Taiko Drums!

Here's a short clip of an AMAZING performance by Shozuidaiko, the Japanese Training Mission's Taiko and Brass band, on their recent visit to the Port of Halifax.

Speaking of bees - amazing bee evolution in Japanese bees!

Speaking of bees, bees in another part of the world have come up with an AMAZING defence mechanism against their worst enemy, the very agressive giant Asian Hornet. Their stingers can't pierce its tough exoskeleton, so they devised a "hot defensive bee ball" - they all get together in a swarm around the invader, and beat their wings until they cook the hornet to death inside the ball, while remaining unharmed themselves!!!!

AMAZING... Read more here.

Kotatsu for world peace?

Mainichi has a wonderful opinion piece on how the world might be a better place if the use of the kotatsu was more widespread.  Personally, we can't imagine why on earth use of the kotatsu hasn't caught on more in Canada, and other northern areas. They are just the best!  In brief, it's the way the Japanese stay warm in the winter, with limited central heating. Its a special, small electric heater screwed to the bottom of a square or coffee table, with a large duvet sort of blanket over-top, and a piece of board the same size as the surface of the table put on top.  Its super warm and cozy, there's nothing like the feeling of having your lower half tucked in and warm while watching TV or playing games, reading, surfing on the laptop, etc.

I've written about our family kotatsu before, its become an indispensable part of our winter-time life. We all gather around it come evening, the cats jostling for position on top, little Lila jostling for position underneath, with our legs in there too.  Our old table was quite old and it broke, and the new one we have is smaller, so we all have to squeeze in a little tighter!

We joke about the "peace of the kotatsu" often at our house.  But it really is true, it calms and soothes tempers, even amongst the cats! Cats that normally want to smack at each other, once they get settled down on top, will sleep close together, happy as can be.

For instance, Baby and Peepers:

And Peepers and Kuroi:


No clawing, no fighting, just everyone enjoying the warm cuddly nature of the kotatsu. So maybe that gentleman from Mainichi wasn't too far off after all! :)

Hakodate Christmas Tree

Every year, like to Boston, we send a tree to our sister city of Hakodate - SMZ was traveling in the area this year, and did a great blog post on it with lots of pics of our big tree! Check it out!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

You're *sure* its local? An interesting way to be sure...

In Japan, convenience stores don't just sell pop and chips, as the often do here - they sell vegetables, and/or fresh food products.  In response to customers' requests for safety and quality, as well as avoid price fluxuations from suppliers, they've started their own farms.  By growing all their own veg, they can have start-to-finish quality control over locally produced vegetables.  You can read more about it on Mainichi today: (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/business/news/20100908p2a00m0na014000c.html)

So, that would be like Sobeys or Superstore/Loblaws actually owning and running local farms all over the country to sell exclusively to their own stores.  It's an interesting idea...I mean, certainly you could be sure of the "local"ness of your product.  It might be a way of saving a lot of small struggling farms - but I'd be worried that they'd turn into a vegetable version of those giant conglomerations that run meat processing, where animals are mistreated before slaughter. Not that I think the veggies would be mistreated :) but the land might be, by large-production methods (read: heavy pesticide use), etc.  But if people didn't want those methods used, they could directly hit the chain's bottom line by not buying from them.

Oh well, it's certainly an interesting thing they're trying out, and an idea worth at least playing with here in North America...

Hair Decorations: the next Level

Dazzling photo gallery on Mainichi: tsumami kanzashi, or traditional women's hair ornaments made of tiny folded silk pieces. Absolutely amazing craftsmanship. And some of the ideas he's come up with are just astonishing - cut open watermelon, a shrimp, fir boughs with acorns - just abounding in creativity.

Be sure to check it out! They have photos of the finished product, as well as some images of the process, and a short interview with the craftsman. link

Country Farms Meet City Cooking

Great picture! © 2009 CNN GO

Interesting read on CNN GO today, on how a restaurant in Tokyo is making eating regional cuisine a well-rounded experience - city chefs are paired with a regional farm and create delicious seasonal dishes, and diners get to experience a multi-media presentation as they dine, about the farm and growing methods used to get the food to their table.

