The Tan Tans' Life Begins

The simplest joys in life...

2010-08-16T21:40:00.002+09:00

The simplest joys in life make you happiest.

Having a simple sandwich in the park with your loved one,

Drinking beer under the trees,

Waking up to the beautiful sounds of birds chirping,

Strolling for an hour to the nearest train station,

Playing catching with kids,

Folding origami,

Using your elbow grease to make the bread dough,

Preparing for dinner with your friends and family,

Or sitting at home, watching the dramatic sunset unfold before you,

Marvelling at the marvellous wonders of mother nature.

We don't need a lot of money, but just living life simply, the way we want it, makes us rich.

We don't need that many clothes, nor branded goods, neither will we need a big house or car.

We know all these, but sometimes living in a city leaves us with little choice.
Somehow, a certain unknown force sucks us into it. We are made to spend most of our time awake at work, leaving little time to pursue what are supposed to be our passions in life. Without money, we cannot enjoy even the simple pleasures that bring us joy. But how much is enough? What is more important, and how do we draw a balance? When will we have the courage to step out of the cycle, and pursue a simple life that gives us the real meaning to live?

From 2009 to 2010

2009-12-31T19:08:00.003+09:00

In a few more hours, we'll be entering a new decade. A new decade with newfound friendships and new perspectives. A decade which will hopefully, bring us closer to self actualisation.

In a few more hours, we'll start the countdown to 2010. We'll usher in the new year, and at the same time, celebrate Oshogatsu - the Japanese new year - not in Japan but Singapore.

Since our 1-year experience in Japan, life seems to be never quite the same again. Now, there are 2 meanings to the 1st of Jan - 1) the new year that we've always known and celebrated, the new year eve that says Auld Lang Syne, countdown etc and 2) the Japanese new year with its own meaning and traditions.

Last year, at this time, we were still enjoying ourselves at a bonenkai, organised by Wada-san. We had a scrumptious spread of Japanese Oshogatsu must-eats (including the most delicious oden), indulged in bottles of sake, shochu and cans of beer, and when the clock struck 12 we tucked into Toshikoshi Soba, a symbol of longevity. To mark the new year (also to digest the very heavy dinner), we took a walk in the cold winter to Owase Jinja, where a range of festivities took place. There, we prayed for a good year, drank amazake, sought protection from the cold with a man-made fire and got omikujis (paper fortunes). That took place exactly one year ago. I can still remember Wada-san saying that if you could dream of either a sunrise or Japanese cranes you can expect a great year ahead. He must be busy cooking for his family and the Ikedas right now.

Now, as we're back in Singapore, we will welcome the new year in our own way. Earlier today, we bought Osechi Ryori and other Oshogatsu ingredients from a Japanese supermarket. At 12am, we will make Toshikoshi Soba, and enjoy our favourite Yaa Yaa sake, flown in from Owase with the help of Izumi and Pika. We also have mochi that Ura-san bought us from Japan that we'll savour, in true Japanese fashion.

The year of 2009 has been a memorable one. First year of marriage, 8 months in Japan, 4 months in Singapore, many new friends, and lots of beautiful memories. As we reminisce the past year, we're also looking forward to 2010, and the joys it will bring.

To our friends in Owase, if you are reading this, this is our message to you.
あけましておめでとう。来年もよろしく！みんなさんがいなくて寂しかったです。近いうちにまた会いましょう。

To everyone else, Best wishes for the new year and let's all embrace the decade ahead!

Cooking up a storm in Owase

2009-10-12T18:49:00.001+09:00

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Well, but doesn’t it apply to women, girls and boys too?

I still remember making a very realistic resolution before leaving for Japan last August – that was to master the art of making my favourite Japanese curry from scratch. To my disappointment, despite numerous enquiries, I was always greeted by the same puzzled look, followed by the slightly-amused reply that curry in Japan is made using the instant curry blocks that are easily available at the local supermarkets. The infamous Owasean rain[1] seemed to have poured down on me. My first culture shock. Having been brought up in a culture that the most delicious food is always made with fresh ingredients, I could hardly believe that my dream was already dashed before I had the chance to embark on it. Just use the ready made curry roux and viola! Needless to say, I mastered Japanese curry during my first week in Japan. It was an effortless affair which took only 20 minutes.

Despite the let-down, I quickly learnt that pressing schedules and the bento culture do not provide Japanese women with the luxury of making everything from step one. Premixes, instant sauces and flavouring are great helpers in a typical Japanese kitchen. One of my new revelations about Japanese culture.

A typical question I often get from my Japanese colleagues and friends are, “What kind of food do you normally eat?”. Apart from the famous Singapore icon, the Merlion, there was very little that the locals around me knew about my country, let alone my country’s cuisine, which I felt could not be easily explained in a few sentences.

The cuisine of Singapore is often viewed as a prime example of its ethnic diversity and melting pot of cultures. The food is heavily influenced by Malay, Chinese, Indian, and even Western traditions since the founding of Singapore by the British in the 1800s. A variety of spices from tamarind to tumeric are widely used, as with tropical products such as pandan leaves and coconut milk. In fact, food is of such importance for us Singaporeans that eating is widely known as a national past-time – and it so happened to be my husband Erik’s and mine.

So, we convinced ourselves that tasting is believing, and that food had to be the best way our new friends could experience our culture. We decided to throw our first ‘A Taste of Singapore’ dinner party. On the menu were authentic Singaporean dishes which included Bat Kut Teh, Curry Puffs, and Curry Chicken.

I guess we managed to surprise our friends with the interesting spread. As dinner took place, we avidly discussed about the similarities and differences between Singaporean and Japanese culture. We chatted about how Japanese curry is sweet, compared to Singaporean curry – that is red hot and flavoured with a variety of spices and coconut milk. We joked about how chili in Singapore comes in all forms, and the many ways in which they are used.

The party was a great success. Not only did it break the ice with the shy locals, it provided a meaningful avenue for cultural exchange.

Spurred on by the positive response, we subsequently organised many more “A Taste of Singapore” nights for our new friends. While it was often raining cats and dogs in the rainy town of Owase, we were always cooking up a storm inside the house. The process was tedious, but always enjoyable.

Inspired, I felt it was time to bring my passion for food out of my kitchen and into the schools.

As the only municipal ALT in Owase, I was tasked with teaching English in all the 11 elementary and junior high schools there. School visits could vary from once a week to once a month. I was always moving from school to school, and it was almost impossible to build up rapport with the teachers and staff because I hardly ever saw them. But I was determined to overcome the barrier and start reaching out.

It was a Monday morning and I was at an elementary school I visited biweekly. It was business as usual. Teachers were busy, dashing in and out the staff room. When the bell calling for the first break of the day rang, I immediately dished out my home-made pineapple tarts and went around offering them to the teachers and staff. Immediately, eyes lit up, tired faces brightened up and to my delight, exclamations of “Umai!” could be heard. “What are these made of?” asked a few teachers. It was a conversation starter which got some of my very shy colleagues to lighten up. For the first time, an extremely reserved school clerk spoke to me, and even asked me to try a piece of the cheesecake she had made. Two weeks later, we managed a long conversation about Chinese New Year (widely celebrated in Singapore) and Japanese New Year, in part English and part Japanese. I realised that new friendships were beginning to form.

Soon after, I decided it was time to bring the concept of cooking and creation into the classroom. There I was, in an elementary school classroom. The menu for the day was fruits. For this lesson, I had aimed to teach my grade 4 kids basic conversational skills on how to purchase fruits, so that they could to create their own original juice recipes. The goal of the lesson was to get the kids to learn the English pronunciations of fruits, as well as to practise using the word “please”. For example, “Orange, please”. After “buying” the fruits from the “shop assistants” (played by the homeroom teacher and I), the kids were then to paste whatever they bought onto a piece of paper before making a short presentation to the rest of the class. At that point a gregarious boy shouted mischievously, “Nori (glue), please!” I knew that I was on the right track to getting my kids use English more frequently. More interesting classes soon followed with the children, where I taught with real ingredients and students had to put their cooking skills to work.

Interestingly Erik’s and my passion for food paved the way for a number of Singaporean cooking classes, which were well received and attended by members of the community. Yong Tau Foo, Roti John, Peanut Cookies, Prawn Omelette, Sweet Potato Soup, Agar Agar – some of the dishes on our menu. Coming up with the menu was no easy task, as we were constrained by time and had to use ingredients that could be easily purchased from the local supermarkets. We had to consider the Japanese palette and so extremely spicy food was a no-go. We were forced to delve even deeper into our roots and consider what kind of dishes were most representative of Singapore and could be easily executed in a classroom setting. I guess we triumphed. I later learnt that some attendees at my cooking classes had attempted to teach their friends the recipes they had learnt, albeit modified for the Japanese palette. Excellent proof of culture assimilation.

Before we knew it, the locals were beginning to open up. Tea and dinner party invitations started pouring in. We were treated to scrumptious feasts that included home-made okonomiyaki, sushi, wood fire pizza and even spanish cuisine! True to Japanese fashion, these dinner parties were always topped with many glasses of beer, shochu, sake, a lot of good conversation and merry-making. We exchanged new words, be it Japanese, Owasean dialect or English, and during the process attained a better understanding of each other’s culture. Ironically, it was also during these times that I realised how little I had known about Japanese culture, despite having majored in Japanese Studies in university.

In addition to the parties, we also organised recipe exchange sessions. A particularly memorable one was when Erik and I were at Nishi-sensei’s house to show my colleagues Nishi-sensei and Izumi, how to make Singapore’s traditional peanut cookies. In return, Nishi-sensei taught us how to make my favourite Japanese sweet, ichigo daifuku. As we were midway through it Nishi-sensei’s husband returned home and we were introduced to him for the first time. After exchanging a few words he asked Erik if he had ever seen or held a katana. It was then that we found out that Nishi-san is a kendo teacher – in fact, not just a kendo teacher, but a former prefectural kendo champion! Before we knew it, Erik was all decked out in a kendo outfit and for the first time in his life, learning how hold a katana, the samurai way.

Two different nationalities and cultures, can food serve as a common language between people? I think it’s a ‘yes’, for my Japanese colleagues and friends now know what a Singaporean’s definition of karaguchi (spicy) is. Erik’s Japanese teacher, Wada-san, now enjoys dipping sashimi in chilli sauce instead of soy sauce and wasabi. Already, four of my colleagues at the Board of Education have made a five-day trip to Singapore in August. Another group of Owaseans will be visiting this December.

One year later and I am back in Singapore. Looking back, although I am still clueless about the secrets behind fresh Japanese curry, I’ve learnt how to make delicious home cooked Japanese dishes with the aid of pre-made sauces and filling, which I’ve found to be an essential part of daily Japanese life. I have grown and made new discoveries about not just Japanese culture but also my own roots, through my dinner exchanges with my new friends.

[1] Owase has an annual rainfall of approximately 4,000mm – the second highest in Japan.

Back to Singapore

2009-09-27T13:00:00.001+09:00

well, it’s been a long time since we updated this blog.. partly due to the lost of the free & easy life we had back in Owase.

Lots had changed since our return, to cut the story short, my beloved grandmother pass away whilst we were still in Tokyo resulting in a drastically amended schedule to change the flight back.

Thereafter, we had a trip to Guangzhou shopping for furniture and to open our eyes to how China had grown. It was amazing!

