house party...

japan is a relatively small country, abounding with people but lacking in space. this is evident in the city planning, which stretches vertically not horizontally, and the countryside’s layout, where rice fields are carved as steps down mountainsides. since room is a commodity here, homes tend to be small and space efficient. the design and close proximity of abodes, often crammed into ‘mansion’ or apartment buildings, doesn’t allow for one of the intrinsic rites of passage in american culture…the house party. well since it is my charge to bring foreign culture to the Japanese people at the grassroots level, I’ve taken it upon myself to throw a few shindigs at my apartment recently, sometimes to the dismay of my neighbors.
friends assuming the quiet position when we thought we were busted. luckily it was a false alarm.

First was an impromptu get together following a friend’s wedding party. After we did a couple hours of all-you-can-eat and drink, we headed to a local izakaya for a few beer towers.

then we retired to my place for dancing and games.

we met these guys at the local coffee shop/cafe, nest. they are all into really great music and have sharp senses of humor. unfortunately they all also have girlfriends. the fellow on the far left, with the goatee, is on my list of crushes. actually, it should be called 'list of unattainable crushes' as they are all married or involved. i'm discovering my bad habit of falling for off-limits men. i've recently decided it's not because i was born to be a home wrecker, instead it's the fact that i'm getting older and as such, all my peers are aging too. and at this age, being married isn't so abnormal. i can see this problem getting worse as i continue to age. maybe that's why so many single older men want to date 18 year olds; they're the only ones not hitched yet. or maybe i'm just rationalizing cause recently i've met a lot of men younger than myself.

my neighbors weren’t so thrilled about this little soiree so I had to spend the next week dodging them. although they don’t party till 5 am, they do do other annoying things that get on my nerves. for instance, once I was awakened at 8 am on a Saturday by this bizarre, repetitive clanking on my glass balcony door. ching, clang, chink, chink, clang… I finally roused to see what the hell it was. this crazy woman had tied a big metal hook to a string and was attempting to fish for a bunch of her laundry that had fallen onto my porch. maybe not a bad idea if it didn’t involve clangle dangling against my door while I’m sleeping. but I just wound her clothes around her grappling hook and didn’t yell at her for being inconsiderate like I really wanted to. I call that even.
next was the Mexican fiesta. I was dismayed/appauled/flabbergasted when I learned that kodama sensei and uchiyama sensei had never eaten a taco, much less a proper Mexican meal [when cooked by a non-native, is that an oxymoron?] I invited them, along with Liz and Carrie over for a little cenar [isn’t that how you say dinner in Spanish? it’s been way too long.] Carrie made nachos, which almost sent uchiyama sensei into cardiac arrest when she chomped down on a jalapeno. we had guacamole, standard tacos and improvised chicken enchiladas. we don’t have any mcormick seasoning packets in this country and I do love the kitchen wizardry involved in whipping up stuff [although I’m not always so good at it] so…i used cream of onion soup, cream cheese, sour cream, mushrooms, milk, garlic, tomato sauce, cumin, cayenne pepper for the sauce and stuffed the previously frozen tortillas [not like the ones at home but not so bad if smothered with enough cheese and sauce] with green onions, mushrooms, chicken breast and jack cheese. we drank so much beer before dinner no one had the motivation to attempt margaritas [considering there was no mix for this either and it would require chemist like concentration]. I regret I didn’t get any pictures from this night although they wouldn’t have revealed the truly interesting part of the evening; honest and enlightening conversation.

the next mexican house party was by request. I had met this group of guys through a few different friends at parties here and there. we were sitting at a bar one night chatting, and one of the fellas inquired about my plans for the following night, I told him about the teacher's fiesta and he quickly invited himself to the next one, noting unbelievably that he too had never eaten mexican grub. [maybe that’s why the japanese can be a bit anal retentive…they don’t drink enough tequila or take enough siestas.] as I had already developed a crush on this boy’s friend, I was quick to organize fiesta parte dos. they all wanted to bring friends so I ended up with a houseload.

as is Japanese custom, they all arrived with gifts of food or wine or nihon shu. I was even more charmed by the boy I’m crushing on when he showed up with a big bottle of tequila, how apropos. he's the one in the bottom right corner, to my left. hot.

