Sunday, October 14, 2012

Next - Autumn Kyoto Kaiseki Menu

A few nights ago, we went to Next for the first time. The fall menu for this year is "Kyoto," or their take on the kasieki meal. Most of these dishes are the chef's interpretations of kaiseki ryori. I was a little nervous since I had never been to Next, I've never had kaiseki, and a lot of fancy Japanese food has historically repulsed me. But I was brave, and I was rewarded well for it. Photos, descriptions from their menu and my own elaborations, and some thoughts below.

Photobucket
"chestnut, apple, white miso, hay aroma" -- the little block is chestnut tofu, and the sauce was described to us as white miso with apple butter. 
Photobucket
"japanese maple forest" with many shrimp and roe hors d'oeuvre type things
Photobucket
The "trees" are crispy shrimp heads.
Photobucket
Maybe these were supposed to represent toadstools? Roe and (salty!) corn pudding in a little yuzu rind.
Photobucket
Skrimpf eyes! It's like fancy kappa ebisen
Photobucket
"sashimi, shiso, tamari": kampachi, salmon, medai with gold flakes and fresh wasabi (there were two dipping sauces: tamari and shiso)
Photobucket
"abalone, cucumber, red sea grapes" featuring kinome leaf, which make tongues tingle
Photobucket
"anago [saltwater eel], maple dashi, shimeji mushroom"
Photobucket
"matsutake chawanmushi [savory egg custard], pine" 
Photobucket
I eat my chawanmushi like Pepperidge Farm Verona cookies (the ones with the jam in the middle)
Photobucket
Ayu. Dipping sauces were soy sauce with cured yolk, and wasabi puree.
Photobucket
The ayu was reportedly from a river in Kyoto. I still don't understand how that is true. Our server said that this wouldn't be available in a couple of weeks since they'll be out of season, so I guess in November, people will be getting another kind of fish.
Photobucket
Fried chrysanthemum, eggplant, and shiso leaf. Flower was edible but this was an item I had trouble eating. 
Photobucket
Red miso soup with wagyu beef and vegetables. This was served with rice (Tamaki Gold, available at Mitsuwa [I asked]). There were pickled vegetables with this dish but they were too wasabi-y for me.
Photobucket
Dessert: roasted fig, yuba (tofu skin), and grapes on a little bed of reduced soy milk. This was a little salty to me but whatever the grapes were, they reminded me of tiny kyoho grapes.
Photobucket
Shime (closing): warabi mochi (childhood favorite of mine, but the ones I know are the ones from convenience stores) with red bean paste/jelly inside and macha green tea.

We had a non-alcoholic beverage pairing, so that many of the courses came with some concoction of strange flavors. For instance, we had a yuzu, pear, seaweed, and bibb lettuce puree drink with the forest course; the sashimi came with a ginger, soy, cucumber and lime drink; the soup came with an apple-barley-licorice drink. There were a couple more of these strange, what were ultimately, juices. This might be a bit of a backhanded compliment, but they reminded me of juices sold in PET bottles in Japan. Like Natchan and Calpis. Subtle in flavor (at least compared to American juices) and kind of thin and watery in texture. They were interesting combinations, never unpleasant even if one was suspicious of an ingredient. I was happy we went with that rather than just water or alcohol.

My favorite dishes were the following: anago maple dashi soup (reminds me of Yokohama's Wakana, an eel establishment from mine, my mother's, and my grandmother's childhoods), the red miso soup (reminds me of what sumo wrestlers eat; it has a very home-y feel, but still special because of the buttery wagyu), and the warabi mochi at the end. It was better than Japanese convenience stores' warabi mochi, lol. Aside from flowers and wasabi being a weakness of mine, there was an uni-mayo dipping sauce for the fried lotus rings in the "maple forest" course that just straight up tasted like what I imagine licking the bottom of the ocean to be like. For similar reasons, the abalone course was a little tough for me to get through. For similar reasons, I thought I'd have difficulty with the sashimi, but I did not! It was the prettiest dish and very much edible by my standards. I'd even say I liked it a great deal. 

Eating at Next feels like getting exclusive seats at a show or concert, or like getting an exclusive and personal tour of a rare art collection, only you're eating everything. I felt a little guilty, enjoying this exclusive and expensive meal as a mere grad student, but my grandmother has some saying about there being no such thing as wasted luxury. This is a meal I will always remember, undoubtedly a point of reference in years to come.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

French Macarons in Japan

Part of Labor Day was spent cleaning the house. My incentive was to vacuum the area rugs to get rid of Mitsu's fur and the confetti she makes from neglected paper products. Mordecai's was for me to put away the last suitcase from our trip to Japan, which had been left out in the dining room since the beginning of June. One reason why I don't like to put the suitcase away (aside from laziness and an unwillingness to accept that the trip is in the past) is because there were a lot of paper products in there, and I didn't know where to put them. Then I noticed a trend in some of the brochures: French macarons. I have what are little menus of the various flavors offered recently by Pierre Herme and Laduree, and a bigger, thicker flyer of a new flavor from Laduree to celebrate their 150th anniversary. I also kept the bag that contained what I thought were the best macarons I had in Japan, the unassuming ones from Kagoshima.

