Sushi: Level Epic - Now on a Conveyor Belt!

I've been in Japan for two whole months and haven't done a blog post on sushi yet? What's wrong with me?

Japan isn't Japan without sushi. And as fun as it is to make it on your own (maybe I'll blog about that someday), isn't it just better to slack off and get it for 100 yen ($1) a plate?

So what makes Japanese sushi different? Well, for starters, you take an American sushi roll, unroll it, and take out everything that isn't fish or rice, and maybe the seaweed can stay too. When you say "sushi" in Japan, rolls are not what natives picture. "Regular" sushi is called nigiri, and is just a perfectly formed square of rice topped with fish - usually raw, but not always, and it doesn't have to be fish but traditionally is. Sashimi is even more minimalistic, it's straight-up slices of thinly sliced fish. You can get hand rolls (maki sushi) and even regular rolls, but they tend to be extremely simplistic (as in rice, fish, and seaweed only).

The beauty of sushi is in the fish and the specially seasoned rice, not all the fancy extras we normally think of. In Japan, you're never more than three hours or so from the ocean, which makes for some amazingly fresh catches. And when all you're eating is fish and rice, the quality of the fish is extremely important.

If you're turned off by the idea at all, try not to be. Give it a chance! It's different, and I miss my chicken tender and jalapeno jelly roll, but it has its own appeal and beauty.

The variety offered is anything but boring. I am simultaneously excited and baffled by how many types of fish there really are in the sea. In short, there's no need for extras, because the fish themselves present a thousand different flavors. There's your traditional and very foreigner-friendly classics like shrimp, tuna, salmon, and crab - and then there's  at least three varieties of fish egg, squid, octopus, yellowtail, mackrel, flounder, snapper, eel, urchin, clams, scallops and probably a lot more that I don't even know. Every fish has different options in quality, cooked-ness, etc for a million combinations. It's seriously staggering what you can grab out of the sea and put in your mouth.

Some of the options make you queasy? Try this: don't ask what it is, just put it in your mouth.

So that's just the fish. There are a surprising amount of varieties that are fish-free. Take for instance one of my favorites - tamago (think rolled up omelette). One of the most amusing ones is corn and mayo. Increasingly, I'm seeing more options like roast beef and fried chicken, as well as the much-beloved American sushi staple: cucumber. And there's always natto (fermented soy beans) if you want to pretend like you're secretly not a foreigner who doesn't gag at the sight (and SMELL!) of it. Even if you are squeamish about fish, there's usually several options for you! I'm also actually seeing avocado and cheese options come around now and again, which I did not expect!

But wait, there's more!

Depending on where you go, you can order all kinds of non-sushi things. My favorite places have different types of noodles, tempura, beef bowls, french fries and onion rings, cakes, puddings - tons of stuff! So really, you probably don't even have to eat sushi if you don't want to, but you should.

There are many places to eat sushi, some of which are affordable and lots of which are not. You can pick it up at any supermarket worth anything or you can sit down and enjoy it casual or formal. Today I'm going to be focusing on my favorite: Kaiten Zushi (conveyor belt sushi). Because one, it's fun, and two, it's affordable, bordering on downright cheap.

Here's your seat:

So you sit down and there are no waiters to take your order, no one really even to seat you officially. They leave you at it because in here, sushi comes to you.

And lucky you, today you get to see the action in real time because I have video!

Look at that. Kinda mesmerizing, isn't it??

So it's pretty straightforward. Grab anything you want to put in your face. Sushi chefs are working like mad in the back to make sure it's stocked. Still, sometimes the thing you want to eat was taken by the jerk in the seat behind you. The Japanese, being brilliant, devised a way to not have to scream at the selfish pig eating all your unagi before it reaches you, and still get your unagi. Win-win.

Above the main conveyor belt is a second belt that obeys your every wish. Choose what you want from the touch-screen menu, and it's delivered express straight to your table! I didn't get a shot of our orders being delivered, but these tasties (looks like an udon...YUMMY!!) were zipping their way straight to someone else, and then back to the kitchen for re-stocking.

And clean-up is easy and fun. At this chain, sushi is a dollar a plate, but who wants to actually count? Drop your plate in the slot and your order is tallied for you and you don't have to have a mess on your table.

And just in case all this isn't fun enough for you, every five plates you deposit gets you a chance to win a toy or keychain. There's a cute little animation on the touchscreen that shows comical situations where you either win or lose - and either way it is epic. Today we won by blasting a moon-alien, but the next time we drew we got stomped by the same alien. Bummer. Thought we had finished the bugger off for good.

