00:36 The cumin seeds I brought back to Japan from New Orleans. They’ve lasted me quite a while as I only use them in one lentil dish I make occasionally. In that dish, they get stir fried with garlic and red pepper, so I thought that might work here, too.
00:42 The knife shots work really well with this music. I think I was playing the song in my mind as I was chopping.
01:06 Yarg. Could use some lighting here.
01:26 When I was living up in Fukushima, there was a weekly men’s cooking class at the Town Hall called 男エプロン. It was only around for about half a year, but I learned this avocado-seed-removal trick from the lady who taught the course. Very effective.
01:57 Mmmm. This is the only of the three recipes that I actually eat regularly. I wait until avocados are on sale for 98 yen and use the natto and avocado to supplement my meal (generally a bento).
02:17 This is the cheapest cheese in Japan. They have both cheddar and mozzarella in this size at Seijo Ishii stores, and it’s only 299 yen. As I’ve mentioned before, probably the best value in the whole store.
02:43 The schools in my town in Fukushima used to eat natto like this. It was good, but they used a really weak cheese. The sharper you get, the better, in my opinion.
00:28 George Miller’s “King of the Road.” You might recognize George Miller as the voice for the rooster from Disney’s animated version of Robin Hood. He also wrote and sang some of the songs from the movie, notably “Oo de lally.” What’s that you say? You want to hear the Swedish version? Well, YouTube delivers.
00:36 The Yaesu side of Tokyo Station. I wonder if this part of the station will get renovated. I really like the look of north Yaesu, but that’s mostly because of the big Daimaru over there.
00:44 That big glass building on the right is the International Forum. It’s a great building, and it’s free, so I always try to take friends to see it. I never knew about it until my college roommate Dave came to visit Japan with his skinny little hipster guidebook. Thank you, skinny little hipster guidebook.
00:47 Ah, the Sakura Bus. The best way to get up to Fukushima. If you’re taking it to Aizu, it’s often just as fast as taking the train because you have to change trains and wait in Koriyama. Much cheaper than the train, too.
00:59 Big jump to Koriyama. I wanted to film more, but when I got on the bus, I realized my camcorder battery was really low.
Love this little sign. It says “Right: Jintei. Left: Edo, 60 里” I can’t really tell if that kanji is 里 or not, but it makes sense. 里 is an old Japanese unit of measurement that is equivalent to 3927 meters. 60 would be approximately 234 km, which seems right.
01:04 This is Jintei. I wrote a lot about it in the original post, so I won’t say too much here other than note again that it’s a fantastic restaurant run by a really nice guy.
01:09 Seeing the video I took of this sign was the first time I realized that Jintei serves “yakikatsu” and not “tonkatsu.” I’m not sure what the difference is, although from the video it does look like the katsu get a bit of pan-searing on one or both sides.
01:22 Ha, Jintei noob. Everybody knows you just have to wait.
01:28 Doh! This lady didn’t unfold the fan completely, so the “Jintei Special” on the far right is still hidden.
01:54 Mmmm. Jintei salad. The salad is so critical to the Jintei experience. Not only does it have more foliage than your standard tonkatsu salad, it has two dressings that need to be mixed in appropriate portions. A creamy one and a more vinegary one. They cut through the greasiness of the katsu perfectly and really balance the whole meal (along with the karashi and lemon, of course).
02:11 Does look like some searing, eh? Perhaps yakikatsu aren’t deep fried at all.
02:17 The moment of truth. Yes, there is cheese and ham and a leaf of basil in there. I’m so hungry watching this.
02:25 I can’t believe I ate the whole thing. I discovered through experience that I was always better off leaving the last three to four cuts and getting them to go. I also can’t believe the master let me sit at the table even after I told him the counter (space for two) was fine. I scarfed everything down because I felt so bad for the people waiting outside.
00:35 The music is “Los Dias Sin Dias” from Estradasphere, one of my favorite bands. I’d wanted to do a video about tonkatsu for a while but didn’t know how to structure it until I heard this song on shuffle one day. The idea came to me instantly – the mood so perfectly captures that strung out, hungover feeling.
This is my room. You can see my pole. That’s where I hang my futon when I’m not sleeping on it.