Photobucket The front and back of the bag from the little pastry place in Kagoshima. It was in a "depa-chika," or the basement of a department store (where all the food is located, not where bad children and stores go).
Photobucket
"Les Incroyables de Laduree": Strawberry Marshmallow! Photobucket 
Laduree menu (not sure why the last one is oriented differently from the rest or what a Kalamansi is) Photobucket
Pierre Herme menu
I'm noticing that Laduree has a more Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst- and Sofia Coppola-style) aesthetic--bright, rich, decadent colors and graphics, while Pierre Herme has a softer, pastel-based palette. I think I like the Laduree look for the moment, especially since they use colorful stacks of macarons as a border on the other side of this little square pamphlet.
Photobucket Photobucket
And now, to decide what flavor to try next in my kitchen in the near future (it's still pretty humid). So far, I've done green tea + sweet red bean paste, and raspberry + cassis jam. I've been interested in making desserts with a taffy-like quality to them, and I wonder if the chewy meringue (I like it chewy, at least) and a taffy inside of CARAMEL (fancy sea salt optional) would have my name all over it. The other candidate, to borrow from Laduree, would be chocolate banana. I'll be sure to post hopefully successful results here! The macaron love continues here at KPN.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Ratatouille

Photobucket
I do not like eggplant and am suspicious of tomatoes that aren’t in a hamburger. But one recent day when he was in town, Mordecai’s dad offered to make ratatouille. From experience, I know to trust his dad with ingredients I dislike (his cole slaw, a dish I don’t eat unless it’s from Long John Silver, is gooooooood, and pretty, he uses purple cabbage), so I went along with the proposed menu. I could smell the eggplant in the ratatouille and was looking forward to eating it. It was delicious! And it’s super easy to make. So here I am, making my own ratatouille with CSA eggplant and tomatoes. What would my 25 year old and younger self say of me now? I don’t know, but I’d tell her, Your life is only getting better, just you wait. 