I’ve started work back at my old company Certis CISCO but at a different department.

There is also a switch of role as its Mrs Tan Tan’s turn to take a break now.

Bye Bye, Magic

2009-07-23T21:39:00.001+09:00

There is a dull pain in my heart. In less than 24 hours we will be leaving Owase. Strangely, we have both been taken ill these 2 days. Maybe it’s because we have been worn out by the frenzy of farewell parties and packing over the last few weeks. Maybe, as Erik puts it, it’s because subconsciously, we do not want to leave.

The past year has been magical for us. To leave the magic behind is tough. But I believe we will be able to relive this magic again. Someday.

It’s hard to say goodbye

2009-07-11T16:03:00.001+09:00

In 2 weeks, Erik and I will be leaving Owase, our home for the past year.

It’s not easy, because there are a number of people whom I have grown to love during our time here and whom I know I may never get to meet again for a very long time.

It gets even harder when the kids I teach start getting emotional about my leaving. Every time a school holds a farewell ceremony for me and the kids and teachers are singing at the top of their voices, I find myself trying very hard to fight back the tears.

I was most touched during the farewell ceremony at Kata Elementary School, when the kids did a public recital on what they have learnt to-date in my English classes. Particularly memorable was what the 5th graders did - an imitation of what I had previously taught them for self-introductions (basically spoofs of Ponyo, Obama and myself). How I wish I could video the entire event. It was the best farewell gift they could ever give me, by remembering what I had taught them.

During the last 11 months, Erik and I have experienced the purest of hearts, the kindest of souls and the most innocent of smiles. We’ve met many people who have gone out of their way for us not because they want anything in return but because they genuinely care and want to be our friends. We’ve led a back-to-basics life, deriving pleasures from simple hobbies, dinner parties and stunning sceneries, which is in stark contrast to our fast-paced, often materialistic culture in Singapore. These are my favourite memories of Owase.

13 more days, and we shall continue to cherish every moment, before it’s time to say goodbye.

The best sushi in the world

2009-07-05T23:04:00.001+09:00

Owase is known to have some of the freshest and best seafood in Japan, and it is of no wonder that the best sushi is also found here. We’re not talking about sushi found in the kaiten zushi (conveyor belt sushi) shops, but the real stuff served in the real sushi bars.

Since ala-carte orders at such sushi bars usually come at killer prices (sometimes up to 70,000 yen for a meal), the most cost-effective choice is to go for the sushi moriawase (mixed sushi), which are usually priced from 1,000 yen for for the lowest quality and smallest portion. The top quality deals start from 3,000 yen. Extremely reasonable prices, I think. Note: “lowest quality” in Owase equates to “top quality” in many places, including the Japanese cities. Even our Japanese friend from Osaka (where conveyor belt sushi originated from) attests to the fact that sushi in Tokyo and Osaka cannot beat the ones you find in Owase’s supermarkets. As for Singapore’s case, I think “lowest quality” in Owase would be equivalent to the “highest quality” you can ever find in the city.

After trying out some of the most popular sushi bars in Owase, we've decided on our favourite – and that is Hana Zushi 華ずし. For its’ lively ambience, extremely friendly and generous owner/chef and lady boss, and its’ great value for money.

The art of making great tasting sushi requires great skills. In the most delicious sushi bars, the sushi chef dips his hands into ice cold water before shaping the rice to ensure that his body temperature does not affect the temperature and texture of the sushi. Hana Zushi is where you can find such a chef. His hands are as red as a lobster from the constant contact with the icy water, and maybe that is what you call professionalism – something that we really admire.

At Hana Zushi, we’ve tasted the best of sushi – including abalone, hon maguro/kuro maguro toro (tuna belly of black tuna, or commonly known as the original tuna and the king of fish. For the record, a black tuna is often auctioned for millions of yen in Japan), and most recently, live akaashi ebi (translated as red legged shrimp) sushi. To be honest, we had the fortune of eating these delicacies without really having to pay for them. All thanks to the wonderful owner, who seems to just want his customers to have a good time.

That’s not all. Hana Zushi serves a mean chawanmushi too – so good that to say it is gourmet is an understatement.

If you are a sushi or chawanmushi fan, come to Owase and you will understand the world of difference.

The extremely friendly owner/ chef.

Left: Hana Zushi branded teacup; Right: the heavenly chawanmushi.

Colourful and gourmet sushi.

Left: “Live” red legged shrimp; Right: Hon maguro toro (black tuna belly).

The TanTans and friends enjoying every bit of their “live” red legged shrimp treat.

Witness the freshness for yourself!

Japanese English Jokes!

2009-07-04T22:20:00.003+09:00

We just had dinner at our favourite tempura restaurant and these are some of the jokes our elderly Japanese friends told us:

When a Japanese tells you “Agetofu” (literally: fried tofu); he or she is trying to say: “I get off” in English.

When he or she says “Saito Shingu” (literally: Saito family’s worship items); he or she is trying to mean: “sightseeing” in English.

When he or she says “Hota imo ijiru na” (literally: Don’t tamper with the picked potatoes), he or she is trying to mean: “What time is dinner?” in English.

Here's another common joke: Whenever I go, "I will show you...", kids would exclaim "shoyu!", thinking that I am talking about soy sauce.

And this is what I tell my kids when I teach them days of the week.

Monday: Manjyu (Japanese bun) Day.

Tuesday: is Tuesday. I couldn’t think of anything funny.

Wednesday: Ue (up there) nesu Day.

Thursday: Tasukete (Help!) Day.

Friday: Ebifry (fried prawns) Day.

Saturday: Satsuma imo (sweet potato) Day.

Sunday: ichi, ni, san (1, 2, 3) Day.

Just for laughs!

A trip to Matsumoto & Hakuba Day 2

2009-06-21T09:14:00.001+09:00

Day 2 in Nagano was an early start with the Tan Tans visiting the famous ski jump competition ground during the Winter Olympics in 1998 before breakfast was served at 0730hrs. It was quite a nice place other than there was no snow since it’s summer already… ;(

Measurements for the landing zone. All the pros landed beyond 120 metres.

After the breakfast, the Tan Tans took a stroll around the area near the Minshuku that they were staying in and discovered a shrine as well as a small playground. It was just a great lazy morning

Saw tons of daisy.

Nice shrine with a huge sacred tree.

Swing!! Tan Tans loved it!

Departing from the minishuku that the Tan Tans stayed in. The Tan Tans were also told that for the wild plants cuisine, one have to book it one week in advance.

Our second stop for the day is a popular ski resort in winter but was turned into a natural park in summer (or spring in Nagano area). Tsugaike Natural Park

Before taking the cable car ride the Tan Tans chanced upon this race that took place. Cycling upslope to a height of 1,860m was no joke. Hats off to all of them.

The Tan Tans were overjoyed with the sight of snow though Mr Tan Tan was not really geared for this.

However, Mr Tan Tan could not resist the wonderful wild strawberries soft-serve that was waving to him and calling out “eat me. . . eat me”

Entrance to the natural park… love the snow alps behind though it would be even more fabulous if the sky were clear.

This was the mizu basho or skunk cabbage that we were there for. From what we learned, it’s impossible to plant this and hence, can only be found in the wild.

The Tan Tans had to hike through dirty melting snow which ain’t easy with the stupid shoes that they were wearing.

After the tough hike, the Tan Tans had the best soba in Japan. Shinshu Soba. It was served on a traditional bamboo tray and Mr Tan Tan version came in 3 dipping sauces. From left to right. First sauce is daikon (radish) juice and it’s meant to be mixed with the miso paste, spring onion and bonito flakes (white tray just above it), second sauce was the traditional Japanese dip for soba which consist of soy sauce with dashi (stock made with bonito flakes and kombu {seaweed}) and it’s meant to be mixed in with the wasabi, spring onion and grated daikon (tray on top). Lastly, the final dip was the most interesting and it was made with Kurome or walnut. Extremely great dipping the noodles between the 3 sauces and the sauces were not wasted as a pot of water (from boiling the soba) was brought to the table and it was to be added to the sauces becoming sort of a soup.

The next stop was the last stop before the Tan Tans had to make their way back to Owase. It was a famous Wasabi farm in Nagano area and one of the main producer of Wasabi in Japan.

And the first thing that Mr Tan Tan did upon arrival? Have a nice cool Wasabi soft-serve, what else do you expect?

Left: Watermill channelling the cool and clear river water in the farm
Right: Wasabi plants. The Tan Tans were told that wasabi can only grow in places where there are constant flow of clean and cold water. A shortage of any of the factors and you cannot grow any wasabi. Maybe that explain for the not so cheap prices of fresh wasabi.

Saw this river fish in the water, that explained how clean the water is. A further 10mins walk led the Tan Tans to a small shop selling grilled river fish.. hmmmm

The wasabi with the “special promotion of 3 for 1,000yen ($14) as well as the more expensive 1 for $2,500 yen. ($32) The Tan Tans wondered what was the difference.

With the wasabi nuts that the Tan Tans purchased, they made their way back to Owase and bid farewell to Nagano.

Sunset along the way back.

Nagoya bridge.

A trip to Matsumoto & Hakuba Day 1

2009-06-19T10:53:00.001+09:00

Last weekend, the Tan Tans were kindly invited to join an elderly couple from their English conversation class to Nagano. As it coincided with the Tan Tans’ 1st Wedding Anniversary, it was a great opportunity for a celebration in Nagano. It was like a anniversary present that fell from the sky.

The Tan Tans first stop. Matsumoto castle. It was one of the most beautiful original castle in Japan out of the 12 original castles and was built on a plain instead of on top of a mountain or hill. Also known as crow castle, Matsumoto jo was built in 1592 and has a beautiful distinct black roof.

Inside the castle, there are some display of firearms that were used in the 16th century.

Belief had it that there was this guard who saw a gorgeous gal on the 16th night in the premises of the castle who handed a bag over to the guard and told him that if they enshrined the bag with 2,600 kilograms of rice every month on the 16th, she will protect the castle from fire and enemy attacks. I believed that was carried out as this castle was protected from fires which had engulfed so many other castles in Japan.

Shrine of the 16th Night Goddess.

Next stop from Matsumoto Castle, The Tan Tans were brought to the former Kaichi primary school which was the first elementary school built in Japan. (It was interesting that they named this school “primary” whereas the others were called “elementary” schools)

Drain cover featuring traditional matsumoto handball along the way to Kaichi Primary School.

Former Kaichi Primary School.

One of the exhibition rooms featuring the old classroom as well as some of the games played during lessons.

And being the “good” student in class, Mr Tan Tan could not resist but attended lesson.

The old ski boots. . wondered how they could moved around with ski boots that heavy.

Next stop. Art Museum as one of the elderly is a painter and loves art and it was a good idea for the Tan Tans as they did not really visit any museum in Japan.

Tan Tans taking a rest on this wonderfully comfortable bench after an exhausting time.

Finally, after 6hrs (not including our stoppages at Matsumoto) of driving on the road going at 130-140km/hr for our kind uncle who is almost 70 years old we reached Hakuba!!

After the wonderful Sanzai Ryori, it’s time for a wonderful soak of the Hakuba Onsen and thereafter bedtime!

