Nabe Night Happiness

Some meals are prepared and enjoyed on special occasions. We were thoroughly spoiled by our time in Japan, because the entire month was a special occasion. Instead of one unique meal per week, it seemed like we were having three or four. Between family and friends, we were very lucky to enjoy these times and this food. At the Ishizuka house, we had numerous memorable feasts. The night that had to be my favorite was Kimchi-Nabe (NAH-bay) night. Take a look:
The white bowl sits on a heated grill pad, functioning sort of like an open crock pot. The ingredients on the side, as you see, from pork and mushrooms to lettuce and tofu, are sliced, diced, and neatly stacked to enable easy handling with chopsticks. For the most part, Michiyo's Mom Chieko managed the progress of the meal, inserting the uncooked stuff, rearranging the food all ready inside the bowl, and instructing us when things were ready to be consumed.
This plate held the tofu, and the interesting edibles behind it is a plate of Lotus root, one filled with Japanese mustard, the other with a fish-egg paste--they were delicious. This nabe meal, however, was "spiced up" with kimchi, the firy Korean red plant that adds tingles to all areas of your mouth, and takes dining to a new level of enjoyment. For the record, when I moved to Japan seven years ago, I could not eat spicy food. After about two years, I had acquired a taste for it, and now I look forward to enjoying meals like this.

Of course, the food was only half of the reason why this night was absolutely perfect. Well, the food and Japanese beer was only half. The other half was the phenomenal company of Michiyo's family.
Hiroki was thrilled every day when Aunt Masae came home while he was still awake. Michiyo's sister had plenty of time on this night, as Hiroki stayed up and kept himself busy on the outside of the family circle around the table.

I love this picture of Hiro. Chieko and the rest of us were sitting around the (kotatsu) table, and Hiroki spent the duration of dinner crawling, clawing, squeaking, and standing (always briefly) at a safe distance from the boiling pot of nabe. He did not need Grandma Chieko to be facing him while he stood up, he just needed her body for support--he knew she was there for him.

Lots of fun memories

Friends and family are always a huge focus when we are back in Kumamoto. Even if we only had an hour or two together, we always tried to take the time to re-connect.

Masako and Manami, Michiyo's former co-workers, loved Hiro!

Quick story: Michiyo finished high school, then graduated from Japanese junior college, and started working at an insurance company. These two women, Masako on the left, and Manami on the right, were two of her co-workers. Manami had kids and a family, continued working and has moved on from the insurane company. Masako and Michiyo were not happy with their jobs. They talked to each other about their dreams. Michiyo wanted to live abroad studying English, and eventually be a Mom. Michiyo ended up studying for two years in Eugene, Oregon, before returning to Kumamoto with very good English, eventually became a Fingerhut, and now lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Masako quit, and worked in a cafe for a while, then decided she wanted to open her own dessert shop. Within a few years, she OPENED UP HER OWN CAKE SHOP. She actually made the cake for our Japanese wedding on 11/20/04.

This picture was taken in 2006 when we visited. I love the name: Please cake shop

Masako and Michiyo: two girls who pursued and captured their dreams!

Michiyo's sister, Masae, works at a company in Kumamoto that provides cleaning kits for offices. She had told her co-workers about her new nephew, and they all wanted to see him, so we went by for lunch one day.

Hiroki was like a magnet in Japan. After the weekend spent in Nagasaki with Michiyo's relatives, one of Grandpa Minoru's brother's decided to visit us in Kumamoto (that's about 3 hours, one way). Uncle Hitoshi is Minoru's younger brother, and lives in Nagasaki city with his wife Yoshiko and two daughters, Mikki and Akiko. When they joined us on the orange farm two weekends before, Miki did not join them. So they wanted Miki to meet Hiro and me, plus they all wanted a little more Hiro time. Uncle Hitoshi likes to fish for squid, and every time we have a barbecue, he provides the most incredible, fresh, deluctible squid, and I always let him know I enjoy and appreciate it. I cannot believe this, but they visited us on a Saturday--Uncle Hitoshi TOOK FRIDAY OFF WORK so he could catch squid and bring it because he knew I like it. Unbelievable.

Miki (big sister, in white) and Akiko (holding Pooh-chan, the Pomeranian) are Michiyo's cousins; the last time Michioy saw them before this trip was more than 10 years ago. Akiko met Hiroki in Nagasaki, and Miki got a kick out of him on this day.

Big Lebowski, anyone (PG-13)?

Dude: You brought a Pomeranian to Kumamoto?

Walter: What do you mean, "I brought a Pomeranian to Kumamoto? He's not taking your turn, he's not eating your basashi, he's not holding your Hiroki."

Back to the blog. . .

Happy times. Who's that tall guy?

