I Will Have Nightmares Tonight

This morning, I saw this giant spider as I was washing my hair. Our bath sorta juts out into a garden area and the glass is next to the wall of our living room. This spider found her happy zone there. It's warm, flat, protected and she can see any prey/predators coming from below. I thought she killed a bug and was wrapping it up for later but after googling up a storm I learned the truth.















She's got babies! Those are Matt's sausage palms to show you how big the spider is but I think it's a bad angle. Honestly, this spider is at LEAST six inches in diameter! She's got a flat disc of 200 little babies wrapped up in there. Yuck! I hate spiders that have long legs and especially ones that are big enough that I can make out details like hair, spots, feelers, EYES--freaking gross!
If you are interested in the topic, here are some nice links. They made me gag and vomit but hey--go for it: Wikipedia's Page and Another Scary Photo
Oh, and in case you're wondering: she's been there for at least 16 hours now. I guess she'll be there until she has her babies.
~for Brandon!~

UPDATE: Matt heroically got the mama spider into a cooler and transported her to a hill near our house. Safe at last...

"Nice" Pachinko Ruins
Nirasaki, Yamanashi Prefecture

I had to Photoshop this photo (equalizer to bring out the foreground) since I use a digital camera and no knowledge of how to use it. I love taking photos but I'm a lazy photographer. My enjoyment comes from the experience of wandering around alone and blogging. One of these days, I'll buy an expensive camera and learn to take the photos that I know I have inside me.

This is the foyer of the Pachinko parlor. Unfortunately, the place was locked up tight:( There were rows of pachinko machines inside and this cool, pink retro phone too!
This giant parking lot overlooks a statue store and not much else...
A bunch of local birds have turned this small shack into their home. It sat in the back of the parking lot so I'm guessing it's either for cashing in your pachinko balls or getting your parking validated. Translation anyone??? Dave? Yumi? Can you comment if you know?

Trials Comp Nirasaki...

Muddy and Mucky!
It's hot, extremely humid and there is NOTHING around save a tiny convenience store. We drove through torrents of rain at 0530 in the a.m. to have the rain stop literally 5 minutes before the comp began. Lucky? Perhaps. It meant that for the next six hours, we'd sweat while squishing our way though mud and puddles while trekking from each course to the next.

A judge takes a time out on a large stone, part of an old castle that stood in this location hundreds of years ago. The comp utilized the ruins in some comp sections.

The castle ruins sit in a small valley flanked by lush mountains, filled with rice patties with a view of Mount Fuji which we didn't see until the next day.

This small town/village is in Yamanashi prefecture and is famous for delicious fruits and so-so wine. There were all sorts of fruit trees but the only thing bearing fruit were the plum trees and chestnut trees. That's a chestnut above--Yeeowch!
Rice Seedlings and Bird

Again...lotsa rice patties....

Oh yeah, this post is about Matt's comp! Here's a photo of him navigating a slippery slope and rock obstacle. He didn't come in dead last this time which means he's getting better! :) (Nirasaki, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan)

Neighborhood Matsuri (Street Fair)
Since I had to work today for a few hours, we couldn't stray too far from home. We checked out a small matsuri near Yokosuka base and brought the dogs to stretch our legs. Here's a view of some locals carrying their mikoshi, portable shrine, and "blessing" different businesses. Behind them is a smaller version for the kids. Cute! (Shiori Station, Yokosuka)

Matsuri food is a lot like carnival or fair food in the states. You can't help but gorge but even as you swallow, you know you'll regret it. I always approach street fairs with gusto but abandon my purchases after a few dissatisfied bites. The one thing I always finish is the shaved ice. My tastebuds were honed in this country,and this is the only place that gets the flavors right!

Modern Matsuri Gear
These cuties were sipping beverages while managing traffic.

