The Japanese monsoon hit again yesterday with some thunder and ligthening thrown in here and there. The sewage couldn't quite cope with it why roads were covered by inches of water erasing all visibility of crossovers etc. The level of noise created by the rain was extreme.
After such an evening, - waking up to this beauty of a sunrise was incredible.
This blog has been quiet for years. Focused on enjoying our lives here, taking the time to cave the thousands of moments has been left in the darkness. On the stepping stone to new adventures, it's about time to re-initiate the quest of capturing as much as possible of the beautiful 4 year long stay we have enjoyed in Japan. There will be a lot of nostalgic blog writing going on here, with new stuff added to the site every day. The new posts will be archived under the dates they took place and not the dates they were written. Sorry if this makes it a tiny bit unstructured, - but really...this blog is mostly meant for us to look back at 10 years from now.
Since loosing the game to Japan, this happens whenever we tell a Japanese that we're from Denmark:
This pic was taken at the fish market in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
This Wednesday I was in Copenhagen though. And it rained. And my Danish friends were either still sleeping or on their way to work. So what to do? I trotted to the nearest Baresso, - the Danish equivalent to Starbucks, ordered the usual soy latte sprinkled with cinnamon, took a fair look at my Japanese homework, browsed through my calender (which is sort of the secret hand shake of the Wednesday morning meetings), and sent my dearest thoughts to Keiko, Angela, Megan and Yuri. You are missed!
The beauty of Adatarasan greeted us on a crisp Spring morning. With o bentos and water supplies stuffed in the backpacks, clutching the ski sticks there was only one way to go, - up.
Adatarasan is a 1718 meters tall volcano. It killed 4 tourists in 1997 with it's poisonous fumes, and it is still possible to see fumes today.
Henrik is as always trying to orientate, - not that it's necessary, - the red ribbons tied to branches here and there show the best way.
Surprised to find the volcano THAT covered with snow, - coming from small, flat Denmark, either there's snow in a country on any particular day, or there are not.
Yay! We made it to the top.
The view was stunning, though this shot barely does it justice.
On the way down, a crazy skier went fast, zigzagging amongst rocks and snow-free patties.
One of the best things about Adatarasan is that it some where close to the top, has an onsen in the midst of nothing. We stopped for a warm and soothing skinny dip and continued the journey down. Some walking, others sledging on a plastic bag. Oooh, - and we finished the day's adventures with a cup of coffee in Dake onsen village. Mmmm.
楽しかった！
Together with Meg, Z and Keiko I(B) went to a treasure of a soba place. I swear, - this place serves the World's best soba salad.
Handmade cold soba noodles, thinly sliced radishes and daikon, grinded sesame seeds and topped with daikon sprouts, served with a yummy tsuyuu-like dressing and wasabi.
On our way to New Zealand this sight of a 3.776 meter tall beauty captured our eyes awaking the desire to reach the top someday. 
Since the arrival here in Japan some two years ago, I(b) have been taken lessons in the art form of Chigiri-e.
Though I continue to feel challenged during the lessons (especially when it comes to sketching), I do love the hours flooded with creativity once a month in the company of a lovely group of women. As a side bonus, - the classes always doubles as culture lessons.
It's basically a chemical treated 'fabric' that feels cold towards ones skin and thus helps one deal with the insane summer heat we find here at times. She is wearing one on her neck.
You really can get everything in Japan.
One of our favorite restaurants in Koriyama is tucked away behind one of the many parks. It comes with a superb view of the cherry trees during Spring and the place is the perfect goal for a random Saturday midmorning walk which is just what we were in the mood for today.
Japans strong culture of gift exchanging is ever present in our daily life. A co-worker brings cake for Henrik to pass on to me (whom he has never met), friends bring souvenirs from recent holidays or day trips, the neighbor stops by with home cooked food, teachers bring flowers from their garden and strangers share knowledge, advices and rice crackers as we hit the road touring the country. Acquaintances share sacks of fresh vegetables and fruits with us.
Seldom a fortnight goes by without something finds it's way to our house and hearts. Quite overwhelming for someone coming from a culture where one has a tendency to only share with whom one has already bonded with.