The Hotaru Experience

2009-06-18T22:57:00.001+09:00

Hotaru refers to fireflies and it seemed like now is the best time for Hotaru viewing. Being invited by the English conversational classes members to go Hotaru viewing just this tuesday, the Tan Tans could not resist but say “yes” especially since it’s Mrs Tan Tan first time experiencing Hotaru.

Hotaru no Sato, it’s located in Kumano Shi and less than an hour drive from Owase.

This was the place where we prepared ourselves for the night to set in. Waiting anxiously for the Hotaru to appear.

Oh, this is the public toilet that’s available in this little farm area.

Sadly, due to Mr Tan Tan’s Canon G10 inability to shoot well in dark places, there was no fabulous shot of the hundreds of Hotaru flying around that lit up the whole stream and farm. You really have to see it to believe it. Simply beautiful.

That being said. Mr Tan Tan did managed to capture a fair bit of light to show everyone though.

In Japan, there are 3 types of Hotaru, from the biggest being this one in my palm to the smallest “princess Hotaru”

Interschool PTA Competition.

2009-06-18T22:12:00.001+09:00

Just 2 Sundays back, the Tan Tans were invited to an annual inter-school competition, the twist was that this competition was not meant for the kids but for the teachers and PTA (parents-teacher assistant). And the competition? Only 2 games which were Tug-of-War and 2-Legged Race.

This is definitely a family.

Warming up exercises before the start of any games etc. which is a must in Japan as well as cooling down exercises after the games.

The Tug-of-War was exciting due to the spontaneous crowd cheering and supporting the participants in the game. And the participants really give it their all.

They won this match and fell, no one’s complaining though.

The 2 legged race which was very very interesting.

Score board of the 2 competition.

And the prize awards consisted of 5kg rice (Champion), detergent (Runner-up) as well as toilet paper and tissue paper etc.

Well, with kids around, definitely there are also some activities for the kids and in Japan, Jyagen is one of the MUST-DO activity.

As well as. . .

Free bread for everyone. . . including the Tan Tans are given 2 free breads.

The principals of the schools were also invited to participate and they did it gamely.

Throughout the day, there were all the cute kids that made the whole day even more memorable.

Kyushu & Shikoku Travels - 徳島 Tokushima

2009-06-18T00:03:00.002+09:00

The Tan Tans’ last stop for Shikoku is Tokushima city which ain’t really famous for anything other than the Awa Odori Matsuri which is held in mid-August. Most of the other attractions are a good 4-5hours bus ride away, with the exception of one place. 鳴門の渦潮 - Naruto Whirlpools! And that's frankly the main purpose of the Tan Tans visit to Shikoku.

The naruto whirlpools are basically tidal whirlpools (whirlpools created due to difference in water level caused by tides) and in this case, opposite current from the Seto Inland and Kii channel along this stretch which is known as Naruto Strait. Due to water level difference of up to 1.5m, the speed of the current in this area is the fastest in Japan and fourth in the world.

Chanced upon this guy harvesting Naruto's wakame which is famous for its texture.

A good place to view the current and cheaper than taking the ferry ride.

Look at the whirlpool formed! It can actually goes up to 20m in diameter. And don’t worry about the boat. . non of it capsized while the Tan Tans were there.

Left:Souvenir shot.
Right: An helicopter from one of the newspaper that was flying around and caught everyone’s attention.

With nothing much else to see, the Tan Tans just walked around Tokushima and enjoyed a slower pace of travel.

Though there are nothing much else to see, Tokushima does served some of the best food in Japan.

Of all the Ramen the Tan Tans tasted in Japan including Toyko, Kobe, Fukouka, Kumamoto etc. Tokushima Ramen fared the best in taste. Though Mrs Tan Tan had quite a severe diarrhoea thereafter, the Tan Tans could not deduced if it was from this Ramen as Mr Tan Tan was fine.

The Tan Tans also found the BEST IZAKAYA that they ever tried in Japan and returned to the same izakaya for 2 nights in a row even though Mrs Tan Tan had a diarrhoea.

Some of the food that the Tan Tans ordered.. why some? Because the rest ended up in the stomach before shooting….

Live Roasted Unagi - How you know it is live?

Because he caught it, killed it and cooked it right infront of you which the unagi was still “jumping” while it roasted

If anyone is going to Tokushima, do visit this place. Its priced decently, near the train station and the food - absolutely tasty.

With that, the Tan Tans got onto their “chartered” flight and made their way back to Owase via Nagoya.

Kyushu & Shikoku Travels - 高松市 (Takamatsu)

2009-06-16T22:30:00.001+09:00

Takamatsu was our fifth stop in this whirlwind travel around Kyushu and Shikoku and is the capital of the smallest prefecture in Japan. Takamatsu is famous for the best Udon in Japan – Sanuki Udon.

It was interesting that this traditional dish was sold in a non-traditional and sort of fast-food way. Basically you had to get a tray and a small plate for the side dishes of tempuras and other add-ons which were placed along the counter and thereafter order your Udon (dry, soup, different stock etc.) and collected it at the end of the counter where you make your payment at the cashier.

Oh, and the Tan Tans also affirmed their suspicion that Udon was introduced to Japan by China. Basically Udon was introduced some 1200years by Kobo-daishi (the enlightened one that started Mount Koya and Esocentric Buddhism in Japan in the earlier blog) when he was in China as stated in the sign below.

Shikoku is also a place where there are strong beliefs in Buddhism and has 88 temples which some pilgrims did the pilgrimage every year, walking some 4,000km in weeks. One of the most popular shrine in Shikoku is near Takamatsu and it’s one of our 2 must visit place in Shikoku – 金刀比羅神社Kompirasan in Kotohira.

Arriving in Kotohira and saw this nice old tower that was near the station but I had no idea what was it for… haha.

There was only one way to Kompirasan and that was UP. And up the Tan Tans went, climbing over 800 steps to reach the shrine panting when they reached only steps 168. It was good that there are some shops along the climb for the first portion of it so that one could still rest before moving on.

This little gal was outstanding as she barely pants after climbing the 800 over steps to the main shrine of kompirasan and was happily humming away. The Tan Tans? hmmmmm……

Oh, saw this pilgrim at the entrance of the main shrine. He was basically standing there and asking for alms without “asking”.

This was the main shrine of Kompirasan and the Tan Tans gave up on seeing the inner shrine which was another 800 over steps to go.

Look at the view of Kotohira and the golden wheat field. It was a no brainer why they have the best Udon in Japan.

A jar for wishes and I wished for World Peace! YEAH!

Rows of donor plaques, that reinforced the fact of it being the most popular shrine in Shikoku.

Mr Tan Tan was exhausted after the climb and treated himself to some sake and got a nice brandy cake at his old old shop. It tasted absolutely fantastic!

The golden crops taken from the train on our way to the next popular spot in Takamatsu, 栗林公園 Ritsurin Koen!

Ritsurin Koen is easily Japan’s most beautiful Japanese-style landscape garden and the Tan Tans would definitely recommend it to anyone that might go to Takamatsu.

Ritsurin Koen is said to have taken 100 years to complete and features six ponds and 13 artificial mountains. There are also a teahouse, folk museum, some shops and rest places located in the park.

What is Singapore’s Japanese garden?

OK, this is supposed to look like crane on a tiger. Can you see it?

An interesting round well.

In a Japanese garden, you definitely find one thing – Koi or Japanese carp. And the people definitely loved it!

Done with Ritsurin Koen, the Tan Tans bid farewell to Takamatsu and travelled to 徳島 Tokushima.

Kyushu & Shikoku Travel - 松山市 Matsuyama

2009-06-16T11:44:00.001+09:00

Arriving late in Matsuyama, the Tan Tans were famished and went to hunt for good izakaya the moment that they dumped their luggage. They are luckily to find a place with great kushi katsu and yakitori.

Our little feast when we first arrived in Shikoku!

I liked the way they hang their scopes.

Matsuyama is famous for 2 things;

Matsuyama-jo (Matsuyama castle)
Dogo Onsen (Japan’s most famous and oldest onsen)

Our first stop was Matsuyama-jo which is within walking distance from our hotel (Toyoko-inn of cos, cheap and good).

Our alternative transport up to the castle other than walking. Seems like a modified ski lift.

Matsuyama-jo is situated on a high hill giving it an panoramic view that enable it to detect enemy’s movement. A pity that from the various signs that we saw, it seemed like the castle was burned down multiple times by lightning and vandalism.

View of Matsuyama from the castle

Cute Japanese kids on a outing to Matsuyama-jo.

Our next visit was to Dogo onsen which is the oldest and most famous onsen in Japan. An interesting thing about Dogo-onsen was that you can opt the “commoner” package which is the most basic package at 300yen that consists of just the basic “Bath of the God”. Whereas, the most expensive package cost more than 1200yen which includes bath robe, dedicated Botchan’s resting room as well as tea and snacks. Tan Tans are commoner.

After the fabulous soak! Look at how radiant Mrs Tan Tan was.

And she got even more radiant discovering the POM shop!

Some of the POM juice we bought!

And POM soft-serve…wahahaha.. .

Famous snack in Matsuyama – Botchan’s Dango. Oh, anyway Botchan was a character in this famous novel that features a guy who moved to Matsuyama and everyone in Japan knows about this novel. Botchan’s dango comes in 3 favours and was extremely tasty!

We also caught this clock tower performance – just like at the difference!

The gathering of all the public transport. Bus, Cab and Tram.

An unique classic tram which the Tan Tans did not managed to get on. Disappointing.

With that, the Tan Tans say goodbye to Matsuyama and made their way to Takamatsu by highway bus. Another 3hours on the bus.

Screwed!!

2009-06-16T10:04:00.001+09:00

Ok.. I was screwed by Windows Live Writer. As I overwrote on the old blog using the same format, I did not realised that I was deleted the old entries with the new ones. Darn!! Now I am writing the entries that I deleted. Stupid me!!!

Kyushu & Shikoku Travels – Ferry Ride

2009-06-12T22:25:00.001+09:00

From Oita, the Tan Tans had decided to travel to Shikoku by ferry. Mainly because it is cheaper and it would be a new experience for the Tan Tans. It was indeed an experience as the ferry ride was not as expected, there was no allocated seats at all.

Our tickets which cost less than 3000yen each. Its very cheap for the 3 1/2hrs ride to Shikoku.

Our allocated “seat”. We actually got a small mattress with blanket and a small pillow. Interesting as we expected a chair instead of a sleeping place and thus, everyone was like sleeping and lazing during the ride.

Trying out our little cushionbed but it was slightly too small for me though.

Saying goodbye to Kyushu. .

Left: Diamond ferry, which is one of the only ferry servicing this route departing around 1600hrs from Kyushu and arriving at 1930hrs in Shikoku.

Right: The kids looking into the sea. . Mr Tan Tan was wondering what are they looking and looked down too. Jellyfishes, lots and lots of it.

On this trip, the Tan Tans also experienced the warmth of the people in Shikoku. The Tan Tans met this elderly couple who were travelling with their two sons on board this ferry and had a chat with them. After a short conversation, the Tan Tans found out that they were from Ehime prefecture which is famous for its mikan (oranges) production as well as orange juice – POM (derives the name from NIPPON which uses the PON with a twist) in which Mrs Tan Tan told them her love for POM juice. They were overjoyed that their POM juiced were well received and the next thing we knew after returning from this trip back to Owase is 12 x 1 litre of an unique POM juice delivered to us by this nice family. Tell us about kindness. WOW!

