Ashikaga

On the rainy day over our weekend we visited Ashikaga.  This is one of the towns that Drew travels to for his out-of-town classes and he wanted to show me some of the sights.  Plus, there were rumors of a Mexican restaurant which I was all about!

Ashikaga Gakko

This is known as Japan's oldest university and is now a historic sight.  It is said to have been founded sometime between 794-1185.  That's pretty old.  Even with the rain, the garden looked beautiful as we stood in what used to be the classroom building.

Orihime Jinja Shrine

This shrine was built in 1937 and sits up in the hills.  Meaning lots of stairs, but completely worth the hike.  Sometimes Drew comes here between classes to eat lunch.

Mexican lunch

We found the Mexican restaurant, Southwest Paradise, and took shelter from the rain.  Mexican food is very scarce in Japan so I, of course, always crave it while I'm here.  Drew and I ordered the beef tacos, which came as a build-your-own set.  Unfortunately, we only had two tortillas a piece and were forced to stuff each taco to the brim.  They hit the spot!

Later that night we had tacos for dinner at Natty Pub because it was crucial to have a taste comparison in order to determine which establishment creates the best taco.  We were drawn to Natty Pub because they boast tacos and buffalo chicken wings, all in English, on their outside menu.  I will say that Southwest Paradise had the better, and more authentic, corn tortillas but Natty Pub put cheese on their tacos.  Cheese wins out every time. 

Clams

Time out!  Am I the only one who didn't know that when you buy clams at the grocery store that they are still alive?  Somehow I missed this memo and was quite disturbed when I dumped mine in water for cleaning and they started making bubbles as they proceeded to slip into their shells before closing shut.  Again, I'm okay that they were once alive, but I don't want to be the one who has to kill them.  In my kitchen!

After racing to the computer and googling, "why are the clams I bought still alive," I discovered that clams are sold alive and if they are dead when you buy them you should throw them out.  The suggested way to determine this is to poke at them to see if they move.  Umm...no thanks.  It turns out you can also put them in water and throw out any that float.  Those clams sat in my fridge for two days (alive!) and I was none the wiser.  Learn something new everyday I guess.  At least a tasty pasta meal was the end result.

Bike Ride

Over the long weekend we decided to save some money and spend one day in Oyama.  Drew discovered a nice path lining the river and it turned into a beautiful day so we took off on our bikes to check it out.  I'm always a happy camper on my bike even through I still have trouble keeping up with Drew.  See my usual view:

We rode and rode and rode.  I'm ecstatic that this path exists and seems to continue on into the adjacent towns.  It is exactly the kind of place I was looking for to ride my bike.  No cars, limited buildings, and a great view.

Of course I got tired long before Drew was ready to head back, but by the end of it we had biked 20 miles. Besides a small sunburn, and the wish for a memory foam bike seat, we were no worse for wear.

Kamakura

Drew had a three day weekend so we were able to take a little trip to Kamakura on Saturday.  Kamakura is about two hours south of us on the coast.  With it not being too far away, we decided to save the beach for a separate day and spend our time roaming through the various shrines and temples that dot the city.  Here were the highlights:

Great Buddha

Buddha's Shoes

The Great Buddha is made of bronze and stands about 44 feet tall making it the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan.  It was originally housed in the temple building but the building was destroyed by a tsunami in the 15th century.  Quite the sight to see.  They even have his shoes.

Meigetsu-in Temple

This temple is know as "Hydrangea Temple" because of the beautiful gardens on the temple grounds.  It was one of my favorites due to its beautiful hydrangea gardens, bamboo forest, rock gardens, and interesting architecture.

Hiking

In between temples there were hiking paths to take.  It was definitely more my speed and probably only took up about an hour of the day.  My head is up for this hike and Drew is actually behind me.

Soba Lunch

My favorite part, the food!  Drew discovered a soba restaurant for our lunch stop.  It was the first time I had ever tried buckwheat noodles.  Not too shabby.  In Japan it is polite to slurp your noodles.  It says to the cook that you are enjoying your meal.  It's much harder than you think.  We were trying to out slurp the man in the room next to us but we weren't even in the same league.   

Keep slurping!

Zeniarai Benten Shrine

At this shrine people come to wash their money.  This is supposed to make your money double.

Hasedera Temple

This temple stood out because of the hundreds of tiny statues all around the temple grounds.  I read that they are statues of Jizo Bodhisattva who is supposed to help the souls of dead children reach paradise.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

This was noted as Kamakura's most important shrine.  While we were there a wedding ceremony was being performed.

Engakuji Temple

Engakuji is a Zen temple which was founded in 1282.  There was a fantastic dragon painting on the ceiling, as well as an impressive golden gate.  This was our last stop of the day and definitely worth it.  

Sushi

Cucumber

Shrimp tempura

Drew took me to the nearby sushi restaurant and I am surprisingly pleased.  Not only is it fun, with its conveyor belt delivery system, but there were actually a few rolls that I found appetizing.  Cucumber, eggplant, and shrimp tempura will be my go to rolls.




