chicken skin

MJ: Chicken skin  = goose bumps. The direct translation of the goosebumps sensation in Japanese.

You know those people that are always sick with something, with some cold? That's not me. But since I've been working here, I seem to always be catching some cold! Literally at least one per month. And I'm not sure if it is the different germs in Japan, or the fact that at least one of my kids is always snotty!

I'm also not one really for cough and cold medicines either - knowing they don't actually FIX your cold, just hide the symptoms a little bit my preferred method for colds is buying a large box of tissues, and a few packets of Butter Menthols.

I don't really get that option here.

One, working with kids it isn't a good idea to be spluttering and snotting over them (I call it payback!), and two, Japanese people are huge on medicines. So each month I find myself on a regime of cough and flu tablets, natural propolis spray and 'hana ugai'. The best way I can describe that is gargling for your nose. You pour what I think is saline up your nostrils, and wait for all the gross stuff to come out your mouth. ewwwwwwww

This time around I'm adding in gargling medicine that looks like betadine for a sore throat. WIth Christmas in Tokyo, and New Year's Eve in Miyako-jima I'm not taking any chances.

And it is Nico I feel sorry for - I give her all of my colds, and she gets much sicker than I do each time.

Shiawase means happy in Japanese

Nico: Hmmmm. I'm writing about only food on this blog. Though I really want to share small things of our life in Japan. Would you please wait until we go to Tokyo on Christmas vacation? 

MJ: So now it's my time to write about some crazy Japanese food.

Again.

The truth is, I'm addicted to salty, savoury foods. I would be very happy to eat vegemite on toast for breakfast every day for the rest of my life. And I'd probably eat it for a few dinners and snacks as well.
 

Taken from http://www.homeliquordelivery.com.au/images/0967.jpg

One of my favourites is Smiths Salt and Vinegar Crinkle Cut potato chips, but unfortunately you can't buy good salt and vinegar flavoured chips in Japan. So Nico and I have this game of trying to find the weirdest/best potato chip flavours here. 

 

I think Nico won again. She came home on Friday with 3 flavours picked just for me.

The flavours are awesome - Happy and Content Butter, Happy Salt and Roast Mushroom.

Happy and Content Butter was a little sweet, but still brilliant. Happy Salt was amazing.

But the absolute best was Roast Mushroom. Mushrooms in Japan are yummy as it is, but it really works as a flavour in potato chips!  A bit like a fancy sour cream and onion.

Why doesn't Smiths think of flavours like this?

 

Slice meat more thinly!!!

Nico: Me and MJ live in really good place, I think. Because there are lots of yummy restaurants near our apartment. Italian, Indian, Yakitori(Japanese bbq chicken), bakery restaurant, and other small places and beautiful patisserie with cafe. I can't help feeling I did a good job of choosing our place to live. Our apartment is a bit strange even for Japan, but I'll write about it next time.

Anyway, guess where we went for dinner tonight?

We went to have `shabu-shabu'. 

This restaurant is named `Kin no buta' (it means golden pig). A shabu shabu restaurant.

Do you know shabu-shabu?

Shabu-shabu is one of the one-pot dishes famous in Japan.

Thinly sliced beef and pork waved through hot kelp flavored stock or soup, and then eaten with ponzu or sesame dipping sauces. 

We chose kelp stock and citrus flavored stock tonight.

This is thinly sliced beef.

Waving through hot stock for a few sec.

Which dipping sauce should I try first?

I chose sesame sauce for first dipping.

I love sesame sauce. But citrus flavored stock was unbelievably yummy!!!

This is `tsumire'. It is like pork mince with spice. It is in a bamboo cylinder.

You make it into meatballs as you put into the stock. Don't put it all in at once. It'll be one huge meatball like sausage. Well, I suppose that would be yummy too.

Ahhh, we are soooo full. They were too yummy to stop eating.

Oh! Don't forget to have noodles as well. Udon and ramen noodle are really yummy with that stocks and dipping sauces.

Kara age

Nico: I looooooooooooooooooove `kara age'. I don't mind if all of my meals were `kara age' forever.

Taken from http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89%E6%8F%9A%E3%81%92

`Kara age' is Japanese boneless fried chicken. Not only me, but lots of people love it in Japan.