working only with one electric burner, a microwave and a half-busted toaster, things turned out pretty well. timing is definitely one of the more difficult things about planning and pulling off a dinner party. the girls voted on the same main courses as they had enjoyed them so much the previous time [go me!!]. I chose the appetizers and opted for chili con carne dip [thanks for the cheez wiz oma and opa], fresh guacamole, and a cream cheese, salsa and black olive dip rolled in tortillas. a smash everything was!

those boys lined up for me to scrape the crusted enchilada sauce of the sides of the pans onto their plates. I’d downloaded a ton of latin and hispanic music for the occasion and all the tequila we consumed meant our salsa and tango didn’t actually look all that bad. we drank, danced, chatted and played until the wee hours.

I’ve decided these theme parties rock and the next one should be mediterannean cause I’m longing for some of that cuisine… although hawaiiian would be fun cause we could wear grass skirts and leis… thai would mean we could drink those crazy whiskey buckets they sell by the beach there… alright, we’ll just keep having house parties till we run out of ideas…
**some photos credited to orenji san. domo.

another day, another adventure...

this story starts on a wednesday night. got a call from these two dialysis equipment salesmen. no, really. i met them a while back while i was dining on yakitori solo. they call me up every now and then when they are in town. they’d finished dinner by the time i got off work, as i teach night classes on wednesdays, so we headed out for some karaoke, followed by food, followed by darts. it was quite a late evening but no worries because the following day was a national holiday, culture day. [it’s really nice to have holidays for reasons other than religious observances.] it’s the season of culture festivals, with many schools organizing special events, so we met up at one of liz’s schools for a dose of culture. it was a lot of fun; silly games like bowling and ping pong with kitchen utensils as paddles. we ate cheap food, reveled with the students, watched some bands. after liz’s concert performance, we headed back into town for some yaki niku at our favorite spot conveniently located opposite my apartment. we then bought beers and hopped a train into arai, a neighboring town about 20 minutes away where liz and carrie teach. we had vaguely heard about some sort of festival going on near main street, so we made our way, following the people, noise and smell of fried food. we were slightly disappointed when we found out it was a children’s festival, with few adults and even fewer beer vendors [0 to be exact]. liz’s and carrie’s students were out in force though and it’s always interesting to meet and interact with the kids they have to teach everyday.

what's up with my 24 chins in that picture?
the rows of food kiosks [fried chicken, yaki soba, crepes, baked potatoes] lead to a temple. we cautiously climbed the oversized stairs to peer in. a couple of old men were warming up by a hibachi inside and they urged us to take a closer look. we knelt in front of the main room where a statue was surrounded by gaudy gold and red decorations, candles, sweets, fruits and other random, garish things. we discussed the merits of some points of buddhism before agreeing it was time for a beer. as we were exiting the temple, one of the grandpas spoke to us, a timid statement meant to test the limits of our japanese ability, as he slid a tray across the tatami mat to us. it held three cups and the makings for coffee. we graciously accepted as we kneeled in the seza position and bowed deeply. they were really interested in talking about america, the temple, our boyfriends, or lack thereof… it didn’t take long to for us to start liking them. in japan, religion doesn’t limit your life in the way it does in many western countries. we learned the men were warming nihon shu, sake, in a kettle on the hibachi in the temple.

it’s worth noting that monks in japan are allowed many liberties others around the world are not, like marriage, sex, meat and alcohol, depending on the sect to which they belong. we chatted over two cups of joe before taking pictures with them and excusing ourselves.

the streets were nearly deserted by then and we decided to hit a local sushi bar for beers before catching the train home. it’s a family run establishment, with the hot son [married with children unfortunately] running the bar, the mother and father cooking furiously and an aunt loitering, possibly waiting tables. we told them we were full post-yaki-niku but they wouldn’t take no for an answer, plying us with rounds of treats. a martini glass with plump ikura fish eggs topped with roasted garlic slices. i attempted a few bites before using my fullness as an excuse for not finishing the delicacy. it’s one of the few japanese foods that elicits a gag reflex in me. next was a Japanese mikan, like an orange.

