2015-07-25, A Fun Packed Day

The heat index was at 105F but it seemed to be a little less humid than usual and so it didn't feel so bad.  Luckily.  Because there were so many fun things going on today.  The day began as is usual these days, with the cicadas waking me up before 6 am.  I  can never believe how loud they are, and  there's a park right outside my window which seems to be home to loads of them.   So I had a nice relaxing morning and at about 9:30 I set out to meet my friend Cindy and her husband Shin.  I rode to the swimming area that's about 20 minutes away to see the Birdman Rally.  Teams from universities, or on their own, build flying machines and compete for distance, height, etc.  

Today the gliders were flying.

They brought the gliders in pieces and assembled them on the spot.

There was a helicopter and a drone (which was really wierd and sort of creepy - like a big flying bug) filming.
The boats you see will 'pick up the 'pilots' and bring back the remains of the gliders.

The guy in red is a famous comedian and a number of people had their pictures taken with him.
He was part of (maybe the sponsor of) one of the teams.

After assembling and waiting the teams walked their gliders to the take-off
 area where they had to wait again - in the blazing hot sun.

Cindy and Shin san

This was a beautiful glider - the wings curved up after take-off and
it looked like a crane.  Besides being pretty it went pretty far. 

The take-off platform.  Some of the gliders went about 200 meters, others went 20 or so
 - really they pretty much just fell off  the platform.  You had to feel sorry for them - all the
time, work and money that went into their projects.

I don't think it would have been so much fun without company since most of the time we were just waiting.  The flights would last for a few seconds to a minute but the wait between planes was probably 1/2 an hour.  The pedal powered propellor planes will fly tomorrow and then they'll hold the

finals will also take place.  I haven't decided if I'll go back.  It would be nice to see but it will 

be just as hot and sunny, more crowded and I won't have company...

We had a little snack - the cafe had run out of real food and around 1:30 I took off to go to my Japanese class / party.  There won't be any classes in August so they decided to have a pizza party and 3 women came to play the koto for us.  I love koto music.  Someone also brought 2 wedding kimonos that they had us try on.  They're very heavy and were evidently worn over regular kimonos, I think they were taken off after the ceremony.  Now brides sometimes wear them for pictures but

they usually get married in wedding gowns.

After class I went home for a quick shower and a little rest.  Then into town to meet Cindy and Shin san again and to go to a festival.  It was a festival for locals with lots of kid's activities, some college bands and young dancers, and of course festival food.  It's really nice to see all the girls and young women wearing yukata (light summer kimonos).  Yukata really convey the feelings of summer.  And everyone looks so good in them.

You could buy a plate of cut vegetables to feed to the animals (with tongs).

Children could try their hand at making flower bouquets or using power tools.

One of my students.

We each had a stick of yakitori (bbq chicken on a stick).

This is a fun summer thing I've never done.  Thin cooked noodles (somen) are washed down the
chute with water and you're supposed to catch them with your chopsticks, dip them in a light sauce and enjoy.

Catch the goldfish.

Absolutely delicious local Omi beef.  We shared one - unbelievably good!!!

Already a fun-packed day but it wasn't over.  Next stop dinner!  Cindy and Shin san go out a lot and one of their favorite places ('heaven' as Cindy refers to it) serves steamed oysters, 

and other delicious dishes.

They come frozen - they're from near Hiroshima.

An acerola soda, boiled, seasoned chicken skin, and a Korean salad.

The oysters steam in that giant teapot.

What's left of some delicious fried chicken (kara age) and tofu with chopped meat.

When the oysters are ready the waitress demonstrates how to open them and then
gives the customers gloves and knives and they do the rest.

After a yummy dinner, made all the better by good company we walked back to our bikes
and parted ways since they live in the opposite direction.  It was a very nice day.

2015-07-19, Kobe

At the beginning of the week I went to lunch with Cindy at a place I had been to in early March and had wanted to go back to ever since.  We had a nice, although a little bit rushed, lunch.  Last time I was there there had been only a couple of other people in the place but it was full this time.

I had daily lunch - some sashimi, pieces of pork and egg, vegetables on top of fish
tempura, rice and seaweed soup.  Yummy.

Cindy had the Omi beef lunch which was even more delicious.

