Japan: Okayama, My family hometown

"Where is your family from?" they ask.

"Japan," I reply.

"Right, but where in Japan?" they persist.

I let out a mental sigh trying to figure out the best way to describe the geography of Japan, knowing that nine times out of ten they will have know idea where I'm talking about.

"They're from Okayama...it's a small town in between Osaka and Hiroshima," I gamely try to explain, "and the town is known for its Kibidango [mochi], the setting of the fable 'Momotaro' [peach boy], its honey sweet white peaches, and grapes bigger than my eyeballs."

It was clear that I lost them at "Okayama".

This is the best I can do in describing where my parents and thus, where I come from.  Okayama is approximately 225 miles west of Osaka along the Seto Inland Sea.  A little over 300 square miles in size, the population is a mere 700,000 [give or take].  A tourist lost in this area would be stared at, even by me, with the one thought running through the local's minds, "What the heck is the gaijin [foreigner] doing here??  Must be lost..."

Personally, the one thing that keeps me coming back to Okayama, aside from all my fond childhood memories, is my family. Kind, funny, and welcoming are the best ways to describe them.  Other families mention how great my family is.  It's true - they bent over backward when we came into town - from Tokyo all the way down to Okayama - "all hands on deck" was the motto.  

My summers in Japan were filled with idyllic days roaming around the countryside, slipping and nearly drowning in rice paddies, and best of all, playing with my cousins while trying my best to communicate in my very broken Japanese in a way that only kids seemed to know how to do.  I watched my youngest nephew take to his second cousins in much the same manner, playing in the playground 50 yards from my Ojiisan's [grandfather] home.  He had no idea what they were saying, they had no idea what he was saying, but somehow they managed to have fun together...

Walking through Shinpon Village, located in Soja City where my mom grew up, I couldn't believe the changes that I saw.  Even, paved roads; beautified paths heavy with hydrangeas and alstromerias; cleaned up streams; and rebuilt retaining walls.  But the biggest change was my Ojiichan's roof that used to beckon me home.  I used to anticipate seeing my Ojiichan's bright blue tiled roof as soon as we entered the valley.  Instead I was devastated by the drab grey tiles that greeted me.  I managed to find some of the roof pieces underneath the house.

This is what I used to see:

I recall my summer of being a young, know it all teen "trapped" in the country.  All I wanted to do was go shopping, be in the city out of the country and the rice fields.  This time, as a much older version of that self, all I wished for was one more day to walk around here:

and to stare at the rice paddies that was almost my undoing until my mom pulled me up and out

Or hang out at the top of the small water fall that we used to fish and play in [there was never that much water when we were growing up...or hydrangeas for that matter]:

Mostly, it would've been nice to just relax in the rock garden that my Ojiichan created that used to be filled with Matsu [Pine trees].  Ojiichan brought these huge rocks down from the mountains when he was over 65 years old.  I once asked him how he brought it down and he slapped his biceps twice and said, "chikara" or "strength".  I looked at him skeptically.  He was a very, very slight man.  He proved his point by reaching over to my unsuspecting cousin, pinching her slowly with his vice-like grip until she started howling in pain.  Thankful that he didn't pinch ME, the granddaughter he only saw a handful of times, I gave him the "A-OK" sign with a nod of acknowledgment.

This is the Japan that I associate most with.  I don't have the same type of city experiences that all the chic travelers to Japan have.  This is where I come from and where I love to come back to. Thanks for visiting with me. 

Japan: Nishiki Market

Every time I go to Japan I try to make it to Kyoto.  I see the same things time after time - Kiyomizudera, Gion, Kinkakuji, Arashiyama...beautiful sites not to be missed but it's important [for me] to remember that there's more to Kyoto than just the historical sites.  As I've mentioned before, my family [and our traveling friends] are a bunch of Kuishinbo's and we love food.  Nishiki Market was just the place for us...

Unfortunately, due to the heat of the day [hot, humid, AND sunny] on top of [self diagnosed] dehydration, I nearly passed out so my energy level took a nose dive.  I perked up a little as I saw all these shop but I was not in my "A" game.

I decided that it was time to get some food in my stomach...

Crispy fried chicken balls.  It was a really welcome treat.  I had to laugh when I saw a dog being pushed in a doggie stroller get one, too. 

I  had to have this. Mostly because it looks so freaky [it was quite tasty].

Kyotozuke is fantastic!  Perfectly salted and light on the palate...I was tempted by the rows and rows of Tsukemono.  If I had a bowl of rice, I would've been in heaven.