We have become most grateful for the gift exchange ritual, which in many ways has served us to a better integration and understanding of Japan. When a stranger on the train decides to give us a paper crafted kimono doll it opens for conversation and thus breaks down barriers between us and the locals. A gift from a friend or an acquaintance makes us feel home and accepted in a culture where feelings are most often implicit. The gift itself teaches us about the local food culture, traditions and handicrafts as it often comes with a story about the place it was bought, the season of the year or the traditions of the country.
Today, our kind neighbor stopped by with a feast consisting of homemade tea flavored bread, jam and two different kinds of traditional Japanese sweets.
The bread was still warm and with a lovely sweet scent of black tea. Impossible to resist, despite our mainly wheat-free diet. The cakes were as always a treat....moments spent in a Brazilian hammock together with the nephews.
Vi savner jer.
xox
For the full recap go here.
Persimmons are hung in rows to dry, for later to be enjoyed as a C vitamin rich snack.
A natural ailment for sore throat. 'Karin' pickled in honey. My Ikebana teacher surplied the fruit. The honey was bought at Kokoroya, an NGO helping mentally challenged people and local farmers, while promoting chemical free produce.
'Bunka no hi' is the National culture day in Japan and therefore a tea ceremony was arranged in one of the local parks.
A good friend and her mother invited me(b) to join, and that is an invitation I would never turn down. The atmosphere alone is reason enough to join, the air tingling with respect, humbleness and discipline. The joy of being surrounded by beautiful kimono clad ladies is another good reason for signing up. The excellent tea a third. Tea ceremony is almost like a group meditation where the World is no bigger than the tea ceremony room and everyone's attention is on the art of making and enjoying the tea.
I got the chance to participate in two different kinds of tea ceremonies. One was Iemotosenke, the other omotesenke.
The women on the far left is my friend's mother.
As expatriates in Japan the question we seem to get most often is "Are you speaking Japanese?"
Our answer continue to be the same, that we are trying to learn it, - hoping someday to make it to 2-kyu, but doubting that it will ever happen.
One's level of Japanese is measured in kyu's were 1-kyu means you are 100% fluent speaking and 4-kyu means you are on a very basic level.
We are somehow in between 3-kyu and 4-kyu. We would fail a 3-kyu due to the grammar, but our vocab would be sufficient to pass through though...we think...
These days studying has become a challenge as our classes continuously are canceled due to Henrik's busy work schedule. Self discipline is not really our strong side, when there are tons of (other) fun things awaiting outside the door. And there are ALWAYS tons of fun things awaiting outside the door.
But there is still hope. Few weeks ago, a good Japanese friend introduced us to a language community on the web, iknow.co.jp. Its originally made for Japanese learning English (Generally Japanese people are very interested in learning English) but recently the site also offers the opposite,- that English speaking persons can study Japanese.
Basically the site offers simple intelligent built up courses that extend your vocab through useful phrases. Its very flexible and an algorithm makes sure you learn what you need to learn.
The real strength of the site though is the community and the tools supplied to support it. Journal and shoot boxes for example make it possible to communicate with each other and this is very much done here. It's a buzzing community. B's first journal written in Japanese resulted promptly in five comments from Japanese users. Besides being encouraging it also opens up for opportunities to practice your skills with native speaking Japanese.
Big Brother is also incoporated in the community. You can easily see how many words and how many minutes any user has studied at a given date...and they can see your effort as well. This works very much as a whip to study as often at possible.
All-in-all a great site we hope (and these days believe) will keep us on track for a while.
I always have food cravings. Food cravings for any kind of Japanese food. Preferably Japanese food cooked by Japanese people.
Food here is made with such care. Focus is solely on the ingredient, its quality and freshness. The Japanese acknowledge that food taste better when it is in season. It's common to shop for groceries almost every day, thus securing fresh ingredients for every meal. The trolleys for groceries at the supermarket are no bigger than a shopping basket. That says a lot.
Right now chestnuts, persimmons and grapes are at their peaks.
Chestnuts are delicious cooked in rice with mirin and a pinch of salt. Persimmons are perfect tossed in Shiraae - a mixture of grinded white sesame seeds, miso, mirin and tofu. Grapes are superb as juice.
Takeda-san from my Chigiri-e group gave me a lot of grapes the other day. I mashed them and cooked them on low heat for 10 minutes. Then I sieved the juice. It gave me two big glasses of thick yummy sweet grape juice. So tasty that it was all gone within seconds. A perfect way to start the day.