We had the outside edge of a typhoon on  Thursday and Friday, nothing much really - here anyway - there was a lot of flooding and landslides in other areas.  

On Sunday I took a train to Kobe, a city I haven't been to before.  I decided to take a different road to the station - when will I learn not to do things like that?!  And of course I went the wrong way and had to backtrack (luckily I decided to stop and ask for directions).  I had to pedal hard and it was so hot - I made it but with sweat dripping down my face.  I had a 2 hour ride during which I cooled off.  

I met Noriko (my friend from Tokushima) at a nearby department store.   I had been planning to walk around the harbor area before meeting her but they didn't hit any traffic and arrived first.  So we headed to Chinatown where we had a couple of snacks.  Some steamed bun type things (manju) and tapioca tea.  

Then we stopped at a chocolate shop where Noriko picked up some gifts.  And at another one around the corner to admire all the cat chocolate.

We spent a good part of the rest of the VERY hot and humid day wandering around shopping arcaades and indoor malls.  One of them had these ice displays.  Evidently with the first one, if you melt the ice you can take the toy inside.

We stopped for lunch at a place Noriko had seen in a book - there are big books describing restaurants in almost every city or area in Japan.  People seek them out and wait in long lines to get in.  The line here wasn't bad, just a couple of people ahead of us, perhaps because it was still early.

This is a form of takoyaki - octopus balls (flour batter balls similar to pancakes with a little piece of
octopus inside and sauce and fish flakes outside).

 This place had a unique type of takoyaki.  It seemed to have very little flour, it's mostly very fluffy egg.  And it comes with a yummy broth to dip the egg in.  You can also put sauce on top.

The restaurant was very cramped, as are so many good places in Japan.  Long and narrow with some areas in the kitchen so narrow the women had to scoot through sideways!  They only serve 2 things, the takoyaki (above) and torokuten which is a kind of clear noodle made from a certain kind of seaweed and eaten cold in the summer.  Either with a vinegar dressing or sweet syrup.  

I didn't realize it but Kobe is famous for sake brewing.  They use water from the nearby mountain and say that's what makes it so good.  So we decided to take a train to an area that has a few breweries.  Most of the old building were destroyed in the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake which destroyed most of the city and killed 6300 people.  Evidently some of the buildings were saved and they are museums and shops now.   Our first stop was the Hakutsuru (white crane) brewery.  They had a very nice museum and really good sake and plum wine.

Hakutsuru sake brewery.

There are many similarities between sake making and wine making.  I think they use a different kind of mold for fermentation and of course rice instead of grapes.  Another fact I didn't know was that aging does not help sake at all and it's actually best to drink it the year it's made.

These are an example of workers shoes (now they wear rubber boots) - their names are on the shelves.

The little boxes - laquered and plain wood - are used instead of cups on special occassions
and in front are the tools used to open the barrel.

Some old sake heating pots.

Lunch boxes and tea pots.

We did a little tasting - it was REALLY good.  I would have bought a bottle but it was
so heavy and we still had a lot of walking to do.  So I settled for this:

There is yuzu (citron) flavored sake in this pouch.  You freeze it and then drink it (out of the pouch) like a slushy.  There is ice cream in this form at the convenience stores but I haven't tried it yet.

We went to another brewery down the street, Kikumasa? I think...

They had a very informative movie in English but neither of us like the sake as much.

We walked slowly back to the train wieghted down with the two bottles Noriko bought, and the heat.  And made our way to a gigantic 5 story mall near the opera hall where Noriko's husband was attending an opera.  We came across this gelato shop and of course tried some.

And then in a funny turn of events ended up at

Costco!

Just last Thursday one of the owners had gone to a different Costco and offered to bring us things.  The only thing on my list she found were lamb chops so I did pick up some baby greens, blueberries and sunscreen.  I was VERY good since I had to carry whatever I bought home.  I really wanted to bring a cooked chicken or pizza home but I couldn't bring it on the train - too long without a fridge and it would smell (good, but still...)

The best part - pizza before we left!!!  Although it wasn't easy deciding between pizza and a hot dog....

I was exhauseted by the time I arrived home around 9:30pm since I'd left the house at 8:15am! 

 But it's so nice to see friends it's totally worth it!