Wabi-Sabi Sole

Finding Beauty with Imperfection

Category: Sushi

Coca-Cola Plus

By

On May 13, 2017

In Chick-Fil-A Sauce, Coca-Cola Plus, Japan, Sushi, Sushiro

Coca-Cola Plus is available only in Japan. It is described as a “healthy” soda. 


I know, I’m thinking the same thing, “what could possibly make a soda healthy?” Coca-Cola Plus claims it’s the added fiber that makes it healthy. It’s is also a zero calorie soda. Despite not having sugar, it tastes super sweet and flat… I guess it lost all its fizz in the first pour. 


According to Google Translate, the white writing in the middle red line says:

“Suppresses the absorption of fat ingested from the meal, raising the neutral fat in the blood, and additional sugars.” Hmmmm.. suppresses the absorption of fats and sugar? Sounds too good to be true and surely without consequences! 


From my research, I learned about several people experiencing a fluid bowel movement. It reminded me of the late 1990’s Olestra potato chip. Today was the perfect rainy day to conduct further research and try the beverage myself. As I typed up this blog, I consumed the entire soda. That was no small feat! 

I waited an hour to see if I experienced any of the said side effects. Fortunately, I didn’t. And I feel no need to purchase Coca-Cola Plus again.

On another fun note, we went to our favorite Sushiro for lunch with our Chick-Fil-A sauce. The chicken was more delicious than I expected! Thank you, friends for sending delightful goodness.  

Patio Weather

By

On May 7, 2017

In Beer, Japan, Pizza, Sashimi, Sushi, Yokosuka

The weather has been so delightful the past week. I like to describe it as patio weather. For lunch, Dave and I went to one of our favorite patios in Yokosuka. Napoli’s pizza. We started with a salad. 


And ended with a pizza. I ordered a four cheese pizza. They suggest honey to be added. It sounds weird but, tastes amazing. 


Patio, pizza, and beer. It was a nice lunch. 

For dinner, we decided to avoid the crowds of Golden Week and instead visit our favorite patio in Zushi. Ours. We set up our table top grills and enjoyed our Japanese style meal. We started with edamame and Sake.


Dave was my personal chef. He made veggies (cabbage, carrots, and bean sprouts) on the hot plate in the ceramic bowl and grilled steak and pumpkin. I nicely displayed the tuna sashimi and tuna rolls. 


It was a team effort of deliciousness. 


I hope when you visit we are able to enjoy patio weather. 

PS. Saturday we had the pleasure to welcome friends from Great Lakes who just moved to Japan. It was very fun to see familiar faces. We took them to the first place we had ramen in Yokosuka. Seemed appropriate. Welcome, Jenn, Heath, Hayden, and Mady! We are happy to have you in Japan with us!! I also promise to take a better photo next time we are together! ? in the meantime, ramen. 

Motomachi 

By

On April 21, 2017

In Chu-Hai, Friendship, Google Map, Japan, Longchamp, Motomachi, Sushi, Train, Yokohama

Earlier this week, Yasuko-San called to tell me our Friday English class would need to be cancelled. That gave me a whole day to do – whatever! Happy Friday to me! 

Dina also had a free day and we planned to go to collect more sea glass at Sea Glass Beach. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans for the day. It never rained but, remained overcast and cool. Not so much beach weather. 

Instead, we decided to venture up to Motomachi shopping district in Yokohama. Here is the gateway welcoming shoppers. 


Motomachi 500m upscale shopping street in Yokohama. It is located between Chinatown and Yamashita Park. Here was our route on the train. 


The street was filled with a couple of familiar stores. 


There were also a variety of other stores. Like this men’s purse store. The St. Bernard bag was too cute! The sexy lady men’s pins were just weird. 


Speaking of purses, I did buy a new purse from Kitamura2. 


I’ve been searching for a new crossbody bag to replace my tired Longchamp bag. This purse was a 40th birthday present from my Mom before we went to Paris.  I have enjoyed carrying for the past two years so much. It is absolutely perfect. If Longchamp still made it, I would buy at least two more in blue and black.  Considering the miles and continents it has travelled, it’s in pretty great shape… just like me! Ha


Today, I welcomed Blue Boy into my life. He is cute, functional, multicolored, and my first Japanese purse. He has a few more zippers than Longchamp and a very big job to fill. 


