aloha festival in osaka

Yesterday was the last day of a 3-day event called "Aloha Festival in Osaka", which was held in the courtyard of the Umeda Sky Building. The Umeda Sky Building has a garden area at the top called Kuchuteien, where you can see other buildings for miles on a nice day. (For some reason all the Japanese get excited about the view, but I can't seem to get excited over seeing miles and miles of buildings.) Holding up the garden are two towers which hold offices and other businesses. (Satoshi's German class is in one of the towers. )

Whenever I hear about events or foods that claim to be "Hawaiian", I try not to get my hopes up too high because most times they tend to be let downs. And a lot of times they tend to have pineapples on them....not that I dislike pineapples or anything like that, I just feel that Hawaii's cuisine has a bit more to it than that. Also, a lot of times the Japanese change the taste of things to match their palates.

So, I met Satoshi after his German class and we were excited to see something rare...the lunch wagons. The one on the left called Funky's and was serving hot dogs and nachos.

We bought their nachos with "real" fake cheese and salsa (350 yen = about $3.50). There was also another vendor selling Kona Brewing Company's Longboard Island Lager, Fire Rock Pale Ale and
Big Wave Golden Ale (600 yen each = about US$6)--we got the Longboard Island Lager.

The one on the right was called Yammy's (I wonder if they meant to call themselves Yummy's?) and was serving Loco Moco & Taco Rice. We stood in line for the Loco Moco & Taco Rice. After about 20 minutes we were able to get our food.

Here is Satoshi's order: Loco Moco (600 yen = about US$6). The gravy wasn't the authentic brown gravy, in fact, he didn't think it was gravy at all. He has decided that the only place to eat a loco moco is in Hawaii.

Here is my order: Taco Rice (600 yen = about US$6). Taco Rice is an Okinawan dish that was influenced by the American military there. I thought this was pretty close to the type of taco meat filling we have in the U.S. There were other booths there selling food but they were mostly hot dogs or curry.

There was lots of entertainment.

Lots of hula halau (hula groups) and ukulele players practicing before their chance to perform.

This group was waiting for their turn.

And even a shave ice stand...though it wasn't the same as Matsumoto's...I didn't get one but I don't think you could order a rainbow either....

but there were TONS of people! We went to the German Christmas Market a couple of times that was held in this same courtyard and the amount of people was nothing compared to what we saw today.

Aside from the crowd, we were happy to be able to listen to the Hawaiian music, although we both agreed there is no place like Hawaii (home).

Have a great week!

aloha & mahalo

Yesterday, I said "Aloha" to an old friend...(In Hawaii, "Aloha" can mean different things--hello, good-bye, love).

My friend helped me finish the 1998 Honolulu Marathon, as well as many other walking and running events that year. And in recent years, helped me take early morning walks whenever I came home.

"Mahalo" (thank you!) dear friend.

Changing the subject, on my recent trip to Hilo, we found these purple sweet potato at the Farmer's Market. A whole bag (with about 5 or 6 in it) for only US$1.00! Before steaming them, they were a light lavender color, and afterwards became this vibrant blueish-purple color. Super sweet and delicious!

"things" around the house...

If you ever visit the rural and suburban areas of Hawaii, you'll quickly realize that most people have LOTS of different types of plants, flowers and trees growing in their yards.

Most people I know have at least a fruit tree like papaya, mango, lychee or orange, flowers such as pikake(jasmine), plumeria(frangipani) or orchids and plants such as ti leaf and aloe; growing in their yards.

If you ever brewed a cup of jasmine tea, you'll notice these cute little white flowers mixed in with the tea, this is pikake.

This orchid is called honohono and has a very delicate fragrance.

Aloe is a really great plant to have in your yard or nearby, especially when you burn yourself while cooking or after a day at the beach! Plus, this plant doesn't need much water because it is a succulent.

Ti leaf is a kind of Hawaiian "omamori" (good luck charm) and is thought to ward off evil spirits when planted around the property, its also great to line your pan when steaming fish or making laulau (a Hawaiian dish that looks like a little purse consisting of pork, chicken and fish wrapped in taro leaves then wrapped again in ti leaf. This packet is then steamed in a pit in the ground called an imu).

