Feeling as sick as a dog.

I don't know for how long this blog 'hiatus' will be, but these days I feel like a dog and hardly have any energy left to write on this blog.

Sorry and tune in...perhaps in a few weeks? Que sera sera.

at least one meal should be at home

This is has been my goal since I started my 'other' life as a housewife, hee hee...it rhymes! Anyway, each day I endeavor to make healthy meals for my husband (and I, of course) and try to include as much variety as possible without breaking our piggy bank.

My husband's company offers lunch service so for the most part, I do not have to prepare him a boxed 'bento' lunch. Sometimes I asked him what he ate for lunch and was horrified: hamburgers, cold fried tempura foods, and more - oooooh, grease bomb and disaster for one's health!!! So lately, as much as I can, I make more than enough for dinner while setting aside a good portion of it for my husband's lunchbox the next day.

Today my husband has a typical Japanese drinking party, meaning plenty of fried foods made in old grease and oil. So I served a healthy breakfast of French toast with fresh strawberry sauce, bananas, yogurt, cheese, and slices of ham. I felt it was a job well-done...the daily sense of satisfaction is very rewarding. That and my husband gives me positive feedback, even when I know it's lousy food. >_< I made him rapini mushroom bacon pasta for lunch, including a hefty salad packed with stuff (Japanese radish, his 'favorite' cherry tomatoes, carrots, tuna, celery, and the ever-necessary lettuce).

Though I am a health nut, I am a firm believer in snacks because without them, the world would be a very grumpy one! Snacks are sometimes somewhat junky like chips, cookies, homemade cakes, but other times they are healthful like nuts, fruits, and so on. Sometimes I was so worried about snacks that I remember THEM but forgot the main part of my husband's package, his rice and chopsticks! Ooops. Forgetting rice, the soul food of Japan, is unforgiveable! Though funnily enough, my husband just thought I intentionally forgot the rice, kind of a forced diet or something. HEY now, I am healthy but I am not that mean!

(this picture is strikingly close to the real thing I made this morning...minus the raspberries, plus strawberry sauce)

ZZ BB in Tsukuba

Recently I feel a bit worn down and tired, so I did not get to blogging so much. Anyway I'll update more when I have the chance and am not busy 'sleeping' or out. ^_^

crazy transition time

March and April (beginning of the new fiscal year in Japan!) are some of the most hectic months for everyone, including me! Students are coming and going, transfers are taking place, more people have a renewed interest in learning English... It is a busy time. It is incidentally also the time of many welcome and farewell parties, meaning the number of my classes have been decimated!

If I get a week in advance about a class cancellation, it is totally do-able but these days I am getting them a day before, two days before, or even the day of. Agh- it is driving me up the wall. I don't mind for day or early evening classes before 7 p.m., but night classes are kind of tricky due to my new 'housewife' routine. I have to coordinate classes so that I have enough time to make dinner, not to mention eat it with my husband. I am a firm believer in family dinner time, so I don't like to compromise it.

Not being an official English school has its merits and downfalls. Merits being flexibility, good relations with students, no sales. Downfalls are: unstable income, cancellations, and students who don't study at home but expect results...though despite it all, I love the freedom my job allows me and would not wanna give it up for some other job at the moment. That and it is my fault for not having set up more guidelines for cancellations from the start.

malted milk and tacos?!?!?

We tried 2 things you CANNOT get in Tsukuba last Friday at our friend's dinner party: malted milk vanilla shakes and authentic Mexican tacos. And lemme tell ya, both were sooooooo yummy. We have a shop in Tsukuba (El Torito) that serves so-called Mexican food but it is really overpriced and too mild and refined to be authentic.

The malted milk shakes are made from malted milk powder - think Ovaltine or Milo without the chocolate powder...yummm, like malt balls dissolving in one's mouth! You cannot find the stuff anywhere in Japan - trust me, my friend is very resourceful so if he says it's not around, it really isn't!

We also had tacos made with American Monterey Jack cheese, super duper authentic whopping tasty soft corn tortillas, and what's more - SPICY ON FIRE GREEN CHILIES straight from the border! It was so spicy I could have died...my mouth was tingly from the spicy seeds and I was sweating - beads of sweat started forming on my forehead. Now that is what I call authentic Mexican food!

Thanks M for a 'taste of home' better than Taco Bell, of course...and for introducing me to evil malted milk shakes - oh my, the beginning of another addiction?! Time will tell.

update: he got it from the States, unfortunately...but I will order some via ebay soon - if you want some, shall we get some together?!

folic acid day!

Did you know there is folic acid day in Japan? We just read news of it in the paper about it on 4/3. In Japan, April 3rd is pronounced like "yon-san" which sounds strikingly similar to "yong-san" which stands for folic acid, hence 4/3 being the day to celebrate folic acid and strike up awareness of it.

Folic acid can help combat cankersores (great news for me!), acne, osteoporosis, cancer, cervical cancer, and it is particularly good for elderly people with depression or women who are expecting. The lack of it in one's body may lead to anemia, insomnia, irritability, and other health problems.


Things rich in folic acid:
Spinach, asparagus, turnip greens, artichoke, oranges (orange juice, too), broccoli, corn, rapini, green peas, beets, brussel sprouts, parsnips, okra, strawberries, raspberries, melon, beans, liver, eggs.

You are in luck - it is the rapini (nano-hana) season and it's rich in folic acid! Eat it today!

oh-la la!

This is what happens when you forget to read labels in Japan - you get surprised from time to time. I made some salad for breakfast the other day and I used what I 'thought' was curly lettuce. "How cute and fancy for a change" was what I thought when I bought it at the store. When I was preparing the salad, as I often do, I nibbled on some of the leaves...HOLY SPICY, "what's wrong with this stuff?!!!!" I double^checked the package and sure enough, it was no normal lettuce - it was wasabi lettuce.

I told my husband "today's salad is bikkuri salad...surprising salad" but he hardly noticed the spicy horseradish-like tangy prickling of the leaves when eaten covered with salad dressing. I had to tell him before he truly noticed! Wasabi lettuce is nice when mixed up with other greens - if you can find it at the local supermarket (er, only if you reside in Japan), try it and let me know what you think!

magic of vinegar...