I wanted to pick this plate up and run off with it.

More kyotozuke...barrel after barrel...my sister in law found a cucumber stick that she just raved over.  

What can be better than a huge fish, squid, and eels on a huge stick?? Yeah, I decided to forego these tasty treats, though. I just wasn't feeling it.

Ok, Aritsugu.  Knife store extraordinaire.  This place perked me up a lot.  My laser beam vision quickly sorted through knives that I wanted. My mom, dream crusher and voice of reason, killed the shopping spree. Luckily.  I did pick up a few other odds and ends because really...how often would I really use a soba knife?

The neat thing about this Tea Shop was that the tea leaves were roasted on site.   I had a great time sniffing the variety of tea leaves that were filling the canisters.  

Plan for 2 - 3 hours just to roam down this street, pick up little tasty nibbles, and gifts to bring to friends and family back home

How to get here:
From JR Shinkansen Kyoto, go out to Kyoto Ekimae the front of the station.  Slightly to the right you will see a bus port area.  Take Bus Number 101 to Shijo Karasuma stop, Nishiki Market is just past [and one street in back of] the Daimaru Department store.  Enjoy!!

BusNavi, the Kyoto City bus, has two options, either pay 200 Yen per ride or 500 Yen for All Day adults pass.  To purchase the All Day Adult pass, be sure to stop in the Information Office at the JR Station in Kyoto.  You can pick up city maps and other information there as well.


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Japan: Okonomiyaki - Hiroshima vs Osaka style

My brothers and I have fond memories of eating Okonomiyaki as children. We had some discussions [me not remembering much at 5 years old but still being insistent anyhow] about where and with whom we had our Okonomiyaki's but the one thing we all agreed on was that we wanted to try both the Hiroshima style as well as the Osaka style in a head to head match up THIS time around.  

Our first city was Hiroshima so we headed down to Okonomimura Okonomiyaki Village.  This building has 3 floors of Okonomiyaki shops with over 20 vendors.  I have no idea how to tell one from another so I just picked a floor arbitrarily [4th Floor].  

As we had a group of 15, it was much more convenient for us to split off into 2 groups with all the shop being  virtually side by side.

The Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki had batter on the bottom, topped with Nappa cabbage, bean sprouts, bacon, noodles and/or whatever other kinds of filling you request [i got squid, shrimp, and garlic. my brother, gary, told me stay away from him. I'm still not sure if it was because of the garlic or he just wanted me to stay away from him].  It's topped with a fried egg [scrambled and flattened into a pancake], okonomiyaki sauce, and aonori.  It's great to be able to watch all the action unfold in front of you without actually having to do the work.

The first taste of Okonomiyaki was great.  It separated pretty easily since it was built in layers but at least I was able to pick off the overabundance of garlic.  The cabbage center fell apart a lot but I'm a fast eater.  I took control of the situation rather quickly.  We left full and happy...

...Until we got to Osaka. I love Osaka.  It's probably one of my favorite cities in Japan.  Why?  It's the food.  I've never had a bad meal in Osaka. The food is always good, plentiful and creative.  My nephews are picky eaters but even they were willing to at least try Takoyaki [octopus dumplings].  I'm so proud of them!

 

Our travel counterparts, the "S" family, decided that they wanted to go find some place closer to the hotel [probably code for, "We're sick of you and your nutty family and we need to get away from you"].  Luckily, my family are a bunch of kuishinbo's and are willing to be team players for food.  My cousin, Hiroko, who is now living in Osaka likes to spend time with friends around the Dotonbori area said, "This is my playground...Let me know what you want to do and I will take you!"  Our directions were, "OKONOMIYAKI ON DOTONBORI."  She took us to a restaurant right next to Chibo [where I had my Okonomiyaki the last time I was in Osaka] called, "Dohtonbori":

This is where my brothers, sister in law, and i discovered that our favorite, hands down, was Kansai style okonomiyaki, which shouldn't be such a surprise since it's said that Osaka invented the okonomiyaki.  The ingredients are all  mixed together to make a thick batter. It takes far longer to cook than the Hiroshima style but it is well worth the wait...and it gave you a chance to enjoy a very, very tall beer [thank you, Sapporo].  

The end result was a nice dense patty that had just enough chew on it, topped with a nice savory Okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayo.  I really don't care for Aonori so I left it off of mine but I was pretty generous with the fluffy, flaky katsuobushi that was provided in a stacking box just above the aonori where all the condiments were.

