Intercontinental Champion

Intermission: Red Tree

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:01:00 +0000

The Trons

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:51:00 +0000

This is awesome. An actual robot band who play some (well, they only have one so far) catchy tunes.

Check them out.

Adventures in Jet Lag

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:00:00 +0000

The night before last, my first night back in Winnipeg, i fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Around 1am. I awoke at about 3pm, totaling 14 hours of sleep. Last night, i couldn't sleep until about 7am and when i woke up, it was 3pm again. Jet lag never messed with me like this before. My bowels are acting up. Or not acting, rather.

I'm exhausted, but i really want to go to the Asian market. Also, i need to find my bike. I totally forget what i did with it when i left. I was in such a hurry to move and pack and leave...ah, well.

But in Japan they...

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:47:00 +0000

When i arrived in Japan 3 short months ago, i was impressed that even the workers who drove the airplane boarding dock thing would bow to the passengers as they filed past. They would even say "thank you very much".

When i arrived in Vancouver yesterday, the guy who was driving the airplane boarding tunnel was leaning up against the wall just beside his controls. He was looking down at the floor, ignoring all the passengers. I could almost physically hear his thoughts: only 20 minutes till break...man, i hate this job.

It seems that the Japanese take it upon themselves to put their entire being behind any job they are given, even if that job is just to stand outside a little 100 yen shop handing out free advertisement tissues. Perhaps some think they hate their jobs too, but you sure don't notice it. Can we learn something from this? Though, i do hear that so much Western influence is changing this in the younger generations...

I shouldn't say too much. I'm going to be coasting for a while.

Sigh...

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:51:00 +0000

Toshi-bo loves him some fireworks.

Welp...i guess that's it. I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm going to miss everyone here. They picked up up from Sapporo after my trip to the mainland today. We were all excited to see each other. Ray gave me the farm update, told me about an alternative summit that is being held in Sapporo parallel to the G8 one. We packed potatoes that they are selling at a farmers market tomorrow. We listened to music as we worked. We joked around, laughed. I wrestled with Ken-Ken, talked music and gadgets with Kazu, played with Toshi-bo. They had a going away barbeque. We ate grilled asparagus, zucchini, pork and lamb. Launched fireworks late into the night. Aki smiled and said it was an "itirasshai" party (a way of saying goodbye which literally means "leave and come back"). Ken-Ken told me to not to go to Canada. Kazu reminded me to get him a bag like mine from MEC if and when i come back. Toshi-bo said "abobo" several times and tugged on my pantleg(his way of saying "asobu" which means "let's play!").

It was a good day. A nice contrast to the 6 hours of standing, yes standing, on a packed train yesterday. Yeah, i'm excited to go home, i've had more than my share of traveling these last few months and i want to see everyone back home, but i'm going to miss it here.

in-ta-ne-to

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:16:00 +0000

So, i've got about 3 hours to kill before my trip back to Sapporo begins and i thought i'd find somewhere with some internet action. I asked tourist information and they pointed me to the nearest Media Cafe Popeye.

Wow.

For 500 yen you get your own little booth with a reclining chair (well, you can choose between four different types, i'm describing mine), a computer with internet access, a TV and all the free drinks you can handle. The free drinks are basically vending machines you don't need money for. I immediately got all three machines to simultaneously make me three different kinds of coffee. This is awesome.

A few couchsurfers i met said that you can stay at these places overnight for cheap, if you've run out of options. I daresay it'd be alright. This is pretty comfy. They have blankets and everything here for you.

Intermission: An English Sign in Japan

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:04:00 +0000

Yatta!

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:26:00 +0000

In Nara, i ended up walking around with Sire (pronounced "see-rah", the girl from Norway) and another couchsurfer named Ulrich (a German man who lives in Wales). We went for late night visits to a few temples, an impromptu tour guided by a Japanese interior designer named Hiro. I've been seeing a lot of temples lately, but there's still enough variety in each one that makes it worthwhile. My favorite in Nara was one on top of a hill filled with the soft light of paper lanterns
and you could see the city sitting in a sort of bowl made from the hills around it.

Anyways, i was telling them about my bad luck concerning the camera and how i should be getting good luck because of the "best fortune" thing. I pulled out the paper and read it to them.

Then i noticed for the first time that it says "the lost item will be found"! I was suddenly hopeful again for finding my camera. Spurred by the encouragement of the other couchsurfers and this paper, i spent the better part of yesterday exploring the insides of two police stations trying to find my camera.