P.S.: I wanted to dazzle my sis on visit with homemade Kuri-gohan (rice with chestnuts). I ended up with exploding chestnuts in the oven. For those of you who want to do the trick as well, - don't cut a cross in the chestnuts before you heat them in the oven. For those of you who want to avoid the explosions, do as my Ikebana teacher taught me today: Just soak the chestnuts for a while and you can easily peel them without using the oven at all!
After only three hours sleep due to Mikas wedding yesterday, I am surprised I didn't fall asleep amongst the ricestacks near Yabuki, an hours drive from Koriyama. But no, today was all about harvesting rice, so no time for idyllic napping, despite the inviting laid-back atmosphere that always greet you on the countryside. I love the countryside.
The trip was organized by a threesome, - a local NGO for mentally challenged people, Kalmia which is an international organization in Koriyama and the owners of the field, the local sake brewery whom I assume will use the harvested rice for making at least cooking sake. 
Equipped with a small scythe for cutting and softened weed for bundling the work came around pretty easily. Here it is my Malaysian friend Shy, who almost disappeared in the ricefield.
Bundling with Ayako-san.
Confused frogs jumped around our feet, wondering why we cut down their golden rice-forest.
We were around 50 people cutting down, bundling and stacking the rice.
Here is the field well halfway through: 
Afterwards a celebration lunch was arranged with mochi in tons of variations, the local community performed a traditional danceshow and the day was rounded up with a quiz in Japanese about farming in Japan. I have no idea how I ended up with a price. (I think I owe that one to Shy of Robyn). 
Here we are, the whole group from Kalmia: 
This fellow is my favorite resident in Yabuki. I absolutely adore him.
Today's Ikebana decoration was chosen to honor the fact that Mika is getting married in two days. The small bell peppers you see at the bottom of the decoration symbolize fertility, so this was Gunji-sensei's way of wishing Mika a happy and productive marriage. Here is Mika with Gunji-sensei's decoration and Mie-chan: 
Ikebana was also very special today because my sis attended the class. Gunji-sensei had gone out of her way to prepare a good experience. Japanese people tend to show a hospitality that can only inspire. 
Sis made a beautiful autumn decoration with german iris and red berries. 
As Mika had to hurry on for wedding pic shooting, Gunji-sensei had arranged for another woman to come and help with translation. Lots of regional handicraft was showed and discussed.
The red cow on the pic is the Akabeko cow, a famed toy from the Aizu region.
After all the 'hard' work a feast of a lunch was served. It included various types of tempura, tofu, cucumber and crab salad, mountain vegetables, the best seasoned rice I have ever had and a deluxe miso soup and nuka-pickles. We got to help arrange it, which was quite fun:-) We also got to taste a homemade healthy fruit/vinegar drink. I don't remember the name of the fruit though. Itadakimasu! : 
Who says, that just because you are a dog, you can't dress up for a day's fun? 
This picture was shot at the newest (and biggest) outlet mall in Tohoku region, located in the outskirts of Sendai.
Dressing up your dog is sort of normal here in Japan, and you can find racks of dogs clothes in every other well-stocked shopping center.
This fellow is well above the average though, even wearing a bracelet. A pity we didn't get a pic of her cool mate dressed in leather jacket, red scarf and killer sunglasses. Or their owners...
Did I mention the dogs had their own stroller?
These lovely adzuki bean filled sweets were a gift from our neighbor. Love, love, LOVE anything filled with adzuki bean paste.
There is one sight we never seem to grow tired of, - the rice fields. No matter what time of the year their way and color attract us. Maybe it is because rice (or products made of rice like sake, sushi and mochi) take an important role in most Japanese ceremonies and festivals thus are continually forced upon us seeking to gain knowledge obout the Japanese culture. Maybe it is because rice is the most important part of any Japanese meal and we therefore enjoy them several times pr. day. Or maybe its simply because the fields are gorgeous.
At this time of the year the yellow rice contrasts the green leaves beautifully. 
This is how it will look in a month or so, as a perfect golden rug they will be ready for harvest.
(the pic is from last year).
