I was back in Fukushima over the weekend to carry a mikoshi in a festival. I had a really good time. It’s always nice to get out of the city for a few days, eat a few home-cooked meals at my homestay family’s place, and sleep on a real bed.

While I was there I noticed the calendar on the wall:

It’s produced by the town’s health/public welfare center. Up until about 10 years ago or so, supposedly the diet in my town was extremely high in salt. They started promoting a more healthy diet by making better school lunches, giving 100万円 to anyone who lives to be 100 (although I heard they were going to get rid of this), and by giving out calendars with healthy recipes. I used to have one of these on the wall of my apartment.

I looked a little closer and saw this:

Not only does it have 主食, it’s got 主菜 – you’re main vegetable. It also shows 副菜, which is so much fun to translate poorly. Assistant vegetable, auxiliary vegetable, vice-vegetable. Take your pick.

Speaking of healthy eating, I’ve been doing quite a bit myself this past month, along with jogging just about every day. This was to ensure I did not experience death by mikoshi and so that I have a good excuse to fatten myself up back in the States next week. I’m heading to New York on Thursday for the holidays, so the next post will be Friday after I get back. Have a good Silver Week.

Over the 4^th of July weekend, I went back to the small town in Fukushima where I spent three years teaching English and “coordinating international relations.” I had a nomikai with the students from the English conversation class I taught at the Town Hall, and then a few of us lit fireworks in the parking lot of the town offices. It was a nice little trip, great to get out of the city and just relax the whole weekend.

I ran into one of the great Japanese compounds at the dinner – 主食 (しゅしょく). We started with a toast and then snacked on sashimi, bits of fried food, edamame and a bunch of other things. El vino did flow – beer and 麦焼酎水割り, mostly. Towards the end, I could kind of tell it was time to wrap things up, but then one of the ladies said, だめだ。何か主食とらないと。 We couldn’t leave without having a 主食 – a staple food. The classic Japanese 主食 is rice, but the restaurant had no rice dishes, so we settled for ramen. Apparently noodles count as a staple food. The great illusion with 主食 is that rice is the only one that exists in the world. This proves otherwise.

Because rice isn’t eaten as much abroad, often Japanese will think that there are no 主食 in the US. I always point to Mexican cuisine and the use of corn in tortillas, pupusas, and tamales. Corn and beans are all staple foods all over the world. Don’t fall for the 主食 fallacy.

I’m heading back to my town to help carry the mikoshi in a festival next weekend. Should be fun.

Happy Oyster Day! September is the end of the long, drought-like stretch of r-less months. In English we often say that oysters should be consumed raw only during months with an r in their name; thus, as mentioned earlier this year and celebrated last year, September 1^st can be considered the beginning of oyster season. It’s open season you mollusk motherfuckers! Ready or not, here I come! This evening I’ll be heading to Shinagawa to partake of oysters. Get in touch if you would like to join.

September also marks the beginning of the run up to the announcement of the 2009 Nobel Prizes this October. Last year I wrote a series of posts with sections of yet to be translated Haruki Murakami prose, trying to stir up interest before the Nobel announcement (in five parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). I will do the same over the next month, starting today. Let it begin.

With the goal of stirring up even more interest in Murakami between now and mid-October, when the Nobel Prizes are announced, I will post a small piece of unpublished Murakami translation once a week from now until the announcement.

For the final post last year, I translated two of the super-short stories from the collection 夜のくもざる. One thing I did not mention in that post is the fact that the 36 stories were chosen from a batch of 44 or so. Murakami initially wrote the stories as a series of advertisements for the J. Press clothing line from ’85 to ’87 and then for Parker fountain pens from ’93 to ’95. When he edited the stories for collective publication, he cut a number of them including the very first one – ホテルのロビーの牡蠣, “Hotel Lobby Oysters,” published in April, 1985.

Because this story was not included in 夜のくもざる, the only ways you can read it these days are by owning a copy of one of the original magazines (a number of publications ran the first set, among them Men’s Club) or by visiting the National Diet Library. I did the latter last December and have since translated it for this day. Without further ado, I give you Haruki Murakami’s “Hotel Lobby Oysters,” a perfect story for Oyster Day:

Hotel Lobby Oysters

At the time I was sitting on the hotel lobby sofa and vaguely thinking about oysters. Not lemon soufflé, not pencil sharpeners – oysters. I don’t know why. I just suddenly realized that I was thinking about oysters.

