happy lunar new year

Hope you have a Happy Lunar New Year!

Apparently it is the Year of the Wood Snake

I wanted to check out Yokohama’s Chinatown, since the last time I went for Lunar New Year was pre-pandemic, but since I just got vaccinated and heard that 90 million?! Chinese are traveling this week, and that their number one travel destination is Japan, I decided to lay low.

I instead bought us Chinese bento from Niihao...680 yen (plus tax)

1 main choice...I chose sweet sour pork, 2 side choices...I chose happosai (eight treasure vegetables) and eggplant gyoza (this was eggplant and minced meat that was deep fried, I think the sauce was the sweet sour sauce...1 starch choice, I chose their noodles since I read somewhere that noodles should be eaten for the New Year.

I also bought some spring rolls at the market since this should also be eaten for the New Year and also just in case this bento wasn't enough for Satoshi...for his main I chose ebi chili (spicy shrimp)

I ate my bento for lunch, but Satoshi will eat his for dinner. (Kat will eat leftovers for dinner)

I hope the New Year will bring you good health, happiness and prosperity.

how are you?

We’ve been laying low.

On New Year’s eve day, the package that Aunty M sent us in December, finally arrived. (thank you!)

Apparently, it had a 3 week "vacation" in Los Angeles...boy, it was a little nerve wracking seeing it hover in Los Angeles...

At about lunch time, we had flurries! for like 5 whole minutes.

Satoshi was not excited to see them…ha! needless to say, I was bummed there wasn't much snow after that.

After dinner, we watched a “Midnight Diner” marathon, “Kodoku no Gurume” special & the Red & White song festival.

On the first day of the year, for our osechi, I had bought mostly everything, but made some tataki gobo & namasu.

I also made some dashimaki tamago (egg with stock)

And we had this reishu...Shirakami Sanchi, a sake from Tohoku.

Instead of buying a whole daikon, I found these cute & pretty turnips called ayame yuki, that have a purple tinge on the outer flesh, I used one to make the namasu. 

Also since I had kept some yuzu peel in the freezer, I put some into the namasu.

Breakfast on the first 2 days of the new year was ozoni.

On the second day of the year, with the leftover kuromame I made some muffins with mochiko, kinako, black sesame seeds, the kuromame and some yuzu peel.

We ate 2 when it came out of the oven and I put the remaining 4 into the freezer.

I reconnected with an instant curry called Bon Curry, the neighbor of my host family had introduced me to this many many moons ago.

Today will be the first time we go outside since "last year"...the markets are open.

Hoping 2022 is off to a nice start for you.

the first week of 2019

Happy New Year!

Hope you started the new year off with little to no stress.

I think we started the year off right by being able to see Mount Fuji.

We had ozoni for our first breakfast.

We also went to a lot of shrines around our area for hatsumode.

We also had osechi...this year I bought mostly everything since we were on a little trip before the New Year (which I'll write about later), but did make namasu and tataki gobo (burdock root).

We didn't have all the foods to make it an authentic osechi...oh well.

We face-timed with family on their first day of 2019 (love technology!)

finally got to introduce Satoshi to Civitas, he had the "snack" plate with ham and enjoyed it...we'll definitely be back.

On Friday, Satoshi went back to work, so I went to see "A Star Is Born", I didn't realize it was a remake (have not seen the original nor the other remake)...Loved the music!

Lunch before the movie was at City Bakery...veggie sandwich and cappuccino.

Saturday we went to Naritasan in Chiba.

Lunch or more like mid-afternoon meal was at Surugaya where we waited 3 hours for unagi! (more about that later too).

So that was our first week.

I'll write up things more in detail later, but thought I should kind of bring you up to date.

Have a good week!

iwaibashi

If you've ever eaten o-sechi or foods during the New Year season in Japan, you may have noticed these fancy chopsticks called Iwaibashi (literally celebratory chopsticks).

The chopsticks are pointed on both ends and wrapped with decorative red and white paper.

Apparently the chopsticsks are bleached white.

The reason these chopsticks are pointed on both ends is that it is thought you are sharing your meal with the Gods.

I know some people like to flip their chopsticks to the opposite side to take food, but when using these, you aren't allowed to--It is thought to be rude because you are using the Gods' side of the chopsticks.

So try to remember to only use the side you ate with.

Also these chopsticks are already separated because the Japanese feel that it is bad luck to "break/split" the chopsticks during an auspicious time.