Sunday, August 05, 2012

A Week in Food

In an attempt to keep better track of what I can cook--well, not so well, with what seasonal ingredients, given certain time frames or lack of time limits, when we go out, and so on--I tried to keep track of what I made and consumed this week.
[Imagine French Onion Soup as you wish]
I had recently seen Laura Calder make French onion soup on her show, which I'd never made, so I decided to try it out on Monday. Everything about the soup is pretty straightforward, but I found there were two big "excepts." Except you need, as Ina Garten likes to say, "really good" beef stock (when she says that, she claims to mean that you try as many whatever product you're testing as you can and decide which one you like best; in the case of stock, I think she means "make it yourself; how easy is that?"). I could understand this point, as the instant beef stock thingie I used tasted fine, but perhaps simple, so I might try making my own stock in the future. The other big "except" is producing the signature French onion soup look--broiling the cheese sprinkled on top of the soup. You need soup bowls that can withstand broiler heat, and I couldn't find any at Bed Bath & Beyond or at Crate and Barrel. So I just melted the cheese in the soup, and bought these for future use. One other "except" might be that you're supposed to have some good bread to layer on the soup before the cheese, but if one follows this bread recipe religiously as I do, it's not so bad. I know I vowed not to use this updated version of the bread but it's been fine and I try my best not to dislike people, including Mark Bittman. I watched Alton Brown make this soup, and he put slices of bread under the broiler to toast, placed them toasted side down in the soup, and then layered cheese on top. My mom warned me not to use regular white bread for this (some experiment of hers in high school went awry and she's never made French onion soup again), so I stood by Brown's advice and it worked out. The bread isn't as soggy as you might expect. So, the soup was good, but not at all photogenic, so we'll just skip Monday's photo. For our "green" food, we had a Green Monster smoothie, but Mordo adds random things on hand to make it better--this time, frozen pineapple and watermelon. Delicious!
Photobucket
Tuesday's menu was white bean and kale soup and grilled pesto sandwiches. I like this soup because it's easy to make, though I adjust it by cooking the vegetables longer (I haven't tried using canned vegetables with this recipe; I just use tomatoes and carrots), and I also add as much cilantro as I have on hand. The cilantro gives a little bit of a tom-yum effect, which I don't consider a bad thing, but some might if you want to keep that "Tuscan" theme going. I wanted to make pesto, and planned to make pasta, but Mordo suggested grilled pesto sandwiches using Hippo bread. Grilling anything in Hippo bread is always a winner.
Photobucket
Wednesday was our third wedding anniversary. We went to Four Farthings in Lincoln Park for dinner. The inspiration behind this dining choice was Andy's wedding--there was a pit stop at Four Farthings to watch some college sporting event after the ceremony and before the reception and the location was selected because of Melinda's parents having gone there since forever, or something like that, being Lincoln Park locals. Mordecai and I did not go to Four Farthings then, but I liked the idea of there being some local joint for the people of Lincoln Park. I like to rub my butt in places where I don't quite belong, even if it doesn't matter in many ways. I liked the place a lot though--it's somewhere between slightly-fancy (for me) and casual, and seemingly reliable. Here's my softshell crab, which I'd never had, and whose flavor reminds me of something maybe-Japanese, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it. That sweet potato with brown sugar on top was a gem, too. 
Photobucket
On Thursday, for the second time in my life, I made gyudon. I mostly followed this recipe, adding as much mirin as sake and using about a tablespoon of Ninben soup base instead of worrying about dashi. I produced my mom's gyudon in terms of flavor, but I should've let it simmer for longer so the taste would be a little stronger. I'm afraid of failing any donburi dishes, as it seems a cultural crime to be a Japanese woman and fail to make what children love and remember forever, but I think I just need a few more rounds of practice and I'll be okay. 
Photobucket
On Friday, we went to a White Sox game. It was a nice way to end the week--I'm done teaching the summer course and can try harder to focus on my own work. The Sox won in extra innings with a beautiful walk-off home run by Alex Rios. I was mostly looking forward to a White Sox game because Shaun always gets a bratwurst, sometimes two, and I wanted to try one. It was delicious! Why would anyone ever get a regular hot dog?! Even I could've had two. 
Photobucket
Last night, we met up with Kentaro, his wife, and his ever-growing young son. Hibiki is almost two years old, and apparently, all he does is eat rice balls, edamame, and citrus fruits. He may eat more than I do. We all went to Wasabi in Logan Square. That tonkotsu ramen was goooooood--I prefer it over any variation of Takashi's (Slurping Turtle and his station in the food court above Macy's) and it gives Mitsuwa's Santouka a run for its money. It's a little pricey, but it's nice to have that option so close by. We also tried Heavenly Gelato near the Blue Line; they offer vegan flavors, which is good for little ones who are allergic to dairy products. I was disappointed that the gelato is not really gelato--at least, it doesn't have that sticky texture I like. I obviously don't know what the necessary and sufficient conditions are to be gelato, but I know what I like.
Photobucket
And today, because of having too much zucchini from our CSA farmer and not even being a big fan of it in the first place, I made zucchini fritters using Korean pancake and "flying" (frying) flour mixes. For reference, I used this recipe, but it was mostly useless. Whoever wrote it is right that you just have to eyeball it and you most likely can't fail if you know what to look out for. I also used more onions, because fried onions make everything better. I like the chewy texture of the Korean pancake mix, but adding the frying flour mix helps to achieve that crispy texture. I think you're supposed to make these kinds of pancakes when it's rainy and cool, not when it's hot and the last thing you should do is turn the oven on.

This coming week may be raspberry week, since Smitten Kitchen has a pink lemonade bar recipe, and I'd like to finally try Giada's raspberry vanilla smoothie. I really like the flavor of raspberry, even when it's sour to the point of cruelty, but why hasn't someone engineered them to get rid of the seeds?! 

Friday, July 20, 2012

Yakushima

A Long Preface

Whenever I go to Japan, I'm more than happy to stay in the same parts of Yokohama during my entire stay. My grandmother and I can talk for days; I can see my cousins at their building whenever; I can meet with Naomi at Sakuragicho after she gets off of work and we can loaf around Isezakicho until the last subway train. Mordecai is not like this, not because he does not get along with these people but because he gets anxious to see new things. In the past, we've traveled in the general area to Atami, Kamakura/Enoshima, his host family's part of Tokyo, and we've both independently been to Hakone, Mt. Fuji, as well as Osaka and Kyoto. For this year's trip, Mordecai suggested that we travel to a completely different region. By a combination of process of elimination and an interest in The Natures, he ended up suggesting a trip to Yakushima. It's a small island off of southern Japan, a part of the Kagoshima prefecture of the island of Kyushu. Yakushima is probably best known for its ancient cedar forest, which served as inspiration for the holy forest in "Princess Mononoke." At first, I was kind of iffy about the trip, mostly out of ignorance. The description "UNESCO World Heritage Site" had, and to some extent still has, little effect on me; that is likely just some unpleasant form of American in me. But my cousins were also on board, and so once I got to Japan, my cousin Mai and I went to a travel agency to see how this trip would work out logistically and financially. It turns out that one must first fly to Kagoshima, then take either a 30 minute plane ride or a 2 hour ferry ride to Yakushima. It also turned out to cost a leg and an arm to embark on this trip, even in a packaged deal. Which is another way of saying, it was cheaper to go to Guam or South Korea than it was to travel within Japan. But I think the price tag is like that for a reason--you can't really "casually" go to Yakushima. You have to be invested in it in many ways. But I'll say it again: I'd go again, even with an unfavorable exchange rate.

