Drinky drinks

I just came from the convenience store (aka "conbeeni") and saw a new drink called "Plussy". I seriously had to do a double take. It's one of those vitamin plus drinks they're coming up with out here, which I guess makes sense. I would've gotten one just to see what made it so "plussy" but it was kind of pricey. Instead, I got Scott's favorite drink "Bikkle", a yogurt-type drink and I tried a new one called "Fruity Paradise". I couldn't resist. Ah, so many crazy drinks to try, so little time.

Part II: Inaka roots

*Just added a bunch more pics of this trip on my Flickr page.

I didn't realize how much happened while my mom was here until I started writing it down! So... my mom went ahead to visit some friends and had a reunion with her elementary schoolmates (how cute!). We met up again on the weekend to visit her hometown. We stayed a night in Osaka, a city known as an eater's heaven (is that proper English?? I don't know anymore!). We went to an okonameyaki place which was pretty tasty. Okonameyaki is kind of like a cross between a pancake and a pizza, it's a batter mixed with seafood, meat, and vegetables topped with mayo and sauce and fish flakes that melt and squirm around which makes the meal even more delightful and entertaining. Ah, Japanese delicacies, it's all about presentation and tastiness! We were a little nervous about cooking it ourselves, so the waiter helped us out. Yum!


We also found a little bar in town called Jazz Bar or something or other. Scott was so so happy that they had Guinness and Jameson. It was quite a treat. The bar was pretty mellow so we had a good time just chilling. The bartender was really nice and we watched the one woman in the bar get verbally harassed by men and then their disappointed faces as she left the bar alone.




The next morning we were off to Wakayama. We took a train into Kushimoto, the closest train station to my mom's quaint, little town. My mom's cousins still live in town so we were lucky to have them show us some sites and spoil us with food and drink.

One of my mom's cousins, Shingo is a third generation postmaster in the town. In small towns, people also do their banking at the post office so he's pretty famous in town. It's also very probable that I'm related to most of the townspeople in some way. That's how small a town it is. In fact, we were walking around and bumped into this lovely older lady and my mom started talking to her. By the end of the conversation, they figured out that they were second cousins!


Shingo took us to a few famous sites around town which were beautiful. We went to the largest waterfall in Japan (Nachi Taisha) which was surrounded by a 500 year old shrine. They say the monks hiked all the way from Kyoto to this waterfall. There's a hiking trail up to the mountains you can take up just like the monks... we took a car up. But, we still had to walk up the steps to the shrine, so that still counts! You feel really bad when you're tired and then see all the older folks with their walking sticks doing the same climb.

We drove through the town of Taiji, famous for its whaling. I think there's been recent controversy with Green Peace trying to stop some of the boats. We decided to stay away from controversy and eat some whale pizza at a local shop. Mmm... whale.


We also went to a lighthouse (Shionomi saki no todai) at the most Southern tip of Japan's mainland. Beautiful views from above. Then we went to these famous rocks in Kushimoto (Hashi Gui Iwa). There's an old story behind them, how they line up like a bridge and were supposed to connect the two islands. Scott couldn't resist climbing to the top of one. We were lucky to get that close since it's not often that the tide is low enough.



After sightseeing, we stayed with my mom's cousin Toyosato and his wife Hideko. He had just been fishing and caught some fresh fish and squid. He cut the fish up for sashimi, the freshest, softest sashimi we've ever had. And we made fried squid outside and had a BBQ with fresh oysters and abalone. My mom said the abalone usually costs hundreds but we got hooked up since Toyosato caught some. We partook in the frying of the squid. We had to put on safety glasses because the squid was still so fresh and watery from the sea. Can't be too safe with hot oil.


Toyosato is a real Renaissance man. He showed us a bunch of cool stuff. He catches bees and collects delicious honey from them, he has 4 dogs he uses to hunt and shoot boar (which we also got to taste), he also gets water from an unused hot spring and takes it home for his own bathtub (which was lovely). Did I mention he also plays the Japanese flute and has a lovely singing voice? We all went out to karaoke and he and my mom did some duets together. Scott even got into it and sang a solo! I wish I could show you the proof, but he won't let me. Actually, I think I was supposed to delete it so shhh!



Needless to say, we had an awesome weekend there. It was great to see my family and have Scott meet them. They loved him of course because he was funny and ate and drank everything. We got to see the actual house my mom grew up in which she still owns though it's empty now. It's cool to see things almost unchanged there. The mountains surrounding the houses are still untouched. No cables or cell phone towers stuck onto them. Who knows, maybe we'll retire there!

Part I: Mom visits!

