Wabi-Sabi Sole

Yokohama Strawberry Festival

On February 8, 2017

In 2017, Japan, Strawberry, Yokohama

The Yokohama Strawberry Festival is open daily from 11:00 – 18:00 from 2/3/17 – 2/12/17. Dina and I decided to check it out on a weekday hoping we would avoid most of the crowds. The Festival was being held in the area of the Red Brick Warehouse.

Upon arriving at the event, there was a perfectly placed strawberry for a photo opportunity.

Of course, we needed to pose for our picture wearing the cute strawberry hat props!

There was also a strawberry bouncy house for littles. Kawaii!

The Festival had ample strawberry treats. Along with several long lines.

There were also strawberry souvenirs. T-shirts, bracelets and helmet!?!

Some of the items were way over priced. 8 strawberries for ¥2000 ($20). Or the picture in the middle, 5 strawberries for ¥3000 ($30)!! The strawberry on the bottom left is ¥800 ($8)!! Wow!

Check out the spread this group of ladies purchased!

Dina and I started with strawberry wine.

And we purchased a few items to take home. So many delicious choices!

The bunnies looked so cute. I was tempted to buy one. Fortunately, the sales clerk spoke very good English and suggested we try the strawberry cake with the triangles. She said it was much better!

So, I picked out the one on the left as per her suggestion.

Cannoli or taco?

I might have over purchased for our desserts tonight.

Or maybe, we skip dinner and eat strawberry desserts! Yummmmmm

Daikon Salad

By wabisabisole

On February 7, 2017

In Daikon Salad, Edamame, Japan

Dave’s favorite Japanese salad is Daikon Salad. Daikon is a very large white/pale green radish. The salad also has Mizuna, a type of lettuce. Here are the main ingredients for the salad. Notice everything is in Japanese. I had tremendous patience at the Japanese grocery store today while I translated everything with Google Translate.

The Daikon is the white thing on the left. I was able to purchase half of one. I used my Veggitti to slice the Daikon. Then I soaked it in ice water to remove the bitterness and make it crisp. The recipe I found told me to do this and last week during our Sushi lesson, Miki did the same.

I washed the mizuna and cut the stems into bit size pieces.

Also included in the salad is bonito flakes (dried fish flakes), nori pieces (seaweed), and salmon roe.

The recipe to make my own dressing includes rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce and salted plums.

And then I found this while I was working my way through the oils at the Japanese grocery store. It has a Daikon on the label. I thought it might be the dressing already made!!

With our Daikon salad we are also having miso soup. Put one packet of miso paste and one packet of garnish in the bowl and add boiling water. So, easy. Check out my super cute Mt. Fuji bowls.

With a side of steamed edamame.

A complete Japanese meal. I must give myself kudos for taking the time (a long time) to work through Google Translate to find the correct oils and vegetables at the Yorkmart (Japanese grocery store). It was a task I found very intimidating a few months ago. Now going to the Yorkmart is like going to the Food (Dog) Lion or to Harris Teeter (the Teet). I’ll know I have completely acclimated when I have a nickname for the Yorkmart-O (when said by a local).

One last picture of our prepared Japanese style meal.

Dave and I agreed this was a good first attempt for making the daikon salad. The nori strips I bought were really salty. Next time, I will share a pack between the two salads. Also, Dave mentioned the Daikon didn’t have quite the crunch. More research is required to figure out how to get it crunchier. All in all, no one left the table hungry and we didn’t have to order a corn covered pizza!

Sogo Yokohama

By wabisabisole

On February 6, 2017

In Google Map, Hello Kitty, Japan, Shopping, Sogo Yokohama, Tokyo Marathon, Train, Travel

I went on a shopping trip today to the department store, Sogo, in Yokohama. My mission was to visit the Sanrio store for a Hello Kitty t-shirt to wear during the Tokyo Marathon.

I didn’t find one. Turns out the Sanrio stores only stock kids stuff. However, I did find a whole new feature of Google Maps.