The oysters I was thinking about on the hotel lobby sofa were different from oysters thought about anywhere else. They were shaped differently, they smelled differently, and their color was different, too. They weren’t oysters harvested in some cove. They were pure oysters harvested in a hotel lobby.

After thinking about oysters for a while, I went to the sink to wash my face, then retied my tie and returned to the sofa. When I got back, the oysters had already disappeared from inside my head. Again, I don’t know why. Maybe it was because I washed my faced or because I retied my tie. Or maybe the hotel oyster season is extremely short.

When the girl came 17 minutes after our appointed time, I told her about the hotel lobby oysters. The image was so distinct I felt like I had to tell someone about them.

“You want to eat oysters?” she asked.

“No, these oysters, they were purely oysters as a concept, unrelated to my appetite,” I explained. “The oysters came into being as the very essence of oys—“

“But you do want to eat some, right?” she said.

When she mentioned it and I settled down to think about it, I certainly had developed an incredible desire to eat oysters. We went to the hotel restaurant and ate 25 oysters while drinking wine. Sometimes I think my appetite originates from a really strange place.

I’ve been so busy at work the past month that I’ve been almost completely unable to prep anything for Oyster Day. Sadly next weekend is booked for me (Brasil Festival being one of the planned activities), so no big event. I will be going out to the Grand Central Oyster Bar in Shinagawa on Tuesday evening around 7pm. Get in touch if you’re interested in joining.

Also, in honor of Oyster Day, this week’s Monday post will be published on Tuesday.

I’ve found another great set of equalities for my never-ending quest to debunk all mistranslations of 外来語 and 和製英語.

ストーヴ  = 

stove         = 

I’m sure the usage of ストーヴ overlaps slightly with the English stove, as is evident from a Google Images search, but for the most part ストーヴ refers to a Japanese-style kerosene heater. Anyone who has ever taught English on JET, especially out in the countryside, is probably well familiar with these. I have great memories of them. In addition to heating the room, on top there is always a kettle boiling or a big tub of water being warmed – like water usage in toilets, another great example of Japanese efficiency. In the winter many of my students warmed up their lunch milk in the tub of water. Be warned: doing this will make you extremely sleepy and may even affect your post-lunch teaching ability.

Stoves as Americans think of them, on the other hand, are few and far between in Japan. The ovens underneath take up space that isn’t available in Japan, and there’s also less of a tradition of bread-making and other baking. In most cases a smaller microwave oven will do the trick. Gas or electric ranges are common and generally referred to as レンジ. Additionally, there is a small fish-sized drawer which noobs can use to grill eggplants and toast. The area where the oven would be is generally storage space where Japanese people keep all their cleaning supplies and 2D girlfriends.

You have to be a particularly cold-hearted person not to fall in love with the Japanese rail system. The way it all runs on time (barring natural disaster or extreme personal injury). The way local train routes overlap in order to make long distance travel cheap. The comfort and service of the limited express trains. The sheer speed of the shinkansen.

One of my personal favorite parts of the JR system is the array of services you can find within the station gates. Shopping, food, personal hygiene. It amazes me that there is enough demand for these services inside stations. It’s hard enough to run a restaurant outside of a station. Although I guess the foot traffic alone makes a station the ideal place for a business.

I recently spent 12 hours over two days in search of beer within the station gates on the Yamanote Line. The rules? Konbini beer does not count. Preference for draft beer. Must not leave station gates.

Here is what I found:

JR Station Pub Crawl – Yamanote from Daniel Morales on Vimeo.

Shimbashi – Goody De Cafe is on the lower level of the Karasumori Exit (might be called the Shiodome Exit?) just before heading down to the Yokosuka line. They have Guiness in a can and that silly machine that shakes the pint to foam it up a bit. Assorted snacks and some other beer on tap, too. Open from breakfast onward on weekdays and Saturday (closes early afternoon on Saturday).

Tamachi – Becker’s is by the South Gate, and they have Kirin Ichiban Shibori on tap in addition to the standard menu of burgers and sandwiches. I was surprised a station as small as Tamachi had a restaurant with beer, although it later became obvious that real estate must be pricy at some of the bigger stations, so perhaps it actually makes more sense that a station like Tamachi has one.

