desperate housewives...er desperate bachelorette

This is a pictures of a kotatsu, table with an electric warmer built in under the table top. A blanket is sandwiched between the table frame and table top - that way the heat doesn't escape and it stays toasty for much longer!

People often use this instead of other heating systems because it is warm and perhaps energy efficient. I'm unsure of the energy savings factor. Families used to huddle 'round the table and eat little mikans, Japanese tangerines. That's my favorite part about a kotatsu table.

Today instead of keeping me warm, it is drying my PJ's. I made the mistake of washing my pajamas on a rainy day, therefore, I've got to get them dry somehow. Hang drying wouldn't work because my humidifier is too effective! Lemme check...VOILA, three hours later and dry flannel PJ's. As I often like to say, desperation always leads to innovation.

hey, can you display me in the aquarium too?

Do you see the resemblance??? This fish is now being displayed at the OARAI aquarium. It is being featured there as the Valentine's display because it has a quirky tendency to kiss everything in sight. I wonder if it kisses its food or simply says, "AH" and gobbles it down. Curious thing. I don't think I am invited to that aquarium anymore. Last time I went, I exclaimed "OISHIIIII" at almost every sea creature. If you haven't guessed already, OISHII means 'tasty' in Japanese. ^_^ Josh calls my picture, "not even human" and insisted that I removed it from my homepage. I reluctantly did but I still like the bizarre mouth contortion - it's kind of grotesquely appealing?

what fancy wheels you have

This is a sketch of Dear Stage, the bridal house we decided on. We went there last Saturday before the New Year's drinking party. Because we planned on drinking, we went by bike. After we took care of some paperwork and paid a hefty deposit, Mr. Sugiura, like the previous week, wanted to show us out and wait until we were out of sight. After not even 50 meters from the exit, Hirotsugu suddenly blurted out, "UM, right here will be just fine...there's no need to walk us all the way to the gate. We came by bike today and er, um, er...*awkward laughing* it is a little embarrassing." Mr. Sugiura was a little surprised by that, perhaps because we'd come by Hirotsugu's sleek silver car last week. My bike is my main mode of transportation, however Hiro hadn't done it in at least 10 years. It was fun, like we were elementary kids again. Going home a little wobbly after the drinking party also felt like reckless school days. Ahhh, children know how to enjoy life to its fullest, yet, they don't even know it! As adults we somehow forget how to 'live'.

is sure does look good, but does it TASTE good?

On Sunday I met up with a friend I hadn't seen in ages, Chigusa. We ate at a little Italian restaurant (in Tsukuba Q't mall) with a great view, er sort of, does a bus terminal count? Portofino（イタリアン - Italian）was the name of the place. For the number of customers, they had far too many servers. The servers were for the most part, attentive, except when they wanted us out and finally stopped giving us water refills. Oops, our bad.

The daikon salad I ordered was DROWNING in a pool of salad dressing. I'm being generous when I am saying drowning. Japanese daikon, or white radish, is usually white in color and tends to absorb whatever sauces it is subjected to. All the shredded daikon on my plate turned a ruddy brown - icky. Not visually pleasing at all.

After I'd eaten the salad, I told the waitress that in the future the salad dressing should be on the side because my salad was way too strong, nevertheless, she didn't seem to heed my sugar-coated complaint. Back in the States the restaurant may have apologized sincerely and perhaps take it off the bill, not so in my case. Oooh, a crappy (excuse my language, when it comes to food, I'm serious) salad for 7-dollars...grrrrrrr.

The tiramisu may have well been called, "big mass of whipped cream with a sliver of chocolate cake doused in a wee bit of liquor." Again, very disappointing. Hmm, don't think I will be going back there again.

We often remember good food...but even more than that, we remember bad food or poor service! Restaurants don't have it easy. If a customer has one poor experience with food, it's likely they will suffer from food aversion and never come back. I know I will never go back to JOURNAL Cafe, even though I'm not sure if it was the exact reason for my 12-hour stomach flu. Again, it's not easy in the restaurant/cafe business.

shocked wine for you, my dear?

"Think of the savings. Shorter production time, no need for storage, no need to invest in barrels."
(AP Press) Hiroshi Tanaka, president of Innovative Design and Technology Inc, a Hamamatsu start-up company that transforms young wine into fine wine by electrolysis. Tanaka claims to have perfected a machine that transforms young wine into mellow, 20-year-old vintage fair, in seconds. He says wine producers have refused to have anything to do with him.
_____________________

Oh to the horror of all fine wine connoiseurs out there. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if a reknown sommelier could not distinguish between a fine wine and electrolysis-treated wine? Oh, that will be the day...the end of the wine industry as we know it!

4.3 million dollar slab of chocolate

A Tokyo jewelry retailer has gone out of its way to make the traditional Valentine's Day gift of chocolate special this year -- by creating a huge slab of chocolate studded with over 2000 diamonds.

Tokyo jeweler Uchihara crafted the diamond delicacy, which is priced at 500 million yen, on Jan. 24. Crafted to match this year's Valentine's Day, it has 2006 diamonds on it.

The chocolate is cut into the shape of the African continent, a huge producer of diamonds. Most of the diamonds are placed on the part representing South Africa, where the diamonds on the chocolate were produced. A diamond measuring 1.5 centimeters in diameter has been placed at the location of a famous diamond mine.

Since there is nowhere to store the chocolate, it only lasts for a day before melting, but store officials say they'll make another one if they get an order.

However, the chocolate may not be everyone's idea of a treat. "With all those diamonds in it, it looks a bit hard to bite into," said one onlooker as the chocolate went on display. (Mainichi News)
________________________________

Again, another fine example of practical Japan. Hmm. *frowns* Just a month ago I posted a blog entry on the diamond studded cake which has the shelf life of, *gulp* one year! I was told that examples as suc are simply a kind of overembellished advertising tactic. I suppose it does make one's ears perk up upon hearing such an outrageous idea. I can imagine in a few years this kind of "SHOCK" and "WOW" advertising will lose it's appeal/effect.

again...me and my love for Japanese breakfasts! I should write a book about it one day...

