Things I overheard while talking to myself

So this weekend while I was home we got some Asahi Beer, and as I was heading downstairs I passed the printout we have of my great-great-great grandfather's obituary. He was the one who was in Japan just as it opened and died there, so when we were in Japan we visited his grave.

Anyway, I knew his picture and obit were there, but as I was heading down the stairs I looked at it and did a massive double take. There's his picture, and on the right border is an ad for...

An ad for Asahi Lager! From 1915!

I knew Asahi was an old brand, but that's just funny.

As part of my attempt to become a somewhat competent cook by the end of the summer before I become entirely responsible for my own food I've started experimenting, like making soba for tonight. So far it seems to be going well, better then when I tried to make fried rice. It was edible, but I screwed up the rice and it wasn't soft enough. Apparently the steamer rack is only for other vegetables, it's not necessary or wise to put the rice on it (in my defense it's a different cooker than the little one I had at school and the directions were confusing). When I made that I also realized that I'd loaded it up with two things my dad hates, onions and garlic, but he wasn't going to eat it so it was fine.

I also found out that a food market called Tran's on Route 9 carries tofu pouches for making inarizushi, which made me very happy. They also had some Japanese grape gummy candy, which reminded me why I love Japanese candy since it actually tastes like fruit and isn't loaded up with sugar, so it's not as bad for you. And where else can you get Milk Soda but in Japan (which, by the way, is actually pretty good).

Since I'm making soba and that requires fish stock we now have a supply of dashi that we can use for miso soup or other things. I think it's cool how they manage to use the same ingredients twice to make two different types of stock that will last a while, and it shows a prudent way of thinking on their part. I also want to try out a tofu dish that simmers the tofu in the dashi, since it's supposed to be very comforting on cold and rainy days. I think the reason a majority of the people who don't like tofu don't like it is that they've never tasted it when it's prepared right, since if you do it right and get the right texture rather than the lumpy stuff they serve in a lot of American dishes I think it's quite yummy.

Tonight's soba will just have some veggies that are the same as ones we had in Japan, including one with holes in it that we weren't sure of at first (turns out it's a lotus root). I also like to add some fried tofu to it and make kitsune soba, and adding eggs is also an option. If we all ate like the Japanese we would be much healthier and live longer, so at least I'll start doing it on my end.

Alright, we have the ichiban dashi and the other ingredients combined and set to boil, am working on frying the tofu and will do the soba noodles next, followed by the spinach. So far, we're good.

I'm also starting to see the advantages of the cooking aprons they have over there that cover your arms with the fried tofu. I've taken one of my shirts and put it on backwards to mimic the effect and avoid hot oil ouches on bare arms.

I also wish that Americans had premade fried tofu over here, rather than having to do it myself. They do finally have bonito flakes, but they've yet to completely catch up.

I'll start with something scenic, mainly the view from the top of Mt. Hiei:

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Next up, Takayama!

(I'm back at this point, but hadn't gotten to posting this as of the 29th when I wrote it)

As I’ve mentioned before, I think I’m very much a Kansai person at heart. Yesterday and the first part of today in Yokohama very much reinforced that for me.

There’s a bit of a stereotype that Kansai people are much friendlier and more laid back than their Kanto counterparts, and all the evidence (with a few exceptions – see below) seems to reinforce that. The general atmosphere in Yokohama is a lot less friendly towards foreigners, and I just picked up a lot more suspicion and even dislike towards us that I did not feel in Kyoto. This is a bit ironic given that Yokohama was founded as a port for foreigners to enter (as one guide in a museum compared it to a newer, larger version of Dejima, the island where foreigners were kept during the Edo Period) but it may in fact be because of that history that the attitude exists.

I think the low point of this trip (as of our last night here) is going to be last night when we were looking for something to eat. The night before we’d gone to a Chinese place right down the street, and we’d spotted a noodle restaurant on our way back from visiting the cemetery. We figured we’d just go in, order, and all would be dandy like it had been back in another noodle restaurant in Kyoto were we’d gone our first night there.

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We're now at the Kansai Airport at the gate getting ready to depart, and now we have a long 19 hour flight ahead of us. Gah! I think I'll sleep for most of it, so it shouldn't be so bad, but this is the downside of international travel. :P

Next stop, San Francisco!

(Written as of two days ago, posted in Yokohama)

We’re now in Takayama and out of Kyoto, with one more night here before we go over to Yokohama where my great great great (I think that’s the right number of greats) grandfather worked for the British Consulate, and hopefully while we’re there we’ll clear up exactly what he did there, since we’ve heard he was the Consul General, but facts have a way of being distorted when passed down through families.

