I has a bucket (list)... Noooo they be stealin' my bike

Last week I felt like this sea lion...

Last time I came to Japan, Boy said I had to do things I had done in Canada, again in Japan. I guess you could call it a sort of bucket list (except I don't make a list of things to do, but rather of things I've done)...
Anyhow, last week I added another thing to my list: having my bike stolen! It was actually an interesting experience, in hindsight...
First I should explain about Japanese "mama chari" bikes. They all have built-in locks on the back wheel... Too flimsy by western standards, but they do the trick in Japan! To ride the bike, you put the key in the lock and leave it in there. To lock it, you take the key out.

Sooo last Thursday I went to Wakayama city by train to teach my lesson at GLS and I left my bike at the station--unlocked (aho ka!)
Now I have done this before and yes, it was okay. But this time of course I got back in the evening and it was not there! I was afraid I would never see it again, but luckily I had it registered with the police when I bought it.
So the next day I went to the police station to report it stolen (actually something I've never done in Canada)!
Then Machiko's sister-in-law told me that the bike thieves are often high school students with too much time on their hands, who take bikes from the station and ride to a konbini/karaoke/bookstore.. Etc.
Anyhow to make a long story less long, this morning I was riding around on Keiko (Machiko's niece)'s bike and found my bike near a juku, an after-hours exam prep school.

That's my bike, right there. "Axis" is the cram school.

The key was still in the lock! So I took the key and went to retrieve the bike later... I also went to the police station and got my fingerprints done (they will compare the prints on the bike to try and find the culprit).
So, what are the things on my bucket list now?

• eating at a McDonald's (completed in 2008)
• going skiing
• going to a movie
• feeling an earthquake
• having my bike stolen

Things I've done in Japan that I haven't in Canada:

• found my bike that was stolen

And what did I learn from all this? That whereas in Canada, bike thieves are electric-saw-and-wire-cutter-wielding junkies who will stop at nothing (even a kryptonite U-lock) to sell your bike for a bag of, uh.. sandwiches; bike thieves in Japan are 16 year olds going to their cram school or playing hooky.. and they leave the key in the lock. They are a kind and innocent brand of thieves (at least in Aridagawa).
Oh yeah, and always lock my bike.. Yeah. That.

asian spring

It is now spring in japan.
the cherry blossoms came and went too quickly.
insect repellants and sunscreen have been popping up all over the supermarkets.
there are also fireworks :D

I can't wait to get my hands on some of these!

I just need someone to burn them with...

on april 13th, I went to Kimiidera (a temple in south Wakayama city) with Motoaki and Machiko sensei. we went there to view the cherry blossoms... too late! they were almost all gone to the wind. it was still very pretty; Kimiidera has a nice view from the top. oh well, maybe next year I can see the blossoms at Wakayama castle. I hear they are nice there, too.

on april 15th, I came across a lantern festival in Yuasa town. there were lots of lovely and creative lanterns :) the old part of Yuasa is really cute. 

 May 5th was children's day. Happy Children's Day to all the boys!

on the 6th I went to another Survival game (airsoft/bb rifles)
that's me! (I'm just posing)

on the 8th I went to Koto no Ura garden in Wakayama city with my friend/coworker Misa. it was very tranquil and beautiful. it reminded me of Nitobe garden at UBC.

in the classroom, I am always finding funny things... I recently came across this on the cover of the book we use for teaching lower case letters. This is going to be my favourite story for a while. also, where can I get a pair of these "cool dino shoes". they sound fantastic.

 Yesterday, I performed the shamisen (3 songs!) at a Tenrikyo service at Yuasa church. I love the shamisen now :D I want to look up some more sheet music to study in my free time so I can improve, not just Tenrikyo songs. I am also getting a friend to teach me the Koto. I can play the song "sakura" but not very well.

Nagoya.

So, today I am in Nagoya (until about 12-1 pm). When I applied for my passport so I can extend my visa, my guarantor was rejected so I have to visit the consulate in person, fill out another form and get two additional non-family references plus two more documents supporting my identity. Phew! The hoops they make you jump through. And it's only good for 5 years :( maybe I should start making friends with Japanese doctors, lawyers or police officers... Well anyhow, now my application is complete, and I've sent it to Tokyo.

I rented a bike for the day and went to see Nagoya castle. It is not open Thursdays so I just rode around the outside. Then I went to the consulate. (I was traveling from 9 pm to 5 am by train and bus, so my hair is a bit messy!)

Also, I found some kitties around the castle. There was an old man who came to feed them.

I love shrooms

Enoki steak

I discovered this recipe while watching a morning program that had a segment on enoki mushrooms. I'll admit I was skeptical when I first heard about it. enoki steak? how good could that be? I never expected it to have the taste, let alone texture of real meat. one day I actually tried it and was blown away. it is full of flavour, and juicy, like meat, but unlike actual meat I wanted to eat more!

as you can see... it even looks like real meat, even though it's 99% unprocessed mushrooms. I also made some miso gravy from scratch. it went really well with the steak.