Ooo, I am stuffed! This was an unusually big breakfast today!
Left (center picture) fried slices of pumpkin (notice the burnt edges...whoops)
2nd from L (center picture) salad consisting of: lettuce, tomatoes, ham, kaiware (Japanese white radish sprouts...super health stuff with a slight bitter taste), topped with clear shiso (herb w/a taste between basil and mint) dressing.
Center (center picture) Koshihikari (premium grain) rice
2nd from right black bean and black rice natto mixed with soy sauce and spring onions
Right (center picture) Mozuku (slimy, thin, hair-like seaweed) soup with tofu, soy sauce, dashi (fish stock), and garnished w/chopped spring onions
Left picture lightly microwaved egg with tsuyu (slightly sweet soy-based sauce) and black pepper...if you attempt to make this, do remember to POKE A HOLE in the yolk before you nuke it!
Right picture close-up photo of the natto and spring onions (usually natto is light brown...but this is gourmet black natto with black rice, VERY unusual. I found it had a more metallic, almost Fe+ kind of taste)

Usually I don't make such a big breakfast for myself. I only make it for two or more people. I wonder why that is. Do you make gourmet food for one? I rarely make good food for myself, perhaps because I fear if it is too good, I will overindulge and my stomach will grow to a big bulge, hee hee. Sorry for my very cheesy rhyme, hee hee.

The other day I made such a breakfast for one and it was enjoyable but not as good as having it with company. Hmm, to me, eating alone is like drinking alone...no fun! Do you like drinking or eating alone? I know that dining out with others frequently tends to lead to significant weight gain; on the other hand, if cooking for family...it would make sense for the food to be wholesome and healthier?

shin-nen-kai, Chinese New Year party!

Yesterday we had a New Year's Party at UOTAMI izakaya, a new Japanese drinking pub near Tsukuba Centre. 14 people attended with guest list comprised of some couples and others singles. It was a good variety and everyone seemed to 'hit it off.' I was happy to see that. Sometimes party dynamics are a bit off-key. I suppose it all comes down to: the ambience, whether or not attendees are gregarious types, whether people are familiar with one another, if they have some things in common...and so on.

The food was surprisingly good and filling. When one goes to such an event, there is a tendency to be served food that doesn't fill one up. For some, upon returning home from a drinking party, they eat OCHA-zuke, (rice+toppings with hot green tea poured on top) to feel satiated.

This was an all-you-can drink event...with all you can drink for 1.5 hours. Because it was assumed that men can and will drink (and eat) more, the meal cost 3000 yen for women; 3500 for men. Thanks to Tomoko Kodama was kind enough to make the reservation and meal arrangements!

My favorite was the fried stew patty...hard to describe...crispy on the outside but chewy and creamy on the inside, like a salty cream puff. The most interesting dish for me, soba-chahan...Chinese ramen noodles (all chopped up) fried in tons of oil with rice, some bits of who-know-what, and doused with sweet and salty YAKISOBA sauce (like Bulldog sauce, the worchestershire-like stuff). You could almost call it Japanese junk food. It is the pic w/the mayo wildly drizzled on top...and features Youichi's finger, too

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

No, I am not a month late, it is the Chinese New Year folks! I don't often celebrate Chinese New Year's or anything so it was a surprise when my grandma called me and said, "XIN NIAN KUAI LE!!!" I thought she had gone senile, wishing new a happy new year much too late. I called her just two weeks before and she had said the same thing. Her memory is sharp, sharper than mine for sure - I attribute that to her mahjong addiction, ha ha.

A second New Year, a second new start! (for those of you who have given up on resolutions, here is your second chance!)

Update on my New Year's resolutions:
1. Call mom every week (doing good...but decided once every 1.5 to 2 weeks is sufficient...emails in between are good) I want to call dad but that costs more than a dollar a minute. Ouch.
2. Call my grandma when i am awake (the time difference is a killer...when to call and staying awake at 3am listening to her)
3. Keep family updated ("i am alive and well. hi! bye! ") even though i am knee-deep in work
4. Keep off the winter pudge (yogurt is my new thing...it cures the late-night munchies...doing good)
5. Start running again - FAILED (but did take up walking, pilates and continue yoga, not bad...)
6. Learn more Japanese cooking (continuation of my resolution last year)...doing good and keeping up with this but admittedly, results are not always so tasty
7. Learn more Japanese (again, a continuation of last year)...doing good, telephone Japanese is adequate for daily living
8. Be happy, love deeply, think positive...this is lifelong!

To celebrate the New Year I have a SHINNENKAI party tonight...funny thing is, my guests have NO idea that it is Chinese New Year's. I will surprise them with almond cookies!

one fish, two fish, three fish...Ooo, fish!

This morning I had grilled salmon, mozuku (slimy, sweet vinegary thin threads of seaweed), simmered Japanese pumpkin, rice, coffee (strange match for a Japanese breakfast), steamed okra and enoki mushrooms with a drizzle of soy sauce, and wakame (again, seaweed) soup.

And you wonder why the Japanese have one of the longest life expectancy rates in the world? ^_^ The thought of such a breakfast three years ago perhaps would have made me lose my appetite...but now I love it! Evenings are primetime teaching time so dinner is no longer my main meal of the day, breakfast is!

This picture displays salted salmon on the fish grill, an essential part of any cooking range in Japan. Most people here cook using natural gas, not electricity via coils. The key is to put water on the bottom of the tray, something I didn't know until this past New Year's when Hiro's mom told me about it. I had no idea! The water makes it easy to clean and prevents oil fires...though the likelihood of an oil fire is rather low unless you have a big family and are cooking incredibly greasy things in the fish grill.

