The Heart of Darkness Is Full Of Delicious Food

Long time no see, dear readers. I apologize for the lack of updates, but I have been exceedingly busy and, hey, this ain’t Twitter (see also: patience is a virtue).

Two weekends ago, I went to Okayama (岡山）, a prefecture in the countryside, and did a three-day homestay in Asakuchi (浅口）. To be perfectly honest, when I heard we were being forced to spend three days in what sounded like the middle of nowhere sounded mildly hellacious. They were robbing us of a weekend, I tell you! My host family even asked “どうして岡山に行く？” (Why are you going to Okayama, of all places?). Filled with dread, I plopped myself down on the bus and fell asleep for ninety percent of the five-hour trip.

The view from the front door of my homestay

Thankfully, my fears were entirely unfounded and it wound up being one of the best weekends I’ve had yet. Upon arrival, we were ushered into the town hall where we met with the town mayor and other relatively important public servants. Not only that, but we were also on Japanese television! Sure it was public access, but that’s a resume builder, I tell you what.

My host mother and I at the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge

My host family were three strong — mother, father, and college-aged son Yuuji — and hellbent on feeding me until I burst. This is truly the land of 食べ放題 (literally, “as much as you can eat”). Over the course of the three days, I ate such delicacies as tempura (ain’t no tempura like homemade tempura, America), kabocha soup, fresh, local crab and homemade chocolate cake.

The Honshu-Shikoku Bridge

My お母さん (host mother) and I went to the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge, a marvel of engineering and one of the longest bridges in Japan, which connects the islands of Honshū and Shikoku. Here’s a map, for your reference.  Afterwards, we went to a local town and dined on the freshest octopus (たこ) I’ve ever had. Those lemon-tinged tentacled treats still haunt my taste buds.

Delicious and as-of-yet-uncooked tako ("octopus")

Look at that and tell me it doesn’t look delicious. Okay, uncooked, it’s mildly terrifying, but still — it was tasty.

Other highlights from the trip include:

• Going to Tenmondai, Tokyo University’s astronomical research center, and looking at various telescopes and watching a hilariously dated show at the planetarium.
  

  View from the Tenmondai Astronomical Observatory

• Riding a crab boat with my host father and his swarthy, but hilarious friend
  

  My host father atop his friend's crab pots.

• Digging up (read: stealing) local sweet potatoes with my host mother while walking their overly-energetic dog Nene-chan
  

  Ah, nothing brings people together like stealing produce.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and I am looking forward to seeing them again when they come to visit their daughter who lives in Kyoto. At the very least, I’ll eat like a king when they come.

OTHER NEWS:

Classes are going well, I believe. Japanese Pop Culture continues to be relevant to my eventual thesis and usually interesting despite the occasionally inanities spewed forth by some of the resident otaku in our midst. My Japanese History Through Film course may win the award for “Best Midterm Ever,” as we are to go to either the Jidai Matsuri or the Hi Matsuri, two enormous and extremely rad-looking festivals then write a short paper about our experiences.  One word — “totally awesome.”

For my Japanese class, we are required to do a “community internship,” a murkily defined project which will culminate with us interacting with Japanese people. Somehow, I managed to swing it so that my “internship” is to join a student group on campus. As such, I will be starting practice this week with the LED Basketball Circle, a student basketball team. Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the SPACE JAM.

Anything else? Probably, but I should probably resume studying so I can tear down this [language barrier]!

Oops, wrong language.

the sound of a typhoon on a sunday morning

What a way to start your day

There are few things more pleasant in this world than awakening to the sound of a typhoon gently beating down upon the roof outside your window. After a string of brutally hot days, the great gods of wind and thunder Fuijin and Raijin have graciously delivered a typhoon unto the good people of Kyoto. I know that what you might be thinking — “A typhoon? That sounds serious.” — but fear not, gentle reader. It’s just a big ol’ rainstorm on a wonderfully grey Sunday morning. It almost reminds me of Boston; this summer was nothing but heat stroke-inducing days interspersed with epic thunderstorms. Actually though, this is more like what I imagine everyday would be like if I were Morrissey, except with less self-imposed celibacy and pompadours.

I made another friend in the form of an old Japanese man, though this time he didn’t speak a word. We were at the covered shopping arcade in Teramachi, a large shopping district in downtown Kyoto, and wasting some time by playing one of those crane prize games, the kind you might find at your local cinema. We played one outside of a store full of them (apparently, they’re huge in Japan) and were largely unsuccessful. After a bit, an employee came outside, opened the machine, and rearranged things so that it was tantalizing yet physically impossible to get most of the prizes. Enter the ojii-san (literally: “grandfather,” but used for old man too). We shared a laugh over what happened and then he nodded and disappeared. A moment later, he returned with a prize from one of the machines — Snoopy riding a banana (weird, I know) — and handed to me with a smile before disappearing back into the crowd. Bemused, I put it on my backpack and went about my way; I haven’t seen him since.

The Sanjūsangendō

Our history professor charged us with finding a piece of twelfth-century Kyoto, so yesterday I traveled to Shichijo with some of my erstwhile compatriots to find ourselves something worth seeing. We completely and utterly hit the jackpot by exploring the Sanjūsangendō, a Buddhist temple that was constructed by the legendary samurai leader Taira Kiyomori and home to the retired emperor Go-Shirakawa during the 1100s. Not only that, but it is also home to the 1,001 images of Kannon, the Buddhist deity of mercy, and the amazing statues of Fuijin and Raijin, the Japanese gods of wind and thunder respectively.

