The Hub – Issue 14

There is a touch of a green thumb theme between these pages, as well as cultural comparisons that highlight everyday similarities and unusual differences between Australia and Japan.

The development of the motor car has shaped countries, cultures, the landscape, and economies. We look at Australia and Japan’s unique automotive trajectories from early beginnings to more fanciful cars. And we compare Australian gardens with those in Japan. There is a lot more to both than a whipper snipper and a well-placed rock. Every country has warning road signs. Some Australian road signs are unique and worth featuring in a selfie but then some of Japan’s signs are equally quirky. We dive into a virtual forest of signs and compare the two. How many do you recognise?

Australian artist and author, Norman Lindsay’s book, The Magic Pudding, tells of a mystic, “cut-and-come-again” pudding that when it was sliced and eaten it miraculously became a whole pudding again. While this is whimsical fiction, the Japanese have long developed their own version in relation to sustainably harvesting timber from the one tree. Daisugi is a Japanese tree pruning technique that roughly translates to “platform cedar”. We look at this age-old pollarding process which promotes timber shoots to grow vertically from the tree base, generating special cuts of wood while helping to prevent deforestation.

Happiness is the crunch and mouthwatering bliss of tempura. What’s not to like about anything that has been cooked in this traditional Japanese style. We investigate the temptation of tempura and the science of frying.

Sushi Hub is a team player. To efficiently run a network of more than 160 Sushi Hub stores across the country, teamwork is central to success and happy customers. The team at Sushi Hub runs sushi-making workings with companies, corporations and local groups to help their own team building programs. This year it has also run sushi workshops attended by Western Sydney Wanderers players and members of WanderKid, the team’s youth program.