Our pikake plant is the double variety and smells wonderful.

We also have 2 kinds of plumeria, a yellow and a red type. I couldn't get a picture of the red one, because the blooms were up too high.

Also while growing up, we used to have gardenia, hibiscus and bird of paradise.

My grandma used to live on the Big Island and her garden used to have all kinds of things: macadamia nut, lychee, orange, papaya, bamboo shoots, kabocha(pumpkin), hyotan(wintermelon) & pineapple. As well as, orchids and anthuriums. I know she misses her old house and especially her garden, I miss going there too.

The great thing about having all these plants and trees is that when the fruits ripen you often have more than you can eat and share with your neighbors and friends, they in turn share what goodies they have, sometimes it isn't fruits or vegetables, it is sometimes part of a big pot of stew or soup that they made or whatever! I think that might be part of what we call the "aloha spirit".

On this trip home, I am amazed at all the "friends" that I've made walking in the morning. As I cross paths with others, we say "Good Morning" to each other or just wave. This is something you will rarely see in Japan.

Makes me appreciate my hometown even more.

Just wanted to share a foodie experience. I had lunch with some friends that I used to work with, Val & Greg. We had lunch at Beijing. It is a Chinese restaurant located in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. Most areas of the center is closed for this massive renovation.

I had the Chicken with chili XO sauce lunch special. It comes with Hot & Sour soup. This soup started off sour in your mouth then the heat from the chilies took over--it was a very nice starter.

Next came the fried tofu and my entree. The chicken was kind of pale but very flavorful. And the tofu's sauce was also really tasty.

Lastly, we had an almond float (almond tofu or annindofu), but I didn't particularly care for it...

Well, the warm weather is back, but at least we have the tradewinds to keep us cool!

Beijing Restaurant
Royal Hawaiian SC 3rd floor above Cheesecake Factory
Phone: 808- 971-8833

aloha

Are there things you do before you go on a trip? I go through a little "process of events" before going on a trip or back to Hawaii.

One, is that I clean the house. Everyday clutter is cleared, the kitchen and bathroom is cleaned and all the fresh foods used to leave the refrigerator empty. The first time I did this on a trip back to Hawaii freaked Satoshi when he came home that night from work. He said it made him a bit sad to realize that I wasn't coming home for awhile.

The other thing is that I send my bags to the airport in advance. Whenever I go back to Hawaii, there is a bag pick-up service that I like to use. Before finding this service, I struggled many a time with my 30-inch suitcase, rolled it down the street, balanced it on the escalators, lugged it off and on the trains, just to get to the airport. Not to mention, I would have to try to get it down the 3 flights of stairs of our apartment building (with no hand railings...)--all without breaking my neck.

Nowadays, Satoshi usually calls for me about a week in advance and books a day for them to pick up the bags, this is decided depending on your flights. You can choose whether you want them to come in the morning between 10 and 1 or in the afternoon between 2 and 6 or later in the evening between 7 and 9. I usually choose the morning pick-up time because I usually have things to do in the afternoons. (Sometimes they come early, at about 10 or 11, and sometimes they come AT 1.) Usually if you book a round-trip--for them to bring the bags back to your home after you return, the rate is a bit cheaper. I can now go to the airport with just my carry-on and not have to stress about my suitcase. This service is definitely worth every "penny"!

Changing the subject, yesterday was the last session for my beads crochet class. We made a cute little crocheted purse with little fresh water pearls that hangs from a long chain necklace. It wasn't too hard to make and we all finished early, and prepped for our next project which will be done at the next class. After class, a group of us went to have tea.

The next session starts in 2 weeks, but I'll miss the first two lessons, so I'll have to play catch-up when I get back.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some foodie experiences from Hawaii, if not, see you all in about 6 weeks!!

Aloha!*

*"Aloha" is a greeting that we say in Hawaii which is very versatile. It can mean "Hi", "Bye", "Welcome!", "See ya". You can hear this phrase a lot in the touristy areas such as Waikiki. In Japanese, it is the equivalent to that of "Doomo".