niigata noise march 2013
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Winter 2013
(vol. 05)
Niigata Noise Winter 2013 (vol. 05)
Contributors
Jaclyn Spears
Editor-in-chief
Layout and design
Columnist
Shaun Jiro Smith
Columnist
Jonathan Robinson
Columnist
Abby Blaisdell
Columnist
Contributors
Alexis Carlton
Samara Harp
Anono-chan
Leigh-Ann De Wee
Lee Sorkin
Photographs
Jonathan Wheatcroft (covers)
Page 1 and 2
See articles for photo credits;
Thank you everyone!
Table of Contents
Greetings 2
Community
ALT Spotlight by Shaun Jiro Smith 3
Get to know Jhana Williams
Winter in Niigata by Jaclyn Spears 5
A look back at the events that got us through it
The Niigata Charity Musical by Jaclyn Spears 7
Charity, community, and comedy
Gatakon Investigation by Samara Harp 9
A blind date with 1500 people?!
Travel
Beyond Niigata by Jaclyn Spears 11
Discover beautiful Akita-ken
The Seoul of Asia by Leigh-Ann De Wee 12
Why visit Korea.?
Food and Entertainment
Restaurant Review: Katsuya by Alexis Carlton 13
Tasty pork cutlets in Sanjo
Gosen Gourmet by Jonathan Robinson 14
Where to get the best sea salt in Niigata
Rice Cooker Recipes by Abby Blaisdell 15
Learn how to make something tasty with kabocha
Set the Stage for Spring by Anono-chan 16
The best spring-themed TV shows and movies
Editorials
Pon Pon Politics by Lee Sorkin 19
Thoughts on December’s general election
My greeting
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Greeting from AJET
Greetings everyone!
I hope you have all been enjoying winter in Niigata to its fullest! Whether you have been spending
all your time hitting the slopes, sleeping in a kotatsu, performing in a musical, or curled up with a nice book,
I hope you’ve all managed to stay happy and healthy during one of the hardest times of the year for many of
us.
Now that we are well into March, we can begin to look forward to spring and all the fun new
activities we can start doing in the improving weather. Stay tuned for a bunch of events coming your way in
the upcoming months. The AJET officers and I have quite a few things in the works, and I hope everyone
will be able to come out and have fun spending time with each other.
I just wanted to remind everyone again that even if you are not an AJET officer, you are free to
create and organize your own AJET event. If you need any assistance with planning, feel free to contact me
at niigataajet@gmail.com.
For those of you traveling during spring vacation this month or Golden Week next month, have a
safe and fantastic trip! For those of you staying in Niigata, enjoy being here during one of the nicest seasons
in Japan.
I wish you all the best!
Megan Kelly
President, Niigata AJET
niigataajet@gmail.com
Hello readers and thank you for checking out the fifth issue of Niigata Noise!
It’s been a long and cold, but certainly not an uneventful winter here in Niigata. Over the past four
months JETs have been busy taking full advantage of everything Snow Country has to offer. For this issue
we tried to capture the highlights of the past season, as well as to start looking forward to the coming spring.
I hope you enjoy reading this issue. I’m very proud of what we’ve put together. Thank you again to all those
who contributed to this issue; I’m sorry for e-mailing you so much. Again, if you are interested in writing for
us, send me an email at any time!
Jaclyn Spears
Publications Coordinator, Niigata AJET
NiigataNoise@gmail.com
-
Jhana Williams, a second year JET from Jamaica, is the
prototypical ALT—she's smart, articulate, warm, and open. But these nice
adjectives alone do not do her justice. Jhana brought the soul to
the yukiguni. She’s the soul ambassador. Most often this manifests in
song. With her powerful voice, she has an uncanny ability to bring out the
music in people. If you've seen the music video she made with her students you
know what I'm talking about: a class of yankees, in a circle, taking turns singing lines
from "We are the World" with unabashed exuberance. If you’ve ever had the herculean task of trying to
motivate a group of yankees, you know there’s a certain kind of magic going on there. I'd also like to
point out how she got this bearded curmudgeon to belt out Mariah Carey at the Skills Development
Conference—that's ability. Jhana has been as much a teacher to her students as to her fellow ALTs
sharing bits of precocious wisdom and insight with each interaction. While she's not busy inspiring the
people around her, she's brewing up dreams of her own. One includes a very large volcanic rock and
another involves a shiny one that goes on her hand. Read on. – Shaun Jiro Smith
Why JET?