In these sushi restaurants the sushi plates are placed on a conveyor belt that wraps around the restaurant.  If you see something you like, you grab the plate as it passes.  In this case, each plate is 100 Yen (about $1), so when it is time to pay the waitress counts up the number of empty plates that you have.  You should see the amount of sushi some of these people can consume.  I can only eat about 4 plates worth but the tiny Japanese lady sitting across from us is likely to have a stack of 10 or more.

Conveyor belt system

You can also make a special order on the touch screen, which is delivered to you by a race car that rolls out on the ledge above the conveyor belt system.  Once you grab your goods you push a button to send the car back.  Looks like some shrimp tempura is on its way.  How fun!

Fish Heads

Normally I keep this kind of thing on The Food tab, but this was an experience.  Drew found out about a common, and cheap, fish (sanma) that is used for cooking in Japan that he wanted me to try out.  Unfortunately for me, it comes in a package like this:

I guess I was lucky because sometimes it comes as the whole fish.  I have mentioned before that I love to eat fish but I hate the smell and I hate cooking it.  Seeing its head doesn't make it any better.

Now I understand that all of our food was alive, and I truly have no problem eating animals, but I find this sight unappetizing.  The Japanese have grown up in a culture that thinks about food in an entirely different way than I do.  They can be looking at a live fish swimming in a river and say "That looks delicious."  For me, a steak may look yummy but a cow grazing does not whet my appetite.  I know I have a disconnect with where my food comes from, which is why this cooking endeavor was a challenge for me.

The picture above is right after I realized I had been holding the fish by their eyeballs when moving them onto the grill pan.  Yuck.  I can't tell you how many times I washed my hands during this process.  I grilled up the salted fish in our little fish oven and served it with a lime.

It actually tasted pretty good.  However, I need to invest in some fish tweezers because the tiny bones are quite the nuisance.  Now if only I could get the fish smell out of our kitchen.

Remote Disaster

We had a little "uh-oh" moment the other day.  The remote control for our air-conditioning unit melted on top of our toaster oven.  Now I have to justify to you that this was not entirely my fault.  The top of the toaster oven as the resting place for the remote control was already established by Drew before I arrived.  Granted, I was the one who used the toaster oven when said incident occurred.  However, in my defense, I am short and cannot see that anything is actually on top of the toaster oven when I am using it.  Thus, even though I should have known it was up there, it was not visible and I contend that this disaster was not solely my responsibility.  Luckily, it still works and no battery acid was spilled, just some toxic plastic fumes inhaled.

It kind of reminds me of that yellow colander I sat on a hot stove that one time...sorry Mother!

Tokyo Trip - Part 2

Now onto what we saw while in Tokyo.  I thought I'd give an overview of the highlights.

The Crowds

As always, Tokyo is full of people.  We went on a Sunday so some of the streets were shut down so that everyone could meander as they please.  This is probably the only thing that I really don't like about Tokyo.  This many people in one place is not my cup of tea.

The crowd is endless

The Park

Tokyo has several parks, but we took a stroll through Yoyogi Park.  It was such a nice escape from the crowds, towering buildings, and endless pavement.  Can you tell I'm not a city person?

The Greasers

In Harajuku's Yoyogi park there is a group of guys who dress up like greasers and dance to 50's rock and roll.  They are part of the "Rockabilly Club" and they meet up every Sunday to perform.  It was an entertaining sight to see.

The Festivals

There seemed to be a few festivals going on that we were lucky enough to wander into.  The Vietnam festival had a string of food booths set up with an array of appetizing aromas.  Too bad I was dead set on Indian food.

Group carrying their float

Vietnam Festival performance

The Arcades

Drew insisted on going into the Sega arcade in the Akihabara district of Tokyo.  This arcade was seven stories, each story becoming more intense and more nerdy.  I could handle up to the second floor where there was a Tetris machine.  Drew leveled out on the sixth floor...

The Shopping

You can buy just about anything in Tokyo.  Apparently, Drew should even be able to find shoes large enough to fit him.  One of the more interesting stores we went into was Tokyu Hands.  It is an eight story department store with each level containing a different category of item.  It is set up with partial levels and you make your way through the store in a spiral fashion.  I enjoyed the stairs which shared with customers the amount of calories burned while ascending to the top.

Almost up to 10 calories burned

The Alleys

Ame-yokocho is just one of the many little alleyways that are abundant in Japan.  This is Drew's favorite part because these tiny streets contain an endless variety of mom-and-pop shops and restaurants. This is where you can find the good stuff.

Overall it was a great day in Tokyo.  I think my legs are almost as sore as they were from our hike.

Tokyo Trip - Part 1

Due to a chance of rain on Sunday, we decided to forego another hike and take a trip to Tokyo instead.  It's a big city, there are lot's of people, tons to see, yeah, yeah, yeah.  I will discuss the sights in another post, but first and foremost let's talk about the food.  That truly is the reason I wanted to go to Tokyo.  Last time we went to Tokyo, two years ago, we found a hole in the wall Indian restaurant that opened my eyes to the joys of a foreign cuisine.  I mean, the naan at that place was to die for!  We were determined to find the establishment again and with Drew on the case I knew I needn't worry.  He is the best "googler" and navigator that I've ever seen.