Taken from http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BD%E3%83%B3

I went to convenience store again as usual. That convenience store was my favorite one. The name is LAWSON.

 

Taken from http://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89%E3%81%82%E3%81%92%E3%81%8F%E3%82%93&hl=ja&client=firefox-a&hs=YjB&rls=org.mozilla:ja:official&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=BSLrTt3nOa7BiQezjMWlBw&ved=0CEYQsAQ&biw=1431&bih=936

The reason why this convenience store is my favorite one, they have my favorite `kara age'. The `kara age' is named ` kara age kun'. There are some flavors of `kara age kun'. Original, hot, cheese, and limited flavor.

Now the convenience store is selling `Tokushima sudachi' flavor.

   

 

It looks yummy,isn't it?

Taken from http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB:Sudachi.jpg

 Sudachi is one of the Japanese citrus fruits usually used for cooking and liquor.

 Recently, `kara age' is getting popular more and more in Japan. There are lots of `kara age' shops in Tokyo. Me and MJ are going to have lots of `kara age' when we'll go to Tokyo. I'm looking forward to have `zangi' (Hokkaido style kara age), Oita prefecture's style one.   

TOMASH

Nico: I really love to stop by convenience stores.

I went to drop in and check around whether something new is being sold.

This evening, i stopped by one of the convenience stores where near our apartment.

And I found it in the drinks fridge.

This is sparkling tomato juice named `TOMASH'.

It is mada by `KAGOME' the company which is famous for their tomato ketchup and other healthy staffs.

Even has lemon, ginger, grapes so it doesn't feel like real tamato juice.

It has vitamins for a day, minerals, lycopene and gaba.

Me and MJ tried it.

It was yummy!

We'd like to try again!!!

I should have bought shares in KAGOME. Their share holders receive sample goods every year.

The vending machine that talked

Nico: There are lots of interesting vending machines in Japan. The vending machine that say things like `Let's start roulette!!' and singing something in a dialect and recommend drinks for men,women, and age groups.  

Anyway, I suppose I am lucky. Why do I think so? Because I won when I bought a coffee can from vending machine this afternoon.

I bought a coffee can from vending machine in front of the school.

When I picked the coffee up, I found a second one.

At first, I thought someone forgot to pick it up.

But I felt something strange. So I picked it up with a little bit scared.

The reason why I am nervous...It might be a bomb???

The can looked like a coffee can, but there's something weird. I stared at it for a long time. At last, I found it was a free gift from the vending machine.

       There are lots of sign for telling it free gift. 

After I went back home, I opened it with MJ.

 Inside was a wide lens for cell phone and paper weights.

You can put it to the lens of your cell phone like this.

When you don't use it, you can keep it as a strap for your cell phone.

Hmmm. I don't know whether it is good or not actually.

Oh, I almost forgot about it.

After you take the free gift out, you can use the can as a piggy bank.

There's no useless parts. It is awesome, isn't it? 

A surprise for Japanese as well

Nico: This afternoon, I found it.

At the station on the way to school.

I glanced at a vending machine.

Miso soup in a can.

I knew there are noodles in a can and other Japanese foods in a can, bags in a can and lots of things in a can from vending machines. But I didn't think there is miso soup in a can, ever.

This vending machine also sells Osiruko (one of the Japanese desert. Sweet red bean's soup with mochi). Of course, this machine sells proper drinks.

A few years ago, MJ had french fries from vending machine.

Wow, this machine has microwave.

Japanese mums don't need to worry about their children living alone anymore.

A USJ Christmas

MJ: As an Aussie, Christmas for me is hot. Often very hot, as in 40 degrees Celsius is not unheard of. In the last 5 or so years, my extended family has been going to a small island off Perth, and spending Christmas there at the beach, and eating salads with our Christmas ham/turkey.

So spending December in cold, cold Japan does not make me feel 'Christmas-y'. Despite spending the last few weeks getting ready for the Christmas Party with my children, I still don't feel like Christmas is coming.

Until last night. This year, Nico and I bought year passes to Universal Studios in Japan. Yesterday we went to USJ for its Christmas event.

