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  • 2009
    • May
      • Departed
        05/25/09


        An adventure ends...
        All good things must come to an end, and our lives in Japan were no exception. On May 13th two years, one month, and 18 days after Matthew arrived in Japan we moved back to the U.S.

        Let's Sharing, too, is at its end. It was created to share our

      • Children's Day
        05/05/09
        Today is Children's Day in Japan. Children's Day used to be called Boys' Day, the day on which families celebrated the lives of their male children. Girls' Day, you might remember, is celebrated on March 3.

        There are special symbols associated with Children's Da

    • April
      • Food or Norse God?
        04/27/09
        We went out with some of Matthew's students last week after their last class together. It was a cold night (because winter lasts forever in Tohoku), so oden was in order.



        Oden is a winter dish made by simmering ingredients in a dashi stock flavored with soy sauce and oth

      • Sakura Shrine
        04/20/09
        Cherry blossoms hover outside the torii gate at Suwa-jinja in downtown Kitakami.

      • Night Train to the Stars
        04/18/09
        Famous writer and poet Miyazawa Kenji was born in Hanamaki, just north of Kitakami. Hanamaki is full of public art that references his works, including this mural of his best-known story, "Night Train to the Stars". The mural is painted in invisible UV-reflective paint, and illuminated by

      • The Temple of Bloom
        04/17/09
        The "cherry blossom front" is finally crossing Kitakami on its northward journey. In the warmest parts of town, the cherry trees are in or near full bloom, while they're just starting to bloom in cooler areas near the rivers or in the mountains. Here are the cherry trees at the tiny B

      • Underfoot
        04/15/09
        The gutters on the sides of many roads here are deep ditches, and in the countryside where they are uncovered, you have to drive carefully lest you allow a wheel to drop into one. In the cities, however, they are usually covered with blocky cement caps. Although there is space between the caps for w

      • Inaniwa Udon
        04/15/09


        Inaniwa udon is a specialty of neighboring Akita Prefecture. Unlike the more common fat, roundish udon, Inaniwa udon is very thin and flat. It has a very slippery texture, which makes it kind of tricky to eat.

      • River Crossing
        04/06/09


        Sangobashi is the bridge connecting central Kitakami to the other side of the Kitakami River. Hayachine-san, visible only on the clearest of days, rises in the background.

      • The Long Goodbye
        04/02/09
        The changing of seasons from winter to spring is marked by personal transitions in Japan. The school year ends in March and resumes in April. March is also the month during which many companies transfer employees, presumably so they can get moved and settled in before school starts again. People

    • March
      • Prelude
        03/30/09
        The cherry trees have already started blooming in the southern parts of Honshu. Here in Kitakami, the cherry blossoms are still a few weeks off, but their advance team has arrived. Plum blossoms started appearing last week, despite three days of snow.

      • Tax Time
        03/29/09
        Tax time in Japan doesn't seem to evoke the same image of oppressive bureaucracy that it does in the U.S. I wonder if it's because the forms are simple and colorful?



        Or it may be because the instruction booklet includes a cute cartoon lady to guide you through the pr

      • Distant Views
        03/09/09
        On Sunday, we went to Geto Ski Area, where the unusually clear skies afforded long range views in all directions. The summit is usually shrouded in fog, so it seemed like a special treat.

        To the east, we could see Mt. Hayachine, about 65 kilometers away in the central mountains of Iwate.<

      • Hina Matsuri
        03/05/09
        March 3 is about more than just good ear health. It's also the day of Hina Matsuri, or Girls' Day. Families with daughters celebrate the day to ensure their future happiness. The most recognizable feature of the celebration is an elaborate display of dolls (hina ningyo).


      • National Ear Health Day
        03/03/09
        March 3 is National Ear Health Day. Why? Because some countries don't mind enshrining puns in official proclamations. "Ear" is mimi, and "three" is mi, so 3/3 is "ear".

        It's a day to pay careful attention to ear health, and how better to do that tha

    • February
      • Snow-Nigiri
        02/20/09


        A heavy overnight snow made the tetrapods in the Waga River near Kunenbashi look like pairs of seaweed-wrapped rice balls.

      • Project Kimono
        02/11/09
        Due to an upcoming koto performance, I'm in the market for a kimono. They're beautiful, so I'm excited about the chance to wear one. There's a snag involved in buying one, though: new kimono are prohibitively expensive. A new kimono, obi (belt), and all of the various accoutr

      • Amazake
        02/03/09
        Amazake is sweet, non-alcoholic, fermented rice. It's served in winter as a traditional hot drink. Nowadays, it's usually made by dissolving kasu rice pulp filtered out during sake production in hot water. But "real" amazake is not a by-product of sake production, it's its

      • Lost and Sold
        02/02/09
        At our main grocery store, there are often vendors or special sales displays near the front of the store. Around the end of the year, for example, you'll see guys selling calendars and small statues of the next year's animal. Other times, there might be housewares or boxed gift sets of t

    • January
      • Acceptance
        01/19/09
        We're outsiders here, there's no getting around that. The word for foreigner gaijin literally means "outside person". Even people who have obtained Japanese citizenship find that they can't be fully accepted.

        On the other hand, it's possible to be a part of

      • Fish on Fridays
        01/16/09
        I finish work early on Friday afternoons, during the time that Matthew has a break between classes. We've developed a little ritual going over to the snack shop in the mall and buying a couple of taiyaki.



        Taiyaki are filled, baked treats in the shape of a sea bream. Th

      • Snow Day
        01/15/09
        Today's our first day of serious winter weather in Kitakami. It's the kind of day where snow either falls peacefully or blows madly throughout the day. It's the kind of day when the temperature flirts with zero, but decides thawing isn't worth it and backs off a few degrees. I

      • The Benefits of Being Late
        01/09/09
        Much like last year, we joined our neighbors at the local shrine for hatsumoude early on New Year's morning. During the course of our visit, some of them invited us to go over to the ward's community center for mahjong later in the day. We'd played mahjong once before at the ward�

      • Festival of the Seven Herbs
        01/06/09
        Traditionally, January 7 is a significant day in Japan. According to Shinto custom, adopted from ancient Chinese custom, January 7 is jinjitsu (person's day), a day when criminals are spared from punishment. More applicable to the general population, January 7 is also the day of nanakusa no s

      • 108 Bells
        01/04/09
        In Japan, New Year's Eve is full of rituals to prepare for the passing of the old year and the crossing into a new one. One of these rituals, joya no kane, occurs at Buddhist temples. Joya no kane is the ringing of the temple bell 108 times on New Year's Eve. As we understand it, each o

      • Dawn of a New Year
        01/03/09
        The new year dawned with spectacular weather, which some people have taken as an auspicious sign for the year.



        We weren't actually up at dawn on New Year's Day, so this photo is from the second. But the weather was gorgeous both days, so we expect New Year's Daw

  • 2008
    • December
      • Shameless Commercialism, 2009 Edition
        12/31/08


        Another year, another calendar. Check it out at Cafepress: thirteen of our photos from around Kitakami, Iwate, and other nearby places in Tohoku! Just click the calendar to take a closer look.

      • Safety Driver
        12/28/08
        Late at night, especially on weekends, there's a common sight on the streets of Kitakami: pairs of cars, one with a taxi-style light on the roof. But if you look closely, the printing on the taxi light doesn't say "taxi". It says "daikou".

        Daikou is a service

      • Pie Are Square
        12/23/08
        A couple of weeks ago, we visited the local model shop. Usually when we drop by, the owner's wife sets out tea and coffee and we visit for a bit after Matthew's done his shopping. This time, she showed me a holiday edition of a Japanese cooking magazine, which got us to talking about app

      • Holiday Finery
        12/15/08


        The trees in front of the Kitakami city office, all dressed up for Christmas. The name of the decoration scheme is "Ribbon Showers."

      • You Know You're In a Big City When. . .
        12/13/08
        . . . there's at least one giant TV mounted on a building downtown.



        This is Morioka's giant TV. Kitakami, alas, isn't big enough for one.

      • Old Non-Habits Die Hard
        12/12/08
        The genkan, or entryway, serves an important purpose in Japanese buildings. It is much more of a transition zone between inside and outside than in most American homes. When we enter someone's home or an office building, we remove our shoes and coats in the genkan before we enter; similarly,

      • Serving Suggestion?
        12/09/08
        Although we've been here about a year and a half, Japanese packaged foods continue to surprise us. Last night, we made a bowl of ramen that we'd received at a community event a few weeks ago (community events in Japan always involve giveaways of household items). The picture on the packa

      • Going Dark
        12/01/08
        Just a quick note to let our readers know we won't be updating much for the next week or so; we should be back in full swing by mid-December, though!

      • Studying the Karaoke Way
        12/01/08
        That Japanese people love karaoke is a stereotype, but it's a well-grounded one. Allowing that there are some who dislike karaoke, the vast majority of our friends enjoy it. Any group of people out having a good time is likely to end up in a karaoke bar or "box" (where you can rent a

    • November
      • Preservation
        11/26/08
        Sun-drying persimmons are a common sight around Japan in the fall.



        People hang the persimmons from a pole for a couple of weeks, until they shrivel and darken. They then store the dried persimmons, called hoshigaki, for snacking on during the winter.

      • Fair Warning
        11/24/08
        If you ever need to buy soy sauce at the conbini, be sure to read the label first:



        I love how emphatic the beverage is about not being soy sauce.

      • Kiritanpo Nabe
        11/21/08
        Winter has already arrived in Kitakami, which means it's time to start making nabe. Nabe is the Japanese word for cooking pot; the term is also applied to various one-pot dishes like soups, stews, or sukiyaki. One of our favorite nabe comes from Akita Prefecture: kiritanpo nabe.

        <

      • All in the Details
        11/17/08
        When you get damaged or misdirected mail in America, it usually arrives with some sort of brief explanation. Often, the explanation is an impersonal form with one of multiple preprinted reasons checked off (or the ever-popular "Other," with a terse, often illegible explanation). It might

      • Autumn Crow
        11/16/08

      • Doctor Doctor
        11/14/08
        Unlike last year, I haven't been getting sick on a monthly basis. Unfortunately, I have gotten sick enough to require my first visit to a doctor in Japan. As one does, I went to the doctor that came recommended by a student. This doctor had the added benefit of having the most entertaining o

      • Autumn in Miniature
        11/12/08
        Fall colors aren't just on the big trees in the mountains they're also on the bonsai that some people keep outside their homes.

      • Old-School Housing
        11/09/08
        Compared to other cities in Japan, Kitakami is relatively young. Consequently, there aren't many examples of traditional Japanese architecture around. This house is one of the few.



        We're not sure whether this is actually an old house or a newer one built in the tra

    • October
      • Dragonfruit
        10/26/08
        We attended an event for the local Okinawan joint on Saturday evening. As we were leaving, the owner's sister gave us a dragonfruit that she had grown and brought from Okinawa.



        Dragonfruit tastes rather like kiwi, but less tart. They're as pretty on the inside as t

      • Another Dewy Web
        10/20/08

      • Jeweled Web
        10/18/08
        On a misty autumn morning, spider webs are bejeweled with dew. There are many spiders that build large webs here, so the effect is quite spectacular.