The other day I found some 2,800-yen (25USD or 28CND) vinegar product on sale for 800-yen a bottle...on top of that, if you buy ONE bottle, you get two for free! I took advantage of this bargain and got myself three bottles of it (I kept one and gave the other two away). The reason why it was so cheap was because the expiry date was just two months away.

This is not just any vinegar, this is the reknown moromisu vinegar, a vinegar produced on the island of Okinawa...tropical southern islands of Japan. The vinegar is a fermented and aged vinegar made from moromi, a by-product of awamori, a type of Okinawan distilled spirit much like sa-ke.

Moromisu is rich in citric acids, 18 amino acids, vitamins b1, b2 and b6, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and who knows what else. Some health claims include: aspirin effects (thins blood), ability to lower blood pressure, reduce blood sugar levels, improve blood circulation, lower cholesterol, improve energy levels, and relieve muscle and back pain.

dessert viking at Hotel Okura

I promised my 3 students (all sisters) to go with them to the annual March strawberry fair...the ultimate dessert extravaganza! Last year I missed going there and was incredibly disappointed to find out it is a 'once a year' event. What better fun than to go with kids? They eat without guilt, look so happy and 'in the moment' and are not complaining about ruining their diet, like adult women would normally do.

Rain came down in buckets on Friday morning, making things look glum...however, by noon light clouds settled in and soon enough the sun even peaked through! How lucky - we all went by bike to Hotel Okura to satiate our starving sweet tooth! What a delight: tables filled with cream puff servers, crepes Suzette station, fresh pancake station, ice cream, chocolates, cookies, and more!!! More than 20 kinds of sweets, and not your average cheap birthday cake or Christmas cake kind...I mean high quality ones like almond powder cake tarts, cassis mousse (picture), creme brulee, cheesecake (unbaked and baked type), and more. Heaven! Lucky, in very Japanese form, the portions were deliberately small, allowing people to try some of everything!!!

At 20 dollars for adults and 10 dollars for junior high school students, it was still worth it. Though I must say...junior high school students can eat WAY more than the average adult going to such a buffet. And I also recall when I was a junior high school or high school student, my cousin Michelle and I got kicked out of an Italian buffet restaurant in Taiwan, because were eating too much and they claimed 'tea time' was about to begin. I was on my 11th plate and in the middle of desserts...and had room for much much more! Ha ha, I recall staying deliberately longer because they had pestered us so much to get out.

The girls had fun and really enjoyed the part afterwards: shopping around Tsukuba Centre. It was funny to see the girls get so excited in the stationary shop or other places. It reminded me of how great the little things are. Though children are poorer, it just means they can enjoy things 'that' much more because they appreciate it! That is one of the many reasons why I would rather not be filthy rich one day.

cookie dough AISU?

Mint chocolate is a common favorite here, as is cookies and cream...more creative Japanese flavours include Japanese green tea, azuki beans, purple sweet potato, chestnut, black syrup coffee (my favorite by Meiji these days)...but what really kills me is, there is NO cookie dough flavored ice cream here!!! Aghhhh, 911, someone help save this country from burning in hell. Ha ha ha.

Quite often when I speak of cookie dough ice cream, I get the response, "oh, you mean cookies and cream?" And then I have to tell them what cookie dough is: the raw uncooked stuff you use to make cookies...the stage right before baking. As a child I ate inordinate amounts of raw cookies dough and amazingly, never ended up with a bad stomach due to it.

If you happen to find cookie dough ice cream, do give me a holler. I'll be out there in a flash to buy a big TUB of it. OH, and that is my second grudge with ice cream here...they come in the teeeeniest, tiiiiniest containers...like the kinds for toddlers or children back home. (oh and did I mention how expensive it is?!) I mean, sure it might be good for calorie counters, but it sure doesn't help ice cream lovers who usually have to eat two little containers before reaching anywhere near being satisfied.

wine and cheese

Fine cheese is hard to find in Japan...and if found, it is at a HUGE premium. Gourmet shops at high-end department stores stock gourmet cheese but even something like delectable French Boursin comes to around 8 dollars a small tray.

Our good friend held a wine and cheese party the other night (held on a weeknight, Tuesday) to welcome his friends from Europe. His guests brought SOoooo much lovely tasty cheese fresh and straight from Europe, I was delighted and tried every single kind. My husband, being typically Japanese, liked the mild cheeses like Emmentaler (sp?) and Brie. I favored the tangy, saltier cheeses...alas, I have already forgotten the name. The host's foreign visitors made some Austrian blueberry crepes for us - ohhh, so lovely and lighter than the French counterpart.

I made Indian-style samosas, which were filled with red lentil beans and curry spices. They seemed to do well at the party - very good finger food! That and we brought our host some fancy Japanese shochu, and he seemed really delighted.

A small apartment but around 20-odd people. What can I say? Many foreigners really know how to throw a good party! Hee hee hee. Though I must say, for the most part I was always doing the inviting of people to MY parties, which is great and all but it was really nice to be, for a change, invited to someone ELSE'S party for once. My husband once told me, "if you do not throw a party, well, nobody will." This may be true...hmm, maybe I should just wait around until we get invited to something...but at this rate, it seems like we'll JUST be waiting. Ha ha. I guess many Japanese people are shy or don't want to invite others into their private space or they fear guests will eye their 'messy place' which, of course is nonsense because guests who complain about or think a place dirty should never be invited in the first place! ^_^

not your everyday flu drug?

Hot in the news in Japan is Tamiflu, a very common drug prescribed to alleviate symptoms which accompany the flu. It is said to provoke erratic behavior in children and said by some, is linked to some incidents concerning children running off of condos, houses, roofs, staircases, flying out windows and so on.

The government said there is no causal link between the drug and such suicide-like behavior (in most cases where the child died, quite unfortunately) but I am not sure that is the case. The researcher was paid a lucrative amount of money to test whether the drug was safe or not - not exactly the ideal case for keeping one's objectivity, eh?

Tamiflu is more excessively prescribed in Japan than other countries - why this is, I have no clue but it seems to be the case. I was told by many friends that many Japanese doctors give patients a cocktail of medicines when they are sick, even with the simple cold or non-complicated flu. This is due to the way the health insurance system works...and the more they prescribe, the more profits they can reap!