This innovation is a wonder in my life...I even throw toast or marshmallows in it from time to time, without much success. (read: charcoal, anyone?) The one downside: IF you should happen to forget to wash this (after having cooked fish) and IF it is a typical sweltering Japanese summer day...THEN the odors wafting from your kitchen will let you know that you have forgotten! Ughhh, it is worse than the time a mouse died under my radiator in my university days...though the odor was strikingly similar!

(about the previous post's pic: sorry Chuck, my arms are scrawny compared to my peak dragonboat days...but with some struggle, i can still pull off the one-handed pushups)

i am an ocean...you are an ocean, too...we are all oceans...come drop in my ocean today!

Yesterday I was a little bit saddened to see the veggie guy at my local supermarket was no longer employed there. Some green new young guy was bustling about unpacking and arranging all the produce. Even though I did not know that middle-aged guy, I always looked forward to his shy and awkward smile of acknowledgement when I entered. (PS, the pic is from summer...now it's covered in snow, perhaps?)

I am well-known at the veggie shop because I ask all kind of questions like, (in Japanese, of course...not the best Japanese but somehow my idea usually gets across)
- what would be the best way to eat this?
-this is pricier and 'premium' but what exactly makes it premium tofu?
-what is the difference between this and that? they look like carbon copies to me!

Sometimes they could not answer my questions and had to ask other employees in the backroom for all the details. Once I wanted to buy wintermelon but not a whole 7lbs. of it! The woman took the melon to the backroom, hacked it up into quarters and wrapped it up for me to go. Now that is service!

The fish guy is hilarious...puffing away at a ciggy and waiting for customers' requests. Isn't there some sort of strict hygiene code or something he should be following? Even though I find smoking despicable, I find his character thoroughly amusing and look forward to his crooked smile, too. He knows me as the girl who stares at fish and cannot seem to decide.

People come and go in our lives...we are like a big ocean...each time someone comes in our life, they contribute a little something. A positive figure in our lives seems to represent some sort of addition, a drop of water, to us, the ocean. A negative figure in our lives would suck moisture out of us, the ocean. If someone is subject to prolonged exposure to negative people or surroundings, the life is sucked out of them. Perhaps that is what we mean when we say, *I feel like I just got the life sucked out of me.* We in effect, did. Sometimes I am sad that someone, even someone I do not know well has departed from my life...but am happy to have their memory and that I have been honored with their contribution, a wonderful drop in my ocean.

Me, waxing poetic...a bit philosophical there...

putting naive all over my body...naive bb

Will slathering "naive" all over my body make me just that, naive? I wonder about this. It is true, the product name is "NAIVE" - just look at the pic to the left...er, perhaps it is not clear but anyway, just take my word for it.

Today I needed to buy some body wash - I was again flabberghasted at how much a refill pouch (400mL) would cost. Around 350-yen (3 dollars)...pricey by no means BUT considering a 600mL in a new plastic pump bottle+400mL refill pouch+bonus travel samples only cost 500 yen... Aroo? Did I fail high school math and get passed outta pity? This is the funny thing about shampoo and soaps in Japan. Oftentimes the pouch refills are pricier (price to volume) than a new bottle. Not so eco-friendly and sort of defeats the whole purpose of having a "pouch refill." Hmm...I'll get back to you on that while I rack my brain for answers in the meantime. Feel free to give any theories, ideas you might have come up with.

Oh, the coolest thing? Body wash comes in an array of novel fragrances. Aloe (spoken as AH-LOW-EH, in Japan), peach (MOMO!), yuzu (Japanese citron...pungent and delightful), rosehip (spoken, RO-ZU-HI-POO), grape (buDOU), green tea (ma-tcha). I was torn between rosehip and green tea...and finally decided on the green tea. Months ago they had ACEROLA body wash - I really liked that because I felt tart and sassy after each shower. Too bad they stopped making it...I don't know how it works - if it is a seasonal body wash thing or merely based on sales and ranking...hmm, I will inquire about that.

PS: Thanks for reading so diligently everyone. I didn't know many people read my bloggeria on a daily basis! I have many stealth readers who read my blog but don't post comments. How cuuurious. ^_^ Anyway if you don't wanna post me a comment feel free to email me comments as others have to date.

Holes in Tsukuba...

I found a painted manhole in Tsukuba. It is not really that beautiful nor particularly unique but still, it's better than a plain 'typical' one found back home. I will keep on the watch for more interesting ones around town. I never even thought to check out manholes. Oooh, it gives me something new to look forward to when I take my walks now!!!

not your usual sidewalk art!

Thanks to Mavis for the website on Japanese manholes, I found this! My favorite. What a beautiful manhole from Sakata, Yamagata prefecture. It is really a piece of art, isn't it? I love how Japanese manholes are so unique! You can see more, here at: manholes for other examples of gorgeous work. I have seen some beauts in Kyoto, however, in modern Tokyo I haven't caught a glimpse of many. My town, Tsukuba is way too modern (very artificial and well-planned out before they built it) for such ancient art!

Vivian-style Japanese breakfast...simple food

Miso soup with Japanese leeks
Veggie fry (cabbage, bean sprouts, onions)
Salad (cabbage, ponzu soy citrus sauce, tomatoes)
Rice topped with raw egg+soy sauce
Coffee

My Japanese teacher saw my breakfast and was sure to remind me to get a fair amount of protein to keep the body satiated and skin beautiful! I keep that in mind when I prepare breakfast now.

HELL has officially frozen over

(this is related to the other post)
We got a free meal in Japan. Not a cheap meal, a REAL meal. That is unheard of. It is like the hooker with the heart of gold or Michael Jackson admitting that he subjected himself to numerous plastic surgery operations. Amazing. I'll say that again, "AMAZINGGGG."

