Okinawa - Sun, Storms and Food

Arrived in Okinawa to bad weather as we got the tail end of a typhoon. We'd planned to take some time to spend by the beach, but as it was raining, did some shopping in Naha city.  However, another typhoon has approached meaning we have a morning of glorious sun before it rains again for about a week. Have a look at the before and after shots.

On the plus side, the food is amazing.  I've been craving for Rafute (Okinawan pork belly, slow cooked in Awamori and covered in Miso paste) and Umibudo (Sea-grapes.  A type of seaweed that tastes of the sea) for ages.  Also Maki's parents mango are amazing.  So sweet and juicy. 

Evening in Kurashiki

How to Eat a Small Snack Pineapple - スナックパイン

I was really surprise how they eat small 'snack pineapples' in Japan. It's so easy and you can just pull off small bite-size chunks.

Festival of the Gods (Sho-o Cho Matsuri) – 天神祭

My little town had a big festival last week. We'd just returned from our travels around Kobe, Nagoya and Osaka and found our small paved street decorated with lanterns and stalls being set up along its length. I was asked to help with part of the Shinto festival by assisting in the carrying of the 神輿 (Mikoshi or portable shrine). I didn't really know what I was doing and before I know it I was getting changed in the local 神社 (Jinja or shrine) into a traditional costume and being plastered with beer! We then carried the shrine into the main street, chanting and marching as we went. It seemed all the town's folk were out, from the youngest to the oldest, to see the event and feast on the food stalls selling squid, fried chicken, yakitori, pineapple and various other Japanese tip-bits. I understood we would be taking the Mikoshi to the station (About a 15 minute walk) and returning to the Jinja; however, it was much more involved than that. We would 'battle' with other people carrying other Mikoshi. The shrines were slotted together and we would push as hard as we could like a reverse version of tug-of-war. After, not really knowing if there was a winner or not, we would fling the shrine around like it was a twig and chant some more. More beer was consumed and we would march back and forth looking for another fight. This ensued for about 3 hours and although my arms and shoulders ached it was actually great fun. I felt proud to be asked to do this in the first place and be so welcomed as part of the community. I got a lot of encouragement from my fellow Mikoshi carriers and they let me to lead their chants which they were very impressed with. I think a lot of people were also surprised to see me chanting and partaking so much.  

The festival continued for a the next night and although I enjoyed the shrine carrying, I wanted to spend more time to enjoy the festivities. Makiko and I dressed up in traditional 浴衣 (Yukata, a light summer version of a Kimono), as did a lot of other people. I had a lot of very shocked looks from my students as they saw me all dressed up. It was quite funny to see people expressions and looks of surprise. On this last night a tunnel of lanterns was also carried through the streets and they Mikoshi were paraded underneath. We also spent some time with a friend and his niece and nephew. They were very young, but it was interesting to see the festival from a childrens point-of -view and they looked so cute dressed up in their own little Yukata's. It was great to see all the people come together and enjoy this event.

Right Between the Eyes

Those of you who have been following the blog might remember my metaphor for the heat here being like someone wrapping a warm blanket around you. I would like to amend this. Exiting our local Marui (Supermarket), a wonderfully air-conditioned space; the heat, in Maki's words, “Punched us in the face”. I'm not kidding. 34 degrees with 96% humidity. You feel the air and have to push and cut your way through it. And while a lot of stuff on my blog is looking at the funny side of 'Our Man in Japan', this isn't a laughing matter. 4 people died in Japan, today alone from the heat.

Even sitting doing nothing, you can feel the beads of sweat pushing their way out your skin. I can't stop leaking! Today I played basketball with the locals and after 5 minutes, I looked like I had a bath! Not one square inch of me or my clothes was dry. I'm not looking forward to the 38 degrees everyone keeps telling me about!