To make sure the camera was mine, i had to describe what kind of pictures were on it. I remembered that there was a few pictures of me eating ramen ("ramen tabe-mash-ta!") so i told the woman who was at the lost and found wicket.

She giggled and made a phone call. She giggled some more as she talked, then asked me if there were pictures of cooking.

Yes! Yes, there were! Ones with huge flames! Like this:

I was getting excited. Did they find it? I asked her.

Maybe.

She hung up and pointed to another police station on the map. A 25 min walk away. She wrote a little note in Japanese that i needed to show. I thanked her and left.

At the next station, i showed the receptionist the little note and she led me to another wicket on the second floor. The two women behind the little window looked at my face and giggled and seemed to be unsure. One of the women retrieved my camera (success!) from a filing cabinet and showed me the picture they were comparing me to:

Ha! I laughed out loud. It was the first picture i took with the camera. Somehow i always manage to take pictures like this that make me look fat. I showed them the much more recent picture of me eating ramen:

This seemed to satisfy them. I filled out some paperwork, thanked them and left ecstatic, back on top. I hopped a shinkansen to Osaka.

This has been a pretty memorable trip.

There may yet be hope...

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:55:00 +0000

Apparently since there is no crime in Japan, the police have nothing better to do than to be nice to people.

I stayed at this cafe i heard about through couchsurfing where about 5 or 6 travellers stay. We met for supper at the cafe at 6pm. Then at about 9pm, a girl from Norway was brought to the door by the police. Apparently she had been lost and couldn't find the place (it was tricky to find even during the day).

I told the people my camera plight and one of the travellers from Wales said he lost his mp3 player on the train and the police soon conducted a all-points-bulletin. He went to one information counter and all the stalls had little papers saying that said something like "if you've seen this man..."

So, i'm heading back to Kyoto today in hopes of finding my camera. Wheeeo...

We all saw THAT one coming...

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:52:00 +0000

So far, during my journey to the mainland i have been quite lucky.

In Tokyo, i finally met Toshi--who's house i have been staying at in Menno Village--and had an awesome time with her and her family. Incredibly kind and fun people. They cooked all the best foods Japan has to offer and they never hesitate to answer a Japanese language question. We visited the Asakusa Temple there and i had to try out the fortune telling thing. It's a sort of wall of tiny numbered drawers, you shake out a numbered stick from a can and open the corresponding drawer. In it, there is a paper with your fortune. I got--and i quote--"the best fortune". The sick will be healed, treasures in vehicles will come to your door, etc. etc. Awesome.

Then when i paid for a ramen meal in Kyoto, i got a 2000 yen bill which are apparently out of print. Michiko, a couchsurfer i was with, said i was lucky.

I was so lucky.

Until i lost my camera in Kyoto.

Of COURSE that would happen. I'm sure it musta been on some cosmic all time top ten most likely things to happen list. So stupid. 444 pictures of Japan, lost. Now some lucky sap has pictures of me eating ramen and of flowers beside run-down shacks and of Menno Village and all the people there.

I suppose on the plus side, i've been writing and drawing a lot more. I am enjoying that. And at least i didn't loose my passport or my money. So, i guess it's not all bad. It's just i won't be able to show people what i did in Japan the traditional photo way.

Is Transportation Always a Hassle? (Answer)

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:14:00 +0000

I just realized that when you take money into consideration (which i didn't in Sapporo since i was traveling with very generous people and only paid for about a third of my transportation), yes, yes transportation is indeed a hassle. Always.

Is Transportation Always a Hassle?

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:41:00 +0000

(There is a picture i want to put here, but it seems i lost my USB cable...)

So, i spent the weekend in Sapporo as a bit of an appetizer for the massive trek down to the mainland: Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are all on the bill for my travels. It also served as a bit of a primer to Japan's amazing transportation system. It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you have the right map, getting around is a cinch.

In the subway and train stations there are bright updating displays and color coded trains and lines in such number that they basically beat your origin and destination into you with sheer persistence. Also, each platform tells you when a train is arriving or departing and where it is going. You could navigate these places with your eyes closed! Each subway station emits a sing-songy chime, alerting the blind (or, i suppose, those even rarer few who choose to walk with their eyes closed) that it is nearby.