Our schedule went like this: leave Tokyo on Thursday, hike in Yakushima on Friday, return to Tokyo on Saturday. Mordecai's main interest was the ancient cedar forest, the highlight of which is the Jomonsugi tree. It's supposed to be anywhere between 2000 and 7000 years old. They say: We don't know for sure because it would have to be cut down to have its trunk properly analyzed. I say: It is not our place to know its precise age, and that's not what is important. Or, I say: A real lady never reveals her age. Anyway, the hike/climb to see the Jomonsugi takes TEN HOURS, round-trip. So basically, we were going to Yakushima to sacrifice a lot of money and energy to pay our respects to a really old tree.

The Wednesday before our trip was the day that Mordo and I went to the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum. After leaving the museum, I realized that I wasn't feeling well--possible stomach issues, possibly aching all over, and possibly a little warm. This was alarming, and I tried to do my best to be really still and to eat simple foods. This was challenging because before returning home, we stopped at a Krispy Kreme ("Pure Banana" and Lemon Cheesecake are the best), and Denny's was the plan for dinner. Both of these institutions are finer in Japan than in the U.S. Plus, I had to hide my illness from my grandmother, as I didn't want to worry her. I could not find a thermometer in her apartment without asking so I never knew my temperature, but I took a slightly too hot shower for slightly too long and ended up feeling like my body was on fire. After not sleeping well or eating that night, I woke up still feeling pretty bad, and almost gave up, telling Mordecai I didn't think I could go. But after saying that out loud, some switch went off in my head, and I said to myself, I'M GOING TO YAKUSHIMA. So I took back my words and told Mordecai, "Nevermind. I'm going!" I thought I could at least opt out of the hike if I had to. I took some Advil and got as much of my stuff together and off we went to Haneda Airport. I was kind of hanging by threads, waiting for Advil to kick in, and Mordo didn't seem to be doing all that much better either. He was physically fine but probably worried that I was going to die trying to get to Yakushima, which is funny because although I was not well, it's not like I was on my deathbed, either. On the way to the airport, he dropped his wallet in the back of a taxi that left us for another appointment via a highway; this isn't so much a problem for identification as it was for the fact that cash is king in Japan and every yen was essential. Miracles happen though, as the driver had given me a receipt and I was able to immediately track him down. We also jointly forgot our best cameras (DSLR, zoom lens for it, Canon G9) and were left with the compact Sony camera and my iPhone (4).

On the way to Yakushima, I never really felt okay and I just kept worrying about whether I was going to be able to hike or not. What was annoying was that I felt somewhere in between barely being able to and not being able to hike at all, but I had no idea which way I would go. The illness was half-assed in this sense; it would've been easier if I had just a little cold or if I was straight up violently ill. But the closer I got to Yakushima, a combination of not getting worse and increasing determination led me to believe that barring some bad turn of events, I would go on the hike.

What's odd is that the first time I felt really fine was on the ten hour hike to Jomonsugi. It's like my body knew an epic trail was starting, and it whipped itself into shape. I survived it all on rice, rice crackers, biscuits for small children, and water. Once I got going on the trail, I was fine, and I was purely focused on the hike. Everyone in Japan calls Jomonsugi a "power spot," as though nature gives off a quasi-mystical and positive effect on people. Some of it is obviously psychological or even superstitious but I definitely felt like I had received some kind of will and energy, which did not originate entirely from within me, to move on and feel better in that humid yet lush environment. It also helps that my cousins are hilarious, especially Mitsutaka. Laughter really helps to heal. The hike itself was the point at which I began a slow but sure start to the recovery of my health. I was able to eat more on Saturday, enjoying the regional foods and desserts, and I was feeling much better on Sunday and on the flight home to Chicago on Monday.

The rest of the story here is filled in with photos. The Sony was totally sufficient, and the iPhone is never bad to have on hand. And in retrospect, though I saw hikers with DLSRs and Canon G9s (or G11s now), I would not recommend bringing a DSLR or even a heavy compact camera to this hike. Your focus is the hike and your guide, and while walking, you rarely have time to even look up, let alone stop and take a still photo! Anyway, here's our trip, including our brief stops in Kagoshima.