All this leaves me to wonder: is there some negative drug interaction that is producing these suddenly suicidal kids ... or if it is genetic, something in Japanese people that makes them inherently more susceptible to the negative (psychotic, almost...and vertigo) side-effects of Tamiflu. The government finally put out a public warning, advising teenagers and young children against taking Tamiflu. (the drug already has warning labels advising parents to supervise children closely after having taken Tamiflu)

ah yes, the world is a small one!

It is very funny how small the world is, indeed. There is of course the argument concerning 'six degrees of seperation' in how everyone in the world can be linked in 6 simple steps. Perhaps this is true and with internet access and other forms of communication, our worlds are shrinking!

In Tsukuba I have to be quite careful about what information I know about so-and-so person because it might be confidential information they don't want another so-an-so to know. Quite often I found out some 'secrets' or other morsels of juicy gossip...er, information that I had to keep mum about. I know T went to school with S and H and are T and H are working at ZZZ company working with T2 who is the same year colleague as E who just last year became my student...E and T used to live next to each other in the company housing. You see how complex it gets? Some sisters I teach asked me if I knew their schoolmate, YYY-chan, and I was puzzled...who is YYY-chan...hmm, after racking my brain, I finally remembered I taught YYY-chan's mother way back at McEnglish school.

Even to this day, back in Toronto my friends often tell me about some so-and-so they just met who knows me. This has happened many-a-times, I guess because more than actually studying in university, I was too busy holding events, parties, organizing some student government activity and meeting loads of new people. Strangely enough...considering how many people I met, it is strange that I never ended up dating any of them seriously.

The world is small, very very small. So be sure to speak carefully and kindly of others because you never know when it will come back to you! Oh and the gossip I have heard about myself is hilarious - years ago there was a funny rumor about me being engaged in Japan. Whoever could have guessed it would actually come true!

high-tech stuff

The recent fad in microwaves that dual as an oven is the steam function. Sharp brand claims to have created an oven (named the Healthio - or "heru-she-oh," in Japanized English) which zaps away the fat in meat and other foods, equating to less calories - a dream for the everyday health-conscious folk or dieter.

Other brands were quick to follow suit...CHEF CHEF (of sche-fu sche-fu in 'Japanese) by Panasonic (I think?) and STEAM oven ER-D7 by Toshiba, which is what I have recently purchased online. The original Healthio ran around 70-100,000yen (around 700 dollars!!!) so most housewives could only covet it, imagining the day they could afford it after the house mortgage, kid's education fees, and so on. Though the good news is, the prices are coming down, down, down these days.

I bought it through www.kakaku.com, Japan's number one price-comparison site, especially concerning electronics. The prices are substantially lower than major electronics stores due to MUCH less overhead costs. The website offers users of machines to rate goods, making it easier for future purchasers to make a decision. I was torn between the two models pictured (the blue one is sooo jazzy, don't you think???) but the reviews for the flashier, cooler looking model were poor...resulting in my purchase of the simple, silver ER-D7.

I am a firm believer in making do with what one has, meaning try not to replace something until you really need to. I quite liked my old microwave/oven and it still works as good as new, two years later...though it has been driving me nuts (poor capacity) in recent days. Having a bread machine is another great factor in my recent, bigger (30L) purchase. For those of you who do not know, Japanese microwaves predominantly have an oven feature built in, due to space limitations in the kitchen. There is no way one can fit both a big oven and microwave in the narrow kitchens here! Microwave-oven-in-1 is very convenient.

So today I am 30,000yen poorer (ouch...this is why one buys housewares and electronics for one's home one step at a time!) but soon to be a happy owner of a new oven that can make pizzas that taste like they have been cooked on an Italian pizza stone and baguette!

the teacher cannot learn it for you...

Over time I have compiled a few basics for being successful at a language:
1) You have to be motivated and have some goal, whether big or small.
2) 90% or more is your own work and effort...you have to do homework, and then some
3) You have to practice listening as much as you can on your own (BBC, CNN, dramas, whatever)
4) When in class, you have to speak without hesitation (umm, try telling this to my ex-AEON students who paid 50USD/50minutes to stand like a pretty wallflower! So often I wanted to tell them to stop wasting their money)
5) Accept making mistakes - take notes when one is made and if you make it again, just make notes again until you get it!
6) Find something interesting (for me, it is food...so I read recipes)
7) Don't count on your teacher to 'learn it for you'
8) Going to class once a week is not enough. Studying on a daily basis is key.
9) Have patience and make time.
10) Keep at it...practice makes perfect!

The most successful students of mine take various lessons - from me, other teachers, other schools, the internet, and more. They take advantage of all resources and use the chance with me to practice conversation and correct/polish up grammar. Each teacher has different assets and knowledge which is also great...though one must be careful not to get a teacher who is all talk and not at all interested in what the students have to say! (I have met quite a few of those in my day)

after eating 3 pounds of candy later...

I still cannot make any of these candies!!! I tried various recipes to recreate the same taste but could not. Number one is Yamagata Oshidori Milk Cake (not like cake...more like milk crackers w/out the flour, made purely from milk and sugar!)...then number two is nostalgic Chinese White Rabbit Candy (any Chinese-North American will tell you how creamy and yummy this milky taffy is!!! Grace, do you still eat it?!) ...and finally, last but not least is Cow Tale candy similar to Mexican 'pastillas de leche' candies...similar to caramel but a more powdery, unrefined non-sticky texture.

I am so full of candy now...oh, my teeth are going to rot with cavities soon. The candy turned out edible...but just not what I had hoped for. Waaaa, I want some rabbit candy! Soft, fresh kind.

what is with fluorescent light here?

One thing I don't get is why they love fluorescent lighting here. It seems every house is equipped with glaring fluorescent ceiling lights, dome-shaped and very bright. I suppose we should hail the energy-efficiency of it all but...talk about killing the mood.