Sushi is a must if you're in Japan, and that's my final word about it. I'm not even a seafood person but I have such a good time every time I go. 

And I'm out of good ending ideas to write about so I'll go with an old classic:

The End

Ra! Ra! Ra! RaaaAAAAMEN!

So ramen is misunderstood. In America, it's a sign of supreme poverty and desperation, and is most infamously known as the staple of college student cooking. You just can't eat any cheaper than ramen noodles. Needless to say, the mere word "ramen" can illicit some strongly negative emotions and inspire some gutteral groans of despair. And rightly so, I suppose (though I was occasionally partial to the "Oriental" flavored stuff).

But the truth is that this dirt-cheap food (...food?...) is some kind of sad, sick parody of what real ramen really is.

First, let's clarify what ramen is, and then let's explore how it is truly both a culinary delight and an art - dear to the heart of Japan.

So 10 cent (10 yen) ramen does not exist in Japan. I've looked. It's nowhere to be found. Japan has "cheap" ramen, but the cheapest I've seen is 100 yen-ish ($1). Still cheap, but not quite at the level where all pride is sacrificed on an altar to the gods of poverty. And instant ("cheap") ramen here is GOOD. Nowhere in the U.S. have I found any ramen to compare - except at the asian markets where they sell real, imported stuff. The noodles are substantially less styrofoam-y, and the broth just doesn't compare on any conceivable level. Often, there are additional packets of freeze-dried veggies and/or meats, seaweed, flavor oils, or spices.

Which leads me into another important point. Real ramen is a legitimate meal. Standard ramen includes at least one source of protein in the form of a hard boiled egg, marinated pork, or other meat. It also has onions, usually green ones, which qualify as a vegetable. That's the basic package. You can do infinite things with ramen. Noodles still take center stage of course, but they aren't the only thing worth fishing around for in that bowl. I've seen ramen with so many vegetables it might qualify as a salad and meat-meat-meaty ramen.

Real ramen is an art. Ramen restaurants are everywhere. On my way to Japanese class, about a 20 minute walk, I pass five ramen restaurants. Five. That's one every four minutes. But the magical thing is, every single one is different. Tonkotsu ramen broth is made by boiling pork bones for approximately forever. Exact timing, as well as embellishments, are dear secrets to every ramen chef. The balance of broth and spices and oils is as delicate as it is infinite in possibilities. I'm convinced you can visit every ramen shop in every corner of Japan and be delighted by new nuances in recipes every single time.

So what does this look like in practice? Stay tuned and find out.

This Friday I experienced a style of ramen called Ichiran. It's a chain restaurant that really made ramen real for me. Pardon me while I get romantic, and let me see if I can do some justice to the experience with mere, mortal words.

Coming into the door of the restaurant off the bustling streets of Tokyo, you can immediately feel the difference. The place is quiet, demure. In Tokyo, it's easy to get lost in the feel of the modern age. This was a step back hundreds of years, a jarring difference from the outside world in its simplistic, domestic beauty. Traditional Japanese music is subtly ambient in the background, and if you listen closely you can hear hints of the magic the chefs are brewing in the kitchen.

Perhaps for convenience, or perhaps to preserve the serene quiet, you order from a machine up front. In exchange for your yen, you get a ticket with your order.

Ticket in hand, you quietly seat yourself.

The restaurant is arranged with only bar seats surrounding the kitchen in the middle. You get your own quiet cubicle to eat in privacy, or you can fold it back to share your space with friends or family. It's a fascinating thing to eat in quiet, reverent solitude as opposed to a social gathering. It's almost meditative. It's a time to slow down and pause from everyday life and trade excitement for peace.

Waiting for you when you sit down is a slip for you to create your own custom ramen. You select every aspect of your ramen. You pick the strength of the broth, the amount of garlic, white or green or no onions, the amount of spice, pork or no pork, extras like seaweed or hard boiled eggs, and how soft or hard you want your freshly made, hand-crafted noodles.

In silence, you press the request button and an attendant lifts the screen and takes your request.

While you are waiting, you can sip water from your own private tap in your cubicle. It takes some time, but all perfection does. When the screen lifts, you see your waiter bow very deeply and offer you your ramen.

Eat slowly, sip deeply, and savor your Tonkotsu ramen in its full glory. You're in Japan and oh boy, do you feel it.