Octopus? Octopi? Octopusses?
Hundreds of baby octopus/octopi/octopusses gave their lives in the ultimate sacrifice: Takoyaki!
I think of this stuff as ultimate matsuri food. Slathered in mayo, dried bonito fish flakes, sweet pickled ginger and maybe some seaweed seasoning, it's total street fair food: fatty, sweet, bloat-inducing and awesome. Besides, it makes people back in the states cringe in horror. Okay, fine! You win! That's the real reason I eat it!

Foreground: The main ingredient
Middle: The finished product
Background: Work in progress

Yabusame & Yakitori:
There are Those Who Shoot and Those Who Simply Eat Shoots

Yabusame is one of "the things" to do in our area. I'm sure it's quite a sight to see if you get off your butt and get to Kamakura at least five hours early so you can sit in front. We arrived an hour and a half before the ceremonies and the only thing we saw was a blur as the contestents zipped by our twenty foot gap.

With achy feet and a four-foot Ma Chan who could only see treetops and armpits, we decided to go get food and drink satisfied with the "been there done that" bragging rights.

This is the runway. In between contestents, people were allowed to cross it. Unfortunately, this is the best view we saw of the competition.

We decided to step outside our comfort zone of chicken hearts and knee cartilage and try this special raw liver. The chickens have some sort of diet that makes their livers really white. Verdict: Not too shabby. This is the ONE and ONLY time I've slightly enjoyed liver. Of course, anything is great when you have a nice draft beer to wash it down!

Rainy season is here and that means lots of bamboo shoots are springing up everywhere! It's a lot like the artichoke: You work your butt off for this little gem of a morsel burried in the middle but damn if it ain't worth it! These shoots were quartered, speared and grilled over charcoal and touched with a little miso (secret) sauce before serving. Delicious!

What it's like to be a dish in a Yakitori restaurant.
(ooooh....artsy!)

Snapped during a very colorful session of "Pick on Tomo," Ma Chan's boyfriend. (If I have to explain the joke to you, you're too young, too naive or simply not a friend of mine.)

One of Tomo's Many Shirts with Great "Engrish"
He's got another with the same phrase plastered across the front of a bright yellow tee. I guess he showed up to go with Ma Chan to the Yokosuka open base event and she gasped in horror and made him buy another shirt before entering the base. ha-ha!
(Hideyoshi Yakitori, Kamakura)

Flats McFarlane's First Comp!

Last Saturday, we took off at Midnight and drove to Motegi where they have this big race track compound owned by Honda Motors. They test race cars, motorcycles, host competitions and have recreation stuff. Matt's bike trials competition was in a recreation area called "Hello Woods." On two hour's sleep, he competed all day! Motegi is several hour's North so I got to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom...like a bonus round!

Behind us is the number one ranked Japanese trials bike rider. His father is a champ of the original trials style on motor bikes. Those are the sons of Enamoto San, a guy that Matt befriended riding one day. His kids are both into the sport. They are a genuinely nice family and Enamoto San took care of registering Matt and everything!

Matt's practicing for the next comp in May. I'm stoked to watch him compete, see the elite level riders do their thing plus explore new sections of Japan that I'd otherwise not see. Gambate Mattoo San!(that's what the boys call him:)
(Motegi Speedway, Japan)

Just When I Thought Japan Couldn't Get Any Better...

...they go and invent this stuff! Yes! It's self-heating sake on-the-go! Perfect for two gals looking to get a little toasted while soaking in the Zen, Kamakura atmosphere. This nifty invention is some sort of physics miracle with a cup of sake in the middle. You turn it over, remove the seal, push the button and flip it over. Wait patiently for two minutes (one if you're my boozie sis,) and open the lid to enjoy nice, steaming sake on a mildly chilly March morn...

I think my hiragana is getting better (or Adrienne's constant nagging for katsudon made me more aware,) because I've never noticed this restaurant right outside the Hase stop on the Enoden line yet I've been here a dozen times and he's been here that many years at least. There was only one fella running the line, serving, cleaning and ringing up the fifteen seats and yet it was packed. It's pricey at twelve bucks but that man does something to his bonito stock because that's the best damn katsudon I've ever had!