Indirect or soft yellow lighting makes a house warmer, cozier, and allows one to relax. This is also why bedrooms should be equipped with incandescent or newly developed yellow fluorescent bulbs, for a much softer environment where one can easily fall into la-la land. We are now trying to convert all out lightbulbs from incandescent into fluorescent (but nice yellow tone) ones in an effort to a) save energy and b) prevent our electricity bill from skyrocketing since we often keep many lights on at the same time.

Why don't you change over to fluorescent or even LED, if possible? Amazing how it will change the lighting of your whole house with just the switch of a few bulbs here and there. My German friend living in Tsukuba also uses primarily indirect, soft lighting in her house. Very cozy and quaint!

***it is said that fluorescent lighting is some of the worst to study under due to the barely detectable fluttering the light does...

Yoshino's Barber shop: movie review

Yoshino's Barber Shop is the latest Japanese movie I have seen. It won an award at some film festival (but I forget which one). It was made by the same director of Kamomeshokudo...I really like her directing. I would call her movies a bit quirky, like the Japanese version of Amelie...only slower and less of a plot, so to speak. It is a funny movie about a town in which all the boys have a bowl-like haircut due to some superstition dating back to ancient days. An outsider (transfer student) moves into their town and has shockingly light brown and fashionably-styled hair, unlike all the townies. The struggle to 'convert' him begins...

This was also incidentally the first movie I have seen in Japanese without subtitles. With some hesitation I rented it with my hsuband, but he assured me he would help out with the parts I did not understand. With the exception of some parts, I could figure out what they were saying...for the most part, Japanese children do not use complex words and this particular movie goes at a relatively slow pace.

Japanese movies often revolve around daily life and the little stories that are involved in it. More and more I tend to enjoy this over the boom-bang-BOMB of Hollywood. The thing I noticed is Hollywood gives people unrealistic expectations about life, people, and more. Without enough excitement and Hollywood style go-go-go people thing their own lives are boring. Recently I like the Japanese movie technique: celebrating the process of life as it goes on every single day!

my article in the Alien Times

RESTAURANT INFORMATION: Oriza-ya, organic restaurant behind LaLa Garden

I imagine it is quite difficult for newcomer vegetarians, especially vegans, to eat in Japan as most foods contain either bonito (katsuo fish flakes) or other bits of hidden meat/seafood. Though I am not vegetarian, I do have vegetarian tendencies and know many foreign friends who are vegetarian and had a hard time finding something they could eat at restaurants. My Indian friend gave up being a vegetarian and now eats pork or chicken!

For vegetarians who may want to dine out, you can try eating at Oriza (oriza-ya) hidden in a regular-looking residence in Matsushiro. The place opened only 2 or so years ago but word of it has spread over time. The restaurant serves 3 types of meals: regular (non-vegetarian with fish or meat), vegetarian (vegan type), and Gerson. For those of you unfamiliar with Gerson, it is a kind of strict salt-free diet specifically for those suffering from cancer or a weak immune system. I went with three friends so I was able to try all three! Even the salt-free Gershon dishes were very appetizing and flavour-packed!

The owner, a lovely woman named Mrs.Katoh and native of Tokyo, started the shop due to a previous less health-conscious diet. Concerned about poor leg circulation, overconsumption of meat and dairy products, sunspots, and other concerns, she changed her main staple food from white rice to organic brown rice. Soon she noticed a difference in her (and her husband's) health and became interested in spreading the word to others...eventually opening her own restaurant.
Lunch sets are available for 1500yen and 2100yen. Considering how much food is served, it is really a run for your money! You will feel really stuffed by the time dessert is served, trust me. Dinner courses are available for 3150yen, 4200yen, and 5250yen.

Example of food served:
Gerson:
- homemade tofu with aonori, black sugar
- glass of carrot juice
- balsamic vinegar eringi mushrooms
- roasted eggplant with tomato and onion sauce
- black sesame tofu
- pineapple and sequasa (citrus fruit juice from Okinawa) juice on yuba (tofu skin)
- lettuce with tofu and sesame paste, flavoured with black sugar
- simmered shitake, freeze-dried tofu (koya tofu) and fresh endive leaf

Vegetarian:
- homemade tofu in thickened stock (dashi) made from konbu seaweed and dried shitake
- miso soup with black sesame tofu
- tempura with konnyaku-nori, sweet potato, green stem of carrots...served with green tea salt
- yuba (tofu skin) and daikon dish, semi-sweet wasabi paste
- simmered fuki (butterbur), shitake, freeze-dried tofu in vegan dashi
- lettuce with tofu and sesame paste with soy sauce
- yurine (lily bulb) with enoki mushrooms surrounding a lotus root ball filled with miso paste and lily bulb

Regular:
- homemade tofu in thickened stock made from konbu, dried shitake, bonito flakes
- miso soup with black sesame tofu
- tempura with shrimp, sweet potato, leaves/stem of carrots...served with green tea salt
- simmered fuki (butterbur), shitake, freeze-dried tofu in regular dashi
- tuna (maguro) sashimi with wasabi and soy sauce
- lettuce with tofu and sesame paste with soy sauce
- yurine (lily bulb) with enoki mushrooms surrounding a lotus root ball filled with miso paste and lily bulb

*** all sets were served with soba (buckwheat) tea and brown rice with black sesame salt on the side (like self-service), homemade tofu ice cream topped with honey, and choice of either coffee or tea.

The organic brown rice has a unique story behind it. It uses the "aigamo - nohou" farming method in which ducks feed on insect pests in the rice field, making it unnecessary for the farmer to use pesticides on the rice crop. The rice is sold at Oriza @ 600yen per 1kg, which is quite reasonable considering the method and plain fact that it is organic rice!

The restaurant is by reservations only and reservations may be made the day before or earlier. The general restaurant hours are 11:30a.m. to 10:00pm. The shop is closed on Saturday. Tea time featuring one of the following: cake, nikuman - steamed meat buns, yasaiman - steamed vegetable buns, Japanese wagashi sweets, plus a beverage of choice is held from 2:00 to 5:00pm. Tea time is done on a reservation basis as well - you can try to go without notice, she just might not be there!