This is probably my favorite of all the videos I’ve made. Maybe number two with the onsen video being number one.
Other things of note: The Meters self-titled first album on my desk (best funk album ever), Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II (sadly I don’t have a record player, but they are fun albums to look at), my UV-blocking curtains I brought with me from Fukushima.
00:42 My futon in action. Things of note: Tempur-Pedic pillows, my mini Mapple, bag for my yoga mat (which lives under my futon), camera case for my Canon HV20.
00:50 Full shot of my room. It’s a mess. It’s a little cleaner these days thanks to a massive purge I went through when I thought I might have to move apartments. I still have too much stuff.
Things of note: gray bags from Tanakaya in the foreground (full of beer), my low-ass chair I bought from the Shinagawa Ward recycle shop (it broke about a month after I bought it and is now stuck in the lowest position), art by Kestutis of Lithuania on the wall.
00:59 My desk. Did you notice what’s on my desktop screen? PAIN. I thought that was funny. Things of note: iPod, DS case, hard drive I use for all my video footage, earplugs, calendar of my yoga lessons, my air-con remote control.
01:09 My kitchen. I’m a huge fan of taking pictures or video very close to small objects to make them look epic. I think it started when I was traveling in South East Asia and started taking close-ups of beer bottles. I got this amazing shot of my friend Faye:
I’ve been looking for an excuse to do something with that picture for years.
01:18 I don’t know why I bought negi-toro. I rarely eat it in any form, onigiri or don. They must have been out of mentaiko or ume – those are the two I always buy.
01:27 Kaiten-zushi at Yokohama Station. I really wanted this shot to be of the dishes going by on the conveyor belt, but I couldn’t hold the camera still enough, and I don’t have a tripod. And in all honesty, I didn’t want to be that weird foreigner with a giant tripod in the sushi restaurant. I was already that weird foreigner with a mini-tripod taking video of sushi, and I think that’s about as weird as I’m willing to get.
01:42 Aji no Tokeidai ramen in Shibuya. I had this bowl right before a big beer session in Shimokitazawa during Kura Kura’s January nomihodai offering. Great ramen. Perfect foundation for beers. I really was hungover the next day, and that was the day I went to Tonki in Meguro.
02:00 Tonki Tonkatsu. The ロース variation. I hate the way the fried batter falls off so easily. That’s my main criticism of an otherwise exquisite place to eat tonkatsu.
02:06 Katsuretsu-an in Yokohama. Very thin katsu, but still tasty. The Katsuretsu-an Teishoku is ヒレ, but I think this is one of the few stores where I prefer the ロース.
02:15 Good God that’s a massive piece o pig. It’s the kurobuta from Maisen. Tasty, but also 3000 yen a plate. The first time I went, the menu was a little confusing (Maisen’s big downfall is that they offer too many variations), and I thought the kurobuta was the only katsu they had.
02:24 Droolz.
This clearly show’s Tonki’s flaws – the pork shrinks within the batter or gets somehow gets dislodged during the cutting process. It’s worth mentioning that they cut the katsu lengthwise, which I guess makes the pieces easier to handle. I prefer just widthwise cuts, although there’s a place in my neighborhood that gives you three small diamond-shaped doubloons of katsu for the ヒレ. I always thought that was neat. Tonki still has the best service of any tonkatsu place I’ve every visited. Hard to leave unsatisfied.
02:35 Gnompf, carbs, gnompf.
02:38 I liked the butajiru at Tonki but still prefer red miso with katsu. I guess that’s the second mark against Tonki.
02:41 I can just imagine what went on in the kitchen: “Yo, let’s put another leaf on top.” “What for?” “I dunno. It just looks nice.” “True.” That dude got his bonus that year. Brilliant.
02:46 Karashi really does make the katsu. I only respect restaurants where the karashi is sinus-burningly powerful. Tonki’s is strong stuff, although they only provide you with a small amount. Maisen is self-service.
02:54 You can see from the Tonki clock that it’s right around 4:40pm. They opened at 4pm. Yep, it fills up quickly.
02:58 I was third or fourth in line, right behind this guy. He did things right – brought a newspaper, ordered a beer (which comes with peanuts). Respect. This shot also gives a great look at the pristine countertops. So smooth and clean. Bonus points.