I was so thankful to have Dina along with me. She provided sound support as I invested in my new traveling companion (my new purse) and she provided comic relief at a fine leather goods establishment. First, you must stick your hand in his mouth. Which I did… it was furry and warm. 

And then there was the all-American fire truck… in Japan. 


The best was helping Dina find a new hat… maybe not this one. 

It’s Japanese size! 


And there was the incident with the BIG chair. Honestly, I wanted to sit in it. I was just too scared of making a scene! A selfie will have to do. 


One more place to mention as we walked through Motomachi was the adorable pet store. Kawaii!!!

These two puppies were ridiculous. The first one will not get bigger than a soda can. He was only ¥199,800 or about $1800. 

This little fluffy friend was ¥299,900. For shock factor, let’s say $3,000. (I know, I rounded the wrong way) by the time you buy supplies he will be that much! Crazy cuteness. 


We reached the other end of Motomachi and we were ready for food. 


We decided to head to Chinatown for lunch. On our way, we passed this adorable group of teenagers. Pandas in Chinatown, of course. 

Eventually, we found a delicious sushi restaurant in Chinatown.  Tuna rice bowl made complete with a grapefruit Hi-Ball and corn on my salad. 

Tuna rice bowl…. Nom nom nom…


As we headed back to the train, we saw our Panda friends again. This time, the were more than willing to pose! Kawaii! 


Happy Friday! May we always have a good friend(s) to laugh, shop, and drink with!  Kanpie! 

Running Errands

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On March 28, 2017

In Japan, Sake, Sakura, Sushi

I think we can all agree that “running errands” is not our favorite thing to do. Simultaneously, they are necessary and can only be put off temporarily. They best way in my opinion to run errands is with someone. This way, you have someone to talk to and distract you from the annoying tasks! 

Dina and I set out on errands today. Our first stop was Costco. We needed our regular items. For me, fizzy water and kale. This is the second visit in a row Costco has not had kale and I had to settle for spinach. Grrr. 

Dina also needed a cake for her oldest daughter’s birthday. The one at Costco was of course Costco size. Too big. So, we headed to Sweet Tooth in Hayama. While Dina picked out the chocolate cake she needed, I picked out a few treats I didn’t need! The first was a Sakura macaroon. 

The second, a Sakura tiramisu. Can you guess which one? Oh, right. It’s in English. 


I mentioned before how Sakura is everywhere. Check out the number of Sakura treats! Besides macaroons, there were muffins, cookies and donuts! 


After dropping everything off at the house, we decided to treat ourselves to lunch. Our reward for “running” our errands. We went to Zushi and tried Kappa Sushi. It is a Sushi-go-round. Very similar to to Sushi-ro, with the exception there was no English option on the menu! 


Google translate and the pictures helped. We did have to call the server once to help us order Sake. Now that is a reward!! Tuna Sushi and Sake!! To quote Delaney, “my favorites!”


Everything was pretty much the same. The experience took a little patience. But, all things considered, we were champions. Tip: don’t take the plates on the special bowls! 

Up close picture of tiny squid and shrimp. No, we didn’t try this one! 

Juice boxes!! This made me laugh. 


Days like today when I can accomplish normal things ( like running errands)  without incident make me feel pretty good. Simultaneously, I suggest we all give ourselves a “reward” when we successfully “run” our errands. Life should be celebrated! 

Asakusa Seven Lucky Gods

By

On February 20, 2017

In 2017, Asakusa, Beer, Japan, Lucky, Seven Lucky Gods, Shrine, Sushi, Temple

After visiting the Tokyo Skytree, we went to the Sensō-ji Temple where we began the Seven Lucky Gods pilgrimage around Asakusa (pronounced A-sox-sa). The Sensō-ji Temple is one of the largest and most well temples in Tokyo. There were so many tourists!


A selfie at the start of our pilgrimage, the front gate of the temple. It was such a bright and sunny day!


After crossing through the front gate, there is a street with many stores selling every imaginable souvenir. Some of the stores weren’t open yet and so I was able to get a couple pictures of the art painted on the store doors.


