In the 1960s, Japan's first instant ramen changed people's eating habits significantly by making it possible to get dinner in as little as three minutes. Even putting fast food and microwave dinners aside, eating has become easier and more functional since those days, due either to higher living standards that make it possible to eat out often, or to advances in the food industry that allow us to buy anything, anytime. Today, we take our meals for granted so much that some busy people even choose to survive on biscuit-type "nutrition bars."
But this raises questions. Have we forgotten about the pleasure of taste? Are we really enjoying ready-made food? Does the convenience of being able to grab a bite to eat at a fast-food chain, no matter where you are, really compensate for a lack of home-cooked meals?
Writer Natsu Shimamura says modern trends make food boring. In her latest book, "Slow Food na Nihon! (Slow Food Japan!)," she emphasizes that they can also lead to a loss of local cuisine and culture. Shimamura, 43, was one of the first people to introduce the idea of slow food to Japan six years ago when she published her first book on the topic, "Slow Food na Jinsei! (Slow Food Life!)."