Snowboarding was awesome! We’re completely exhausted (Sean’s actually snoozing in the kotatsu right now!) but it was great fun. Gorgeous mountains, fantastic snow, and a super kick-ass time over all! More pictures soon, but for now there’s a hot bath calling my name đ
Happy Friday, everybody! To bring you into the weekend, here’s your Engrish photo of the week. We spotted this one at Yoyogi park, and it’s a doozy. (As always, you can click the photo for a larger size.)
What are your plans for the weekend? We’re going snowboarding up in Minakami, so exciting! We’ll be sure to let you know how it goes!
When we returned from winter vacation, many of my coworkers asked me where I went. They seemed to be expecting exotic adventures, or a trip back home over Christmas. I seemed to have surprised everyone with my response.
âAlice-sensei, where did you go over the holiday?â
âNowhere. We bought a kotatsu!â
âEhhh? You are so Japanese!â
(On a related note, it really amuses me when people say âYou are so Japaneseâ. Not âyour Japanese is so good,â or âyou understand Japan,â but âYou are so Japanese.â It used to bother me at first, it didnât sit right with complicated notions of identity and other overinflated silliness, but now itâs my favorite compliment. Does anyone else get told they are so Japanese? I’m sure it must be common, but it does make me feel a little special every time.)
So, this winter holiday we bought a kotatsu, and it has been amazing. A kotatsu is a low table that looks like a coffee table, but is so much more. There is a heater built into the top, and the top lifts off so that you can easily put a large blanket or futon (though itâs much closer to a comforter than a futon you would find in America or Europe.) You then sit on the ground, put the blanket over your lap, and are enveloped in the cozy warmth of Japanese happiness.
When writing their âWhat I did over Winter Vacationâ essays, countless of my students included hiding under the kotatsu (runners up included “Ate cake” and “Did homework” and many combined all three!) It is a solid part of the Japanese image of âwinter.â Nothing says âwinterâ to a Japanese person like snuggling under the kotatsu and spending time with loved ones, whiling away the hours eating, drinking, reading, watching tv, and enjoying one anotherâs company.
We picked our table up from an âEcoâ store (read: second hand) and our futon set from a mid-season sale. The chairs were hand-me downs, and sadly we donât have a kitty hiding under the blanket (another part of the Japanese image of a kotatsu), but weâre otherwise set. Weâve since spent many happy hours, cozy and warm.
The Japanese donât go in much for insulation, and our apartment is usually cold enough that you can see your breath, but I havenât felt cold since we got our kotatsu. Except when we have to get out of it!
When I travel to a foreign country, I have a slightly perverse love of searching out “American” things. I enjoy seeing my home country through foreign eyes, seeing what stands out and what gets left behind.
Tokyo Disney Land is one of my favorite places on earth, and though I avoid it like the plague in the states, I’ll admit to loving the odd dinner at McDonald’s too. I’ve known people who have come to Japan and eaten nothing but Mac for weeks on end, which is a truly depressing thought, as this country has some of the most incredible cuisine in the world.
But every once in a while, it can be a fun treat, especially considering some of the insane things they come up with here! The regular menu is fairly small, but they are constantly rotating an ever-changing line up of creative and surprising new tastes and flavors.
Last year, we were here during the first run of the Big America series. We didn’t get a chance to try anything except the Texas burger, but it was quite tasty. A cheeseburger with fried onion pieces and the closest thing to Barbeque sauce you’ll find in this country, it did not disappoint.
Well, now, the Big America series is back, but it’s time for round two! And to start things off they have a re-invisioning of the extremely popular Texas burger, now the Texas2. But how does it stack up?
First off, the box is a striking silver color. It must be fancy! The burger is also in a little paper pocket, just like at the high-end burger chains like Mos Burger. Really fancy now!
The bun is quite nice, with a sprinkling of cheese on top, though they insist on putting an extra piece of bun in the middle of the burger. Perhaps it’s supposed to emulate Texas toast, but it’s way too much bread for my tastes. My mouth was like, “Excuse me, are you lost? Did you wander over from another sandwich that is now running around without it’s bottoms?”