The temple is very large and beautiful. 

With this Seven Lucky Gods pilgrimage, we were able to collect Temple stamps and small prayer cards that hang from a branch. At Sensō-ji Temple, I purchased the branch with a rooster card (2017 is the year of the rooster) and the card for Daikokuten, the God of commerce and prosperity.



Very close to Sensō-ji Temple was our next stop at the Asakusa Shrine. This shrine is dedicated to Ebisu, the God of wealth and prosperity.

Ebisu is the patron of fisherman and is shown holding a fish on the prayer card.

Our next stop was at the Honryuin Temple where Bisyamonten is honored. Bisyamonten is the God of War. He is pictured with an angry face to defeat evil!

The temple was unique because it had daikon that could be purchased as an offering. According to the temple brochure, “the daikon represents our minds trapped in deep ignorance, emanating poison of anger, but by offering a daikon to Kangi-Ten, that poison will be purged from our body and soul.”

Also, while we were waiting for my temple book to be stamped, one of the monks encouraged us to take dust from a beautiful gold urn and rub it on our palms and all over our bodies to cure any ailments. We rubbed it into our hands and down our legs hoping for a pain free marathon next weekend.

Cleansing water.

The fourth stop was the Imado Shrine or the Lucky Cat Shrine. This one has been on my list of must visit every since we went to the Lucky Cat Temple. The legend of the Imado Shrine was about an old woman who lived in Imado (Asakusa). She was forced to sell her cat due to extreme poverty. In her sadness, she dreamt of the cat telling her to make its image in clay. She created the clay cats and sold them. They were so popular she soon became very prosperous.


Here we collected the first of two prayer cards for Fukurokuji. Fukurokuji is the God of wisdom, luck, longevity, wealth, and happiness. The Imado Shrine features cats coupled together and visiting this temple is said to bring good fortune to your marriage. Also, if searching for a spouse, this is a good temple to visit and pray.


I purchased one of these cute of course a lucky cat prayer cards! Kawaii!


Look at these watering cans!


The next stop on our pilgrimage was the Ishihama Shrine. Here we collected the card for Jurojin, the God of longevity.


I loved the mixture of the stone and red wooden Tori gates.


After this stop is when my navigation went astray. I marked all of the Temples/Shrines on Google Maps the night before. Unfortunately, I tagged two of the wrong temples. Temples often have the same name. Like saying “First Baptist” or “United Methodist” – there can be more than one in an area. I should have looked at the map I was given at Sensō-ji Temple a little closer. I would have saved us about 1.5 hours of back-tracking.


The good part, we found a delicious conveyor sushi spot to eat lunch. All was not lost!

When we finally arrived back at the Fudodin Temple where we collected the prayer card for Hoteison, the God of good fortune.


If you notice Hotei on the map, you will see this temple was very close to where we just were when we went to the Ishihama Shrine. I added a 1.5-hour detour. Fortunately, we did ride the train and eat lunch for some part of that 1.5 hours.

The Fudodin Temple was small and colorful.


Now we were back on track with two stops remaining. As we were walking towards the Yasaki Inari Shrine, we came upon a vending machine selling beer. Yes! Another new experience! Would we be able to buy a beer? Yes, yes we were! And thanks to my fabulous brother, I had a koozie to keep it cool and my hand warm! Kanpie!


I’m still confused about how this is possibly legal. Regardless, we happily drank our beer and walked to next stop, the Otori Shrine also dedicated to Jurojin. Our second Jurojin – Jurojin is the God of longevity and pictured here with a deer, a symbol of longevity. 


I am not clear why there are two Jurojin on this pilgrimage. There are also two Fukurokuju – we skipped the last one. Here is the Otori Shrine. Small and bright. 


Continuing to the last stop, the Yoshiwara Shrine, we came across a small shrine around the corner from the main Shrine. Both the main and smaller Yoshiwara Shrine are dedicated to Benzaiten, the Goddess of water and music. Check out the artwork!


We continued on to the main Yoshiwara shrine. It was just as embellished!

The main altar. Gotta love the Sake barrels!


The prayer card of Benzaiten.


I took another up close picture of the hanging offering outside the entrance.


And one last selfie at the completion of our journey.