Here's an obligatory photo of my smelly sister stinking up the beautiful photo of the Hasedera temple. (Just checking to see if she's reading my blog like she promised to. If not, I take it back--she really does reek a bit. )

"Brochure-inspired," but it's hard not to....

I always feel annoyed when I meet gaijins that haven't at least been to this location when living in the Miura Peninsula. It's like living in Florida but never seeing Gatorland.
On second thought, it's like living in California but never visiting Disneyland. You know what, forget it. It's just lame! (Daibutsu, Kamakura)
What the f-? How'd we end up here? Yumi, that's how! She knows I'll try anything and she's an awesome saleswoman! Next thing you know I've got THIS in front of me! Oh, and if you still haven't figured it out--that's an entire hoof of a pig. Nails, claws, talons--whatever! It's a mass of marrow, bone, nails, fat, skin and a bit of meat. In case you don't understand my reaction...
...maybe now you will. It's HUGE right?! So I've got to be polite and make a decent dent in this thing while Yumi and her parents nod approvingly and I look to my loyal little sister and motion to her like "dig in and help me why don't you?" Her reaction was "I'm full, sorry, not another bite!" What a traitor! So I downed bits of marrow and fat and sucked on pig nails for for an hour (Yumi was quick to point out that there was "much more to eat," halfway through,) before admitting that I was finished. Thanks Takahashi's for my first (and last) pig foot ever and thanks to my little sister FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. (Hideyoshi Yakitori, Kamakura)

"White Snow and Black Eggs"

Hakone was coated in a thick layer of fluffy white powder yesterday. Luckily, it was the day that Hideyoshi closes so Yumi and her parents drove A and I up the foot of Mt Fuji and one of the "Fuji Five Lakes," for a day of sightseeing! At Hakone Jinja, Adrienne and I got fortunes that were identical! Out of over one hundred available types, we both grabbed #46 (Daijo!) out of a box that read we'd have the best fortune available!

This is a kurotamago (black egg,) that is cooked in the hot spring water heated by lava. Something makes the egg's shell black but the egg is totally delicious. Each egg you gobble gives the eater seven extra years of life! As we started descending the mountain, a few large flakes came swirling past us. Within seconds, it was a flurry of soft, powdery snow!!! What a wonderful experience as the powder was totally different from the icy snow we got here a few weeks ago. Adrienne hasn't seen snow in fifteen years so it was a real treat for her!

Our final visit was to a famous soba (buckwheat noodle,) restaurant in a two story traditional Japanese home. We sat on tatami floors, sipping brown tea before eating tempura udon, above. Two large shrimp are battered, fried and placed in a hot bowl of fish stock with some local veggies. Sounds of slurping filled the room and within minutes, we were all fat and happy.

Some of the ugliest things taste the best!

Chikuwa: Sounds cute, looks repulsive but tastes DELISH!
This is a tube that the Japanese consider to be a "fish cake." It's part of a kelp stew called oden that is popular when it's chilly. I've had these at low-end places where they are like chewing on sponges. This one was meaty, not fishy at all and changed my mind about the funky looking fish cake.

Pass Me the Sake, I'm Going In...
I like nothing better than eating something that my Japanese friends assumed that I wouldn't. I think I do it more for their surprised expressions and exclamations of "Eeeehhhhh! Jessica ate that?" This is diced, raw octopus marinated with the wasabe radish. Verdict: once you get past that slimy start, it's killer! The bursts of spicy wasabe are fun!

The Best Gyoza I've Ever Had!
Okay, this isn't ugly but I had to share it anyway. After blossom viewing, we ended up at this Chinese-themed restaurant and ordered gyoza (pot-stickers,) with flour made with shiso, the fragrant and delicious leaves that it seems, the Japanese eat with everything!

Plum Blossom Viewing Slideshow