        The large, colorful spider makes a nice backdrop for the web; equally, the web makes a striking backdrop for the spider.
        <

      • Fall in the City
        10/17/08
        Looking out over the Kitakami Poem Park on a beautiful October day.

      • Akatonbo
        10/13/08
        On beautiful early autumn days like today, the dragonflies come out in swarms. Akatonbo is the generic name for any red-bodied dragonfly.

      • Froggyback Ride
        10/12/08
        As the nights get cold and we brace for the approaching winter, here's a photo to remind us of spring and the approaching summer.


      • Gratuitous Autumn Food Photo, 2008 Edition
        10/11/08
        If I had to leave Japan knowing about only one new food, it would be takikomi gohan.



        Takikomi gohan is rice cooked along with other stuff in water seasoned with soy sauce and other flavorings. It's also called gomoku gohan, five-ingredient rice, presumably because most r

      • Local Farming
        10/08/08
        In a country where sharp, craggy mountains dominate the landscape, farmers plant their fields wherever there's a large enough expanse of flat land. Sometimes, cities grow up around those fields.

      • A Visit to the Sea
        10/08/08
        Why have we posted so many sea photos this week? It's because we took a trip to Miyako, on the Pacific coast of Iwate. Matthew had a model railroad event there, so we took the opportunity to explore part of Iwate we hadn't visited and enjoy some fresh seafood.

        Miyako is most fam

      • Mussel Colony
        10/07/08


        A mussel colony is exposed at low tide in Miyako.

      • Umineko
        10/07/08


        An umineko seagull rests on a rock in a protected cove of the shore near Miyako, Iwate.

      • Miyako Manhole Cover
        10/06/08


        A pair of salmon dance on the Miyako manhole cover design.

      • But... Is It Clean?
        10/05/08

      • Sea Urchin Paradise
        10/05/08


        We spent a weekend at the coast, and found a large number of sea urchins hanging out in some shallow water at a rocky beach.

      • Six Steps to Self-Actualization
        10/03/08
        As difficult as some aspects of expatriating have been, they've had one primary redeeming value: we've only had to do them once. Repetition is annoying to me, especially repeating things that seem arbitrary or pointless. But, we learn to accept things by working through them, so it'

    • September
      • Looks Like Autumn
        09/26/08
        Masses of variously colored cosmos flowers are very common around Kitakami in the fall.

      • The I-O Distinction
        09/23/08
        This is definitely not the kind of pepperoncini I ran around town looking for back in May:



        As it turns out, this kind of pasta is actually called peperoncino. This batch is from a mix, consisting of a liquid sauce packet (olive oil, garlic oil, soy sauce, and some other stuff

      • Akita Manhole Covers
        09/17/08
        Here are some more manhole covers. These ones are from Akita prefecture.



        These racks of lanterns feature prominently in Akita City's largest festival, Kanto Matsuri. The manhole cover is in the city's downtown area.



        Kamakurando, a tourist des

      • Summer Caterpillar
        09/16/08


        Battari-mura was full of these caterpillars when we were there in July.

      • Mourning in Japan
        09/14/08
        The air smells like incense. It has almost every day for the last week. One of our neighbors died on Tuesday, so the family's house has been draped in mourning since then. It's a very haunting scene.

        A black-and-white banner hangs above the front door to the home. A small st

      • Black on White
        09/12/08
        A friend gave me a bag of satoimo today.



        Satoimo are probably better known in America as taro root, the basis of the Hawaiian food poi. Here, they're most often boiled, peeled, and served in miso soup. I have a new Japanese-language cookbook that rather conveniently has

      • First Hints of Autumn
        09/11/08
        The leaves are already starting to change color here. Last weekend, this was the scene around an old farmhouse located in the village that makes up part of the city museum.

      • Moldy Housing Blues
        09/08/08
        My face has been feeling pretty gross over the last few days rather itchy and tight, like the skin is too dry. The fall flowers are blooming, so I'd been chalking the grossness up to allergies. Upon further consideration and a look at the tatami after I picked our futons up this morning, I t

      • Harmony
        09/06/08
        Lanterns are a common festival decoration. At the city museum's festival today, the road was lined with small lanterns decorated by children from a local elementary school. This one was particularly wonderful.



        The kanji is wa, meaning "peace" or "harmony.

      • The Real (Tall) Thing
        09/03/08
        Beverages that come in tall cans have a sketchy reputation in America, at least where I'm from. They're usually full of cheap malt liquor or beer. They can often be found lying in the gutter, surrounded by the brown paper bags used to conceal them from the eyes of people who might happen

    • August
      • School's Out!
        08/31/08
        Like all kids, young oni are happiest when school is out for the day.



        Actually, these boys are preparing to dance Onikenbai as part of a local junior high school's sports day.

      • Not What It Sounds Like
        08/28/08
        I can't believe we've been here over a year and only mentioned our primary grocery store in passing.



        Here's hoping the bar associations I belong to don't hold our frequent trips here against me!

      • Races with Trains
        08/26/08
        Every week, I ride my bike to the other side of town a few times. The route runs under the shinkansen tracks, then turns to run parallel to them for a while. Often, a train will come along while I'm riding, preceded by its magnificent roar. It's a race I never win, but for those few sec

      • Rainy Season, Part Two
        08/24/08
        Summer gives us one more reason to be skeptical of the weathermen. They are the ones who declare the opening and close of rainy season. The rainy season, tsuyu, is supposed to last from early-to-mid-June until mid-July throughout Japan (except Hokkaido). This year, the Japan Meteorological Agency

      • The New Yardstick
        08/20/08
        Here's an interesting test of your language skills: how quickly, and through what means, can you deflect the solicitors?

        Last year at this time, I had a very limited arsenal. Someone would come to the door wanting to talk me into something. All I could do was look uncomprehending

      • Bitter, Lumpy Goodness
        08/17/08
        A friend gave us a couple of goya this weekend, one green and one white.



        Goya, or bitter melon, is a staple of Okinawan cuisine. It's very bitter but refreshing, and tastes of quinine and grass. Its juice is refreshing when mixed with shochu and soda in goya sours, an

      • Bon Odori
        08/17/08
        Last Friday night, our ward held its Bon Odori. Bon Odori, or the Bon Dance, is a community event associated with Obon. According to Buddhist custom, Obon is the time when the spirits of the deceased return to visit their families' household altars. Bon Odori is a joyful dance that commemora

      • The Name Game
        08/11/08
        We received new checks from our bank in America today. Much to my dismay, after numerous communications in writing with the bank, my name is misspelled on them. I'm used to this sort of thing, after thirty-three years of it. I'm certainly not used to having my name be the easy one to sp

      • Traditional Arts?
        08/10/08
        During our meandering around the festival areas last weekend, a friend and I caught the end of this performance:



      • Tanabata, Part Two
        08/06/08
        Tanabata really is the festival that keeps on festing. As we mentioned in last month's post, some communities in Japan celebrate the "Night of Sevens" on July seventh, while others celebrate on or around August seventh, the date of Tanabata on the traditional Japanese calendar. Jud

      • Girls (and Boys) in their Summer Clothes
        08/04/08
        During matsuri, lots of people come to the festivities wearing traditional clothing. Most often, they're wearing yukata, a lightweight kimono.



        Men's yukata tend to have simpler patterns and less decorative obi (belts) than women's yukata.

      • The Road Not Traveled
        08/04/08
        Last week, we finally had some time for an overnight stay at a hot spring. We'd originally planned to go to the northern Iwate coast, but a recent earthquake had damaged the area, and we felt it was best not to go get in the way of the cleanup efforts. Instead, we headed inland, to an onsen i

      • Four Demons Dancing
        08/02/08
        It's Michinoku Geinou Matsuri time again, so there's lots of dancing going on at various places in town. Yesterday, this Onikenbai group performed at Suwa-jinja.

      • The Cosmos Knows
        08/01/08
        Every time I go over to my koto teacher's house, she has a new ikebana arrangement in the entryway. They are always composed from flowers in her beautiful, rather traditional garden. This week's arrangement featured a white lily. I didn't know the Japanese word for lily, so I asked

    • July
      • Symbol of Kitakami
        07/31/08
        The white lily is Kitakami's city flower.



        These ones are growing in a neighbor's yard. They also grow wild along the mountain roads in the area.

      • Into the Valley
        07/30/08
        Just on the other side of the Akita border, there's a beautiful hot spring valley. Small, old, rustic ryokan (traditional Japanese inns) and bathhouses line the one street running through town. The baths are hot and cloudy with minerals. The ryokan provide gorgeous views of the lush mountain

      • Impulse Buy
        07/28/08
        One of the loudspeaker trucks was circulating this morning. Its announcement was different from the others because it had traditional-sounding music playing in the background similar to the ramen truck, but peaceful rather than creepy. It turned out to be a guy selling watermelons from the back o

      • Oni Phone
        07/28/08
        In a nod to Kitakami's famous Onikenbai dance, a phone booth downtown has a pair of demon masks mounted above its doors.



        You might not want to try stealing 100 yen coins from the phones inside.

      • Rumblings and Musings
        07/24/08
        Until last night, things had settled down for us, geologically speaking. The aftershocks from the Iwate-Miyagi earthquake had pretty much stopped. Small tremors occurred occasionally, but nothing really out of the ordinary a shindo 3 here, a shindo 2 there.

        Until last night, when the g

      • When in Rome
        07/22/08
        After a little over a year on the Japanese cooking scene, I've gotten quite an education. I'm a bit of a purist, so I've been focusing on using seasonal ingredients and learning traditional techniques. As a general rule, I prefer to avoid processed things for example, I won't

      • Where the Green Fern Grows
        07/21/08
        A fern growing in the Juniko area (in Aomori Prefecture) of the Shirakami Mountains.

      • Looking Towards Home
        07/20/08
        Somewhere across that expanse of water (seen from the Goishi Kaigan on the Iwate coast) lie the shores of California.


      • Riding with Monsters
        07/19/08
        Do you remember the Pokemon craze from a few years ago? The Japanese sure do. In fact, it's still a craze here. It's even popular enough to be at the center of a joint advertising campaign between JR East and All Nippon Airways. From today until September 15, you can ride a bullet trai

      • Silver Zone
        07/16/08
        To remind motorists to watch for older people in the street, these signs appear in certain areas:



        Those areas are called "Silver Zones." Aren't the signs cute?

      • Monkey Business
        07/14/08
        Well, what have we here? What are you looking at?



        Oh, I see! You're looking at the fellow on the roof! And he's looking at us.