Riding the buses, though, is when i really got the idea that there really seems to be more of a sense of standards here than in Canada. Or Winnipeg, at least. Every bus feels more like a charter bus with their cushy seats and smooth ride. Plus, every bus has an automated voice that tells you what the next stop is and makes sure to thank you for riding the bus when you press the stop request button.

This taste has only whetted my appetite. I think i'm ready for the ferry and for the shinkansen. Perhaps even the Nozomi...

Movie Sign! - Patent for a Pig

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Sat, 31 May 2008 23:11:00 +0000

If you haven't noticed it already, the website where i found The World According to Monsanto also has another documentary entitled Patent for a Pig. In Monsanto's latest effort to control the world's food, they've filed for a patent on a specific gene found in pigs. They claim that through their special breeding techniques, you'll get this gene that improves meat production. Thing is, most of the pigs that are alive today already have this gene. So, if the patent goes through, thousands upon thousands of already living pigs in thousands of farms around the world will fall under Monsanto control. No doubt their "gene police" will be deployed in full force.

Is this not absolutely absurd?

Watch the 40 minute documentary here.

Movie Sign! - The World According to Monsanto

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:10:00 +0000

I've been hearing about Monsanto a lot these last few months. Enough to make some judgments on the company, but i've never really had a good picture of what it has done.

Ray had gone to a conference about raising awareness about GMO plants and their effects on small farms and communities. One of the attendees was a French journalist who made a movie about Monsanto. In it, she gathers information about Monsanto via the internet, typing in queries as an person who honestly knows nothing about the company then following the stories and interviewing the people involved.

You can watch it here.

or click here for a torrent of the full movie file

lost in transmeation

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Fri, 23 May 2008 08:35:00 +0000

It's been particularly difficult not to learn any Japanese here in Japan. Try as i might, some Japanese words and phrases have seeped into my vocabulary alongside the small amount of Dutch that i know. Occasionally these phrases even spout forth from deep within my diaphragm like some sort of linguistic spit-take, often at other people, with mixed results.

Actually, i've been trying to learn as much Japanese as i can. Though, sometimes i want to speak Dutch to the people around me for some odd reason. Perhaps my brain hears a foreign language and immediately begins rummaging around the "foreign langauges" memory bank pulling out nothing but Dutch words and tossing them back on the pile (yes, sometimes i feel like my memory is just a giant pile but much like the state of my room, it's an organized chaos. eventually i'll find what i need. if i know it to begin with...).

Anyways, it's been fun learning Japanese syntax and structure and trying to put the few words i know into some semblance of a sentence. But one of the most interesting and humourous things about the Japanese language is their onomatopoeia. They don't have onomatopoeia just for sounds like "thud" or "bark", they also have sounds for different states of objects or certain actions.

For example, something that spins or an object that curls around in a spiral goes "guru guru". Like if you want to tell someone to roll up the garden hose, you could tell them to "guru guru" the garden hose. "Hokka hokka" is another good one. It's used for things that are hot and steamy. Hot, steamy rice is "hokka hokka gohan". Or you can "chun chun" (dip) a french fry in some ketchup. Or "badda badda" (take apart) some fresh peas or a Lego creation. These words just kind of give a physical feeling to these actions. I love it.

Best part is, there are these more widely known ones, a lot of them used in manga, but you can pretty much make up your own. I guess as long as there is two words together and people can guess what you're talking about, sometimes you can get some pretty funny reactions.

secondhand shopping is the bust!

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Tue, 20 May 2008 23:52:00 +0000

I officially love recycle shops in Japan. Not only are they more organized than your typical Value Village, they have far more variety and higher quality as well. Plus, most of the items here have some sort of English saying on them that you would never find back in Canada.

Usually, when i go to another town, i go with someone who can translate a little for me so i never really felt like i was on my own. But a few days ago, i went on my first solo adventure this last Sunday and it turned out to be a success. I went to Naganuma by bike, which took about 45 minutes pushing a hefty wind the whole way. Recycle shops were high on my priority list and there were two that were open that day. The first one yielded a basket of pins that were ¥20 each. I think i bought half of them.

The second recycle shop, called Happiness as i later found out, was set up more like an antiques shop where things are loosely organize and if you want to find anything, you need to spend time digging through the shop. When i entered Happiness, i was the only one there. When the owner lady found me, she was very curious to know who i was and where i came from. I stumbled through a few stock lines of Japanese and she eventually found out that i came from Canada and that's about it. She seemed impressed nonetheless. I eventually found some small Anpanman slippers for ¥300 that i wanted to give to Toshie who at age one and a half is a huge fan. I told the lady i wanted to buy the slippers and she not only lowered the price to ¥200, but threw in a frog puppet thing too. I couldn't believe my luck.