I wanted to be a part of the JET program
because it was marketed as 'the perfect combination'
of some of my favorite things. These included, but
were certainly not limited to the opportunity to travel,
teach, facilitate cultural exchange, meet new people,
and learn, learn, learn. Over the past 18 months I
have had the opportunity to enjoy all of this and so
much more. JET has placed me in an amazing
environment where I have been blessed with the
most beautiful scenery and reliable people. I remain
grateful.
Greatest Discovery?
I have been 'discovering' many things along
this journey. I find the cultural similarities between
Jamaica and Japan to be extremely interesting. For
example, a very popular song in Japan called 'Jupiter'
has the same tune as the national school song in
Jamaica. Also, the sound and subject verb
agreement of the Japanese syllabary; Hiragana, and
the Jamaican creole are very similar.
Favorite Place in Niigata?
This is the most difficult question that anyone
ALT SPOTLIGHT: JHANA WILLIAMS
could ever ask me about
Niigata. Niigata is such a
beautiful place with so many
different things to offer! I would
definitely recommend the
Culture Centre in Shibata. This
multipurpose facility is
approximately 6 minutes on
foot from the Shibata
Station. The scenery is breath
taking all throughout the year,
and you may visit to watch or
participate in different sporting activities or cultural
festivals. Also, be sure to check out the coffee shop.
Favorite Japanese Food?
OKONOMIYAKI!!! Osaka style :)
Most Awesome Experience So Far?
I had the most awesome time with an elderly
Japanese couple on their organic farm. I count this as
my most awesome experience so far because there
was so much passion involved. Every conversation
was enlightening. I learnt so much, and I felt as if
everything was truly simple, pure, and perfect. And I
thought to myself… what a wonderful world :)
What do you want to do/see in Japan
the most?
I want to see live Sumo Wrestling, the white
sand beaches in Okinawa, cherry blossoms in Kyoto,
I want to climb to the top of Mount Fuji, I want to
attend the snow festival in Sapporo, I want to go to
the top of the Tokyo Sky Tree, this list has no end…
really, it doesn't….
How Do You Cope?
For me it's pretty
simple. 1) I observe, try to
understand, and remain true to
myself. 2) I have the most
incredible support system. 3) I
choose to remain the eternal
optimist; irrespective of the
situation.
Most Epic Fail?
Well, my train on Thursdays is at 7:02am. If I
miss that train…I'm late for work…full stop! It takes
about 20 minutes to get to the station comfortably
from my apartment, and I left home at 6:47am on a
snowy morning. Let's just say I was running, skating,
breathing hard, tripping, and finally arriving at the
station to hear that the train will be delayed for about
10 minutes.
After JET?
I'm looking forward to starting my family with
my darling husband.
Let’s be honest – winter in Niigata is a lot to handle. It snows for days
on end; every building is draughty and cold; train delays and slippery roads
make travel slow and dangerous; and on top of all that it gets dark at 4PM. It’s
enough to test anyone’s sanity. And yet – as many of us have come to know –
once you discover what winter has to offer you may just learn to love it!
There’s the joy of warm kotatsus and nabe parties, skiing and snowboarding,
and the serenity you feel watching the snow fall while soaking in an outdoor
onsen. And of course, there are the winter festivals. Niigata is home to a huge
amount of wintertime festivals with varied - and sometimes confusing -
themes. Let’s take a look at a few of the festivals from this past season.
Held since 1950, the Tokamachi Yuki Matsuri is one of the oldest snow festivals in Japan. It’s no wonder –
Tokamachi gets more snow than almost anywhere else in the country (up to four metres!). Though traditionally
the festival centred on the display of beautiful kimono, nowadays it is a modern affair with games, snow
sculptures of everything from One Piece characters to elaborate architecture, winter food (bear meat, anyone?)
and appearances from celebrities. The main show is held on a snow stage (this year shaped like a giant ship),
featuring the traditional kimono show, as well as singing and fireworks.
Photographs by Joyce Yuki Ogawa
Photograph by Jaclyn Spears
Photographs
by Stephanie
Edwards and
Talia Hale
Photographs by Jaclyn Spears
One of the wackiest (sorry) festivals in Niigata, the
Koide International yuki gassen (lit: snow battle), is a
sight to be seen. Teams of five dress up in elaborate –
and often weather-inappropriate – costumes and
battle it out in the name of glory. Spectators can enjoy
the show from behind the safety of a net, while
enjoying the warmth of their winter clothes and free
festival food. This year the Niigata JET team looked
deadly in their cowboy duds as they took down teams
of adults and children alike.
Every town in Niigata seems to have their own
celebration to break up the winter drudgery. In
Ojiya there’s the Hot Air Balloon competition.