INFORMATION:
Oriza (the name of the place was inspired by the scientific Latin name for rice, apparently)
Tsukuba-shi
Matsushiro 3-8-13
Tel&Fax: 029-851-9957
E-mail: oryza AT mail1.accsnet.ne.jp

The only downside is it's location...just go behind LaLa Garden through the street on which DoyaDoya izakaya is located...then go down a narrow road in the middle of some fields...until you see a big cream-coloured building...take a right just before that building...there should be some creamish-coloured condominium behind it. There is a small stained-glass plate with the name Oriza in Katakana. (see picture included in this review to see what it looks like)

NOTE: this restaurant is likely more appealing to women than men but hopefully some men can appreciate such healthy food, too!

you know you have been in Japan too long when...

...eating Octopus balls for breakfast does not strike you as weird!!! We woke up a little too late the other morning so I had no time to prepare breakfast as usual. As a quick breakfast fix I nuked up some frozen octopus balls, drizzled it with sauce+mayo+bonito flakes...and served it with yogurt, of all things! Ha ha.

And you know what? It was reallllly good, great way to start out my day. I got the idea from a student whose son insists on having takoyaki (octopus balls) every day for breakfast. Why don't you try it one day?!

good croissants in Tsukuba, at last!!!

Some of the best croissants in Tsukuba can be found at GRIS GRIS (pronounced, GOO-ree GOO-ree in French) bakery, located in the Sakura area of Tsukuba. It is kind of hard to see from the main street, as it is located just behind the cream building which used to house AEON Sakura branch...and behind the Fujiya shop intersection. The shop has been around for some time but you might not have stumbled into it due to the location.

The first time I had it was when a friend brought some to my house. After that I decided it was worth it to head out to Sakura (a bit of distance from where I live) for the sole purpose of obtaining quality baked goods! Hopefully with a little effort, you can make it out there too - it is really worth the trip! On a lazy Sunday morning, what's better than a freshly baked croissant to go with your coffee in the comfort of your own home?

What a hidden gem it is: cute breads shaped into little pigs, wonderful apricot tarts (my favourite), very flaky croissants (my husband's favourite and incidentally the shop's #1 specialty along with other flaky pastry specialties), and tasty bread-pudding consistency bread...most taste great as is but even better when heated a wee bit in the toaster. My friend highly recommends the French bread (mini baguette) sandwiches filled with either cheese or ham. Many menu items do not appear on the website as it seems the chef bakes according to season (and seasonal ingredients) and each item's popularity. We are very picky about croissants and are not particularly fond of them at some chain bakeries and so on.

I am glad that this charming French bakery remains small and quaint as not to lose quality. Some other bakeries gained popularity over time and experimented too much in menu expansion, therefore going down in quality. I am glad this shop doesn't have mass production, meaning the taste remains very authentic and delicate! The pastry chef (who studied pastry baking in France) is a kind soft-spoken man who seemed quite busy at the time we visited (10 in the morning)...it was quite amazing to see how many types of baked goods one chef can churn out in a morning.

For a taste of France, visit Gris Gris...we think French expats, in particular, will love this shop.

General website (in Japanese): http://www.gris-gris.jp/
See a map here: http://www.gris-gris.jp/info.html
The shop is closed every Monday and second Tuesday of each month.

The shop is open from 8:30a.m. to 7pm (but only open until 6pm on Sundays)

Le pain Gris Gris

2-15-3 Nakayama B.L.D 107

Sakura Tsukuba-shi

305-0003

029-857-7538

VERY nice!

I went to a FABULOUS organic restaurant in Tsukuba (named Oriza) the other day with my friends. What a surprise! The place is by reservations only and a 'wee' pricey...but not more than luxurious French cuisine! Everything we ate was organic and we got to try three types of foods: vegetarian (vegan), normal (with meat and fish), and gershon (saltless super healthy food for cancer patients).

The brown rice we ate was grown organically, made possible with the aid of LOVE DUCKS...er, at least that the nickname I gave them. They are called ai-gamo in Japanese...sounds like love duck to me! The ducks eat all the nasty bugs and insects so the farmers do not need to use nasty pesticides. The brown rice was not that expensive at 600yen per 1kg (much cheaper than the non-organic white rice I got in Yuzawa last year!!!)

my favorite chocolate at the moment...

Some after breakfast...then after lunch, and then after dinner. Hmm, though it may be poor logic, perhaps somewhere in all that chocolate I eat the caffeine speeds up my digestion and metabolism??? The world's perfect digestif, hee hee.

I tried some European chocolate but at times the flavour is too harsh, acidic, or sweet. My tastebuds are veering toward Japanese chocolates over time. This is my what number blog entry on chocolate now? I'm a hopeless chocoholic......

shodo...getting into Japanese calligraphy

Recently I am getting back into calligraphy...it is a good way to exercise one's brain, write Chinese characters more beautifully, zone out into zen, and learn more Chinese characters without being bored to death by stupid kanji flashcards. (ha ha, can you tell I am frustrated at the darn cards?)

We have a volunteer teacher come out to a calligraphy club member's house and for two hours we drink tea/coffee, eat some snacks and practice writing. For the first lessons I made dots and simple horizontal strokes for the WHOLE two hours. Ha ha...and the funniest thing is, even after that time, I could not master it.

It is very hard to do calligraphy beautifully...one must have good sense of balance, be able to control the ink flow, and concentrate on the word. My friend Yuri (who kindly addressed our wedding envelopes!) can do it sooo well - she's an expert with a calligraphy brush.

My goal is to do calligraphy until my Chinese characters do not look like that of a 5-year old child's!!! Recently we sent a thank-you card to Hiro's former orchestra colleague...and his colleague laughed and was so pleased to see my child-like writing, both kanji and hiragana. I suppose if my writing provokes so much laughter, I should not change it. Laughter is after all, very good medicine for the soul!

Anyway if you have some time and want to fall into the zen zone, why don't you try it out?! Though Japanese brushes are not ideal for writing romanized characters - straightlined Chinese characters (kanji) are the best.

I say BURN THEM AT THE STAKE!!!

Ha ha...recently the cherry blossom blooming forecasters appeared on national television in order to apologize for their inaccurate bloom forecast. It was funny to see how solemn and sincerely repentant for their off-mark prediction. But Mother Nature is so unpredictable, how on Earth could they predict this sudden wave of chilly air/high winds early this month?! They are not God, after all.