We use these chopsticks from January 1st (washing them between meals) until January 7th.

Have a nice week!

the past couple of days

Satoshi went back to work today, so I have some time to post.

On New Years Eve day, we had toshikoshi soba for lunch.

Although we had more soba than soup...

Then for New Years Eve dinner we had all sorts of nibbles.

New Years Day morning.. we had ozoni with mochi in it, some sekihan (reddish rice with azuki beans), and o-toso (which is just a little sip of sake to ward off illnesses and to start the new year).

We went to several of the shrines that we normally do for Hatsumode (first prayers of the New Year).

While standing in line to get to the prayer area of a shrine, we saw this huge tai (sea bream), just hanging in front of an izakaya (Japanese pub).

Huge, yeah?!

I was surprised no cats had attacked it...

Dinner was o-sechi, the foods that are normally eaten during this holiday...I've written about this previously,here.

I'm super thankful for pre-made stuff and not having to do these foods from scratch.

On the 2nd, we braved the crowds of the department store to pick up some bento.

Luckily, we knew what we wanted to get, so we were in and out of there rather quickly...it was super nuts!

We brought the bento and went to visit MIL.

This year is the Year of the Dog.

I noticed this origami dog on MIL's calendar, so we cut it out and folded it into the dog.

We saw the Super Moon as we walked home from the train station.

And then last night, we were craving some meat, so we had some steak with mango chutney and other nibbles.

With all the eating I did, I definitely need to get some walking in...

Hopefully you all had a great holiday season.

the procrastinator

The other day, the weather was gloomy, so I worked on the holiday cards to be sent to family and friends overseas.

Then, over the weekend, I told Satoshi he should work on his.

Thought he might work on it on Saturday after his German class...nope, what a procrastinator...

Every year it is the same routine...

Digging his heels in, watching tv...anything than having to work on it.

He claims there is a "pace" to working on them...blah blah blah

Sunday it was a beautiful day but we didn't go anywhere because I wanted him to finish addressing his cards...but no, just more procrastinating and moaning.

Seriously thinking about not sending out cards to friends and relatives in Japan next year so I don't have to deal with all the whining and groaning...

past couple of days

Happy New Year!

Hope the new year is off to a good start for you.

This year's New Year "break" wasn't too long for Satoshi.

On the 29th and 30th of December we went to the Totsukawa area of Nara, I'll post about this soon!

The 31st...we spent making our way back to Osaka then turning in early before the New Year.

January 1st...we had o-zoni (traditional soup) then went to various temples and did hatsumode (prayers for the New Year).

Dinner was o-sechi, which I've written in detail here.

January 2nd...we went to Kyoto to visit MIL.

She is doing fine and we had a nice time chatting, eating and helping her clean some areas that she wasn't able to reach on her own.

After lunch, she let me "raid" her cabinets for dishes...thank you!

It was nice visiting with her.

Yesterday, we hung out at our favorite neighborhood cafe, Hiro, for breakfast.

And because I was craving greens...Dinner was a big grilled Thai beef salad with Kiuchi Brewery's sparkling umeshu.

We still haven't seen a speck of flurries in Osaka.

Hope you have a great week.

daily stuff

Yesterday, just as I was about to print out a sample of our nengajo (New Years card), our printer literally sizzled out of existence.

We decided not to replace the printer, we hardly use it.

If we really need to print something out, we can do so at the convenience store as long as the data is on a USB memory stick.

We also decided that our nengajo this year will be "old skool"...handwritten and decorated with rubber stamps.

Since today is rainy, I have been working on the ones I want to send to friends and family in Hawaii, the US mainland and other worldwide destinations.

The muscles in my writing arm are getting a loud reminder that they rarely get used these days with computers and smartphones...

Hope your week is going well.

saturday

Saturday we visited MIL.

When we stepped out of the subway station, we were greeted with this...snow! Lots of it.

We gingerly made our way to MIL's.

A neighbor was making snowmen.

While we waited for lunch to arrive, we snacked on some of the osechi dishes that MIL had.

Sushi arrived at about 1-ish and we all enjoyed it.

It was a nice visit with MIL.

If you are interested on what the neighbor's snowman looked like, here it is.

I'll start posts on Nagasaki tomorrow...stay tuned and have a good week!

happy new year

How was the last day of 2014 and the first day of 2015? Hope you had a nice couple of days.