This meal was not at all what I had imagined. When I made the reservation for a consultation, she was quick to tell me that we should not have dinner, that we'd be invited to try some of their foods. I figured a simple plate of pasta or hor douvres...argh, don't know the spelling of that. In any case, when I saw the menu card and my name printed on a card, I knew we were in for more than just a 'bite to eat.'

The place was dim and romantic. The kitchen was exposed by a large pane of glass on the side of the wall. I invited myself in for a look and watched (more like stared intensely) at the three chefs...until one shocked me by playfully flinging parsley at the window toward me. I obliged and pretended to munch on it. They were amused by me, the bold and entranced customer. Most of the staff seemed to find me a curious one, taking pictures left and right...eating each bite with deliberate joy. Maybe that is why we were not charged for the meal, hee hee. I was the entertainment of the night for them?

5-COURSE
DRINK pink guava juice (a tall glass of this thick stuff)
BREAD fresh baguette from the oven served with gourmet French Normandy (I think) butter
APPETIZER big shrimp and au gratin oysters with a tower of caviar sandwiched in thin slices of raw scallops on the side (sorry, I was SOOO excited that I completely forgot to take a picture)
SOUP cream of carrot accented with frothy foam and fresh parsley (see pic)
FISH, salt-encrusted grilled tai (sea bream) with dots of basil sauce on one side; tomato dots of sauce on the other (see pic)
PRE-MAIN, tai (sea bream) and ikura (salmon eggs) watery butter risotto
MAIN Spanish pork (this pig is fed a strict soley mushroom diet) with 'maitake' oyster mushroom cream sauce. (see pic)
DESSERT mango pudding with a thin layer of coconut cream to top it off, a small scoop of vanilla rum ice cream (better than Haagen Daaz!), creme brulee with candied angel wings for decoration, and fresh fruits (see pic)
DRINKS tea and coffee with dessert in darling heart-shaped saucers! (see pix)

By the time we were finished, we felt stuffed and sleepy. ^_^ Boy what a wonderful end to a seemingly endless day. A final note: despite the day's grueling schedule and exhausting bridal house tours, the boy was fed and fed good grub and was happy as a clam. Me too! Even though we'll not have our wedding here, I'll keep it in mind if I am ever craving great French.

October 22nd, 2006

October 22nd, 2006...as of two days ago a date of NO significance. As of yesterday, a day of great significance. I am happy to announce the engagement of me (Vivian) and Hirotsugu to you all. A few people probably saw this coming or heard it in the hints I threw here and there. Others probably heard it from leaks or whispers already.

Yesterday Hiro and I visited FIVE prospective wedding locations: four wedding houses and one hotel. From 10am to 8pm we were booked solid. I arranged all the wedding consultations over the phone - again, great Japanese practice. A test of sorts, you might say. Each place had a very different "selling point" - I will proceed with that subject. Might I note before I proceed that all the below are simply my opinion and should be taken as such. (i.e...don't sue me if you are somehow affiliated to one of these places)

Desa Jiru Potoret (time, 10am) est. September 2005 in Tsukuba, near La La Garden
Kind of a tacky location, right smack dab next to a RAMEN noodle shop. I joked and told Hiro we should have the "nijikai" (after party) there. ^_^ A lover of ramen, he thought it was a brilliant idea, not to mention VERY economical. Tee hee.

The wedding place didn't even have my appointment in their books so either someone botched it up or my Japanese royally stinks! The man waiting on us took his dear time preparing everything. The place appeared to be hastily built because they wanted to lure in new customers from Tokyo...the new convenience made possible by the rapid train that goes from Tsukuba to Tokyo in a mere 45 minutes. (compared to 1.15 before)

Although only four months new, you could already see that some things were getting stained and shabby...considering we had October in mind, it was not at all reassuring. The theme of the place was "resort in Bali" and the major selling point was the glass roof, making it look more like a greenhouse than anything else. Hmm...great idea but fails on many other levels. The guy was incredibly slow, making us late for our next 11am appointment! With a quick goodbye, we were on our way. ONWARDS...

-SERVED: Hiro had coffee; I had tea

DearStage Forest Terrace (from 11am) est. May 2005 in Tsukuba, Hanamuro area
The next place was expecting us, the man eagerly waiting for our arrival at the fancy gates. (in order not to be any later, I apologized to Hiro and informed him that we would be forgoing lunch for the day) He escorted us to the consultation room at which point he made a quick introduction and encouraged us to watch a 3-minute DVD while he prepared our beverages.

Unlike the last man, he used the information we supplied to his advantage. He knew that American weddings are less overdone than the Japanese counterpart and toned everything down and emphasized only the basics. (no balloon release, mystic smoke, and other special effects) He seemed to consult us with caution, carefully wording his words to his sales advantage. A keen man indeed. Professional but not pushy, enthusiastic but not annoying.

After a tour of the elegant (think chandeliers and marble floors) facilities, he escorted us to the lower wing where we were served cafe mocha and a brownie/fruit compote dessert. By the time they served us food, I was starving...so I think, in effect, it was the chocolately brownie plate that really won me over here. After the food, he asked us when we would like to book. Before we responded, he was quick to note that 15 couples were due to visit that day and that only three dates remained. If we wanted, we could pre-book without obligation. Ha ha, and I thought that brownie was a sweet deal. (Didn't I mention he was a keen man? What a clever sales technique, and presented right after we've indulged in sinful choco-dessert, vulnerable to making rash decisions)

We made the tentative plan for October 22nd and again, we were on our way. The man escorted us out and presented us a gift for coming in. He then kept standing, bowing and waving until we were very much clear out of sight. Amazing! I am sure the MOMENT we WERE out of sight, he sprinted in to attend on the next prospectives.
-SERVED: Hiro had oolong tea; I had black tea with a wedge of lemon...later cafe mocha and brownie dessert plate

A. Queens (1pm, again a bit late) established October 2005 in Tsukuba, Matsushiro area
This place was PACKED with couples planning on tying the knot. All were in for a consultation as well. We were a bit late in coming for our appointment and they were incredibly busy, so they kept us busy with creme brulee and various photobooks of past weddings held there. The creme brulee was extremely tasty, however, the texture had some kind of gradiation...something I believe was a bit of a mistake on their part. Oops.