        Back in May, we were driving along the Sea of Japan coast in Aomori Prefecture. We got quite a surprise when we r

      • Mistaken Identity
        07/14/08
        A couple of months ago, we went on a mountain vegetable-picking trip with some of our local friends. Because we had no prior experience cooking almost everything we picked, we solicited cooking tips as well. For one plant, koshiabura, a friend recommended tossing it with cooked spaghetti and peppe

      • Tuna's Where You Find It
        07/11/08
        During dinner at the local Okinawan joint, we ordered a new-to-us dish that came with a mystery seafood topping. We asked about it, and got an answer we didn't understand: shi-chikin. While the owner's son disappeared into the back, we consulted the electronic dictionary, but couldn

      • C'est un Byoin
        07/10/08
        I haven't been able to determine whether it's intentional or a longstanding typo, but I love that the hospital near JR Mizusawa Station appears to have a French name:



        It wouldn't be too surprising for the name to actually be French. French has a larger influenc

      • Village Beauty
        07/08/08
        A pink waterlily floats in the lake beside the tofu-making shop at Battari-mura.

      • Tanabata
        07/08/08
        Yesterday, some places in Japan celebrated Tanabata, or "The Night of Sevens." Originally from China, the story of Tanabata is a sadly romantic one. It is said that a weaver of beautiful clothes (represented by the star Vega) fell in love with a herder (represented by the star Altair), c

      • Making Tofu
        07/06/08
        Yesterday, we went to Battari-mura, where we observed villagers making tofu the all-natural, old-school way. Tofu-making has a lot in common with cheesemaking, what with all the boiling, pressing, straining, and coagulating of curds. It's hot work, but the end product is well worth it.

      • Business Attire
        07/05/08
        When you attend a business meeting in Japan, your outfit has to be appropriate: a business suit and tie, a proper briefcase (one appropriate to your position within the company and meeting), and of course, a cheap pair of slippers. At many large companies, business guests are expected to take off

      • Lucky Shot
        07/03/08
        On Tuesday, I was out shooting photos around town when I heard a shinkansen coming. They're neat, so I thought I'd take a picture for the blog, not at all expecting this:



        It's the Fastech 360, which JR is apparently still testing on the Tohoku Shinkansen line.

      • Truth in Advertising?
        07/02/08
        There's a little puffery involved in any kind of advertising, but I wonder if Suntory hasn't gone just a leetle bit over the line here:



        The Miracle is more delicious than the King, and both are far superior to their compatriot, the less extravagantly named "Swee

      • And Now, a Word About the Dogs
        07/01/08
        During a walk through town a couple of weeks ago, a car pulled off to the side of the road, and a couple got out. The woman waved at us, calling out a question: Akisora-chan desu ka? She had met the dogs in the park a few weeks earlier, and had been quite taken with them. Aki bounced and wagged

    • June
      • After-Dinner Entertainment
        06/30/08
        After dinner on Saturday night, Matthew and one of our companions played a friendly game of shogi, a Japanese variant of chess. The rest of us drank and cheered them on.



        Matthew emerged victorious after a long endgame. Next time, we'll play an all-American game: Monopo

      • Teeny-Tiny Railroad Crossing
        06/28/08
        Rice field roads need grade crossings, too just not very big ones.

      • Music on the Wind
        06/27/08
        Iwate Prefecture is famous in Japan for its ironwork, Nanbu-tekki. Although kettles and pots are the most traditional products, ironworkers now make a wide variety of goods, including windchimes



        Nanbu-tekki windchimes currently hang from the platform rafters at JR Mizusawa (w

      • The Long and Short (But Mostly Short) of It
        06/26/08
        I bit the bullet and went sweater shopping yesterday. Stereotypically, trying on clothes is the subject of much wry humor and/or moaning for American women. Especially summer clothing. So imagine the apprehension inherent in a regular shopping foray, and add to that the element of being a wide-sh

      • Ishiwarizakura
        06/24/08
        Ishiwarizakura, or the rock-splitting cherry tree, is located in front of the District Court building in downtown Morioka.



        It is said that the the 300-year-old tree sprouted from a crevasse in the boulder, and split the rock as it grew. It has been designated a national trea

      • Secret Park
        06/23/08
        This pretty little park is tucked into the bottom corner of an office building in Morioka. It's below a wall along the sidewalk, so it's easy to miss.

      • Sweet Cherries
        06/21/08
        The best thing about summer in Japan: Yamagata cherries.



        Yamagata Prefecture is famous for its cherries, which are very sweet and beautiful. They can be very expensive the posh department store sells large boxes of them, carefully stemmed and arranged into rows, for around

      • More Manhole Covers of Iwate
        06/19/08
        Here are some more manhole covers from Iwate.

        First up, Rikuzentakata, a small city on the Pacific coast. I'm not sure what all the designs represent, but the lumpy things around the outside might be sea pineapples (a delicacy of Iwate that most people in Japan wouldn't conside

      • Late Spring Flowers
        06/19/08
        Beautiful wildflowers and pink azaleas alongside the Hitokabe River in Oshu City.

      • Hooked on Comics Works for Me!
        06/18/08
        Some time ago, my language partner loaned me a manga (comic) that she had been reading. It was a very useful one because it was bilingual it had been translated into English, with the original Japanese text on the sides of each frame. I read the English at the time and enjoyed it a lot, but could

      • Comfort Food
        06/17/08
        Or, "Where It All Began."



        This is shouga-yaki, or ginger-glazed pan-fried pork. It was the first dish Matthew made out of his brand-new Japanese cookbook, and later, the first dish he made for me when I arrived in Kitakami. It's probably our favorite dinner, v

      • Aftershocks
        06/15/08
        Forty-eight hours later, we're continuing to feel aftershocks. They've slowed down a lot, but we still get a strongish one every few hours. One of the last reports I saw said that by last night, there had been upward of 400 aftershocks. The JMA warns of a 90 percent chance of a magnitude

      • Sea Sick on Dry Ground
        06/14/08
        By now, you may have heard of the big earthquake that hit northern Japan yesterday morning. At 7.2 on the Richter scale, it ranks as a "major" earthquake. In our part of Kitakami, it reached 5-upper on the shindo scale, intense enough to cause cracks in the walls of earthquake-resistant

      • The Spirit of the Law?
        06/12/08
        Traffic safety is very important in Japan, for bicyclists as well as drivers. All cyclists are required to have headlights on their bikes. It's also illegal for people to carry umbrellas or talk on cell phones while riding a bicycle ordering a pizza while riding your bike down a crowded side

      • Japanese You
        06/09/08
        On my way back to the office last week, I had an unusual cabbie. For one thing, he was chatty, unlike the other Japanese cabbies I've encountered. For another, he looked very much like one of my bosses back in Washington, if my boss had been Japanese rather than of Mediterranean descent. It

      • Extras
        06/08/08
        In Japan, the sakura are not just spectacular to look at they also herald the coming spring. While the cherry blossoms distract everyone, the rest of the plant kingdom quietly push out their buds and flowers.

        These photos are from the end of April.





      • Sea of Japan Sunset
        06/07/08
        The sun setting over the Sea of Japan, as seen from Tsubakiyama, Aomori.


      • Turtle Tree
        06/06/08
        A kame no ki (turtle tree) flowering in early May.

      • Crepuscular Rays
        06/04/08
        I remember crepuscular rays light and dark bands radiating from the sun as a common feature of sunsets in my childhood. Here, they can be seen very frequently, at any time of day.

        This photo was taken in Tono, in mid-afternoon.


      • The Crackersmith At Work
        06/03/08
        At a famous senbei (cracker/cookie) shop in Esashi, crackers are made by hand one at a time. You need a reservation a week in advance to buy the popular varieties from this shop.


      • Grinding Ink
        06/02/08
        A poet grinds ink in preparation for writing his verse at Gokusui no En.

      • Gokusui no En
        06/01/08
        Last weekend, we attended Gokusui no En at Motsuji, a temple in Hiraizumi. Gokusui no En is a festival reenacting a popular entertainment among nobles during the Heian Period. To begin the event, a Buddhist priest places a theme on a small raft that then floats down a stream, followed by cups of s

    • May
      • Drivin'
        05/30/08
        Hachimantai is a mountain and national park that straddles the border between Iwate and Akita. It's also the scene of the "Aspite Line", a very scenic drive that crosses the mountain near its summit. Even in May, there was plenty of snow near the top.



        On the I

      • God of the Sea
        05/29/08
        This carved figure of the God of the Sea is perched in the rafters of a small pavilion over a picnic table at the Goishi Coast. I'm not sure I could eat my lunch with him lookin' at me.


      • Itsy Bitsy Spider
        05/28/08
        I found this tiny little spider hiding in a downspout at Chusonji


      • Fukusenji Lions
        05/28/08
        Buddhist temples are usually guarded by lions. This one, at the bottom of the hill, guards the main gate to Fukusenji.



        This one a female, I think stands guard near the top of the hill, outside the main temple hall.


      • Firefighters' Parade
        05/27/08
        At Jinku Matsuri, the traditional festival dances shared time with a procession of a different sort.



        According to our local friends, this part of the festival was a callback to the firefighters of old. The men are carrying standards of the sort fire companies use to identify

      • Dancing the Bad Luck Away
        05/26/08
        Earlier this month, we attended Jinku Matsuri in Esashi, a small town south of Kitakami. Jinku Matsuri is a festival featuring dances performed by people from Esashi who are celebrating their 25th or 42nd birthdays. 25 and 42 are traditionally yakudoshi years for men, but both men and women perfor

      • Chicks at the Beach
        05/23/08


        What, you were expecting a cheesecake shot?

        My new pal is the mascot for Kamome no Tamago,a treat from the Iwate coast town of Ofunato. Kamome no tamago literally means "seagull egg." The treats are little egg-shaped cakes filled with yellow bean jam and coated wit

      • Suwa-jinja
        05/21/08
        We've blogged about the numerous small shrines scattered throughout Kitakami City, but we haven't talked about the big one. Suwa-jinja, located in the heart of Kitakami, is approximately 1200 years old according to some sources. It was undergoing major renovation throughout much of 2007,

      • The Guardian
        05/20/08
        Stone lion standing guard outside a hilltop shrine in Rikuzentakata, a town on the Iwate coast.

      • On the Rocks
        05/18/08
        Having visitors is the perfect prod to do all the things you've wanted to do, but haven't. Like going to the Iwate coast it's so close, and yet we'd never been. So on a beautiful Tuesday morning, we prepared for a day trip to the coast, stopping at Hige-oyaji's place for

      • O-hanami
        05/17/08
        One of the main reasons our houseguests chose to visit us in the spring was the sakura o-hanami, or flower-viewing, is a big deal in Japan. The Japan Meteorological Association publishes "sakura forecasts" throughout the spring so that people can plan their o-hanami trips accordingly. A

      • The Great Butter Shortage of '08
        05/16/08
        Rice shortages have been in the news over the last month or so as rice-exporting countries have begun withholding supplies to feed their own people. The shortages don't appear to be affecting Japan, but the country is running low on something important: butter. For the last three weeks or so

      • Let's Vacation!
        05/06/08
        Sorry for the lack of new postings over the past week; we've been busy with houseguests. We're going on a road trip tomorrow, so we'll be offline for about a week. See you when we get back!

    • April
      • Spring in a Bowl
        04/30/08
        I made negitoro don for dinner the other night. Negitoro don is a donburi, meaning a rice bowl. It's made by topping the rice with julienned omelet, chopped raw tuna, sliced green onions, and strips of nori.