USJ has really outdone itself. Each year it has a Christmas tree, but this year the Christmas tree has a Guinness World Record for its height and sparkliness (I'm paraphrasing).

And it is beautiful. And afterwards enjoying a nice glass of red wine has made me feel all ready for Christmas.

Illumination not for Christmas

Nico: Last night, I went to see huge illumination in Kobe (Kobe is one of the famous sightseeing place in Japan. It is near Osaka) with MJ. 

The illumination is called ` Kobe Luminarie'. 

Luminarie is not illumination for Christmas so it is lighted from around early Dec. to mid Dec. for about 12 days.

It is a requiem for victims of earthquake in Jan.17th 1995 ` Hanshin Awaji Daishinsai'  （The Southern Hyogo prefecture earthquake in 1995） and an expression for wish and dreams of reconstruction in Kobe. It was started from 1996. 

 

I lived in the area with my family at that time.

My parent's home broke in half. So we all had to sleep in the same room wearing clothes so that if we needed to leave in a hurry we could.

Taken from http://gigazine.net/news/20090117_great_hanshin_awaji_earthquake/

Taken from http://gigazine.net/news/20090117_great_hanshin_awaji_earthquake/

Taken from http://gigazine.net/news/20090117_great_hanshin_awaji_earthquake/

Taken from http://gigazine.net/news/20090117_great_hanshin_awaji_earthquake/

Taken from http://gigazine.net/news/20090117_great_hanshin_awaji_earthquake/

I can't be cold.

Nico: Of course, we have a heated toilet. Japanese really love it. Especially for old people,they can avoid  heart attack from sitting on a cold toilet in winter. And for women, it makes them to feel clean when they have their period. I can't live without it.

Anyway, it's not the topic what I wanted to write today.

I want to introduce `kairo'. It means a body warmer.

Japanese often use them in winter. 

You put them into your pockets or stick them to your socks or underwear.

There are different types and sizes for different places.

Recently, it was really cold so I put them on my underwear.

I wonder if I am helping to reduce Japan's electricity usage because of that huge earthquake :)

sticky type

pocket type

I usually put them on my underwear like this.(This is MJ.)

Toilet training

MJ: My official job in Japan is an English teacher. But I am ‘teaching’ fifteen 1 - 3 year olds, so it is much more like English Child Care than English School. 

My job is so much fun. Every day I come home with stories about the cute things my kids did or said. Although I love my job, I feel like I spend half of it sitting at the toilet door waiting for kids to finish on the toilet. They are ALL at that horribly frustrating age of toilet training. 

One of my boys I'll call Dun (what he calls himself). Now Dun, he is not quite toilet trained, but he is well and truly aware of what is happening down there. He just drinks far too much to be able to control not peeing all the time.

But Dun, when he poos, he poos. Today, it took about 20 minutes. Dun sits and pushes, then takes a breather and plays, then sits and pushes, breather, pushes, breather, pushes... etc etc etc. And tears are dripping down his cute little face from the effort. And you can't take Dun off the toilet just because you start getting bored of waiting - unless he tells you he has finished, he hasn't.

I live in hope that maybe tomorrow toilet training 9 kids won't be so time consuming!

The first presents I have received from my kids - two pebbles from the park

Japanese coffee???

Nico:　There are lots of canned coffee in Japan. Drinks companies produce over 100 types of canned coffee including renewal ones per year. On average,Japanese people drink 100 cans in a year. You can buy them from vending machine or convenience stores usually. In winter, you can buy warm ones from vending machines even.

Recently,I found a little bit weird coffee. I thought it might be weird taste but asked MJ how she thought about it. MJ also thought it might be weird taste. But I didn't know why I couldn't stop to try it. 

At first, I bought cold one from convenience store. It was weird.

But again, I couldn't stop to try warm one. So I searched warm one because there are a few vending machines which sell it and convenience stores sell only cold ones. Finally,I found warm one from vending machine!!!

I tried it.

As expected, it was weird.

The reason why I wanted to try it both cold and warm, it was coffee mixed with Japanese tea.

The Japanese tea is one of the most famous Japanese tea `maccha' from Kyoto.

I prefer to drink just coffee and just Japanese tea.

Taken from http://www.fukumotoen.co.jp/shop/matucha.html