Saying goodbye to Kibukawa

Class 5-1

Class 5-2

Class 5-3

Class 6-1

Class 6-2

Class 6-3

I finished the last of 2 great years of classes at my elementary school this week. I'm going to miss these kids something terrible.

Why I'm going to miss my students

Bucket List

Long time, no see! The last few months have flown by in a flash, with hardly any time to spare. Between work and life I have had my hands full.

I can't believe it's already December! There are two more (busy) weeks until winter break and then 2013 will be upon us. Now that I have decided that I am moving back to Seattle in March my remaining time seems so short. But looking back on how I felt when I came here I feel that I have accomplished most of what I set out to do. After some consideration I have made a short list of the things I still hope to accomplish in my last 3 and a half months (wow!) living in Japan. So here, goes!

• Universal Studios Japan -- Similar to Disney, USJ is a theme park, but instead of Mickey and Co.  USJ is the home of Sesame Street, Snoopy, Hello Kitty, Dreamworks and more. I would love to go during Christmas or Valentine's Day and see the park all decked out. 
• Tokyo Disney Sea -- This summer I went to Tokyo Disney and had a really good time. Although I've been to theme parks in the states, Disney in Japan is somehow still very Japanese. It's quite an experience. I've heard that Disney Sea is more suited for adults so I'd like to try to go. 
• Visit the temples in Kyoto again, especially Arashiyama -- I live so close, why not! I now have a temple book, which I can get stamped and marked with calligraphy at any temple that I visit. I would really like to revisit some of the famous temples and have it signed. 
• Go to Moku Moku (the local hot spring) at least once more. 
• Go to Nagano and see the Monkey Onsen -- I've been meaning to do this one for a long time. Winter seems like the best time to see Monkeys in hot water, so I hope to go soon!
• Go to an Opera -- This one might prove trickier, but I will succeed eventually! If it takes me 20 years, I WILL see an opera in Japan!
• Eat at the two restaurants closest to my apartment -- There are two semi-expensive looking Japanese restaurants within a 10 minute walk of my house. Somehow I have gone two years without visiting either of them once. This is silly. Before I leave, I promise I will go.
• Hokkaido -- I don't know if I will end up fulfilling this one, but I would really like to visit Japan's most northern island, Hokkaido. Climate-wise and culturally it seems very unique. 
• Okinawa -- I also would like to visit Okinawa, the southern island. I am pretty sure this won't happen before April, but someday. I have heard the climate reminds many people of Hawaii. American stores and brands are also more common here. Also, some of the longest living people in history have lived in Okinawa! They must be doing something right. 

That being said, I have a lot of great things planned in the next month or so. I am excited to enjoy a Christmas in Koka and New Year's in Korea!! I will be staying with my friend Belinda in Seoul from December 26 - January 3. I am really looking forward to experiencing Korea and to seeing Belinda. It's going to be very nice to have two weeks off to relax.

If you can think of anything else I should add to my "bucket list" let me know! I am going to take advantage of my time to do as much as possible, so the more the better! 

Beginnings of Summer

Summer has begun. With only 4 more days left of work, the fact that it's here has finally started to sink in. SUMMER!! Yes please, and thank you!

This weekend my good friend Lolo came down from Nagano-ken and we adventured down to Kyoto to see the Gion Matsuri.  A great way to kick off the warm hot weather! After relaxing in Minakuchi for a couple of hours, we made our way to Kyoto. As soon as we got off the train we started to see people in yukatas (the summer equivalent of a kimono). Gion is a festival that takes place for the entire month of July, but culminates on the 17th (Tuesday) with a large parade. On the days leading up to the parade, giant floats (like in the picture above) are carried out to be displayed and many of the main streets are blocked off for pedestrian traffic. We went on Saturday the 14th, also known as Yoiyoiyoiyama. If this is what it's like three days before the parade, I can't imagine what it'll be like tomorrow! It was crowded. 

The blocked off streets of Kyoto. This is as we were walking away, so we weren't fighting against the crowds. 

As we walked through the area with the floats we saw tons of stands with festival foods. They smelled delicious. Some common ones are fried chicken, ice-cream, roasted corn, frankfurters, shaved ice, and candied apples. It reminds me a little bit of the fair without the rides. There are even the same type of games that you can play! This is a stand for bacon egg and cheese sandwiches in the shape of fish! Usually they have sweet custard filling. 