Its Autumn now. Despite 28 degrees Celcius, shops agree that Autumn is over us or at least around the corner and thus decorate to celebrate the second most beautiful season in Japan (First one being Spring with the Cherry-trees in blossom of cause). Red maple leaves in plastic decorate the hallways of the malls, and national produce like beer has leaves printed on the cans. The restaurants and delis have as well taken the Autumn spirit to them as seen on this lunchbox (o bento) with carrots in the shape of leaves delicately scattered over the mushroom seasoned rice, a piece of salmon, a bit of sweet potato, a shitake musroom, a fish ball and Tamago yaki - a yummy kind of sweet egg omelette. Included is also a sweet bun made of rice and adzuki beans.
Price? 598 jpy or 27,50 d.kr.
The other day we found the official tourist video for Fukushima, the state we currently live in. It gives a pretty good idea of 'our' region. It can be seen here: Fukushima Prefecture video
(Warning: don't let the music get to you).
Warning: This blog entry is no more than a simple description of an average Sunday in our lives.
”A rainy Sunday in August” might sound a little depressing to most people. It does not have to be though. A rainy Sunday in August can also be just to live and enjoy life. So how does a rainy Sunday in Koriyama look like? In this case it starts 7am with H going out for his daily run, in his preparations for Honolulu marathon in December.
It might seem a little harsh to begin a Sunday morning at 7am, but it pays of when we arrive at the JA (Japanese Agriculture) market where the fresh fruits and vegetables awaits at 9am. It is the season of the huge peaches which are perfect for our morning smoothies. Approaching the end of the blueberry season brings us to Miharu where it is with disappointment we realize that we must leave empty-handed. The upside is however that we would not be able to fit much more in the freezer anyway, since it is almost full of containers with pineapple, peaches, chickpeas and a few with blueberries from our last harvest there. Having decided to eat the Herb Garden’s lunch buffet in Miharu we had 1½ hour to kill before it opened. We chose to cruise around in the hilly region and enjoy the rice fields where the rice now actually is visible. We also visited a hermitage (cottage) on a small hill surrounded by huge bamboo while covering from the rain together under one umbrella. The hermitage used to belong to a poet (or was he writer?). He had chosen the location because of its solitude and rich nature and had a small rock garden for meditation. Being at the hermitage alone gave us a sense of peace and privacy. This feeling stood in contrast to the experience at the lunch place, where the eyes constantly were on the two tall gaijins. The feeling of being the odd one out will probably continue to appear in the remaining time here in Japan.
The lunch buffet was great though. Herb Garden is actually a big farm catering the region with herbs, vegetables and plants. The food was organic and there was a huge variety to choose from the viking. which is was an "eat-all-you-can-buffet"is called here in Japan (makes you wonder as a scandinavian).
Full and happy, we returned to Koriyama City via Koriyama’s Art Museum where we saw the Dutch exhibition of drawings from various cartoons, which our neighbour recommended to us some weeks ago. After an hour in the company of various cartoon characters we left the museum light-hearted and smiling.
With the weather still only suitable for indoor activities we chose to spend some time in The Mall, like many others. One of the routine activities is to take a short look at the poor puppies that simultaneously breaks and melts our hearts. The outdoor event on the parking lot with live music and food stalls also had to be checked out, but it was not more than a “been there done that”.
Having made a plan of using this Sunday productively brought us to Excelsior Café in Tsutaya bookstore with our laptops and two soy latté in big mugs. All set for blog-writing. Being hopelessly behind writing about what we have been doing the last couple of years, it has become essential for us to dedicate time for this. The time was also spent talking about the final details of the upcoming visit from B´s sister and brother-in-law whom we are very much looking forward to receive here in Koriyama.
Very characteristically of our lives, we are frequently planning the next adventures, which very naturally brings us to the 2009 calendar hunting. Having started the discussions on what to do for Christmas… in 2009… - it does not seem weird at all to look for the 2009 calendar. You might wonder if it is sane to think about Christmas preparations for 2009? Why plan so much? Why not just cherish the moment? Luckily, it seems like it is possible to manage both. Treasuring the moment gives us happiness in the daily life, where the plans and dreams are what add the extra spice.
Being on our way home, in that moment, we sent our thoughts to Henrik’s dad who is running in the Villa Gallina race for the first time in more than 10 years. With the time difference of 7 hours, he should be finished by now.