The Trip
We flew to Kagoshima from Tokyo, which takes about two hours. I've never flown domestically in recent memory, so I was amazed at how easy it was. No one ever checked my identification to see if I at least claimed to be the person whose name was on the ticket. We didn't even check ourselves in because my cousins did it for us. And Mordo's a foreigner! He had a bottle of water and a pair of scissors in his carry-on, and the security attendant politely asked to observe these items. She smelled the bottle's contents, measured the scissors, asked him not to take it out during the flight, and thanked him for his cooperation. She used honorofic forms for every question and comment. The End. Wow.

When we got to Kagoshima's airport, we had to take a bus to get to the city itself. When we arrived, this was the main street. I guess they don't have a train system like other major cities in Japan? And have a grassy trammy system? The bus looks like it's going to get on the tram rails but that's just a normal bus. 
Untitled
Then we looked around what is reportedly the most bustling part of Kagoshima. 
Photobucket
I know this makes me seem like an immature city girl, but...this looks like a ghost town stuck in the 1990's, if that.
Photobucket
Kagoshima is known for their pork products (they are called "black pigs," which seem to be of the Berkshire variety), so we were in search for tonkotsu (pig bone broth) ramen. There was no way I was going to venture into a giant bowl of pig grease and noodles so while everyone had delicious ramen, I had rice and seaweed. Mordecai says that the ramen had a bacon flavor that he hadn't had before in tonkotsu ramen.
sakurajima
Before boarding our ferry to Yakushima, we had a nice view of Sakurajima, a little volcano that somehow sublty spews black ash on the surrounding area. I rarely see dirty cars in Japan, but I saw a few in Kagoshima and I guess it's because of the ash flying around everywhere. Our ferry, Toppy, took us to Yakushima in a couple of hours. It was a smooth ride; I got sea legs on the Sea Bass but had no problems with Toppy. We arrived at the Miyanoura port and took a public bus to the Yakushima Green Spa Hotel. Though the hotel is closer to the other port, Anbo, it was interesting to take the bus along the eastern edge of the island. I saw young students in uniforms and wondered what their lives were like on this tiny island. I asked someone at the hotel if there were any fast food restaurants, and she said there's a Mos Burger, but nothing else. Everything else is local, which I guess is just family-owned. Do the kids go to Kagoshima for fun? A 2 hour ferry ride must be a big deal. Kagoshima was uncrowded, but the true ghost town was Yakushima. It was raining a little, but still, there was little evidence of people!
yakushima_green_spa_hotel
Though there were moths to greet us in our room, I liked our hotel. The highlight may have been the food, which I was able to nibble on here and there. There was of course lots of seafood, and they were into their little shabu-shabu pots that steam vegetables and thin strips of beef. The star of this meal above was the "turtle's feet." Before our server explained what everything was, I thought, Hmm, these things here look like turtle's feet, gross. Then he pointed to them and said, "These are turtle's feet." But then he went on to explain that they are actually a variety of clam. Weird! But they were fun to open (like a nutshell?) and they were tasty.
entranc_to_jomonsugi_trail
Early next morning at the hotel, we picked up our breakfast and lunch bento boxes at the front desk, and we met our tour guide, Maeda-san. He drove us to pick up the last member of our hiking group, a middle-aged woman from Hokkaido (!) whose name we never learned. Mitsutaka declared her to be "Nishida," which I think is based off of no real information, but that is who she is to me now. Then we drove to the bus that would take us on a 35-minute trip up and into the island to the entrance of the Jomonsugi trail. The trail is so protected--only designated buses and taxis can go up to the trail entrance, so I imagine that it's easy to keep track of who goes in and out of the trail.
Photobucket
This is what happens when you try to take a picture while hiking. The first part of the trail is along these railroad tracks that were once used to transport cedar logs out of the forest. After about 2 or 2.5 hours, you begin a mountain climb up to the tree. You walk in a single file line, passing down cautions by voice to the person behind you. It was hard to stop and admire the landscapes, but Mordo did at one point to take this shot. A lot of the views of the mountains surrounded by clouds really reminded me of the opening scene of "Princess Mononoke."
hikingview_jomonsugi
There were a few bridges to cross, at least two of which did not have rails.
Photobucket
There are many other famous cedar trees along the way to see Jomonsugi. Below is the "Wilson Stump." I guess the older trees can begin their decline with a hollow trunk at the base, and some trees just fall over. The Wilson Stump is known for the view from inside. If you scoot into one edge of the stump inside and you look up, you should see one giant heart and a small one nearby. I had trouble at first and saw only the small one but backed farther into the edge and sunk lower to see the other giant one. Obviously, this is a hot spot for couples. Here we are in front of the stump.
Photobucket
And here are the hearts.
wilson_kabu_stump_heart
Mordecai shook his head at the hearts and called them a "gimmick"! Poor Wilson. Later on the way back, we stopped back in and found a couple trying to take a picture of themselves with the hearts in the background. I offered to take their picture, and I think they were pleased with the results, if I say so myself.