Google Maps will show you the stores on each floor of a mall. Check out the first picture. It shows the B2 level or the second floor of the basement. It is at this level where you come out of the train station. The highlighted level on the side corresponds with the map layout.

Next B1.

As you scroll up the floor on the left side, the layout changes to match. Pretty amazing. Skipping ahead, level 2 & 3.

When I first saw level 7, I got a little excited. It says LOFT. This was not the LOFT from the US. It was a cute store with a lot of Japan souvenirs. Just not cute clothes.

Finally, on up to level 8 where the Sanrio was located. Lots of cute Hello Kitty toys and clothes for little kids. No t-shirt for me. I think I’m going to have to order from Amazon.

With 10 levels plus a rooftop, this feature of Google Maps is essential!

Google Maps proves yet again to be my favorite traveling partner for navigation!

Honorable Mention

By wabisabisole

On February 5, 2017

In Japan, Pizza

We haven’t had too much luck with finding a good pizza spot in Japan. We have tried several different pizza joints from Yokosuka to Zushi to Yokohama to Tokyo. The one thing in common all of these pizza places had was offering corn as a topping. Yes, corn. Almost as gross as a squid eyeball pizza. Just kidding, that’s not a thing.

Well, I have good news. This weekend Dave and I tried a new pizza restaurant, called Pizzeria Bar Napoli, on Blue Street (the Main Street in Yokosuka).

Pizzeria Bar Napoli deserves an honorable mention. Pizzeria Bar Napoli is a small, cute little restaurant with a delicious margarita pizza for only ¥500. There is a small bar downstairs with seating upstairs. Also, they have an outdoor seating area when the weather is a little warmer.
Here was our meal. Two individual sized pizzas and a salmon Caesar salad to share. Oh, and my beer!

You can see from the picture, my pizza crust was a little burned. It was still good. Dave’s pizza didn’t have the over cooked crust issue so, I’m willing to give them one more shot to make the brick oven pizza we have been searching for since we moved here.

Ume or Sakura

By wabisabisole

On February 4, 2017

In 2017, Cherry Blossoms, Japan, Plum Blossoms, Sakura, Shrine, Ume

This time of year is very special in Japan. It is the beginning of Ume and Sakura season. Ume is the Japanese word for Plum Blossoms. Sakura is the Japanese word for Cherry Blossoms.

As to be expected, there are Ume and Sakura forecast for the different regions in Japan. The Ume trees bloom a little earlier than the Sakura. Right now, the Sakura is expected to be in full bloom in the Tokyo area towards the end of March. Perfect time to plan a visit!!

My struggle was identifying the difference. Yesterday when we were at the Seto Shrine with Miki, I asked her to help me identify the differences between the Ume and the Sakura. First rule, do not judge by color!

Here is an Ume blossom. The first thing to notice is the petals are rounded. Also, the flowers occur individually.

Here is a broader picture. Notice the blossoms are attached to the tree.

Comparatively, let’s look at the Sakura blossoms. The Sakura petals are not quite as rounded and the blossoms occur in clusters.

Also, the blossoms are attached to the tree by a short stem.

The trunk of the tree is also a good indicator. A Sakura tree will have “cracks” in the trunk.

Armed with this knowledge, you should be able to identify whether the blossoms pictured are Ume or Sakura. Test yourself. The answers are at the end of the post.

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

Hopefully, the variety of these blossoms help you to understand why color can’t be used as a determining factor. Here are the answers.

A. Ume

B. Ume

C. Sakura

D. Ume

E. Ume

F. Sakura

G. Sakura

H. Ume

Setsubun

By wabisabisole

On February 2, 2017

In Chu-Hai, Japan, Setsubun, Shrine, Train

Our friend, Miki, invited Dina and me to go with her to the Seto Shrine to experience Setsubun. The Seto Shrine is located near the Kawazana-Hakkei train station (only two stops from our normal station, Jimmuji). Dina and I both forgot our temple books… therefore, we will obviously need to return.