As Mrs Tan Tan was feeling seasick, the Tan Tans decided to spend most of their time on the deck for some nice sea breeze and the wonderful sunset.

And with the time on hand, the Tan Tans took some photos with the setting sun.

And some stupid photos… hahaha

Kyushu & Shikoku Travels – 大分市 (Oita) & 別府市 (Beppu)

2009-06-12T12:45:00.000+09:00

This is our last stop in this trip around Kyushu before we take the ferry from Oita to Shikoku. Oita is not really interesting but we had to stay there as all the hotels in Beppu were fully booked. Anyway, Oita is only approx 20 mins by train from Beppu.

Well, a change of plans took place when Mrs Tan Tan recommend a new place to visit, 臼杵磨崖仏 (Usuki Stone Buddha). The stone Buddha are estimated to be craved in the 12th centuries and were craved on soft rocks which means that they are easily damaged by weathering. They are awarded National Treasures status in 1995.

At the Usuki Stone Buddha area, there was this sign that pointed to a National Treasure of 5 storeys pagoda. The hike to this National Treasure takes approximately half an hour up slope with signs of beware of snakes along the way. But frankly speaking, there was no point going there as the so-called National Treasure there was disappointing.

the 5 storeys pagoda – got what I meant by disappointing?

Saw this interesting bottle of honey in one of the shop and this is definitely pure honey!

Ok. Why are we interested in Beppu for a start? Well, in Japan, there are a few things that are famous.

Scenery
Food and
Onsen!!

Yes. Beppu is famous for its onsen, producing more onsen water than any other area in Japan. And they are popular for sand bath where we were covered with hot sand of approximately 40 degree Celsius.

A guide on how you go about with the hot sand onsen. Firstly, you get covered with sand for approximately 10-15mins, thereafter, get a shower and finally a dip in the hot bath. And the hot sand was relax therapy to the max!

Satisfied us after the hot sand bath.

We also visited the more touristy Beppu Nine Jigoku (Hells) which basically comprises of different hot springs that are found in this area. Let me bring you through the Nine Hells.

Shirake Jigoku – So called white pond due to its milky white water.

The bubbling Oniishiboza Jigoku as the bubbling mud looks like the shaven head of a monk. Reminds me of my friend though.. hee hee

Umi Jigoku or sea hell which the clear blue water seems like okinawa sea.

Yama Jigoku with spurring steam of hot water from the various rocks. There’s also a zoo and a museum featuring malaysia and includes a kampong

Chinoike Jigoku or blood pond which features a nice red pond.

One of the ponds in Kamado Jigoku which has several small ponds. This pond is very interesting as it changes its colour during the year.

Tatsumaki Jigoku or sprout hell with its geyser that sprouts every 15-20mins.

Ok. there are only 7 of the 9 hells here as the other 2 hells are so boring that we never took much pictures. One features crocodiles which was so common and the other just a hot geyser with a green house. Both of which features stuffs which we are used to and hence.. boring.

From Oita, we took a 3 1/2 hours ferry to Matsuyama.

Kyushu & Shikoku Travels – 熊本市 (Kumamoto) & 阿蘇山 (Mount Aso or Asosan)

2009-06-12T09:06:00.001+09:00

Our second part of the journey covers Kumanoto which is famous for horse meat and well, lots of other things too.

As our stay in Kumamoto was very short.. we reached there in the evening and departing for Aso-san the next morning at 1100hrs, the exploration around Kumamoto was fast direct. What is most important in the discovery of a new place is definitely FOOD and Kumamoto is famous for their Ramen. For those who may not know, Ajisen Ramen that is so popular in Singapore comes from this part of Japan.

Ajisen Ramen as well as a “pub” for blood donors. You drink water, they draw your blood.

Our hunt for Kumamoto Ramen landed us in this restaurant that was one of the top 100 recommended store in Japan. Look for the sign (red in background) and the quality of the food will not go wrong.

alright i admit, the budge from my tummy was caused by the wonderful ramen we just had.

Oh! Horse Katsu for sale. . . hmmm… how could I ever resist it? And it was enjoyable eating horse katsu in front of Louis Vuitton too.

a lotus root dish which was interesting.

with the few hours we had the next morning, we made a quick trip to Kumamoto Castle which was a stone’s throw away from the Toyoko-inn that we were staying.

There was nothing unique to the castle having visited quite a no. of castles in Japan from our previous trips. But the newly restored interior was a sight not to be missed.

In Kumamoto area, one of the most famous place must be Aso-san which holds Japan’s largest ACTIVE volcano and the record holder for the world’s largest caldera. We board the bus departing for Aso-san at 1100hrs and hope to arrive Aso-san in one and half hours time.

It was nearly 1400hrs when we arrived. The golden week jam had caused a huge set back to our plans, its good that we are not strictly sticking to our pre-planned itinerary but we did change the mode of transport to train for our next destination though. . haha

The grassland that we passed by on our way up Asosan. Horse riding is available here and it sort of reminded me of Mongolia.

Before we were able to go up the cable car to the caldera, there is this sign which tells of the different level of danger. It was yellow when we were up there and some areas were closed due to the poisonous fumes.

The photos wasn’t as nice due to the rain. ;(

Departing from Asosan, we dropped off at the train station and discovered that we needed to wait for yet another 3hrs for the train as the only train to Oita arrives at 1830hr. So it was time for early dinner! wahahaha.. .

It was a good thing that we spotted this little cafe just a few minutes walk from the train station were I had this sweet sour chicken dish and Mrs Tan Tan had this baked rice and both of it were yummy!

tick tok tick tok . . finally the train came and we departed for Oita. . ..

Kyushu & Shikoku Travels – Nagasaki

2009-06-11T21:51:00.002+09:00

This was a trip that the Tan Tans had during the golden week holiday in Japan in their goal to cover all parts of Japan. Having been to the furthest south of Okinawa and the top of Kyushu (Fukuoka – earlier in 2006), the Tan Tans proceeded to cover central Kyushu and thereafter Shikoku. This was a trip that took weeks to plan. Air tickets were booked at least one month in advance to take advantage of the Tabiwari discount (Air tickets promotion by both JAL and ANA) where air tickets can be cheaper by 70%.

First stop in our plan – Nagasaki – the place of rich cultures. But surprisingly, imported cultures as it was one of the earliest port that was opened to trade in Japan. With that, it was no surprises that there was a strong European influence as well as Chinese influences.

How do we know that? Well, the most popular dishes in Nagasaki is ちゃんぽん Chanpon (some also known as Champon) as well as Sala-Udon which was well, invented by Chinese and the Chanpon is like Hokkien mee whereas the Sala-Udon seems somehow similiar to our 生面 (san-mee). The most popular snack here is カステラ (Castella cake) which was introduced by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

I was so hungry upon arrival that I could eat this bowl of Chanpon!

Dong Po Ruo and the dry chanpon that we had. It seems like I ate the sala-udon before I took a shot. haha . .

Alright, other than the food, there were the sights. We visited a few places in Nagasaki, namely

- Nagasaki Peace Museum – Our must visit stop. After visiting both Hiroshima A-Bomb Museum and Nagasaki Peace Museum, I can only say one thing. Stop Nuclear Warfare or there will be no more Human Welfare.

Nagasaki Memorial Park – A short walk from Peace Museum. Nice park and plenty of Nagasaki ice-cream carts around

haha… of cos I had my dosage of ice-cream. Not really used to the taste though, slightly milky, slightly sour and sweet… hmmm…..

Urakami Church – One of the church that spent over 20 years building which was greatly damaged by the A-bomb.

Chinatown - One of the 3 Chinatowns in Japan. It was interesting to walk around chinatown and found that the same activities was being carried out here. Chess, Food and Breaking the Laws.

Clover Garden – Clover garden. One of Japan heritage site where the ancient house belonging to this Clover guy was preserved. Nice place with great view of Nagasaki but not really interesting. There is a touristy street with lots of Castella and Braised Pork Bun for free tasting.

Oura Church – Happened to walk pass this church on the way from Clover Garden to Chinatown. Seems to be the oldest standing church in Japan.

26 Martyrs Memorial & Museum – A memorial regarding the 26 martyrs that was prosecuted when Christianity was outlawed in Japan in the 15th centuries. Very near to Nagasaki station and it’s worth a visit.

Mount Inasa - One of Japan best 3 night-view and it was worth a visit.

We had decided not to visit the popular Huis Ten Bosch which is a spin-off of Holland as we did not come to Japan to see the sights of Holland as well as to save $$.

Anyway, Nagasaki was really a great place to visit and after 2 nights there, we took the highway bus and made our way to Kumamoto, being stuck in the infamous Golden Week jam for additional of 2 hours. wahahahaha…

Sushi – The REAL Thing!!

2009-06-11T11:09:00.002+09:00

Alright… I know that it had been some time since I last updated any entries.. well… I did upload some photos on facebook though. ;)

Ok, I will try to update all those entries.

Not to sidetrack anymore, yesterday, the Tan Tans visited this wonderful sushi bar with Caleb, an ALT for the senior high school in Owase. The name - 華ずし (Hana Zushi)

It is one of those traditional sushi bars where the master soaks his hands in cold water before preparing our meals. As all the portions of rice to wasabi to fish have been carefully planned out. All we had to do was to use our hands and dip the fish into the shoyu and put the whole sushi into our mouths.

YES! The traditional Japanese way of eating sushi is using your hands though they did not dictate which hand you should use. There was also no WASABI to add into your shoyu as different fish taste most fabulously with the right amount of wasabi and not an over or under dosage of it. The portion of rice for each fish is also a crucial factor in wonderful tasting sushi.

The range was fabulous and surprisingly, it wasn’t that expensive. Damage per person was approx 1500yen which is about $20 each including the most delicious chawamushi (Japanese Steamed Egg) the Tan Tans have ever tasted.

The Tan Tans were also treated to free sushi by the sushi master and sake by one of the customers. The master made the most wonderful sushi that melts in the mouth using the toro portion from champion of all fishes – KURO-MAGURO (Black Tuna). And now, the Tan Tans have tried the best beef (Kobe Beef) as well as the best fish (THIS!!) in Japan.

Look closely for the fine interlocking fats running throughout the fish. It melts in the mouth and was the BEST thing I ever tasted.

We will definitely visit this place again before we leave Owase!

Some of the other pictures of the sushi –

the white towel in the background is for you to wipe your hands with. Basically the master will serve as you eat so that you can take your time as the master will add on the sushi to your plate based on how fast you eat

Other great tasting sushi!

Soft & Tangy Orange Bread Recipe

2009-05-27T13:48:00.005+09:00

This sweet, tangy and soft orange bread makes a refreshing, healthy breakfast.
We made it using the orange juice and marmalade pressies from our Japanese friends, and it's one of our favourite breads so far.

Ingredients
250g strong flour
5g dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
160ml orange juice
2 knobs of butter
orange marmalade

Method
1. Pour the flour into a mixing bowl, and make a well in the middle.
2. Pour the orange juice into the well and add the sugar, yeast and butter.
3. Using a fork, blend in the mixture with the flour slowly until all or most of the flour is mixed in with the mixture.
4. Then using your hands, push and fold the dough until it becomes smooth and silky.
5. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave the dough to proof for an hour or when the dough has doubled its size.
6. Knock the air out with your fist, bashing and squashing it for about 30 seconds.
7. Shape the dough into your preferred shape (small balls, twists etc) and leave it to proof for another 40 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 200 deg celsius.
9. When the second proof is done, apply orange marmalade (as much as you like!) to the surface of the bread before baking it for 10-15 minutes, or until it turns golden brown.
10. Serve the bread with tea and enjoy!