Most of my friends from JET and my time in Japan are gone. One good friend who remains is Jason Wians. He runs his own English school, teaches classes at a high school, runs his own wedding business, and has a brother who sings the blues. Jason and I spent the same three years in Kumamoto, and shared lots of good times. Jason is your prototypical, larger-than-life Texan, and Minoru LOVES him! We spent a lot of time together during this trip, and right before we left, the Wians family joined the Ishizuka's for another special dinner of Sukiyaki.
Jason married Maki last year, and they recently welcomed Randihma Ryou into the world. She is adorable, and has a Texas-size voice all ready.

Clockwise from bottom left: Keito (Maki's daughter), Satomi (Michiyo's old friend), Jason holding Randi-chan, Minoru, the Fingerhuts, Chieko, and Maki (Jason's wife).

Let's enjoy the happy time with each self!

Renewing Old Ties

While my brother Mark and I lived in Japan, a big part of our life was our host family. We both stayed with them during our first week in Kumamoto, then saw them often for dinner, baton-twirling exhibitions, festivals, etc. Our host mother, Kinuko Murayama, spent a year in Illinois when she was a high schooler, and that year had a big influence on her life--an American influence. Her English is extremely good, and she has emphasized to her daughters Kaori and Mami the importance of studying and speaking English. We also got to know their neighbors, the Yokohamas, and shared lots of good times with Chiyaki and her kids, Chinami and Kiichi. Everyone was extremely excited to meet Hiroki!Here, Chiyaki-san (Mrs. Yokohama) holds up Hiroki as her daughter Chinami looks on behind her; Kaori has a big smile on her face, while Kinuko is happy in the background.

All of the kids have grown up so much. Mami (holding Hiroki), is now a 2nd-year Jr. High School student/ 8th grader, her sister Kaori (holding Hiroki's left hand) and Chinami (with the peace sign) are both 15-yr olds in high school, and Kiichi (only boy, on the far right, is a 6th grader. None of them are little kids anymore.Eating is always a focus of visits to the Murayamas. On this day, another host-daughter, Carrie, and her husband David, joined us. We shared lots of memories, laughs, and updates. Kaori told us about Kaori being on the news with her school for some biology project. "I'll show you!" Kinuko happily said, then pulled out HER CELL PHONE, on which she had viewed and taped this TV show. You gotta love Japanese technology.


Although I taught at several different junior high schools, I was employed by the Kumamoto Board of Education. These days, about 25 JETs work out of this office. I make it a point to visit the office whenever I return to Kumamoto.

One of my favorite guys in the office is Mr. Mihara. We always had fun at the enkai's (eating/drinking parties), and he greeted Hiroki with a big smile.

During our short office visit, Hiroki let it be known that his diaper needed changing. Typical of Japanese hospitality, everyone INSISTED that we change him right there, on the conference table. I'm not sure, but this picture is proof of possibly the first time a baby was changed in the middle of the Kumamoto Board of Education office. Good times.

This is Yuji Higuchi, the supervisor for English teachers. He has gotten a promotion now, but still oversees the activities of the JETs in Kumamoto. Yuji helped me and others deal with countless issues, from speeding tickets and backed up apartment toilets to SARS quarantines and driver licenses. We even invited him to speak at our Japanese wedding ceremony. Without him, my time in Japan would have been far less smooth.

Catching up with Michiyo's high school friends: Yuko on the left, Kayoko (nickname "Tomei") on the right. We enjoyed a meal with them at Tome's house. Yuko is not married, but Tomei is pregnant with her first child, and looking forward to joining Michiyo as a first-time mom.

This house was the second of three visits, after Murayamas and before Tomei's house. Eiko, standing next to Michiyo and holding her daughter Yuri, attended grade school, junior and senior high school with Michiyo. Eiko's husband, Masaki, is holding up their son Hiroto, who has his head down. The other kids are from the neighborhood, enjoying the street entertainment of a strange foreigner.

Kikuchi Gorge and a View of Aso

Kumamoto is surrounded by lots of, as the Japanese say, "beautiful nature." Just like any relatively non-famous city, the locals know of spectacular spots to visit. Before we left for America, one last day trip with Grandpa Minoru and Grandma Chieko took us to two of Kumamoto's most well-known sites.

This first is Kikuchi Gorge, which illustrates vividly the Japanese use of language. To me, "gorge" means a long, deep, canyon-like hole, a la the Royal Gorge in Colorado. Kikuchi Gorge is more of a majestic, beautiful babbling brook with some small waterfalls, flowing through a hilly forest. Regardless, this place is a fantastic place to go, offering four distinctly different environments in each season.
I have seen pictures of the white-coated gorge during a snowy winter time, as well as the green growth during spring. Mark and I conquered some of the small cliffs here by jumping off and into the FRIGID waters during the summer months. And on this trip, we saw the very best of Kikuchi Gorge in the fall. The trees provided a golden tunnel, and the fierce November wind relentlessly coated the ground with leaves, making the rocks and ground around the river golden-brown as well.