then a beautifully presented plate; a chunk of seasoned, grilled salmon topped with a slice of fig, perhaps grilled or pan fried. resting on that was a skewer of ginko nuts and a quail egg. the whole stack was in a puddle of delicate pumpkin sauce, slightly sweet with a nutmeg-y hint, decorated with thin slices of cucumber and tomato. in trying to discern what the fruit on the fish actually was, the chef also gave me a fig. then out came father with vanilla popsicles. i was sad to see the clock near 11 pm, which meant time to head to the train station. they refused to let us walk, and the dad pulled up at the front door to chauffeur us. what a fabulous day full of bizarrely wonderful sights, sounds and tastes. it seems carrie, liz and i always seem to have a really great time together, whether we have an action-packed evening or are simply relaxing and chatting. i’m lucky to have friends that are into the same kind of excitement and trouble as me.

master, master he's the man...

master is now world renowned as i write so frequently of him on my blog. he owns our favorite karaoke bar, PTA, and has been one of my closest and most welcoming Japanese friends in the last 16 months. he often calls us up to have a drink or accompany him to dinner. it’s the master who surprised me at the hospital with a visit just when i thought i might go absolutely mad. it’s also the master who, i’m embarrassed to say, i have no idea what his name is. at first we thought it was shingo, then we thought it was utoya, and now we’ve just called him master for so long that nothing sounds more fitting. well, on november 1 he opened the doors to his newest establishment UO [it means something about a fish]. aside from being into names that are initials, he has really good taste in décor and the right idea about how to run a bar. the new spot is all about music; bring a cd or a guitar and you’ve got a place to share it. this was the first evening they did business.

subsequently, last saturday, there was an official opening bash which was standing, or uh, dancing room only. i really hope his place does well. the only drawback is that the legend himself won’t be manning the bar as he prefers his longtime perch in the karaoke spot. oh, and the feature on UO’s menu…tacos…word up!! did i mention that i love this man…

musings...

i haven't really been taking so many pictures lately. i wonder why? maybe because many of the things that once seemed novel and bizarre are now more routine details of my life here. maybe it's because my camera is edging towards its last leg. as if cameras actually have legs... also liz and carrie have recently purchased new digi cams so the amount of photos i'm shooting has changed indirectly proportional to theirs. i also think another contributing factor is my comfortablilty, a word i usually regard as dirty, but in this case use with no bad connotation. i've been doing more normal, daily life tasks, like shopping, going to concerts, having people over for dinner, and fewer of the completely touristy things, which always seemed to beg to be photographed in all their uniqueness. so many interesting things have been happening recently, i kinda feel remiss for not documenting more thoroughly and i promise to do better for both our sakes faithful reader.

perverts...

i mentioned before that i have a stat counter on this page that allows me to waste a whole bunch of my free time checking out statistics on who’s been reading, how often, from where, looking at what, etc. one way people stumble upon this site is by doing a keyword search. usually my page isn't what they were looking for at all.
so today's edition of 'somebody ended up here on accident' is brought to you by an inquisitive person in jersey city, new jersey. they were searching for...
http://web.ask.com/web?q=where can I go to learn about raunchy sex acts%3F&o=0&qsrc=1&qid=A66D4A91F2045302EB883ACB9F4E22DC&pa

ha, ha...

so you want to know what cultural tidbits i'm teaching the world?

i was racking my brain about good luck charms and researching for a lesson on superstitions. it's pretty damn weird that we lop off rabbits' feet, dye them fun colors and give them away at carnivals on little cheap gold chains to elementary school kids. i found this on the web but decided to leave it out of my classroom presentation...
"A left rabbit hind foot, carried in the left pocket after having been removed from a rabbit that was killed during a full moon by a cross-eyed person is truly lucky."
truly lucky? truly bizarre?!?!! who makes this crap up anyway?

although i take great pleasure in living on this island, i'm ready for a jaunt.