The orange story

2009-05-26T19:00:00.016+09:00

During the golden week, we travelled to Kyushu and Shikoku and met a fantastic family, on the ferry from Oita to Matsuyama. The Kimuras live in the Ehime prefecture in Shikoku and run an electrical appliance business there. I guess we were extremely lucky that day, because they are some of the nicest folks we've ever met in Japan - extremely warm and down-to-earth. It reaffirms the popular Japanese belief that the southerners are the friendliest lot in Japan.

Even though we had to bid farewell to them at the end of the 3.5 hour ferry ride, our friendship didn't just stop there. Little did we know that a pleasant surprise was in store for us when we got home. A day after we returned to Owase, we received from them a carton (12 large bottles no doubt) of 1-litre mandarin orange (mikan) juice that the Ehime prefecture (where the Kimuras are from) is famous for. It's really amazing how a first meeting which lasted only a few hours could invite such generousity from them. It really is. And, that mikan juice is one of the best I've ever had in my life.

Japan produces a hundred types of mikan. Gigantic, large, mid-sized, small, tiny, sweet, sour, soursweet, sweetsour - you name it, you have it here. All these mikan have different names. The ones in Ehime, known as iyokan, are supposed to be one of the sweetest types you can find. Ehime is extremely proud of its mikan juice, so proud that its largest mikan juice producer named itself POM juice, meaning juice of NIPPON (Japan). At the Matsuyama airport, all you need to do is to turn on the taps to get free mikan juice. I once watched a TV programme that people buy POM juice by the carton, not by the bottle in the Ehime prefecture. There are all sorts of dishes that are made using mikan juice, the most popular being the mikan juice rice.

Actually, Owase is also famous for a type of mikan called the amanatsu (literally means sweet summer) - but it tastes far from sweet. I think it tastes similar to the grapefruit. People tell us it's not that bad, because amanatsu's cousin - natsu (literally summer) - tastes ten times worse. To say that mikan is in abundance in the area we live in is an understatement. Often we see so much mikan rotting on the ground and there's nothing we can do because it's illegal picking fruit that does not belong to you.

It's the amanatsu season now, and so far we've received quite a lot of amanatsu. No matter how sour, free fruit (or rather food) is always welcomed.:) Just last Friday, we received a bottle of handmade orange marmalade, which I believe is made from amanatsu.

At the TanTans, free food always present the opportunity for new food creations. With our bunch of orange freebies, we made an orange sorbet and some orange bread topped with the marmalade.

Modified Mee Pok dry in Owase?

2009-04-25T15:21:00.001+09:00

In a country like Japan where there are basically only 3 types of noodles – Ramen, Udon and Soba and of cos some variations that arise from it. But there is definitely no mee pok, you mee and others.

So, what can one do when certain craving hits? Create your own!

Just this morning, Mr Tan Tan created Mushroom Bak Chor Mee, Mee Pok dry using some instant pasta from a half-priced tonkotsu italian ramen that we found in the supermarket! Yes, its half-price and the Tan Tans always buy stuff when it is price-down to save money.

In order to replicate the taste of Singapore’s famous mee pok noodle, Mr Tan Tan simmered japanese mushroom with oyster sauce, soy sauce and dry scallops for 2 days before this meal. A pity he cannot find the dry fragrant fish that is commonly used with the mushroom in Singapore.

The fish cake that the Tan Tans bought caught them by surprise when they found gobo (japanese roots of some sort) within the fish cake.

With a dash of the mushroom sauce, soy sauce, oil and ketchup (for Mr Tan Tan) or sambal chilli (for Mrs Tan Tan), Mushroom Bak Chor Mee Pok dry are ready to be served.

A hike to Tategasaki (盾ヶ崎) & Sone (曽根)

2009-04-25T13:04:00.001+09:00

The Tans Tans were invited to a trip to Tategasaki, but little was known that the Tan Tans had to hike approximately 2 km to reach the place.

These signs demarked the start of our hiking trip last Sunday and well, Mr Tan Tan is not fully prepared for a hike as he was dressed in bermuda and slipper.

Halfway through where we took a break. The water was so clear and nice.

Off we go again.. and the sights at the cliff were great!!

A sneak peek at the cliff and the actual shield cliff that took our breath away.

Look at the cliff!

a light house overlooking the vast sea.

As the area is a conservation area, there are also signs that educates visitors on the different kind of trees in the area. The picture above is a unique tree which tree bark resembles the skin of deer.

After the hike in Tategasaki, we proceed to Sone under the suggestion by Mr Tan Tan because earlier in the week, he saw this poster of a tsutsuji (つつじ – a flower) festival in the train station in Owase. And it led to another 2 hours of hiking.

Fresh plum that we saw along the way!

Kawaiiiiiii Japanese kids!

The festival which was packed with people and activities though by the time we are there, most of the activities had ceased.

This is the Tsutsuji flower that we are there for.

The hike up to the castle ruins in Sone where we caught this interesting sign of a “Watch Out for the Wildboar”

A couple rock on the top of the hill after climbing more than 380 steps. And there after, it’s the castle ruins that greeted us. Well, castle ruins and since it is in ruins, there is really nothing much to see. ;)

Well, almost nothing other than another awesome scenery!

Going Indian!

2009-04-12T23:26:00.004+09:00

Despite the recent Indian Rojak food scare in Singapore, we decided to throw away all inhibitions and try out our first authentic Indian meal in Japan.

The venue: Jahangil, an Indian-Parkistani restaurant in Matsusaka.

Although we were a little skeptical at first, being the first customers on a Saturday night, our doubts were quickly cleared when 3 more tables subsequently came in – two of them which seemed like regulars.

Prices ranged from 1,280 to 1,780 yen (about S$20 - S$27) for a set meal consisting of nann, curry, a meat dish, a drink, dessert and salad (weird for indian cuisine but the Parkistani boss has been in Japan for 11 years. He owns 3 restaurants in Mie). Relatively expensive compared to what we can get in Singapore, but it definitely tasted authentic.

The naan was HUGE, the biggest we’ve ever seen, and Erik managed to satisfy his mutton craving (Japanese mutton dishes are not available in Honshu). Then again, perhaps it was a little too spicy for our Japanese friend, Hiro :)

1,280 yen set consisting of garlic naan, papadom, vegetables marsala, tandoori chicken, yoghurt, mango juice and salad.

1,780 yen set consisting of naan, papadom, mutton curry, skewered mutton, yoghurt, salad, mango drink and ice-cream.

Our friend Hiro downing lots of water with his meal.

Sugari – The little town off Owase

2009-04-09T10:46:00.001+09:00

Sugari is one of a small town off Owase. Its population stands at less than 200 with less than a handful of children. Most people are aged 60 and above and there are about 280 houses where a quarter are not occupied. Sad reality of an aging population.

Because of the people love for nature, they refuse to build roads as there equates to killing of trees. Hence, the fastest way to access there is by a 20mins ferry from Owase.

The Tan Tans, together with their friend in Owase, decided to pay Sugari a visit.

Location of Sugari

Our ride to Sugari, notice the close resemblance of their calender to our traditional chinese calender.

In Owase, everyone’s hobby is … well, you guess it. Fishing!

Some sights of Sugari

Right: We noticed a lot of households with this handprint on it. Upon query, we were told that only when a person reaches the age of 88, will they be allow to put this on their door. Some charm for good luck I guess.

Left: Rare sight of a kid playing with her grandfather as children is a rare sight in Sugari.

It seems like there might be more dogs than kids in Sugari.

But I would say that the people in the Inaka (countryside) are really friendly and warm. We met this uncle who hikes everyday and invites us to go with him. The sights are awesome and the company great!

Wonderful sights!!

Oh, these are deer markings. A pity we couldn’t catch the animal in actions otherwise I will have fresh venison to eat… hee hee.

The kind uncle invited us to his house which is over a hundred years old.

Upon departing from the kind uncle’s place, the Tan Tans and their friend met an abbot of Sugari temple who is 78 and so genki! He climbs flight of stairs to his temple more than once daily and we panted as we ascend it. Wow! The abbot shows us lots of photos and told us that Sugari used to be full of activities and he hopes more people will visit Sugari in the future.

We were also told that there is also an interesting festival in Sugari in early Feb where hopes are written on a stone and these stones will be dropped into the seabed after prayers. Reporters from as far as France came to cover the story.

The abbot also treated us to some very delicious homemade soba.

Ryujin Onsen – Top 3 beauty onsens in Japan

2009-04-08T23:33:00.002+09:00

On of the weekends many moons back, the Tan Tans and their Japanese friends made a trip to Ryujin Onsen (translated dragon deity hot spring).

The car ride took 3 hours to reach the onsen and everyone was hoping for some onsen manju. However, we discover that this onsen is purely an onsen, i.e no frills, no onsen manju or onsen tamago. ;(

Mrs Tan Tan reading the map of Ryujin Onsen

It seems that this ryujin onsen was discovered by Kobo Daishi, who is the same guy who founded Koya-san of Tan Tans’ earlier blog.

Right: The original onsen

Coming out of the onsen happily and Mrs Tan Tan and Izumi-san with their tsuru tsuru skin.

Our Secret Garden

2009-04-08T23:15:00.002+09:00

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Spring has arrived and the Tan Tans has started their secret garden.

Yellow and Purple Pansy that brighten up our entrance,

Cabbage rose – The real bloom. This is the actual flower of “cabbage rose” that is so popular in Singapore. Guess the flower ain’t that big afterall.

Our pot of salad greens complimentary from the wife of Mrs Tan Tan’s supervisor.

Our new green emerging from the soil including Daikon, Chamomile, Rocket Salad and Basil.

Our genki parsley, flowering spring onion and chives.

Tan Tan’s latest addition of Tulips!! One interesting observation made, Tulips will bloom wide open in the day and closes it petals at night. This is repetitive and is still observed today in its 3 day of bloom.

Mr Tan Tan says goodbye to the 20s and hello to 30.

2009-03-28T21:39:00.011+09:00

It's time for Mr Tan Tan to face the dreadful 3s and bid farewell to the 2s that he's used to. Luckily, Mrs Tan Tan helped to make it easy by whipping up some great dishes. . for not 1 day but 4 days in a row as well as an awesome strawberry shortcake and traditional mee-suan in the morning.

Day 1 Gourmet:
1.Baked Whole Scallops
2. Freshly Made Crab Cake using king-crab as the main ingredient
3. Prawn Salad
4. Prawn cum Crab Bisque
5. Freshly-made Chocolate Mousse using mascarpone, fresh cream and high quality bitter chocolate.

Day 2 Gourmet:
1. French Onion Soup

2. Fresh Greens
3. Shepherd's Pie baked to perfection!
4. Strawberries in Mascarpone

Day 3 Gourmet:

1. Honey Roasted Chicken

2. Fresh Greens with Parmesan

3. Steak with Chips. You can see that it is cooked to perfection and the baked wedges was great.
4. Lemon and Mint Sorbet

The perfect strawberry shortcake.

