Nabe and Hanami

Michael and I have been a bit lazy since returning from the Philippines, so not much has been going on the past couple of weeks. Last weekend, we drove around Utsunomiya and went to two parks. The first had a nice barbeque area which will be fun once the weather gets nicer and when we buy a grill. The second one was called Ikashira Park (いかしら公園). This park was huge and had a bike trail, a big pond with lots of koi fish, and a water park. Last Friday, we went to a nabe party with Michael’s co-workers. We went to Tsuruta-san’s house in Sakura and he had a very nice home. Nabe is a big clay pot of soup/stew. Anything can go in nabe and the pots are put on portable stoves in the middle of the table and you get whatever you want to eat from the pot. We all went grocery shopping together to buy the ingredients, it is very interesting to see 4 men grocery shopping. We ended up with lots of mushrooms, green onions, fish, meat and beer. It was a nice chance to get to know some of Michael’s co-workers, we all brought pictures to share. On Saturday, we went to Ueno Park for Hanami (お花見). Hanami is cherry blossoming viewing. This is very popular in Japan because once the cherry blossoms bloom, they only last about 2 weeks. Basically, we go to the park and lay out a huge tarp and have a small party under the cherry blossom trees. Ueno Park was the most popular spot, so that’s where we opted to go. We went with some of the other OAPs and it was fun. There was lots of drinking involved and we were told that sometimes people will stay all day and night to party. People made cardboard tables, had portable stoves, grills, lots of beer, and games. We had quite the entertaining group next to us. Check out the pictures and enjoy!

Boracay, Philippines

Michael and I just returned from our trip to Boracay, Philippines. Boracay is one of the 7,000+ islands of the Philippines approximately 200 miles south of Manila. Our journey began with a 3 hour bus ride from Utsunomiya to Narita Airport, from Narita to Manila the plane ride took about 4.5 hours, from Manila to Caticlan another plane ride that lasted a little less than an hour, and finally a boat ride from Caticlan to Boracay. After 13 hours of travelling with layovers we reached one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. We arrived in Boracay just in time to catch the sunset! After taking some pictures we walked up and down White Beach and found ourselves a small place on the beach to have dinner. In Boracay, many of the restaurants will set up tables and chairs on the beach after sunset to begin the “nightlife”. Pretty tired from all the travelling, we called it a night early so that we could be well rested for the next day.
Our hotel was awesome and included a free breakfast buffet. A mix between Filipino cuisine and American flavors, we were quite content. I especially enjoyed the pancakes. Our first day on Boracay, we decided to have a beach day. We relaxed on White Beach (west side of the island) for most of the morning. Apparently we both relaxed a little too much because Michael and I both were a little sunburned after day 1 or maybe that’s just an indication that I don’t get enough sun. In the afternoon, we ventured over to Bulabog Beach located on the opposite side of the island. Bulabog Beach is quite the opposite of White Beach. Although the climate is the same, the waves were much stronger and not really swimmable. On Bulabog Beach, we got to see many kite boarders and windsurfers. Kite boarding looks very cool, but also very difficult. We walked up Bulabog Beach as far north as we could and then hopped back over to the west side of the island. We were close to station 1, so we went to check out Willy’s Rock. Willy’s Rock is a curiously shaped volcanic formation, Willy's Rock is so closely identified with Boracay that you find it featured in practically every postcard and travel brochure on the island. The only rock formation along the entire four-kilometer length of White Beach, Willy's Rock stands out like a dark dot on the immaculately white shoreline, becoming an island at high tide. A shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary stands atop the rock. It was definitely unique. We headed back to White Beach to relax a little more and then watched another beautiful sunset before heading to dinner. The nightlife in Boracay is really calm. The island promotes fruit shakes more than alcohol and instead of clubs there is usually live entertainment on the beach from various restaurants.
Saturday was probably the most exciting day for us. In the morning, Michael and I went parasailing. Yes, Parasailing!!! It was AMAZING. We were up in the air for about 15 minutes and we could see all of Boracay and some of the other nearby islands. At first I was a little nervous, but when you are in air it feels nothing short of spectacular. The people on the boat were awesome and helped us take many pictures. In the afternoon, we went scuba diving for the first time. We were given a quick introduction on how to breathe, clear your mask if water gets in it, and equalizing. We practiced in water about 1 meter deep to get use to breathing and carrying the equipment, then off into the waters we went. Michael and I each had an instructor guiding us which was awesome. I had a little trouble with the equalization at first and kind of panicked, which is probably the worst thing to do, so I had to relax a little and then try to dive again. Finally my instructor would help me equalize and we were diving! We saw beautiful coral and fish. It was the first time ever seeing a blue starfish. Diving was definitely fun once you get the hang of it. I was quite exhausted afterwards.
For the final day, we did a little shopping and splashed some more in the water. In Boracay, the seashell jewelry is really popular along with the sarongs. We even picked up our first oil painting. There are some talented people on the island. For lunch, Michael and I went to an area called D’Talipapa that had a fresh market that sold various types of seafood. Michael picked up 2 lobsters and I had 2 crabs, we then take it across the road to a cooking service that will cook it up 7 or 8 different ways. Michael opted for the deep fried pepper sauce for his lobsters and I chose a garlic butter sauce for my crabs. It was delicious!
Boracay was an awesome trip.