They had a wedding about to take place soon and staff members were busy scurrying about. I was surprised that the place was still an open house even when a wedding had been planned. If I were that couple about to get married, I would have felt kind of miffed about that point.

The woman came in and gushed on and on about the affordability factor of their facility. The main selling point: we're cheap. That would have been alright but honestly speaking, the place looked cheap and a bit tacky. The acoustics of the reception room was dreadful and the reasonable menu made me suspicious. Nothing elegant and gourmet tasting could be THAT cheap, I thought to myself.

The lady seemed busy and could not even give us a price estimate...needless to say, we were soon on our way...onwards. The surprising thing - she ran back in to get us a 'thank you for visiting' present, after which she too stood (simultaneously bowing) and waited for us to drive away...however, I was able to get a glimpse of her racing back into the building.
- SERVED: green tea and creme brulee (both of us)

Hotel Okura (3:30pm) established ages ago, it's well-known
We went to our second to last destination. At this point even I was exhausted, irritated and ready to drop dead. I took a glance at Hiro and he looked pretty well the same as I felt. Poor guy, getting dragged along to all these places. I figured get it all done at once - quick 'rip off the bandage as fast as possible' pain. Pragmatic and efficient. Going to wedding hall week after week...now that would have been the death of me for sure. I am girly but even I have my limits. Short on time, we met up with my wedding expert friend and proceeded to take a 15-minute tour on speed. We were given various pamphlets and free gifts. We got a huge box of sumi (charcoal) and cypress wood products, very trendy health products of the moment.
SERVED: orange sherbet (Vivian); coffee (Hiro)

Angebrisa (5pm) established 2003 in Tsukuba, on Minami-odori near Tsutaya
We were surprisingly not late for this appointment. We were lead into the client consultation area, which was filled with upholstered seats laden with spots and other evidence of overuse and insufficient cleaning. Once a wedding hall gets older, visible evidence of wear and tear start appearing. The first in the upholstery, next the backs of chairs where people often grasp at before taking a seat...then the corners of chair legs, dirty tiles and crevices, cracks in the walls or stuffy bathrooms.

The place was not bad but we were not impressed by how 'artificial' it came across as. Naturally ALL wedding houses are artificial to some extent but this one was especially so! I felt like I was buying into a Cinderella dream or being sold the 'typical image of a Western wedding.' The pretty woman seemed nice and hospitable on the exterior but underneath I could feel her pushy sales ambitions. (call it the female intuition) We watched a DVD featuring various past weddings but instead of taking it seriously, Hiro and I joked and smirked all along the way. I felt bad because it was a bit rude to poke fun at it...but seriously, some pictures were outright hilarious. (like the shot of the bride laughing at her friend sad and bawling a river)

We were treated to a complimentary dinner (see the next post) of French food. The food was amazing but again, we were not impressed by the rest of the place...therefore before we departed we simply told her we would think about it. The disappointment on her face was not well-masked. Though she too escorted us out and waved goodbye until we were out of sight.
SERVED: black tea, a complimentary 5-course French-Japanese meal

Conclusion
The decision was unexpectedly easy to make! Could you guess which place we picked? That's right, we went with DearStage. I semi-finalized it with a call to the place today and we'll make our first deposit on Saturday. The wedding will be quite small (50 members)...meaning just my family members and his. I wanted a bigger one but we cannot possibily afford it!

PIECEful garbage

This morning I think I made peace with my garbage man. This picture is of some garbage - it belongs in the burnable garbage category, not the paper goods one.

Speaking of garbage, first lemme tell you a little bit about this particular city's garbage system. We'll call it your crash course on trash in Japan.

A typical example of a garbage schedule:
Monday - combustible garbage
Tuesday - paper goods/clothes (tied up with a rope, if necessary) on odd weeks; bottles/jars/spray cans on even weeks
Wednesday - plastic (PET) bottles on odd weeks; oversized garbage on even weeks
Thursday - non-combustible garbage on odd weeks; cans on even weeks
Friday- combustible garbage
Sat/Sun - are you kidding? no collection

In my last apartment, I had to take my garbage to the collection cage located a few minutes away from my pad. The place was never locked so I took the lead of other neighbors and I freely dumped whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Sometimes I threw out the trash late at night as we used to do back in Illinois. Garbage was not a concern at all in my life.

You can imagine the shock I got when I found out my new place had a totally different set of rules. To start off with, the garbage collection cage is always locked...the only exception being trash 'collecting' time from 6am to 8:00-30 am. Next, I found out the rules for throwing away trash was a bit different from the last place...I found out the hard way. I toted a big wad of cardboard and papers out to the cage and was verbally whiplashed by the garbage supervisor. Yes, you heard it, a garbage supervisor! He checks to make sure everyone is sorting their trash and throwing the appropriate type of garbage on the designated day. After that I was sure to stick to throwing away things strictly according to the garbage calendar, a calendar which is free for good reason. It's like the welfare calendar here.

The garbage man has never been fond of me. He sometimes reprimanded me for bringing my trash in at 8:20, saying the garbage truck was due to arrive any minute. I gave a guilty shrug and jogged back to my apartment, tail in between my legs. Sometimes I was REALLY late and had to run out in my PJ's (hair very much uncombed and frizzy...bedhead at it's best), sprinting to make it there just one second earlier, hoping to escape another verbal 'warning' from the garbage supervisor. Eeks.