Breakfast - Mee Sua in soup for longevity!

Sushi Lingo!

2009-03-25T11:02:00.006+09:00

10 days ago we were invited to a sushi party by our good friends, the Shoujis. Not only did they prepare an incredible spread, they also gave us a valuable lesson on sushi lingo.

In Singapore, sushi is just sushi. But in Japan, there are special terms for everything you find in a sushi bar. For example, vinegared rice is not just ご飯 (gohan), but シャリ (shari). Tea is not お茶　(ocha) but アガリ (agari). Seaweed is not 海苔 (nori) but クサ (kusa. literally means "grass").

Below is a list of the other sushi terms:
cucumber: カッパ (kabba)
pickled ginger: ガり　(gari)
wasabi: ナミダ (namida. literally means "tears" because wasabi makes you cry)
soysauce/shoyu: ムラサキ (murasaki. literally: "purple")
ingredients on sushi rice - usually the fish etc: ネタ (neta. originated from たね, which means "seeds"

Pix from the Sushi Party you'll never get in Singapore

We were simply wowed by the quantity and variety of sushi prepared. To fill our bloated stomachs further, the Shoujis also prepared a giant fish stew, chawanmushi, sashimi and kasutera cake! The best thing was, everything was homemade!

Especially unforgettable was the homemade umeshu (plum liquor), which we joked as "Shouya" (pun on Choya) -- something we'll never get in Singapore. ;)

Welcome to Seto

2009-03-24T10:24:00.011+09:00

Seto City 瀬戸市 is renowned in Japan for the production of ceramics (pottery and porcelain). In fact, ceramics are also called 'Setomono' 瀬戸物　in Japanese, named after the town. On 20 March, we took a day trip to the town, in a bid to learn more about ceramics, and hopefully, to buy some pretty and cheap stuff.

Despite occupying a small area of only over 100 sq km, Seto proved to be a very charming town, with a rich heritage of ceramics that is celebrated in every possible shape and form.

As we strolled through the streets, we saw the culture of ceramics everywhere. Porcelain tiles decorated the walls of many houses and public facilities including walkways and bridges, while ceramic dolls were embedded in the walls of public carparks. Public benches were made out of ceramics, a rare sight in Japan. At Kamagaki-no-komichi, a trail located at the foot of the mountains, pottery in the form of plates, bowls and cups are tastefully embedded in the stone walls. We had lunch at a dirty, rugged eatery and guess what? Even the food there was served in elegant Setomono.

An old curator we met in a museum taught us how to differentiate pottery from porcelain, and had us promise him that we would spread this know-how to other people. His pride in Seto as the capital for Setomono was indisputable. And indeed, the sights we saw told us the kind of pride the people of Seto have in ceramics, which is already well infused in their everyday lives.

Turns out that prices of Setomono are not exactly cheap but we eventually found a set of 3 plates that we bought as a souvenir and which matched our budget.

Walls extensively but artfully decorated with pottery and porcelain pieces

Random posed shots

Old ceramic toilets

left: Ceramic bench
right: Ceramic skateboard!
bottom: An old house owned by a first generation ceramics master. The house is over 120 years old and has now been converted into a museum.

Our purchase!

Of Japanese proverbs and animals...

2009-03-18T14:58:00.003+09:00

Monkeys, hawks and frogs are animals commonly found in many parts of Japan, and it is of no wonder that they are often referred to in Japanese proverbs.

Some clever examples:
鳶が鷹を産む。 Tonbi ga taka wo umu.
Literally: A kite giving birth to a hawk.
Meaning: A splendid child born from common parents.

猿も木から落ちる。 Saru mo ki kara ochiru.
Literally: Even monkeys fall from trees.
Meaning: Everyone can make mistakes.

蛙の子は蛙。 Kaeru no ko wa kaeru.
Literally: The child of a frog is a frog.
Meaning: Like father, like son.

How we know that Spring is here

2009-03-17T23:54:00.004+09:00

The birds have started singing.
Flowers are blooming everywhere.
Bright green shoots are emerging from plants.
Weeds have colonised our garden.
The insects have emerged from their hibernation. An absolute pain.
The days are getting longer.
It has started to rain more frequently.
We've said goodbye to our good friend, the kotatsu.
We've ditched our thick winter jackets for windbreakers.
We've started wearing our funky t-shirts again. In fact, Erik's wearing his bermudas again.

For the first time in a long, long time, we felt warm today.

World Heritage Site - Shiragawa-go(白川郷), Gassho-zukuri Village

2009-02-25T20:06:00.009+09:00

Our plans to visit Gassho-zukuri in Takayama area was made weeks back and we were concerned whether we will be able to catch the snow. Decided that it was a risk worth taking, the Tan Tans proceeded on with the 3hrs train ride to Nagoya followed by another 2hrs train ride to Gero Onsen (Top 3 onsen in Japan) for a break and dip before proceeding another hour to Takayama. It was a risk worth taking.

Snow greeted us on the way.

The 1hour bus ride to Shiragawa-go (白川郷) was scenic though Mr Tan Tan is sleeping most of the time and the sights at Shiragawa-go was fabulous

The interesting part about the Gassho-zukuri is that no nails are used in the making of the huts. It is somehow similiar to ancient China methodology of building palaces without nails. The structure are set in a way with the enhanced roof to take the weight of the heavy snow.

and of cos, we had our fair share of fun with the snow!

The light-up in Hida Folk village in Takayama as the Tan Tans had to catch the last bus back from Shiragawa-go at 1630hrs before the lightup. And so, the Tan Tans settled on the second best option. Hida folk village where some of the original Gassho-zukuri are moved to.

And we came across interesting sights like the snowman as well as a dustbin shaped like the Gassho.

And well, introducing one of Tan Tans fav food find there, the Hida beef bun. . yummy

Weirdest Matsuri in Japan - Yaya Matsuri Day 5

2009-02-09T08:25:00.004+09:00

The last day of Yaya featured a day-long parade by all the 3 main concentrations. A total of 854 participants took part in this procession which started at 1pm and lasted till 6pm at the Jinja.

We were treated to traditional performances...

. . and the not so traditional ones.

The poor shishi aka 獅子(lion) being whacked by kids from the start to the end of the parade.

Cart full of tidbits!

Left: Challenge for the Yaya
Right: In high spirits, the men were sprayed with beer as they did a mini Yaya.

Left: Final performance by the participants for the Gods at the Jinja.

Right: Finally. A break.

Another procession to mark the "closing door" ceremony of the matsuri. The kids were being carried on the shoulders of the adults. Not a part of the rituals but likely because the kids were tired after the full day of matsuri.

And this was the archery contest where a representative from each of the 3 strongholds competed in. The one who managed to hit the bull's eye will have to go to Ise Shrine to pray. Sadly, no one struck the bull's eye this year. A total of 7 rounds took place and the chant of Jyo-Sa-Ja kept ranting throughout the competition.

Owase Jinja priest conducting a ritual before the start of the archery contest

Totally caught by surprise as to what happened here. Once the archers made their final bow to the targets, 3 men grabbed the straw mat and dashed through the queue of lanterns to the shrine. (unable to get a shot as it happened too fast)

The last ritual where the shishi (獅子) dashed out of the temple, disappeared for the next 3 mins and dashed right in again)

Total time of the final day's Matsuri: 1pm to 10pm.

Weirdest Matsuri in Japan - Yaya Matsuri Days 2-4

2009-02-09T08:10:00.002+09:00

Day 2 marked the actual start of Yaya Matsuri and it was than I discovered the most interesting part of this whole matsuri. Too bad that Mrs Tan Tan had to teach a conversational class and so I went to explore on my own.

Of the 3 strongholds for this year, I had decided to go to Horimachi. The first impression that hit me. Drunkards!

The Yaya Matsuri is basically a pushing match - groups of people clash and try to win by pushing the other group away. The smell of alcohol really hit me even though I was standing a distance away.

Shortly after I reached Horimachi, the group from the other machi arrived and the challenge began. Chants of "チョウサじゃ"(pronounced jyosaja) filled the increasingly intense atmosphere. (A check with my nihongo sensei shows that it represents the "coming of adulthood" or "passing adulthood" but sadly it seems like no one really knew the real meaning of this chant during the matsuri)

After the battle, the group proceeded to the port where I was treated to another すっぽんぽん (suponpon) show where "the chosen" men stripped themselves naked and jumped into the freezing cold seawater to carry out a prayer facing the East.

The naked participants being encircled by the other guys upon climbing out of the freezing water. A mini-yaya was done to keep the naked guys warm until they reached a small hut(approx 15m away) for a hot shower.

(I am not posting the video and pictures of the naked men as I have yet to edit that, so please bear with it.)

After the dip, the guys went to the jinja to pray and that ended the day's matsuri though we heard from the locals that the matsuri carried on with more drinks until around 2am every night. Talk about celebrations.

It was raining on day 3 and so the Tan Tans gave the matsuri a miss as they thought it might be cancelled

Day 4 was Awesome! There were many more participants and the crowd had swelled compared to the previous days.

We also chanced upon the Taiwanese film crew of 世界那么大 shooting this interesting fesival.

The Tan Tans almost got interviewed had it not for the arrival of the next "すっぽんぽん" group.

Additional information for those who are keen to catch the Yaya Masturi.

Main Yaya clash: Days 2-4 of matsuri
Time: 7.30pm
Time the Bigger Yaya starts: Around 8pm
Time for the dip (i.e. diving into the port): Around 830pm

Location: One of the 3 chosen streets. You can find it by the setup of huge bamboo barricades in the area. (They are used to protect houses from being damaged during the Yaya.)

Weirdest Matsuri in Japan - Yaya Matsuri Day 1.

2009-02-09T08:08:00.001+09:00

1st Feb was the first day of Owase's やや祭り (Yaya Matsuri)
It's voted as one of the weirdest festivals in the whole of Japan and the Tan Tans were about to find out why.

History of やや祭り Yaya Matsuri - Originated from 1549 in which Owase Jinja was part of another jinja. At the same time, Owase was an warriors' concentration where many battles took place. So, one of the feudal lords or his wife decided that the samurai should show their fighting spirit without more sacrificial of lives and mould this Matsuri where his men should participate in a friendly pushing competition without their katanas. This also helped to strengthen the physical fitness of the guys.

Yaya Matsuri Duration: From 1st to 5th Feb

Day: 1st day of the Matsuri - 1st Feb

Time: 12midnight.

Venue: 尾鷲神社 (Owase Jinja)
Temp: 1 degree celsius that was not helped by the roaring wind

Yes, the Tan Tans were crazy enough to go to Owase Jinja at 12midnight just to catch the first ceremony of the Yaya Matsuri - The "Door Opening" Ceremony. This was the ceremony during which the doors of the Gods are open for them to enjoy the few days of celebrations ahead.

Many, many lanterns were seen during the ceremony and the Tan Tans got to learn that there are a total of 20 (町)old towns or street in Owase and as such, there are a total of 20 different prints on the lanterns. Every year, during Yaya Matsuri, 3 streets will be chosen in which they will become the strongholds for the neighbouring streets. These 3 strongholds will then "battle" against each other during this Matsuri.

Some of the the different prints on the lanterns.

The priest with the ceremonial ritual together with the representatives of the 20 町 (machi).

