Japan’s Open Air markets

Japan’s open Air markets are vibrant, bustling areas that sell all sorts of consumer perishables as well as shoes and apparel. In many of them you can find everything from discounted jeans to seaweed, hair gel to T-shirts but the one’s that are my favorite to go to have seafood…and I mean fish and sea creatures of all varieties – many of which I never knew existed. I remember in our first trip to Japan, we spent the first day in Kyoto.  I was amazed by the shopping streets that were lined with what seemed like hundreds of shops.  There were various kinds of fresh and processed foods such as pickles, Japanese sweets, dried food, sushi, fresh vegetables and of course the seafood.  We even went into a mochi shop that had so many varieties I couldn’t believe there were that many types to choose from.  They offered tea while you tasted the mochi samples and (as part of the ultimate plan) finally succumb to buying some delicious version that you just can’t seem to live without.

The market is a great place to feel the pulse of working-class Japan and to pick up some inexpensive and unusual items as well as the evening dinner and desert.  I find these areas fascinating and food for your eyes not just your stomach.  

Here's a pic of me and one of Cliff as we each stand at one of the many markets found in Tokyo.  I'll post a few more photos as I find them. :-)

Here are a few pics to show you close ups of some of the foods we saw.

I miss Japan - Here's why

It is over a year since I started this blog and I really miss Japan. So one way to feel more connected is to share some more images and thoughts from our trip from last year. So I thought I would pick photos of some highlights that clearly remind you "I'm in Japan".  I will return to talking more about the trip (thank goodness that I wrote in a journal) but here are some views of the overall wonder of our visit and the things that are so clearly Japanese (and what we love about this country and culture).

We found this adorable kitty on the sidewalk in Osaka.  Hello Kitty!

And one of the many bicycles that are typically compact and convenient. Kind of hard to
believe anyone really rides this thing. :-)

Beautifully displayed fruit in the basement of the Dairamu Department Store.  Look at the
perfection. These melons and oranges are unbelievably perfect.  They cost a pretty yen too!
Can you see....one of those melons is 3990 yen which is the equivalent of about $44.  Wow!

And here for something totally different is the Tori gate at the location of the Itsukushima Shrine
in Takayama.  This whole area is breathtaking and I would love to go back there again.
I will talk more about this part of the trip in a separate installment.  It is worth it!

And lastly, strawberry mochi.  This is so good.  Mochi as you already know is a wonderful
confection of Japan.  I'll be posting our adventure in making Mochi with the Asakawa family.
That was so fun and what a treat.

I hope you enjoyed a little taste of what makes Japan so unique. 
I really miss Japan.  Now you know why. :-)

Long Time Away!

I've thought long and hard about this. Should I return to this blog after a long long time away. The answer....YES! I apologize to my few wonderful readers for having disappeared. Life got away with me as I'm sure you understand first hand. So with that said, shortly you will receive another notice regarding a post. I also decided that the blog will absolutely cover my time in Japan but it will also cover some recipes, all inspired by dear friends in Japan who have shared their culinary expertise with me. Please stay tuned.

The Moss Temple, Kyoto Japan

Saihoji, more commonly known as Kokedera, is on of Kyoto's Unesco World Heritage Sites.
To enter this temple you must have a reservation made well in advance (about a month) by mail. You must have a Japanese address in which they can correspond. When receiving a response, you are told on what day and at what time you must arrive to visit the temple. The cost to enter the temple and gardens is about $30 US. It is well worth the money.

Kokedera offers the unique opportunity for visitiros to participate is some of the temple's religious activities. Every visitor is asked to contribute to the observances of kito and shakyo (respectively, the chanting and copying of Buddhist scriptures, called sutra). We participated in this activity and all I can say is that in doing so, you begin to feel a sense of calm and comfort that becomes even clearer as you make the small trek out into and around the gardens. After the copying of the sutras we offered them back to the temple at the alter. It took some time to accomplish this task but it was well worth the experience. I really enjoyed myself despite the fact that it took a bit of time to finish the writing. I found the activity to be meditative and quieting. I highly recommend you go if you ever find yourself in Kyoto. You do have to plan ahead though.

Kokedera which means Moss Temple, has an estimated 120 different varieties of moss. Visitors to the temple can walk through this spectacular garden. It's obvious upon first entering, that this garden has strongly influenced subsequent Japanese garden design. I must admit, that on the day we were scheduled to be at Kokedera, it was raining. It was spectacular none the less. I would love to visit again - possibly on a sunnier day.

Here is the entry way into the gardens.


And upon entering we came upon this beautiful cluster of cherry blossoms.




We happened upon this interesting structure. I wish I could tell you exactly what it is.



and we found ourselves following a lovely stone pathway.....


That lead us to another cherry tree amidst these beautiful surroundings.



here is a little stream that carved its way through some of the moss.



As you continue through into the garden you are enclosed in a pleasant atmosphere of soothing light (and in our case rain) leaking through the leaves. In an undulating abundance of green, there is the undeniable mossy carpet and huge trees throughout the garden.


there are moss varieties that have warm tones scattered throughout the soft light greens.


and more monochromatic too......


pillows of mossy softness make up the ground cover.........


and blanket all the way to the waters edge.


we continued our walk where we saw trees beautifully scattered around the pond


and here is a spectacular tree that is large and winding its way around another tree



and here we came upon a sacred tree....probably hundreds of years old..In the Shinto religion nature is sacred. To be in contact with nature is to be close to the gods and natural objects are worshiped as sacred spirits or kami.



and here a sacred stone...


here we came to an interesting triangular shaped spot that lead out to the water.



and we even saw some koi swimming around....but too quick for me to get any more then
its tail....I enhanced the water just a bit to add some contrasting color to the image.


and here is a wider view of the pond with its scattering of stones


a close up of a tree on its small little island with moss covered stones....


another perfect view.....



