kakigori

The humidity and heat have been quite krazy this summer. In fact, both started before June, in May!

I think as the years pass I become wimpier and wimpier to these types of weather conditions.

I also think it gives me a nice excuse to enjoy kakigori (shave ice).

Japan's kakigori has a lot of fruit flavors and they actually top them with fruits too!

We tried this one at Yukinoshita. Satoshi had their matcha(green tea) which was super bitter until he hit the ice cream in the middle.

I had their coffee which was sweetened plus had a little ice cream in the middle too.

And then we tried Ujien.

Satoshi had their matcha milk shigure which came with a bitter green tea shave ice, some condensed milk and ice cream.

I chose the hojicha (roasted green tea) milk kintoki which came with a hojicha shave ice, some condensed milk, some shiratama (white dumplings) and sweet beans.

The sweet condensed milk and beans are needed to balance out the bitter tea shave ice.

These shave ice tend to be HUGE, so be on the look out for "half-sizes" whenever possible.

I hear tiramisu flavor is trending this year, hope we get a chance to try it somewhere.

Keep cool everybody!

kusatsu

On Sunday, we went to Kusatsu. From Osaka to Kusatsu it takes about 1 hour by train. We then hopped on a bus that took us to Mizunomori
--a botanical garden in an area called the Karasuma hanto(Karasuma Peninsula), on the banks of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture.

After arriving at the park and paying our admission (300 yen a person--about US$3), we headed to the hasugunseichi (the area where the hasu (lotus) grows).

This area is HUGE! about 13 hectares...about 32 acres...of lotus. Looking to the left.

And to the right. Lotus flowers and plants stretched as far as my eyes could see.

The weather was hot (about 36C = 96F), perfect for water skiing, which is what these people were doing on Lake Biwa right outside of the lotus patch.

There were many people, some sketching, but many photographing. One lady was trying to balance on a tiny rock while holding her umbrella trying to photograph a lotus blossom with her cell phone. I kind of chuckled when I saw her do this.

This botanical garden also had the largest lily pads I've ever seen. Wanna play hopscotch?










There were also tombo doing their "thing".

Inside the air conditioned Lotus Hall, I sat slept through several documentary films about the hasu (lotus). Actually, before I fell asleep, I learned that a lotus flower only lives for 4 days. One thing you should know is that the lotus flower is best viewed in the morning. The first day it opens a little then closes. By the fourth day, it opens so wide that it cannot close, the petals begin to fall off and then the yellow cone in the middle dries up to become the seeds, which replant themselves in the fall. The root becomes lotus root, which is edible, and then the process starts all over.

The botanical garden also had an atrium with many tropical plants. I saw many things that reminded me of home. One was this mango tree.

We shared kakigori (shave ice), no rainbow here. Satoshi chose melon.

Back at the JR Kusatsu station, I noticed these ubagamochi, which are a famous item in Kusatsu. They are soft white mochi wrapped with sweet bean paste. They are supposed look like a mother's breast, which is what I think "ubaga" means.

Lunch was at a Chinese restaurant--Asakusa. I ordered their reimen (cold noodles). This really hit the spot.


All in all it was a great day.

Satoshi was impressed by the size of the lotus patch, though we both wished we hadn't picked the hottest day of the year to go.

Hope you have a great week.

Mizunomori
1091 Oroshimo-machi
Kusatsu, Shiga
Phone: 077.568.2332
Open 7:00-17:00 during the Summer & 9:00-17:00 during the rest of the year