Read more on CNNGO: http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/eat/tokyo-local-restaurant-275938

Home made sushi - a first!

Is it perfect? No. I could have rolled it tighter, added less cucumber, and so forth. But I'm still super-proud of my first attempt at making sushi at home!



I first considered making it myself after getting a veggie one from the local grocery store. Since it didn't have any raw fish product in it, I got to thinking I could make it myself at home. But, I was still pretty nervous about trying it. Then I found this video:

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-make-Sushi-5290

And while many may complain about his technique, he did make it look simple enough that I thought I really could try to do it myself. Now, there is sushi, and then there is SUSHI. Mine is very much "small letters" sushi, nothing spectacular, but it's good enough for me to have as a snack now and then at home, for a lot less than it would cost at the store.

For my first maki sushi, I used cold cooked shrimp, green onions (only the tops), and cucumber, deseeded. I already had plenty of nori here, which I use on rice, and rice balls (onigiri) sometimes. I also had fun making the sushi rice myself, fanning it and cutting in the rice vinegar (see a good explanatory video: http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Make-Sushi-Rice-1498)

All in all, a fun experience I'll be happy to replicate in the future!

Finally, a trip to Hamachi!

Finally, after a whole year of dashed plans, my family and I got to go to Hamachi. There are 4 Hamachi restaurants with different themes in the Halifax area - we went to the one on Portland Street, Hamachi Grill & Sushi House.

The atmosphere was really nice in there. The staff were super friendly. The decor was very nice - very traditional, formal Japanese, not plastered with tons of stuff on the walls, but just a few well-chosen art pieces. There was a lovely Japanese water fountain, and a very cute sushi bar surrounded by a moat, where your sushi is delivered to you via "boat" (have to try that next time)!

But on to the food! I told my parents it wouldn't be a proper Japanese meal unless they had miso soup, so we all had some. It was really lovely, and my parents were pleasantly surprised by the taste (they heard the words "seaweed" and "tofu" and weren't expecting much good to come of it). But there's so much more to a good miso soup, of course, and all the wonderful flavors came together perfectly.

Pork Gyoza. The pork gyoza was spectacular. MAN, that stuff is good! I heard James Barber once say that every culture has a dumpling, it's basically only a slight change in dough, and whatever the culture chooses to stuff it with. Ukrainians and Poles are best known for perogies, of course, but Japan has its gyoza (delicious recipe @ About.com). Lovely with Hamachi's delicate vinegary/soya dip-in sauce.

Shrimp Tempura. Their tempura was above reproach. As I've often heard, proper tempura is really an art form, made in small batches with freezing cold water, leaving a few lumps of flour in so that upon frying, the batter puffs up light with extra crispy bits. We had shrimp, and it was lovely. Beautiful coloring, deliciously crispy.

Unagi Kabayaki. I had wanted to try eel for several years now. There's a day (the traditional "hottest day of the year" in Japan) that everyone eats eel on, as it's oiliness is believed to help you "beat the heat". So I finally ordered it. And wow, what an unexpected flavor! (But unfortunately, not in a good way, this time). I thought it would be rather chewy, but the inside really rather melted away, which was nice. Now, this is freshwater eel, mind - but it tasted like the sea! I can think of nothing that has ever elicited such a strong memory connection with the sea other than actually being there, breathing in sea air. It was astonishing! It tasted like ocean, it's the only way I can describe it. Not unpleasant like drinking sea water or anything like that, but as if you were actually able to eat ocean, and all the minerally, saltiness of it in a physical form. Dave had promised to eat whatever I ate, and so dutifully had some. Even my dad tried some. My dad and I also tried it in honour of our German ancestors, who came to Nova Scotia a few hundred years ago, and had to spend many a winter eating eel, as it was in abundance in the Lunenburg area. I applaud them for their courage. Or their desperation. I tried to like it. I really, really did. But it was such an extreme flavor, and it just didn't "chime" with me. Or my dad, or Dave. So we had to leave this beautifully prepared (I mean, it was gorgeous, and lovingly done, you could tell) food alone. We took it home to share with our furry family.