Toshie loved the slippers. I was slightly jealous, they look pretty comfy.

Yesterday, we visited Second Street in Sapporo. This is the secondhand store that's set up like a department store, blaring American gangsta rap over the speakers. They had a huge array of different clothing. The brand name clothing had it's own section and some of the t-shirts there cost up to ¥9000. Then there was the low end section, where t-shirts cost about ¥1000 or less. I found a pretty crazy The Clash t-shirt for only ¥300.

No fruitless recycle shop visits yet. No doubt i will be returning.

intermission: i'm on tv! (a silly video)

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Fri, 16 May 2008 01:00:00 +0000

They just got a new iMac here so of course i have to mess around with the built in camera a little. Kazu thought this one was funny and requested i post it.

That is all.

Japanese TV

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:52:00 +0000

When people think of Japan, they often think of the crazy TV shows they have here. Well, i have seen a few crazy shows on YouTube, but there are a few that i've watched here that were pretty entertaining. Most of the shows here are either variety shows with some over-excited host or game shows with some over-excited host. Perhaps because space is a premium here in Japan, so they need to operate within studios. Maybe also to save money, i'm not really sure. I'm just speculating from very little input.

Anyways, one of the shows that's a favorite here in the Epp household is called Million Family. I thought it was called Million Yen Come True for a long time because of the little bits of English on it. I like it too, because they have lots of diagrams showing what's going on, so i don't need to understand Japanese to enjoy it.

It's a game show where a family competes against the hosts for money. The first half of the show is usually a Hide and Go Seek game where the family picks three people to hide somewhere in their house for a half an hour while the three hosts try to find them. The hiding spots are sometimes pretty elaborate and clever. I took a little video of them hiding one of the girls:

As you can see, the family can also plant traps around the house. Usually tripwire stuff where a ball rolls down the stairs into the host or a hole covered with carpet so the host falls into it. In this episode, one of the floors of the rooms was covered in sticky tape and lego. If you try to jump over the pool, you'll hit the lego like the guy did in the video.

One thing that a lot of Japanese TV shows do is they very blatantly use cliffhangers. Usually three or four times in one show, sometimes even the same cliffhanger. In this show, a trick they do is if a host is nearby where a player is hiding, they slow down the clip and start talking excitedly "are they going to find her!? are they!?" then cut straight to commercials. Dirty, dirty tricks.

Another show that's been pretty memorable, was an hour long instant noodle special where four quirky hosts visited an instant noodle company and try all their new kinds of noodles. Trust me, there are enough strange noodles to warrant a full hour. They have one called American Noodle where the noodle is a full 10cm shorter than the normal ones. Because Americans don't like to slurp their noodles. They also had a seafood one where you heat up milk and pour it in. Sounds interesting and i've seen it in convenience stores here, but i haven't been able to try it yet.

Food Is Important Addendum

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:24:00 +0000

Aaron just reminded me of a few things with his comment on one of my posts.

First, he reminded me that i need to read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollen, which Ray had told me about a few weeks earlier. Second, of TED Talks. A brilliant little website full of interesting videos from people around the world.

I recommend you check out this one with Michael Pollen.

So, remember when i was talking about trying to get a ukulele?

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:34:00 +0000

Well, it seems word got around fast that i was a "professional" ukulele player. Which is not entirely true. It is true that I play in a band that features a ukulele--one that my brother plays--one which sometimes gets a little bit of pocket money for gigs, but that doesn't mean i'm suddenly a ukulele wizard. Nor a professional. It's not exactly my profession.

Regardless, word got around and it triggered a nationwide hunt for a ukulele for me. At least five people who popped by the farm every once in a while said they knew where to get a ukulele and would do their best to find one.

The hunt would have ended much sooner, but, you see, i'm a little picky with my ukes. Most of the ones i've seen in Japan have the wrong kind of tuning pegs. Even when i went to a higher end music store, all of the ukes there, yes even the ones that were about ¥40000, didn't have tuning pegs that had the little gears. They were all just pegs, difficult to stay in tune and required very fine motor skills to operate. Eventually, when it seemed i wouldn't be able to find the kind that i liked, i settled on a cheap one that we found at a recycle shop for ¥4000.