Since I last updated we went to two places: first to Nijo Castle, the seat of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the other Edo Shoguns in Kyoto, and then to Mt. Hiei the next day. Njio Castle was very impressive and rightly imposing, and one of its more interesting features is something called a Nightingale Floor in the living area that “sings” when people walk over it because of the way the nails on the underside of it are set up. Ieyasu put it in so no one could sneak up on him and try to assassinate him without being heard, as like most Shoguns he became very paranoid later in life, though I think his way was a particularly clever method of dealing with it.

The difference in weather is very noticeable up in the mountains here, since in Kyoto it was very humid (while not necessarily hot) but up here it’s very cool and pleasant. We also happen to be staying right on the river (as in I can look out my window and it’s right there, meaning I could throw something out the window and it would land in it) so that adds to the coolness and lets us have a nice white noise that has probably been helping me sleep.

This is a very interesting city so far, and as our guidebook said the food has been excellent. One of their specialties out here is Hida beef that’s raised in the hills around here, and they have their own style of soba. I happen to love soba, so I’m especially happy about this.

They also have quite a few interesting wood carvings around here, since wood was the primary export of this area and what put it on the map, since people in Kyoto wanted the wood for their houses and for other crafts. The connection to Kyoto also explains why I keep seeing the wheel that’s Kyoto’s symbol around here.

Today we’re going to go up to a place called Furokawa up the river that’s supposed to be full of old houses and temples, and then putter around here for a bit.

On a random note, I wish we had canned coffee in the States that wasn’t that watered down Starbucks crap. The stuff they have over here is really good, though I can’t figure out why one brand (“Boss” Coffee) has Tommy Lee Jones as its spokesperson. We actually took a picture of that one along with our “random weird things” that we’ve been photographing along the way.

Next one more day here, then off to Yokohama for two nights to find out about my great-great grandfather, then one night in Nara, and then home. *phew*

Made it to Vancouver, getting ready to get on the next plane to Osaka. Haven't had much sleep, though I drifted off for a bit on the plane from DC. Like what I've seen Canada very much, and have made a note to come back properly some day. They certainly have a nice airport. Will try to get some sleep on the flight over to Japan itself.

On another note, the food in Canada is also very good. Must be because they don't load it up with all that artificial crap.

Well, I'm back home for most of a day, then leaving for Japan!

The rest of Orientation went pretty well, and I should be all set for the beginning of the term. I'm a bit in limbo because they apparently haven't processed the credit I got for GCC yet, but they should get that sometime next week, and in theory it'll spare me taking Freshman English 101 and Soc 101 (again). After we get back I'll contact them about that, and if they haven't gone through I'll go down to the high school and find out what's going on with that.

And one more thing about Teh Gay at Suffolk: We did an activity in our smaller groups of about 15-20 people called "Take a Stand", where when the leaders say an issue and you have to go to one side of the room or the other labeled with "Agree" or "Disagree" signs. One of the questions was about whether you'd be comfortable having a gay roommate, and while I shut my mouth the results were interesting, which was that all but two people (both girls, one siting religious reasons) said it would be okay! And all the guys we had were in the "Agree" corner! So maybe I have nothing to worry about after all. :)

I also determined in that same activity that the students are fairly articulate people who are willing to listen, since some of the touchier issues (Iraq, abortion) stayed civil and didn't devolve into shouting matches like these things normally do. I'm very encouraged.

I'm also almost completely packed for Japan, though I'm going to pack my little Moshi pillow with me. While I was trying to sleep the other night in the Suffolk dorm I kept having the urge to hug something, so I wound up balling up some of my clothes and wrapping them in a towel as a makeshift thing. I fell asleep almost immediately after. Not sure what that was about, but I've made a note of it for when I have trouble falling asleep. And yes, that's probably why I love stuffed animals so much. :)

So I'm looking at some sights in Osaka (a city Mom and I are going to be in) trying to figure out what we should do there. And I find...

Duck tours!

The reason I was as amused as I was is because Boston also has some very famous duck tours, which I went on a number of years ago and will be going on again during Suffolk's orientation. They're good way to see the city, and the guys running the amphibious craft are really funny. Since Osakans have a reputation for being comedians I can imagine they're much the same over there, and I'll put that on our list of stuff to look for.

Something tells me that some Japanese businessman came over to Boston years ago, saw those, and brought the idea back. That's a very Japanese attitude -- take something from somewhere else, and copy it! Just like when they first saw guns from the Portuguese and the Daimyo ordered his blacksmiths to make copies by the end of the day. :D