Hi, I’m Machiko Osawa.

I created “japan-recipe” site just because I am Japanese.

To my joy, Japanese food is very popular in Canada, where I currently live.  I see lots of  Japanese restaurants offering Sushi, Tempura and Bento lunch box.  At food courts, I usually see one or two stalls selling Japanese food.

Yay!  But, really?   

Sushi and tempura are not something Japanese cook at home everyday. “Teriyaki” at food courts does not even look like Japanese food at all.  I was horrified to see “Teriyaki something” mixed in slimy sauce on top of rice on a flat plate at a popular Canadian chain store.  

Japanese food I’ve been cooking and eating all through my life is simpler, easier, cheaper, yummier and, most importantly, healthier.  Oh, one more thing, prettier.

So, here I am.

I opened a site to introduce simple Japanese home-cooking recipes, which I have been using my entire life.  You don’t need special ingredients.  What you can get at local supermarkets is all that we need.   

I am not a chef.  I’d been in the education business for 38 years in Japan before moving to Canada in Sep. 2016.  During those 38 years, I sent a significant number of Japanese students to Canadian universities, colleges and secondary schools and helped them acquire degrees from those institutions.  Now in Canada, I’ve been writing about Canadian institutions for Japanese students on a “Study Abroad Site” in Japan.   

I spent my first year living on the prairie, far from beloved Inland Sea, yet maintained a Japanese diet, utilizing what was available at my small town food store.  I need to get used to an electric stove looking like a mosquito coil and an unfamiliarly designed kitchen, but manage to cook up simple and healthy Japanese food. And you can, too.   

I enjoy a semi-nomadic lifestyle in Canada, settling for a year in unfamiliar habitats before moving on. Now I am in Edmonton, enjoying a wider variety of ingredients at big-city supermarkets – until my next move.   I still struggle with an electric stove, and, in the videos, you will see me awkwardly working in unfamiliar Canadian kitchens.   You may chuckle.  Follow me, and you will eat well.

Please join me having fun cooking Japanese food.