i've done it, purchased my plane ticket home for the holidays. after much research and planning, i've decided to return on december 21 and indulge in american food and the glow of family and friends until january 8. i'll be splitting my time between myrtle beach and cola in an attempt to see all the people i love and miss. so if you are available for a burrito or a beer, let me know.
as i'm in love with traveling, i couldn't help but research other flight plans online too. the list of destinations on my 'must see' list is growing so i need to get busy. next stop, hong kong!! exploring that metropolis on the internet i am convinced it will be a great getaway. i'd planned to go for 4 days but quickly talked myself into a 9 day adventure. i was also able to convince carrie chan to go with. we travel and party well together. making reservations for a hostel in the city at our favorite bar/restaurant/internet cafe/coffee shop, nest. found what appears to be a great place for only $17 per person per night for a private room with a bathroom. what?!? hostels rule.

departure's set for november 19. let the countdowns commence!!

patty and tiffany do japan: part two

flashback.
dateline: September 13, 2005
tuesday morning we got to sleep in; a necessity considering the jet lag and hangover factors. we crossed the street for lunch at oashisu, on the seventh floor of a department building. the menu has all the normal fare, from noodles to tempura, displayed as splendid wax models outside the entrance. it makes choosing a meal easy for the foreigners i discovered upon arrival about 15 months ago. if there’s a good view of the city to be had, this place affords it.

we did a little browsing on honcho street, the main shopping vein through this side of town, where my apartment is located. then it was off to the beach so patty could stick her feet in the sea of japan, or the east sea if you’re korean. not spectacular scenery and rather infested…jellyfish season begins each year on September 1, so we let the water lick our ankles, but didn’t dare to go much further.

we met a few interesting fellows there who explained to us the swimming advisory, offered us beers, chatted a bit and all took pictures with us.

then it was on to my local public bath to clean up. it was patty’s first experience with naked, group bathing and i’m glad we were able to make it to shichi fuku no yu, a new, beautiful facility about 10 minutes from my place. its name means seven good fortunes and is based on an ancient legend. here’s the explanation given in a cultural dictionary:
the belief in shichi fuku jin [the seven gods of good luck] was spread through japan around the muromachi period [1338-1573] following chinese anecdotes of seven sages. among the seven are gods from india, china and japan, all of which are said to bring good luck. in pictures, they are often on board a ship called takarabune.
the public bath has five pools inside, each with different additives or gimmicks, like electricity or rose water. outside there are seven large tubs that each represent one of these gods. they are each made from a different stone and the water in them contains different additives based on the god`s strengths. there is also a steaming outdoor pool and a shallow bath with stone pillows for resting in when you are a little overheated. we also hit up the steamroom. i didn’t think i was going to be able to pull patty out of the outdoor pool… i myself would have been content to lay there all evening [the place is open till midnight] if we hadn’t had dinner plans. so we rushed to dress, stop by the liquor store for a decent bottle of nihon shu and make it to shimada san’s house by 7. shimada san is an office lady at yoshikawa high school. i’d had no reason to interact with her until a few months ago when i wanted to borrow some ink pads for a class of mine. [to phrase it like that seems a bit shallow maybe, but considering the language barrier and the fear of strangers that some japanese people have, i often find it’s easier to exchange smiles and bows instead of deep conversation in certain situations, like work.] well, i’m glad i approached her. turns out her daughter’s major was english, her son is now living in chicago and she’s traveled extensively so she doesn't have the ingrained fear of ‘gaijin’, or foreigners. since meeting we’ve spent hours talking at work, often lunching together, and i had previously been to her home once for dinner. she was really excited about the chance to welcome patty into her house and let her see how japanese people truly live and eat. shimada san was damn near offended that i had planned to feed patty from restaurants the entire time she was here, saying ‘she needs a mama cooked meal’. this woman is a fabulous chef and she truly seemed to have enjoyed all the trouble she must have gone to in order to prepare such a spread. with her husband who, uncharacteristically of many japanese heads of household, joined us before, during and after the meal.