The railway tracks are mostly a reminder of how the forest was logged until about 1970, which is I'm guessing when environmental issues started becoming more mainstream and the UNESCO stamp was starting to be sought or acquired. It's kind of scary to think that this forest would be logged as much as possible, but perhaps not all that surprising in the pre-modern era. There was even a small town in this forest, complete with a school, that had to be closed around 1970. But the rails also indicate how the two restrooms on the trail are presently maintained. The first restroom is a "bio toilet," and the second restroom has some sort of plumbing system and is at the end of the rail track trail, before the beginning of the climb to the Jomonsugi. Beyond this bathroom, there is only one designated places to use "mobile toilets" that you can bring with you in the case of an emergency. And as with all garbage, you must bring your waste back with you to the trail entrance! I'm happy to report that the only waste I had to deal with was picking up little candy wrappers that other people had dropped. I don't know what a bio toilet is nor do I know how to use a mobile toilet, and I'm glad I didn't have to find out. My first name means "blessed" and I do not think this is a matter of coincidence. Thank you for the name and destiny, Grandfather Hotoda.
Photobucket
jomonsugi_trail_climb
The climb up is hard. There aren't many rails, so you use whatever the forest offers you if you need it--rocks, branches, stumps. I remember the cedar branches and stumps I frequently used to hoist myself up stairs or rocks; they were so smooth and cool to the touch. I know how this sounds, but I felt like the forest was helping me climb to see the Jomonsugi. There were animals along the way, who coexist with the hikers pretty peacefully. We saw many white-tailed deer, a monkey, and a toad. The higher we went up, the mistier it got, as it rained lightly on and off. My cousins and other hikers were all decked out in waterproof "rainwear," or rain coats, rain pants, and a waterproof cover for their backpacks. Some people had hiking poles. Everyone Japanese basically looked like they had just come out of a photoshoot for the Yakushima tour guide magazines. I initially thought, Ooh, these people are super excited! and didn't think they needed all that. But it turns out I'm American in this respect--arrogant and unprepared--as my raincoat is apparently not waterproof; cotton leggings are comfortable but not ideal when they get wet; and my backpack was a fashionable backpack, but not one that could withstand 10 hours of off and on rain, even with an umbrella. Mordecai was in a similar situation, though he had a better raincoat. The one area where we did not mess up was with hiking shoes. I splurged and got these, and they were perfect. Did you know that hiking boots are ugly because they get dirty? I figured it out on this trip. Anyway, if you're going to Yakushima on this trail, don't play around with hiking gear and just get what is recommended.

After 2 or 2.5 hours of climbing, we finally got to the Jomonsugi. Look, a sort-of-smile from Mordo in the picture! That means he's super excited. 
Photobucket
No one informed me that there were Death Stairs right up to the tree! I was breathless when I saw the Jomonsugi because I thought I was going to die after walking up those stairs. But I was very happy to see it, too. Unfortunately, there are no variations of the picture of us in front of the tree where Mitsutaka's face is not covered by his sister's peace sign hand. And I don't know what's floating out of my pocket. Lol. 
Photobucket
Lots of hikers linger here for about ten minutes taking pictures. I saw young women with makeup on, taking pictures with the tree in the background. Makeup! How did it last?! There was also a tour guide who looked like an older, Japanese version of Sam of Wisconsin. Japanese old man Sam took a group photo of us and said to us, "Say, 'Jomonsugeeeeeee!'" to make us smile, instead of saying "Say, 'Cheese!'" (Did my best to keep track of use-mention distinction in case Real Sam is reading, or in case Japanese old man Sam is also an analytic philosopher.) 
Photobucket
There is our tour guide, Maeda-san, on the bottom left, and "Nishida-san," on the right.