Unfortunately, at the 2013 and 2012 festivals the
balloons were grounded due to inclement weather
– still, it’s a pleasant festival with a community vibe
and at night there are fireworks and a light show.
March 3rd is the Hadaka Matusri, or “Naked Man
Festival” in Urasa. It’s centred on a ceremony for good
luck in which groups of men (not actually naked) fight to
reach a shrine first while carrying giant candles. The
teams are usually inebriated; there is a lot of posturing,
shouting and shoving between the groups and people do
get injured. It’s fascinating to watch – the participants
may even smear you with lucky wax! It’s a festival you
should make sure to check out at least once.
Started more than 10 years ago, the Niigata charity musical has long been a vital aspect of JET life
in the prefecture. Drawing cast mates out of their kotatsus to practices all over the prefecture between
October and January, it saves a large group of people from having a winter of discontent. This year’s
production of Beauty and the Beast saw one of the largest casts in recent years, and it’s that which makes
participating in this wonderful endeavor so worth it. “Basically, it forces you to hang out with your friends,”
joked co-director Megan Kelly, at the meet-and-greet in Ojiya. With practices two weekends a month for
four months, cast members grow close, quickly.
This was Megan’s third musical as director.
Last year she headed the production of Aladdin on
her own, and this year she was joined by Gary
Furlong as co-director. The script for Beauty and
the Beast was written months ago, after the
wrapping of Aladdin, by a group of former and
future cast mates.
It’s been a long journey, from auditions in
September to the performances in February.
Auditions are held each year in several locations
throughout the prefecture, and everyone who
auditions gets a part. They are so adamant about
everyone being able to participate that the directors
often significantly rework the script in order to
accommodate everyone – as was the case this year,
when a record number of JETs wanted to get
involved. The more JETs that participate, the more
attention is brought to the production and the more
successful it is.
Having a large number of participants also
helps to bridge the gap between them and the
communities they perform in. Often ALTs will find
that their towns are excited to pitch in, helping with
advertising, booking the venues, and more. It’s a
great example of the “internationalization” we hope
to achieve as JETs.
The performance in Ojiya was an example
of how powerful the musical can be as a way to
bring communities together. Thanks largely to the
efforts of resident Shingo Suzuki, known
affectionately as Shingo-san, Ojiya saw this year’s
largest audience and raised a significant amount of
money for the Niigata AJET charity for schools in
Papua New Guinea. Not only that, Shingo-san
helped facilitate a pre-show meet-and-greet
between some local students and cast members,
giving the kids a chance to chat with foreigners and
make the experience a little more personal. “It was
amazing to feel so supported by my community
here,” said Abby Blaisdell, a municipal JET in
Ojiya – seen above, posing at the meet-and-greet.
Shingo Suzuki stands on stage at the Ojiya
Civic Centre with co-directors Megan Kelly and Gary
Furlong, to address the audience and explain the effort
that went into the show and what it was all for –
building new schools in Papua New Guinea.
Shingo-san generously volunteered his time and
energy to help promote the musical in Ojiya, and the
large audience was thanks largely to his efforts.
The musical featured some great re-workings of
songs from various genres including big band, Broadway,
and k-pop. The lyrics were a collaborative effort of the
entire cast. Featuring choreography by Megan Kelly,
Allison Ferguson, Karlee Ontiveros, and Pamela Mendoza,
the song-and-dance numbers were a hit with audiences of
all ages. (Pictured top right: Ryan Bomalaski with
“daughters” – counter clockwise - Pamela Mendoza, Sarah
House, Stephanie Reiter, Milshue Kim, Stephanie
Edwards, Stephanie Flynn, and Cat Joos. Bottom right:
leads Morwa Gatsewe and William Moffatt take a bow.)
On March 16th
, several cast members left on a
trip to PNG to bring the funds raised to the communities
that need them. They’ll spend two weeks with the people
of PNG, helping out and hanging out.
Next year will see the staging of yet another
amazing musical in Niigata-ken. A little birdy tells me that
the story will again be a fairy tale. If you’re interested in
joining in, whether on stage or behind it, keep an eye and
an ear out for audition announcements in August.
Words/Photos: Jaclyn Spears
Pictured: Kat Truong and Talia Hale as the
mischievous fairy sisters.
Before my arrival in Japan, J-pop, rotating
sushi bars, and karaoke boxes were just a few of the
images I had about life in contemporary Japan. It was
interesting for me to see how these things would fit in
with what I knew about traditional
Japan; my desire to explore as
much of Japanese culture as I
possibly could grew from this
interest. After some eighteen
months experience, I have come to
view Japan’s culture as a delicious
blend of old and new, and I
absolutely cannot resist sampling all
of what is available to me.
