Fuji san aka 富士山

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.

Feeling hot?

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.

Always being considerate, the women share touristic pamplets, food and oddities (also combined as in food oddities), like here where Takeda-san introduces me to a 'cool sheet chest'.


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.

In Zen on a Saturday

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.

The set course (the only thing on the menu) consists of 6 different dishes and is build around seasonal Japanese ingredients served with a western twist. The menu changes every second month. Here's a few shots of the three dishes we enjoyed the most this day.

Beets soup
I (B) loved the color of this beet flavored soup, and the way it matched the flowers on the table. Quite rare to stumble across anything with beets in our region which is traditionally not an ingredient found in the Japanse kitchen.

Fresh water eel quiche!
Till today, Japan seemed to be conservative when it comes to serving eel (see the bottom of this post), so this innovative savory quiche stuffed with eel and with wasabi flavored dressing on the side was quite a tasty surprise.

...and the dessert plate. Yum!
Green tea ice cream is always a winner as is a square block of dense chocolate cake. The slice of almond tart served with raspberry coulis turned out as a keeper too, not to mention the kabocha creme brulee :o)

Coffee Break
The random wandering continued after lunch, but as Summers are quite hot here (35C), - and not only hot but humid as well, those random walks are only bearable with sewn-in stops at air conditioned places.

It's not that we are the hugest fans of the concept of SB conquering the world, but it just happens to be the most cozy cafe in town. Soft chairs, great music, and soy as an option if one wanna opt out of milk. Also, the staff doesn't seem bothered with one lingering there for hours, so a weekend spent in Koriyama equals at least one cup at SB. It's located near the station, so fun place for people watching as well. The fan on the pic was given to us in front of the station. A commercial flyer one would just through away instantly, but a (free) fan decorated with commercials is a treasure in this climate and commercials or not, - this thing is being waved wildly around town. Hands down for the Japanese art of marketing.

Unagi no kabayaki
Time to end the lazy couple time and get social and adventurous, so we met up with Emiko and Yuko for the above mentioned traditional eel feast. In Japan it is believed that eel provides stamina and for this reason it's popular to eat 'unagi no kabayaki', which is glaze-grilled eel, during summer. It's served on top of rice and with a clear soup (suimono) made with eel liver served on the side. Apart from the soup, the meal is addictively good. Today it was served in a pretty lacquer box. The wood 'bottle' holds Shichimi togarashi which is a traditional chili spice made up of seven different kind of ingredients.

Zazen
We continued on to Fukujyu-ji temple in the neighboring village Miharu for a session of meditation led by a famous novelist and priest named Soukyuu Genyuu. It was our first time to experience traditional Japanese Zen meditation also named Zazen, and something we have been wanting to try for a while.

The fukujuushoku (Deputy head priest) is famous for having been awarded the Japanese award equivalent to the Nobel prize for literature and thus, despite the relatively small village of Miharu, many people find their way to his monthly meditation sessions. We were about 30 people this summer evening, which our good friend Keiko had joined us for as well.

The session started with the fukujuushoku giving a small teaching for then to guide us through a few stretching exercises before we were all asked to sit in either full- or half lotus position. Our recent stay at an ashram in India turned out useful here.

The meditation it self was initiated by a loud clap and the chimes of a bell. During the meditation session, the fukujuushoku would walk amongst us with a wooden stick called a keisaku ready to hit people on their shoulders if they seemed unfocused, fell a sleep or if they asked for it themselves as the hit is said to reset ones (Zen) mind. Not being really sure if he would go for the two gaijins made staying focused on the meditation quite challenging, but we treasure the experience nevertheless. He never did decide to hit us, instead we were treated with tea and cakes afterwards with the rest of the participants while he shared some words of wisdom. In Japanese.

Perfect Saturday.

A gift into the culture

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.

Looking back

Here's a random list of things we have received during our stay here: Dried squid to be used as a sake cup, fermented soybeans aka natto, Scarfs, textile xmas decoration for the wall, cakes meant for tea ceremony, chop sticks, candle in the shape of a Daruma doll, Ceramic figurine, a full tempura and udon meal served at dinner time, jewelry made of bamboo, marinated pork, fresh ginko nuts, green tea coated soy beans, tofu muffins widely known as tofuffins, branches of fresh edamame, ikebana decorations, cell phone straps, fans, eco bags, chatecs with japanese flower print, lip balm, peaches, apples, pears, melons and strawberries, corn, cucumbers and beets, rice crackers, sake, lacquer box, freshly harvested brown and white rice, homemade umeboshi, pickles, homemade yoghurt and a sponge made of seaweed to name a few....

Of cause it's expected that one returns the kindness of a gift, with another gift at first coming opportunity, which gives us a wonderful chance to share Denmark with our friends and acquaintances here.

Hopefully the joy of giving and exchanging cultures is one we succeed in bringing with us and practice also outside Japan.

Few things in the world can top...

...moments spent in a Brazilian hammock together with the nephews.


Vi savner jer.
xox

From free range, - to a full range!

Shopping for eggs in Japan isn't quite as simple as in Denmark.

This picture was taken at the farmers market attached to the outlet mall in Nasu.

At the local supermarket in Koriyama, we also tend to have a good selection to choose from. Some eggs are with high levels of Omega 3, others with Iodine etc. We do miss having the choice of simple free range organic eggs though. Japan might be able to learn a few things about animal welfare from Denmark.

Detour to India

Henrik succeeded in granting two month leave of absence from work, so we dusted off the backpacks and went off to India for a two month journey to experience the country while spreading the word about diabetes. The journey began 25th of February 2009 and we returned to Japan in mid April 2009 after the fierce sun in Rajasthan had proven stronger than us. India left a tremendous impact on us and we are already talking about when it might be possible to do a second trip out there. So much to learn.

For the full recap go here.