I'm sure there are far better Okonomiyaki joints than the ones we went to but we were allbpretty happy with our end results!

Okonomimura Okonomiyaki Village

5-13 Shintenchi, Naka-ku, 

Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture

From JR Station: take the tram to Hatcho-bori, exit from tram and continue on the same path as the tram for another block, left at Chuo Dori, then right at the 5th street [pay attention, signage is not great].  The building will be on your left hand side.

Dohtonbori

[chain restaurant, this one was on the main Dotonbori street]

Japan: Tour and visit of Tsukiji Market Place

The world famous Tsukiji Fish Market.  A busy and bustling auction house filled with darting carts and some irritated Japanese men.  The crowds at Tsukiji Fish Market had gotten so out of hand that the Administrative offices were forced to set up ground rules for visitors.  There are now 2 viewings for the market 5:00am and 5:40am.  Visitor reception [located at kachidoki gate] is open from 4:30am, only 70 people are admitted at a time.

We left the hotel at 4:00am to arrive at the offices just after 4:30am on the Friday morning after our arrival.  Unfortunately, our taxi driver didn't drop us off at the right corner so we had to do some walking and searching for the visitor reception area.  Fortunately, my cousin was meeting us there so I called him to help direct us.

I had to admit, this guy kinda scared me.  Typical Japanese - stern at the onset and loosens up when you chat them up.  He was wearing this plastic coat and told me [in Japanese], "I'll be perfectly comfortable wearing this because it's like a meat locker in the auction area...you may be cold."  Luckily, it's been hot and humid so the cool temperatures was very welcome to my overheated body.

We were all forced to wear these vests so that we'd stand out like a sore thumb [and to hopefully prevent me getting killed by those speeding carts].  

Each Tuna was marked with a special kanji so that you knew which fish you were bidding on .  Each of these fish were flash frozen after they were caught.  I was told that the fish has gotten smaller over the years but back in the day, the fish were huge and went for a ridiculous sum of money.

See the guy in the foreground?  He's using a flashlight a pick and a tear off sheet where he makes his notes on the fish.  Here's the tools of the trade:

I was fortunate enough to catch the eye of one of the workers because I had so many questions.  Luckily, my guy LOVED to talk and to share his knowledge with me, the girl with the big @$$ camera.  Please note that he's not looking at me...he was a bit shy after I did my initial head nod of acknowledgement, which he reciprocated.  

That's when I leaned over and started with my questions...and then look at how he lit up:

He gave me pointers on where to stand to best view the auction [the right hand side away from where the majority of the tuna actually was], why they were feeling the tuna & what the flashlight was for [density and firmness and a rich fatty tuna], and where each fish came from [which region] and how they were split up on the floor.  He told me how to recognize the auction callers [they wear a special sign] versus the bidders.  He pointed out the ol' pros who can pick out a good quality fish with their eyes closed, both hands tied behind their backs as well as what cuts were used for what purposes.  He was an awesome addition to my tour.  Sadly, this only works if you understand and speak Japanese [or you have someone who does].  My  mom  asked if he just came over to chat or if I was talking to strangers again.  Duh.  We're all amazed that I'd never been kidnapped - I've never been good at the "don't talk to strangers" thing.

After we left the auction, we took a stroll around the fish market

Seriously, amongst all my family members, it's amazing that we didn't get killed by these carts. I'm half way convinced they were aiming for the stupid tourists [me].

I was tempted to try some of this but these things were seriously as big as my head.  Plus the lady selling this was M.E.A.N.  She was calling people stupid and telling them to go away.  

No trip is complete without a visit to a sushi bar.  Two popular ones are Sushi Dai [still haven't gone in there since I don't believe in lines...and there was one for this place] and Sushi Daiwa, right next door.  Both excellent choices and I really love my sushi chefs at Sushi Daiwa - they tell me my Japanese is good for a Sansei. [hee hee!]

I asked for permission to take photos but felt a little bad since I know they don't really like people wasting time taking photos...i took a photo of him on the downlow and he told me, "No, no...i'm a good looking man  so I LIKE to have my photo taken ."  Love that guy

The highlight of this day for me was when my 10 year old nephew said to me that the top 3 things he loved about Japan was (1) Clean Trains, (2) Cool Sights, and (3) GOOD FOOD - he loved the sushi bar!! So proud of him!! 

