Ishikawa is a good source of locally-raised pork, which I discovered when I set out to make today’s recipe. Fava beans, sora mame（空豆), are all over Kanazawa right now (though my vegetable almanac says they are a late spring bean), and they really compliment the sweet onions and spicy pork in this stir-fry.

CLICK HERE to read the full post.

When I visited Shirakawa-go over the long weekend in January, I found Hîragi, a cute restaurant along the snow-covered the vehicle-access road to the lookout point in Ogimachi, Shirakawa-go. I was intrigued, of course, because one of my favorite kanji is 柊 (hîragi), holly, because the radicals mean tree-winter. What sealed the deal was the menu: I wanted to introduce my friends to hôba miso yaki（朴葉味噌焼き), and they wanted to try Hida beef (飛騨牛).

CLICK HERE to read the full post.

For their 28th annual KidFilm Festival, USA Film Festival paid tribute to Studio Ghibli by screening 10 of its films, plus Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind which was made before the studio’s founding. Since The Secret World of Arrietty was sold out, I decided to catch Pom Poko with some friends. I had heard some odd things about the film and wasn’t sure what to expect.

Pom Poko , directed by Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies), revolves around a group of tanuki, or Japanese raccoon dogs (incorrectly called “racoons” in the dub), who have banded together to face the transformation of their forest in Tama Hills into a suburban neighborhood. They cook up various ideas to reclaim their homes, ranging from sabotaging construction sites to tracking down legendary tanuki for assistance. Eventually the fun-loving tanuki have to come to terms with the harsh reality and learn to adapt to the changes around them.

The tanuki in the film appear in various forms: animal, mythical creature, and cartoon. In the presence of humans, they look much like their real-life counterparts. Amongst one another, they assume anthropomorphic forms with personality traits based on the lazy shape-shifting tricksters of Japanese folklore. When they get carried away with their emotions and behave ridiculously, they become even less realistic with their appearance based on characters of manga artist Shigeru Sugiura. The audience gets to see the tanuki in all its forms: animal, myth, and cartoon.

Click here to read the rest of the review.

After several trips to the brewpub Beer Belly and to the actual Minoh Brewery, it’s about time I got around to reviewing my absolute favorite beer in Japan: Minoh Beer (箕面ビール), which operates from Minoh, Osaka. Readers of my blog know that I love craft beers, and also that finding a really good dark beer in Japan is a huge challenge.

CLICK HERE to read the full post.

So you’ve prepared your home in Japan as best you can for winter and you’ve got a heater or two, or a kotatsu, to keep you warm. What else can you do to survive the winter in Japan, especially with the continued emphasis on energy conservation?

1. Carry “kairo” (カイロ). Small body (typically hand) warmers. The disposable kind are the ones you open and shake up and typically last a few hours. Some can be placed in your shoes, around your ankles, around your waist or even around your wrists. Here are a few examples.

I’ve also noticed a trend of “eco-kairo” (エコカイロ) this year. The eco-kind vary, but some are filled with gel and you heat them in the microwave. Some are battery-powered (I’m not sure exactly how that is very “eco” though, unless they’re solar-charged, but I suppose it is less wasteful to some degree).

Some examples of “eco kairo” with cute covers (found at Loft):

2. Use a lap blanket. Whether at work or home, these smaller blankets are good to have on hand. Look for ひざかけ (膝掛け).

3. Or a space blanket. They aren’t just the shiny, futuristic looking sheets anymore (though you can get those too). These kind are fabric-covered. Look for スペースケット.

4. Or an electric blanket. Look for 電気毛布 (でんきもうふ, denkimoufu).

5. Use a hot water bottle (湯たんぽ, ゆたんぽ). Especially good for cold feet.

6. Eat hot dishes. Like Nabe. Curry. Ramen. Or any other hot meal. What’s your favorite?

7. Drink lots of hot tea, especially if your workplace provides it for free.

8. Hot drinks. Remember that many vending machines and conveniences stores have a section for “hot drinks” (usually have a red label underneath and say あったかい or “hot drink” while the cold ones have a blue label, and yes, the vending machines that offer them do change over from summer).