In Japan where cherry blossom parties often take place, it is essential for many to know when is the perfect timing to hold such an open-air picnic party. If you ask me, it is sure nice to see cherry blossoms but hey, if they aren't out, it's a great excuse to party and for some to get very publicly drunk!

I wonder if Japanese people know how lucky they are. There are ordinances prohibiting public drinking, especially in parks and open spaces like university campuses, etc... Being inebriated in public is also nothing of great consequence here, unlike back in Canada.

One thing is for sure: cherry blossom season is not enjoyable for all...those with allergies do not look forward to such hanami (cherry blossom viewing) events. Poor them...and soon to be me!

White Day!

Yesterday was White Day, the day when Japanese men reciprocate (for Valentine's Day) with some gifts or fancy dinner.

I was treated to White Day breakfast - oooh, what a special, and with a surprise. I love surprises and my husband knows it by now, hee hee. So he really surprised me with Creamy miso soup! Wowow, who knew miso and milk would end up being a good match. (this picture is not his but it gives you an idea...) Yum yum...try it one day when you get the chance!

hanker for real bagels?

Most of the bagels I have had in Japan really STINK...I mean, how can you seriously call those things bagels? The ones at McDonald's used for breakfast sets are a disgrace to the name 'bagel' itself...yuckyyyy, definitely NOT bagels.

My friend once made some bagels for me (so kind!) which were very tasty but very hmm, how should I put it...very Japanese. It was because of this and other experiences that I thought Japanese have the wrong idea of what an authentic bagel should taste like. Real ones are dense, chewy, slightly hard on the outside and soft inside with a good amount of sweetness added in.

There is a famous bagel shop in Seibu in Tsukuba but I have not bothered to try it for fear of falling sorely disappointed. That and I did not think it worth the price!

Out of frustration from fruitless searching for a TASTY bagel which met my standards, I made the decision to make my own. They came out (not as beautiful as this picture) round and not bad aesthetically...and as for taste, PING PONG - right on! I felt like I was back in North America eating a bagel smothered in cream cheese and butter...oh, definitely worth the extra effort.

Mister Donut...we love mis-do!

You know you are a sucker for donuts when you have a donut point card...we are official members of the MisDo club. Oh dear. Our latest visit proves our affinity for donuts...between the two of us we scarved up 2 muffins, 6 donuts and 2 coffees...eeks, talk about the gluttony. Um, well, that is what happens when you do not go often - after our donut binge we felt sleepy and enjoyed a lazy weekend.

Mister Donuts were not my favorite when I first came here. I was a loyal fan of Timmy's (Tim Horton's) back in Canada. Over time I realized I was buying the wrong donuts - Japanese Mister Donuts with the chocolate glazes are terrible...so waxy and yucky. The sugar-glazed ones and in particular, the French cruller, are heavenly.

What really wins me over are the pon-de-ring donuts (see above two pix)...so cute...little balls to form a donut circle - the texture is chewy and sweet, unlike your usual donut. The maple, pumpkin, and cheese muffins are also yummmmy. Ironically, while most of the Mister Donuts have gone outta business back in the States, the business is thriving and doing quite well in Japan and other parts of Asia.

Waff-what?

Not wanting to clutter my kitchen up more than it is (and boy, is it crowded and cluttered up!!!!!!!!), I decided to forgo buying a new kitchen gadget (a waffle maker) and instead use what I already had. I used my hot sandwich maker to churn out some waffles and boy, was it impressive! Talk about 2-in-1! We ate strawberry waffles and savoury ham/cheese ones...ummmm, umm, yummy.

If you cook the suckers long enough they taste like regular waffles, minus the typical waffle grooves. If you don't cook it too long, the waffle comes out almost like Japanese takoyaki, savoury octopus balls (oh yeah, that sounded good)! Next time I am going to make Japanese taiyaki or quick-fix okonomiyaki with waffle batter and stuff...oohhh, I cannot wait!

mmm...cannot help myself - agh, help me!

A Japanese classic snack since 1971, Caramel Corn has a new addition to its family: milk flavor. The snack has a rich taste due to its three coated layers: milk, white chocolate cream, and milk powder.

キャラメルコーン・コク濃仕立て・ミルク味
濃厚でコクのある味わいの新しいキャラメルコーン、「コク濃仕立て」シリーズの第一弾。ふんわりサクサクのキャラメルコーンをミルクパウダーで包み込みました。

Oh the agony of living in Japan! Just when you thought you'd tried ALL the flavours, they roll out some new flashy, attractive, sinful one...tempting, tantalizing, plain irresistable!!! Caramel corn is not like popcorn here - think cheese corn curls minus the cheese and with a sweet (not savoury) twist. It comes in sweet flavours: green tea, roasted almond, strawberry, caramel, chocolate, white milk, Hello Kitty, girl's day flavour...and more. I think I have tried them all...now on to the conbini to get me-self some of this new stuff! Darn them ingenous (sp?) marketers!!!

Hollywood hams it up

Something I never noticed before is the overdramatic acting in Hollywood. That is...until I watched the sequel to "Pirates of the Carribean" the other night. Perhaps it is because I did not watch a Hollywood movie in at least 1/2 a year, instead tuning into Japanese dramas and movies. (The movie kamome shokudou is veryyyy cute!) Another thing I noticed is how Hollywood relies heavily on over-the-top expensive special effects, which are great here and there but, a whole movie full of them?

I found the acting a bit 'fake' and noticed that perhaps I am becoming more acute in detecting emotions, much like other Asians. My friend Kelly once told me Asians seem more in tune with emotion reading and are better at it than their Western counterparts. Cultural or individual difference? Some Westerners may find Japanese movies 'pointless' or too everyday blah...but it shows one major cultural difference: Westerners see the final outcome as important whereas in Japan they see the process of getting there as equally, if not more important!

The most alarming part was, for the first time in my life, I had what I think was a 'panic attack.' My friend once told me she had one back in her university days but I had no idea what she was talking about. Now I see what she meant. The movie had a very loud, noisy, happening scene which seemed to trigger something in me...enough so that I suddenly panicked, stood up as my brain started swirling. Hiro said my face lost all colour and suddenly turned blue. What a scary moment it was!