Omiyage: Gifts from Japan

Omiyage. The gift of giving.  The Japanese have elevated the art of giving gifts to ridiculous proportions.  They give a gift for EVERYTHING, as evidenced by the ridiculous availability of gift items everywhere - on street corners, temples, train stations, stores.  I can't walk 25 feet without being faced with gift options [many times in the form of food].  Whenever I  go to Japan, it's usually months of planning and purchasing of gifts for my family members. It used to be so easy when I was a kid - my mom took care of everything.  As an adult, I'm on my own.  Added to that, since my brothers haven't gone to Japan in years, for the first time there was the new aspect of, "What are my brothers getting for everyone??".  None of us wanted to be the dud gift giver.

I'm blessed to have a large family in Japan.  Although my first cousins and I live an ocean [and sometimes a language] apart, we've managed to stay pretty close.  I know that my cousins spend just as much time scouring the countryside to find new, unique things for us to see, eat, and do - things they know I would enjoy!  Some things that I received and picked up myself in Japan included:

Mandoline.  The Japanese really know how to make 'em.  You can adjust the width of your slices from .3mm up to 5mm thick! I've seen this at stores in Los Angeles for about $100.  This was about $30 in Japan.

Let me first confirm one thing - I can't really read Japanese above a 1st grade level [I'm being seriously generous here].  That doesn't stop my from TRYING to read these magazines.  Haru.mi is a beautifully done magazine [she's like the Martha Stewart of Japan].

Aritsugu is located in Nishiki Market in Kyoto.  They've got some beautiful knives but as my mom was standing over my shoulder, giving me the look that said, "buy it.  i dare you, 'you who doesn't cook enough to deserves knives this nice.'"  I ended up with some nice wagashi molds [nadeshiko on the left; fan on the right] and a sakura shaped onigiri mold instead. 

Sake.  I was told that the Okayama prefecture has one of the greatest numbers of microbreweries of sake in Japan.  We weren't able to get in tastings at these particular sake breweries due to  my time constraints so my aunt and uncle made sure we had something to taste.  [Hopefully, my brother still hasn't managed to find my blog, therefore will continue to have no idea that I kept these bottles for my own personal consumption...]

Sakura Essence.  Thank you, La Fuji Mama. If it wasn't for her, I'd never have discovered this.  If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have known where to send my cousin to pick it up for me. Luckily, that wasn't the case.  Now my cousin is thrilled to have discovered a new shopping location in Tokyo.

Green tea.  Yes, you can get that here in the states but what I love about this particular green tea is that it was harvested from an area only a few hours away from this Nishiki Market location and roasted on site.  I'm excited to open this batch of tea up!! [and at $20 and ounce, it'd better be a life changing experience...]

Yuzu Koshio.  I don't know why it's taken me so long to discover this.  I love this crap.  I had it for the first time at Ippudo Ramen in Okayama.  Holy cow, it's excellent - salty chili paste with hints of yuzu.  I licked my plate clean of this.

..and finally, my family received about 80 pounds of noodles - udon, somen, ramen...the only type we didn't get [VERY disappointed] was soba.  It appears every single person who knows my family knows that we like our noodles.  Hence, the 80 pounds of gifted noodles.

I wish I had more time to shop for stuff but as this was a family trip, we had to get in  more sightseeing activities.  This just means I'll have to go back soon to shop!

Traveling in Japan:Tips, Tricks & Things to make your life easier

I've been traveling to Japan since I was a small child. There was a time that I used to have my mom and uncles take care of everything for me.  Then I turned into an adult with adult responsibilities and somehow overnight, I turned Type A [shut up, friends who have known me for decades] and had to start planning EVERYTHING.   Suddenly, I'm the one planning our HUGE family trip to Japan. 

Here are some simple tips that I've picked up along the way.  Hope it's of interest to you!

Cellphone: Bonaventure Cellphones is the best plan I've found so far.  They offer a family plan that allows you to call within your "family plan" for free! All incoming calls are free as well, for the low price of $5.95 per day.  Unfortunately, with my large group, I had a difficult time finding that many cellphones so be sure to reserve EARLY, especially during the high season summer months.

Takkyubin: I love this service.  I bring an @$$load of omiyage [gifts] for my family when I visit.  Trying to navigate the train stations with a lot of luggage nearly sends me into a meltdown [especially when I get knocked over by 80 year old women rushing for their train].  Having Takkyubin ship to my first [or second] destination makes my life a sweet dream. You'll find this service once you exit the baggage claim and immigration area.  Rates depend on distance. [I normally use Kuroneko]

Get familiar with your surroundings before you leave: google maps is the best thing in travel.  I can see the neighborhood and visualize the actual walk!  It's fantastic and has saved many of my trips, just based on visual confirmations!!