Recently, I kept hearing
about, “goukon,” which is basically a
cross between a group blind date
and a dating convention. At first I
thought it might be similar to North
American speed dating but was assured that the two
events were not at all the same. It’s true they both have
multiple participants; however, the goukon offers a
warmer and more casual atmosphere than a
speed-dating event would. As for a
goukon and a blind date, the two are
similar in that the participants have
never met before, but a typical blind
date involves only two people. A
goukon can have up to 3000 people.
Intrigued, I put it on my list of
uniquely Japanese things to do.
It wasn’t until Niigata prefecture’s goukon giant,
“Gatakon,” released information about their Valentines
and White Day events that I decided to try it out. A
combination of the words Niigata and goukon, Gatakon
has been in the business of providing
Niigatans an exciting night out since
2011. The Valentines event was to be
held in Niigata city and the White Day
event in Nagaoka city. I, along with
five of my girlfriends signed up for the
Nagaoka goukon via the Gatakon
website. The catch is that you must
sign up with at least two people and
registration is confirmed only after you
pay at either the bank or post office.
Once registered, you simply wait for
further email instructions.
The night of the event, 750
men and 750 women descended
upon the streets of Nagaoka in hopes of meeting new
people for friendship and dating. Gatakon organizers
made arrangements with twenty-eight Nagaoka area
bars and restaurants for participants to meet, greet, eat,
and drink as much as they could over
the course of the event.
Before 5 pm, everyone
signed in at the large city hall
gymnasium and received a map, a
wristband, and one love “meishi.” The
meishi, or business card, has space
to write your name and contact
information with the idea that this
Map and wristband
Love Meishi
card should be given to someone special. The men also
received a small bag of candy to go along with their love
meishi. The candy was to hand out to the ladies in
honour of the upcoming White Day. The wristband had a
series of three numbers on it, each corresponding to a
different location on the map. The six of us girls had
registered under different numbers and had to split up
for the first two of three locations. The third location was
the same for all 1500 participants.
At 5 pm, the event officially began, and
everyone spent time at the first location as indicated on
their wristband. After 90 minutes, everyone moves to
the second location to enjoy more drinking, eating, and
greeting. Another 90 minutes later, everyone moved
back to the city gymnasium for more partying, and
perhaps that second chance at meeting someone they
had seen earlier on. At this point, a lot of numbers are
exchanged and plans are made for the “nijikai,” or
second party. I had lost all of my girlfriends at this point
but it was such a friendly atmosphere that it was easy to
make new friends.
At 10 pm, the event shuts down and you’re
free to do as you please. Personally, I connected with a
group of four men and women and we all went to talk
more with each other at my favorite local restaurant.
When all was said and done, I had walked away with
four new contacts, a belly full of good food and great
wine, and I was in high spirits.
Catching up with my girlfriends the next day I
discovered one of them had made a love connection
and they are still emailing each other to this day. I’ve
been spending some time with my new friends as well,
and am happy to have met them.
At 5000 yen, this event was a reasonably
priced way to explore the city and have a great night out
with your friends. The event itself lasted for 5 hours,
which works out to 1000 yen an hour for “nomihodai” (all
you can drink), and “tabehodai” (all you can eat).
Overall, Gatakon exceeded my expectations of what a
goukon would be and I’d definitely go to one of their
events again. They do play host to smaller events, but
I’d recommend exploring their next big event to be held
on May 25, 2013. Fifteen hundred men and fifteen
hundred women will participate in this goukon set in
Niigata city. If you’re looking to discover more of Niigata
city and make some new friends, I hope you will
consider attending this goukon!
For more information, check out their website at
http://gata-con.com
Words: Jaclyn Spears / Photos: Katie Yantzi
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/akita/
www.pref.akita.jp/koho/foreign/en/index.html
From Niigata-shi: 4 Hours by Limited Express, apprx. 6,500yen
When Japanese people ask me, “What’s the
best place you’ve visited in Japan?” Akita prefecture is
always high on my list. I’ve had the pleasure of going
there twice in my two years in Japan and each time it
was such a great experience. I was lucky because a
university friend is currently living there and was able
to give me an insider’s look at what this big beautiful
prefecture has to offer. Majestic scenery, prime onsen,
delicious food, and fascinating festivals are among the
many delights this inaka prefecture has to offer. While
it is easy to reach via the Inaho Express from Niigata
city, I recommend traveling by car as the prefecture is
big and public transit is limited (think Niigata).