Setsubun is Japan’s bean-throwing ritual that occurs on the lunar calendar’s last day before spring (February 3). The bean-throwing event is called mame maki. The celebration is a means to cleanse the past and bring good fortune for the new year. During the event, roasted soy beans nicknamed fortune beans are thrown from elevated stages while shouting, “Devil out!” “Good fortune in!” As attendees, our goal was to try and catch bags of beans. Once catch, you must eat your age +1.

At this shrine, they throw beans every 15 minutes or so starting at 3pm. We were just arriving so we were towards the back for the first round.

I have to take a minute and give props to our friend Miki. She brought two very tall Americans to this event. Unfortunately, we didn’t have quite the catching skills she was hoping for. Simultaneously, I know we stood out. And she had no problem being there with us. I truly appreciate her friendship.

And here we all are together.

She also wanted to make sure I took a picture of the front of the temple.

And she took one of us!

I did eat my 42 dried seasonless soybeans and Dina ate her respective amount. Miki told us she doesn’t like them and saved them for her husband to eat with a Chu-Hai. Haha! Regardless, I’m hoping for a year with the “devil out” and “good fortune in!”

PS. In English class today, I peeled my tangerine like a local!

Sushi Lesson

By wabisabisole

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!

Six Months

By wabisabisole

On February 1, 2017

In Japan, Navy, Nissan Cube

I can’t believe it. February 1st marks our 6th month of living in Japan. I can’t tell if it feels like I’ve lived here for 6 days, 6 months, or 6 years. We have experienced many highs and lows, the good and bad, the beautiful and ugly. We have climbed and I have fallen. Haha

I’m sure your thinking we must have enjoyed a huge celebration. Maybe? A “milestone” anyways. I bought new shoes. For the Hooptie. That’s right. New tires for our sweet ride.

My girl appreciates a nice pair of shoes. $316 for tires and labor. Girlfriend only cost us $300. Pretty funny. Check out these sweet pieces of rubber. Nice tread.

On a serious note, we miss you all. Everyday.

We have enjoyed the opportunities we have had over the past six months and realize they come with sacrifices. Being away is obviously the biggest.

You are always in our thoughts and heart. We love hearing from you and cherish your messages and phone calls.

We love you all. To six months! Kanpie!

Shinjuku Seven Lucky Gods

By wabisabisole

On January 31, 2017

In 2017, Cherry Blossoms, Customs, English, Google Map, Japan, Seven Lucky Gods, Shinjuku, Shrine, Temple, Tokyo, Train

The “Shichifukujin” or Seven Lucky Gods pilgrimages are quickly becoming one of my favorite adventures. The pilgrimage reminds me of a modern day urban scavenger hunt. You must find the Seven Temples/Shrines, stamp your temple book and retrieve your cute figurine. All of this while using Google Maps, a map found on the Internet and if you’re lucky, a little bit of broken English from a monk. Or as in case today, a monk who spoke no English but was great with giving directions in Japanese while pointing at a map. I’ll come back to that story in a little bit.

This is my third Seven Lucky Gods adventure. First in Meguro and then in Zushi. Each time, I receive information about the God’s meaning. I will share what information I was given today, which may vary a little bit from what I have told you previously.

Dina and I set out this morning to Shinjuku. Shinjuku is located on the northwest side of Tokyo. It was a little over an hour away. Here was our route.

Yesterday, I marked all of the temple/shrine locations with a star so it would be easier to navigate between them. We started at the bottom and walked toward the center cluster. Then walked to the temple on the far left. Then we took the train to the two temples on the far right.

At our first temple, Taiso-ji, we collected Hotei and purchased the boat the Gods would rest upon. Hotei: God of family, peace and protection from illness and disaster.

From here we walked towards the Hozen-ji Temple. However, we were sidetracked along the way by an amazing bakery.

I enjoyed a delicious chocolate croissant. I felt super lucky it was chocolate and not red bean paste!