Now it is winter and I struggle to wake up early. Every day I click the snooze on my alarm and return to La La land...only to wake up and think "SHOOOTTT...I am too late to toss out the trash of the day, bugger!" Once before a LONG vacation, I forgot to take out my trash...I had to bundle the trash up in super-heavy duty trash bags in order to deter crows, maggots, and the like. It was definitely not a last-minute detail I had planned on!

Once my friend Michael got his trash BACK in front of his doorstep? Why? He did not sort the garbage according to the 'rules.' The person actually sifted through the garbage to find something identifying this deplorable non-sorter, finally they found his name and address. Ever since he recounted that story to me, I make sure I haven't got anything with my name or address on it. If I do, I tuck it in grease or something icky, hee hee.

So consider yourself lucky that you don't have to deal with all this head-spinning garbage sorting fun. If you visit me someday, I'll even let YOU meet the garbage man. Then you can see for yourself how it's done here. ^_^ Oh...I forgot the most important part of this post...today the man was surprisingly chatty. He kindly told me tomorrow is 'paper and old clothes' day and reminded me to bundle everything up with a nice rope. Wow, what a nice start to a day, for a change. Maybe he was friendlier because I didn't go out in pajamas today, ha ha.

Japanese pizza - "as you like it" pancake

This is Japanese pizza. The arms in the picture are that of Tomoko and Satoru. They were the cooks for the night, and our hosts...strange as it was in my place. We made Japanese pizza the authentic Kansai-region way...with plenty of yamaimo (grated mountain yam) and mochi (cubed rice cakes). My student Shoko gave me her family recipe. Each family's preferences differ so it was my first time to try this...by far it was the tastiest Japanese pizza I have had since my arrival in Japan! It does not really taste like pizza...the taste is similar to takoyaki, octopus balls which are another Kansai-area specialty.

RECIPE (for two people...we doubled this recipe)
100~150 grams of flours
2 egg
25cc of dashi (Japanese soup stock powder) in hot water
100 grams of ground (Chinese) yam...this makes the pancake fluffy
1 spoon of mayonnaise and soy sauce
200 grams of sliced cabbage
50 grams of sliced Japanese stone leek
30 grams of sliced pork.
Seafood (squid, dried mini shrimp, octopus)
6~7 pieces of sliced rice cake
60 grams of meltable cheeses

TOPPINGS:
Favorite amount of special Okonomi-yaki sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, dried bonito flakes and aonori green laver. I like to put green tabasco or red chili sauce on top...oh the terrified looks I got...but it was mmm mmm tasty!

BASIC directions...
Cook the meat in the frypan...then when cooked, put in the batter (everything all mixed up)...then top with rice cake bits and cook cook cook...like a pancake...and the flip it over and cook cook cook...when it is no longer gooey, cut it into individual servings, serve and top with condiments as you like!

rude person? that or I have been in Japan too long

A foreign woman called me this morning to find out more information about the ski trip I am planning. I hate to rant and badmouth her but the talk really left a bad feeling in my mouth. She was really impatient and pushy, from the very beginning of our conversation, she sounded very 'blase' about the the trip. If she wasn't very interested, I don't see why she would call me and have a million questions to ask. She then proceeded to tell me how much cheaper it would be for her to go from Tokyo to Niigata. I wanted to her her, "I'm not stopping you" or, "I'm not a tour conductor babe, just the organizer!"

Hey, I am spending a great deal of time planning this trip - you wanna complain a little MORE? What a BLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. Now I can see how Japanese feel about foreigners when they are too direct. In the West, people are told that direct communication and being frank is the key to communication. In the East, the important points lie in that which is NOT explicitly stated. Sorry...just needed to rant...even people like me have their moody moments.

So like they say here in Japan: Speaking is SILVER; SILENCE is GOLDEN!!!

OUCH...my "powerhouse" hurts

I just did a 20-minute pilates video and geez, did it give me a run for my money!!! My abs hurt so much from this V-position which they called the teaser 2...or was it teaser1...my memory fails me. (nothing new!) The lady on the video kept referring to abs as our POWERHOUSE. Apart from that bit that annoyed me, it was fun, in the painful S&M kind of way.

Have you ever tried pilates? It is not as easy as it looks! **flashback** I remember was talking to my friend when I said, "PIE-LATES" and my friend burst out laughing. "No Vivian, it's PEE-LAH-TEES." Ah the fool that I am. Now that I can say it, I will try my best to do it. I'll not let winter get in the way of getting some exercise!

UPDATE 1/29: Hirotsugu tried to do pilates with me. To sum it up, it was quite the entertainment. I think I got more exercise from laughing than the actual pilates!

a manly yarn..

By Sharon Reich

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If you're stuck for entertainment in New York on a Friday night, and as long as you're man enough, try learning to rib at "Boyz Nite" at a Greenwich Village venue from 9 until late.
That's rib as in knitting the cuff of your sweater.
Knit New York, a wool and craft store in Lower Manhattan, is fighting the stereotype that knitting is the province of women. "Are you strong enough to knit and man enough to purl?" says an advertisement for Boyz Nite on the shop's Web site.
The store draws dozens of men to its weekly men's night where beginners and experts gather to exchange tips over beer and hot dogs.
"Believe me, we love women," said store manager Josh Bennett. "But it's like when guys get together to watch a football game, they have all that in common so there's that sense of excitement. After a long week, you can come and work on your project have a couple of beers and hang out."
"Do you know how to rib?" he asks a group of learners on a recent Friday evening. "Go ahead and knit the first two stitches, you always want to give it a nice tug," he says.
"Now when you purl, what's the most important thing? That your yarn's in front. You want to go right between the legs," he says, drawing the yarn between the two knitting needles.
A cosmetics salesman from a nearby store was offering samples of avocado moisturizer along with skin care tips, and conversation ranged from knitting triumphs to dating disasters.
But Bennett said Boyz Nite was not a singles night for gay men. "It's not a dating thing at all," he said, adding that plenty of heterosexual men were keen knitters. "I haven't met anybody. I don't mix work and dating."
"A lot of boyfriends will schedule a classes for themselves and their girlfriends on their first date," Bennett said. "And I made a bikini pattern for a guy who wanted to knit a bikini for his girlfriend."