Akita is something of an isolated prefecture, surrounded by
mountains and buried in snow six months of the year. The culture
of Akita developed without influence from central Japan until the
year 600 and thus it is very strong and distinctive. This is
exemplified by its huge array of amazing festivals, celebrated
throughout the year. There’s a festival centred on a giant tug-of-war
match; there’s another where young men fight with 7 metre bamboo
poles. I’ve experienced the Namahage Sedo festival (right) and the
Kamifusen festival (below). The namahage (ogre) festival was
amazing – young men wearing ogre masks and straw capes climbed
down out of the mountains, played taiko and danced around a
ceremonial bonfire. Also one gave me a noogie! Ahh! This is just
the tip of the iceberg; check out their prefectural website (see top of
the page) for full details and dates of all their wonderful festivals.
Like many prefectures, Akita is quite mountainous.
It’s most famous peak is Mt. Chokai, known as the
“Dewa-Fuji” (Dewa is the old name for Akita), and it is a
gruelling but rewarding climb (or so I hear). Tucked away in
the mountains are tons of gorgeous onsen. My personal
favourite is Tsuru no yu, an onsen in the Nyuto onsen village.
Extremely old, there is little more than a hut to change in, and
one of the baths is co-ed. The water is a beautiful milky
blue-white with yu no hana (bath flowers), and the beauty of
the surrounding mountains is staggering. When I tell Japanese
people I’ve been there, I usually get an envious sigh and an “ii
na!” in response. If you get up to Akita, don’t miss it!
“I was asked to write about the top
five places to visit in Seoul. I'm not
going to do that. I'm going to give
you three reasons to visit Seoul.
Because you only need three reasons
to go anywhere in the world.”
- Leigh-Ann De Wee
K-pop. Seoul is the Mecca of Kpop. It’s the kind of place where
Psy (“Gangnam Style”) would give a surprise performance on
the streets. Or you could be interviewed by your favourite idol
for a variety show. I was secretly wishing that this would’ve
happened to me and B.A.P. Alas; my boys were in Malaysia that
week. So I drowned my sorrows and perved on the T.O.P look
alike at a Ho bar in Hongdae, instead.
Ridiculously sexy men. What I loved about Seoul was that
I was surrounded by well dressed, hot blooded young men. I
don’t know about you… but where I live, there are only the
kids I teach and old people. I have no idea where the people
my age are hiding but I liked that they were in plain sight in
Seoul. I was in paradise. The best place to hang out is
anywhere near a university--you'll find loads of clubs and
young people who know how to have a good time.
Food. Just like Korean men, Korean food is HOT!! What
should you eat? Galbi, fried rice, ramyun, bibimbap, kimchee,
and topoki - just to name a few. I'm not a fan of hot food. But
damn I ate as if I was Charlie and Seoul was Willy Wonka’s
chocolate factory. And it was all dirt cheap! When you're in
Seoul you should try anything and everything. You should
definitely eat food from stalls set up along the pavements, and
sit on beer crates eating Korean BBQ and drinking soju from a
rickety table. All of this is just waiting of you in Seoul.
I only realized what this restaurant sold after
about the tenth time I’d walked by it. I was truly elated
when I did as I have long loved my kastsu, ever since I
got hooked during my student exchange to Nagoya.
So what is katsu? In my mind it is a pork loin with
a little fat still on, that’s been deep fried to a moist
succulent perfection. And that’s what this restaurant
delivers.
My favorite katsu dish is katsudon or katsu on a
bowl of rice. It also has a mirin and soy based sauce in
which the onion and egg is cooked. This all combines to
create a filling meal that no one can kid themselves into
believing is healthy. Though, I tell myself that the onions
have vitamin C in them.
The menu is simple with easy to point to pictures
and while there’s not much in the way of a balanced meal
they do offer token gestures like vegetable miso soup.
They have other menu items like crumbed prawns/shrimp
and… well, maybe just prawns. They really do specialize
in pork.
The price is cheap, the service is prompt and the
place is clean, oh and it’s also non-smoking. This is a
chain restaurant but I haven’t seen too many of them
about but if you do see one give it a go. This one is a
short walk from Tsubamesanjo train station. There is also
plenty of easy access parking and it’s on the corner of the
number 8 and the road to the station.
It’s that time of year again; the weather is getting warmer, the days are getting brighter, and spring and
summer are right around the corner! What better way to celebrate than by taking a trip to the beach? Well, if
you’re like me and you don’t care much for getting sand everywhere, I know just the place where you can enjoy
the beautiful sea coast and more.