Here's another favorite. Grilled squid!! Delicious. 

I snuck this picture of some women wearing traditional summer clothing, yukatas. A yukata is very similar to a kimono, but it's designed to be cooler and easier to wear in the heat. They aren't worn in everyday life, but people will often dress up in order to go to special occasions such as summer festivals. Learning how to dress in one and wear one is a skill that has to be "properly learned" and some people take classes in how put them on. 

All in all, it was a very exciting adventure. Most towns have their own unique festivals during the summer. Going to one of Kyoto's was lots of fun, and I'm looking forward to (hopefully) going to a whole lot more!! 

So many exciting things are happening and will be happening soon. Traveling great places, relaxing with great people. Having a break from work to recharge and spending time with my family and friends! Summer has definitely begun, guys.  I am pumped!

Anticipation

Lately, I feel like I have been waiting. I'm not always waiting for the same thing, or even for anything in particular, but I can tell that something is coming. The warm weather, the summer months, the rain. I have a lot of things to look forward to this summer and I am impatient. But it's the wait that makes them so much more enjoyable. So I will savor it, if I can.  

As if to foreshadow good things to come, there have been some beautiful sunsets in Minakuchi lately. I hate to be in my house before dark when I can be outside and see THIS: 

 or this...

 I love living in the countryside. It's quiet, my neighbors are kind, and I only get a few strange looks when I walk around with a camera taking pictures...

 In other news, rainy season has begun. Starting tomorrow we are suppose to be getting our first typhoon of the year: Guchol. It's coming in from the south and passing through the center of Japan. Tomorrow's forcast: rain. Wednesday's forcast: rain. I actually don't mind, especially when I can relax inside in the dry warmth. It's an interesting change from cloudy and humid! Let's hope that it holds off until after I get to school, though! :)

I'll be here, trooping through the puddles! Catch you later!

Adventures in a "Mansion" Kitchen

Earlier last week I went to browse in the grocery store with my good friend Ann. Late at night lots of the pre-made food goes on sale and it's a good time to pick up delicious, but otherwise expensive, foods. Ann picked out a salad, and later while tasting we decided it was very strange and probably wouldn't buy it again. It looked like the picture below.

As usual, I had no idea what I was actually eating or what it was made out of. Strangely enough, the same salad appeared in my school lunch later in the week! It's been haunting me. But now, at last, I could figure out what it was. By looking at the kyuushoku menu I deduced that it's called "okara ni", or vegetables mixed in something called "okara". After some further internet research, I discovered this article about Okara, the byproduct of making soymilk from tofu. Basically, this is the fibrous part of the soy bean. Now that I realize how healthy it is I have a new appreciation for this salad. (It helps to know that it's not made from the intestines of small kittens. Or raw fish eggs.)

So today I set out on a mission to find okara in my grocery store and attempt to make okara infused bread. I used the recipe from the linked article, making a few adjustments for my own cupboard. They were cheap and easy to make, and taste like a mix between banana bread and corn bread.

Banana-Okara Muffins, adapted from Just Hungry's Recipe

• 1 cup dried okara
• 1/4 cup (50g, or 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup light brown or raw sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk or soymilk
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 3 tsp tahini
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 cups all-purpose bamboo flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

Directions: 

Pre-heat the oven to 175°C/250°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan. (I used muffin cups). 

Heat up a non-stick frying or sauté pan. Toast the okara, stirring frequently, until it's a golden brown in color. Let cool.

Mix together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and milk or soymilk, almond extract (I added tahini for NUTTY deliciousness) and lemon juice. Add the mashed bananas.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, mixing just until it's combined. Fold in the okara.

Put the batter into the loaf pan. Bash the loaf pan hard on your work surface - this settles the batter and gets rid of any large air pockets. Bake for about an hour, until it's toasty brown in color and a skewer stuck in the middle comes out clean. (Because I used muffin cups I ended up cooking the muffins for about 12-15 minutes at 200 C.... but because my toaster oven is wonky I kind of make things up as I go, generally. Her directions are probably better.)

Take out of the loaf pan and let cool before slicing.

And there you have it!! The productivity that was my afternoon. This is probably not interesting to most people, but I was fascinated to be able to make something with ingredients scrounged from my local supermarkets. Truthfully, a lot of foods are more expensive here, but I bought the okara for 30 yen. It's an adventure to make things with completely new ingredients and to find new ways to enjoy my favorite foods (BREADonmonmon). 

