Jan 22, 2025
Food for Senior High School examination success!
Right now as I type this, my eldest child is sitting in a hall or classroom taking an examination for a Senior High School. For thousands of Junior High School students around the country, today is "Juken" entrance examination day. The entrance or screening examinations on today are largely for private senior high schools. The date does differ by school, but January 22nd is a common date.
During this period you can see products tailored to the season. For example, last year TonetoEdo posted photos of Juken themed Kitkat. Each KitKat with a message on them. Such as "kitto katsu", a play on the Japanese for Kit "kitto" with the word for winning to mean "certain victory". They are currently in the store again.
Last week I saw the featured photo of this post, of katsu (breaded deep fried pork cutlet), with the caption "juken ni katsu". A play on another meaning of "katsu" - to win. In Japanese the concept is to "win" the entrance exam, but in English we say to succeed. I just had to buy it even though it was the week before my son's test.
Have you seen any 'juken' entrance exam themed food in the stores? Have you bought any?
Former nickname was "Saitama". Changed it to save confusion on place review posts! Irish, 20+ years in Japan! I also write on my personal website: insaitama.com
1 Comment
Centaur1975
1 hour ago
It's interesting that there are foods that can boost confidence during exams in Japan. I know only peanuts give you good memory in my country.