What the U.S. could learn from Japan about making healthy living easier
On a trip back to her parents' native country, a writer rediscovers what makes it different. The urban design, and a culture that values longevity, make good health come al lot more naturally.
I was born and raised in the American Midwest, but love visiting my parents' homeland in Japan. Central to every trip there is always the food: Oh my goodness, the food.
Eating is a raging national obsession here, with good reason. Staggering varieties of food are available everywhere; it's all delicious and — most impressively, to me — always fresh.
Soba noodles come made to order, with flash-fried seasonal tempura vegetables. Mouthwatering sushi and curry rice lunches are sold on train platforms. You can wander past cases of specialty foods, from marbled meats to miso-pickled vegetables to handmade gyoza dumplings, in the depa chicka, or department store basements.
There's a slavish devotion to the gourmet that might seem