Kyoto Higashiyama Hanatouro Festival

It has been a beautiful weekend, and yesterday I went to Kyoto to see the Higashiyama Hanatouro Light Festival. In December and March, parts of the city of Kyoto are illuminated with lanterns and lighting fixtures that create a path through the city. It's a picturesque walk through the city that stops at shrines and parks. You can see dancers and performers, eat festival foods from little carts, and even have a little picnic and sip a beer. My friends and I went together to wander along the paths with the hordes of Japanese families and couples. It was quaint, cozy, a little cold, and a lot of fun!

Light show on the back of the Chionin Temple

Storefront on the path up to Kiyomizu-dera

Lighting fixtures in the garden

Kyoto Nightscape from Kiyomizu-dera

As the weather slowly gets warmer, the people in Kansai are out and about, and I'm glad to be one of them. 

On a different note, today (March 11th) is the one year anniversary of the Tohoku tsunami and earthquake. Japan is still feeling the affects of the disaster and it is a continuing struggle for recovery. I can't pretend to know too much about politics or to be an expert on this topic, but I do know from living here that it was an event that touched every person in Japan. The country pulled together emotionally and practically to support each other, and they continue to honor that today in remembrance ceremonies and continuing relief efforts. 

Japan Times -- 3.11 Anniversary

Winter Pictures - Tamura Shrine Festival

It's February, and on the East Coast of the U.S. this means that there are many weeks of winter weather still ahead. It's still winter in Minakuchi too, but the weather has been getting warmer lately. People complain about the cold here all the time (and I am ashamed to say I have joined them on occasion....), but really. Go to Minnasota. Or Canada. Or Vermont. There usually isn't even snow on the ground here, so it made me smile when this happened:

Snow, wonderful snow! Makes me miss home.

There's just something about a day where you can stay home and watch the snow fall. Read a good book, cuddle in the warmth of the indoors, drink a warm cup of tea. Ahhh...

After staying in all of Saturday, I decided to check out a local festival in Tsuchiyama, a neighboring town. The towns in my area are rural so I wasn't expecting anything fancy. Boy, was I surprised! Traffic was backed up for about 15 minutes just to get parking near the shrine. The slowly falling snow made the experience seem like something out of a fairytale. The shrine was surrounded with warm food stalls and festival games. I saw lots of families lining up to buy arrows for good luck and to make wishes for their fortune. 

Hot sweet potatoes

A tori gate surrounded by food carts.

Summer festivals are fun, but winter festivals are cozy, too!

The snow probably won't last for long, but while it's here it reminds me that winter isn't so bad after all. And sooner or later, it will become spring. Better take advantage of the joys of winter while we can!

Valentine

Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day!! 

Japan celebrates February 14th in almost the same way we do in the states, with candy and LOTS and LOTS of chocolate. It is called Red Day, and is a day when girls can give a gift or love letter to the boys they care about. A month later on March 14th, they can expect a present back from their sweethearts. Chocolate between friends is also common, as is "obligatory" chocolate within the workplace. 

In the spirit of the holiday, my friends and I set out to make our own chocolate! We bought the necessary supplies and attempted to make some tasty treats to give our coworkers and friends. My chocolates didn't turn out very good (not very tasty or pretty), but some of my friends' were delicious! 

Hearts, stars, and animals! 

 Even my school lunch celebrated. The main dish is a heart-shaped croquette! I also got festive cupcakes and cheese and herb bread. Om nom nom.

I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day with someone special, be it friends, family, or significant other! I definitely did. <3

節分

Happy Setsubun!

Last night marks the “beginning of spring”. In Japan, Setsubun is a festival that is held on February 3^rd or 4^th in order to bring in luck for the new year. The day is decided according to the lunar calendar and is not a national holiday. (This just means that everybody still goes to work.) Setsubun is a holiday that celebrates new beginnings, cleansing oneself, and chasing away evil.

My impression of this holiday so far is that it exists in name more than it does in practice. Much like Halloween in the States, there are many older traditions attached to this holiday but little modern meaning behind what actually occurs.

Traditionally, families would cleanse their homes by throwing roasted beans out the door and shouting, “Devils out, happiness in!” [Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!] This is called “mamemaki”. It was also once common to post a dried sardine head and some throny leaves called “hiiragi” on your front door. This was thought to keep evil spirits from entering.

