かわいい～ Part 1

I've decided to start posting all the ridiculously cute things that I see in Japan.

Number 1: Apple Bread


Number 2: Pumpkin Bread


Number 3: Individually wrapped fruit flavored Kit Kat bars


Number 4: Ukon- this is the Japanese hangover drink. It is said that if you drink one Ukon before and after a night of chugging them down, you will wake up feeling A-OK! If this image doesn't trigger anything, this is the stereotypical Japanese drunk. Their work tie on their head while trying to sing karaoke.


And a cute word for the day...

O-choco-choi (おちょこちょい）= clumsy

BIg Fruit PART II

Japan brings you....BIG PEAR!

Another week of school, and then another weekend of fun. This seems to be the blogging trend. Not that I am one to complain. This weekend, we drove to the highest point of the Honshu Island to the small town of Mutsu. A town so small that the name of it isn't even in Kanji. Our friend Adam who lives in Morioka did live near this small area and wanted to show us the pride of Mutsu, THE TUNA FESTIVAL. This is a fisherman's village and they patrol the waters nearby and catch 200 pound tunas. So on this day we ate the freshest tuna possible, right off of the fish itself. We finally even tried the famous OTORO, the fattiest part of the tuna which is usually triple the price of normal raw fish. Yummy!

Sand in Strange Places

Last weekend, Ron,a couple friends and myself went to Nishiwaga, which is a small onsen town. Our friend lives there and for $10 a month, he can go to over 50 onsen in the area. We made the two hour drive south to his place and took in the beautiful changing leaves. When we arrived we enjoyed a 30 minute hike in his backyard. There were steep and narrow hills only 100 meters from his house. Then later that night, we went to a sand onsen. Even being a California beach girl, I have never buried myself in sand. So it was really strange to put on their yukata and have little old women pouring hot sand over my body. The effects were quite nice. I lost a kilo. Unfortunately after we came home and made a huge curry dinner with lots of beer. Two kilos plus. It was a very enjoyable experience.



This is actually a foot onsen, where people take off their shoes and soak their feet. But the boys had just finished swimming in the river and this was the closest source of warmth. I wonder what is more dirty, onsen with feet or boys with river?

MONSTER DEFEATED!

We climbed Mount Iwate!

My legs are so sore. So much in fact that it takes me 10 seconds to get up from the floor and another 10 seconds to return back down. Yesterday, Ron and I came back from the largest mountain in Iwate (hence, Mount Iwate). It is about 2,500 meters high. On Saturday we hiked uphill for three hours. About 2, 000 feet. We slept over with 30 other foreigners in a small hut. The following morning after no one could sleep because of the blustering wind, we awoke at four in the morning to climb an hour and a half more to the top. It was very cold and we couldn't see the sun rise, but just knowing I was at the top was enough for me. Then the rest was "easy". Just five more hours descending and ascending three mountains until we got to the other side. The grand prize of it all was a hot onsen waiting to relieve out tired tootsies. I was very proud making such a trip. I was even in the "fast" group. Although I can safely say that I will not do that again. I'm glad that I did it at least once. Ron... I'm sure could do it again and again. I am not that strong.

A 10 cc lawnmower can cut a lot of grass

READER BEWARE YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ SOMETHING NOT FROM JUNI, YES RON HAS FOUND HIS WAY ONTO THE BLOG.

OK so if you were concerned about what is going to be written because of the introduction you can exhale now. Recently I have been thinking about the different types of rooms a house has and what people do in them. There are the obvious ones: the kitchen where one makes food and then theres the bathroom where ya... you know. but yeah we have been using our 'bedroom' as a multipurpose room for quite some time now. I found it funny that the two of us use this room pretty much exclusively and ignore the other three rooms. we have used our room as our living, dinning, entertainment, study, and even a kitchen at times (see previous posts on Nabe if you are confused). so yeah, I had always wondered why a study was really needed and I also wondered why I have such a hard time studying at home. well after I pulled the ripcord on my lawnmower engine powered brain, it sputtered out the idea to construct a study room. And as soon as Boo Boo (juni) gets home I am sure she will put up pictures up for you all to see my wonderful creation.

What happens when there are no pictures

This blog has been a blessing and a curse at the same time. While keeping it up to date makes me (us) want to do things in order to give everyone at home a good show, I feel empty if a weekend passes and there is no event to mention. After Nikko, both our bodies and our wallets needed a break. So recently, we've been entertaining ourselves with simply prepared home meals, watching Japanese TV on the internet, and sleeping early. There have been a few events that have kept us socializing such as a Rocky Horror Picture show movie night with some new friends, going to the Culture Festival of my School for the Blind, and continuing our Italian cooking lessons with a friend. Although this is not a typical "Adventures of Juni and Ron" (Ron and Juni), smaller things have made the weekends more of a weekend. It's a time to get over the last week of work and recharge. No thinking of lessons or ways to get the kids to talk. Not having to wake up early and get through the dense bike traffic (yes, it exists). And not having to waste six hours of my day behind a computer waiting for a class or some project to come up. Instead, the idea of sleeping in, having cereal for lunch, watching TV until our eyes hurt, and getting outside for a nice walk, seems like a better remedy for a long work week than a jammed weekend driving 500 kilometers to a new destination. Balance keeps both events valuable. We need these eventless weekends to appreciate the adventures. And visa versa.

Look at this apple!

My Japanese Style Pasta

Back at home, I often go to Spoon House which has the best Japanese Style spaghetti, even in Japan. There are few places that compare. There is this one dish that I absolutely love and I have been looking for it in Japan, but can't find any place that does it. Additionally, Ron and I have finished our new Japanese drama called "Bambino" which is about this Japanese guy who wants to be a chef for Italian food. Needless to say, they make a lot of food in the movie. More so, we have been having dinner at a friend's house and he makes us dinner showing off his skills of living in Italy, while I take notes.

Spoon House+ Bambino+ Italian lessons= My own recipe!

I actually made my own Japanese pasta that greatly resembles the pasta that I love so much in America. Ron loved it, I loved it, and I am so happy that I was able to think of what I tasted and it came out the way that I wanted.

Brava me!

ジュニのあさり和風スパゲーティ　Juni's Japanese Style Clam Spaghetti



Clams with sauce
Dashi
Shoyu
Sake
Pasta
Shimeji Mushrooms
Garlic
Sliced nori