, in the Parkdale area.

According to Wikipedia, about 3,000 Tibetans immigrated to Toronto between 1998 and 2008, making Toronto home to the largest Tibetan-Canadian community in North America.

 Also according to the 2006 census, more than half of the city's Tibetans live in Parkdale.

Would you like to go there? I would very much like to go. I am interested in Tibetan culture after my trip to Nepal. But, actually, I haven't had a day off since last Thursday, so I haven't been able to go yet😭

So here are two restaurants I would like to visit.

1.Tsampa Restaurant

1528 Queen Street West Toronto, ON 

This is the restaurant that was featured on the blog of the Japanese person who first introduced me to Little Tibet. They have Tibetan-style dumplings called momos, and there are 15 different kinds of them. I am also interested in the many menu items that are depicted as Nepali style.

2.Shangrila

1600 Queen Street West Toronto, ON 

This one was listed on a website that showcases Toronto. I loved the pictures of the interior. The five-colored flags are called "Tarcho" and they have pictures of sutras and Buddha images on them. Whenever these flags flutter in the wind, it is said to have the same effect as reading sutras. I saw many of them during my trip to Nepal.

(like this it is a picture I took)

Everyone in Toronto, you should not miss there. I can't wait to go myself...

Also, there is a 1997 American film about Tibet  "Seven Years in Tibet". It is based on a true story and is very interesting. I recomend you to watch this movie also

thank you for reading!

Haruka

FAN EXPO Canada

 Hi!

Finally, long winter season finished and temperature is getting warm, which means a lot of events will be held in Toronto more toward summer season! There will be a variety of events like film festival, music concert, summer party, culture event, and sort of those things. This time around, I want to share an event that I`m interested in. That is FAN EXPO Canada.

FAN EXPO Canada is the largest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming event in Canada and the third-largest Pop Culture event in North America. In the event, you can enjoy purchasing items of pop culture contents, seeing showcases, meeting people who has something in common, cosplay, shows, and so on.

The most attractive thing of the event for me is celebrity guests above all the others. Every year, some Hollywood celebrities come to this event. And you can take a picture with them or get autograph of them. In addition, if you are lucky or have enough time, you could have a chat with them a little bit. You must pay money for those things, instead of that, you can meet them 100%. As a one of big movie fans, this is great opportunity. You can see celebrities at Toronto Film Festival as well, but if you want to see them at there, you must have luck, guts and energy because it wouldn`t be confirmed and makes you wait for a couple of hours to succeed it (It doesn`t matter for me though). 

If you like any pop culture, it will have to be exciting experience, so you shouldn`t miss the opportunity. Every time, contents of the event, shops, celebrity guests are changed, so once you miss it, I would say that you can never see same things. And there are a couple of event-exclusive items. Furthermore, the event is like a huge community which people who has same interests each other, then their connection would expand through this event. Therefore, to not miss one-time stuffs and make connections, you better go there.

As I explained about the event above, it is festival for pop culture fans around the world. To put it another way, it is "otaku"(Japanese word) festival. So obviously, the main target audiences for the event is various otakus including me. Nowadays, the amount of those people are increasing, and they create a positive economic effect. I`m also probably going to join a part of them.

I hope you got interested in the event through this blog!

Details of the events

URL: https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpocanada/

Date: August 24 - 27, 2023

Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Thank you for reading! 

Abura soba food truck business

Hi, 

I would like to share my business idea that I am confident will succeed in Toronto.

It is an Abura soba food truck.

If you are Japanese or individuals who have lived in Japan, you should be familiar with Abura soba.

Abura soba is a kind of Japanese ramen. Unlike traditional ramen, it does not contain a soup broth, instead, it is in a flavorful sauce and topped with various ingredients. It is so popular in Japan.

Abura Soba

Ramen has become famous in Toronto City since a lot of ramen shops can be seen, yet Abura soba is not well recognized. As an abura soba lover, I am eager to introduce this delightful dish to Torontonian.

One good advantage of selling abura soba is its low-cost price. Abura soba consists of only noodles, sauce, and various toppings. Soup, which costs the most is not necessary, making its selling price as low as 10 CAD, which is a very affordable option to customers' choice.

Why a food truck?

Considering the simplicity of cooking Abura soba, a food truck is a suitable option. Compared to a normal restaurant, a food truck business needs lower overhead costs. Eliminating rent is especially huge and the smaller space needs less management. It is great for a startup. 
A food truck can move in different areas to target busy areas, times, and events in order to maximize potential profit.

I believe that Abura soba has the possibility of becoming one of the most popular foods in Toronto. I heard that many foreign travelers have fallen in love with Abura soba in Japan. it indicates its appeal to diverse international customers. Moreover, my previous workplace serves a similar noodle to abura soba, and I realized that it was popular. From my experience, I am sure that this business will work out and Abura soba will be established as one food option in Toronto. 

Thank you for reading this article about my business idea.

I hope I will make it come true in the future.

See you.

 Hello everyone. Today I would like to share with you an idea for a startup company that I have been thinking about.

My idea was a business related to Japanese rice. More specifically, we operate an e-commerce site that sells rice to overseas customers.

I have grandparents in Akita, Japan. The situation is similar in all rural areas of Japan, but Akita Prefecture is also depopulated to the extent that it is said to disappear in 20 years, and young people are leaving for the cities.

Managing rice paddies is very difficult and many elderly people have abandoned their rice paddies. My grandparents abandoned their rice paddies about two years ago.

However, Akita rice is really delicious. When I lived alone in Yokohama, I used to eat the cheapest rice at the supermarket, but when I visited my grandmother's house, I was surprised at how different the rice tasted.

Also, Akita is a truly beautiful land, and there is really nothing. It takes me 15 minutes to drive to a convenience store, flying down a national highway. I love Tokyo and Kanagawa of course, but I love Akita where there is nothing. I do not at all want Akita to be like Tokyo, for example. It is perfect as it is. 

However, it is very painful to see Akita continue to decline. I think Akita needs a new form of industry.

Therefore, I wanted to set up a business to operate rice fields privately and sell rice to people overseas and people who are particular about rice.

However, there are several problems. The first is that the rice paddies are operated by "Tonari Gumi," a culture unique to the rural areas of Japan. Tonari Gumi" means a group. Several houses in a neighborhood get together to form a group to manage the rice paddies, and the group delivers rice to the JA. Each group leases farming equipment from the JA. There is also a water rights issue.

But now that I am in Toronto, I am beginning to think that even though it is difficult to produce and sell rice privately, it might be realistic to operate an e-commerce site for exporting rice overseas. Here in Toronto, there are many Japanese restaurants, and even if not, there are many restaurants that serve rice. However, I think that the rice is not very tasty lol

Additionally, nowadays there are sushi restaurants all over the world, and the quality is improving. I believe that demand for high-qualit-rice will increase in the future.

But even if you come up with something, you need to be able to execute it. I wish I could acquire that kind of ability in the near future...

Thank you for reading!

Haruka