馬刺し

Ohisashiburi (It's been a long time, hasn't it?)!

Things have been unrelentingly busy here, but I have time today to share a little of what we have seen and done recently.

During a recent business trip to Tokyo, we visited a few fantastic camera shops in Shinjuku, and Tracy bought a used Nikkor 50mm prime (F1.4!) lens. It works on her D50 perfectly, but on my D40x only the light metering (and not the autofocus) works. Nevertheless, the D40 has been wearing that lens for a few weekends, waiting for some sunshine to really test it out.

Before that chance, though, I drove past a butcher shop in Gotemba, and I witnessed their newly-arriving hoofed delights under cloudy skies. Too bad they whisked the carcasses from the truck into the shop before I could safely pull over and run back for authentic snapshots. Luckily, the side of the shop had some cheerful billboards extolling the process of bringing raw horsemeat to your table...







Basashi (raw horse sashimi) is much more delicious than it looks, I swear! The local eatery that carried this delicacy has sadly gone out of business, but we'll post again if we find another...

Today, finally, the sun came out and warmed the day up to very comfortable temperatures under cloudless skies, so we left early for a drive. The changing of the autumn leaves already passed, but the susuki-grass remained for a seasonal golden touch.

This is Tracy's view with her Nikon 18-200:


And my view (with her 50mm and a polarizing filter):

We'll both be 'on the road' for the next few days on business, but hope to catch up again soon!

Happy Thanksgiving

We're wishing all our American friends and family a thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable holiday!

FYI -Many Japanese have never even heard of Thanksgiving, and most have never eaten turkey. Discussing holidays is always a fun cultural exchange, and I've discovered that my favourite Japanese holiday is New Year's (more on that next month!)

As for Thanksgiving, though Canadians do have a Thanksgiving day, which is a Monday in October, my impression of American Thanksgiving is that it is more...more...well, just MORE. More family comes over, more turkey is served, there are more days off! And I even heard that family members fly around the country to gather for the feast.

Have a great long weekend!

Thailand - holidays or troubles?

Winter vacation is coming up quickly - more quickly than we'd realized. Fuel surcharges and other factors resulted in us cancelling our plans to go to North America, and we sort of figured we'd stay in Japan. However, after some extensive online searching, we found a fairly cheap flight to Thailand.

Though we've both been to Thailand at least three times before, the deal on the tickets (China Airlines) was too good to pass up. Of course, hours after our purchase we turned on CNN only to see the headlines that Thailand is experiencing some political unrest and anti-government supporters have seized both Bangkok airports. Ha!

Well, I'm fairly confident that the airports will be reopened in the next few days, and definitely by the time we're ready to fly in three weeks.

To read more about the troubles in Thailand, check out this article from AP:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_THAILAND_POLITICAL_UNREST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Everyday Listening and Kanzen Master - Nihongo Study

I'm the queen of Japanese textbooks. I've probably spent more money (and less time!) on textbooks in the last decade than most other people. I've got books, some of them barely opened, piled up and falling off of shelves, stacked in closets, and stuffed under fashion magazines.

That said, there are at least two books that I find useful. One of these is Mainichi-no-kikitori Nihongo （毎日のききとり日本語）(Everyday Listening in Japanese). The units are very short (two brief pages of questions to based on the audio component), and the audio is short, too. A unit should only take about fifteen minutes a day, and the idea is that you're supposed to do a unit a day (I'm lazy and only manage about two or three units a week).

There are two levels - basic and intermediate -but beware the basic level is still using cassettes and the new edition should be released soon. For now, you can get the intermediate level here at Kinokuniya.

http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/htm/4893586327.html

For Level 2 preparation for grammar patterns and kanji I really like the Kanzen Master series. I currently slogging through Kanzen Master Kanji. You can see it here at Amazon.jp.

And now I've actually got to prepare for my actual lesson since my teacher will be here any minute...

Wild Monkeys and big Spiders

Today is a national holiday here - Labour Thanksgiving Day. So, taking advantage of the mostly sunny morning, we took the bikes out for another good ride.

The other day, Brian had seen some monkeys playing on an old set of monkey bars (how appropriate) that sit on the grounds of a small temple. We cruised back there today with the small camera in tow, just in case.

Luckily, the monkeys like to get warm in the winter sunshine just as much as we do:









Not seen here are all the other monkeys hanging out in the trees and playing in the little shrine higher up on the hill.