Here's what you need.

- a bunch of enoki mushrooms (buy at T&T or any japanese/asian grocer)

- a couple tablespoons of soy sauce

- flour for dusting

- oil for light frying

for the gravy:

- a bit of extra oil

- the flour left over from dusting

- the soy sauce left over from seasoning

- miso soup (just the soup, no tofu or onions)

when you get the mushrooms, they will look like this

to get the steak, first cut off the dirty part at the very bottom (about 3-5 mm thick). then notice there is a section where the stems are stuck together very close and a section where they start to separate from each other. the section where the stems are stuck together very close is the steak part. slice it off, it will be about 1-2 cm thick.

season this steak with soy sauce. it is very porous so it can absorb as much or as little as you want. the main reason for doing this is to allow the flour to stick. of course, you could make the steak with no flour and no soy sauce, but it's good this way so just live a little! if you are worried about heart health you could go with a low sodium soy sauce, but go with a decent japanese brand, not the store brand.

douse the steak on all sides with flour.

heat the pan to medium and fry the steak for about a minute on each side, then lower the heat and let it cook through. I don't know how long I cooked it, maybe 10 minutes.

for the gravy, add a bit more oil to the pan and add the flour, and stir until it is a paste. then slowly add the remaining soy sauce, stirring constantly. then add a ladleful of miso soup. continue adding soup or soy sauce until it is a gravy-like consistency. or if it is too watery, let it reduce a little bit (or sprinkle on a bit more flour). I find roux-based sauces are quite tricky to make well (as you can see my sauce is a bit lumpy). so make sure you take it off the heat the moment it's perfect.

I imagine this gravy would also go well with anything. it's really that good.

please try this recipe and let me know how it goes!

I know what I did last February!

By now I have been in Japan over 2 months, which is longer than I have ever been away from Vancouver. I still love it here ヽ(；▽；)ノ

on february 5th Munsu and I hung out in osaka. we went to the Tsutenkaku tower, and saw the movie "Penthouse" (tower bust? the one with that one actor... and the other guy. it's about a building, and there are some vehicles too). it was pretty funny but there were some confusing continuity blips. in any case, I recommend it.

last week in the english classes we did valentines activities, such as making cards and goody bags. a lot of the children gave the cards to their parents, and most of them also gave the goody bags to someone else. one boy gave his card and goody bag to his classmate/friend, who said he was going to give it to his mother. one girl also brought little boxes of chocolates to give to everyone. another little girl gave me a card that had knives stabbing hearts on it, and dripping blood. usually she's a rascal but I was glad to know that she was thinking of me. maybe she really likes english.

on the 9th, I visited four english classes in an elementary school in wakayama. (in january I had an interview with a prospective employer, Makino sensei, who runs an english conversation school and a non profit international education consulting firm. part of her job at the consulting firm is to visit area schools and advise/teach teachers how to teach english.) the purpose of this trip was to see part of what her company does. we are still working out details but hopefully I will be able to at least do an internship at the firm, and/or teach at the english conversation school. it might also lead to a full-time job and work visa sponsorship for next year.

on february 12th I went to a BB rifle battle ground in the mountains, in northwest wakayama with a friend of one of our students from the adult class, and his friend. it's similar to paint ball, but without the paint. I borrowed one of his automatic rifles. it was quite fun hiding, running around, and shooting at people with pellets. apparently I am good at hiding and shooting (who would have thought?). so now I have another hobby!

As for my language skills, they are coming along well. I am studying every day, and I understand what is on the tv very well in addition to the "local newscast" that comes over a loudspeaker phone in the house a few times a day. I have also begun to understand the local dialect better, although I think I still speak a type of standard dialect (or a mixture of standard and Kansai). I think this is best because if I were to work in tokyo or Nagano my coworkers/boss might not take well to me speaking weird Kansai countryside slang.

寒さに慣れた！and other good news... Sorry for the horrible formatting.

before I got to wakayama, I thought the winter would be quite mild, maybe warmer than vancouver. well, outside is typically around the same temperature (although it rarely rains), and sometimes colder (since I have gotten here, it's snowed 3 or 4 times, but never stuck). however, inside the house seems colder because they don't heat the entire houses. needless to say when I first got here I was very cold and used too much electricity using space heaters. but now I have gotten used to the temperature and everyone marvels at my ability to withstand the cold. then they say, "oh yeah, you're canadian... you must be used to the cold!" also because mom sent me some warmer clothes... thanks mom!

2012 started off well for me, with me eating traditional japanese food (osechi) on new year day with Machiko (my boss) and Motoaki sensei (principal at the JEC).

osechi typically consists of food from the 7 traditional food groups... beans, sesame, seaweed, vegetables, fish, mushrooms, and root tubers (potatoes); so i enjoyed it wonderfully. I just left out the fish... my favourite dish was the citrus daikon sunomono. :)

Pictures: osechi and us with Machiko's brother and his wife's family.