Conservation Central - Living Lite

So Japan is a crowded country. Think of it this way - take 1/3 the population of the entire U.S. and cram them all in California. Then make a huge portion of that land unfit for large populations because of mountains, rivers, and other natural obstacles. That is the situation Japan is in. Take a look at this population density map of Japan from 2000:

In case you can't see the key, areas in dark blue are extremely sparsely populated (50 or fewer people per square kilometer), with the light blue being sparsely populated as well. That's a HUGE chunk of unused or unusable country! As a result, the cities of Japan are extremely densely populated. There's a huge population to take care of in a tiny space and that creates a strain on the whole supply and demand system.

Japan, as best I can tell from my study, has always lived conservatively. Space is always used efficiently and in creative ways, even in the ancient castles. Children are and were taught to eat every last grain of rice. They have embraced "waste-not-want-not" from the beginning and passed it down as a key societal value through the ages. It's really remarkable to see the million ways that the Japanese thrive on a limited and diminished supply of resources.

That being said, as admirable as it is, it comes as quite a culture shock for foreigners. Some of the changes were easy and intuitive, others less so. So today I'm going to show you a few of the scores of rules that make sure that there's enough to go around.

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Resource #1: Space

Space is a premium. Japanese homes are smaller - significantly smaller. Stores are significantly smaller. And so on and so forth. This means that not only living areas, but things necessary to daily life, need to be compact. Every little detail counts.

Take for example, my pans. We bought a set of three pans, and it came with one handle. The handle can lock on to any of the pots and easily be transferred, even while cooking over the heat on the stove. It's amazing how much space I have saved in my cabinets by just taking the handle off! It keeps them nicely organized and stack-able as well.

The beds, of course, fold up too. At night, our futons take up probably 3/4 of our bedroom, and we get almost all that space back to use in the daytime.

 Before

After

A good percentage of the doors are typically of the sliding variety. Closets are designed to utilize every inch of vertical space available. Everything folds up, from tables to clothes lines to chairs and so on and so forth. Appliances are smaller. My refrigerator is only chest-high and my microwave doubles up in function as an oven. My vacuum cleaner and broom have detachable and fold-able handles. Seriously everything is analyzed and designed with the goal to be as practical as possible while also taking up as little space as possible, and it's amazing!

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Resource #2: Electricity

You pay more for utilities here because they want to encourage less usage. You use what you need and only that or you will literally pay the price.

One major way they save on electricity is doing away with centralized heating. It's really kind of clever. As nice centralized heating is, think of all the heat in your house that you're NOT using right now.

We have a heating and A/C unit, but it only reaches the living room and bedroom and only when we manually turn it on. It's expensive to run. Basically, if you're cold, put on a sweater and huddle under the blankets and/or the kotatsu. They sell small kerosene heaters that are more energy efficient, and those are popular as well.

This thing is definitely designed to give you the most bang for your buck, but unfortunately, there is still more buck than bang.

In the summer, plug in a fan and open the windows. Wear less clothes. Eat ice cream, or hang out at the local supermarket, which, if it's big enough, will have centralized A/C.

But the principle is always the same: the heating/cooling unit is the last resort after all other methods just aren't enough. Heat or cool yourself, not the room you're occupying.

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Resource #3: Gas

The water heater and stove are powered by gas. In all instances, whenever you don't want water that is whatever the temperature of the pipes are (hint: cold), you need to manually turn on the gas from a switch in the living room.

Honestly, it would be much more convenient if this switch was in the bathroom but it's not... (EDIT: Actually there is a switch in the bathroom I was just blind and couldn't read it. My life is now approximately 16% easier.)

If you forget to press this button before you take a bath or shower, you are in for a very rude and cold surprise. And yes, this has happened to me. (EDIT: NOT ANYMORE now that I found the bathroom switch!!!)

All sinks are run by the water heater, which means that even if you want to wash your hands in warm water, you need to turn on the gas. As you can probably guess, I've gotten used to washing my hands in very cold water rather than walk across the house to turn the gas on and then back to the bathroom to finish washing up. Also, the washer runs on cold water (more on the washer later). I also found out that this is why the dish washing gloves I bought were so heavily insulated...

Cold water is your friend in Japan. You get used to it. It's not so bad after about a week.

So the main gas line stays off most of the time except when you shower or bathe. There's a secondary line that powers the stove. This can stay on most of the time, but we are encouraged to turn it off if we leave the house for more than a day or so. In short, I've never tinkered with a gas switch in my life until now, and now I do it several times a day.

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Resource #4: Water

Japan is surrounded by water, 100% of which is useless. No one wants to cook, bathe, or wash with sea water. This is called irony, friends.

Japan is actually pretty rich in freshwater bodies and rainfall, so there's not a shortage per se, but again, there's a huge population and everybody needs water every day.