We also stopped to get some photos of a particularly juicy spider. You can't really see how big it is by the photo, but body is probably just slightly smaller than the palm of my hand. The legs make it bigger... this is one of the things I don't like about trail riding sometimes - you feel the web, you know the spider is on you, but you're just not sure where!

Bonenkai with Curves

Saturday night I went to a Bonenkai (year end party) organized by Curves, the women-only gym I joined a few months ago.

I was certain that I wouldn't drink much and would be home quite early, since this was, after all, going to be a party of middle-aged Japanese ladies.

Ha! These people could drink me under the table; Van and I even got coaxed into a nijikai (second party) doing karaoke at a snack bar (snacks are local, sort of dingy places frequented by older people).

Lots of beer and shochu later, I did make it home, but not so early:-)

Van and one of the Curves staff doing Madonna:


A couple of other hard party animals:

All Good Things Must End

Nearly two years ago, a very nice yet very cheap chain izakaya, Ryoba, opened a franchise right here in Susono.

But less than a week ago, we discovered that it has closed up for good, in bankruptcy and with the owner having disappeared...

Many good times were had there, but change is probably good, and we heard a rumour that another chain izakaya will be taking over.

Ryoba - before bankrupcy:

Christmas Cake in Japan

Christmas cake, or fruitcake, is a traditional food eaten at and around Christmas in Canada. Well, specifically, Montreal. For more specifics and to find one of the best kind of cakes, check out Bernicky’s Blog.

It was this post that inspired me to write my own about Christmas cake in Japan. Traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve, here Christmas cake is kind of sponge cake with frosting and strawberries; it actually reminds me more of a birthday cake and bears little resemblance to what I think of as Christmas cake.

But it is the metaphor of the Christmas cake that makes me laugh. It is said that women are like Christmas cake – best had by the 24th (birthday), still okay on the 25th, but fairly stale by the 26th. This is just humour and people are marrying later these days, but I still find it funny.

Oh, in case anyone is wondering, I was past my sell-by date before I even came to Japan:-)

Weekend R&R

The weekend was great - especially so since I had Monday off as well.

Despite a bit of rain on Saturday and some gloomy skies on Sunday, we rode both days. It felt good to be back on the bikes again after so many weeks without even a short ride.

We didn't do anything too spectacular, but still found ourselves in the hills of Susono, exploring some old and new terrain. Construction of the new expressway (the dai-ni Tomei), which has been in progress for several years, has destroyed some of our old trails, but has also opened up new avenues to exploration. At least until the expressway opens (estimate another five to ten years I think), we'll have this constantly changing territory to ourselves, at least on Sundays!

Formalities of the Enkai

A couple of days ago I posted about bonenkai season, and how it will shortly be here.

Enkai (parties), which are usually big nomikai (drinking parties), are mainly hosted at izakaya (bars) or restaurants that specialize in catering to large groups. Many places even advertise special set prices for all-you-can-drink with a set course and have rooms called the enkai-jo.

The parties are great fun, but they are also often fraught with formality. Even in casual parties, no-one must ever have a sip of beer (or beverage of choice) before the kampai (the toast, which marks the beginning of the party). But especially when the enkai is with business associates, the status or rank of each guest present is a huge consideration for how the evening will play out. The organizer of the party anxiously looks around and consults with colleagues to try to figure out who ranks where on the business scale. Once this has been determined, the most senior (highest ranking) person is requested to do the hajime no aisatsu - a speech that opens the party. Then, the second most senior person does the toast, everyone says kampai (cheers) and takes a sip of their drink. The party has begun - but there is still the official closing to be done.

The official closing - shime-no-aisatsu - is performed by the third most senior person present. This person closes the party by doing a shime - a series of hand-claps. There are several varieties of the shime: the ippon-jime (one hand-clap style), the sanbone-jime (three hand-clap style), and the bonzai shime, where everyone throws their hands in the air. The person who conducts the shime decides which style to use.


Once the shime has been done, the party is officially over and everyone goes their separate ways - or, they head off to a ni-ji-kai, a less formal second-party, to continue drinking.

TGIF!

I haven't been so happy to see a Friday night in a while. After a pretty busy month, I'm ready to breathe a sigh of ... well, of TGIF-ness.

