A Golden Sh*t to Celebrate the New Year

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Perched on a shelf in the living room is a tiny creature made of glass. It's a handcrafted, adorably round pig (buta in Japanese if you bother to learn anything while reading my silly posts,) a gift from my good friend Yumi to celebrate the New Year. So why does a seemingly sophisticated, world-traveled kinda gal give her friend (tomodachi if you're taking notes,) a chubby pig with a pile of golden poop (unchi if you're a teacher's pet,)as a gift? Well, we'll ask Yumi to step up, comment and make it all clear to us.

Yumi??????

What a Wonderful Surprise (and so much for Setsubun!)

We woke up to a rather cold house. I could barely wipe the crust from my eyes before I heard "Jessica Chan get down here now!" I threw off the covers anticipating that somebody had robbed us before Matt finished "There's snow EVERYWHERE!"We spent the morning making "yukidaruma," watching Luci try to chase snowflakes and destroy our snowman and cuddling in the living room watching the snow fall.
We were pllanning on throwing soybeans at devils and dining on yakitori in Kamakura but will have to wait again for Setsubun 2009:)

The "Rents"...the Final Chapter

My folks departed earlier in the month. We spent their last day bouncing around Kita Kamakura from temple to temple before finishing off the day with dinner at Hideyoshi.




According to dad, these are old storage houses for crops and stuff.

Monks' Shoes


Pretty Pattern


Daffodils were one of the only flowers blooming, but Plum Blossoms are coming soon!


My folks on top of a hill overlooking a temple.


This fella brought us this milky, unfiltered sake with ginger. He said it was to wake us up for the new year or something like that. It was really sweet with chunks of rice cut by the spicy ginger bits. If anything, it warmed up our appetites for dinner!


Somebody Important's Tomb (If You Know Who, Please Comment)




The sun set quickly while we were at Engaku Temple behind the main drag in Kamakura.


New Year's decorations for sale.


Sign from a ramen vendor. There were all sorts of vendors with food and New Year's decorations/good luck charms. I bought a good luck charm for my car which is a popular thing to do.


This was pretty lucky! I was about to toss my ten yen and ring the bell to wish for a longer life when these two gentlemen showed up to decorate the brand new rope! I got to be one of the first people to ring the bell after he decorated it with various good fortunes.


Sweet Finish to a Great Day: After our meal at Hideyoshi Yakitori, Yumi's parents presented us with delicious dried kaki, or persimmons. See all that sugar? I though that after the kaki were dried, they were rolled in powdered sugar. Yumi's mom explained that that sugar comes from the fruit itself during the long drying process

Part Two:

Sign outside Yokosuka Naval Base Society of Manners....I like that!

Doing Major Damage at the Sushi Bar in Odawara
A Sympathetic Wipe


Mito, Tiny Fishing & Farmer Village Near our First Japanese Home
This tiny town's port looks at Mt Fuji straight on. The steps to the temple were only fifty yards from the beach and the view from the small temple stares straight to the bay and Mt Fuji. There were several very, very old statues with faded carvings and an old well covered in small statues and weather-beaten decorations.
Some of the Dozens of Decorations on the Well

The 'Rents: Part Ichi

My folks came out a week ago and it's been a whirlwind of eating, toasting and sightseeing. We strolled down the street for awesome ramen and beer their first night in town. They opted for the chashumen, (pork and fried noodles,) and Matt and I had gomokuramen which is a ton of different meats and veggies with fried noodles. (Zushi, Japan)

The Best Birthday Yet!

We spent the night at our friends' restaurant in Kamakura. They are some of the nicest people we know and the shop always has good food, nice customers and great atmosphere. We ate and drank all night and they even had a beautiful cake with "happy birthday jessica chan" written on an edible white chocolate card! It was a great night and truly special. THANKS:) (Kamakura)

Pears Skate?

Temple in Kanazawa Hakeii


Yakiniku: DIY Dining

I'm pretty sure this has caught on already in the USA: You sit down to a table with a gas grill embedded in the middle controlled by a knob on the side of the table. Food comes at you raw, in bite-sized portions and you cook it and eat it right off the grill. We had all kinds of meat and veggies last night including this cut of chicken. It's a sliver of cartilage with some tasty white bits of meat. With only a little salt, it's moist, crunchy and DELICIOUS! (Kanazawa Hakeii)
Much, much more photos coming soon...

Chawamushi: Yep, It's Got Gin Nan in it!!!

This was taken at the Ashida family's new restaurant, (the couple with the turtle.) They moved a few months ago and still have delicious food featuring seasonal, local ingredients albeit a bit further down the road from the train station.