Beef Sashimi. The true treat of the night was the beef sashimi. Sashimi usually refers to raw fish, served with a dipping sauce, so I assumed (correctly) that this would be beef seared on the outside, but completely rare (or blue, as the server called it) on the inside. It was served super-thinly sliced, in a ponzu sauce. What an amazing experience. Holy moley! I put it in my mouth, and as I was experiencing this incredible taste sensation for the first time, I looked over at Dave and could see the range of emotions he was going through as he was hit with it. My parents were asking us eagerly how it tasted, but we both couldn't talk - I could tell he loved it as much as I did though! When we finally could speak, we both just oohed and ahhed, we couldn't even really put it into words. It was so delicate and tender, the meat just melted in your mouth, it was truly amazing, amazing. WOW. SO GOOD! The sauce complimented it wonderfully, and the whole thing together was the most incredible taste sensation. WOW.

My parents had sesame seed salmon, with a very unJapanese portion size. It was HUGE! BIG salmon, lots of sake grilled veggies and fried rice (traditional Japanese meals usually have MUCH smaller portions, but we're used to bigger here in the West, so I guess that's what they serve).

Dave and I had a couple different kinds of sushi, all impeccably prepared, of course! As I've said before, I don't think sushi will ever be my all-time favorite, but it is nice to have a little on a special occasion.

So, all in all, we had a lovely time, and will definitely go back again. My parents were nervous about trying a totally new cuisine, but I think they were pleasantly surprised. And there's tons more on the menu, so we'll have lots to try next time, too! So if you're ever in Dartmouth, be sure to check out the Hamachi Grill and Sushi House - you'll be glad you did!

Kotatsu time is quickly coming to a close...

I don't know who'll miss the kotatsu more, the animals or us! Now that it's springtime, it'll soon be time to put away winter things.

Baby Boy was the biggest fan amongst the cats, enjoying sleeping on it while the sun was up, and staying under it the entire evening before bed. Whether it was on or off, Baby would be there, secure in the hope that at some point it would get turned on, and would get toasty warm. Lila was the biggest fan amongst the dogs, but didn't realize it could be turned on even when a person wasn't sitting at it. When we were sitting at it, she'd come in from the cold outdoors and dive right under, but if no one was, we'd tell her to go under, and even put her under, but she'd come right back out again, looking at us wonderingly, "Why aren't you going to sit down? I'm cold!". She always falls asleep under there, and you eventually either hear her snoring contentedly, or panting because she got too warm, but doesn't want to leave. Pretty cute.

We put the kotatsu together ourselves, using our old coffee table as the base. We bought a kotatsu heater off of eBay (from shop owner gyatei), and a stepup/stepdown power converter (from export depot). We used a large bedspread/duvet, but never did get around to getting a proper table top made for over it. We plan on getting a piece of MDF and painting and varnishing it for next winter. Hopefully it'll get done! Otherwise the duvet gets pretty dirty from us eating over it all the time. :) The heater was very easy to install, a few screws were all that was needed. It provided us with a great place to all sit down together as a family, bundled up and warm and toasty to watch tv, eat, or do hobbies. Good way to save on oil heating too! ;)

Want to make your own kotatsu from scratch? mantilo: a miscellany has a great post on his own adventures in kotatsu-ing.

Savings (with a little decluttering thrown in)

I love reading Maki's informative and entertaining blog Just Hungry. This month, she's doing some posts about financial frugality, and she did a nice little review of the Japanese educational manga Savings Techniques for Women Who Can't Save. She mentions something I've heard many times before, that reducing the physical clutter in your life can help reduce the mental clutter, and helps you financially, too. Check it out!

Witherspoon Tries Tea Ceremony

Looks like Reese Witherspoon is trying her best, but having some difficulties with the subtleties of traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Pretty funny. :)



Read more about it on Reuters (look under Pictures Results).

