umi no hi

Today is Umi no hi (Ocean Day). It is a national holiday and Satoshi has the day off. It has been raining with lightning and VERY LOUD thunder--off and on for the past couple of days.

Since we didn't have a chance to get to the ocean today, I thought I'd share with you a photo of a mambow (sunfish), on a recent trip with my family to the Osaka Aquarium.

And a photo of Manzamo in Okinawa, which was taken a couple of years ago. It is a beautiful area but, this cliff was actually a site where many Okinawans plunged to their deaths for fear of being captured by America during the War.

Lastly, I wanted to share a way to keep cool. Have a bowl of cold soba (buckwheat noodles). This version is called oroshisoba. Oroshi is the term for grated. You can put whatever toppings you wish--I served our soba with wakame (kelp), chirimen jakko also called shirasuboshi (dried young anchovy), thinly sliced nori (dried seaweed), oroshi daikon (grated turnip) and an umeboshi (pickled plum). The sauce called tsuyu--in the cup, is diluted a bit with water for dipping.

Have a good week!