In the Kansai region of Japan many people eat a special sushi called “Eho-maki”, a rolled sushi, while facing the lucky direction that corresponds to the current zodiac year. This tradition apparently started in Osaka and was not practiced throughout Japan until a few years ago, when combini’s (Japanese convenience stores) picked up on it. They began heavily marketing the pre-sales of Eho-maki and now many people throughout Japan eat this type of sushi on Setsubun. (I like sushi, so I’m not complaining. Also, I live in Kansai…)

In honor of this holiday, I did in fact eat a rolled sushi facing north - northeast. Hopefully this will bring me good luck! Either way, I'm ready to welcome spring.

Elementary

Good evening!

It's been a cold cold week in Shiga. It's nothing compared to Upstate-NY, but that doesn't mean I haven't been huddling underneath a blanket all week. I've been running as quickly as possible between one heated room to the next, trying to avoid the chilly hallways.

Today was an elementary school day! 5 days a week I teach at my base school, which is a Junior High, but once a week I spend half a day at elementary school teaching 5th and 6th graders. On these days I also eat lunch with a pre-determined class, which today was 1st grade, class 2.

Fact: small children are adorable.
Fact: Japanese children are especially adorable.
.... this, coupled with...
Fact: White people are pretty non-existent in Japan.
When you put this all together, what does it add up to?

Annica becomes a celebrity at lunch time.

Seriously, I "signed" about 10 notebooks. AUTOGRAPHED. They should keep them. Some day they might be good for kindling. I also read aloud every one of the kids "Engrish" shirts, recited the names of many household objects, and shared my love of Pokemon.

Today reminded me that children are pretty fantastic. If I could get each of these kids' signatures, I would do it. They have so much energy and happiness. Their outlook on the world is so young and innocent. Just the fact that they couldn't stump me with an English name for something was mind boggling to them. "You really ARE an English teacher!!" (Never mind the fact that I speak the language natively).
One boy wanted to know how I was getting home. When I said, "by car", he seemed surprised. "America?!"
"No, I live in Minakuchi."
"........!" <------- SHOCKCONFUSION!

My sixth grade classes have been going less smoothly, and it's mainly because I'm not a novelty to them just by existing anymore. I'm that person that they know who teaches them English. I love that I've gotten to know them, and today made me realize that I need to work harder to make sure that I keep their class just as fun and exciting as it used to be. If it means that I have to be over the top and work twice as hard to find good material for them, then so be it. I am determined to not let their apathy towards English continue! And not to let myself be apathetic as well.

Although I didn't have too much time to ponder my lunch, I was able to snap a picture before I went to the classroom.

WHALE! I ate whale today.

That is all. 

Weekend of Food

This weekend was filled with tons of delicious food and various "end of the year" parties. I had a great two days spending time with some people that I'd like to get to know a lot better. I have been taking aikido classes once a week for the past couple of months and I joined some of the other members to eat nabe for lunch on Saturday. Nabe is a hotpot dish that is commonly cooked in Japanese households in the winter. Each table had a separate broth and a pile of vegetables and meat. As space allowed, we put the uncooked food into the broth and let it stew. Once it was cooked, we used our own chopsticks to serve ourselves the food.

The nabe that we ate on Saturday is a special type that sumo wrestlers eat to gain weight. Although it's a healthy dish (or so I'm told), this specific type contains a lot of high protein ingredients such as meat and fish. These are also higher in calories than some other nabe dishes, which contain more vegetables and low calorie noodle substitutes. 

The awesome-est Nabe Table of them all

Later that night, I also attended my finally Japanese class party. Talk about a lot of food. I made a pie from persimmons that I wanted to use before Australia (!). I'm so glad I didn't go empty handed! 

It was a good time, and I got to talk more to the teachers and students in my class. Pretty much the reason why I am motivated to learn to speak Japanese better: to make friends like this! 

And today... I made Christmas cookies! I hope to give them to my co-workers tomorrow. Making this many cookies in my apartment was an adventure in itself. They turned out all right, and I decorated them with chocolate icing. They're nothing fancy, and my co-workers might think I'm a little bizarre for bringing them in, but I figure it can't hurt to try.

(Pictures will be added once my computer stops being dumb.) [...and it has!]