        It's not a spring specialty per se, but the colors are ve

      • Sakura on the Temple Grounds
        04/29/08
        Sakura trees blooming amidst a grove of evergreen trees on the Chusonji temple grounds in Hiraizumi.

      • Blossoms in the City
        04/23/08
        Sakura blossoms at the entrance to the Kitakami Poem Park, located in the middle of Kitakami City.

      • Tunnel Vision
        04/21/08
        Looking down the sakura road in Tenshochi.

      • Nothing but Love
        04/20/08
        In 1974, Kitakami and Concord, California became sister cities. Here in Kitakami, the relationship is commemorated in a small section of the Kitakami Poem Park.



      • Pink on Pink
        04/19/08
        Contrasting colors on neighboring sakura trees in Tenshochi.

      • Cherry Blossom Time
        04/18/08
        The sakura trees are blooming everywhere in Kitakami. These trees are in Tenshochi, the park that runs alongside the Kitakami River.

      • When Good Pickle Beds Go Bad
        04/17/08
        Oh, the horror. We've discovered the worst-tasting thing in Japan: pickles from a nuka-zuke bed that's gone off.

        As we mentioned in the April Fool's Day post, life around Let's Sharing HQ has gotten quite hectic. I haven't had as much time to attend to the hous

      • Kogane
        04/17/08
        Back in early March, I was out walking the dogs when I spotted a train I'd never seen before.



        It's Joyful Train Kogane, a special-service train that doesn't usually run on the Tohoku mainline through Kitakami.

      • Sendai Utility Panel
        04/16/08
        It's not really a manhole cover, but Sendai also has decorative access panels for their underground utilities.


      • If the Shoe Fits, Make Sure It's Easy to Get Out Of, Too
        04/16/08
        Even though I've lived here for almost a year, I'm still dealing with my stash of completely impractical shoes on a daily basis.

        You see, while my Doc Martens combat boots, open-toed strappy sandals with three-inch heels, and knee-high zip-up boots are perfectly fine for an Amer

      • Car Wash
        04/15/08
        Why shouldn't a car wash be tiny and pink?


      • View from the DMV
        04/14/08
        Lately, we've been spending a lot of time at the driver licensing center, which means we're getting pretty familiar with this view from the parking lot.



        That's Mt. Iwate, the "Fuji of Northern Tohoku". It last erupted in 1919, and from 1998 to 2003 it

      • Mountain Food
        04/14/08
        Living in Kitakami places us smack in the middle of sansai ryouri country. As its name translates, sansai ryouri is cooking based on mountain herbs and vegetables. Yesterday, the local model shop owner's wife gave us a bunch of gyojaninniku, a type of mountain garlic or chive, along with instr

      • Grand Opening
        04/13/08
        In Japan, nothing says "Now Open for Business" like a big colorful target-on-a-stick:



        These signs were announcing the opening of a new hair salon. Seeing them always makes me want to play Katamari Damacy so I can roll them up.

      • Neighborly Gifts
        04/09/08
        Shortly before I left Washington, I had dinner with a couple of friends. One of them had lived in Japan as a child, and she spoke of the strong sense of community that pervaded Japanese society at the time. It still exists today, as evidenced by things like the yakudoshi ceremony, the call for vol

      • Ready? Here We Go!
        04/08/08
        There comes a time in many expatriates' lives when they have to trade a significant privilege in their home country for the same privilege in another. It's a privilege borne of study, practice, near-misses, frayed nerves, and hours upon hours spent standing in line in a soul-sucking fortr

      • Sakura Season
        04/02/08
        In case you're wondering why there's a new entry after we announced the end of the blog, well, it is April 2. Gotcha!

        Cherry blossoms aren't due to open in northern Tohoku for at least two more weeks, but that hasn't stopped the drink companies from putting out specia

      • The End of the Blog as We Know It
        04/01/08
        Some of you have surely noticed we've been posting less and less often over time. Matthew's been here just over a year, and Stefanie's been here almost a year. We've seen (and commented on) Kitakami in all seasons, and we're running out of things to say.

        And, it

    • March
      • Afternoon Snack
        03/31/08
        Convenience stores equal convenience food. Hence, grilled-ham-on-a-stick:

      • Traditional Clothes
        03/30/08
        Earlier today, I had lunch with my koto teacher and her other students. After the lunch, the Japanese students showed the three foreign students how to wear kimono, the traditional Japanese robe. Getting into full kimono is an elaborate process, so they only did simple kimono for us.

        He

      • One Year Later
        03/29/08
        It was one year ago today that I woke up for the first time in Kitakami. I'd arrived the afternoon before, met some co-workers, and gone shopping for a handful of essentials a futon to sleep in, a towel so I could take a bath. I had a busy day ahead (orientation at work and more shopping), b

      • Voices
        03/25/08
        A couple of months into our stay here, a friend from America called to chat. I answered the phone: "Moshi-moshi?" The line was silent for a minute, then our friend started laughing. "You answer the phone like a Japanese person!"

        No one would mistake us for native s

      • It's Rice!
        03/21/08
        Because we eat rice for breakfast most mornings, we like some variety in our toppings. Matthew usually eats some combination of nattou, soy sauce, and aonori (finely ground seaweed that comes in a shaker), maybe with an egg, while I have umeboshi or milk and honey. Now, thanks to one of his studen

      • Taboo or Not Taboo?
        03/19/08
        According to a common stereotype, the Japanese are a reserved, unfailingly polite people. They are loath to disrupt harmony, and consequently refrain from saying things that could offend someone, even to the point of talking completely around a possible point of contention. So it's always sur

      • Make It Stop!
        03/17/08
        Hey, remember this bit of bloggery from way back?

        One particular type, however, strikes fear in me as an American: loudspeaker trucks advertising candidates in upcoming elections.

        Well, the campaign trucks started making their rounds yesterday morning, driving back and forth ac

      • Day and Night
        03/16/08
        Here is Geto Ski Area as seen from our house, day and night. (They offer night skiing and snowboarding on some of the slopes.)




      • White Day
        03/14/08
        Matthew went off to work the past two days bearing cookies for girls. Why? Today is White Day in Japan, the day when men reciprocate for gifts women gave them on Valentine's Day. Women don't have to be involved with someone to give him a gift; they can give gifts, frequently of homemade

      • Santa Claus's Regular Job
        03/12/08
        Contrary to what you might have heard, Santa Claus runs a perfectly respectable cleaning business in Oshu City, Japan, during the offseason:



      • Is It?
        03/09/08
        I'm no businessperson, but it seems to me that the name of your establishment should answer more questions than it raises:

      • Ooh. . . Foxy Noodles
        03/06/08
        Last night, I made kitsune udon for dinner.



        Kitsune is the Japanese word for "fox." Legend has it that foxes love aburaage, or deep-fried sheets of tofu, hence the name. I think it's because the triangles of aburaage look like fox ears in the bowl.

      • Karaoke: Competition and Workout
        03/05/08
        We've experienced karaoke in Japan enough times now to think that it's substantively different from karaoke in America. In America, it seems that people usually do it as an ironic or goofy thing. Here, it's a sincere form of entertainment. Or possibly sport people practice, and so

      • Festival Street
        03/04/08
        The colorfully lit street of vendors at Inukko Matsuri.

      • Kikuzakari
        03/03/08
        A few weeks ago, our friendly local liquor store owner / school landlord invited us to take a tour and tasting at a local sake brewery, Kikuzakari. It's a small brewery that has been in the same family for generations. The current president is the founder's great-great grandson, and he t

      • Freezing Our Butts Off
        03/02/08
        Spring is coming. Now we sometimes get rain instead of snow, and most days the weather goes above freezing. And soon, photos like this will just be a reminder of what to expect again next winter.


    • February
      • Across the Wires
        02/26/08
        One of my childhood neighbors died recently, giving me occasion to go shopping for a sympathy card. I stood at the very small greeting card display in our local stationery store for a good while before I concluded that they had no sympathy cards. Not that they had run out, but that they simply did

      • Neologism
        02/24/08
        It's always amusing to see English and made-up "English" words in Japanese brand names and advertising. They mean well, but often miss the connotations of the English they choose.

        For example, there is a line of car accessories called "Blang". My reaction? &q

      • Free Parking
        02/22/08
        Parking in Japan (well, in Kitakami anyway) is an interesting thing. There are lots and garages, of course, but these seem to be mostly used for daily parking or at shopping centers. There aren't meters anywhere, which sort of makes sense if you consider that streets here are quite narrow wh

      • Kamakura in Yokote
        02/20/08
        Winter festivals are quite popular in Tohoku, especially in places like Hokkaido and Akita, where a lot of snow falls. On Saturday, we went to the festival of Kamakura in Yokote, Akita Prefecture.

        Kamakura are huts made out of piles of hollowed-out snow. Inside the large ones, there are

      • Yakudoshi
        02/18/08
        I turn 33 this June. According to the Japanese age system, I'm already there and therefore in need of protection. For women, 33 is a major yakudoshi, or "age of calamity," as one reading of the number 33, san-zan, means "horrible" or "difficult." (For men, the a

      • Guard Dog
        02/17/08



        A giant snow dog stands as a guardian against thieves from the spirit world. By chance, it seems the camera even captured a ghostly thief in the foreground.

      • Yuzawa Manhole Cover
        02/15/08
        Here's another manhole cover, this time from Yuzawa. You can see Inukko Matsuri represented by the dog and shrine in the lower right corner.


      • Valentine's Day
        02/13/08
        What could possibly say "Happy Valentine's Day" better than two cans of beer?

        How about two cans of beer decorated with a ribbon and a rhinestone heart?


      • Yuzawa Lanterns
        02/12/08
        These lanterns dotted the hillside in a park overlooking Inukko Matsuri, in Yuzawa City, Akita.

      • Yaki = Grilled = Food... Right?
        02/11/08
        At Inukko Matsuri, we decided to enjoy some of the festival food for dinner. But what to have? Pretty much every food item available was something yaki - grilled or fried. There was takoyaki (octopus in fried balls of batter), yakiniku (grilled beef skewers), okonomiyaki (fried pancake with toppi

      • The Little Dog Festival
        02/11/08
        This weekend was Inukko Matsuri in Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture. Inukko Matsuri, the "Little Dog Festival," dates back to the Edo Period (about 400 years). It is said that the festival originated after the feudal lord of what is now Yuzawa City defeated a clan of thieves. To protect th

      • What the World Sees
        02/08/08
        "Who do you like: Clinton or Obama?"

        Over the last couple of weeks, this question has come up a few times. Especially this week, after Super Tuesday, when more people have asked us our views. People in Kitakami are clearly watching the American presidential race this year.
      • Love at the Tofu-ya
        02/05/08
        "Who can take a bean curd, shape it in a square,
        Fry a flattened piece until it's gold and light as air?
        The Tofu Man, the Tofu Man can."