Sasagawa-nagare is a long stretch of sea coast
with breathtaking ocean views, amazing rock
formations, and beautiful beaches. It’s on the coast of
the Sea of Japan, and stretches from Murakami nearly
up to Yamagata Prefecture. Along this twenty
something kilometer stretch of coastline is a small gem
called the Sasagawa-nagare Salt Workshop. Salt from
the Sea of Japan is very famous and sold at nearly any
supermarket, however, there’s nothing quite like getting
it from the source. At the Sasagawa-nagare Salt
Workshop, you can experience the process of creating
sea salt firsthand.
The Sasagawa-nagare Salt Workshop is run by a gentleman named Hisashi Kobayashi, and it is an
incredibly interesting place to visit. Upon entering the workshop the first thing you’ll notice is the overpowering
steam and the smell of burning wood from the furnaces. There are a few different types of salt produced here,
including plain, sea weed flavored, and even bamboo
flavored. Although salt is obviously the main good sold at
the workshop, just behind the workshop/storefront itself is a
café. As you view the coastline from the café, you can have
coffee, small treats like onigiri, or what I believe is the house
special, salted soft serve ice cream. Incredibly simple, the
soft serve ice cream is just a regular cone of soft serve
topped with Mr. Kobayashi’s own sea salt. It is an incredibly
powerful combination, neither salt nor sweet overpowering
the other, and in fact, as with everything at the workshop, it
is designed to showcase the craftsmanship of the salt itself.
Expect to spend in the range of 500-1500 yen for any product you might find at the workshop, and up to
1000 yen for the items sold at the café. That being said, the prices are reasonable, and a 150 gram pack of
seaweed sea salt which lasts me for a few months, costs only 500 yen. The Sasagawa-nagare Sea Salt
Workshop’s summer hours are from 10am-4pm, and the café is open for lunch from 11am-3pm.
with Abby Blaisdell
Japanese pumpkin (kabocha) is great for making pumpkin puree, especially if you are like me and don’t have a blender.
When you steam the pumpkin, it gets soft enough that all you need to do is mash it with a fork to get a smooth texture.
1. Remove the seeds
2. Cut the pumpkin into 1-2 inch cubes; the smaller they are, the faster they will cook. You
can leave the outer shell on. Put the cubes in the steaming tray of your rice cooker
3. Put about one cup of water in the bowl of your rice cooker
4. Hit the “White Rice” button and let steam for about 20 minutes (times may vary
depending on the rice cooker and how thick the cubes are)
5. It is finished cooking when the pumpkin is soft enough that it falls apart when poked
with a fork
6. Take the pumpkin out of the steamer when it is cool enough to handle. The shell should
separate from the pumpkin very easily
7. Mash the pumpkin with a fork so there are no large chunks
Seeing as Thanksgiving is long past, your cravings for pumpkin pie may have faded. If they haven’t, use the above
recipe for pumpkin puree to make a killer pie, but if they have, here is another option. Once you have the pumpkin
puree this pumpkin soup is incredibly simple to make. To make the puree and soup simultaneously in your rice cooker
see the note at the bottom of the recipe.
1. Slice onion, dice garlic, and cube the potato. Put all of the vegetables
into the rice cooker and add water
2. Hit the “White Rice” button on your rice cooker and let cook about
20 minutes or until the potatoes can easily be pierced with a fork
(but don’t fall apart)
3. Once the potatoes have finished cooking, add the bullion
4. Mix the pumpkin puree into the soup
5. Stir in the milk, salt, pepper (and spices if desired)
To make the puree and prepare the rest of the soup simultaneously, put ½
cup of water into the bowl of the rice cooker and begin steaming the
pumpkin as directed in the Pumpkin Puree recipe. This will allow the
pumpkin to have more time to cook than the potatoes. Once the
vegetables have been prepared, put them in the rice cooker bowl with the
water being used to steam the pumpkin, and add 2 cups water as directed
in the original Pumpkin Soup recipe. Continue following the Pumpkin
Soup and Pumpkin puree recipes as written.
1/2 kabocha
1 cup (200ml) water
1½ -2 cups pumpkin puree
2 cup water
2 cubes chicken or vegetable bouillon
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 potato
½ cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ tsp cumin and ¼ tsp dried oregano
Has that mountain of snow become a brownish blob in front of your school? Are there
new seasonal flavors in the sweets and alcohol section at the supermarket? Have you
stopped blowing cold air in that igloo of an apartment? Do you no longer look like a giant,
walking marshmallow?
Congratulations, spring has come to your area.
It’s time to start putting away those heaters, buy some ichigo daifuku and (more) sake,
and get ready for the upcoming hanami events throughout Niigata. Fun times await!