Merry Christmas -- Japan to the U.S.A.

Happy Holidays from the Land of the Rising Sun!! My 5th graders learned about Christmas today and got to make these awesome creative Christmas tree ornaments. I love doing creative projects with them because they are a riot to talk to and joke around with, which is what ends up happening more often than not. Some of them made pretty ingenious ornaments, too! I won't be seeing them again until January, so it's a great send of for both them and me.

Christmas is Coming -- クリスマスはもうすぐだよ〜

Christmas is coming! For a mostly non-Christian country, Japan really fosters the Christmas "spirit". Christmas music and decorations permeate the entirety of December. And also most of November. (Ooops, Japan. You forgot Thanksgiving!) Although the Japanese do celebrate Christmas, they have many traditions that are slightly different and some that are completely different.

Because Christmas is such a large part of western culture, I get to dedicate an English class to Christmas vocabulary and U.S. Christmas culture. I got one of my JTE's perspective on Christmas while we were planning our lesson, and I learned some fascinating misconceptions that the Japanese have about how we celebrate in the states.

(Also, check out this good article about foreign families in Japan!)

1. Christmas Cake - When I think of Christmas desserts I picture candy canes and sugar cookies. If you ask a Japanese person what food they eat on Christmas, they are most likely to say Christmas Cake. I never have eaten cake on Christmas, but if I were to associate a cake with Christmas it would be a fruitcake. In Japan, however, Christmas cake is a light, spongy white cake that is eaten on Christmas Eve. Cakes like this are sold virtually everywhere and Japanese fathers will buy them on their way home from work on December 24th.
It seems to me that Christmas cake is something that was imported more from European traditions than American, but the Japanese aren't aware of this. I told a teacher at my Elementary school that we don't eat Christmas cake and she was pretty shocked.

2. KFC - Chicken is a very popular meal choice for Christmas dinner in Japan. Although the traditional western choice is Turkey, the Japanese don't normally own an oven, making cooking a bird hard. Somewhere along the line, Kentucky Fried Chicken ran a highly successful advertising campaign selling fried chicken sets as a substitute for a western style dinner on Christmas Eve. Since this time KFC has become a very popular Christmas food. Every time I pass by the KFC I stop to admire the lovely Christmas pre-order ads and Colonel Sanders dressed up as Santa Claus. At first I thought it was a strange choice, but after some thought I can see how American fast food is a cheap and logical way to substitute this expensive and time consuming meal.

3. Gift giving - Christmas in Japan isn't a giant family affair like it often is in the States. We tend to prepare presents for every member of the family. We go to bed on Christmas Eve and wake up in the morning with many presents underneath the tree and in our stockings. Japanese children go to bed at night and when they wake up in the morning, Santa has come through their window and left a present by their pillow. Because the only presents on Christmas are from Santa, parents don't normal receive Christmas presents. Once a child doesn't believe in Santa anymore there is no reason to keep up the  charade, so even that stops.
Friends and significant others often give each other presents during this time of year. People also give obligatory "year end" presents to those who have helped them throughout the year. These obligatory gifts are meant to show the value you place on your relationship with the person and the care that you have for it's up-keeping. Because they are mainly for politeness, people often buy perishable items that don't take up much space. They can be bought at department stores, making it easy for the recipient to check the price and return an appropriately expensive gift.

Santa climbing up the gutters of an Italian Restaurant in Kyoto. Is there a chimney for him?

Because there are so few Christians in Japan, the religious aspect is pretty much completely lost to commercialism. The Japanese do love flashy lights, decorations, and anything beautiful or cute. In true form, they have taken everything visually eye-popping about the holiday and embraced it whole-heartedly. In big cities like Kobe or Osaka you can see "illuminations" and elaborate Christmas decorations.

Although there are many differences between the ways we celebrate Christmas and the holiday season, Japan and the U.S. also have many similarities. We listen to the same Christmas music (albeit in different languages), watch Christmas movies, and spend time with people we care about. It's not a widely celebrated holiday in Japan, but it's an excuse for people to have a small celebration with those they care about and for businesses to sell festive specialty items.

Starting tomorrow, I'll be teaching "Christmas" lessons until I leave for Australia, so I'll report any further revelations. I have the feeling by the time Christmas actually arrives I will be either VERY Christmas-y or completely Christmas-ed out! Bring it on, Saint Nick!