After the ceremony, the groups marched away shouting チョウサじゃ (Jyosaja) as though they were gonna wake up the whole neighbourhood.

Part 1 of day 1 ended for the Tan Tans.

Part 2: 1.30pm

Location: Owase Street

The Tan Tans, unsatisfied with the gains last midnight, chanced upon the traditional 獅子 (lion dance) at Owase street around 1.30pm. It seemed like the troupe had started out early in the morning from 9am.

Part 3: Traditional purification ceremony

Time: 6pm

Location: Owase Port

In the evening, the Tan Tans upon catching the news that there would be a traditional purification ceremony, rushed to Owase port at 6pm. Not many people were present and the Tan Tans learned that it is because this cleansing ceremony would continue to be carried out over the next 4 days.

The first signs of Spring

2009-02-08T20:28:00.004+09:00

After two months of winter, the weather is finally turning warmer.

You know that Spring is approaching with the first arrivals of the beautiful peach blossoms and plum blossoms.

Awesome illumination at Nabana no sato

2009-02-07T23:08:00.011+09:00

Nabana no sato must be the most romantic place we've ever been to in Japan. Highly recommended and a must-visit place for all couples!

Unfortunately, although the famed potted plants are on display all year round, its renowned illumination featuring over 4.5million lights is only open to visitors during winter (November to March).

Nabana no sato is located in Nagashima (Kuwana), near Nagoya.

Our very own CNY celebrations

2009-02-07T22:57:00.009+09:00

Yes, we know this is truly belated, but the Tan Tans would still like to wish everyone a very prosperous "niu" year!!! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

A peek into how we celebrated CNY here in Owase.

Our steamboat reunion dinner, complete with crab, abalone and pacific clams, yes, shared between the 2 of us. woohoo!

Homecooked cheng tng, a must eat for every CNY.

Bak Kwa, and our very own handmade pineapple tarts and peanut cookies!

Oshogatsu celebrations in Kobe

2009-02-07T22:55:00.007+09:00

Pictures of Oshogatsu (Japanese New Year) celebrations at a shrine in downtown Kobe on 1st January. Look at the number of people!

Charms being tied on a fence. Note that they are usually tied on trees, but as there were too many charms, people had to resort to tying these on the fences instead.

Yummy takoyaki in soup.

Left: Pretty girls in kimono

Right: Posing beside a traditional Oshogatsu decoration ie giant bamboo arrangement.

Fukubukuros!

2009-02-07T22:45:00.006+09:00

For the second consecutive year, we spent 1st January shopping for fukubukuros 福袋, or prosperity bags.

Sold at a fixed price, these bags usually contain items that cost 2 to 3 times more. In other words, it's a catch for the consumer. But the real catch is, you are not allowed to open the bags until you have paid for them.

Nonetheless, the advantages buying these mystery (or do you call them surprise?) bags outweighed the disadvantages and so we cast the unknown aside and went ahead to buy 5 bags containing various items, from Japanese crockery to chocolates.

Unbelievable queues formed even before the department stores opened!

Updates coming your way

2009-02-07T22:39:00.003+09:00

Sorry guys. We've been really busy since the new year and haven't got the chance to update this blog. The good news is, we're in the process of posting our belated entries, so please bear with us!

Love,
the Tan Tans

The Tan Tans' little Christmas in Owase - Christmas Day

2008-12-30T14:59:00.004+09:00

This is the menu for Christmas Day itself at the Tan Tans' Minshuku. Days of celebration for the 2 Tan Tans.

Christmas Menu
i. Curry Puffs - one of the appetitizer.. I know.. it does not really fit into the christmasy mood
ii. Smoked Duck Salad
iii. Slow-baked Tomatoes
iv. Roasted Vegetables Soup
v. Roasted Spiced Ribs
vi. Pomelo favoured baked drumstick
vii. Ice-cream topped with Apple Crumbles, Walnuts and Rasin
viii. A bottle of Red Wine

Left: Slow Baked Tomatoes with the tomatoes cut halfway and baked with garlic slices and rosemary seasoned with balsamic vinegar and olive oil for more than 2 hours under 120 degrees.
Center: Smoked Duck Salad. Smoked duck is bought off the shelve in the supermarket but Mrs Tan Tan had brought the taste to a higher level with the salad combination of apples, walnuts, parsleys, parmesan cheese, oilve oil, honey and rocket salad.
Right: Roasted Vegetables Soup.

Left: Roasted Spiced Ribs. This dish took Mr Tan Tan 3hrs to cook as the ribs need to be cook in a stock of spices including cloves, peppercorn, chilli and others for an hour before reducing the stocks and adding more ingredients including ketchup etc. before it was sent to the oven to be roasted to perfection.

Right: Pomelo Roasted Drumstick. Having the drumstick seasoned in pomelo juice and other herbs, it was then slowly baked to allow the drumstick to absorb the essence and fragrant of the pomelo.

Left: A christmas present from a very nice friend we made in Owase
Right: A satisfied Mrs Tan Tan with the meal.

This is one great creation of Mrs Tan Tan. Apple crumble with walnuts, rasins and fresh apples topped on vanilla ice-cream and sprinked with rum. Oishi!

The Tan Tans' little Christmas in Owase - Christmas Eve

2008-12-30T14:11:00.008+09:00

This is the second time that the Tan Tans celebrated Christmas in Japan. Well but there is a twist to this year's celebration. The Tan Tans whipped up a fest in the comfort of Tan Tans' minshuku.

Christmas Eve Menu -
i. Pumpkin Apple Soup
ii. Grilled Salmon
iii. Shepherd's Pie
iv. Baked Drumstick
v. Baked Mushroom
vi. Strawberries & Truffles
vii. A bottle of Champagne

Left: Baked Mushrooms with guidance from Jamie Oliver
Center: The tastiest shepherd pie ever - Courteasy of Gordon Ramsay.
Right: Baked drumstick from our neighbourhood supermarket - Shufu No Mise

Apple-pumpkin soup - great combination of taste and perfect for starting the meal with

The truffles and strawberries ended this great christmas eve dinner with both Tan Tans slightly tipsy from champagne overdose.

Late Posting 1 - Singapore cooking lesson #2

2008-12-30T13:20:00.004+09:00

haha.. this is one of the blog that is like almost 2 months late..

The Tan Tans conducted another cooking class in an Elementary Sch for the parents of some kids. Menu - Roti John and Agar Agar with coconut milk.

Well, Roti John is very easy to make and typical of Singaporean food and the Tan Tans felt that it will be perfect for kids too - and it turned out. Great!

The kids stirring the ingredients including onions, minced beef, pepper, salt together with the eggs.

Everyone enjoying the end products.

The Tan Tans' Harvest!

2008-12-28T21:33:00.008+09:00

Ha ha ha... Finally, with all the hard work and sweat put into gardening, the little garden of Tan Tans' is ready for harvest. And by little, I literally mean it. Well, we are harvesting the mini-daikon (radish)

And as we harvest the daikon, the familar childhood song was sang . . . ba rou po, ba rou po, hey yo hey yo, ba bu dong...

And here is a satisfied Mrs Tan Tan with the harvest..

and a not so satisfied Mr Tan Tan with the ultra small daikon.

So.. what is the fate of the daikons harvested?

A wonderful pot of daikon soup of course!

A different Christmas

2008-12-26T10:19:00.010+09:00

10 ways how Christmas celebrations are different in Japan
1) It is not a holiday. Sigh.
2) There are no turkeys. They are not even sold in the supermarts.
3) Instead, lots and lots of chicken, grilled or fried, can be found. We even heard from that people here like to eat KFC during Christmas.
4) Christmas cakes can be found everywhere, from the supermarts to the convenience stores.
5) Sashimi, sushi, tempura and even Chinese food (chili prawns etc) are often served at Christmas parties
6) You can count the number of times you receive a "Merry Christmas" greeting
7) You don't even get Christmas cards. Actually I received one.
8) Christmas songs are sung in Japanese.
9) Gift exchange is highly uncommon. As I have learnt from the kids and adults I work with, most of the presents are given by parents to their children, who double up as Santa Clauses and leave presents by their children's beds while they are asleep on Christmas eve.
10) It is cold, with no central heating at home.

This morning, we received a belated Christmas gift from Santa - it snowed! A rarity in the coastal town of Owase.

The Tan Tans' Curry Puffs

2008-12-25T14:36:00.019+09:00

While normal curry puffs call for all purpose flour to be used in the making of the crust, unless you're in a really big town, you can hardly find this in the local supermarkets in the inaka of Japan.

The only flour we could find was wheat flour, and Japan has it in 2 types.

強力小麦粉 (Strong flour), normally used for breads
and

薄力小麦粉 (weak flour), normally used for cookies, tempura and cake.

After a few experiments, we decided to use a combination of both to give our curry puffs a crispy yet fluffy texture.

In terms of the filling, the seasoning is key and we used our own curry powder from Singapore.

However, if you are in Japan, you can also use the Indian curry powder found here. Note though, that the curry powder here is usually a lot sweeter and so if you're using it, remember to 1) cut down or leave the sugar out totally from the recipe and 2)add more chili powder.

Ingredients

Filling

4-5 tablespoons of oil

Onions (chopped finely)

Potatoes (cooked in water and chopped)
Chicken breast meat (chopped)

3 teaspoons curry powder

Chili powder (to taste. depending on your preference. we usually add 1 teaspoon)
Salt and black pepper
Sugar

Crust

Three quarter cup Strong Flour （強力小麦粉）

One and a half cups Weak Flour (薄力小麦粉）

1 teaspoon salt
5 oz margarine

180 ml - 200ml of water

Method

(Filling)
1. Add oil into a fry pan and fry the onions until it turns a yellowish brown. Take care not to burn the onions.

2. Mix the curry powder and chili powder together with a little bit of water.

3. Pour the mixture into the pan and fry together with the onions until fragrant or till the chili oil is visible. Use small to medium heat.

4. Add the chicken, fry till almost cooked. Add a little bit of water if the mixture is too dry.

5. Then add the potatoes and fry together until the potatoes are soft and the chicken is fully cooked. Add the sugar, about 1 teaspoon, but you can vary it according to your taste.

6. Leave mixture to cool

(Crust)

1. Mix flour with margarine, water, salt, and knead well.

2. Let the dough rest for half an hour.

3. Cut the dough into circles (about 14cm) in diameter.

4. Put the filling into the centre of the skin, then fold the skin into two to make a semicircle and crim tightly at the edges. Be gentle and careful not to break the skin.

5. Deep fry in hot oil until golden (about 5 minutes).

How to satisfy your cravings in Japan

2008-12-24T14:08:00.012+09:00

In a town that is approximately 10 hours away from your home country,

that is more than 2 hours away from the nearest city,

that has no other restaurants serving anything apart from Japanese cuisine

What do you do when you are craving for your favourite food from home?

Simple. MYO. Make your own.

Recently we have been cooking up such a storm in our Japanese kitchen we feel like we're training for the opening of our own restaurant in Singapore (that is, if we still have the stamina to do so when we join the active ageing community).

Some recent creations in addition to the others we've already blogged about:

- CNY peanut cookies

- Banana cake

- Curry puffs

Recipes will be posted separately.

So far, the snacks have proved to be quite a hit with our Japanese friends.