First stop, lunch.

This jewel serves up doner kebabs, a common Turkish fast food item.  If you look in the window, you can see the huge chunk of meat rotating on a spit which is then shaved off and served with veggies and sauce in a pita.  Our first run-in with this dish was in Italy.  It was so addicting that we sought it out again in Germany and now in Japan.  The Original, spicy please.  We will be back!

Later for dinner I was not disappointed.  Drew found the elusive Indian restaurant.

We both had the Butter Chicken with naan.  Check out the size of it!  Crispy in the middle, doughy on the edges.  I'm in love.  Drew asked for seconds...are you surprised??

First Earthquake

Early Friday morning I awoke to my first earthquake.  There may have been others that I mistakenly thought were caused by a large truck rolling by, but this was the first earthquake that I actually knew was an earthquake.  It was very small, no rattling or anything dramatic, thankfully.  I guess I thought it would be more of a back and forth motion, but it actually felt like my bed was moving around on top of rollers.

The next morning I found that a 5.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in Yokaichiba, about two hours from Oyama, around 2:00 am.  According to wikipedia, approximately 1,300 earthquakes of this magnitude occur in the world each year.  Guess I should get used to it.  Like California, Japan seems to get these rumblings frequently.

The Routine

We've begun to settle into a routine.  Our alarm goes off at 10:00 am (I can make it to 9:00 am at this point) and Drew starts work around 2:00 pm.  That gives us plenty of time to hang out or even run a quick errand.  Yesterday we went to a park nearby to try out the Frisbee I smuggled into Japan in my suitcase.  It had been awhile since I'd had time to play on a weekday.  It was great!  There are also tennis courts and a rock climbing gym in town that we plan to check out soon.

Today I went for a bike ride to one of the larger parks.  Check out this monster playground!  I'm telling you, Japan has the best playgrounds I've ever seen.  It must have to do with the fact that suing isn't popular, because there is no way the U.S. could get away with some of the crazy, dangerous set ups we've come across.  Do you think I'd get in trouble if I tried it out?  That slide is so tempting! 

Drew has an hour dinner break on three out of the five days he has class, which works out perfectly because we live right above the school and Drew is able to pop up for a meal.  His work day ends around 9:30 pm or 10:00 pm.  Then it is off for a night walk/bike ride before we turn in.

At this point, we've decided to reserve the weekends for hiking trips, train travel, eating out, and any late night junk food consumption that we so desire.  Meaning, all the good stuff won't happen until then.

One Week Reflection

One week down!  I thought I’d reflect on my time here so far and note a few of the things that I miss from home.  Most of these items force me to spend a lot more time on chores around the house, but at least I have the time for it.  I’ll be curious to see what this list will contain a month in. 

Things I miss

A dryer:  It isn’t a huge deal to have to hang out all of our clothes, but there are only so many places to hang them.  This causes me to have to do small loads, almost every day, instead of one large load every week.  Luckily, Japan does have handy contraptions to help with hanging efficiency.  I’m also not excited about all my clothes being stiff and crinkly.

Awesome clippy, holder thing

A large refrigerator: We have a half size fridge.  The only problem is that it makes me have to go to the grocery every few days because I can’t fit much food into it.

A dishwasher: I HATE washing dishes and this week has been dishes overload.  Take a look at the huge pile I just did this morning.  This is an everyday chore now.  I invested in rubber gloves because my hands are not happy about this.

I thought it would be nicer to see the "After" picture

A car:  Don't get me wrong, I really love riding a bike but I do miss one thing about having a car.  The storage space.  Not much can fit in the bike basket for transport.  It will be a miracle if I don’t lose a bag of groceries before the year is up.  I guess it works out that I only have a small fridge since I can’t fit a large load of groceries in the basket anyways.

The yoga mat didn't quite fit

Sushi:  Sounds crazy right?  Now when I say sushi, I’m talking about American sushi rolls.  It is impossible to find that wonderful stuff here.  The only thing that I’m aware exists in this town is a cucumber roll (rice, cucumber, and a dab of wasabi).  Exciting stuff.  However, I’ve heard rumors that in Tokyo a California roll can be found in select places.  No more spicy shrimp, volcano, or spider rolls for me.  I’m hoping to learn to roll my own sushi to correct this tragedy.  I’ll be sure to add a picture to The Food page if this plan ever comes to fruition.

Surprisingly, there aren't any other food items that made the list.  There are actually plenty tastes from home here in Oyama.  We live right across from a McDonald’s and KFC, and there is a Denny’s right down the street.  How much more American can you get?  The best place I’ve spotted so far is a pizza place called…wait for it…Pizza’s!  Very original.  We haven’t quite figured out the possessive apostrophe yet.

Time to go cook dinner (a.k.a. DISHES!! MORE DISHES!!)