Needless to say, I did not enjoy the sequel to "Pirates" and will definitely NOT be watching the conclusion of the "Pirates" movie series.

Penne a la vodka...a la sake? **hiccup**

Improvisation. The secret to living in any foreign country is that and flexibility, willingness to adapt and take on all things new...which brings me on to the next topic, "penne a la sake." We are not heavy drinkers so we rarely have a stash of vodka in the house - though on any given day you can find PLENTY of beer, sake, and wine at our place. :)

For lunch I made penne a la Japanese sake and boy, was it tasty. Ha ha, not to toot my own horn or anything, but it was surprisingly good! Tomato cream sauce spiked with sake...hey, what's not to like about that? Next time I will add some shiso leaves for an even more fusion taste...oh, I can see the purist Japanese chefs frowning already...**snicker, snicker**

Last night we had dinner: Japanese buckwheat noodles (soba), fish, and edamame beans...along with a heavy dose of Japanese sake from Niigata. Oh it was delicious sweet sake - why on earth sake is not more popular with Japanese mystified me...that is, until...I became really drunk off my rockers and stumbled about - my husband carried me to bed, and a long slumber until 8a.m. this morning. What a shocker...less than 1/2 a cup and I was 'out of commission' - now I see why it's not more popular than it is.

Hiro also tells me sake hangovers are the worrrst, saiiiiyakuuu. Though I drank more than usual for me, it was not enough to warrant a hangover this morning, thank goodness. UPDATE: I had a slight headache later in the morning, likely due to the sake?

poor rice farmers...

With the Beijing Olympics just around the corner, metal prices are soaring and all sorts of machinery is disappearing from temples, manholes, rice fields, schools (aluminum silverware, bowls, plates) and more...my goodness, I hope this situation does not worsen!!!

RYUGASAKI, Ibaraki -- At least 56 faucets, worth a total 310,000 yen, have been stolen from water supply pipes at rice paddies in Ibaraki Prefecture, police said.

Investigators suspect that thieves stole them in order to make some cash, as metal prices are on the rise. Ditch gratings along roads and bells on fire-watching towers have been also been stolen in the prefecture

call much?

This is the Brastel card, the lovely card which allows me to call my grandmother and mother for next to nothing. I have something like 1000minutes on it and for the most part, I only call them with it because the rest of my friends are on Skype which is like international phoning for free! I wonder if Brastel calling card company has been affected by the Skype hype over the years...most certainly so, considering how popular it is!

The company has great service - it is super duper easy to charge and just this year they have a 10-year anniversary contest...and I hope to win some really nice prize - tickets abroad, gadgets, and the like...woo hoo.

there is no doubt...

As much as I wanted to ignore the existence of the recent eruption of hay fever in my life...the proof was just undeniable. Mountains of tissue around the house - balls of tissue surprises in the living room, bedroom, dining room table, chairs...the evidence overwhelming. Now we don't know whether the tissue is Hiro's or mine, ha ha...we can enjoy suffering from allergies together now.

Speaking of tissues...I have never seen a square box of tissues (see pic) in Japan like back home. They only stock the normal rectangular types here. Hmm, how curious.

Korean: run for your money

South Korean products gaining ground in Japan (by Jun Iwawaki, Kyodo News)

South Korean auto and home appliance makers are making a big push into the Japanese market, contesting industrial areas that Japanese firms consider their specialty. The South Korean firms are slowly gaining Japanese consumers' support, with their cars and home appliances seen as low-priced but good quality. The firms are shaking off the image previously associated with their products: cheap, but you get what you pay for. Hyundai Motor Japan, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co., displays polished new models in its showroom in Tokyo's Toranomon district with tables and chairs prepared in a corner for visitors.

In business in Tokyo since 2001, it now sells six Hyundai models, including the top-of-the-line Grandeur with a 3,300cc engine. It is priced at about 3.4 million yen. "It does not pale in comparison with Japanese cars of the same class in terms of quality and equipment," a sales representative said. "But the price of the car is about 1 million yen less."

South Korea's largest home appliance maker, LG Electronics, also markets liquid crystal display television sets, washing machines and refrigerators in Japan, with sales totaling about 12 billion yen a year. Its line of products used to center on low-priced goods. But it is said to be changing its strategy, emphasizing being a maker of high value-added products, including driers with drums, in an effort to eliminate its image as a maker of cheap products.

South Korean products are already well-received in North America and Europe, threatening Japanese goods to some extent. Samsung Electronics, which is fiercely competing with Japanese makers for top spot in world share for flat-screen television sets, ranked 20th in global corporate brand value in 2006, according to U.S. economic journal BusinessWeek. It placed higher than Sony Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which were in 26th and 77th places, respectively. Hyundai was lower than Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. but placed higher than Nissan Motor Co.

I bought a LG washing machine 3 years back and it works beautifully. I think Korean products are sometimes perform better than their Japanese counterparts...for example, the same-as-Japanese-quality Korean washing machine has to be sold for less in Japan in order to compete in the electronics market. Equating to quality at a great price, perfect for consumers like you or me. Though many Japanese products are of superior quality, I think competition in Korea and China will force Japanese companies think long and hard!

not bad at all...

Tsukuba Places 53rd: Cities Offering Best Quality of Life
Tsukuba tied with Lisbon for 53rd place in a survey evaluating quality of life in cities around the world based on the following categories.

* Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement)
* Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking)
* Socio-cultural environment (censorship, personal freedom, etc.)
* Medical and health considerations (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc.)
* Schools and education (standard and availability of schools, etc.)
* Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transport, traffic)
* Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure, etc.)
* Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc.)
* Housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc.)
* Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)

Read the full article: World’s Top Cities Offering the Best Quality of Life

first winter w/out snow!

This past weekend Kanto experienced record high temperatures!

I wonder if I should be happy or sad about this one...Tokyo and the GTA had its first winter on record w/out snow. Sign of global warming or just lucky? And are we so lucky after all? Sometimes it is fun to have snow: build a snowman, have a slip on the road for some excitement, see trees beautifully lined in white fluff, catching flakes in one's mouth as they come down. Then again I do not miss the cold, slush, and icy icy driving that accompanies it...apparently there was no shortage of snow and cold back home (midwest America and Toronto).