Not a few days later, one of the other ukulele hunters found a very, very nice Yamaha ukulele that her late mother had given her. She couldn't play it herself, but really wanted to hear someone play it. So, now i have it and i kind of feel guilty for having something so nice. It's much nicer than the one i have back in Canada.

Since getting these ukes, i've already played two solo shows. They consist mostly of covers, like "When I'm Sixty-Four" by the Beatles and "Somewhere over the Rainbow" and "Mr. Mercury" by the Secondhandpants. They were simple, like the ukes themselves, but they seemed to be a hit, even though most people cannot understand the lyrics. I can already sense that people will want me to play more as the summer moves on.

Guess i need to practice more.

Food Is Important pt.2: Science Knows All?

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:38:00 +0000

Ah, this topic feels a gathering hurricane in my brain. It's chaotic and flying loose within grey matter, yet with a certain gathering force. Somewhere, somehow this whole thing will come crashing together in some brilliant display of typery...or bloggery. Not sure which. Until then, though, i'll have to be satisfied with short disjointed stories or mind purges. Bear with me.

This post is a retelling of a story i heard from Ray a few days ago. He didn't say where this happened, i'll have to get more info on it when he returns from his week long trip. It has my embellishments all over it, i apologize. I'm just going to dive into this one...

It seems that science has taken over our minds. It seems to decide things for us. We've bought into it completely and follow it like dedicated cultists.

Well why not? Look what we've got from it. Computers, cars, boats that can carry tons of cargo, airplanes that can fly people from one side of the world to the other, space shuttles that open up the possibility for exploration beyond our world. Heck, now we can simulate the taste of bacon without the presence of bacon! Or we can cure polio or measles. All it takes is a tiny injection. That's pretty cool, i think.

But, it's gotten to the point where people don't care about their health and they eat the synthetic foods that science has created and that science in turn told them it was bad because we can just hop over to the local doc and get fixed up. It's okay, you can eat that entire bag of Smarties. Go ahead. Science will save you.

Well, if science is this good for us, well surely we can use it to save other people in other countries. Specifically, third world countries where food is scarce. Science could bio-engineer high-yielding strains of rice for these people, saving them from their hard lives. Sounds like a solid plan. No genetic engineering, just straight up cross-pollination. A clean effort.

Okay, done. But why is it that instances of starvation are higher in the areas where these new strains are being used?

One thing that the scientists failed to mention to their recipients is that the new strain of rice has a shorter stalk than the normal variety. Not a big deal for affluent westerners, but to other people who have built their lives on surviving, it means the world.

Since there are few tractors in the developing world, people still need to use other sources of power. Namely, animals. Animals need food, too. Rice stalks will do. But if their crops don't produce enough food for their animals, what do they have that they can feed their animals with? Their own rice? Plus, some people still use straw to make the roofs of their houses or other practical items.

Also, the new strain demands more nutrients from the soil. Suddenly, farmers have failed crops of the new strain. They ask the scientists what's going on. Simple, the scientists say. You need this fancy chemical fertilizer. Oh, i happen to have some right here. It's not free, though...

Science is imposing it's culture on people who have figured out how to live on their own already. Sure, it's not the comfy lifestyle we're used to, but maybe they're used to their lives. Or maybe there are other, more constructive, less imposing ways to help out.

Food is Important

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:56:00 +0000

Usually when i don't write something for a while whether it be a blog post, an email or a song or short story, it's because i get hung up on how to convey my ideas to the reader or things just don't sound good enough. It happens when i try to write about actually important issues because they're more delicate than the usual light-hearted ones.

This post has been circling in my head like a buzzards over a dying mule and every time i think i'm about to get some meat for this post, the mule gets up and drags on. So, i'm finally going to write it and i'm going to try not to edit it too much. I'll warn you right now that i might start to rant. It's hard not to with the things i've been learning here. Like the fact that food is important.

I thought i knew that already. I thought everybody knew that already. We need food to live. But it seems that our farming system doesn't know that. Apparently, there is a shortage of food around the world because farmers can get more money if they sell their crops for bio-fuels. I guess all of the farmers who do so just assume that someone else will be there to do the food farming. It sounds like that whole psychology thing where the larger the crowd is, the less chance a person will get help because everybody thinks someone else will do it.