At the very bottom is a mustard relish sauce, which is nice enough, followed by the cheese, then the burger itself. Then there’s that weird third piece of bun, which Sean tells me is a staple of the Big Mac, then more toppings.
There’s bacon, always a joy, and not terribly common in this country. Bacon is fairly rare here, especially properly smoked & crispy bacon. Completely different from the recent American trend of cramming as much bacon as possible into every possible food source. (One of my friends makes amaaaazing bacon chocolate chip cookies, which I am seriously craving as I write this!)
The onions are fresh, not fried this time, which is a disappointment. The fried onions were a shining star of the original Texas burger, and are sorely missed in this incarnation. The lack of Barbeque sauce is also disappointing, but it has been replaced with…
CHILI.
American-style, meaty, beany, chili. With whole kidney beans and a thick sauce, it really feels just like a proper American chili.
Too bad the taste is completely and totally wrong.
Oh, it looks like chili. It feels like chili in your mouth. But as we were happily munching away, I couldn’t help but think it tasted familiar in a strange, inappropriate sort of way. And why is that?
There is a distinct hint of curry. And not Indian curry, which I love, but Japanese curry, which I detest. I’m rarely a picky eater, but it’s one of the few foods on this planet that I can’t stand.
Maybe they thought the familiar taste of Japanese curry would make it more appealing to the Japanese audience? Maybe they confused “chili” with “curry”? They’re both little c-words, right?
Apparently the Texas2 hasn’t been as big a hit as it’s predecessor, the original Texas burger, and I can certainly understand why. This burger is definitely not on my list to eat again!
Next up on the roster for the Big America 2 series is the Idaho, which I’m pretty excited about. Guys, they put hashbrowns on a burger. Brilliant! See what I mean about seeing America through foreign eyes? Endlessly amusing.
We found this at the cafe at the Meiji Jingu. As far as I know, monjyaman is actually savory (note the cabbage and carrots visible in the picture on the left) so I imagine there are lots of disappointed tourists who think they’ve purchased a traditional sweet of Japan, only to discover a not so wonderful collaboration. But I’m sure the Japanese saurce is delicious!
This weekend was the last weekend of winter break, so we decided to make the most of it by making pilgrimage to one of the coolest, nerdiest things going in Japan. We went to see the “life-size” Gundam.
What is Gundam, you may ask? If you’re here at this blog, you probably have some interest in Japan, so you probably have heard of Gundam. It’s fairly pervasive in Japan, and some of my friends have likened it to a Japanese Star Trek–almost every American is at least vaguely familiar with Kirk and Spock, and in Japan, so it is with Gundam. A little space, a little war, and a whole lot ultra-powered fighting robots (with human pilots) make Gundam irresistible to people all over Japan, and the world!
Starting with the first animation series in 1979, it’s developed into a billion yen industry, (with billions of dollars on top of that,) comprised of extensive animations, tons of merchandise including elaborate models, all the way to official postage stamps at your local post office.
The Japan Self Defense forces have used Gundam as a code name for their advanced personal combat equipment, and the Japanese Fire Fighters have used Gundam on their posters.
So when Bandai announced a 1:1 scale model was to be built in Tokyo last summer, people were pretty excited. It’s “actual size”, if this elaborate universe were to actually coexist with our own. Some 4 million people went to visit Odaiba in search of the Giant Gundam, and they weren’t disappointed.
After Odaiba it was moved to Shizuoka, about 3 hours east of Tokyo. Shizuoka is the home of the production factory for the plastic models which are so popular, so the Gundam must have felt right at home.
When we heard that it was scheduled to come down on January 11th, we knew we should make the trek out to see it. 6 hours on the train later, we were there.
Every half hour dramatic music played as he lit up and his head moved from side to side. Steam billowed out, and it seemed like he might just jet off into the sky. The only disappointment was that the beam saber, his enormous weapon added specifically for the Shizuoka display, did not light up as the internets had projected when the addition of said beam saber was announced.