        Many apologies to Mr. Davis Jr. for appropriating his song, but really, I feel like our local tofu shop is magic. You know th

      • Setsubun
        02/03/08
        Yesterday was Setsubun, the day before the beginning of the "spring season" in Japan. Setsubun is a day akin to New Year's, when people engage in rituals to chase evil away from their homes and bring good fortune in during the year. The most famous ritual is mamemaki, or "bean

      • Celebrity
        02/01/08
        Ah, the life of the expatriate in the small city teach a little, learn a little, get a little press. After our neighbors brought over the newspaper article about the shinnenkai, including the photo of our musical interlude, some of our students told us that the prefectural newspaper had put us in

    • January
      • Here and There, Then and Now
        01/31/08
        It's strange to think that we've been in Japan long enough to be talking about renewals, but here we are. Matthew's residency status expires in March, only two months from now. His contract is up for renewal in April. My residency status expires in June. We intend to renew everyth

      • Take the Gaijin Bowling
        01/29/08
        On Sunday, we went bowling as part of a group event. Bowling in Japan is no different from bowling in the States, down to the clownish rental shoes.



        We haven't gone bowling in a very long time, so it took us a few frames to get back into it. Our team actually did prett

      • Deathcicles
        01/28/08
        As a kid, I never fully understood Snoopy's paralyzing fear of the icicle over his doghouse. I saw plenty of icicles, and they just weren't big enough to kill a cartoon dog.

        Now, I understand. I've had the experience of looking up to see a four-foot gleaming needle dangli

      • Instant Gratification
        01/24/08
        You can find almost anything your heart desires in vending machines in Japan: soda, beer, hot canned soup, 10-kilo bags of rice. . .



        This machine has gotten some play before, courtesy of the late, great, Kitakami Photoblog (Konnichiwa, Julia-san!).

      • The Big Chill
        01/23/08
        According to our local friends, January 21 was Daikan the coldest day of the year on the Japanese calendar. The two weeks surrounding Daikan are also supposed to be colder than the rest of winter, which is easy to believe. Many roads in town resemble skating rinks because temperatures have gotten

      • Japanese Culture 101
        01/21/08
        On Saturday, the Kitakami International Assembly Hall hosted its Shinnenkai, an introduction to Japanese culture. Attendees could try out a range of traditional activities, from tea ceremony to shodou (Japanese calligraphy) to koto (Japanese zither). Matthew is interested in learning shodou, so he

      • Mochitsuki
        01/20/08
        New Year's in Japan seems to be an ongoing celebration throughout the month of January. Shinnenkai, or New Year's gatherings held after January 1, bring people together to share in the optimism of the fresh year ahead and to partake in traditional events. We were invited to one such even

      • Strawberry Fields for Winter
        01/17/08
        Last weekend, I had to make dessert for a dinner party. Wanting to do something with fruit, I headed to the produce section, thinking about citrus or maybe pears. Those thoughts were blown out of my head by the sight of row upon row of . . . bright red strawberries. And a big sign proclaiming the

      • D'oh
        01/15/08
        J-Life Lesson #46: When living in a part of the country where it snows every day during the winter, check frequently on your air-drying laundry.

      • Lying Weathermen Who Lie
        01/15/08
        Let's take a look at today's weather, shall we? Here's the weather report. It's pretty typical for winter in Tohoku: snow in the morning, and cloudy all day after that.



        Now, let's take a look out the window:



        That's about h

      • East v. West
        01/14/08
        At dinner with friends the other night, the topic of horseradish came up. This left our Japanese friends at a loss, as they'd never heard of the stuff. We tried to explain, "it's like wasabi, but it's white. In fact, we call wasabi, 'Japanese horseradish' in English.

      • Best Use of All Your Dishes
        01/13/08
        As longtime readers of the blog know, learning to cook Japanese food has been one of the great pleasures of my life here (eating the Japanese food has been Matthew's great pleasure). Last week, I got really ambitious and decided to make a standard ichiju-sansai dinner. Ichiju-sansai consists

      • Fugu, Anyone?
        01/11/08
        Fugu, the pufferfish perhaps best known for its potential lethality as a foodstuff, is in season now. This restaurant is advertising its Fugu Festival.



        The festival appears to be featuring a sampler of fugu dishes, including fugu sashimi, fugu chirinabe (hotpot), and fugu zo

      • Hello Keitai
        01/09/08
        Many people in Japan, male and female alike, hang multiple small mascots from their keitai (cell phones). Mascots range from characters associated with the phone company to well-known comic, manga, or anime characters. I've only got one on my cute pink phone.



        It's

      • Frozen City
        01/08/08
        About a month ago, during one of the early snows in Kitakami, I was chatting with a woman who had lived here for many years. We agreed that the weather was quite bleak, then she put on her ganbarimasu! face and said: "Now is the time when Kitakami becomes a frozen city." The mountain

      • King of the Hill
        01/06/08
        We had snow on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, with enough accumulation that the embankment near our house became attractive to youngsters wanting to sled or build snowmen. And to us, too. On the 2nd, we gave in to temptation and went to play in the snow.

        Atop the hill ther

      • New Year's Morning
        01/04/08
        Visiting shrines and temples is an important tradition for New Year's. At large temples, people go on New Year's Eve, and the temple bell sounds 108 times to ring in the new year. Other people arise early, and welcome the new year by visiting a shrine or temple at sunrise. In any case,

      • New Year's Eve
        01/04/08
        To make the most of our Japan experience, we've been choosing to participate in Japanese traditions, rituals, and events as much as possible. For New Year's Eve, that would have meant a quiet evening at home and a trip to the temple or shrine at or around midnight. Then a friend told us

      • Shameless Commercialism
        01/03/08
        We've made a calendar of our favorite photos from the blog (and other photos we've taken here), and it's now available for sale! We make $5 off each one not much, but it does help keep the site running. Just click the "related link" for this entry, or look for the ad over

      • Osechi Ryouri
        01/03/08
        December is the busiest month of the year in Japan. Nengajou need addressing, bonenkai (year-end parties, of which there tend to be many) need attending, and houses receive thorough cleanings. By the time New Year's Day rolls around, people are tired and want some relaxation. Traditionally,

      • Let's Recessing
        01/02/08


        Happy New Year! The management of Let's Sharing and Please Take Recess rang in 2008 together. Here we all are on New Year's Day, ready to eat the delicious specialty foods of New Year's.

      • New Year's Decorations
        01/01/08
        As you might expect, the most important holiday of the year has special decorations that go with it. These range from ropes and arrows decorated with paper Shinto wards and seals, to freestanding decorations of bamboo and pine (two particularly auspicious plants). Of course, many decorations inclu

  • 2007
    • December
      • Nengajou
        12/30/07
        Nengajou are traditional New Year's postcards in Japan. They are sent to arrive on or after New Year's Day. It's even considered rather awkward if they arrive early! Late is okay, but it's really best for them to arrive on January 1.

        For this reason, the post office

      • Wakarimasu! Wakaranai!
        12/26/07
        One of the biggest frustrations of living in a foreign, non-English-speaking country is learning the language. Immersion is a great thing, especially combined with formal lessons on a daily basis, you have to use the language for communication, so you're forced to practice what you've le

      • Merry Christmas!
        12/25/07
        Our first Christmas in Japan is over, save for the sort of "second Christmas" we get by virtue of having family in the U.S. We can call people pretty much any time between the morning of the 25th and the morning of the 26th, and it's Christmas for someone. It's really rather ni

      • The Shortest Day
        12/22/07
        On Toji, the winter solstice, the Japanese greet the end of darkening days with traditions aimed at improving health. Grocery stores are filled with yuzu, a small yellow citrus fruit with a taste and aroma similar to grapefruit. It is traditional to toss a few yuzu into the ofuro, allowing you to

      • Retreat from Complacency
        12/21/07
        We've both been here long enough to have unusual experiences and eat unusual things. On the eating front, they've almost always been things we've chosen to eat nobody really springs freaky stuff on the unsuspecting gaijin. For example, one night at Hige-oyaji's place, he start

      • Space Mail
        12/20/07
        Technology at work on the mailbox outside JR Mizusawa Station:



        It's actually a model of a radio telescope, presumably to recognize Mizusawa's status as host to one of the radio telescopes in the VERA network. I prefer to think that Japan Post Service simply beams ma

      • No Two Alike
        12/19/07
        How big do snowflakes get? I mean a single six-pointed lacy bit of ice, drifting down from the sky. When you see big snowflakes coming down, they're not just a single snowflake: each fluffy white "flake" is really a clump of small snowflakes and snowflake parts.

        My mornin

      • Losing My Mind (Among Other Things)
        12/19/07
        It's been a tough couple of weeks for relatively valuable items here at Let's Sharing HQ. Between last week's lost wallet and yesterday's lost car key, we've spent a goodly amount of time retracing our steps (fortunately, Kitakami isn't that big) and revisiting establi

      • Reaching for the Sky
        12/18/07


        Chusonji is a famous temple in Hiraizumi, about 40 minutes south of Kitakami by car or train. It is most famous for the large main hall and the opulent Konjikido (golden hall) covered in gold leaf and mother-of-pearl inlay.

        Less well known are the dozens of smaller halls and

      • Hiraizumi
        12/17/07


        Hiraizumi is a major historical attraction of Iwate, and the site of Chusonji, the first temple designated as a National Treasure of Japan. The temple is built on a forested hill, where occasional breaks in the trees offer views like this.

      • Ready for Snow
        12/17/07


        The border between Iwate and Akita runs along the central mountain ridge of Japan, with Iwate on the east and Akita on the west. Cold air from Siberia picks up moisture crossing the Sea of Japan, then socks Akita with deep "lake effect" snows. Iwate is protected by the mounta

      • Tazawako
        12/16/07


        Lake Tazawa, the deepest lake in Japan, is in Akita Prefecture and not too far from the Iwate border. We remember it well from our 2006 visit, and went to see it again last week. It's definitely the off-season there was hardly anyone else there, and many of the shops and kiosks w

      • Memo From the Dogs
        12/15/07
        To: Matthew and Stefanie
        From: Moki and Aki
        Re: Zabutons

        Because we are Japanese dogs, we believe we should get to use the zabutons. Aki wants the red one. She also wants the kotatsu.



        Also, Moki would prefer something a little larger.


      • Radio Taiso
        12/13/07
        Yesterday afternoon, Matthew and I ate lunch at our favorite takoyaki joint and watched the news on Japanese television. At three o'clock, the news broke and a cheery woman at a piano, along with three young women wearing cute gray hoodies and boy shorts, appeared. The woman played the piano

      • Ahhh
        12/13/07
        We finally had our big kerosene heater installed last week, much to Christina's (and our) relief. It's kind of a shame that a Tohoku winter vacation based out of Pension Let's Sharing will no longer have a full day of seeing your breath inside as an attraction. Then again, it's

      • The World is Black and White
        12/09/07
        A color photograph of a black and white world.

      • Straight Lines
        12/08/07
        On some of the roads here especially those that seem to run at odd angles the street points directly at a mountain peak. The result can be quite striking when you go down one of them on a clear day.





        I'm not sure of the reason for this. My guess is that the

      • Moki Expresses an Opinion
        12/07/07


        Opinions expressed in this photo are solely those of Moki, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Let's Sharing management.

      • The Real Deal
        12/07/07
        At dinner the other night, a local friend brought a small piece of wasabi and a grater along. The grater surface is sharkskin.