This is another exciting two parter blog! Once again, so much is going on that I'm not able to keep up with it! This month my dad had his 70th birthday (Happy Birthday Dad!) and Scott turned 27 and next month is my birthday.



In May, my mom came to visit us here. It was great to have her and show her our town and life here. We went to Nagasaki City, Shimabara, and drove up to the volcano in Unzen. We had a nice drive through the mountains that were covered in wild flowers. My mom was also excited to see the nice, golf course up there. We also took advantage of the free foot bath in town and had a nice lunch.





My mom also generously cooked dinner for some of my friends and Japanese teachers from school. It was such a treat. We bought lots of fresh vegetables from the farmer's market near my house. Everything there is so fresh and good, picked right from the farms around the corner. We especially liked these adorable mini kabocha pumpkins.


One night, we also stopped in a tiny shack for a late night snack. We'd been there before, but only for take out so we didn't realize we could even sit down and eat inside. My mom noticed the sign that said they served inside so we decided to try it out. It was a tiny place and there were three very drunk men already inside. They were talking in the dialect here so none of us could really understand them until they started saying some English phrases they learned on TV. Then, there was silence... until one of the drunk guys turned to us and asked if we spoke English.

From then, we became buddies and they especially loved Scott because he could keep up with their drinking. They shared shochu (a potato-based alcohol) and lots of silly chatting. The owners of the shop joined in too. I can't remember all the silliness, but I remember one of the guys was a pretty big guy which is kind of rare in Japan. So he said, pointing to his gut, "American size", and then pointing to his crotch, "Japanese size". You probably saw that joke coming. And then they were teasing their friend who was the most drunk because he's in his 30s and not married yet which is seen as a bit strange in these small towns. So they kept asking if Scott or I had any sisters we could introduce him to. Scott said, "there's no way you'll ever meet my sisters!" Ha! It was one of those random meetings that made it a great night. We stayed there until about 1 in the morning! We were saying, they probably wouldn't have talked to us if my mom wasn't there to mediate and translate. I guess it's intimidating sometimes for them and us. It was good fun!


On one of the last days, I invited my mom to be a guest teacher at my junior high school. She was introduced as the "new English teacher" which freaked all the kids out. Haha! They listened to her introduction and then we got to do a lesson together. My mom said a lot of them had potential, but then needed more emotion in their English. She'd be a great ALT! Actually just the other day I told them they sounded like robots and robots aren't good. So now they're walking around saying, "Me Robot!" Great.

How cute is this frog?

It's now officially rainy season here. The weeds are growing faster and the creatures are getting louder and more active. We've been finding cute little frogs everywhere and spider skins around. The snakes should be next!





The skies have also been really beautiful. Unfortunately I don't always have my camera with me so here's some that I took with my handy keitai (cell phone). Every day there's amazing clouds and colors. Sometimes after a storm, the sunset paints the whole sky red.



There's also new fruits and vegetables in season. When I ride my bike around, I can smell the strawberry fields. It smells like candy! So sweet. We got free, fresh corn from a neighbor and the rice fields are starting to be planted. Last week, I helped one of my schools tend a rice field with some local farmers and next week I'm invited to plant the new seedlings. I hear it's muddy work. So far, the teachers have been impressed with my farming skills so hopefully I won't let them down. The vice principal was joking around and said I should wear a bathing suit. I sense some mud ball fights coming my way!

All-American meals

Who says there's no good American food in Japan? If you look hard enough, you're likely to find places that serve a decent hamburger (a.k.a. "hambaga"), but make sure you're ordering a hamburger and not a hamburg which here means a patty steak covered with a teriyaki-ish sauce. Not far from our little town we managed to find a hamburger spot that's pretty tasty. They have four burgers to choose from: bacon egg hamburger, pork burger (layers of pork meat on top of a patty), Koroke burger (my fav, mashed potato breaded and fried on top of a patty) and another burger named after the restaurant which we haven't tried yet and can't quite figure out. You can order a set ("set-o") which comes with crinkle fries (!) and a tiny glass of soda. It's delightful.


Donuts are readily available at bakeries and grocery stores and they're pretty decent. There's also a chain called Mister Donut with fresh, but pricey donuts. They have the usual glazed, chocolate, and strawberry flavors, but also some unique Japanesey flavors like green tea and sweet bean. Wow, I just found the Mister Donut site and discovered it was originally an American chain... it all makes sense now...


Pizza ("peeza") still remains a mystery here and often has corn and mysterious meat (sometimes bacon is bacon and sometimes it's slices of ham) on it or is plate-sized. Granted back home, they're a little too large for our own good, but it's nice to be able to order a box and eat cold leftovers for breakfast. If there's one thing we miss, it's a hot slice of pizza and a good hot dog with the works. That's something that just can't be translated.