We don't really have any big plans for the weekend, but since the weather is going to be glorious tomorrow (according to the most recent forecast), we'll likely head out for one of our long bike rides, followed by a stop at the beer hall for a drink on the lawn!

I've got Monday off, as well, so with a bit of focus, a re-seeking of my zen, I may just be able to conquer this bout of adult-onset attention-deficit-disorder I seem to have come down with.

Wintery Winds

After a cold and rainy weekend, we are still experiencing very chilly, winter-like weather. We had a high of about 13 degrees (C) today. Though that's not all that cold, keep in mind that houses and apartments in this region are not insulated at all, which means it's about 20 degrees inside.

I don't mind this at all. Actually, not only is it far more temperate than my old hometown, it is also nice to be able to have some contrast, to have the warmth offset by the chill . There is nothing nicer than to tuck one's legs under the kotatsu (see pics below), turn on the TV, and listen to the winds rage outside, all while sipping a nice glass of wine in total comfort.

This is my kotatsu - a table with a heater underneath! (pics from 2005...)





I love my kotatsu. This is one of the things I couldn't live without. In fact, I tried to live without it for about two years, but was constantly lamenting my loss and eventually had to have a new one.

Tonight, in fact, I am also looking forward to soon sitting under my kotatsu - my upper body a little bit chilly, while the rest of me stays warm under the blanketed table.

Brian likes the kotatsu too, though not quite as much as me!

Red, Green and Blue - Trash in Susono

It's finally the weekend, and it feels like the first day off we've had in weeks. Considering that last weekend was consumed by the conference and working dinners, it really is the first day off in a while. Of course, it's raining!

But on the bright side, this morning is 'umetate gomi' - or, landfill garbage, morning.

Sounds silly that I'm excited about this, but Japan, and my city in particular, have very strict trash regulations. We have to buy special trash bags which have our city's name stamped on them; they are semi-transparent and the lettering comes in three colors: red for burnable garbage, blue for plastics, and green for stuff that has to go to the landfill (such as ceramics, broken glass, light bulbs, etc). And anything not for these bags is for recycling and must be brought to and separated at our local recycling station, which operates twice a month (on the first and third Wednesday, from 6 to 8 a.m.).

Of course, we have to separate our trash carefully, and putting the wrong thing in the wrong bag (for example, a can in a red-lettered bag) results in that bag being labeled by the trash men as 'in error', and left at the trash collection point. Often, a kind neighbor will even carry the bag back upstairs and leave it at your door.

Given all these regulations, and the fact that landfill trash is only picked up once every two months (on the second Saturday of the odd month), it is not surprising that I've begun to lead a life dominated by trash, and become excited by these collection days!

Bonenkai （忘年会）Season?

As you've been reading (or, perhaps not?), we've both been extremely busy with work, meetings, conferences and other events. I alone have been to Tokyo more times in one month than in the past year! And just when we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, a weekend where we can ride and rest, read and reflect, we are also edging into Bonenkai season.

Bonenkai　－忘年会　－ literally means 'forget the year party', and they are a very important part of socializing and working in Japan. It is a time to reflect on all the things that happened during the year and then to put the bad things behind us, so we are ready to start fresh again in the New Year. Of course, these parties usually involve excessive amounts of drinking to help us all relax and forget!

Though it is just mid-November, the festivities for me will begin in just a few short weeks when I attend a party with the Curves crowd, and then there will be parties fairly regularly until the end of December. Brian and I will likely be drinking quite a bit between now and then!

Evenings in Shinjuku

As Brian blogged, we came to Tokyo yesterday for a four-day huge conference for Teachers of English as a Second or Foreign Language, and we've so far had two good days of conferencing - everything from teaching students how to write email, to how to teach discussion, to using Drupal (a Content Management System) to design interactive websites for teachers or students.

Of course, after conference hours, we enjoyed our time in the big city. Whenever I come to Tokyo, I'm reminded of how invigorating the active night life is, how charged everything seems to be. We walked around Shinjuku again tonight, on our way to a small Turkish kebab diner on the east side of the station.

These photos may show some of the contrast between our city and the biggest city in Japan:

On the 'Romance Car' train from Susono to Shinjuku station:




One of the less busy intersections in Shinjuku (Tokyo):


We have another two days of conference/city life before heading back to our small (by comparison) city and back to work.