Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Japanese Nature

This will likely be my last post on my trip to Japan. It's time to think about our upcoming trip to Florida!
Here are some random photos of the Japanese landscape that I thought readers would enjoy.

A sign outside of the temple in Kamakura.




The beautiful Chuo University Campus.





Rice fields!


 A beautiful park in Tsukuba.
 The view over Fukuoka.


A courtyard in a high school in Fukuoka.



Garden at a restaurant.




The Rikkyo University campus.



The view from my hotel window in Akihabara- kayakers!


An amazing trip. 

More Japanese food!

Back by popular demand: more Japanese food. A random sampling of the remaining food pictures from my trip.
Displaying plastic models of food served is a popular sales tactic.





Salad with seaweed and crab.



Sushi.





Bento boxes.




In many restaurants you order electronically. Here is my friend Yano attempting to order. You touch the stylus to the menu and then to the handheld computer.



Yakitori - grilled chicken.




Tofu!





Offal soup.





BBQ bamboo in Sapporo.






Sashimi in Sapporo. Amazing - I felt like I was eating sashimi for the first time. The tako (octopus) was particularly delicious.






A breakfast with tofu, eggs, small french toast, samples of honey and "green juice."




Green tea latte. Starbucks is in Japan too!




A masculine coffee brand. Coffee from vending machines is very popular.





Fried pork sandwich and bacon balls in the airport.






Stand up sushi bar lunch!







 Onigiri - rice balls - I ate these as snacks almost every day in Japan.



Japanese hamburger. (No real difference if you ask me!)







One night we had barbecue in Fukuoka. These are sauces for dipping - lemon, salt and soy.




Raw meat for grilling. On the left, offal. On the right, a selection of local, grassfed beef with some bacon and chicken.


Another delicious dinner on the last night.













Ice cream sandwiches with rice cookies!

I ate so well on this trip. I hope to learn to cook some of the various Japanese delicies I enjoyed.

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is my favorite Japanese food. It is also known as Japanese pizza. It is essentially a savory pancake in which meats and vegetables are cooked on a skillet in a batter. There are two styles: Osaka-style okonomiyaki involves mixing the pancake ingredients before placing them on the skillet. In most restaurants, customers mix it themselves (part of the fun!). I was lucky to eat this style twice on my trip.
Raw ingredients ready for mixing:



Cooking pancakes at our table:




Pancakes dressed with sauce, mayo, green onions and bonito flakes: ready to eat!



Another okonomiyaki lunch in Kamakura:













Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki includes noodles and cabbage. The pancake is cooked first then ingredients added. Chefs cook this for you.




 Cabbage and pork added to the cooking pancakes.



The delicacy is finished with sauce, mayo and a cooked egg!





My friend Koresawa ready to dig in!



Of both styles, Osaka-style is my favorite! I look forward to visiting the Japanese grocery stores in San Jose and cooking some in a few weeks (once I am eating Japanese food again)!