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Amazing...never thought there would be a day when men started knitting. My knitting teacher, Mrs. Hashimoto said there was a young man who came to inquire about her club. He seemed quite enthusiastic to join and signed up for the club. Shortly after (one week later) she received a call from him informing her that his wife didn't want him to join. Jealous of some knitting club housewives? Beats me, hmm.

Actor Hiroki Narumiya, TV star Chinatsu Wakatsuki win "best jersey wearer" award

Actor Hiroki Narumiya, left, and TV celebrity Chinatsu Wakatsuki

Actor Hiroki Narumiya and TV celebrity Chinatsu Wakatsuki have been chosen as the "best jersey wearers" during an award ceremony. (not surprisingly sponsored by Adidas)

"I think of myself as a photo-page idol who likes to wear jerseys as a fashion item," Wakatsuki said. "I'm thrilled to win."
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I mentioned in a few posts back about "best jeans wearer" "best smile" and so on in Japan...here is a perfect example of it againnn. Oooooh. It is like People magazine's lists but even more specific?

the BIG day

Tomorrow my friend Tomoko and I will visit a famous wedding dress house, designs by Yumi Katsuura. She is going to get married around June - a June bride! June is a popular month in Japan to get married as in North America. She is very busy making arrangements for the wedding. You know the average wedding here cost from 2-4 milion yen??? That is around 20,000 to 40,000USD...a wedding dress (rental) at 200-300,000 yen (2500USD) is bound to dent one's budget.

The money it costs for one guest: 15,000 yen, about one-hundred for the food and 50 dollars for the party favor. I went to my former manager's wedding in posh Odaiba two years ago. The party favor was a bulky heavy paper bag filled with a box of sweets and beautiful tea cup set. This was really impressive from a Westerner's perspective. Wow. But don't think the guest doesn't have to pay his or her dues. Guests have to pay 30,000 to 50,000 yen(250-400USD)...all depending on the nature of their relationship. A boss is likely to give more than a co-worker, naturally. With all these mounting costs, more and more couples are opting for the simple swish of a pen at city hall. UPDATE 1/25: after we went to various wedding houses to get some estimates, I found out it costs more per head than we thought...eeks, 300 a head?!?!?! Holy guacamole.

Which brings me to my next question: Is it easier to get a divorce if one has not had a proper wedding in front of many witnesses (guests)? I suppose one would feel like they were letting everyone down...all that time and energy people spend to come to the wedding, it has got to be pretty disappointing. The next time someone remarries, not counting family members, do many guests from the first wedding attend? Is the wedding more an event for the woman or man? Most people will tell you it is the day for a woman to shine...however, I distinctly recall seeing my brother, Vince, SMILED a SPARKLY smile on his wedding day, as if he were the luckiest man in the universe! ^_^ How sweet it was. It gave me faith in the institution of marriage.

POSTINGS might be sparse over the next few days. I have a full weekend booked...so until next time!

too PRETTY TO eat...

This wagashi is from Michiyo-chan. She gave me it when she returned my book. It is interesting how many Japanese return a borrowed item with some gift. I too started to follow this custom...funny how things easily rub off on me!

This Japanese confection is sooo beautiful it is almost too beautiful to eat. Note the emphasis on 'almost.' It is now in a very safe place. ^_^ The safest place you can imagine.

This is confection is called, wagashi, in Japanese. The pink region is made of very very fine white bean paste. The yellow centre is also made of the same ingredient. The centre is red bean paste, so creamy and smooth because it has been squeezed out through cottom and cooked until creamy again. (er, at least I think that is how it is done) Inexpensive and premium wagashi differ greatly in taste and texture. Cheap wagashi is kind of grainy, sandy...not bad tasting but just a bit rougher. Wagashi as such (pictured) go down easily and leave the silkiest feel on your tongue. A little taste of heaven. I particularly like photos which beautifully display a wagashi's cross-section, isn't it fascinating?

You might think wagashi is healthy because it has no chocolate or cream...hmm, let me dispel this misconception. Wagashi though made from beans, has an extremely high sugar content...which if eaten in high quantities, ends up turning into fat in your body. Let that be a reminder to us all to indulge in moderation, even if something seems perfectly innocuous!

TORAYA is the most famous maker of wagashi in Japan. My student Koki introduced me to it. You can check out the pics on the website...some really nice edible art there! Some wagashi connoiseurs claim that though Toraya is considered elite wagashi, it is not the best. ^_^ By the way, wagashi stands for Japanese sweets; yogashi stands for Western sweets like cakes, cookies and the like!

my balls...

On getting a pretty rice ball... My rice balls always fell apart when I ate them. It was really frustrating and created quite the mess each time I partook in one. I cried out for help and someone came to my rescueeee! A foreign housewife by the name of Kathy was kind enough to share a crucial TIP with me. First one takes warm/hot rice in salted wet hands and places some filling in the middle...seal it, forming a ball.

TIP: Use plastic wrap to secure and then squeeze the ball into a compact mass! Never mind all those 'so-called' instructional websites warning one NOT to squeeze a rice ball too hard. Squeeze, squeeze...until juice comes out. Ok, not that much but you get my drift, right? Then after it is a firm ball, use your hands (bent at a 90-degree angle) to form it into a triangle, heart, or whatever you wish! They sell rice-ball presses (similar to hamburger patty presses back home) at the 100-yen, aka one-dollar shop, however, results can be mixed. The plastic wrap squeeze method is by far the most effective and reliable, in my humble opinion.