        He showed us how to grate the wasabi by gently rubbing the root in circles on the grater, then let the rest of us try. We ate it on sashimi of octop

      • Onsen in the Snow
        12/06/07
        For all the complaining we've been doing about the cold (and now that our friend Christina has been visiting for almost a week, there's been half again as much commentary), it does have its benefits. For example, visiting onsen is much, much more awesome in the snow. You're wicked c

    • November
      • Haircut Chronicles
        11/29/07
        Right before I left Washington, I paid one last visit to my fantastic stylist. My hair never looked so good until I started going to Vera (although I had much better stories about the abusive French stylist I saw prior to her), so it was with much sadness and apprehension that I got my last trim.

      • Christmas Cake
        11/27/07
        Sponge cakes with strawberries, whipped cream, and placards
        Cheesecakes with gold dust for holiday snackers
        Chocolate yule logs with Santas and sleighs
        These are a few of the cakey displays . . .

        Here in Japan, no Christmas is complete without a Christmas cake. Christmas

      • Shambling Tree Monster
        11/25/07


        I have no idea what those "targets" are there for, but they sure make this tree look like some kind of monster from Doctor Who.

      • Winter Wonderland(?)
        11/23/07
        Based on the earlier-than-normal snowfall, it seems that we're in for a long, cold Tohoku winter. At home, we're living under the kotatsu, small space heater at our sides. We wear long underwear to bed and burrow deep within our doubled duck-down kakebuton. The dogs seem to appreciate t

      • Thankful
        11/22/07
        What we're thankful for:

      • Kitakami Yakyoku
        11/20/07
        One of the charms of small, rural towns in Japan is the public music. In Kitakami, music plays from a central location every day at noon and then again at five, seven, and nine o'clock in the evening. We are told that the music may have been used to help farmers to tell time in the days befor

      • First Snow
        11/18/07
        We've gotten varying stories on when the snow comes to Kitakami. Mostly, we'd been told the first snow is usually near the end of December, or not until January. But another local said it usually snows around the end of November or beginning of December. So we didn't really know wh

      • Music to Shop By
        11/16/07
        "Okame, kame, kame, uma nat-TOU!"

        The music in Japanese grocery stores is insidious. It's not like the Muzak/adult contemporary/soft rock stuff that plays in American grocery stores. It's more like 1970s game show music interspersed with 1950s product jingles, on con

      • Wall in Bloom
        11/15/07
        Chrysanthemums are in season now, and some people are very serious about cultivating them.



        These ones are part of an array that runs the length of the house behind them. They're a welcome shot of color on a gray day like today.

      • Saturday Night Cooking Club
        11/13/07
        Since our first trip to Father Hige's restaurant, we've kind of become regulars there. We'll drop by after work every so often for a drink, some really good cooking, and an animated chat at the bar. On Saturday night, we went there again with some friends.

        After a couple

      • Laundry Day
        11/09/07
        On sunny days, everyone hangs their laundry out to dry and their futons out to air. We're no exception.



        The kakebutons (like comforters) are very fat and fluffy because we've put both layers in the set together for the winter.

      • Music of the Night
        11/06/07
        I'm afraid of the dark. It doesn't take much to freak me out at night, especially here, where the streetlights are few and far between. On my way to meet Matthew for dinner after work one night, I had a frightening experience that I recall even now, whenever I hear a specific sound.
      • Manhole Covers
        11/05/07
        In America, manhole covers are a largely ignored part of the urban landscape. They are quite plain, bearing little more than a note of what utility it serves and a tread pattern so that pedestrians won't slip.

        In Japan, though, each municipality has manhole cover designs that reflec

      • National Pastime
        11/05/07
        Matthew and I finally got around to doing some karaoke together this weekend at a pub/snack downtown. As I understand it, most karaoke in Japan these days occurs in small private rooms (or "boxes") within clubs, rather than out in the open like in America. This pub/snack owner loves musi

      • Something's Missing
        11/04/07


        We've had some beautiful weather lately, perfect for taking the dogs on long walks. Whether truly clear or decorated with wispy clouds, there's something that makes the skies here special: no contrails. There have been a few days when planes are flying over (we aren't fa

      • Best Seat in the House
        11/02/07
        Behold, the kotatsu:



        A kotatsu is a low table frame covered by a blanket, which the tabletop sits on. A heat source is located somewhere under the table; ours is electric, and is bolted to the frame. You sit with your legs (or more, if you like) under the blanket, which trap

      • Someday
        11/01/07
        Is there anything you're planning to do "someday"?

        Last May, we traveled to northern Japan. It was an amazing experience, and afterwards we sometimes talked about the possibility of moving there. Then, in October, we decided we would actually do it "someday".
      • Leap of Faith
        11/01/07
        "If you're gonna jump, then jump far." Natasha Bedingfield, contemporary British philosopher

        Having a comfortable life means having a place to stand, and room to maneuver. It means walking around, dodging obstacles, and sitting down with a drink in your hand at the end o

    • October
      • Fall Colors
        10/31/07
        On Sunday, we took advantage of the fine fall weather to make an excursion on the Kitakami Line. This railroad crosses the central mountains of Japan, traveling between Kitakami and Yokote (in Akita Prefecture). Running along steep hillsides and across mountain valleys, it offers spectacular views

      • Fish-Butchering Prowess
        10/31/07
        Fish the most intimidating staple of the Japanese diet. We didn't cook fish much in America, but it's so easy to get cheap, high-quality fish here that it seems ridiculous not to. Not only can it be hard to cook well, it can be hard to know how to eat. Presented with a bite-sized cross

      • Small Shrine Near the Station
        10/30/07


        We've remarked before on the large number of small shrines that dot the cityscape. This one is near the station, next to a two-story bicycle parking garage.

      • The Politics of Onsen
        10/30/07
        Public baths can be daunting to foreigners because of the language barrier and the unwritten etiquette. We visited plenty of public baths during our vacation last year, but I still get nervous about inadvertently breaking one of the rules. And my nascent language skills aren't quite up to the

      • Beware of the Bears
        10/29/07


        Beware of the bears. They're verrrry scary. No, really, they are. Grrr!

      • East-i
        10/28/07


        The "East-i" is JR East's shinkansen track inspection train. It runs at night, when regular passenger services do not run. There's no commercially made model of it, so a member of the Iwate Model Railroad Club ("Iwatetsu") made this one himself.

      • October Skies
        10/23/07


        It's been a while since we've posted a sunset photo. The sunsets haven't gotten any less incredible.

      • Gift Daikon
        10/22/07
        Our neighbor across the street gave us a daikon (Japanese radish) from her garden tonight.



        Guess I need to get pickling equipment sooner rather than later.

      • Something Old, Something New
        10/21/07
        On my way to Japanese class last week, I was stopped at a traffic light. An older woman, hunched over a kind of rolling walker thing, slowly crossed the street as cars waited. She wore the wide-brimmed hat, jacket, and knee-high rubber boots indicative of rice farmers; I presumed her bent posture

      • Bowing Flagmen
        10/16/07
        There seems to be a lot of road construction in and around Kitakami. Most times that I've been out driving around within the last few weeks, I've encountered lane shifts, diversions, or some other indicia of road work. Unlike Albuquerque, orange barrels don't appear to have much of

      • On the Road Again
        10/16/07
        Closed doughnut shop notwithstanding, Sunday's road trip went off without a hitch. The staff at the Kitakami Mister Donut were kind enough to open a few minutes early (to quote the tape on my pumpkin muffin wrapper: "Thanks, you beautiful people!"). We got our road snacks and set o

      • Have We Been Here Too Long?
        10/14/07
        We've been told that you've been in Japan too long when things don't seem strange to you anymore. By that criterion, no, we have not been in Japan too long. The latest oddity? The donut and coffee shop next to the expressway on-ramp that opens at 9 am. What kind of donut store isn

      • Gratuitous Autumn Food Photo
        10/13/07
        We had a beautiful, cold autumn day today, perfect for cooking. It was also the first day I've felt up to doing anything really involved. Matthew seems to be recuperating quickly, so I decided to shake up the cooking from just soup or spicy things. We can't quite get away from the desir

      • Alternative Remedies
        10/11/07
        After a week of cold-induced sloth, I'm finally returning to life and the world. Judging from the number of people around town sporting medical masks today, it's not just me. And Matthew seems to be getting the cold now, which is a bummer because we have a Sunday road trip planned. Also

      • Morning Glory
        10/09/07


        Along with everything else (we even saw azaleas in bloom today), the morning glories are blooming.

      • Autumn Insects
        10/08/07
        Of course there are plenty of bugs to go along with all the autumn flowers, and it's hard to photograph flowers without getting a few insects as well.



      • September Showers Bring October Flowers
        10/08/07


        It's fall, and all of Kitakami seems to be in bloom! We don't know if it's from all the rain last month, or the warm weather that continued later than usual, or the combination of the two, but bright colors are everywhere.






      • Matter of Perspective
        10/07/07
        Overheard in the park today while walking the dogs.

        Adorable 3-year-oldish Japanese child looking at Moki: Ookii kuma! (Translation: Big bear!)
        Child's amused mom: Inu da, yo. (Translation: That's a dog, actually.)

        Incidentally, the big bear decided to eat

      • Illin'
        10/04/07
        Grr. I'm trying to fight off my third major cold since arriving in Kitakami. At the same time, I'm attempting to reconcile the otherwise healthful effects of living in Japan with more sickness than I can recall having in a four-month period. Matthew hasn't had the same problem, so

      • Prisoners of Funk
        10/01/07
        How to silence a bar in Kitakami: Request funk music.

        Matthew and I went out with some friends on Saturday night, and wrapped up our evening at a teeny-tiny bar downtown. It was a divey place known for its huge collection of vinyl, which the bartender was spinning throughout the night.

      • Rice Harvest
        10/01/07


        Farmers have started harvesting their rice. It gets cut and bundled, then the bundles are hung on poles. Most, like these, use vertical poles with the rice stacked in columns. Others use horizontal poles, with the rice bundles hanging over them rather like a clothesline.

        In

    • September
      • American World
        09/30/07


        Tired of the izakaya scene in Kitakami? Maybe it's time to come to American World! Its combination of shopping, restaurants, and amusements seems to be very attractive to young people in Kitakami. I can't say it's all that American the bookstore has hardly any books in

      • Sunset Rice
        09/29/07


        The last golden rays of the sun, heralding the coming of nightfall, light the last golden ears of rice, heralding the coming of autumn.

      • Dressing for Winter
        09/29/07
        I'm in the market for a winter coat. I didn't bring the one I used in Washington because a) it was a mid-calf length wool coat, which would have been too heavy and bulky to pack or ship; and b) it was from about forty pounds ago. So now I'm faced with the short versus long coat conu

      • Demon Moths of Kitakami
        09/28/07
        Some of the successful spiders here outdoor ones, that is have grown quite large. And the largest ones are the ones that have built webs on street lights, which attract bugs by the swarm.