Chawamushi, usually served in a small cup, varies in ingredients but I think the foundation is consistent: Hon dashi (bonito fish) stock and egg. Their's features local mushrooms, green stems, plum leaf (?) and of course, ginko nuts (just one--kinda like the prize in a cracker jack box.) The first time we had Chawamushi was in Osaka with my parents' friend, Takabe San. I remember being fascinated by the layers of egg in this small bowl with a different ingredient combination in each layer. (Ashida's restaurant in Yokosuka, Japan)

I'd Like to Introduce You to...Mochi

I know the food is hard to see, but it's mochi, pounded rice that becomes a mushy mass. It's used in desserts, candy, crackers and even dried and cut into little squares that are grilled before eating like Yumi's mom is presenting above. These dense squares were toasted on the yakitori grill then drizzled with soy sauce and topped with chopped seaweed. Very, very good! The flavors are simple, the food is filling and it's comforting during the winter. Pounding rice into mochi is a New Year's tradition in Japan. If anybody wants to invite us to mochi pounding on the first...ahem....we're available. (Hideyoshi Yakitori Shop, Kamakura Japan)

Yamanashi & Kita Kamakura Photos are Uploaded:

Yamanashi

Kita Kamakura

Yamanashi Prefecture Two-Day Getaway

This is the home of the famous Samurai, Takeda, and family. It was truly one of the best temples I've ever been to. Plus, we got to walk around most of the house which is very rare. This is the backyard. I can't imagine that it's more beautiful any other season.

Here's a glimpse of the gorgeous colors that Yumi and I saw all over the prefecture. There were many red and yellow maple trees plus splashes of color on the only three trees bearing fruit: Quince, Apple and Persimmon.

This place was my favorite thing that we saw in two days. This temple was amazing. The garden was laid out perfectly. Despite the season, it was still gorgeous.

I always think these things are so cool and mean to take photos of them to share with you guys. Anyway, this is a "drain" that guides the rain water from the roof to the ground. It's really pretty to watch the water trickle down and I wonder why traditional homes opt for this instead of an ugly pipe...

Finally! A true Japanese breakfast! I enjoyed: sweet potato, baby okra, lotus root, two types of seaweed, various root vegetables, nato (fermented beans,) salted cabbage, miso soup, sweet red bean, white rice and green tea for my breakfast at the resort.
Last night, we soaked in a mineral bath on the balcony overlooking the valley. It was really, really cool and liberating. I felt like a Japanese lady in a woodblock work of art.

This is the view from the door of our room. To the left is the bathroom, to the right, the shoe rack and straight ahead the living area. It's full tatami or straw matt floors. We slept on futons, and hung out and went to the onsen (community baths,) in our yukata (informal kimonos.) Thee only thing in the room was a low coffee table, a few cushions and a tv. We watched some Angelina Jolie (the only thing in English so I could comprehend,) movie before passing out after a French-inspired meal that burst our guts.

Seriously. Beautiful. And this is November folks, NOVEMBER!

All over were strings of "kaki," or persimmon as we Americans call it. According to Yumi (we'll have to believe what she says for we have no alternative,) there are several types of persimmon: while some are delicious off the branch, these are bitter. So, locals dry them and then they are enjoyed later when they are get a bit sweeter. We sampled some and although I didn't like them as a child, they are quite yummy to me now.

Did you think there wouldn't be a photo of me and sake?!?! Ha!
This sake holds the symbol (crest) of the Takeda family, one of the most famous samurai in Japanese history. So you see, I'm doing it for culture's sake...drinking the sake I mean.

"Houtou" This is the dish that the area is known for. It's a wonderful flour noodle hot-pot with veggies and meats including a local "cabocha" vegetable that I think is like our acorn squash. Anyway, the squash, noodles, carrots, several Japanese mushrooms and green onion are cooked together with some chicken or pork plus the chubby, white udon noodles. You simply use a wooden ladle and chopsticks to dish some into a small bowl and then slurp and munch down.
So, so, SO GOOD!!!!
(Yamanashi Prefecture, Can't be More Specific Because Yumi Was in Charge and I Was Just Along for the Ride...)

Kita Kamakura

Faded writing on a torii gate

At the "divorce temple," a place where women could escape bad marriages and become nuns in a time where divorce was not allowed.

Steps leading to a mausoleum. Most were lost in fires or a flood but a few remained in this old temple.

There are a few trees that blossom in the winter. This one (peach I think,) is a little early. The rest of tree appeared dead but there were a few early petals determined to open.