Our trip package included this Jomonsugi tour, and Maeda-san was assigned to us through the Yakushima Guide Association. I don't know why he's not on the staff page, but he said he goes on this trail 2 or 3 times in one week. It turned out that he spoke English and knew a lot about various plant species of the forest because he studied biological conservation in England! I really liked hearing him speak English, because I could hear a British accent mixed in with the Japanese accent. He tried to translate various plant and flower names for us; if he didn't know, sometimes I knew the translations but most of the time I relied on my dictionary in my phone. It also turned out that he has a Shiba! He unfortunately had no pictures to share as he had just gotten a new phone, but I shared many pictures of Mitsu with him. He was also the first person I came across in Japan who understood my academic situation: here I am hiking on a remote Japanese island during my summer break when I should be working on my dissertation. He said he studied specific species of bats and mountain lions in graduate school, so I gather he wrote some thesis abroad. I barely can write notes for my dissertation in English; I can't imagine writing anything of that magnitude in a foreign language. If, when, I return to Yakushima, I hope Maeda-san is still there, so he can guide me to the Shiratani-unsuikyo Ravine, that served as the specific source of inspiration for "Princess Mononoke," or the many other places that one can explore on Yakushima. I couldn't bring myself to ask how old he was or whether he was married or lived alone with his Shiba ("Coco," I think its name was), but I wondered what his life was like. While we all had bentos that our hotels prepared for us for lunch, he had three giant rice balls. Did he make them himself? That was a lot of rice.

On the way back from the Jomonsugi, we ate lunch in the rain and we took the same trail down, yielding to hikers still on their way up. I was starting to become the slowest hiker of the group, so I was instructed to walk behind Maeda-san, which would set the pace for the entire group. This is when I realized that we all had been playing Telephone with our feet. I'd copy Maeda-san's light and knowledgeable footwork, and Mordecai would do what I did. If I bastardized Maeda-san's footwork, it would get worse behind me. Once we got back to the railway tracks, we all took turns to be pace-setters, which also provided an opportunity for everyone to talk to Maeda-san. Otherwise, our walk back would have been dead silent and a bit of a Debbie Downer. It was clear we were all exhausted and ready to sit down in a vehicle. When we saw the rail tracks end, it seemed that Mitsutaka was most excited to return to our starting point. It really is tiring, so much that you don't know what to do with yourself. The next morning, Mai could not stand up, and I had to show her how to stretch her calves and hamstrings to be able to function properly, especially to get back to Tokyo!

Before Maeda-san dropped us off at the hotel, he took us to a bridge where we could see the Ambo River flow from the mountains on one side, and head towards the sea on the other side.
Photobucket
Photobucket
Mordecai had been remarking that despite all the rain and humidity in Yakushima, nothing smells stagnant. The mountainous region must help to keep the water constantly moving. What I noticed was that these trees look like broccoli. I also saw these like, super giant hydrangea plant-trees on the way up and down the Jomonsugi trail entrance. It must be easy to grow and maintain flowers and vegetables with all that heat, humidity and water.
Photobucket
(Top row: flying fish sashimi at the hotel; tonkatsu in Kagoshima; me on a really old JAL plane back to Tokyo [those are earphones!]. Bottom row: Kagoshima raspberry, white peach, ramune macarons; Kagohshima's volcanic ash in the rain; shirokuma ice in Kagoshima [sorry for how it's cut off in the picture but I don't feel like fixing it]
On our way back to Tokyo, we went through Kagoshima again, getting tonkatsu (deep-fried breaded pork) for lunch. We also stopped at a mall where we all shared a giant "shirakuma" shaved ice dish the area is known for. It's shaved ice doused with condensed milk, and with random fruits stuck on the sides. I also picked up some macaroons--ramune, white peach, and raspberry flavored--thinking it couldn't be better than the Pierre Hermes ones I had in Shibuya and possibly the Laduree ones I had at Haneda Airport. I WAS WRONG! Kagoshima delivered hard. Those were some of the best macaroons I've had.

On the flight home, the time passed quickly. Mai slept while Mitsutaka, Mordecai and I devised a plan for them to come to Chicago and New York/Long Island later this year, even picking out dates (which I can't remember, lol). We parted ways at Haneda; hopefully the next time we see them is stateside.

In Conclusion
The trip was as epic as this post. Ordinarily, I'm not big on The Natures, but lately I've been getting interested with the dog, the garden, and now with Yakushima's entirely different environment. I'm also amazed that with the right attitude--mostly one of respect--The Natures can heal and energize. Unfortunately, I'm having difficulty thinking of an equivalent place in the U.S.--there's the Grand Canyon, the stuff up northwest like Yellowstone, and there are the Everglades in Florida, but nothing is really mountainous, humid, and rainy like Yakushima. Maybe on the Hawaiian islands? Ooh, I'll go there. I'd love to return to Yakushima. When I told people in Japan that we were going to Yakushima to see the Jomonsugi, they expressed envy. Our seniors, let's call them (e.g., Mai and Mitsutaka's mom, my grandma, my mother) were under the impression that only hikers and the youthful could go to Yakushima, but I read about plenty of other low-key things to do: bus tours to different sites, including watching sea turtles lay their eggs (or was it that the eggs hatch?). Mordecai joked about bringing back an ancient tree branch for Mitsu, and it would be crazy to ever bring Mitsu to any part of Japan, let alone a remote island (to meet Coco?!). But perhaps a human Mitsu or human Carleton would be lots of fun to bring along in the far future. 