Our branch is now complete with our cute prayer cards for each lucky God.

This is my fourth Seven Lucky Gods. I enjoy them because they take you through parts of an area you wouldn’t normally visit. Plus, I love seeing the different temples/shrines. They are all so unique. Simultaneously, I love the scavenger hunt aspect. Yesterday was the perfect setting for wandering around Asakusa gather luck!

This Seven Lucky Gods pilgrimage was a bit longer than the others I have completed. According to Dave’s Fitbit, we walked 13.30 miles on Saturday. (This also included our trip to the Tokyo SkyTree.) None the less, it was a lot of walking and my side excursion only made it longer. By the time we finished, we were ready for a cold beer to celebrate our pilgrimage. Kanpie! 

Sushi Lesson

By

On February 2, 2017

In Friendship, Japan, Sashimi, Sushi

Dina and I went to visit our friend, Miki, for a lesson on how to prepare Sushi. The first piece of Sushi equipment she showed us was a large wooden barrel called a hangiri. A hangiri is a traditional Japanese wooden tub that is used in the final steps of preparing sushi rice. The flat bottom and short sides allow for the sushi rice to be spread out and cool quickly. Also pictured is a Japanese towel which will be used to cover the rice as it cools, nori sheets and a bamboo roller mat. I am adding a hangiri to my list of items I need to purchase in Japan. Fortunately, Miki said I would be able to purchase this at the Homes store.


First, we prepared the rice for the rice cooker and then mixed the vinegar and sugar. Pictured below is the recipe for Sushi rice.


Miki selected a variety of sashimi for us to enjoy. A picture of the sashimi we would be eating.


Miki has received extensive training to be a chef. She ordered a knife with her name engraved on it. Yet another item I need to add to my list of Japan items to purchase.


Miki also showed us what to look for when purchasing sashimi grade fish. Notice the three symbols in the brackets on the second line. Those mean sashimi grade fish – meaning it is ok to eat raw.


She also gave us the other important hint about sashimi grade fish. She said it will usually come with a pack of wasabi! Dina and I both agreed it would be much easier to look for a pack of wasabi in the fish than trying to read the Japanese writing.

Dina was put to work slicing the fish. We had two types of tuna and salmon.


Pictured here is tamago (sweet egg), a wasabi pack, canned tuna fish, Shiso leaves and sliced radish in the strainer. All of these items would eventually be displayed neatly and available for consumption.


Miki showed us how to clean the WHOLE squid. She made it look so easy. Here she is holding onto the tentacle part, peeling a strip down the back of the squid and then pulling out the “guts” from the inside. The guts remain attached to the tentacles.

Guts and tentacles remain in the sink. The part of the squid we will eat is on the cutting board.

Using a paper towel for traction, she peeled the tough outer brown skin off the squid.

Next she carefully sliced open the squid and worked to remove the next layer of tough skin on the squid. Removing these layers makes the squid easier to chew.

The squid properly prepared and sashimi ready!

Not letting anything go to waste, Miki cleaned the tentacles by removing the eyes! I asked if they were used in squid eye soup. She laughed. No! Gross! I couldn’t agree more!

Squid sashimi sliced and ready! Dina and I were amazed with her ability to quickly and easily clean the squid. We asked her how she learned to clean the squid – did she learn in her cooking training or from her mom. She said from her mom! We both were yet again impressed. Neither of our mothers would be able to teach us that skill nor would they be interested in even eating the squid raw! No offense Mom… You have taught me plenty in my life and for all of it I’m grateful!


Once the rice was finished, Miki showed us how to prepare the hangiri. Using the vinegar sugar mixture, she coated the bottom to prevent the rice from sticking.

She told us a very funny story about the rice. When the rice comes out of the cooker, it is very hot. It is then given a vinegar bath to cool down. To cool it further we fan it. She acted each phase out. It was adorable. I wish I could have recorded her!

Using the rice paddle, she separated it. You can see the steam rising!

Miki gradually added the vinegar rice mixture. The cool bath!

And then she carefully cut the rice with the vinegar and sugar mixture. She was very gentle taking care not to smash the rice.

Next up, we fan the rice!! Haha!