From Kikuchi Gorge, we drove toward Aso. Mount Aso (you can read about this on wikipedia) is somewhat well-known, with an active volcano that was featured as a villain's lair in the James Bond film, "Goldeneye." Several of my good friends lived in the area while I was teaching, so I came here often. We did not have much time on this day, so my father-in-law simply took us to the coolest lookout point in the area. From this overlook, we could see the entire caldera, which was formed between 90,000 and 300,000 years ago.

What a Magic Trick: Levitating Hiroki over the caldera

Kumamoto Castle

Kumamoto City features the third largest castle in Japan. While we were here last time in 2006, the castle was undergoing renovations for the 400th anniversary celebration. So this afternoon visit allowed us to enjoy everything in newfound splendor.

This samurai guy enjoyed welcoming us inside.

Once inside, we carried our shoes around in plastic bags. I am kneeling seiza-style in front of a long room of tatami mats and sliding doors. Michiyo kept commenting how new everything smelled.

The new centerpiece of the renovations, we had heard, was the "Golden Room," and it did not disappoint.

While we were expecting EVERYTHING to be in gold, that was not the case. However, the art o the doors, as well as the ceiling designs, were quite impressive.

To get to the top of the tower, Michiyo and I alternated carrying Hiroki and the stroller-plus-bags up six flights of stairs. The view was worth it.

In Japanese, the word for castle is "Jyo." When introducing myself to Japanese people, I often tell them, "My name is Joe," and after that registers, I add, "Kumamoto Joe." This play on words, for seven years now, has always elicited a huge laugh. I definitely ended up in the right city.

Engrish in Japan, Part II

Happy Bath Day--shampoo or something

The best part about this ad is that when "Happy Birthday" is pronounced by a Japanese speaker, it actually sounds like the name of the this product.

Be.Escort--beachwear? You tell me.

Koguma Head Shop--I know there are "head shops" in America, usually specializing in substances and substance accessories. But this store sells hats.

Accessary Joy--self-explanatory, but you gotta love the spelling!!! And on the marquee as well as the carpet.

The Fine building--no clue

Nudy Aura--can you see it? This one is better:

Michiyo asked me why this was funny. All I could say was that the word nudy is not really used, unless as an old-fashioned referenced to adult magazines.

And finally, one of the best.

Ever.

I give you. . .

Cabbages & Condoms, Thai Foods Restaurant.
Just like "JimLand," I REALLY wish this was a random name. However, after diligent research, I found that there is not only a reason, but a good cause behind this establishment. The restaurant has a goal of promoting AIDS education, and part of the experience of dining here
involves getting told a little bit about the spread of HIV and AIDS, and what are some prevention messages. So the Cabbages is about the food, the Condoms are about the AIDS education. I daresay that in PC America, this place would have had the name "Apples and Abstinence." I have heard the food here is fantastic, as Thai fare usually is. Unfortunately, when we tried to eat here at lunch time, the place was closed. Perhaps it's only a dinner establishment.

More fun with English in Asia can be found at http://www.engrish.com/.

Engrish in Japan

Hiroki is too young to appreciate these pictures on this post, but I hope someday he will laugh at them like I do. On this trip to Japan, I have tried to take on the perspective of "seeing everything again for the first time." My siblings and I, like countless other foreigners who have been to Asia, are amused and fascinated with the use of English in every day Asian life, whether on clothes, billboards, restaurant signs, or anywhere else. For better or for worse, this phenomenon is called Engrish. After living in Japan for a long amount of time, you lose a little bit of the outsider's view. You never stop appreciating hilarity; you just take it for granted. The other day, I did something I should have done a long time ago--walked the downtown arcade with a camera in hand. This post is part one, only about half of the stuff I captured. I will post more (and the best ones) tomorrow.

JobNAP--book of job listings. Appropriate, considering most people would prefer a nap to going to work.

Jim Land--office supply store. I wish this name was more random; it would make for better ponderings, i.e., why not "Juliet Land," "Jack Land," or "Otis Land?" Unfortunately, there is a reason. "Jim," according to Michiyo, is short for the Japanese word used for the office, or work environment. So there is some logic here.

Lady Face--I want to say this is for a snack bar, i.e., a bar salarymen usually go to late at night to pay obscene amounts of money for drinks and conversations with the waitresses.
Ag another girl, take free magazine--Don't know what this is for, but funny English.

tutuanna*--socks and clothing shop.
I think the asterisk indicates "tutuanna" set the home run record using performance-enhancing drugs. Check out the description of what's inside.

I love it! Someone's English teacher forgot to stress punctuation and complete sentences.

Conversation between A and B

A: Please come to my apartment complex. It's Palatial.

B: Great. What's it called?

A: Palatial.

B: No, what's the name?

A: Palatial.

Who's on First?

Junk Art--This store just tells it like it is.