But damn, there’s work on the weekdays. What to do?
If you really want to feel that springtime charm inside your apartment after a hard day
of desk-warming, here are a few Japanese films and television doramas to uplift and enrich.
NEW/ Ōkami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki/Wolf Children –
Rain & Snow (2012, Hosoda Mamoru). 117 minutes.
Hosoda Mamoru’s latest work is deceptively
simplistic in narration but lush and peculiarly
realistic in cinematic execution. Despite the
fairytale-esque story – a college student falls in love
with and marries a wolf man, and has two children
– it is at its heart a nuanced piece about familial
relationships and social roles.
Spring Element: Hosoda Mamoru is
famous for his distinct visual style, which is very
apparent here. The film’s aesthetic juxtaposition
between simplistic character design and lavish
backdrops will engross you in a colorful and lively
world.
OLD/ Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru/5 Centimeters Per
Second (Shinkai Makoto, 2007). 65 minutes.
This three-part film centers and
contemplates on the notions of relationships, time,
and space. Set in a period spanning the 1990s to
modern day, the story revolves around two friends
who gradually grow apart as physical distance and
time separates them. Though somber in plot, the
overall combination of dream-like cinematography,
subtle soundtrack, and detailed mise-en-scene
combine to create a moving and inspiring
commentary on life.
Spring element: The film’s title comes from
the speed at which sakura petals fall, with the
petals representing human beings and how people
slowly drift apart over time.
NEW/ Going My Home (Fuji TV, 2012). Ten episodes.
Fair warning – this is a slow-paced,
slice-of-life series. There are no melodramatic
scenes, exaggerated physical humor, or rabu-rabu
romance; this is a Koreeda Hirokazu piece. And like
many of Koreeda’s works, Going My Home focuses
on a group of people and their lives: when his
father falls ill, the usually submissive Tsuboi Ryota
(Hiroshi Abe) unwittingly sets out on a journey to
find a mythical creature only known as a “kuna”.
The drama is largely character-based and all
natural dialogue, with a touch of whimsy and
minute attention to “ordinary” subtleties. It’s a
qualitative reflection about death and family
through a humoristic perspective.
Spring element: Even if you can’t stand the pacing of the series, you can just leave
your laptop on to look at the beautiful, roaming shots of forest greenery and countryside and
Japanese-style dishes.
OLD/ Osen (NTV, 2008). Ten episodes.
My favorite topic – food! Based on Kikuchi
Shota’s manga, Osen refers to the scatterbrained but
skilled okami (Yū Aoi) of Isshoan, a traditional
restaurant-inn in downtown Tokyo. Each episode focuses
on her struggles and antics to keep the restaurant on its
feet while highlighting a specific dish and its preparation
in great detail. The series provides insight into the artisanal
skills of Japanese cuisine and culture without ever feeling
like a boring lecture
.
Spring element: Relaxing and pleasant in its
introduction and presentation of Japanese customs.
NEW/ RENT-A-CAT (Ogigami Naoko, 2012). 110
minutes.
The title says it all: a solitary young woman
(Ichikawa Mikako) rents her cats out to people in need of
comfort. The film’s visual style is as quirky as its premise,
with coordinated set design and costume and tonal
lighting, yet manages to show restraint in camerawork,
never pushing the film past the lines of contrivance.
Watch if you like something sweet and fey-like, comical
but intelligent, a Japanese equivalent to Amélie.
Spring element: You’ll feel that rush of sentimentality and warmth so often
associated with spring.
OLD/ Raiou/The Lightning Tree (Hiroki Ryuichi, 2010). 133 minutes.
Don’t run away when I say that Raiou is an adaptation of
Romeo & Juliet set in the Edo era. Romeo is Narimichi (Okada
Masaki), the son of a Shogun; and Juliet is Rai (Yū Aoi), a
mischievous girl who lives in the mountains. Disregarding the
apparent foreshadowing of their star-crossed romance, Hiroki
Ryuichi has a prodigious eye for camera angles and naturalistic set
pieces. A strong cast further bolsters the film, specifically with the
chemistry between the main leads.
Spring element: The couple’s meet-cute is at the “lightning”
tree: a sakura tree that grew from a former ginkgo tree.