A sampling of the 1,001 statues of Kannon

It’s hard to describe the feeling I felt upon seeing 1,001 amazing statues of this Buddhist deity. “Breathtaking” is certainly appropriate, but somehow I feel it doesn’t do the Sanjūsangendō justice; “overwhelming,” might be a better term.

So very very tasty

Fact the first: Thursday was my birthday.

Fact the second: My host mother is an amazing cook.

Inevitable conclusion: Delicious birthday dinner.

Pictures say a thousand words, but, tell me, can you eat a picture? If not, then please know that this sashimi was the best I have ever had and lingers on in my mind even now. For those of you who don’t know, sashimi is a Japanese delicacy — small pieces of raw fish sliced very thinly. To my more conservative readers, please don’t let the “raw” part discourage you; it is absolutely delicious and probably just as safe as whatever you’re eating normally.

Also served was sekihan, a Japanese dish consisting of adzuki bean and rice that’s traditionally served on special occasions like birthdays, holidays, and weddings. Adzuki beans are one of my favorite things in the world, so I was beyond pleased when my okaa-san unveiled the rice. After dinner, we dined on cream puffs from Beard Papa’s, a Japanese cream puff chain that does dessert right. My, oh my, what a wonderful birthday dinner. I did miss having my mother’s chocolate cake, but this was a pretty good substitute.

All this talk about food has made me hungry for asagohan (breakfast), so with that I leave you, dear reader, for the sounds of rain falling and the tastes of Japanese cuisine.

着きました ; Or I’ve Arrived

Ten years of waiting has finally come down to the wire as I am three days deep into my time in Japan. Honestly, it still feels a little unreal — the fact that I’m writing this from a ward on the edge of Kyoto, in a little room in a Japanese house, staying with a family that barely speaks English — but isn’t that the point? I guess this is how Barthes felt when he was writing Empire of Signs, except with far less anticipation on his part (and actual going to Japan).

It took me a while to secure internet access as I’ve been in a hotel for the past few days for KCJS orientation. By the by, KCJS is shorthand for my program, the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, which I’m doing through Columbia. My technology woes worsened as I discovered that my power cord is beginning to strip, revealing tantalizing layers of exposed, barely legal copper and fiberoptics. None of this is a good thing, but I have juryrigged it back together with electrical tape and brute force. Here’s hoping my laptop doesn’t explode before I get a new power source.

Orientation felt a bit like summer camp, but it was a good opportunity to get to meet a lot of the people in my program, who, on the whole, are far better than I was expecting. Nightmares of a four month forced isolation shall not be realized, thankfully. Apart from boring old Americans (and one Latvian), we have begun the totally rad process of befriending various Japanese students. Last night, we went to an izakaya with one of the English Language Speaking clubs on campus and had an epically long six-course meal. As it turns out, they were less of an actual club and more of a group of friends with whom we had an awesome time.

An example of an izakaya. Just add Asahi Super Dry and you're good to go.

The food, by the way, has been absolutely phenomenal so far. Tonight, my host mother Sachiko made amazing homemade tempura, frying everything from lotus root to Japanese pumpkin to ebi (shrimp). After our campus tour yesterday, we stopped in at a beautiful little tea house near Kyodai Kaiakan (Kyoto University) campus and had a freshly made mochi filled with anko (sweet adzuki bean paste). For those of you in Boston, I suggest running down to Porter Exchange and picking some up, on the double. These things are tasty. While I haven’t seen ones with more…exotic wares, vending machines full of delicious beverages are prevalent and also pretty wonderful. I had no less than three of these today:

Best 130円 I've spent all day!

As I may or may not have mentioned, I arrived at my homestay earlier this evening. Oddly enough, I wasn’t nervous until my host mother walked into the room where I was waiting. Sachiko is a dental hygienist and one of the nicest people I’ve encountered in Japan so far. So far, the whole family has been nothing short of amazing. They live in Daigo, a section of Fushimi-ku, one of the southwestern wards of the city and very close to the Daigo-ji, a rather famous temple. I’m looking forward to exploring the area beginning this weekend.

Futhermore, I am excited to have three host brothers my own age — nineteen, twenty-one, and twenty-three respectively. So far I’ve only met Yusuke as the others were either at their part-time jobs or out for the evening. I’m sure I’ll get to know them better in the coming months.

This post has been a bit all over the place, for which I apologize. Future postings will have a bit more direction to them, but I just wanted to get everything that’s happened over the past several days out of my head and onto the public record. If any further revelations regarding these past few days occur, I’ll update accordingly. In other news, my first batch of photos are up for your viewing pleasure on Flickr. Be sure to check out all the amazing shots of the Heian Jingu, an amazing Shinto shrine in Kyoto.

The torii at the gates of the Heian Jingu

I’m still getting the hang of my brand new Nikon d40, trying to learn all the cool ins and outs so I can have grade A snaps for you guys. If anyone has any advice, feel free to shoot it my way either via this blog or electronic mail at danielmcasey [at] gmail [dot] com

That’s all for now, folks. As always, keep your eyes to the internet. Shitsureishimasu!