Baths are a huge part of Japanese society and (surprise!) they take a lot of water. Japanese baths are actually deep enough to cover your body with water and it's wonderful. The Japanese have cleverly preserved their traditions and implemented brilliant water-saving mechanisms. The tradition is that you do your washing in the shower and then use the bath solely for relaxation instead of cleaning. By the time you get in the bath, you should be clean. So since you're clean, you can reuse that water for 3 or 4 baths thanks to a re-heat button. You cover the tub and wait until you or another member of the family want to make use of that water again! I draw the line at approximately three baths per fill-up (or three days, whichever comes first). But that's triple action for the water we use.

Yeah...the concept of reusing bath water - especially for different people - kinda weirded me out at first. But it totally works. While kinda gross in theory, is not gross at all in practice. I surprised myself by totally getting over any misgivings after about one or two baths.

The washing machines are small and specially designed for water conservation. Some machines actually have a hose you can use to transfer your used bath water to wash your clothes. Reusing to the max for the win! That makes up to 4 times that you can reuse one bathtub full of water - and possibly more. Water does get old after a while.

And as proof that you can save water in the most wild, wacky, unexpected, and clever of ways, I present to you my toilet.

So the flush-dial goes two ways - hilariously labeled "big" and "little" (I'm not making this stuff up). So if you just need a little water, you can do a mini-flush. That way you're not using extra water power when you don't need it.

Also, you'll notice the faucet atop the toilet bowl? Genius. Sheer and utter genius. When you flush, the sink starts automatically and runs for a good while. You use this water to wash your hands. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. The water falls into the toilet bowl and refills the water tank, meaning the water you used to wash your hands will also be used to power your next flush.

Also that orange thing? It's full of toilet bowl cleaner. When the water from the faucet hits it this little gizmo releases a few drops of amazing orange-scented goodness that falls straight into the water tank, the practical upshot of which is not only a nice smell, but that the water you use to flush is infused with cleaner that leaves the bowl sparkling. (Also cleanliness bubbles in the toilet water. I'm not clever enough to make any of this stuff up.)

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Resource #5: Garbage (I guess it's a waste product, not a resource.)

This one hurts. A lot. It's the one that baffles the heck out of foreigners (like me). It's so good for society but so bad for forgetful 'lil me.

Big city, lots of garbage. It's just simple math. Add in "no room for landfills" and it has the potential to be a societal catastrophe.

I expected items to be packaged using fewer materials, and in some instances I was right, but not as much as I thought. For instance, you buy a shampoo bottle the first time, and then buy refills for it that come in bags so you can reuse the bottle. That's one way to save. However, we still have gotten packages in boxes that were way too big for the item and filled to the brim with packing peanuts. Still, packaging here is probably overall more resource-efficient than America. And I'm probably missing other ways because I don't fill up the trash can nearly as often, I've noticed.

So there are a few rules for getting rid of your trash. Every living area is slightly different. These are ours:

Did I say a few rules? Sorry, I meant a HOLY COW MY HEAD HURTS ton of rules.

I had to be full on trained.

The biggest principle is division. Thankfully, most of the trash you accumulate in Japan goes under the category of "combustibles" (guess what they do with those?). If you can incinerate it, you can toss it without a second thought (sort of...see below). However, recycling for several types of products is not an option, it's mandatory and punishable by fines. PET bottles (plastic soda bottles, etc.), cardboard, and tin cans MUST be sorted and recycled accordingly. They also encourage you to separate out papers, newspapers, and books. If these items are found in your combustibles, you are in trouble.

And how can they tell? Clear garbage bags are mandatory so they can check you easily. No more using super-market bags as cheap substitutes for trash bags. You also can't double bag in ANY instance, even when it's as small a thing putting your hamburger wrapper and ketchup pack in the McDonalds bag and throwing them away together. Only one exception - you can put rotten food/vegetable peelings/etc in smaller, but still clear bags and seal them. This helps with smell for sure. You can dispose of non-clear bags, but they must be empty and wadded up tightly. They seriously are checking and people do get called out.

So separate your stuff. Public trash cans are few and far between, but when there are some they look like this.

Look before you toss.

So now you have nicely sorted piles of garbage in clear bags, now what?

