Advertisement
Published: September 29th 2009
Akebi
One of the teachers at my school brought this in. It's a fruit called Akebi and you eat the white stuff in the middle. It's only ripe in the Fall so people here see it as a sign that Summer is over and Fall has arrived. It has been a little while since I updated, and I apologize for keeping out of touch, but I haven't been around all that much the past couple weeks.
Last week was called "Silver Week" - three national holidays back to back, from Mon-Wed. Awesome :D So I decided to take the Thursday and Friday off too, make a week of it and head to Osaka with the boy. It turned out to be an amazing time! We met up with a bunch of other ALTs there and went exploring and drinking.
I will definitely need to plan a trip back. Osaka was ridiculously crowded due to the holiday, so going to places like Kaiyukan (Osaka Aquarium) was an ordeal and a half. We ended up getting on the Giant Wheel (note: apparently not a ferris wheel - though if there's any difference between them it totally escaped me) and to the Aquarium. Our last day we were supposed to head on over to Spa World for a relaxing day of onsen-ing, but a surprise e-mail invite from my English club to a celebration dinner put a stop to that and we had to head back home.
It
Creme Brulee Macchiato
I have died and gone to heaven. was well worth it! The English club was adorable - they couldn't stop taking pictures of us together. It was strange for me to see them in civvies since I've always seen them in some sort of uniform. They have an interesting sense of style, some of them - very individual. There were a few surprises too! But in any case we sat down to a delicious Italian Buffet. God can those kids ever eat! I had one plate and was stuffed - they had like 10 each! It's interesting, too, how the Japanese approach a buffet. Back home you get your plate stacked, go sit down, eat it, and when you want more you go get more. They get ALL their plates at once and then sit down and eat. It makes sense, I suppose, but the table is also ridiculously crowded with food! I just couldn't get over how they seem to put it all away. Where does it go?! After dinner we took some purikura, which was ridiculously fun, and then headed on home after a few rounds of taiko.
That Friday was my work's welcome enkai, which turned out to be a really great time.
Interesting Flavoured Kit-Kats
The label says it's 'kinako' which is soybean flour. I've had mocchi dusted with it before and it wasn't too bad. The Kit Kat tasted like mocha though. The teacher's all loved Jim, and now want me to convince him to move to Mie LOL! I tried some delicious horse sashimi (seriously, it was awesome), kimchi (korean pickled veggies), and grilled onigiri. It was awesome! Ridiculously expensive, but awesome. I somehow wound up tanked after 3 chuhais and an umeshu (plum wine). Regardless, it was a pretty good end to the week.
Back to RL this week and work. I have so much to do in the next couple of weeks and zero cash (thanks Osaka), but I'm looking forward to the 9th when I head up to Akita to explore its delicious food, hiking trails and Jim's apartment w00t!
Talk to you soon!
xo
Advertisement
Tot: 0.138s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 15; qc: 60; dbt: 0.0804s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
MooBoo
non-member comment
^_^
A friend of mine is blogging all her escades on archelogical digs in Egypt on here,so out of curiosity,I did a search of Japan . You are only one of the peeps in Mie.I have spent so much time in Tokyo ,and Osaka,that a blog from either of those might not be as interesting to me. I have not been back since early 2007.I am very homesick...but I don't have the money to go back any time soon. I spent about a week in Mie,just going up and down the coast line. Suzuka,Yokkaichi,Tsu,Ise ,Matsusaka,Toba... Not sure what your experience there has been,but it was odd for me,because I am so used to a big city. I live in Shinjuku when I am there,and I always do at least a week in Nishi Umeda in Osaka. So Mie was....different . I highly recommend a trip to Toba.Its a haul,and you have to get on the train back by 7-8,or you're out there all damn night,but cool stuff. The lovers rocks,2 aquariums,Mikimotos museum and the ama pearl divers.Some of those women are in their 80s,and they still dive in 30 degree F weather.Then has a nice fried ebi dinner. Mmmmm.... Yahhh,homesick. Mie ,however,was one of the most boring places after dark. The cafe is Tsu closed at 6 pm..... No lights,no internet cafe for 15 min by cab.It was exasperating. I would walk along the main shopping drag by day,and 2/3rd of the stores were closed. Parking lots everywhere,with no cars in them. And at night,no street lights.The pitchest black night I've ever seen,but I'm glad I did it.I try to see a place I've never seen before each trip.id like to do some Northern coastal areas at some point. I prefer the south there.I hear Sapporo is nice,and I've been to Nagano,but there are some interesting places on the nothern coast of Honshu. And the kitkat bars there are like the pocky.Seasonal flavors.They come out once and you see them for 4 months,gone. Some pocky is regional. Kobe wine,Nagano grape... Last year I think they had pumpkin kitkats.I know they had pumpkin pocky at one point. And have you tried yatsuhashi yet ? I loooveee the traditional spiced ones,but interesting special flavors come out at certain times of the year. Chestnut in fall,sakura in spring..Mmmmmm. I hope you have a great experience.I love Japan to death despite the....slightly tainted underbelly for us gaijin. I hope I get to go back soon. I hope you don't mind if I pop in to read your blogs now and again. Xxoo Miss in NYC