It is thus in a mixture of being in the moment and dreaming about travels and the opportunities in life, that we close the chapter of the Olympics by watching the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games before bedtime. We cherished the moment of the spectacular Grande Finale of the Games, while at the same time recalling the unforgettable experience in The Nest, and simultaneously sharing the feeling of the beginning of a new chapter.
Yesterday, our kind neighbor stopped by to check if we would be home for lunch today. We confirmed, so today she came by with a full lunch menu for us: cold somen noodles and crisp warm tempura. Sometimes living in Japan can feel like paradise.
7 years has passed since I (H) have studied for real. Of course there has been various courses and training activities provided at work since I left the Technical University in Lyngby, but this summer I returned to the real school bench again as I attended an eMBA class at Temple University’s Tokyo campus titled: “Managing the Enterprise from a Global Perspective”. The aim of the course has been to add additional theory to my practical experience at work, partly through studying the course material and equally important through the discussions with fellow alumni and the teacher. The class consisted of Mexicans, Japanese, Americans, an Australian and an Austrian, whom all presented different perspectives because of their cultural background and their different corporate cultures. This is for sure an effective way to broaden ones perspectives.
The classes took place on Saturdays, starting 6:16 a.m. at Koriyama station catching the train to Tokyo and ended again in Koriyama 8:29 p.m. (The trains are always very precise in Japan!) Long days. In matter of fact - long weeks, but worth it. Imagine that you have a lot of puzzles to solve (plus some puzzles you didn’t even know existed…), in some cases you are missing a piece to complete the puzzle, in other cases you don’t know what the puzzle will look like when it is finished. The theory and discussions in this course has helped solving some of the puzzles I have been working on for a while, like answering questions like “Why is it such a challenge to engage in business between different nationalities?”
The biggest lesson though, has been the realization of a need and desire for continuously discovering new puzzles, pieces and outlines. It will most likely not be long before I return to the school bench again.
As Mika-san and I(B) had arrived early for a Nuka-lesson at Gunji-sensei's house, we were invited as guests to a tea ceremony class. Its always hypnotizing to watch the details that a 'go Teishu' (tea ceremony master) puts into preparing the tea, so of cause we joined in. One student had studied for 20 years, another for 17 years...kind of indicate the complexity of this art form right?
The summer-tea ceremony differs from the winter-tea ceremonies, not just because of the 'light' service used (like thin glass cups opposed to thick ceramic cups, light bamboo tray opposed to wood trays during winter etc), but also because of the temperature of the water used for making the tea. During winter the water is heated to 80°C (Sencha 100 °C) before it is mixed with the tea leaves. Two pots of tea can be made of one batch of leaves(ichi-sen & ni-sen).
During summertime, the water is only heated to 25°C, more leaves are used, and three pots of tea can be made of one batch of tea leaves (ichi-sen, ni-sen & san-sen).
As three students practiced tea ceremony today it meant we each had 9 cups of tasty green tea!
The second best part of the tea ceremony – the tea being the best of cause – is the o Kashi, a typical Japanese sweet that goes well with the tea. Often it is made of beans.
The design of the cake is decided upon the occasion or the season of the year. Today's 'o kashi' was made by an 82 year old cake-artist here in Koriyama, and the cake was inspired by the sea. The white beans in the translucent jelly symbolize stones in clear water. 
After the tea ceremony class and a tasty lunch, the Nuka-class could begin.
One of the three most important components of a Japanese meal is pickles (the other two being miso soup and rice). Pickles are made in many different ways, but the most demanding one must be the vegetables pickled in nuka, as nuka needs constant love and care.
Nuka is a kind of fermented paste made of mainly rice bran(nuka), salt and water. In the old days every family would have its own Nuka-pot handed down from generations, because the thing is that a nuka-pot can live forever, if well taken care of. 
To the rice brand, salt and water, we added as well yoghurt, and the following for taste: Dashi (bonito flakes), Kombu (kelp), Shitake musrooms, Niboshi (dried baby sardines) and thinly sliced Togarashi chilis (which also keeps the bugs on a distance.)
Because the nuka paste contains live bacillus, it must be carefully monitored meaning I every single day from now on, must mix the nuka paste by hand to avoid molds. If this is done well, Nuka-chan (as Mika-san kindly has baptized it) will stay with us forever.
To create the pickles, vegetables like cucumber, eggplant, burdock or carrot are buried in the paste for one and a half day, and then ready to be served!