Well, each is disposed of on a different day. For us, combustibles come on Wednesdays and Saturdays at about 8:00 A.M. You CANNOT "take it out to the dumpster" because there is no dumpster! It is YOUR trash and YOU have to keep it in YOUR house right up until the designated pick-up time and then you must promptly take it to the designated place. (I suspect this sense of personal responsibility - as well as the manpower required to sort it - is why there are so few public trash cans.) You cannot even take it out the night before. If you forget, your garbage starts to stink and you're stuck with it in the hallway. It's happened. A lot. Especially since I like to sleep in on Saturdays. I got unlucky in that way... I have to wake up at 7:00 A.M. every Saturday to take out the trash. Not a party.

So that's the basics. The bigger the stuff is, the harder it gets to dispose of. I think you have to schedule a pick-up time or something. Maybe even pay a fine. You can't just throw out that old toaster. It's HARD to get rid of old and used stuff. And it's downright weird when I break a sewing needle and have to ask my husband how to throw it away. I used to not have to think about these things!

So in short, garbage is rough. But it's what's necessary for society. There is no space in Japan for landfills. This is just a way that Japanese citizens have stepped up to keep from being drowned in garbage. And it's really smart. Downright brilliant, really. But it's also really hard to get used to.

But I have been reminding myself all day that tomorrow is garbage day and I have my alarm set. I'll be all right.

Christmas Cheer in Japan (And Some Traditions I'm Bringing Over)

Happy to do requests! This one is for Tehn.

So Christmas is in the air. Everyone is getting excited. Stores are having sales and playing Christmas music - just like America. The streets are lit and everyone is happy and there is no snow. It's 60 degrees (Farenheit) outside. Yes, I actually miss the snow right about now. We had some the other day but it wasn't even below freezing when it fell so it didn't stick at all.

There are trees and bows and lights and wreaths everywhere. But the religious part of Christmas is more or less dropped. I haven't seen a single nativity set in the entire country - in fact, we brought some from America for our family. Japan is not a Christian nation. Still, I really enjoy the joy and peace of the season. We do our own religious observance.

With one hilarious exception: I'm convinced that they don't know the difference between religious and secular Christmas music. They play "Oh, Holy Night" and "Joy to the World" and the like unabashedly - unlike America, ironically. One time I was visiting a video game, geeky gallery in March (don't you judge me it was AWESOME!) and the music in the background was "Oh, Holy Night". It made me snicker a bit because not only was it a religious song, but it was being played WAY off season. And also as background music for the majesty of Final Fantasy figurines. But I digress.

So the Tokyu Corporation, who owns a major transit system and several business plazas, launched Christmas with a theme theme this year. "Crystal Magic" is a campaign all around Tokyo and as far south as Yokohama that places unique Christmas exhibits with Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars themes. This one, for example, is the Lantern Tree - from "Tangled" in case you couldn't tell - decorated with lit lanterns and ropes of yellow yarn hair. You can kind of see the silhouettes of Rapunzel and Flynn in the boat up front.

Here's an illustration from their flyer of what the tree looks like lit up at night. I haven't made it down there that late yet - but I hope to!

Rapunzel isn't the only one getting the love. In the Hikarie building in Shibuya, where my husband happens to work, there are four more trees in honor of the Disney Princesses. Check them out!

 

I was determined to see them all! I wanted my picture with every single Crystal Magic tree before the season ended. That was before I found out that...well...they're ALL over the place. The five above were the most closely spaced, the rest span from WAY up north to WAY down south. I would easily spend $75 or more in train fare to see them all...

Still, there's still a few more that I probably will be able to hit. But in case I don't, here are the illustrations of all them from the flyer.

 

 

 

This one is kind of hard to see, but these are the Marvel and Star Wars trees.

There's more than the trees! At certain train stations, you can get a Disney/Marvel/Star Wars character stamp in your book, and when you collect all the stamps, you get prizes. More than just a business ploy (they DO run a train company...) it's an incentive to explore the city!

And this is just what one company is doing. Odaiba, a shopping and entertainment island (literally), is hosting fireworks shows every Saturday night and the whole island is lit up until Christmas! (Cool note: "Christmas lights" in Japanese is iruminashion, which is the Japanese-ization of "illumination".) Chances are pretty good that I will have a lot more pictures to come before Christmas is here.

So a big deal of Christmas here is cake. Everywhere and their dog is offering Christmas cakes. ...They are a big deal for a very good reason.

Strawberry shortcake seems to be the cake of choice. Also, this thing is $30.00 and not nearly as big as it looks.

Christmas is not a national holiday, so people don't even get off work. That's really different (not this year because Christmas is on a Sunday). In Japan, it's just a nice day to decorate for and then eat cake and exchange presents. Also, sweethearts go out to eat. Getting a reservation anywhere for Christmas Eve takes months of advance planning.

