Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk

So I figured what better way to impart wisdom about Japan than through cookies. However, these are no ordinary cookies; they are shaped like koalas and have dozens of different pictures printed on them. You might be familiar with them as Koala Yummies, but here in Japan they are called コアラのマーチ(Koala's March).

Besides being yummy, what makes them so great is that the pictures printed on them are themed and often have to do with landmarks or culture-related stuff specific to Japan. There are also limited edition versions made for the different seasons (like Halloween and Winter Koala's March). My former host sister, Natsuko, brought me a big family pack with pictures related to the Kansai region so that's how I got the cookie/Japan tour idea.

Why the koalas you ask? Lotte Group, the company that makes the cookies, supports the Australian Koala Foundation. And while I'm all for saving the animals, like cigarettes (and to a lesser extent) chocolate milk, Koala's March are unfortunately not very healthy... they are loaded with trans fats and were recently recalled in the U.S. because of the whole milk-melamine scare. Alas. Anyways, that doesn't take away from their usefulness as edutainment, so on I go.

This week's featured koala is #11桃太郎 (Momotaro). Momotaro, aka Peach Boy, hails from Okayama prefecture (where I did my homestay in high school!). When I was in Okayama I often heard the story of Peach Boy, which goes something like this:

Once upon a time there was a poor, childless couple. One day, the wife goes to the river to wash clothes when she sees a huge, delicious-looking peach floating down the river. She quickly fishes it out of the river and carries it home on her back. Just when she's about to cut it open... a little boy pops out! The couple names him Momotaro since "momo" means peach and "taro" means eldest son. They raise him, and he grows up to be a strong, kind lad. One day, he decides to go to 鬼ヶ島 (Demon Island) to put a stop to the demons and monsters that had been terrorizing and stealing from the locals. OBVIOUSLY, one can't fight on an empty stomach, so his mom makes him some millet dumplings -apparently the most delicious in all of Japan. On the way, he meets and befriends a talking dog, monkey, and pheasant. They agree to join him on his quest after he gives them some of the tasty dumplings. He and his friends have a showdown with the ogres in which some pretty ugly words are said... Momotaro even goes so far as to say, "Bad ogre, get my punch!" Anyways, Momotaro and his friends defeat the ogres and then return home with loads of treasure. The end.

The fairytale is very popular and often referenced in J-pop culture. There's even a Mario and Princess Peach version of Momotaro that was made into a movie! My guess as to why the story originates in Okayama is because Okayama has some DELISH peaches. True story.