You wonder what flavour this is? It is SHISO WAKAME, meaning pickled beefsteak leaves and seaweed. It is kind of salty, a great accompaniment for rice. Tomoko gave it to me as an omiyage from her hometown, Yamaguchi. Ooooh, thank you, thank you!!!

Other toppings or fillings include: mentaiko (spicy cod roe), tarako (cod roe), salted salmon, umeboshi (pickled plum-apricot), nori (laver with soy sauce and mirin), mayo and chicken, tuna salad...and more! I like putting cooked Korean spicy red miso sauce+bonito flakes into mine, topped with roasted sesame seeds on the outside.

walking strawberry!

This was this morning's breakfast. The first picture is the walking strawberry - it looks like it has two feet! Great, isn't it? I took off the green stem only to notice that it looked very "bald and naked" - so the green stem was replaced for the sole purpose of taking a more appealing photo. This strawberry was HUGE - the pack of strawberries had GIGANTIC strawberries on the top and as you can guess, teeny tiny ones on the bottom. Heyyyy, that's misleading packing and should be reported to the authorities! ^_^ The second photo - one of my delights in life...perfect sunny side up lightly sprinkled with salt and pepper! The third photo...another delight in life, runny yolk on toast. Mmm, doesn't get better than that!

again, the innovative Japanese!

Monday, January 16, 2006 at 15:22 EST

TOKYO — Tablets made from miracle fruit, which makes sour things taste sweet, went on sale Sunday online. Mitsuharu Shimamura, a 31-year-old horticulturist based in Chita, Aichi Prefecture, established the world's first technology to make tablets out of the tropical fruit, native to West Africa, which contains a sweet-inducing protein called miraculin.

One pink-colored tablet is made of three miracle fruit berries, Shimamura said. When people eat or lick the fruit's red berries, any sour thing they eat or drink a minute later tastes sweet for about two hours. This is because the protein miraculin firmly binds to sweet receptor cells in a person's tongue when sour substances are present. The protein then transmits a false message to the brain, resulting in a strong, sweet taste. Information on the tablets is available at http://www.miracle-fruit.net/.
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Should we say goodbye to Aspartame and Splenda? I never liked the artifical medicinal taste of sugar substitutes like aspartame or Splenda or Sweet&Low. Ickkkk. I tried the stuff once and it made my coffee taste like bitter poison. I am skeptical about this new berry pill - how about you? It claims to have no side-effects but I am not thoroughly convinced by any claims the company makes. The name "mysterious fruit" isn't very assuring either...would you buy something that said, "suspicious fruit?" And tastes sweet for TWO hours...wouldn't that kill your tongue's natural sensory functions or tamper with your tastebuds in some way? Would you WANT a sweet lingering taste in your mouth for a whole two hours? Is this a diet pill, sugar substitute, or just novelty item? I don't understand this. Maybe someone else can shed some light on what it might do?

Nutritional Information
Heat quantity: 12.8kcal
Protein: 78.0mg
Fiber quality: 24.0mg
Lipid: 260.4mg
Carbohydrate: 2282.0m
Moisture: 394.1mgSodium: 1.4mg
(Vitamin) ビタビン C: 3.8mg
(Vitamin) ビタビン K 1: 0.368ug
Citric acid: 264.6mg
Malic acid: 58.5mg

Gimme a break, gimme a break...

Have you ever eaten something that TASTED romantic??? I swear, this new kind of KitKat really tasted like romance, like seeing things with rose-colored lenses. This was the first time this has ever happened to me! This flavoured KitKat is "sakura" - cherry blossoms. "BLECHHH," you must think - no no, you couldn't be farther from the truth! It is really heavenly - velvety smooth white chocolate *instead of the usual milk chocolate* with bits of cherry blossoms imparting fragrant floral overtones... mmm mmm yummy in BB's tummy.

Japanese Nestle makes ALL kinds of KitKat. I am addicted to them. Each time a new flavour comes out, I am one of the first to get my hands on one. The thing is, each flavor is seasonal so you'll never know how long it will be around! KIT KAT flavours I have tried in the past: passionfruit, cantaloupe melon, pineapple, mixed berry, yogurt, vanilla, red bean/green tea/white choclate, white chocolate, banana, cafe latte, and...more that I cannot remember. Why doesn't Nestle in the States do the same? I dunno - would you be turned off if you saw pineapple KitKat?

Oh, I forgot to mention why they make cherry-blossom flavored chocolate. It is to congratulate the students whom are about to graduate that year and matriculate again in April. Around graduation and matriculation time, tons of cherry blossom trees bloom and turn Japan into frilly snowy pink land. I love jogging while little pink leaves dance on my head. Sometimes at the jogging track (track in the middle of a big park with a serene pond smack dab in the middle) I chase and grab some petals as they fall and float down - quite often some passersby are startled by my childishness. Life is too short to take everything too serious. We should learn more from children.

A VERY intimidating sign (guffaw, guffaw)

I went to the video store to rent a DVD yesterday - at the main entrance of the store there was a box for DVD returns (this particular store does not carry videos, only DVDs). This sign was posted on the box. It says, "SECOM - !!WORNING!!! Secunity System is Now Working" The sign loses all effectiveness because of those silly typos. You would think such a well-known company could afford some English proofreaders. Maybe I should call them and offer my services. Ha ha. If you don't already know, SECOM is the Japanese equivalent to ADT here. What really miffs me is that there are only THREE kanji (Chinese characters used in Japanese), which gives this sign the subtle implication that an English-reading foreigner is more likely to commit DVD theft??? It is true that foreigner-committed crime is on the rise but there is no reason to target them unjustly. Koreans and Chinese immigrants have a bad rap here because of the crime statistics. This doesn't help the genius Chinese researcher who comes here to do decent work and research. Nor does it help people like me, Chinese-North Americans.

By the way, I found out the 3 characters mean, "surveillance in progress" - so perhaps it has the same nuance as what is written in English but just more succint. Maybe it's not as prejudiced as I thought...