03:07 Don’t be fooled. Maisen has tons of seating. It never takes all that long to get inside. The atmosphere is nothing compared to Tonki, though.
03:13 Love the Katsuretsu-an atmosphere, especially the lantern outside. During the indoor shot, the lady carrying the katsu realizes that I’m filming about halfway across the screen and then tries to skoot out of the way. I thought that was cute.
03:18 They also have very nice countertops. The information in the subtitles I found on Japanese Wikipedia quoting some book, but it has since disappeared. There was an article in the Wall Street Journal that lists a different place as the tonkatsu origin, but I haven’t had a chance to go yet. The article is really nice, but I’m not sure why Maisen and Tonki get excluded. I’m also confused why a tonkatsu restaurant would need a wine list. Call me a purist, but beer is the only beverage that goes with tonkatsu.
00:32 Harry Nillson’s “Coconut.” Not sure about other readers, but I became familiar with this song after they used it in the Lime Coke ad. This is the demo version, which I prefer to the original. A lot simpler. Just Nillson and his guitar.
00:35 I bought all of these mikan at the off-brand konbini called “Tom Cat” near my apartment. The mikan are cheap, but they’re all kind of unhealthy-looking and relatively tasteless. During peak season I eat about eight mikan a day, though, so this is the only way I can afford my citrus addiction.
You can see my roommate Ayako and her yellow jumper in the background.
01:00 I had a pile of about 40-50 mikan, and everyone started playing with them. I think my roommate Teppei was the one who started drawing faces on the mikan. It was either him or my Korean roommate Son-san.
01:07 This is Son-san’s self-portrait.
01:28 Embarrassingly terrible screen capture of Google Earth. If anyone knows how to do HD video screen capture, please share.
01:49 There are also lots of mikan in Nagasaki and parts of Kyushu. I travelled in Kyushu for New Year’s a couple years in a row and was always stunned at how cheap they are down there.
01:59 Son-san gave me the idea for this section of the video. He kept trying to balance them in all these weird positions after I finished filming the pyramids. I thought it was funny to think of them as “inherently unstable.” Unlike apples, which are clearly an inert fruit.
02:22 Kotatsu + mikan = Japan.
02:28 “From the top” was briefly a hilarious meme in my apartment. I guess it was simple enough for everyone to understand and pronounce, sort of like “Yes we can.” I think it’s still the part of this video they remember the most.
02:48 This was an element of contention when I initially posted the video. I’d be curious to see a pie chart style breakdown of peeling styles. I prefer this method because it keeps things tidy.
肉 (にく) – the character for meat. It always reminds me of a ribcage or a little rack of lamb or something. Maybe a bizarro chicken tulip.
The concept of meat in Japan is slightly different from that in the U.S. Here, to the great collective unhappiness of all vegetarian expats, it refers to mammal meat – beef and pork, mostly – and not the flesh of living things in general (at least when talking about food). So, saying you don’t eat meat (肉は、食べません) won’t always earn you a meal that meets (har har) your dietary restrictions, especially if you take into account broths and pastes and flakes (many of which are fish-based).
(On a side note, I once knew a “vegetarian” who ate ramen and just gave away the チャーシュー on top – what a joke! Ramen broth is, more or less, pig rendered into a delicious liquid form.)
When I was a CIR on JET, I was forced to explain strict vegetarianism to Japanese people for expats on a number of occasions. (Including one Lithuanian artist who wouldn’t eat mushrooms for some reason. His English was really bad, but from what I could gather, spores are little people.) I found the best way to explain it is to say that you don’t eat 動物 (どうぶつ, doubutsu) – animals in general. But even that was not general enough sometimes, so I would always bastardize the pronunciation to 動き物 (うごきもの, ugokimono) – things that move – and then add the sentence, 動くのなら、食べません. If it moves on its own (and not in search of photons to photosynthesize), they don’t eat it. This always gets the point across and makes people laugh as an added bonus.
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 4th 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 lastyear, September 1st 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. …
I’ve been so busy at work the past month that I’ve been almost completely unable to prep anything for OysterDay. 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.