Friday, July 06, 2012

Yokohama 2012 x Mordo

Photobucket
Photobucket
Unfortunately, Narita Airport is really far away from Tokyo and Yokohama. The only thing better than taking the Narita Express (NEX) train to either city is to take a plane directly to Haneda Airport in Tokyo if you're flying out of NYC, Boston, or LA :( (Really--why Boston?! Is it the career fair thingie?) I found a pretty good deal on an NEX + Suica combo for foreigners. I find it kind of inviting but simultaneously disinviting: "Please come to Japan and enjoy this heavy discount on the NEX! Ride around Tokyo with this Suica card! But only if you stay for a 14 days (or stay here for good)!" I think the general point is to not alarm foreigners by the original price of the NEX; it really is expensive (about $50, one way). My grandma complained that there was no equivalent "help" for foreigners coming into the United States. Using what felt like insufficient vocabulary, I tried my best to explain to her that under no circumstances, no part of the United States could ever come up with something as extraordinarily beautiful as the NEX, let alone anything as smoothly-run as any of the Japan Railway lines. You either take the CTA Blue Line to or from O'Hare, or the Orange Line to or from Midway, and you pray to the transportation gods that your car doesn't smell like gross body excretionary matter. If it doesn't, consider yourself warmly welcomed by Rahm and the Ghosts of Daleys. When you are surrounded by efficient transportation, especially tailored for the elderly (e.g., the Yokohama bus and subway are free for seniors), I wonder if you can't help but take it for granted. I should have reminded her of the time that she thought that the CTA train was going to derail; we were just underground on the Blue Line! Who the hell wants a discount on that ancient, garbage railway?

I was in Japan for two weeks with my mother. It's interesting, and fun, to live briefly with her again, and especially in Japan. I love Japan even more when I'm there with her, especially when we have nothing pressing to do, lots of good food to eat, and good people to see. The day she left was the day Mordecai arrived, so I dropped her off at the airport and picked him up. The next day, he and I walked around Yokohama's Yamashita Park. My family has a long history with this area in general, and the Hotel New Grand in particular.
Photobucket
We took the Sea Bass (pronounced "Sea Bus"!) to the Yokohama station. You ride in the shaky little boat past Sakuragicho/Minato Mirai, where the Landmark Tower and all those iconic buildings are. I hadn't ridden the Sea Bass for so long, since the early 1990's.
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
This is an overexposed or washed out (sorry, Daddy) but typical view of Yokohama's most famous landscape: Landmark tower, the Cosmo World ferris wheel/clock, the descending Queen's Towers, the crescent-y Intercontinental Hotel.
Photobucket
This is the usual view, from behind, which I don't think is noticed very often. The flat structure in the foreground is a convention center, I think.

We went to the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum in Kawasaki city; it was my second time in two weeks. Mordecai and I watch Doaremon on Saturday morning, so I insisted that he visit the museum. Which is to say, if you care about Doraemon at all, you should visit the museum, and if you love Doraemon, then you are morally obligated to pay respects to his creator! I'm not sure I can walk past Fujio's timeline anymore though. It notes his death in 1996, and like a gentle whisper, or to comfort the young ones, remarks that he will always be with us. And then, when you think the timeline is over, it marks the year 2112, the birth of Doraemon. I can't and don't want to articulate exactly why, but I almost started bawling each time I saw this part of the timeline. Somehow, I was able to contain myself, but I still desperately needed tissues as I moved on to the next exhibit.
Photobucket
Photobucket
This guy appears in the background of the photo of me and Doraemon. I saw him wandering around by himself, eating a dorayaki (a sweet bean paste filled pastry, Doraemon's favorite snack). I decided he must have been a superfan, so I stalked him a bit with my iPhone that makes no shutter noise when I take pictures. I mean, look at that cross-legged, chill pose! I don't think I could be as confident and cool as him if I went to the museum alone. He deserves another view on this blog. Is he a ghost? A sprite?
Photobucket
Photobucket
This is on the the subway back in Yokohama after the museum. I didn't know it then, but at this moment, a stomach virus or some other sort of illness was creeping over me as I was about to embark on a trip to southern Japan. But more on that later. Anyway, don't I look Japanese with everyone else?! My peoples! Little does everyone know, I can speak, read, and write as well as only an 8th grader, if that.
Photobucket
Photobucket
These are the Yokohama highlights of our trip, at least as remembered by the Sony camera. The rest of the time was spent in Kagoshima and Yakushima with my cousins, which will be chronicled in the next post! I'm getting there!