But I have my own traditions I'm bringing over that Tehn has lovingly requested that I share (and quip about - apparently I'm good at that?).

So I don't know where I'm going to find marzipan, but I know it DOES exist here because bakeries use it all the time. I am going to find it and try to continue the legacy of Norwegian Prince Cake. We've had one every year for as long as I can remember to honor my Norwegian heritage. That will be an adventure to bake with my new oven.

And now (Tehn has been waiting too long), I'll talk about wassail.

Wassail is magic. It is the embodiment of Christmas in a cup. It signals "winter cheer" more to me than hot cocoa does - probably because I don't do what I'm told and drink that stuff all year.

The secret to wassail is love. But mostly luck and trial and error. You can find an exact recipe but where's the adventure in that? To me, every cup being different is just part of the experience.

The base is easy - a mix of apple and orange juice. You should use a good deal more apple than orange. I like about 2/3 - 3/4 apple but it can vary. If you gotta have that tang go more orange. Obviously fresher is better but you're going to spice it up anyway so cheap is just fine.

As a side note, Japanese apple juice is AMAZING. It has a tang to it - I think they use a certain percent of green apple juice for some zest.

But I digress. So get ye yon olde pot and pour in the APPLE juice, setting aside the orange for later (try to restrain yourself, really). 

The spices are as follows. For real-ness, buy them WHOLE. That means NOT the powder. 

1) Cinnamon (sticks)

2) Cloves

3) Allspice

4) Nutmeg (OK this one you can buy the powder)

5) Ginger (if you like it - I personally prefer it without. Also, powder is a must or you'll end up drinking ginger juice. But hey, to each his own.)

How much of each? Some. Exactly "some" of each. 

...like 1/2 a large cinnamon stick...five or six cloves...and some allspices. Let's say four for kicks and giggles.

So if you're fancy, you'll buy cheesecloth, wrap spices #1-3 in the cheesecloth and tie it with cotton string and submerse it in your apple juice. I'm not fancy so I dump spices 1-3 in the apple juice and watch 'em scatter on the bottom of the pan. Honestly, it's not hard to pick out whole spices later. Sheesh.

Stir if you want or whatever. You're going to boil it for forever anyway so don't put too much effort into it.

Turn up the heat and boil the heck out of that stuff. Like, an hour for a bigger pot. Actually simmering is better but if you boil it down too much add some water and carry on with life. Taste it periodically to check the strength of the juice and the spices. When it tastes good, it's done. If you like more spice, boil it longer, and less time for less spice. Traditional wassail is strong and hearty, so don't be afraid to over-boil. You can always water it down later.

Once you have achieved optimum spice-ness, add your orange juice, nutmeg, and ginger to taste. Heat it up so the orange juice doesn't make the wassail any less piping hot.

And then you drink it. And magic.

Also, fish out the whole spices before you drink it. That means take out the cheesecloth sack if you're fancy or, if you're like me, just scoop around the spices when ladling into cups. Don't swallow an allspice whole - that's bad. Probably not as bad as a clove, but still pretty bad.

And also you can reuse those whole spices for several batches. Just keep them on hand all winter and restock your juices.

Karaoke--I Mean, Japanese Language Reading Practice

So just a little short post today.

Karaoke is HUGE in Japan. There are places everywhere and the experience is quite a bit different than what we're used to in America.

You get your own private, soundproofed room. It's really nice. There's a coat rack and a table and your own heating/AC unit so you can get comfortable in there. The rooms are pretty small but can seat 6-8 people. For just my husband and me, it was plenty of room.

You can order drinks (alcoholic or otherwise) as well as full-on meals, such as pizza. It's expensive, but it can be done. I got a melon soda, which you can kind of tell by the greenish tint to the glass in the picture below.

And of course the biggest deal is the machinery:

And the sound systems blow you away. Really.

This is really high quality stuff. Behind the lyrics there is always a video - sometimes the official music video.

So I said Japanese language reading practice because that's what karaoke is for me (besides fun and leisure, of course). If you know the alphabet(s), karaoke is a GREAT way to practice your reading. The kanji (Chinese characters) usually has the phonetic pronunciation above it in smaller letters, so no kanji-reading ability needed!

But the selection isn't limited to Japanese music! The place we went had an extensive selection of Chinese and English songs as well!

I sang this one for you, Tehn. :D 

And this one was for my Daddy!!

So you can sing normal karaoke or you can turn all kinds of analysis/competitive modes. They have modes that will kick you out of the song and boo you if you suck (...that may have happened to me before we turned that off...) or, my personal favorite, modes that will give you an EXTENSIVE analysis of your performance.