On the last day of 2014, we went to our favorite neighborhood cafe for breakfast. We also picked up some coffee as we were running low.

Lunch was toshikoshi soba, in Japan, you are supposed to eat it at midnight. In Hawaii, we usually eat it for lunch (because our family usually is ready to go to sleep at midnight), and I also thought we shouldn't really be eating soba so late, so we picked up some kakiage (fried vegetable with shrimp and squid) and had it with our soba.

Dinner was an assortment of things you usually find in the o-sechi, the traditional dishes that you eat during the new year. If you are interested I wrote up a detailed post here.

On the first day of 2015, we had ozoni (the traditional soup with mochi in it).

We then went out to various temples in our area for hatsumode (the first prayers of the new year).

Most places were closed so we were really thankful that a ramen shop in our shopping arcade was open for business.

Dinner that night was a combination of bagna cauda sauce, roasted sardines and daikon leaf pasta. Some dried fruits, cheese and other nibbles with some wine.

On the second day of 2015, we awoke to white rooftops. It had actually started snowing the day before in the afternoon, but I guess it continued through the night.

There wasn't any left on the ground, though there were some slippery spots while walking.

We visited a few more temples in our area and then had lunch at a different ramen place.

After lunch we face-timed with family in Hawaii (love technology!) and then spent the afternoon watching another blizzard whizz by our window.

This little snowman was seen while walking to pick up some food after lunch.

Tomorrow we visit MIL. I'll post about Nagasaki after Satoshi goes back to work and I more time "me-time".

I hope your first weekend of 2015 will be a nice one.

Talk to you again soon!

thank you

We're back from Nagasaki. We had braced ourselves for rain for the bulk of our trip but lucked out with great weather the whole time!

I need to sort out photos and stuff, so I'll probably post about this adventure when things settle down after the New Year.

Thank you for a great year! I appreciate your comments, feedback, emails and messages.

I hope you got to do everything you wanted to this year.

May every day of the new year be filled with delicious adventures, good health and lots of happiness.

Take care and talk to you in 2015!

the past couple of days

Sorry it's been quiet here.

Satoshi went back to work today, so I'm back blogging...

On the 2nd, we visited MIL, she was in good spirits and was very chatty.

I'm glad we got to have lunch (sushi) with her and spend some time with her.

On the 3rd, the weather was nice so we went to our neighborhood cafe, Hiro, for breakfast.

This is my favorite at the moment at this cafe...egg toast & salad. The bread they use for this is called "English bread". The slice is quite a long rectangle, the outside crisp, the inside is quite soft.

They add egg salad and toast it with a drizzle of mayo. It isn't overly goopy with mayo, just enough.

This was how the skies looked on the 3rd.

While walking home, we got to see a Kawasemi (common kingfisher).

I had often seen posters boasting that they were around near the Minoo river, but never saw one for myself. I'm glad we got a glimpse at one, they are quite teeny! and fast!

That night we had pizza. We bought the crust and I topped it with salami and lots of onion and cheese.

Before baking the pizza, I sauteed the onions and salami...so good!

On the 4th, the weather was cold but tolerable.

For dinner we had lemon chicken using my recipe for lemon sauce.

I used pre-made karaage (fried chicken) and served it on some broccoli, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, carrots & onions sauteed in olive oil.

Yesterday the wind was icy and it was overcast for most of the day.

I wished it would snow or at least have flurries but Mother Nature wasn't listening to me.

For dinner we had beef broccoli.

Can you believe it was the first time I've ever made this?

I found a pretty easy recipe in "Hawaii's Best Local Dishes" by Janet Watanabe Hee.

I steamed my broccoli and set it aside.

And then I marinated my meat in this:
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tablespoon ginger, crushed
2 tablespoons sherry or whiskey
2 tablespoons flour

NOTES: these measurements for the marinade are for 1 pound of meat and 2 pounds of broccoli and is supposed to serve 4.

I think I either marinated the meat too long (6 hours) or using whiskey was too strong or the amount of marinade was too strong for the amount of meat and broccoli I had because it tasted a bit boozy.

Before I cooked the meat, I sauteed some thinly sliced onion in some sesame oil, then added the meat to cook.

Since the meat was quite thick from the flour I kept adding water to keep things "loose".

Then I added the broccoli at the end just to heat through.

I would make this again but cut back the marinade to half.

So that's what we've been up to the past couple of days, how is your 2014 going so far?