When I first arrived in Japan I had no idea you could buy a hot beverage from a vending machine, and when I chose (cold) tea, thinking I was just choosing regular tea from a vending machine, the person I was with looked at me in complete shock.

“Don’t you want a hot drink?” she asked.

“What? There’s hot drinks?”

“Yes.” She points to the red label, “These are hot.” The look accompanying this was more or less, “how did you miss that…”

Not sure if it’s just me, but I never really came across a vending machine in the US with hot drinks aside the dispenser types at some schools or hospitals, etc. Who needs a vending machine with a coffee shop on every street corner? I am from Seattle after all.

9. Heat Tech from Uniqlo. What you would call long underwear. If not from Uniqlo, wool or silk are also great materials (and yes, you can get non-itchy, lightweight wool base layers – merino wool is one of those). If you’re prone to being cold like I am, you’ll be extra thankful for that base layer!

10. Layer. Outer layer. While you’re shopping for long underwear, do yourself a favor and get a warm winter coat. I recommend anything with down. Uniqlo and Muji have them, but here’s a secret, Sierra Trading Post often has crazy discounts on down jackets. (No, they didn’t pay me to say that – I wish). Be careful if you want anything with fur trim though, as customs might get you when you have it shipped here directly.

CLICK HERE to read the other 14 ways.

New submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to Leah at jetwit [at] jetwit.com.

*****

Broccoli Lover Learns to BBQ

Part 1

by Clara Solomon (CIR, Nichinan-cho, Tottori-ken; 1999-2001), the Director of Counseling & Career Development at the Office of Career Services at New York University School of Law. She previously worked for the Japan External Trade Organization, specializing in trade relations between Japan and Latin America.  She lives in Queens with her husband and twin daughters.

Many of my experiences in Japan are tied up in the experience of food and cooking. Sure, I have my fill of the standard repertoire of “how many weird things will the American try?” My favorite of those is the night I was out at a new inn in my town, one that specialized in fresh, local food, with a “high end rustic” slant. So, I’m out with some co-workers enjoying a truly delicious meal, when they put a plate of glistening, dark red sashimi before me and say “to-rai, to-rai” (try, try). I wasn’t quite sure what this fish was, it was darker red than any tuna I’d ever seen, so dark it was almost purple, or black. There were thick veins of white fatty meat running through each piece – it almost looked like raw beef, though I could tell from the smell and texture that it was fish. “What is this?” I innocently asked, knowing full well that they wouldn’t tell me until I ate it. This game was a favorite of my colleagues, and they again said “to-rai.” So, I tried it. The minute I popped the full piece in my mouth, the entire table burst out with giggles and choruses of “Greeenpeesu! Greenpeesu!” Yes, Greenpeace. Turns out, I was eating endangered whale, the fishing and eating of which Japan has long been at odds with environmental groups like Greenpeace over (not to mention UN conventions, and the opinion of much of the rest of the world, minus Norway and the Inuit). How was it, you ask? Honestly, not that memorable. For one, it was extremely cold, indicating that it had probably been frozen and shipped to my town from somewhere further south (so much for eating local). For two, I think I would have rather had a piece of fatty tuna, whose rich, buttery flavor far outshone this piece of whale.

I could go on for pages regaling you with stories about the strange things I was given to eat, and the strange situations in which I found myself eating them (wild boar on live TV, anyone?). But, when I think back to the essence of my eating, drinking and cooking in Japan, those are only the warm up acts, the comedy routines that politicians put into the beginning of their stump speeches to play to the base and entice the crowds to stick around for the meat and potatoes (not that I had a lot of meat and potatoes in Japan…). My story of food in Japan is one of cooking and sharing, and gaining not only friends, but also self confidence in the process. You see, I lived in a small town of about 6,000 people nestled in the mountains of Western Honshu. While the town had a sprinkling of ramen shops, bars, and the above-mentioned high-end inn, my choices for eating out were, in actuality, pretty limited.