Another reason to visit (or live in) Kyoto

Not just because of the beautiful scenery, and the lovely feel of traditional Japan - Kyoto's another great place to go, because when the riverside cafes open up for the summer, you just might get a maiko (apprentice geisha) serving you a drink! How cool would that be! There just aren't that many geisha (comparatively speaking) these days, and it's a pretty rare opportunity to see one up close for the general public.

Want to get a glimpse into a geisha's day? Mainichi did a photo journal special on geisha recently, check it out here.

Doesn't this look fun?

I'm feeling ill today, but this photo perked me right up - I wish I was there! What a cute little photo, it looks like such fun! Thanks, Mainichi!

Spring Phlox

As I noted last year, there are some gorgeous displays of spring phlox in Japan. This year is no exception! Mainichi had this great aerial photo today of a large phlox display in Hitsujiyama Park, Saitama Prefecture.

Ah spring... :)

Remembering Loved Ones in the Future

Well, the future is now. This is a fascinating development in the funeral industry in Japan - maybe it'll catch on elsewhere too! Using a bar code hidden in the tombstone of a loved one, visitors can use their cell phone to access select photos, text and other files relating to the deceased. Instead of visiting a cold, impersonal stone, family members can see photos capturing happy family memories, and read biographical notes. It's a great way to preserve the life and times of loved ones. And think what a wonderful boon this sort of info would be to professional and hobbyist genealogists!

It's really expensive right now (about $10,000 USD), but it's a fascinating idea for new ways to preserve our past for future generations.

I first learned about this on Mainichi this morning, and found the full story on Reuters. So interesting!

Phlox galore!

WOW! I had seen my Mom's great display of phlox before, covering our back bank, but it was NOTHING compared to this shot, taken in Shibazakura Park in Japan, during a phlox festival. Amazing!

Babies and Sumo

This is hilarious - in Mainichi today, they had a Reuters photo showing a baby-crying contest in Sensoji Temple (Tokyo). The aim is to get the babies participating to cry as loudly as possible (the loudest is the winner) - the event is held to pray for the babies' health.

And nothing is going to get a baby to cry more loudly than taking it from it's parents and putting it in the arms of a giant Sumo wrestler.... heh heh heh, very cute!!

More snaps here.

Cleaning Mountains

Wow, I just heard about this guy, Ken Noguchi - he was the youngest person to climb the tallest mountains on all seven continents. But he's not just a mountain climber in it for the ego trip - he also wanted to enjoy the beauty and majesty of the scenery. Unfortunately, he would often find tonnes of garbage littering the slopes. He was so disappointed, he decided to do something about it - for Mt. Everest, after several expeditions, he and his team were able to remove EIGHT TONNES of garbage. 8 Tonnes!!! Shocking! But, it's really having an impact, and now he wants to do the same for his beloved Mt. Fuji, from his native Japan. He joined with a local environment club, and they have spent many, many hours cleaning up the rubbish from the mountainside. I mean, people had dumped tv sets there! Having participated in clean ups myself locally, it is often amazing at what some people will throw away in the woods, turning them from a nice bit of wilderness beauty to basically a trash dump. Pretty awful to look at.

So, hats off to Ken Noguchi, saving and protecting the beauty of one of the most famous peaks in the world! Read a little more about him here. His blog is here, but it's in Japanese (bien sûr!). Click here to get a rough translation of it.

Great idea for sprucing up office buildings

Nice story from Japan this morning: Shinji Kato is an official who came up with this great idea to beautify a tall office tower. He had them plant "Heavenly Blue" morning glory plants from each landing - when the vines grew long enough to reach the landing beneath them, officials attached them together, so it looks like a giant waterfall of vines. The flower are expected to bloom in a few weeks, and should make for an even more gorgeous display.

Isn't that wonderful? What a fun idea to beautify an office building, something which might ordinarily be seen as something cold and imposing, now brought back to nature a little bit. Wonderful! It makes you wonder what we could do with our own office or other areas that might be a bit too bland and cold - now's the time to start dreaming these things up for next year! :D

Read the whole story on Mainichi here.