perfectly battered vegetable tempura, fresh from the garden. braised cabbage stuffed with veggies, minced pork and japanese herbs wrapped in bacon. buta kakuni: tender porkloin that had simmered all day long in sake, soy sauce and sugar accompanied by tiny potatoes. delicate pumpkin soup. hiyayakko: chilled tofu somewhat hollowed out and stuffed with green onions, shiso leaf, ginger, soy sauce and yuzu [citrus fruit] juice. homemade cucumber, daikon radish and plum pickles. gohan furikake: mound of steaming rice topped with flaked grilled salmon, seaweed strips, sesame seeds and umeboshi [a sour pickled plum] chunks. konbu [type of seaweed usually marinated with soy sauce and other spices] and gobu [burdock root] salad. i told you she's a mad chef! the meal was well-timed, each course brought to the table in careful order and beautifully presented on its own plate to ensure the opportunity to savor each dish's flavor as intended. shimada san's array of dishes is stunning and she admitted she had trouble choosing the evening's tableware.
because i was driving, i drank pineapple juice while they toasted with beer. there is simply no tolerance for combining the two which has put a quick end to a bad habit i developed in adulthood in america. after dinner i took patty to my favorite shopping spot, second street, a recycle store [not surprised are you?] that rivals any thrift store you’ve ever even thought about entering and it’s open until midnight. fabulous. we shopped till they kicked us out.
wednesday morning i drug patty to the hospital with me, the photos of that adventure i previously posted. being in the medical field, she’s kinda into that sorta thing. then i drug her to school with me for my basic level shakaijin [community members] class.

please note the ugly brown pleather slippers patty's sporting. sorry to make an example outta you... all visitors must wear these in the building. all regular employees and students have lockers by the door where we do the indoor/outdoor shoe switch every time we come and go.
it made my day easy, as we did an intro, q & a session and played show and tell with japanese cultural items the students brought in.

the students were surprised patty looked so young; they’ve since commented on several occasions how beautiful she is. they were also taken aback by how affectionate we were with each other, hugging or resting with arms intertwined.
sissy also went to my night classes with me and the kids were on surprisingly good behavior. we ducked out 30 minutes early, 9:30 pm, and headed straight for tori shin for beers and chicken on a stick. having a guest was a great reason to indulge in all sorts of snacks i don’t try on my own simply because it would be too much food on top of the normal fare i MUST have when there, like the white breast meat slathered with fresh wasabi and sour plum paste. a few of the special selections...the duck medallions were salty and juicy. the chicken liver was edible, which is more than i expected, but i couldn't stomach a whole skewer of it. liver kinda freaks me out...seems bizarre to dine on the organ that removes and stores many of the toxins from the blood. i've probably got enough of my own poison without ingesting another animal's. carrie joined us there for a drink.
the next day patty slept in and shopped a bit while i worked in the morning. we did a sushi lunch together, which was kinda setting her up for working with me again that day. another shakaijin class, another game of show and tell. this is the upper level class.

they really got a kick out of meeting a foreigner that’s closer to their own age. i was glad patty could accompany me to school these days; it’s an experience most people don’t get to enjoy on the average vacation and it was a great opportunity for her to interact closely with a wide age range of hometown peeps. after class we chatted with other english teachers and students, then we joined ishida sensei, the school nurse and the principal for traditional hand-whisked green tea and cakes. patty got the honor of making a cup for the head honcho and he was duly impressed with her skills. i wish you could have seen us on the way home. we hopped on my pimp yellow bike...

take a minute to envision patty sitting on the luggage rack on the rear fender, clutching my waist, feet out so as not to drag on the ground and me laughing so hard i could barely see through the tears. that night we had a dinner date with kodama sensei and uchiyama sensei at funaei. this used to be hands down the best izakaya in town but, as you’ve probably heard me bitch before, they moved locations and lost a lot of their charm. as the foods still good and patty had to do a traditional izakaya [rowdy japanese bar/restaurant where everyone shares from each plate of food], we ventured there.

afterwards it was on to p.t.a. for some karaoke.

the master of this joint, being his usual awesome self, came to visit me while i was in the hospital. to repay his kindness, patty brought him a neat bar puzzle which i often see him playing with still.

we called it a fairly early night in anticipation of an early train the following morning.

have i ever told you about the midget door i have to use to enter my apartment when the 1st floor store's roll-door is down? someone recently superglued a piece of foam to the top of the door frame which has probably prevented quite a few drunken forehead bruises.