The new condo is great too. Unlike my last place, this place is actually insulated!!! I can practically count the number of times I turned on the heat...maybe a total of 5 times or so? When finding a new home, one should definitely consider whether or not it is insulated. My old place cost around (20,000yen) 200 dollars to keep heated each month...VERY high (more than double) compared to now, even though our new place is more spacious than my old one.

The pic is 'snow monsters,' snow-covered fir trees in Zao.

huh? What's the big deal?

Vegemite - the natto of Australia. Just last week Perry gave us a little sample pack of it, much to our (er, make that MY) delight. I have wanted to try it for ages, especially after having survived the Japanese natto challenge...even coming out a natto-loving champion! It's true - I love natto much more than my Japanese husband, heh heh...the irony.

Anyway we were 'kind enough' to share the Vegemite with Hiro's mother this past weekend. Despite Perry and his girl's warnings not to, before eating it, I sniffed the stuff like a dog...hmm, not that bad. I spread a generous amount of the goo on my toast and dug in...hmmmmm, not bad at all! Just like Chinese spicy oil fermented stinky tofu in a bottle, only yeastier. Ha ha. I suppose I am a stinky food vet: durian, stinky fried tofu in Taiwan, natto, Italian gorgonzola in Germany, stinky cheeses of all kinds in Toronto's Kensington market...this Vegemite stuff was nuthin'!

culprit of my recent malaise?

Cedar...すぎ　in Japanese. The government was brilliant, to plant tons and tons of these, not at all thinking of the consequences. Years and many a-choooooos later, they realized they screwed up, big time! Now many people suffer from severe hay fever from the pollen launched from those 'lovely' cedars. So much for the romantic image of 'snow falling on cedars.'

Recently my nose is stuffed up, eyes u-ru u-ru (watery) and breathing system congested...all accompanied by a minor headache. All symptoms prevalent when one has a cold, so I cannot figure out whether I am sick with a cold or simply suffering from mild allergy symptoms. Agh, the frustration. I never had allergies in the past but have heard various stories from foreigners about having developed hay fever after residing in Japan for more than a few years. Booooo.

Umm, I suppose the good news is, if I have allergies, we can suffer together...Hiro and I. He seems pleased to have the company...nothing like the saying, ' misery loves company' in this case. The Chinese herbal medicine he (or soon to be we) takes is pricey at around 300 yen ($2.50) a day but far better than drowsy side-effects from regular hay fever medicine.

Update: Tuesday morning and symptoms show no side of abating. Waaaaa.

ate a whale of a lunch...whale for lunch?!

If there is anything I wanna see more than a big manta ray, it's gotta be a whale in the flesh! Last November we were so fortunate to see dolphins and manta rays in the azure waters...but what I really wanted to see was a whopper of a whale. What serene gigantic creatures they are - seeing one must be practically a holy experience...which brings us to the topic of Japanese whaling.

Why Japanese fishermen insist on the outdated practice of whaling eludes me. Japan is no longer a struggling, poor country and whale is no longer a cheap alternative to other fish! There are various other sources of cheaper, tastier, safer protein such a beef, chicken, and pork. Can you imagine the biomagnification in whales...it must be one of the most dangerous meats out there for pregnant women. In the past whale was not uncommon in school lunches - most of my students above 35 have eaten it. Some older Japanese claim whale goes well with Japanese food...others, my students, recalled disliking whale for its dry and bland taste.

This issue of whaling will continue to be of international debate for who knows how long. I just hope in the meantime, illegal whale poaching will not threaten stocks of certain whale species. Save the Queen! Save the whales!

brain training mania...

For the past two or so years, Japanese senior citizens (and middle-aged, alike) have gotten into brain training...an attempt at mental exercise to prevent dementia, Alzheimer's and the like. Though I dislike crossword puzzles, I have really taken to SUDOKU. This all started when Hiro gave me the Nintendo DS "Brain Age" software, English version. Ever since, I have been hooked. I am not sure whether or not brain training is effective...I seem to be as forgetful as before...but maybe some things never change, no matter how hard we try.


How to play sudoku: The objective is to fill a 9x9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3x3 boxes contains the digits from 1 to 9. Be sure to have a pencil and eraser ready...that and plenty of time to rack your brain! Strangely enough, most Japanese people I know had no clue what it was until the past year or so. It was my American friend who first asked me (a few years back) whether or not I was into the game. Ha ha, the irony.

chocolate...gourmet

Ecuador, Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago. Ghana.

A recent trend in the Japanese chocolate industry is the classification and sales of chocolate by country, not unlike what they do for coffee. Interestingly enough, the taste does vary by country. Ecuador is less sweet than its Venezuelan cousin...Trinidad and Tobago seems halfway between the two.

My husband is surprised to see how much chocolate I eat...from early morning after breakfast...then after lunch, then some around dinnertime and then after dinner...then before bed...might I be a chocoholic? If you ask really nicely, I may even show you may happy choco dance!

MELON bread...

Just forget about anything I said in my last post about margarine. If there is one kind of snack I cannot resist, it would be melon bread. The first time for me to have it was here, in delightful wonderful gustatorial Japan. Ahhh, the heaven which accompanied my first bite of it...very sinful.

What really won me over was the textural juxtaposition of hard/crunchy and soft. You bite into a very hard sugary cookie-like shell of sorts, only to be greeted by soft and lovely sweet bread. If you make it to Japan, this is a MUST TRY. Margarine or butter...regardless, I will chomp it down.

There are various kinds. Those with just a sugary crust and plain soft sweet bread inside or others with a crunchy outside, sweet bread inside and some surprise whipped cream/custardy something filling! YUMMMMMMMY, delightful, and did I mention sinful?!

Original flavour, chocolate chip, strawberry, cantaloupe, green tea, chocolate, with whipped cream filling, with custard filling, custard and cream filling, turtle-shaped, orange, hot dog-shaped sandwich style, blueberry...oooooooh, each season has different kinds. The new flavours are often limited to convenience stores...as are limited edition Kit Kats.

My ultimate goal is to make melon bread by myself, in my bread machine!