I have no idea what any of this means but my inner statistics nerd is singing with joy.

So in short, karaoke is a must-try for anyone visiting Japan. It's integral to Japanese culture as well as just boatloads of fun!

Japanese Geography for Americans 101

So there was an earthquake this morning. That was wild. I may or not have bawled in fear even though it was very mild down where I was. Japan is used to it. My husband and sister-in-law almost literally rolled over and went back to sleep. Apparently there was another quake the day before yesterday and I never even knew it.

I went through the whole day and everything was 100% absolutely normal. People will be happy to hear that even the area hit hardest (Fukushima) suffered extremely little damage and only a few minor injuries from falling furniture and things. The tsunami warning in Fukushima has been lifted and it seems that damage has been minimal. But we sure appreciate those prayers from people all over the world! It warmed my heart to see that on social media today.

As for Tokyo life, nothing changed. And I mean NOTHING. It was so weird. I was like "THE BUILDING SHOOK LAST NIGHT and you're still swarming by the thousands to work looking as bored as usual?"

Another day in the life in Japan, I guess.

Funny note: my husband said that technically we would get a bit of the tsunami action. I, in fear, asked how bad it would be. He held his hand up to his knee and said, "like this high". So whatever the technical definition of "tsunami" is, it needs to be revised to NOT include "weak-sauce waves" and then we can all be less needlessly scared when we hear a tsunami is coming.

But the incident awakened me to a problem: American news has no idea what it's talking about.

I saw the following news clips when I searched the 'nets for what America was hearing about the quake.

And I scratched my head because the slight-door-rattler that I felt this morning sure didn't feel like a 7.3. Also, how "near" is Fukushima to Tokyo? 149 miles, as it turns out (239 km as everyone except America says). 3 hours' travel by Japanese means. That is...close? And WHY on EARTH is Okinawa even being mentioned in this search? (continue to read to see how hilariously inaccurate THOSE reporters were.)

And it was then that I realized that Americans (me, included, before I met my husband) think that Japan looks something like this:

Hint: Nope.

Tokyo is pretty much the only thing we know about Japan geographically except for maybe Mt. Fuji (which is NOT in Tokyo, by the way). So we use it as a reference, naturally. However, the overuse of Tokyo alone and the lack of other landmarks and a grasp of the size and scale of Japan leads to a gross oversimplification. Just because something hit Japan doesn't mean it hit Tokyo.

Think of it like this:
All Tokyo is Japan.
Not all Japan is Tokyo.

So today I am going to enlighten you, as I have been enlightened.

To imagine the size and scale of Japan, just think California (excepting Okinawa). It's small compared to the rest of the U.S. but pretty sizable on its own and it takes a long time to drive from end to end.

Below, Tokyo is "X marks the spot", on the east coast of the main island called Honshu, approximately in the middle of the country. Tokyo and surrounding cities are a part of the Kanto region, an extremely population-dense conglomerate of mega-cities.

(Map is drawn by me and so is approximate. But you get the idea.)

To give you a laugh, THIS is Okinawa. Scale wise, it doesn't fit on most Japanese maps, they have to give it a special insert. Kind of like Hawaii and the mainland USA.

762 km is about 474 miles. Start driving.

So why those news reporters were saying ANYTHING about Okinawa baffles me. They were completely unaffected by the quake in any way, shape, or form. Especially because the distance between Fukushima (where the quake ACTUALLY hit) and Okinawa is 1,479 miles (2,381 km). That is literally like saying there was an earthquake in Chicago when it was in Los Angeles.

Ok I'll stop harassing the press and get back to geography.

Ok I lied. One more thought about the press. I wonder if the headlines that the earthquake hit "near Tokyo" was reported that way just for shock value. No one cares about Fukushima (actually, as it turns out they are a bit infamous if you know what happened there - why isn't THAT being talked about????) but everyone knows that Tokyo is the biggest city in the world. You get more readers with a headline that Tokyo was hit.

You don't hear much about the rest of Japan. But here are the basics:

The north island is called Hokkaido. It's very large in land and very small in population. This is Japan's farmland and also the winter wonderland of the country. The southern island is called Kyuushu. It is awesome. It is also where the Kumamoto quake hit a while back. The "eastern" isle is called Shikoku and I don't know a thing about it.

And now you know 4 of the 6,852 Japanese islands. But don't feel too far behind. Only 430 of them are inhabited in the first place.