Once the rice was prepared, Miki covered it with a damp linen towel and then set it in a cooler part of the house to continue cooling down. Once it was cool enough, we prepared the table for our meal. Our platter of sashimi.

A little bit of everything we ate for lunch! Under the plastic wrap is ground tuna.


We ate our Sushi family style. We used nori (seaweed) sheets to spread rice and selected our choice of fish to place on top. It was a casual and fun way to enjoy our sashimi and time together. Dina and I were relieved we didn’t need to make sushi rolls. When you come to visit, we will definitely enjoy sushi together made at home by ME!

Onigiri 

By

On September 27, 2016

In Japan, Onigiri, Sushi

Onigiri- pronounced “oh – ni- gir- i” is a Japanese rice ball. The Onigiri often has a surprise inside like tuna or salmon and is wrapped in seaweed. They are available for purchase at grocery stores and convenience stores. I discussed how they are packaged in my Japanese Supermarkets post last month.

Now that I have my own rice maker, I have been eager to try to make my own Onigiri. At a store in Yokosuka, I was able to find a triangle Onigiri shaper and packaging options.

Triangle onigiri mold

Onigiri “ball” wrapper

Onigiri triangle wrapper

Directions for wrapper

Using my new tools, rice maker and wrappers, I attempted to make homemade Onigiri. In the middle of each triangle, I used can tuna because I wasn’t sure how they would turn out and didn’t want to waste money on fresh tuna if this was a flop. The triangle wrappers worked the best.  The other wrappers are for use when making a Onigiri ball vice triangle.

Onigiri form with rice

The top of the Onigiri form is used to make the indentation on the rice. This creates a narrow pocket where the filling is placed.


The two sides are put together to make a whole triangle. The Onigiri is then placed inside the bag. I didn’t wrap the rice in seaweed because it would get soggy. I am still on the hunt for Onigiri bags that have a divide for keeping the rice and the seaweed separate.


The final picture shows all the Onigiri wrapped and the seaweed package. Notice the two cute critters have opening directions. The third container is a silicon triangle. It might be my favorite. Although The bags are really cute, they are not reusable like the silicon.

Dave taste tested one last night and approved. I was worried by today the rice would be dry and crumbly. Nope. They were delicious! The best compliment was from the Japanese secretaries at Dave’s office. He sent me a text at lunch and said  “they were impressed with my rice making skills.” Pretty good for amateur hour! I think I am ready to try some with sushi grade tuna and salmon! This will indeed make them better, but to truly be perfect, I need to master the seaweed wrap.

PS. For all my emoji loving friends, you now know the name of this emoji ?!

Exploring Zushi

By

On September 25, 2016

In Japan, Sushi, Zushi

Our housing complex is located in the city of Zushi. Until today, we haven’t spent much time exploring the area on the other side of the train station right outside our gate. We knew it was going to be a bit of a walk and with the heat and humidity of the summer, a long walk didn’t seem fun. Also, today was the first day in two weeks it didn’t rain!! Sunny skies and a little less heat (still 93% humidity) made today a great day for exploring. We set off for an afternoon walk with a hopeful dinner destination. We have seen several restaurants on the main road, but today we were on foot and wanted to get off the beaten path. 

Our journey took us down the hill from our house, out the gate, through the train station and then up one hill and down another. It provided a great opportunity to take some pictures of Japanese houses. 

Uphill


Very few houses have a yard. Any little bit of potential yard space is turned into a parking spot. 

Parking spot & sidewalk


Parking and yard option

Garage – bus barely fits!


A wrong turn took us up a steep hill in a neighborhood. It ended up being a great spot to catch a picture of sunset. 

An extra beautiful site after 2 weeks of rain


After circling the horses, we spied a restaurant down a side road. We entered not knowing exactly what we would find. To our pleasant surprise, it was a sushi restaurant!! Win! 

¥1000 or $10


The sushi chef and two ladies working were so happy we came in to eat. I worked on my Japanese and they tried their English. We even used Google translate to communicate. It was a fun place to find and I can see us attempting to become “locals” or at least regulars. Dave was impressed when I got the waitress’ attention with “sumimasen” (excuse me).  The walk home was a lot quicker and only took about 30 minutes. Our exploration today was another step in helping us make Japan feel a little more like home. 

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