Also, we've put a distinct emphasis away from farming. Less than %2 of the population actually farms in North America. This means that cities are possible. People now have time to do other things with their lives. Like work in an office, go to school full time or do scientific research. Sure, this shift has given us some useful things like medical science and computers, but now people don't have to look after themselves. Just work your 8 hours a day, get your paycheck and then veg out in front of the TV or internet with a sub you picked up on your way home. I know that's what i did back in Winnipeg. I love my subs, but i don't really know where the food came from exactly or what kind of work went into getting the food into my hands. Money seems like it distances people from each other. It's another middleman of sorts.

Here at the farm i'm staying at, they sell directly to people. They do all their own advertising and they've created a community of people who feel like they need to know where their food comes from. The people who buy food from here were even invited over for an event one day, where they actually got to participate in planting the rice that they will buy when it is harvested. Now the people can appreciate the farmers and their work and even say that they helped. I feel like that is so important now.

I'm not sure if this is making any sense, i'm finding it difficult to convey my thoughts properly through writing. This feels like it would be best discussed in person. But, i just hope i've instilled some thought in you about where your food comes from and who put the effort into growing your food, not just making it at a restaurant or stuffing it into a sub.

haiku while you work

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:41:00 +0000

----------------------------

they know it's lunch time
when they gather at your feet
chickens are viscous

-----------------------------

Itadakimas! - Mochi

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 10:27:00 +0000

Mochi
(moh-chee)

What it is:
Mochi is a really sticky sort of rice cake which is made from a special variety of rice. We had a bit of a mochi making party here yesterday and it was interesting to watch the process in action. Basically, it's made by steaming the rice, putting it into a large wooden bowl (that's basically a tree stump with a bowl carved out of the top) and then pounding it mercilessly with a special hammer until it is one glutinous mass. We took turns, of course, because it takes a lot of pounding. Then, it's covered in flour and broken up into smaller pieces.

I've had mochi several different ways. The first time i had it, it was served for breakfast wrapped in seaweed with a slice of cheese. Then, we had it in this soup that was prepared for the party yesterday. When it's put into hot water like this, it gets really gooey and stringy. Younger people prefer the softer, gooier mochi while the older generations are used to mochi being more tough. This gooeyness is controlled by how much water is used in the preparation. Water is needed to make sure the mochi doesn't stick to the hammer or the sides of the bowl.

What it tastes like:
Mochi has about as much flavour as regular rice. It's all about what it is cooked in. I personally thought that it was best in the soup pictured above. The soup sort of stuck to the mochi and just added to the texture of the soup. Quite tasty, i assure you. However, be warned. It's a bit tricky to swallow.

I'll stop eating this:
After seconds.

a list of cultural things i've picked up from being in Japan and may find it hard to change back in Canada because it seems to make more sense.

noreply@blogger.com (feeblethemighty) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:44:00 +0000

5. making sure dirty outside shoes do not enter the realm of clean indoor socks and carpet
This one is the toughest one to get used to and it makes sense, but i don't know if i'll be so strict about it for my place. For others, yes. But, i've already walked through my house a few times with my shoes on just to get something i've forgotten.

4. slurping noodles
Ah, it feels so comfortable to be able to slurp one's noodles. Not only does eliminate the need for frivolous mouth muscle movement, one is able to ingest noodles at a much faster pace. It's a simple cost-benefit calculation. Besides, i love walking into a ramen shop and hearing a drone of slurping in the background.

3. using chopsticks
Okay, this one doesn't make more practical sense, i just find it to be more fun. I guess this doesn't really belong on this list because chopsticks are pretty common back home. Though, it does come into play for the next item...

2. drinking soup straight from a bowl
Food is a big part of exploring another culture. I'd say about exactly 60 percent. Well, no, but that's how much of this list is dedicated to food. Drinking soup straight from the bowl is all about cutting out the middleman. Especially when the middleman is not quite a bowl and not quite a chopstick but a freakish combination of the two. Plus, when you drink soup straight from the bowl, you allow your entire esophagus to be covered with steamy, hot, delicious miso soup at once, thus heightening the pleasure factor of your soup sucking experience.

1. showering while sitting down
This one is such an utterly simple concept, but it seems nobody does this in North America. It makes miles of practical sense. When you sit down to shower, suddenly every bit and part of your body is within arms reach. You'll start cleaning parts you didn't even know existed. Plus, it's relaxing. Cleaning one's self should be. It's a time to think about how that bit of dirt got in your kneepit, the hard work it represents and then the clean, fresh start you allow yourself using a simple bar of soap.