Around the corner was the temple.

Here we collected Jurojin. Jurojin: God of long life and protection from illness.

Our third stop was at the Itsukushima-Jinja Shrine. It was literally in the corner of an intersection. There was a Koi Pond, Tori Gate and Shrine. Yet, no person was present.

We decided to continue our journey to the fourth temple, Eifuku-ji Temple. We thought perhaps we could ask at the fourth temple where to go for the third stop.

As I learned in my previous pilgrimage, one must be bold and knock on a door or ring a bell or even just walk inside the temple. Feeling brave, Dina and I went into the temple. There was a small doorbell next to a cushion. In English, it said “bell.” So, we pushed it. Simultaneously, there was a motion detector that kept going off when we moved. Behind the closed doors, we could hear someone moving around. In fact, it sounded like he was doing gymnastics. So, we waited. And rang the bell again. And waited. And rang the bell again. Finally, a monk came out not because he was responding to our ringing. He was doing his monkly business and we startled him so badly we thought we might have helped him finish his path to enlightenment. He almost fell over. We tried not to laugh. He recovered immediately and promptly came over, greeted us, set out cushions for us to sit upon and then went to stamp our books. It was incredibly hard not to giggle. When he returned, before we could even ask how to get to temple number three, he took out a map and started explaining how to get there, in Japanese. Very fast Japanese.

To summarize, we were at the purple dot and needed to got to the small blue dot. We had been at the large blue dot in the middle of the intersection. Again, all in Japanese with finger pointing and charades.

Before leaving, we collected Fukurokuju. Fukurokuji: God of health, happiness, and long life.

The other strange part of the conversation was that the monk was so happy to give us directions he almost forgot to give us Fukurokuji. We finally asked and held up our fingers showing little God. More charades… Ahhhh, hai!

Perhaps, the funniest part, we actually made it to the Itsukushima Temple. Here we collected Benzai-ten. Banzai-ten: Goddess of music, arts, and speech.

Plus, a few early cherry blossom pictures!

Our fifth stop was at the Inari Kio-jinja Shrine. This shrine was so tucked away!!

We collected Ebisu-jin. Ebisu-jin: God of prosperous business.

My favorite picture at this shrine was of the banana at the alter. It seems to be glowing!

To get to the final two temples, we took the train to save a little time and warm up!

Our sixth temple was at the Kyo-o-ji Temple. Here we collected Daikoku-ten. Daikoku-ten: God of grain harvest and wealth.

At this temple, there were many cute statues.

Inside the shrine, we were greeted by a monk who encouraged us to open the window and shake the mallet three times for our wish to come true. So, of course, we shook and wished!!

Our final temple was Zentoku-ji Temple. This temple is dedicated to Bishamon-ten. Bisamon-ten: God of protection from disaster and evil.

The completed Seven Lucky Gods of Shinjuku.
We never received an explanation of the boat during our adventure and so, I looked it up when we returned home. One explanation is the Seven Lucky Gods travel together on a treasure ship (Takarabune) and visit Japanese ports on New Year’s Eve to dispense happiness. Also, the symbol on the flag of the ship is the Chinese character for BAKU. BAKU is a fictional creature said to devour or prevent nightmares. Children are told to place a picture of the ship with the Gods under their pillow on the evening of January first. If the child has a good dream that night, they will be lucky all year.

It was a fun and successful day exploring another part of Tokyo. Honestly, I was pretty impressed with our navigation skills and ability to find all seven Temples/Shrines.

Japan Brewers Cup 2017

By wabisabisole

On January 29, 2017

In Beer, Google Map, Japan, Train, Yokohama

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a beer snob. When we learned about the Japan Brewers Cup 2017, I wasn’t quite sure it would be all that.

Until I realized there was an IPA category. Yes! Dina and her husband accompanied Dave and I and together we took the train to Yokohama. The event was held at Ōsanbashi Pier. Here was our route.