So much so that we came up with a purrrfect fundraising idea. We would make and sell these snacks at the Owase's monthly market in February to raise funds for charity. Haven't decided exactly what, but we would probably fundraise for the earthquake/ tsunami cause because Owase, being a narrow coastal town, is highly vulnerable to tsunamis (怖い, isn't it?） and money is needed to reinforce the schools and buildings here. Our idea is now undergoing final approval from the respective officials and we should be getting a 'yes' or 'no' by January. Fingers crossed.

Koya-san (高野山) - Origin of Esoteric Buddism(密教) in Japan

2008-12-15T12:18:00.021+09:00

The trip to Koya-san (高野山) started as as early as 7am in the morning. It was a 5hr bus ride to Mount Koya passing by Matsusaka, Iga, Nara etc. It was a great ride as we were greeted by great scenery along the way.

Left: Sunrise

Right: Mountains full of autumn colours.

A brief on Koya-san.

Founded in the 8th century (Tang Dynasty) by Kukai (空海) or Kobo-Dashi (弘法大師) to spread the Esoteric school (密教) of Buddism after he spent 2 years in China's Qinglong Monastery (青龍寺) and gained the knowledge. Located in a 800m high valley and surrounded by 8 peaks, it was said that when viewed from the top, it resembled a lotus in full bloom. Thus from Koyasan, Shingon sect buddhism of Esoteric school spreaded throughout Japan. In its peak years, Koyasan had over 1,500 shrines and temples in an area of approx 6km length and 3km wide. Currently, Koyasan has over hundreds of shrine and more than 500,000 graves spreading over 2km and includes the graves of famous fedual lords as well founders of corporations such as Glico and Sharp (Oh, the Tan Tans did not took any shots of the cemetary in repect of the deceased but some interesting finds in the cemetary included a shrine for dead termites that is set up by a pest control company as well as graves shaped like a rocket for a space-shuttle company and LCD TV for the founder of SHARP)

Koya-san was hot when the Tan Tans arrived: 7.3 degrees, which also meant that there would be no snow. First, the Tan Tans were greeted by the Daimon.

Daimon(大門): First built in 12th century and rebuilt in 1705. Measures 21.4 meters by 7.9 meters and stands 25.1 meters tall.

Thereafter, the Tan Tans commenced the tour around Koyasan including the headquarters of the Shingon Sect - Kongobuji.

Video: Mrs Tan Tan demostrating how to cleanse yourself before entering Japanese temples.

Steps: Rinse your left hand, then your right. Thereafter, raise your mouth and spit out the water and finally run the remaining water down the handle.

The Konpon Daitô - A symbol of Shingon buddism.

One of the popular shrines in Koyasan being sketched by one of the tour group members and she was good!

Pix below: The oldest building in Koyasan. Funny thing is that in this sacred land, it seems like a lot of buildings were burned down due to lightning strikes and thereafter, rebuilt.

This is the sacred pine tree that supposed to hold the Dorje (a buddhism ritual tool) when Kukai threw it from China seeking location guide from Buddha. The Pine tree was the 4th generation pine tree which was unique in that it has 3 forks instead of 2 forks which is reflective of the ritual tool as of the myth.

Left: An interesting map of koyasan with buddha playing tennis?

Right: The sacred aura that enshroud the whole koya-san

The unforgettable experience in this trip will be a stay at Rengejô-in (蓮華定院) which is a temple that provides lodging. (more info at http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/mount_koya/rengejoin.htm)

The Tan Tans underwent 2 mediation sessions (1 in the evening and 1 in the morning of 40 minutes each) in which Mr Tan Tan gained a pair of numb legs after each of the respective session but Mrs Tan Tan gained an open airway at the end of the second session.

Monks welcoming us on our visit. The signage on the right are made to welcome our group - Kii-Nagashima International Exchange Association.

The wife of the ex-chief priest of the temple who look much younger than her supposed age of 90. She shared with us her impressive story of her life as an English-Japanese intepretator after the war and settling down in Koya-san in English.

The vegetarian meals served in the lodging and it was the nicest I ever tried. No gluten and starchy stuffs.

Nice view of the garden and the temple.

Our blanket which comprises of buddhism scriptures.

The Tan Tans were given a pleasant surprise upon departure from koya-san. The first snow for the Tan Tans this winter.

Right: A thrilled Mrs Tan Tan after a mini snow-ball fight.

Top: Video of a wonderful scenario.

Along the way back, the Tan Tans stopped by Kumano Hongu Grand Shrine (One of the 3 grand shrine in Kumano along with Nachi Shrine which the Tan Tans visited the last time - so, only one more to go)

Together with the beautiful morning sun that greeted the Tan Tans when they set off for Koya-san, they were embraced by the wonderful sunset a day later on their way back to Owase.

Collagen Nabe! Tsuru Tsuru skin after that

2008-12-11T13:09:00.008+09:00

Well, collagen is supposed to make your skin nice and smooth or so-called *tsuru tsuru. And well, we had an appointment with our friends in Owase for a collagen nabe dinner at this restaurant "Shogun". I would say that Owase is really full of great restaurants.

Well, the standard nabe or hotpot was served with all the vegetables but this collagen nabe had something extra . . a bowl of jelly like substance. (missed out the photo... sorry)

Oh... these are the things you put into the vinegar plus soya sauce dip. The white jelly substance on the bottom left is collagen. One more thing, in Japan, they do not drink the soup with the cooked ingredient. Instead, they dip the cooked ingredients into the above-mentioned mixture and just eat the ingredients.... what happens to the soup? Read on. .

These were the side dishes that our friends ordered .. . .OIIIIIIiiiiiishiiiiiiii!

And the outcome of the soup once we are done with the ingredients?

This is a pot of zousui (or porridge-water through direct translation. . hahaha) The thickly enriched soup stock was used to cook porridge and every grain of rice absorbed the flavour of the stock. Nice? OF COS!!!

And at the end of it... this was the remainder.

Almost nothing left.. wahahaha...

The next day when the Tan Tans woke up... well, they did feel that their skin had become more tsuru tsuru... the power of collagen or a great meal? I do not know...

Scaling the Peak!!! - Mt Tengura through Magose Toge

2008-12-11T09:56:00.009+09:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you Mount Tengura! Please observe the rock on the top of the mountain. That is our destination today.

The hike up Magose Toge was alot more enjoyable this time round as well, we are in early winter which means that the weather is a lot cooler compared to our first attempt in Aug which was summer. And all these mean that we did not end up being drenched in sweat.

As usual, we were greeted by the wonderful sights and great beauty of nature along the way. Take a look at the photos below:

And yes, as of all amateur hikers, we needed breaks. Well, in total I believe we took no less than 5 short breaks of 1 minute each and 2 longer breaks of 5-10mins. I believe this is fine for a 2-hour hike.

After close to 2 hours, the Tan Tans finally saw "The Rock" and felt a sense of happiness.

Reaching the peak was heavenly, maybe because we were closer to heaven or maybe we were awed by the sights, or maybe, simply, we were just too relieved to be able to rest our tiring and wobbly legs.

After a nice lunch on the peak and some chilling winds, the Tan Tans decided that it was too early for snowmen and decided to make their way down the mountain. Before that, we had a little time to explore what laid beneath the huge rock.

After "The Rock", it was a more relaxed way down though we only managed to reach the base in an hour's time.

And it was rest time at one of the nicest coffee shop in Owase, built entirely of logs and we LOVE the wooden swing!

The day after, we were so exhausted that we had to skip a planned excursion...

Cooking Lesson - Stressed!

2008-12-04T14:23:00.003+09:00

Ok.... this is a post long overdue. This was the Singapore ryori cooking class that the Tan Tans conducted sometime back in Kii-Nagashima. Dishes for that day includes Spicy Bean Sauce Yong Tau Foo, Fu Rong Omelette and Sweet Potato Ginger Soup.

Well, the experience was frankly kind of scary. Imagine a bunch of obasans crowding around you to see how you cook the dishes.

This is what you call stress.

Well, interestingly there were also some Filipinos in the class who could be easily told apart from the Japanese as they are a lot louder.

Overall, the class went quite well other than the fact that the omelette was made into scrambled eggs due to the weak fire.

The Tan Tans can only hope that the Japanese like the dishes. Fingers crossed.

Lesson 301 - The Making of Hashi (Chopsticks)

2008-12-03T22:03:00.011+09:00

The Tan Tans will be sharing with you how you can make your own Hashi (chopsticks).

You need the following:

1. Hinoki (Cypress) Wood sticks from Owase

2. Craving Knife

3. Mini Saw

4. Sandpaper

5. Art Burner (not too sure if it is the correct name for it)

6. Bee Wax

Step 1: Measure the length of your personel chopsticks using the following methods.

i. Put your thumb at right angle to your index finger.

ii. Measure the distance from your thumb to index finger

iii. Take that distance and mutiply by 1.5

Step 2: Mark the length onto the wooden stick and saw the required length using the mini-saw.

Step 3: Mark the center of the edge of the chopsticks (look at the tip and draw a cross end to end) and start craving using the craving knife.

Note that you need to take shallow cuts with the knife and not too deeply. The Tan Tans spent 2 hrs on this step...... sooOOOooo tiring.

Step 4: After you have finished creating the desired shape of your chopsticks, sand them with a sandpaper till it becomes smooth.

Step 5: Decoration time. Use the Art burner or and start decorating your chopsticks.

Step 6: Apply lots of bee wax onto your new chopsticks.

Step 7: Appreciate your creation!

Step 8: Collect all the shaved wood into a tea bag and use it for your hotbath later. Hinoki has a nice smell!

This is a video of how cool hinoki can be.

The Tan Tans' Minshuku

2008-11-30T20:25:00.005+09:00

Alright... the Tan Tans' minshuku has officially received its first guests with the visit of their dear cuz., Michele and her husband Kelvin.

They are here for a 3-night stay and were brought around the little inaka town of Owase as well as to one of the World's Heritage Sites - Kumano Kodo.

Well, as most of the photos were taken with their cameras, I did not have much to load.. hahahaha

One of the best restaurants in Owase, Moriba with their delicious deep fried giant prawns and the not so nice pork salad (wrong choice of dish that I had - sad). Well this is also the restaurant that my cuzzies had their most memorable dish of miso katsu!

The Al Fresco BBQ under the sky without the stars... so sad.... well, there were lots of stars a few days after they left.. so blame it on luck.. hee hee

More Autumn Colours!!!

2008-11-30T20:00:00.006+09:00

It's autumn and the Tan Tans are in search for more autumn colours when they received an invite from Mr Tan Tan's nihongo sensei. This time, it will be autumn colours viewing in the mountains and out from the touristy areas.

Nice autumn colours reflection.

This is it! The autumn colours are so called because it is really colourful. And this is one truth that the Tan Tans verified. It is not only in shades of red but also yellow, pink, orange and other colours as well. Oh, we have a very very cold Mrs Tan Tan due to the chill in the mountains.

We also visited one of the more popular waterfall in Owase. Do visit http://www.owase-kb.jp/kankou/sizen.html#top for more information

We definitely enjoyed ourselves with the tea and snacks that my sensei prepared for the trip. It was a great experience !

The days of Ichigo have begun!!!

2008-11-30T19:55:00.001+09:00

Just a short note for all of you out there.... the strawberries season is here!!! wahahahhaaaaaaa.... bye. ..