Cake...Snowboarding...Kimono's...

The week started off with a trip to the Cake Buffet. The scrapbooking group invited us for lunch at Cake Buffet for Jessica’s birthday. How could I pass up a cake buffet?!?! This was at a local hotel that was very lovely. There were tons of desserts that wouldn’t take more than 3 bites to devour. I think I tried 85% of what was available. There were also a few “lunch” items such as takoyaki, soup, and salad. Cake buffet is offered for one week, once a month or once every other month, so plan carefully if you want to visit. Just kidding, there are millions of bakeries that offer just as many delicious desserts. The rest of the week was kind of same ol’ same ol’. My cooking experiment this week was Chinese donuts or “you tiao”. It’s the long fried dough that you eat with congee (rice porridge). I must say I was rather impressed. It was not perfect, but I think in time it might be alright. Again, one of those things I have found motivation to make since we cannot find it here in Japan. Friday night we went to try Min Min Gyoza. Min Min Gyoza is probably one of the more famous gyoza shops in Utsunomiya. I had high expectations going in considering we saw a line of 25 – 30 people waiting last Sunday. It was good, but I was a little disappointed. The gyoza’s come pan-fried, steamed, or deep-fried with the same filling in all of them. We ordered one of each to try the “variety”. I did enjoy them, but personally I like Yume Gyoza better, the gyoza shop close to our place. Maybe Min Min was too hyped up for me. Saturday, Michael and I went to Hunter Mountain in Tochigi Prefecture with Annie, Matt and Chris. This is probably the most well-known ski/snowboarding resorts in Tochigi and by the large crowd of people, I would agree. It’s popular because it’s still within one day trip limits for people in Tokyo. Hunter Mountain was modeled after the Hunter Mountain in New York. The trails were all names streets in New York like Madison Ave, Fifth Ave. etc. I was quite proud that I went up to the second highest trail, but getting down was a bit scary. Nonetheless, I made it. Michael on the other hand took a try at moguls. It was quite difficult and I think he spilled twice. He’s ok, but we’re both a bit sore. Afterwards, the five of us went to a German restaurant. After talking about German food, I have never in my life craved sauerkraut like I did Saturday night. This place was close to Orion Dori and after a few walks around the block we found it. I ordered some kind of sausage with potato and nibbled on some of Annie and Matt’s sauerkraut. It was so good. We are definitely going back again when we crave German food, not that we have a big selection, but this place was delicious! Sunday, we began the day skyping with people back home. We are so thankful that Skype exists because skyping with home via webcam is one of the best things ever aside from being there in person. This is one instance that I appreciate of technology growing so rapidly. After skyping, we went to a Japanese Cultural Festival at City Hall. This event is sponsored by UCIA and held once a year. We went with Michael’s teacher, Kawai sensei. It was not a large space, but it was filled with tons of great things. Michael and I got there when it first opened and we headed to the make your own onigiri table because we were starving. Onigiri is a rice ball filled with whatever you like such as salmon, seaweed, bacon, etc and made in the shape of a rounded triangle with a piece of seaweed wrapped around it. Ok, that might not have been the best description, but believe me, onigiri is yummy. After eating a delicious onigiri, we made way to the other tables. I did an ikebana (flower arrangement) which I still don’t completely understand, but it looks nice. Michael opted to do some calligraphy and wrote the kanji for love. Awww, how cute! After that we went to go try on kimono’s. The men’s kimono’s seem basic, but takes quite a bit of time to put on. The women’s one was pretty intense too. I had 2 women put my kimono on for me. At first it felt ok, but after 10 minutes or so I felt like it was too tight and had trouble breathing. I couldn’t keep the kimono on for long, but it was a great experience. Next time I know a little better that it should not be super tight. The cultural festival was a great opportunity for us to learn and experience many parts of Japanese culture. I hope that there are other events like this because I had a really good time.