The Tiger Corporation SMJ-A18U 10-Cup Rice Cake Mochi Maker is an excellent home mochi maker. It steams the rice and then it pounds and paddles the rice to a very smooth consistency. This is an wonderful machine. It has a 10-cup capacity. This machine is well worth the money.The machine is constructed very well. It is very solid, and it has a nice clean and sleek look. The outside casing is white and smooth. Cleans very easily with a damp cloth or sponge. Controls are easy to manage with Steam and with Pound. The machine is made in Japan, but sold in the US. It comes in a Tiger Corporation retail box for the mochi maker. It comes with a Limited Warranty of 1 year, and Japan Tiger Corrporation of USA is located in Torrance, CA.This machine can plug into US power wall sockets, AC 120V, 60 Hz. It is a machine made for the US. It does not need a step down power converter using this machine in the US. The machine has a regular balanced two-prong power cord. It will also work in Canada fine since Canada is also 120V, 60Hz like the US. Used in any other country, you will need a step-up/down power converter that works for your country and not just a plug adapter. Below at the bottom of the review, I have listed the electricity voltage of different countries. Using the machine in a country with a electricity voltage different than what the machine is designed for will damage the machine or damage it over time. Or, the machine will not work at all. Also if the machine does power while being used with the wrong electricity voltage, it will be operating at an incorrect speed and operate at an incorrect output. And, can start a fire.The operating instructions are in full English. It comes with clear and detailed step by step instructions with picture instructions on using the machine from start to finish. It has a chart on how much rice and how much water to use. It shows you how to wash and rinse the rice to prep for the machine.Use rice flour to keep from sticking to the tray and to your hands when you reach those steps. You can use cornstarch, but it makes more sense to keep with the consistency with rice using rice flour.It does not mention whether you can put the washable parts in the dishwasher. Dishwashing liquids, powders and gels are fairly harsh to certain materials and can damage the surface. And, the heat during drying can cause problems as well. The inner container is the main thing to be concerned about. I think the other plastic pieces and the wood roller would survive fine in the top rack of a dishwasher. Obvious concern on plastic is melting and warping, but you can decide if it is safe or not.The metal inner container is made of an unknown metal composition with a special coating. I know placing the inner pot of a rice cooker can cause certain made pots to change and become damaged and become stripped of the original surface of the rice cooker pot caused by the detergent and the heat bake during drying. And, the metal comes off as a powdery substance especially when you wipe the pot dry. You can see the metal all over your towel.I do not know how this metal inner pot will react to the dishwasher and the heat bake of drying. As much as I am paying for this machine, I rather play it safe and hand wash and hand dry this important part. You can order replacement parts from the company. The parts are available including the metal inner container, paddle piece and the other plastic accessories.I highly recommend this electric mochi maker. It is only a mochi maker. It does steam rice, but it is not a rice cooker. The rice does not get to wear it usually needs to be at in a rice cooker. It is also not a bread maker machine. There are bread maker machines that also can make mochi. This is only a mochi making machine. The machine is a little pricey, but it works wonderfully well. Better than one could imagine.Tiger Corporation also make a companion Mochi Cutter for this machine. I definitely recommend getting the mochi cutter if you can afford it along with the machine. But, it is not necessary. You can hand pull the mochi into pieces as the instructions will show. The mochi cutter just makes things a lot easier and cleaner. And, it also keeps you from having to have burned hands or have to deal with the very hot mochi in your hands.For our first batch, we followed the instructions to the tee with 3 pounds of pre-soaked and well drained rice. We poured in the required 2.5 cups (using the small cup the machine came with per instructions). When the "steam" buzzer went off, the rice was only partially cooked, so we poured in another 1/2 cup of water and pushed the steam button but that buzzer sounded and the machine would not let us steam it further. I tried unplugging and re-plugging it hopeful that it would re-set with no luck, so I tried cooking it in our rice cooker but it kept switching automatically to "keep warm"setting. Then I put the batch in a pot and cooked it on the stove. I added a 1/2 cup more water and cooked it on low. That sort of worked but parts of it got hard from the heat at the bottom of the pot. I threw it back into the machine and pushed the "pound" button. Then it wouldn't rotate on it's own, it just kind of sat there so I had to help it along by pulling it off the sides of the bowl. The end result was a lumpy batch. I threw it out. I tried another batch the very next day. This time I used 5 cups(again using the little measuring cup it came with)but used 2.5 small cups of water. It cooked the correct consistency this time, but again when it came to pounding it would not start rotating on it's own, but I only had to pull it off the sides once and then it started pounding and the batch came out great.Now, according to the directions, for 10 of the small cups you are supposed to use 2.5 small cups of water, but that same amount worked perfectly for the 5 small cups, so that is one error. The other problem is when the rice is done steaming, it buzzes an alarm sound so you can take the lid off and push the "pound" button. The instructions for pounding states "Rice pounds about 10 minutes". Now, wouldn't one assume that the machine will also give you an alarm sound or stop after about 10 minutes? No, it doesn't, so you have to pay attention and time it yourself.I am on the fence about keeping this machine. I will make another batch soon and see how that one comes out.Has anyone out there had similar problems with this machine, would appreciate any help.January 2014: We used the machine again and I am still afraid to try 10 cups, so we stuck with the 3 cups of sweet rice and 2.5 cups of water(again using the measuring cup it came with). The first batch came out lumpy and I have no idea why. For the second batch we cooked it, let it pound for 15 minutes, sprinkled just a little water on it and let it pound for another 5 minutes. It came out a little more stickier, so we had to use more potato starch to prevent it from sticking to our hands, but the mochi patties came out nice and smooth, so we stuck with that method for the rest of the batches. It is too late to return it, but I am still disappointed that I have to continue to play with it to get it right. I plan on making more soon, so I will update again if necessary. My sister in law has a machine that automatically cooks, pounds and the lid just flys open and buzzes an alarm when it's ready. Couldn't find that one online anywhere. By the way I LOVE that mochi cutter, I recommend it to everyone, it is totally worth the money. You won't burn your fingers from handling that hot glob of mochi and pinching off uneven pieces. You just drop the glob of mochi from the tray into the cutting cone and start cranking. It cuts nice, even pieces and whatever size patties you want depends on how many times you crank it. Buy it!Does a great job making fresh mochi. Some things which are and are not apparent from the description. 1) The cooking timer, when finished, will buzz (loudly) until you push the stop button. 2) The unit does not automatically start pounding the rice when the cooking timer goes off. You must push the stop button to stop the cooking timer, then push the pound button. 3) Once the pound button is pushed, the unit will not stop pounding until you push the stop button. There is no built in timer, so you must set an independent timer to stop (the machine) at a specified time. 4) As sticky as mochi is, this unit really is relatively easy to clean in hot water. I throw the paddle in a bowl of cold water, and wash it in hot, running water when cleaning up. If you pick off most of the mochi at the start, it cleans up with a sponge, soap, and hot water. Hardly any mochi sticks to the bowl, I've yet to have to wash the bowl in hot water, usually a wiping out with a rag cleans it up. 5) The largest amount of mochi this machine can process is 10 cups, the minimum is 5 cups. 6) The lid doubles as a 'pan' you can dump your mochi in or use to form a mochi cake, if you're doing blocks. Make sure to starch it well before dumping your mochi in it. It also cleans up well with hot water and a soapy sponge. Do NOT use a sponge with a scouring pad, as you do not want to scratch the surface of the plastic. 7) If you've got doubts about this making good mochi, perish the thought. The machine is very good and should survive many years of use.