vietexplorer0014

Hoang Minh Hiep first arrived in Japan in 2005 as part of a scholarship program. Far from home, it wasn’t until his Japanese host mother cooked him a bowl of pho ga (chicken pho) that he began to feel at home in his new surroundings. Hiep expressed his excitement about the upcoming pho festival and his plans to share it with his Japanese host mother. According to Hiep, his host mother, Kyoko, learned how to cook pho from the internet and was able to find all the necessary ingredients at a Chinese wet market near her home in Ono City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Hiep explained that Kyoko believed that pho would help ease his homesickness and made it for him multiple times during his stay in Japan, creating a stronger bond between them. After finishing his studies, Hiep remained in Japan to work as an engineer at Panasonic but eventually returned to Vietnam to work as a Japanese interpreter. Despite the passing years, Hiep continues to stay in touch with Kyoko and they often enjoy pho ...