Japanese tit-bits

Japanese tit-bits

By merely looking at these beautifully-wrapped packages, it was hard to imagine that they were all foodstuff - tit-bits such as mochi and cookies and stuff like that. One of the things which impressed me a lot during our holidays in Japan was their customer-oriented culture. This was especially evident in their food and their packaging. One could see that a lot of thought processes had gone into the presentation and packaging of food with the ultimate objective of pleasing the consumer. As a customer, I need not worry about getting my hands dirty or having sugary stuff dripping all over my body. Cutlery, in the form of a fork or chopsticks, can usually be found inside the packaging.

A fork can usually be found inside the packaging	Sometimes chopsticks are provided

A more ridiculous example was the mochi which I bought in Osaka (bottom picture on the left). Upon opening the package and seeing the mochi for the first time, I wondered why there was an indentation on every piece of mochi. It was unlike the Japanese to sell the stuff with such an obvious defect. But I disoovered later that the dent was meant for the syrup that came with the mochi. Without such a dent, most of the syrup would have flowed down the side and the mochi would not have tasted sweet enough! Such was the punctiliousness of Japanese!

Mochi with a dent	Mochi with syrup