        Last week, while walking the dogs at night, we saw something quite large hanging from a web on a

      • The Joy of Convenience
        09/28/07
        Like in America, the end of the month means bill-paying time. So today, I took the bills and some cash over to the convenience store, grabbed a snack, and paid for it and the bills at the same time. That's right. We pay our bills at the convenience store, which is very common in Japan. For

      • Innovative Use of Color
        09/27/07


        Memo to Sunduell (Sundwell) Apartments: just because you have the paint doesn't mean you have to use it.

      • Whoosh!
        09/26/07


        The other day, we were at the station to see off some visitors. We decided to spring for the "platform pass" that would let us onto the shinkansen platform, so we could see them all the way to the train.

        After their train left, we stayed on the platform a while to t

      • The Bunny Moon
        09/25/07
        Autumn is in full swing here in Kitakami. Windy days, turning leaves, and frigid nights are now routine. For now, we're using our normal covers and sleeping in long underwear, but it won't be long until we have to add the heavier cover futon and switch out the fan for the portable heater

      • Fixed
        09/23/07
        After many months, it was brought to our attention that our blog looked like crap on Internet Explorer. I think it's fixed now.

        In general, we want and expect things to look right on every browser so if you see something that looks wrong, please tell us!

      • Kitakami Swans
        09/22/07


        Kitakami is at least a little famous for its swans. This is actually a recent development, or so we're told. I guess swans migrate through here, and about five or six years ago, a couple of swans somehow got broken wings. Since they could not fly, their whole family (six swans) d

      • Shrine
        09/22/07


        Wherever you go in Japan, it seems you are never far from a Shinto shrine. They are everywhere, tucked between houses in residential areas, on a hillside in the country, or in a narrow space between hotels in the heart of Tokyo. Every day on my way to work, I pass this medium-sized one

      • Yo, Ho, Ho!
        09/18/07


        Not too subtle, is it? I wonder if they respect intellectual property rights.

        Don't forget, today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Shiver me timbers!

      • Prime Cooking Season
        09/17/07
        Autumn is coming to Kitakami. I know this because the Daily Yamazaki has been touting "Autumn's Good Flavor Fair."



        I couldn't tell you what the DY is contributing in terms of good flavor because the odor drove me out before I had a chance to fully contempl

      • The Right Tool for the Job
        09/16/07
        As they say, if your only tool is a chainsaw hammer, every problem starts to look like a summer camp nail.



        We decided to splurge and get some ingredients to make burritos ($9 for a pack of tortillas and a can of beans?!), but forgot that we didn't have a can opener. For

      • Llama Llama Duck
        09/15/07
        Okay, there isn't actually a llama here. But there are ducks, and they always make me think of the song.


      • Mad Kanji Skillz
        09/14/07
        Japanese is a hard language to learn, between the three writing systems used simultaneously and the fact that kanji can have multiple pronunciations and meanings depending on the context. Nevertheless, studying it is great fun. I've learned approximately fifty kanji by now, which is a drop of

      • Fastech 360
        09/12/07
        Why you should always have a camera ready
        Walking the dogs this morning, I got a special treat: the new shinkansen prototype came by on a test run. JR East doesn't publish the test schedule, but they do notify neighborhoods along the line of what days (and nights) they'll be running

      • High Water
        09/11/07
        Friday's typhoon brought lots of rain, not just here, but also upstream from here. So, the Waga river rose a lot.

        I took this picture on August 27, because I was impressed at how high the water level was. It was deep and fast. There are two tiers of tetrapods here. The lower lev

      • Working Girl
        09/10/07
        I'm finally working, teaching English as expected. Ahhh. Working is nice, even though teaching English is not much like lawyering. There are similarities: lots of preparation, maintaining attention to detail, determining the needs of each class, considering different approaches to meeting t

      • Typhoon!
        09/06/07
        No escaping it this time there's definitely some typhoon going on outside. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the storm is powering up the middle of Honshu, so we're in for a drenching. It started raining hard at around 6:30 this morning, and has continued throughout the day.

      • Waiting for Nattou
        09/06/07
        My Japanese teacher lives near a pretty fantastic grocery store that I've started doing my Thursday shopping at for one main reason: it carries Akita nattou. Upon learning that he liked nattou, one of Matthew's students told him that he needed to try the really tasty nattou from Akita Pr

      • Let's Biiru!
        09/06/07


        Just some gift beer we enjoyed last night. Yum! The brewery is in Morioka (about an hour train ride away).

      • Beautiful Day
        09/03/07


        A glass of wine, some late summer fruit, and a picnic overlooking the Waga river. Who could ask for anything more? Even the dogs seemed to enjoy the fantastic weather.

      • Autumn already?
        09/03/07


        We had some hot days in August, but summer here is short occasional splashes of yellow and orange are already appearing in the foliage.

      • La Vida de los Inmigrantes
        09/03/07
        Matthew and I just returned from a trip to the post office to send money to our bank in America. We kept our house in Silver Spring with its attendant mortgage, and I still have financial obligations related to my law license, so here we are: people who need to send money back to the home country.

      • Kintaro
        09/02/07


        Kintaro is a hero of Japanese legend, a little boy riding a bear and wielding an axe. It's also the official nickname of the JR Freight EH500 locomotive. This one is northbound pulling a train of container flatcars.

      • Paris in Japan
        09/01/07
        I've always liked the rather romantic descriptions of life in Paris that involve someone doing the dinner shopping every day, usually on the way home from work. More specifically, I like the image of riding home on one's bike, baguette under the arm. That's not too far off from how

    • August
      • Wild
        08/31/07
        I've remarked before on how close we feel to nature here. In Kitakami, you're never far from a river or park or rice paddy or other place that is just humming with non-human life, such as these black-winged dragonflies that have been decorating the riverside park all summer.

      • Afterparty!
        08/30/07
        On a couple of occasions during Undoukai, neighbors told us that a party would take place immediately afterwards. Indeed, while the event judges tallied up the points, each team set up picnic spaces on the outer edges of the field. We had lots of sushi, sashimi, pickles, dango (rice dumplings cove

      • Fight Fiercely, Kunenbashi
        08/28/07
        When Matthew and I decided to move to Japan, we were motivated by the desire to learn more about another culture and another way of life. So, when our neighbors invited us to participate in Undoukai, we had to go for it.

        Gathered by teams for opening speeches and organized calisthenics

      • Undoukai
        08/26/07
        It's a little after 4:00 pm, and we're drunk. This can only mean one thing: undoukai! Undou(exercise)kai(meet) is an annual "sports day" when neighborhoods compete with each other in "sports" such as Rock-Paper-Scissors and the 1500 meter "marathon". For th

      • Sustenance
        08/24/07


        Here it is: the grass that forms the basis of the Japanese diet, and is so deeply ingrained in the culture that it serves as a metaphor for food, meals, and even more generally for resources and wealth.

      • Surfin' Miyagi
        08/23/07


        On Saturday, we met up with some friends to caravan down to the Pacific coast in Miyagi Prefecture, heading for the beach where all the Kitakami surfers go to catch waves. The mountains march right out to sea here, separating the beaches with rocky ledges and shelves.

        We'

      • Conquering Your Fears (Well, Mine Anyway)
        08/22/07
        Between the Great Tokyo Junket of '07 and last week's series of road trips, it seems our journeys have settled into a predictable rhythm. We hit the road, full of excitement about The Road Ahead. At some point, Matthew will comment (more or less urgently, depending on the situation) that

      • Tase Dam
        08/19/07


        Tase Dam (pronounced "tah say dah moo") creates Taseko ("Lake Tase"), a mountain lake where we have heard you can go windsurfing and even rent sailboards. So yesterday, we decided to take a brief road trip (it's only thirty minutes from Kitakami) to scout it out

      • Passage to Akita
        08/15/07


        Yesterday, we drove to Akita for some good eats: Inaniwa udon for lunch, and Yokote yakisoba for dinner. (Both are specialty noodle dishes of Akita.)

        Anyway, Akita lies on the other side of the Ou Sanmyaku, the mountain ridge running through the middle of Tohoku, and crossing

      • Listen
        08/13/07
        Before we moved here, our lives were full of noise. Of course there were always some sounds that stood out from the background noise. A passing train, the morning alarm clock, Aki woofing at the neighbor dogs. But behind it all there was a constant barrage of noise, all blended together into an i

      • Iwate Park
        08/11/07
        I traveled to Morioka on Thursday to get permission to work on my current visa, which I couldn't otherwise do (it's the dreaded "dependent visa"). I *heart* the Morioka immigration office -- the staff was cordial, informative, and had me out the door with my permit in about 20 m

      • Puff the Magic Dizeru
        08/09/07
        I hope I'm not stepping on any, ahem, non-densha otaku toes by posting this:



        This little guy appears on some of the East Japan Railway Company's (or JR East) trains. I think he's adorable.

      • The S & M International Matsuri-Fiesta-Party-Thing
        08/07/07
        In the spirit of festivity surrounding matsuri, we invited a couple of friends over for dinner prior to last night's fireworks viewing. I was having some menu-development issues until Sunday, when our neighbor from across the street came over and passed me some garden-fresh tomatoes through th

      • Kitakami City Fireworks
        08/06/07


        The festival came to an end Monday night with a two-hour fireworks display. To Americans, that sounds excessive, but it was actually quite nice. It wasn't a continuous barrage of explosions; instead, it was a series of vignettes, sometimes just a single firework and sometimes a gr

      • Zaru Soba -- Day 4
        08/05/07
        It's been so hot and humid in Kitakami for the last week that, most days, we haven't been able to see the mountains west of town. We got a brief respite on Saturday morning, courtesy of a perfunctory downpour from Typhoon Usagi, which had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it

      • Onikenbai
        08/05/07


        Onikenbai isn't the only dance performed during Michinoku Geinou Matsuri, but it is the most famous.

      • Mikoshi Parade
        08/04/07


        The first big event of Michinoku Geinou Matsuri is the Mikoshi Parade. More than one thousand children march, chant, and whistle in groups while hoisting their hand-made mikoshi, or demon heads. The amount of energy on display was astonishing.

      • Unloading a Demon
        08/04/07


        In final preparations for the opening of Michinoku Geinou Matsuri, various performance groups were unloading their large demon head creations from the world's tiniest trucks. Later they would march, chant, whistle, and hoist the demon heads up and down with great enthusiasm. Some

      • Are We Ready For a Matsuri?
        08/03/07


        Lanterns? Check. Banners? Check. Rented flood lights to illuminate the dancing demons at night? Check.

        Michinoku Geinou Matsuri ("North Country Performing Arts Festival") starts tomorrow. This is a major festival of Kitakami, and is famous for Onikenbai, the &q

      • The Gaijin Stare
        08/03/07
        Westerners traveling to Japan, especially the more rural areas, usually hear about the "Gaijin Stare" before they arrive. The Gaijin Stare occurs when a native Japanese, well, stares at you because of your foreignness. This phenomenon is likely not unique to Japan.

        At just ove

      • Spider in the Morning
        08/01/07


        Our previous spider has moved on, and this one came to replace it. We discovered it in the morning, which is a bit more auspicious. (Later, I saw it again at night. This spider seems to offer 24-hour service.)