Japan Rail Pass: I have mixed feelings about the Rail Pass.  Depending on your travel, it doesn't always pay to get this.  My family lives pretty far south of Tokyo so it's almost always a necessity for me to get one.  However, if you're just doing day trips from Tokyo, it may not necessarily be cost effective to have one.  Check with Hyperdia [see below] for rates.

Train Departures and Routes: It's not perfect but I find that this search engine is the best thing for helping me find out which trains will get me to my next destination, how long it'll take and what time it departs.  www.hyperdia.com

Kanji:  You've searched high and low on Chowhound for the perfect restaurant. You wrote out the name [in English, of course], the address, and phone number only to discover that the address means nothing to you since the numbering system is illogical [and you forgot to google map your walk], you can't speak Japanese to get directions to the restaurant, and the only restaurant name on the building is written in Kanji [Japanese characters].  Trust me, once you figure out what neighborhood your restaurant is in, you'll want to have the restaurant name in Kanji so you can identify it enough to get IN to the restaurant.

ATM and Credit Cards: Call your bank and credit card companies to let them know that you will be traveling abroad so Loss Prevention doesn't put a hold on your cards. I've heard a lot of people talk about special "chips" that are in credit cards/atm cards in Japan, however, as of this writing, I've never had problems with my US issued ones.  The best place [for me] to withdraw money has been at post offices, even with the limited business hours.

Well, I'm off to Japan and I'll see you when I get back! Be on the lookout for my postcard to you!

Sushi party: The K Family Trip to Japan

My mom and dad's fondest wish has been to bring their kids and grandkids to Japan.  I don't ever remember a time that all 5 of us have traveled to Japan together. It's probably with good reason since traveling with the K's [whom I shall dub the "Krazies"] is never a good idea.  We all turn on each other and it becomes very, very ugly.

My parents aren't getting any younger so we decided to pull the trigger [so to speak. at least I hope it's just a figure of speech. At this point it's a 50/50 toss up as to whether or not I'm going to land my @$$ in jail for popping a cap in someone's butt and vice versa].  But wait, there's more! My mom decided to ask her friend's family to join us in the insanity.  So 15 of us - the K's and the S's [whom I'll dub "SorryTheyEverAgreedToComeAlong" or "Sorry" for short] will be traveling to my parents' motherland to partake in the rich history, culture, and well, FOOD!

In preparation for our trip, I thought it was necessary for us to have a family meeting to discuss itineraries, expectations...and of course to eat.  I opted for Japanese food for our potluck.  I would've done a whole spread of sushi but let's face it. I'm lazy.  My fall back is to have a "make your own sushi bar".  Nothing can be easier.  

Ingredients list:

Nori sheet [seawood paper]

Sushi Rice [see LaFujiMama's instructions on how to prepare sushi rice]

Cucumbers, cut into 5" matchstick lengths

Daikon Sprouts [available in asian groceries]

Takuan, cut into 5" matchstick length [pickled radish, available at asian groceries]

Imitation crab meat, tear into 1/2" widths the long way

Avocado, sliced the long way, sprinkled with lemon juice so it doesn't brown

Masago [roe from capelin fish, found in asian groceries]

Spicy tuna [see instructions below]

Spicy tuna:

Raw Tuna or Salmon, about the size of a deck of cards, sushi quality fish [available in Japanese groceries] 

2 - 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise, depending on your preference [i don't like a lot of mayo]

1 Tablespoon of Sriracha Sauce [more or less depending on your spiciness level]

thinly chopped green onion [2 stalks, green part only]

1 spoonful of masago

Chop fish into small cubes.

Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Using a fork, mix all ingredients together until it looks like a puree.  

How to assemble:

1.) Cut nori in half shortways

2.) Place nori in the palm of your hand or on a plate, place 2 - 3 spoonfuls of rice on the left side of the sheet a

3.) Spread into a thin layer [should cover less than half the sheet]

4.) Place desired filling cross wise [top left corner of rice to lower right corner of rice]

5.) To Fold into a cone: bring bottom left corner to top right corner of rice 
6.) Continue to roll around making a cone. At the end of the roll, there will be a little left over. To seal the temaki, smash rice on nori
7.) Bring tip of nori over the front and seal.

Take a few huge bites and enjoy!!