Sumo

After catching some Sumo on Japanese TV we decided it would interesting to go see a tournament live. Incidentally, Sumo is about the only entertaining thing I've seen on Japanese TV as its mostly cheesy, plastic version of reality, consisting of a lot of people expressing options about everything by going “Uuuuuurh!” But there is something oddly captivating about fat men fighting. People seem to like see a David and Goliath match, the underdog beating the giant. In Nagoya, one of the best matches we saw all day in the earlier bouts, between a slightly chubby guy and the largest guy we saw in the tournament by a long way. This sumo-san was so big he looked liked he would have problems getting though door ways and even the crowd gave a gasp of amazement at his sheer volume when he entered the ring. I, like most, thought the smaller guy didn't stand a chance against this mammoth of a man. The crowded seemed to rally behind him and the guy actually won and hyped by his victory and the cheering crowd began waving his arms around in celebration.

The level between the top Sumo-san is noticeable though, and there were some really interesting bouts to be seen. There is a lot of tradition and fluff between the bouts though and when the match gets going there is usually only a few seconds before a winner is declared (The aim being to get your opponent on the floor or out the ring). On one match the referee had to hold the match as one of the guys 'nappy' was coming loose. These guy has to stay in the hold while the referee tried to hoist the loose end back around before it left a giant naked man in the middle of a stadium. This was easier said than done, as it took some pulling and the crowd began to chant to encourage the ref to pull harder, giving him a round of applause when he finally pulled got it together, allow the slightly embarrased Sumo-san to go on and win the bout.

I was surprised how the reserved nature of the Japanese is put on hold for events like this and how they can get quite vocal. In my desire to get a closer ringside photo I was asked to return to my seat by the Sumo police. I think I was on the verge of being ejected from the building.  

Kobe – Beef and Capsule Hotels

My summer holiday is here and travel beckons. While my holiday is comparably hefty with 6 weeks in the summer alone, there is a lot of Japan to see. So, as we were on our way to Nagoya to see a Sumo tournament it only made good logical sense to hit some other places on the way. The first stop was a night in Kobe. This gave me the chance to cross-off some more items off my 'bucket list'.

I've wanted to try Kobe beef for a long time. After tasting reindeer steak in Finland, I thought I had found the holy grail of all meat, until I heard on a cookery program that in most peoples options, the succulent reindeer steak came a close runner up to Kobe beef. For those of who you don't know, Kobe cows are the most pampered livestock I've ever heard of, as the cows are given massages and beer to drink. The aim is to make the cows as calm as possible which does something rather surprising to the meat. It makes the fat more evenly dispersed thought meat, creating a tender and juicer steak with a marbled effect of white fatty veins running through the meat. After waiting so long to try this, I never though it could live up to the hype after so much time. I was wrong. Kobe beef is amazing. It has such a burst of flavour and the steak is so tender it almost melts in your mouth. The texture is oddly similar to a mince beef burger. If you ever get a chance you must try it. It's not cheap but well worth it. FYI, if you intend to try a steak in Japan ask them to cook it a little more than you would normally. Once, I asked for a rare steak and it came raw.

The next item to tick off the list was sleeping in a capsule hotel. Capsule hotels are a cheaper alternative to standard business hotels, but what you take away on price you sacrifice on space. They are aptly named as all you are given is 'capsule' of a bed; a plastic coffin like tube fitted with a bed, a TV and a clock. The one we stayed in was somewhat dated with an 80s theme in a non-ironic way and clothing that looks like an MC Hammer Jimbe (Jimbe is a traditional Japanese summer casual costume). Men and Women are segregated and you must shower and onsen before slipping into your allotted hole for the night. The general clientèle seemed to be the older Japanese business man travelling alone. Not a word seems to be spoken between the men and this combined with the nudity in the onsen can be a little disturbing. I've seen more naked, saggy, old Japanese men that I care to see for a while. The capsule itself is actually quite comfortable and while the thin curtain that covers the front of my capsule doesn't keep out the noise I was asleep as my head hit the pillow.