There was a really impressive cosplayer out, just a dude with his own home-made mech posing while the enormous one looked on. Children (um, and some adults) eagerly took their picture with him, looking tiny while big brother loomed in the background.
There was a hobby fair and park set up around the statue, and there was a guy whose job it was to spray water on the gravel to keep the dust down. But instead of just spraying, he painted elaborate character studies from the series, which quickly faded. Ephemeral, beautiful, and supremely nerdy. What a cool job!
Gundam Cookies to bring back to your friends!
There was, unsurprisingly, lots of merchandise available. We didn’t want to wait in the epic line for the gift shop, but our friends picked up a model and these lovely Omiyage–Gundam cookies to bring back to your friends and coworkers! I probably should have picked some up for work!
There was also a Gundam cafe with lots of themed treats to fill your tummy. This helpful fellow was waiting at the end of the area where you can touch the Gundam to direct you to where you can give them your money. The Gundam itself was free to see, but not surprisingly there were lots of little things to spend money on–food, snacks, toys, etc. Of course, if you missed the display you can always go to the main branch of the Gundam Cafe in Akihabara, which I’m sure we’ll be covering at some point!
So, was it worth a 6 hour train ride each way? 
In a word: yes. I’m not the biggest Gundam fan, and the whole genre is really not my thing. I don’t generally care for robots or battle or plastic models of anything. But a 18 meter mech towering over the populace? It was really, really cool. It was seriously impressive, and the pictures just don’t do it justice.
What do you think, internets? Would you want to see the giant Gundam? How far would you travel to see it?
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Happy Friday! Have some Engrish đ
Life up, Square Eye!
What do you think it means?
One of the Japanese New Year’s traditions you may have heard of is Lucky Bags, or Fukubukuro (çŚč˘). Basically around the start of the year, stores will take stock they want to get rid of, put it in bags, and sell it.
Of course, they can’t just call them “Bags of junk we can’t sell” so the retailers sweeten the deal a bit to get people interested. Usually the total retail value of the goods inside will be quite a lot more than the cost of the bag, and sometimes they’ll put something really fancy in randomly selected bags. You can get really great stuff for a really great deal this way, or you can spend a ton of money on a bag full of crap. The element of surprise is a big part of the fun!
Tons of different stores have them, and some are really expensive. A lot go for around 100 bucks, and the sign usually declares that the value of the goods inside is 3-5 times that. The general understanding is that the over-all value will well exceed the asking price, though you might not get the particular items you were hoping for. The highest price tag I saw was 50,000 (roughly $5-600) at the electronics store, and I’ve even heard of high-end jewelry stores charging into the millions!
It may seem a bit strange to buy electronics you know nothing about, or a bag full of clothes that may or may not fit, but again, the element of surprise is a big part of the fun. Some stores will leave one open for peeking, or even list the goods that are guaranteed to be inside, and some clothing stores will put the size on the bag. Many, however, leave it completely to chance.
Lots of people line up for ages for them–it’s like a cross between Black Friday in the States and Boxing Day in Canada. We weren’t quite so dedicated, and just found a couple that caught our fancy in the new mall section of Takasaki Station.
A Lucky Bag at the chocolate shop!
I chose my bag from Mary’s, a chain of chocolate shops. You can see on the left there’s a little display of what’s included, very open of them. I didn’t even have to resort to peeking! This one was 1000 (~$12 US), so on the fairly inexpensive side as far as these things go. The average seems to be about 5,000-10,000 (~$60-120 US).
And here are the contents of my lucky bag! 
One large box of plain chocolate, one small box of fancy chocolates, and two tubes of specialty chocolates. Almond chocolates in one, crisp rice chocolates in the other. I was a bit bummed because I misinterpreted the display and thought the BIG box was the fancy chocolates, but for 1000 it’s still a good deal!
Sean chose the Wine bag at Kaldi, the International food shop. It cost 2500 to pick one out, and none of the bottles in the offering had a retail value of less than 2800, so you were sure to get a better value than what you paid for. There were even a few bottles that were well over 10,000 (over $100 US), so of course we were hoping for one of those. We weren’t that lucky, but our bottle was worth about 3000. Not too shabby!