        Its web is really quite distinctive, too - the center is kind of

    • July
      • Sign Sign Everywhere a Sign
        07/31/07

      • You Want Fries With That?
        07/30/07


        This is in Mizusawa, a small town south of Kitakami. And no, we didn't stop here for lunch.

      • The Coolest Lawn Mower Ever
        07/29/07


        When I was a kid running a lawn-mowing business, I always thought a radio-controlled lawn mower would be cool. It turns out, I was right.

      • What Are You Doing Here?
        07/28/07
        This is one of the questions Matthew and I, and probably every other gaijin here, frequently get asked. In our experience, it is never followed by "la dee dah, dee dee dah."

        There are enough English schools in Kitakami that foreign teachers come and go with some regularity, so

      • Found My Thrill
        07/26/07
        Nothing says summer like blueberries. Unique to Japan, that means a big katakana banner heralding the aforementioned fruit.



        My language partner and I visited Kitakami's blueberry farm this morning, accompanied by her daughter and a friend. I think this was a first exp

      • Substance Over Style
        07/24/07
        It's official: Every Davis is a resident of Kitakami-shi, Iwate-ken, Japan. Yesterday, we took Moki and Aki's importation paperwork to the city office and registered them with the city. They're now rocking their Japanese dog tags, written in kanji, and feeling very pleased with the

      • Adventures in Puddingmaking
        07/21/07
        We were invited to a potluck this evening, which in my old world would translate into the production of baked goods. As you've all heard or read, however, we now live an oven-free life. Our cooking is limited to whatever we can make on a cooking unit composed of two gas burners and a small br

      • Hole in the Wall
        07/20/07
        Things to soothe a soul on a gray, rainy, depressing day: an oolong highball, a friendly face, and a new dining venue.

        Last weekend, while walking the dogs, Matthew and I noticed the telltale red lantern of a restaurant on the side of a building just slightly out of our normal everyday

      • Another Sunset
        07/18/07


        Why? Because I like sunsets, okay?

      • The Pied Mokers
        07/17/07
        Moki and Aki are both tired and ready for a nap after their walk this morning. Why? Because it's hard out here for a 'keeter.

        Near our house, there's a park along the Waga River where we frequently walk them. This morning, two groups of schoolchildren were visiting the p

      • Just Happy
        07/16/07


        Sometimes, it's just good to be alive.

        Typhoon Number 4 headed out to sea last night, so instead of the heavy rain predicted all day, we got partly cloudy skies, moderate temperatures, and a cool breeze. A major earthquake rattled Niigata, but we didn't feel it he

      • Cupcake Withdrawal
        07/15/07
        I want a cupcake.

        Not a crappy Hostess cupcake. A nice, dense, buttercream-frosted American cupcake. You can't find those in Kitakami.

        Good sweets aren't hard to find here. There are no fewer than six European-style bakeries in town, turning out delicious cheesecak

      • Iron Chef Kitakami
        07/13/07
        Many people in Japan have vegetable gardens in their yards. One of our neighbors sometimes shares produce from hers with us -- young snap peas, a summer spinach-like thing. Yesterday, she gave us a bunch of Japanese cucumbers, which have a smaller diameter and fewer seeds than American cucumbers.

      • Dog Days of Summer Already?
        07/12/07


        It's supposed to be rainy season, and although we've gotten some rain, we've also had some hot days. With high humidity and no air conditioner, it can be quite stifling. A second-hand fan helps - except when the dog is hogging it, of course.

        In other news, tod

      • The Things We Do for Love
        07/11/07
        1) Begin life together. Adopt and raise very cute Akita puppy.
        2) Cheer for law-school-in-Washington-applying wife, even though acceptance would mean leaving family, new home, great job, and awesome friends.
        3) Move to Washington, bringing Akita dog along. Mourn loss of very cute, but

      • Densha Otaku
        07/10/07


        Okay, this isn't a densha (electric train), it's a diesel. But that's okay, I'm not an otaku (rabid fanboy), either. But I did finally get some track and a controller, so now I can run the handful of (Japanese) trains I brought with me to Japan.

      • Ad Space Here!
        07/10/07
        Having lived in Japan for a little over a month now, I've been exposed to plenty of advertising. But not on TV. We don't watch TV. Ever. Especially not NHK. So NHK, you can stop sending your guy around to collect for monthly usage now, daijoubu?

        Anyhoo, advertising. We don

      • Best. Field Trip. Ever.
        07/09/07
        Last week, our friend Puller stayed with us for a few days post-dog transport. Because she has an interest in oni, Japanese folklore creatures similar to demons or ogres, we decided to make a trip to Kitakami's Oni Museum. The Museum is located about eight kilometres (yes, we now measure in g

      • Perfect Sunday Morning
        07/07/07
        It's a beautiful, sunny summer day here. The four of us just returned from a long Sunday morning walk to Interz for our weekly fix. Interz is a groovy little independent coffee shop where they roast your coffee while you wait. The owners, a husband and wife, greeted us and the dogs enthusias

      • The View from the Passenger Seat
        07/06/07
        As anyone who knows me can attest to, I'm the sort of person who likes to be in control. And I love to drive. Unfortunately, my international driving permit was left over from our vacation in Japan last year and expired in May. I haven't gotten a Japanese driver's license yet, so f

      • Steam on the Kitakami Line
        07/02/07
        The D51 steam locomotive was by far the most common in Japan, with more than one thousand built between 1936 and 1945. As such it is well known and well loved - even by people without any particular interest in trains.

        D51 498, which has been restored and is used by JR East for many spec

      • On a Mission for Dog(s)
        07/02/07
        If there's one thing Matthew and I love, it's a good road trip. Road tripping in Japan is no exception. Driving on the opposite side of the road did not take as much adjustment as I anticipated, although much like I did last year, Matthew might beg to differ.

        Prior to leaving,

      • Snack Time!
        07/01/07


        The flavor of Tohoku - it's Hello Kitty nattou crackers. Yum!

      • Reunited, and it Feels So Good
        07/01/07
        Thanks to a thunderstorm, Washington was a perfectly acceptable 73 degrees on Friday, well below the 85 degree no-fly threshold. Puller and the dogs arrived yesterday afternoon with only minor incident. We and the dogs stayed in Chiba last night and arrived back in Kitakami early this evening. Ph

    • June
      • Anticipation
        06/29/07
        Assuming the weather cooperates, our fuzzy dogs will join us in Japan tomorrow. Yay! I have been studiously avoiding any reports of Washington weather because I don't want to know how likely it is that they and Puller, who's accompanying them over, will get grounded. United won't f

      • View on the Way Home
        06/28/07
        My ride home from shopping takes me toward the mountains east of Kitakami. The mountains form a backdrop for the cement plant near us, which sets up this view:



        Even on a day during which the sky has turned as stormy as this one, this sight makes me inexplicably happy. It may

      • 8 AM at the Factory
        06/27/07
        Or, why I'm glad I don't work at the factory next door.



        Actually, having an exercise routine built in as part of your work day might not be a bad idea. The Japanese people are traditionally pretty healthy, and this kind of health program has surely contributed.

      • Self-Aggrandizing Photo Op
        06/27/07
        In "Let's Sharing!"'s introductory post, I mentioned that there had been riding of bikes while wearing cute shoes and carrying cute handbags. By popular request, here's photographic evidence:



        Yes, Mona, it's the MoojooKen bag. Word of caution:

      • Dinner at Home
        06/26/07
        Tonight, we made okonomiyaki for dinner. Okonomiyaki is, in a word, awesome. It's a frittata/pancake-like thing made from an egg, flour, and naga-imo (Chinese yam) batter. Mix in some cabbage and whatever fillings you like (we had shrimp and white "slice cheese"), toss on the gridd

      • Spider at Night
        06/26/07


        In Japan, it is considered good luck to see a spider in the morning, and bad luck to see one at night. Alas, there seem to be many spiders around our house that come out only at night! Almost every window has one of these guys there to catch any small insects attracted by our lights.
      • The Tohoku School of Language
        06/25/07
        Out and about in Kitakami, we use our textbook Japanese every day. Through the generosity of our neighbors, friends, and co-workers, we are learning the nuances of Tohoku-hogen, or the dialect of the six prefectures of northeastern Honshu. A few weeks ago, over a Chinese dinner with some friends,

      • Lost, Regardless of Translation
        06/24/07
        Q: What do Arlington, San Francisco, and Kitakami have in common?
        A: They all have lovely bridges. Also, I've gotten lost there.

        Whatever changes living abroad will bring, being able to orient myself geographically is unlikely to be one of them. Doesn't matter whether I

      • Miyazawa Kenji (the cocktail)
        06/22/07
        2 oz. Suntory Whisky
        1/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth
        Dash of bitters

        Shake ingredients with cracked ice in a cocktail shaker. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an awful maraschino cherry (or substitute a decent maraschino cherry if you can get one).

        This dri

      • Adjustment and the Next Big Thing
        06/19/07
        Two-and-a-half weeks in to the Japan adventure, I'm beginning to realize that everyday life isn't so different from life in America, but it's different enough that it will take some getting used to. I go grocery shopping almost every day because Japanese cooking places so much emphas

      • Adventure
        06/18/07
        When we made our plans to come to Japan, friends and family often commented on the "big adventure" we were going on, or "all the adventures" we would have in Japan. Heck, we even used that word ourselves when talking about the move. But since we've been here, have we reall

      • Swingin' at Cafe Goo-Goo
        06/15/07
        Finding Japanese classes in Kitakami is proving to be somewhat challenging. Given that it's not a city drawing huge numbers of gaikokujin, perhaps it's not so surprising. It's problematic, though, because I very much need to be studying formally. So, at least for now, I've dec

      • A Day in the Life
        06/14/07
        8:00 am -- Wake up to sounds of small city life, including clanking and machinery from nearby cement plant.
        8:30 am -- Breakfast. Sometimes we have toast, eggs, or cereal (Japanese cornflakes + Iwate milk = awesome). Other days, we eat rice topped with umeboshi (pickled plums that look like

      • Stick That Out Your Window and Aerate It
        06/13/07
        Several of you expressed consternation upon learning that we have Lucy and Ricky futons in our expatriate marital home. Also about the availability of storage space in the demi-closets, but that had more to do with the pending opinion in Handbags et al. v. Trains.

        There is, however, a ve

      • The Lydia Deets Experience
        06/12/07
        Lately (meaning within the last three days), whenever I've mounted my sketchy bike, one scene flashed through my head. It's the scene near the end of "Beetlejuice," when Winona Ryder leaves school on her bike, rolling cheerfully down the hill, waving to her friends. Now, I'

      • Gifts
        06/11/07
        You might be in Japan if... you get a lot of little gifts from the companies you do business with.

        Sure, back home, you might find the occasional freebie. Fill your tank with gas, get a free toy car. Buy a bottle of Scotch, get a free tasting glass emblazoned with the distillery's

      • We're Live!
        06/11/07
        Greetings from Kitakami, and welcome to Let's Sharing! If the last week is any indication of how our lives will progress here, blog entries will center on the following topics:

        1) Whatever I'm cooking or we're eating;
        2) The cult of Matthew's moustache;
        3)