Terry Ito Column Vol. 80: How to fall asleep more easily

As someone who has trouble falling asleep, I often think about various things to help me drift off. I think everyone has tried counting sheep jumping over a fence to help them fall asleep, but obviously, you can't keep counting for decades. Besides, there's a limit to the number of sheep. So recently, I've been tackling the ultimate dilemma: "Which would you choose in life? You'll never encounter what you've ruled out again," with the grand theme of "If you could eat for the rest of your life, would you choose Japanese or Western food?" A Japanese breakfast would consist of miso soup, seaweed, natto, salmon, pickles, and green tea after the meal. On the other hand, a Western breakfast would bring to mind scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, and French bread—like a hotel breakfast. And then there's the battle against coffee upon waking. If I had to choose what I could eat for the rest of my life, Japanese food would win.

The problem lies in lunch and dinner. If you choose Japanese food for lunch, you'll never be able to eat hamburgers, pasta, pizza, fried chicken, omurice, or fried shrimp again. What about ramen? Since it originally came from China, there's a high probability you won't be able to eat it. What about curry rice? It originated in India, but you've been eating it since childhood, so classifying it as Western food would be heartbreaking. So where should those who prefer Japanese food go? The first thing that comes to mind is a bento shop. Salmon bento, mentaiko onigiri, inari sushi, and norimaki will fill you up. But the real contender is a Japanese soba noodle shop. In winter, there's nabeyaki udon and tempura udon. In summer, there's zaru soba and hiyamugi, a solid selection, but here's the big problem! What about katsudon, the star of Japanese soba shops? Western food also has katsu rice and katsu curry. Katsu and curry are in high demand. Will it be categorized as Western or Japanese?

When you think of the king of Japanese food, sushi naturally comes to mind. No matter how much I like it, I get tired of eating it every day, and my wallet isn't exactly savory. Western food has become my go-to lunch. It takes me an hour to get to this point in my bed late at night. But sleepiness just won't come over me.

Dinner choices become even more difficult. For those who prefer Japanese food, seasonal fish are a must: saury, sea bream, tuna, white fish, etc. The ultimate choice is fresh seafood such as eel, pufferfish, crab, and spiny lobster. This is truly the essence of Japanese cuisine. Western food is not to be ignored either. I love cheese, so I want piping hot cheese fondue, my favorite twice-cooked pork, Korean barbecue, beef stroganoff, Peking duck, and I also want to try Russian borscht and piroshki. That's right, the more I think about it, the more my mind races. There's no way I can sleep. When I think about it, I've been making this ultimate dilemma for two years now. This trip doesn't seem like it's going to end anytime soon. Either way, I absolutely want to eat Christmas cake!

Terry Ito (director)

Born in Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1949. After attending Waseda Jitsugyo Junior and Senior High School, he graduated from Nihon University's School of Economics.
In March 2023, he completed the Master's program at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University.
He joined the television production company IVS Television, where he worked on variety shows such as "Tensai Takeshi's Genki ga Deru TV" and "Neruton Benikujidan."
He then went independent and worked on planning and directing a number of television programs, including TV Tokyo's "Asakusabashi Young Clothing Store."
His book "Comedy North Korea" became a bestseller, and he subsequently made numerous media appearances under the name Terry Ito.
In addition to his work as a director, he is also active in a variety of fields as a producer, entertainer, and commentator.
YouTube channelTerry Ito's Comedy Backdrop'
Currently writing a column in LALALA USA
https://lalalausa.com/archives/category/column/terry