As for major cities you (sometimes) hear about in American media, I've taken the liberty of giving their approximate locations on the handy map below. If you know these cities, you have a point of reference for just about anything in Japan:

So you actually never hear about Chiba. The reason it's on there is because it is the REAL location of the Tokyo Narita Airport and Tokyo Disneyland. So it's a big deal. But it gets lumped with Kanto (rightly so) and Tokyo (wrongly so) a lot. Want to fly into Tokyo proper? Fly to Haneda Airport. 

Actually don't, Narita is so much better.

So now hopefully you know a little bit more about Japan and can be more educated than some of the news venues and tell them when they are off by 1,500 miles.

I have No Idea Where I am on Planet Earth

So one of the first things I ask my English speaking Tokyo friends is "How do you navigate in Tokyo?" Their answer was not encouraging:

"Oh, it's really hard. Even for natives."

Emphasis on each word. Individually.

If it's hard for someone who speaks the language, has lived in Japan their whole life, and has even a normal sense of direction, then I don't have a prayer in the world, because I lack all three of these things.

So as if this means ANYTHING to me, this is a map we were given of our ward (one of 26 segments of Tokyo) when we registered our residence at the local government office. 

Hmmm...yes. I see. Water. I see water on the map. That will be useful in case I run into the ocean. Is there anything else useful this map can tell me?

So in case that doesn't look scary enough, here's a close up of a random neighborhood:

*mmmphmmhelpmmphm*

So back where I came from, the streets are nicely aligned to a grid. Not so here. And each of those numbers is a BLOCK, not a building.

So long story short, TONS of tiny, narrow streets of irregular lengths and directions, none of which have names.

Okay so that's only 90% fair. About 90% of the roads don't have a name. If it has a name, it's BIG and/or a highway. In America, even the dinkiest little back road has a name. Not so here. 

So the first thing that came to my mind was "how can I get directions if there are no street names?!?!?"

1) Google maps is your friend.

2) Google maps will save you so use it.

3) Don't do it alone, use Google maps.

4) If you for any period of time do not have access to Google maps, then your best bet is to move with extreme slowness and caution, check every turn five or six times, and cleave to landmarks.

5) Train lines and stations are your best landmarks.

So when people say "Where do you live?" you give the name of your nearest train station and/or the line the station is on. You can also use the name of your neighborhood if it's a well-known one such as Shibuya or Odaiba. Getting into the specifics beyond that gets messy really fast. Finding neighborhoods is easy, finding the building in that neighborhood is a nightmare. And even the locals know it! One of the first sayings I learned about Tokyo is "The shortest route is the route you KNOW."

Don't try shortcuts. Just don't. It's faster to travel the road most traveled.

So while I am not alone quite yet, I'm trying to make a mental map of where I am and several landmarks to go by. So far, the image in my brain is something like this:

So as you can see, it's less a map and more of a cluster of cloudy nebulous "maybe this is here...?"'s.

In case you haven't figured it out, I have no idea where I am in Tokyo.

And the sad thing is, I don't know any REAL landmarks. The two stores I know, Lawson and Aeon, are everywhere in Japan, and ramen shops are on every other corner (and look at the professional map to see just how many corners there are). So basically, I know no information that would be of any use to anyone if they had to find me.

So I have a lot to learn. People DO live here so I know it CAN be done.

In the mean time, Google maps, I love you. I really, really, REALLY do.

Kushikatsu – Literally “Stick Fry” – AKA Out-Americaning America SO Hard

I’m told this originates from Osaka, which makes me scratch my head because we in America seriously should have thought of this a long time ago.

This place was called Kushiya Monogatari (Translation: “The Tale of Stick Frying”) and it was classy and amazing. Not cheap, but worth it for the experience.

How to eat Kushikatsu in five simple steps:

1) It’s all-you-can-eat for 90 minutes. So load up! The buffet is loaded with meats, vegetables, breads, and desserts, each served on an individual skewer. Serve up and return to your table.

2) Dip whatever goodness is on your stick in batter, then bread crumbs.

3) Deep fry it in the oil in the handy fryer in the middle of the table.

4) Dip in your choice of six sauces and enjoy!

5) Put your stick in the stick-holder thingy. Watch with joy as the stick-holder thingy fills up along with your stomach.

Pair your fried dishes with some pasta or rice sides, and top it off with a chocolate-fountain trip and/or self-serve soft-serve ice cream and dessert bar. Remember, it’s all you can eat, even with those AMAZING. JAPANESE. CAKES.

So honestly everything about this was amazing, but my favorite was the way they cut their Vienna sausages:

Look at my widdle octopus!!!