This scene just takes my breath away.....it exemplifies all that I loved about this place. The raindrops add to the romance of the image. Soft, luxurious and rich....


Another stunning view....The theme of the garden is centered on the pond because it is in the shape of "kokoro" a popular Chinese character for "heart". There is a common belief among the Japanese people that there are three islands inside the sacred pond named Horai, Tsuru and Kame which stand for the Buddhist idea of paradis. Yodomari-shi, the rock structures near the Horai Isle are regarded as anchored boats on the way to or from paradise. Nice......



as we approached the end of our time in the moss temple gardens we each wanted a photo of ourselves at this wondrous place. Here's one of Cliff


one of Makoto


and one of me.....


and off we went down a walkway


and look at a close up of the end of the stairway.....I love these formations



and then we came upon a stone with running water. This is most commonly used
to wash your hands before you pray or enter or leave a sacred area or shrine.



and lastly, I would like to leave you with these images....what a beautiful place.


I am in awe


I'm left with a peaceful feeling....hope you are too.

Enjoying the Hibachi

I bet you thought I wouldn’t post again. It has taken a while hasn't it, but I’m happy to say I’m prepared to show you the Hibachi style of food preparation that we were lucky enough to enjoy. A traditional charcoal hibachi was the type of hibachi we enjoyed cooking our food on when we visited this restaurant. Nothing is as good as grilling your food over a fire. This was no exception.

Traditional hibachis can be very attractive objects in themselves and are presently sold as antiques. The samurai and aristocrats originally used hibachis but this form of cooking gradually spread among ordinary people. Their design developed throughout the Edo period. It is a flat surface of heat that was very easy to cook on.

This is the front of the hibachi restaurant.


Here Cliff, Makoto and I are cooking beef. To the right is a portable hibachi grill with another variety of meat. On the plate on to the farthest side of the gill, is a plate with meat and vegetables. Saying that this food was awesome is an understatement. We sat and sipped on plum wine as we dined. It was so yummy. This was probably the one time that we ate beef while in Japan. We regularly ate some variety of fish and vegetables that I thoroughly enjoyed.



Here are some examples of the food we enjoyed. I have to say the chicken was my least favorite of it all. It was still good but if given the choice I would stick with the beef.








The Grand finale was at the end of the meal - we enjoyed steamed clams in a broth that was out of this world. It reminded me of times growing up in NY and going to a seafood restaurant called Lundy’s. I grew up eating Ipswich steamers and some of the best lobster and seafood that I have ever had. Yum!


I hope this post inspires you to get out and utilize your grill. I know you are thinking "I need
to go to the store now!" Oishi!

Osaka (A day of pure gluttony)

Osaka
大阪市



Osaka has traditionally been referred to as the "nation's kitchen", tenka no daidokoro or the mecca of gourmet food. There is no doubt that we ate plenty of food on this day.

We ate Okonomyaki and it was awesome. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese-style pancake cooked on a hot plate. Made predominantly with pieces of meat, seafood and chopped cabbage, after grilling, a brown sauce is spread on top of the pancake and dried bonito shavings and green laver is sprinkled on top of the sauce. Some people also add mayonnaise to the toppings. Okonomiyaki is eaten all over Japan, but is particularly popular and delicious in the Osaka area. In my opinion today was a day of gluttony.





We also took a subway and went to Osaka tower. We ate again...I couldn't believe it - we went to a Kushikatsu place. Kushikatsu is “food grilled on a stick” made up of pieces of pork and vegetables fried on a skewer after being coated in bread crumbs. There are many types of kushikatsu shops around Osaka including those that offer freshly fried kushikatsu with a dipping sauce. I somehow didn't take any photos of this food which is pretty astounding but I did get a shot of the sign outside of the Kushikatsu shop and a street view. It's pretty cool.



Here are photos of us being up in Osaka Tower. Osaka Tower (大阪タワ) is an observation and radio tower built beside the headquarters of Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. Besides functioning as a radio and television tower, it also relays radio communication for the taxi companies.

Here's a a photo of Cliff and Makoto at the top



While at the top of the tower we saw Billiken. Who is Billiken you ask?
Billiken was a charm doll created by an American art teacher and illustrator, Ms. Florence Pretz of St. Louis, Missouri, who is said to have seen the mysterious figure in a dream. In 1908 she patented the Billiken who was elf-like with pointed ears, a mischievous smile, and a tuft of hair on his pointed head. His arms were short and he was generally sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him. And he’s naked….you even see the crack of his ass depending on which statue of him you happen to be looking at. A replica of the statue was placed in the second-generation Tsutenkaku Tower in 1980. Presently he resides on the fifth floor observation deck (that’s where we were) and has become closely associated with the tower. Each year thousands of visitors place a coin in his donation box and rub the soles of his well-worn feet to make their wishes come true. In October 2008, the Billiken of Tsutenkaku took a journey all the way from Japan to its founding city of St. Louis where it was visited by students of St. Louis University High School, whose mascot is also the billiken. Bet you didn’t know that little tidbit of info. Pretty wild if you asked me!



This is a shot of Billiken's butt! I couldn't resist. :-)


I think this would be an appropriate ending!
Hope you enjoyed it.