Suddenly Senkyu and the Comeback Kid
Lee Sorkin
Even if you’ve thought the weather outside
has been freezing and downright frightful, politics in
Japan have been heating up. In case you missed it,
because it wasn’t at all difficult to ignore, there were
elections this past December in Japan. General
elections, that is - as in, to choose a new Prime
Minister. Of course, as in most Parliamentary
democracies, this election was somewhat of a
surprise. The juicy part of this story is that the
elections were moved up as part of a deal between the
DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan), the party of the last
PM, Noda Yoshihiko, and the LDP (Liberal
Democratic Party), in summer of 2012. Noda had
wanted to raise the consumption tax as a way to
partially fix Japan’s large budget deficit, and the LDP,
then acting as the opposition party opposed it. The
deal was to therefore hold elections if the
consumption tax raise was supported by the LDP in
the Diet. An election was almost certainly going to go
in favor of the LDP, so it benefitted them to accept (it
was also seen as a kamikaze pact on the part of Noda).
This past November the tax increase passed in the
Diet and elections followed. And who should win but
none other than the LDP’s very own comeback-kid,
Abe Shinzo, who was PM once before and resigned
over “health issues”.
Now, I love a good comeback story as much
as anyone, but this one is particularly slimy. But
before we go there, let’s take a short trip down
modern Japanese memory lane for a little recap.
Following WWII, from the late forties when the
current Japanese constitution was adopted until 2009,
one party remained in control of Japan’s political
system: the LDP. The LDP was able to retain its
control in part because it reigned during a really nice
to time to be in power, a time when it experienced
exceptionally high growth and productivity, catching
up to, and then surpassing many Western countries,
especially in certain industries such as high tech and
automobiles. The LDP was able to spend a lot of the
windfall from this growth on huge infrastructure
projects to prop up employment, and welfare
spending. And so the people were happy.
Flash forward to 2006 and the picture isn’t
as rosy. Japan has been stuck in a deflationary
recession pretty much since the early ‘90s and the
ruling political party hasn’t fixed it. Corruption
charges and financial scandals have also rocked the
LDP before (e.g. PM Tanaka, from Niigata
prefecture). Enter PM Abe, Parte Une, whose
administration was hit with no less than three
corruption charges, all involving Abe’s Ministers of
Agriculture, the first of whom committed suicide
before a final verdict could be reached. He also came
in singing a nationalistic tune that was a little tone
deaf to the times. So… right: “health issues.”
This time around, Abe turned down the
nationalism, mostly because he was out-sung by the
even more radical Japanese Restoration Party. So he
was able to focus on economic issues, which he
exploited as well as he could by calling for a more
expansionary monetary policy and rebuking the Bank
of Japan for not doing as much as it should, or could.
While the BOJ sulked that its independence was
being infringed upon, the Nikkei stock exchange
soared, making people think twice about ‘Ole Abe,
and resulting in the birth of the unoriginal
portmanteau “Abenomics”. Noda and his party were
already so unpopular that they both lost heavily in the
elections, with the DPJ losing control of the lower
house, generally thought to be the more powerful of
the two. It still controls the upper house, adding some
gridlock to the mix.
Abenomics has been at the forefront of
Abe’s agenda going forward from the elections,
which has been good for the stock market, but bad for
our bank accounts back home, as many of us have
realized. That’s because the expectation of an
expansionary monetary policy, specifically the
purchasing of foreign bonds, weakens the nominal
value of the yen relative to other currencies. So we
get less for our yen being sent back home, but
Japanese exports get a little cheaper. Mind you that
this is all in expectation of future inflation, flamed by
Abe’s promises and the premature resignation of the
BOJ’s governor, Shirakawa Masaaki, who was
decidedly against using the BOJ to spur inflation. The
PM’s nominee for the position is Kuroda Haruhiko,
who will most likely deliver into Abe’s hands his
dream of an obsequious BOJ.
Monetary expansion, the purchasing bonds
and financial assets to hopefully drive down the
nominal interest rate and inflate the economy, is
however only a short term prospect. It is a palliative
rather than the invasive surgery that is needed in the
form of corporate, welfare, and agriculture reforms to
get Japan back on track competitively with the rest of
the world. One hope for this is the current TPP
(Trans-Pacific Partnership) negotiations. Japan could
join this trade partnership with other countries, which
would be a major step in reforming Japan’s sluggish
economy and boosting exports. The issue though, is
that Abe and the LDP got a lot of support from the
rural populations of Japanese, who are loathe to
support anything that smacks of free trade.
It remains to be seen whether Abe and the
LDP have the foresight to brush off the naysaying
Nanaokos, both protectionist and nationalistic, who
may as yet prevent any real change from happening.
If that’s the case then Abe has made a cozy little
inflationary bubble that won’t last long, and one
which certainly won’t help redeem his shifty legacy.
And that’s a shame, because what Japan needs more
than anything is stability.
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