Shinagawa – Shinagawa Station has several beer options including sushi and some actual sit down restaurants (all near the Central Exit). There is an eCute shopping center as well, which is where the cafe Paul is located. They have most excellent pastries (cheese bread in the video), Heineken on tap, and patio seating. Definitely one of the classiest places to get a beer in Yamanote Line stations.

(Yes, giant jump here from Shinagawa to Ikebukuro. I checked pretty much all of the stations and was surprised to find no beer-serving restaurants, although I feel like Ebisu and Shinjuku probably have them somewhere. If you can confirm any beer-serving restaurants, I’ll add them to the 号外 list below. Send a pic and I’ll put that up, too.)

Ikebukuro – London Pub is by the Chuoguchi 1. (That’s what I wrote down, but I was drinking and it was a month ago, so it might be Central 1.) Loved this place because it had Bass on tap in addition to a couple of other beers and a variety of little snacks. I had the tortilla chips. Reminded me of a HUB Pub miniaturized to fit within the station, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was connected to that chain.

Tabata – Sanuki Udon are common within stations, but not all of them serve beer. The one in Tabata Station by the North Gate has it on tap along with their standard menu of noodle dishes. Unsure if the beer was Asahi Superdry or a happoshu offering like Honnama. Not much else to say about this one.

Uguisudani – Another small station with a sad little Ajisai Soba/Udon restaurant. They had cans of Asahi Superdry, so I gave it a go. It’s actually kind of pleasant to sit up on the quiet second floor and look out over the train tracks and buildings. Walking through the walkways of the station you can also get a good view of the nearby cemetery.

Ueno – Ueno Station might have the most options in terms of beer. There are several large sit-down restaurants, including Chabuzen which is by the Iriya Exit. Mostly grilled/fried meats and seafood, but as is clear from the video they also have some decent set meals, including sara-udon, one of my favorites since visiting Nagasaki a couple years ago.

Okachimachi – Ramen Suika is by the North Exit and has super frosty glasses of Sapporo in addition to their ramen and gyoza menu. Just across the way from Ramen Suika is a small Italian restaurant that also has beer. Excellent representation for such a small station.

Akihabara – Akihabara Station also has good representation near the Central Exit including a nice curry restaurant and a couple of soba/udon places. I went with Nama Soba near the Showa-dori Exit because it was the only restaurant I saw that is actually inside and outside the station at the same time. There’s a divider in the middle of the eating area that separates the two (that’s what the beer is resting on in the video), but the kitchen is just one big area. Very cool. Judging from the posters, they serve Superdry.

Kanda – Elysee Cafe and Dining Bar was the uncelebrated gem of the restaurants I went to. It’s in the basement of the South Exit and is actually surprisingly expansive once you descend the stairs. They have a very respectable selection of whiskey, shochu and nihonshu in addition to wine and lots of beer – Suntory Premium Malts and one other Japanese beer on tap, and Guiness and Corona in bottles. Draft beer and a lot of the liquors are half off on Wednesdays and Fridays, which means you can get a decent sized glass of Premium Malts for 325 yen! They also have a reasonably priced food menu with lots of choices.

Tokyo – As you’d expect, Tokyo Station has a lot of choices for beer and sit down restaurants (some of my favorites are in Tokyo GranSta in the basement), but the best beer on tap is by far Gargery Stout at Tokyo Grand Cafe which is right between the Yaesu South and Yaesu Central Exits. Nice roasty stout. Highly recommended. I got there too late to try any of the food, but it looks pan-Asian, which also happens to be the theme of their import beers – they have nearly a full selection of tasteless Southeast Asian beers from Singha to Tsingtao and everything in between.

号外 Additions:

Osaki – According to my roommate, the Becker’s in Osaki Station now serves beer, although I explicitly asked for it and was given only a strange look when I went last month.

I was at Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto a couple weekends ago and stopped in the 湯豆腐 (boiled tofu) restaurant on the grounds as I almost always do. A friend and I split a single serving (enough for two unless you really like your boiled tofu) and took in the view of the pristine garden.

A couple came in at some point and ordered their food and drink. When they ordered their drinks, the guy said, ビールを一つと、ジュースを一つ. Simple enough: one beer and one juice.