One of our good friends even camped outside the Apple store for his lucky bag, which contained a nice pair of headphones, iHome, a laptop bag, an extra iPhone battery, and an 8 G iPod touch. Pretty good for 30,000! (A bit more than $300)
Our friend Grant picked up a lucky bag from Yodobashi Camera that set him back 10,000 and was guaranteed to have a camera worth at least that much, as well as a 4 gig memory card. He ended up with a camera worth more than twice that, an 8 gig card, and a handful of camera accessories to boot!
Do you have anything like this where you’re from? Would you buy a bag of random stuff if it might have something awesome in it? Moreover, would you pay good money if you had no idea what you were getting? What do you think?
Ingredients for the dish
Today we decided to try a traditional Japanese New Year’s treat–ăăăăă. Ozenzai is a red bean soup served with Mochi, or rice cakes. The soup is sweet and, well, beany. Red beans, called azuki in Japan, are a common sweet found in Asian countries, and while many non-Asians find the idea of beans for dessert to be wrong and sometimes disturbing, they can absolutely delicious. Often mashed and used as a filling in buns and dumplings, they are also sometimes made into paste or in this case, soup.
Boiling the Soup
We live in an age of convenience. Here’s my bag of ready-made soup boiling happily on the stove. 6-8 minutes in a pot of hot water and it’s ready to go! Sweet soups seem fairly unusual to my western sensibilities, though I do remember having quite a lot of delicious strawberry soup the summer I lived in Prague. Do you ever eat soup for dessert?
Boiling the mochi
Mochi is a delicious treat made of rice smashed and pounded within an inch of its life until it no longer resembles the grain it came from. It can be grilled or boiled, sweet or savory, and is incredibly versatile and delicious, without really having much flavor at all. This is a neat little device to boil your mochi in the microwave, with built-in strainer. So convenient!
The finished product
The finished product–a nice hot bowl of red bean soup with a sticky rice cake on top. This time the mochi was just microwaved, but it’s even better grilled. Toss it in the broiler for a few seconds after boiling, and it’s AMAZING. Crispy and chewy and soft and sticky.
Would you want this for dessert?
So chewy!
Great success! Sticky, chewy, and delicious. Sean isn’t such a big fan, but he prefers his mochi savory. I enjoy savory mochi too, but I love sweets and this soup is no exception. The mochi stretches like cheese on a pizza, but there’s no cheesy flavor here! Just a hint of rice and the sweet taste of azuki. It’s filling and satisfying, without being creamy or rich in any way. The traditional Japanese diet tends to be low in dairy and fat, and even the desserts are no exception. This seems like a fairly healthy dessert to me, and it’s yummy too! ăăăăďź
What do you think, would you try it? If you have tried it, did you like it?
I’ve always heard that you’re supposed to spend the first day of the New Year as you want to spend the rest of the year. Spend time with loved ones, avoid fights and negativity, eat tasty foods…sounds like a good plan to me, right?
Today we woke up in Tokyo, after ringing in the New Year with friends at Zojoji Temple in Shiba-koen, near Tokyo Tower.
Ringing in the New Year at Zojoji Temple
We shot an epic Japanese culture-related segment at a friend’s temple. (On a related note, I have a friend who’s family runs a nearby Buddhist temple that was founded in 808. The year eight hundred and eight. Seriously. How cool is that?) We went shopping, picked up a delicious dinner, and finally got home to our snug little apartment here in our big little city. A fuzzy blanket, a TV special featuring Arashi & Tokoro Joji (my current favorite TV personalities) and a squishy chocolate dessert? Heaven.
So, yes. A little time in Tokyo, a little time with friends, and a little cozy time with the boy at home? If the rest of the year is like this, I’ll be a very happy girl! It’s crazy to think that a year ago, I didn’t even know we were coming to Japan to live. Our lives have changed incredibly in the past 365 days!
How did you spend the first day of 2011? I hope you have a super happy awesome New Year!
âĽAlice
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