The lady’s reply was awesome: ジュースは、コーラ、アップル、どっちがいいですか。Something like, “Which juice do you want, Coke or apple?”

I smiled and basked in the linguistic awesomeness that allows me to make the following sets of equalities and inequalities:

ジュース   = 

juice          =  

juice          ≠ 

ジュース   = 

ジュース   = 

ジュース   = 

ジュース   ≠ 

Wikipedia explains that beverage companies long sold soft drinks under the label ジュース, and the name has stuck despite the Japan Agricultural Standards’ best attempts to define it as stuff from fruit.

I was surprised that Wikipedia didn’t mention anything about alcohol. I have this impression that ジュース implies non-alcoholic, which is why I added that last equation. Part of this comes from vast 宴会 experience. At the start of an enkai, tables or trays are supplied with bottled beer and a selection of non-booze – usually ginger ale, orange drink, oolong tea and cola. (People dip into nihonshu and shochu after the initial toast.)

ジュース also happens to be one of my favorite words to over-enunciate. ジューーース.

炉端焼き (ろばたやき) originated in Sendai at a restaurant called 炉ばた, which literally means “by the hearth.” Wikipedia makes it sound like chefs from the restaurant gradually dispersed to various locations all over Japan – Osaka, Hokkaido, Aomori, Fukushima – and spread the unique cooking style: customers seated around a hearth where chefs grill fish and veggies. The cooking style took the name of the restaurant, and now it can be found everywhere.

I stumbled into Musashi in Shimbashi completely by accident the first time I went. The robatayaki across the street was full, and when I did a quick 360 to see what the other options were, the red lanterns at Musashi must have drawn me through the doors to the counter seats around the grill. To be honest, before Musashi I had never been to a true robatayaki. Musashi doesn’t have an irori style hearth, but there are counter seats around a grill, and the grillmaster (seated seiza style the whole time!) does serve up food on a giant しゃもじ. The food is cheap (many items are only 290 yen!) and incredibly tasty. Here’s a video review:

Good Eats – Musashi from Daniel Morales on Vimeo.

A few other items I would highly recommend:

Nattō-bukuro – Fermented soybeans wrapped in tofu bags. The bag definitely cuts down on the ねばねば factor.

Tsukune – The tsukune at Musashi is nice and plump and dotted with sesame seeds. Very hearty.

Nasu – Japanese eggplant with bonito flakes and grated ginger. Add a little soy sauce on top.

Hotate – The scallops are great, as are all the other shells they serve.

Kujira – They serve whale meat in several different ways, raw and grilled being the two that I can remember. A friend I brought insisted that we try something crazy, and whale it was. Surprisingly tasty.

Basically everything they make is good. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. Here’s a map in case the video wasn’t clear enough (it looks like they actually have a second location further from the station, cool):

大きな地図で見る

Well, at least not always:

クリーム =

cream      =

The Japanese クリーム often refers specifically to the whipped variety that goes on top of cakes or inside tasty treats, most notably the シュークリーム. I often see this romanized on packages as “chou cream” for whatever reason. For those of you who can’t read Japanese, it actually sounds like “shoe cream,” which is a funny thought.

The Japanese and English Wikipedia entries are subtly different. In English, whipped cream is only listed below under “Other cream products,” whereas in Japanese whipped cream gets its own section and the photo at the top of the entry is a photo of a bowl of whipped cream.

I rest my case.

Welcome to July, month of terrible heat and humidity. The good news is that we are halfway through the Oyster-less months. May, June, July and August, otherwise known as months without an R, are the months when raw oysters are supposed to be dangerous to eat. Which is why we should celebrate Oyster Day on September 1. I had a small celebration last year and posted about the famous tongue twister 隣の客は、よくカキ食う客だ。

I have discovered one thing about oysters since last year: the カキ in the tongue twister is actually an unexciting fruit, the persimmon, and not a delicious briny mollusk, the oyster. This, to me, is an outrage. I can’t think of a more boring fruit than the persimmon. Obviously, the 隣の客 has no taste at all.

So I suggest we replace the カキ in the tongue twister and try to restore 牡蠣 (oysters) to their full glory.

Two months until Oyster Day. I plan on trying to arrange some kind of meetup. If you are interested, let me know.