Fortunately, I had always enjoyed cooking, and had the foresight to ship myself a copy of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, so I was prepared to cook, well, everything. Or, so I thought. But this was, after all, my first time actually living alone and really fending for myself. And boy was I living alone, my JET home institution had graciously arranged for me a 3-bedroom, two-story house, equipped with a fully planted garden and a view of a rice paddy out of my bedroom window. A native of the NYC metro-area, I had never seen a potato plant until someone came in from wandering around my garden at one of my infamous yaki-niku barbecue parties holding a fistful of potatoes that he had apparently pulled up right outside my back door – who knew? We washed and boiled them and had a lovely potato salad with our bbq.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself. In the first day that I arrived in my little town in Japan, I hadn’t quite envisioned yaki-niku parties on my veranda. Really, I hadn’t even registered that I had a veranda big enough for a barbecue grill. My supervisor and the local junior high English teacher, Naomi-sensei, met me at the airport, dropped my bags off at my new house, and took me right to the grocery store to buy some food. I was still reeling from the hour-long drive home from the airport, where we went deeper and deeper into the mountains, and further and further from the things I generally took for granted, like street lights.

As we drove into the little valley, and I saw my town nestled along the banks of the Hino River for the first time, I’d love to be able to say that I was instantly smitten, charmed by the small-town feel, the sun glinting off the river, the old ladies chatting in the streets, and the children catching dragonflies in the breeze. In fact, however, I was struggling to hold down a mounting wave of panic. I mean, I was born in Brooklyn for goodness sake. Sure, I’d spent summers on my grandparents’ farm in Maine, and had gone on some camping trips in the back-woods of Minnesota, but those were vacations, not long-term living arrangements.

So I was blinking back tears as I stepped into the grocery store with Naomi-sensei. At least the town had a grocery store, I thought to myself. Naomi-sensei was standing by my side as I perused the aisles of the Paseo for the fist time that day. I’d never had someone watch me shop for groceries before, and I was instantly conscious that I should be buying things that made me look like the responsible adult I was trying to pass myself off to be. Right. Well, responsible people eat vegetables, so I picked up some broccoli. At a loss for where to go from there, I pushed my mini-cart aimlessly around the store, and Naomi-sensei gently guided me towards the rice display. Right, in Japan, we eat rice – good thing I didn’t go for the bread aisle, or I would have never heard the end of it when the junior high English class got to the “Which do you like, rice or bread?” section of the textbook.

I don’t remember much of the rest of that shopping trip, but when I went to try to make myself dinner that night, I discovered that I had bought only four things: milk, eggs, rice, and broccoli. Broccoli omelets were my sole sustenance until I worked up the nerve to go back to Paseo for some reinforcements. By that time, however, I had already earned a reputation as Ms. Broccoli. Even two years later, after I had hosted countless dinner parties, and even taught some cooking classes at the local community center, people would stop my in the street or the store, and say “Ah, Kurara-san, I heard you like broccoli!” (Better than “I heard you like Doritos” or “I heard you like Colt 45,” I suppose, but still a strange thing to be confronted with on a regular basis.)

Stay tuned for Part 2!

桃栗三年柿八年 (momo kuri sannnen kaki hachinen): it takes time to reap the fruit of one’s actions

(lit. [It takes] three years for [planted] peach and chestnut trees, eight for persimmons [to bear fruit]) (ことわざ学習室）

In late autumn and early winter (mid-Nov. to New Year), Omicho Market is awash in reds and oranges: strawberries, crabs, mikan, and persimmons. Before I moved to Japan, I had never seen a persimmon, though they seem to be available in California. There are two main varieties available in Japan: non-astringent (amagaki, 甘柿) and astringent (shibugaki, 渋柿). Fuyu (富有), the tomato-shaped variety, are a variety of sweet persimmon; they are dull orange, firm, and ready to eat when they are sold. The human-heart-shaped Hachiya (蜂屋), on the other hand, is very astringent until the skin turns reddish and the insides turn to jelly.*

I tend to eat Fuyu persimmons plain, but I was inspired by The Food Librarian‘s “Fuyu Persimmon Bundt” to try something new.

CLICK HERE to read the full post.

Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) (Saitama-ken 2003-05) is a renegade attorney who plays by his own rules.  He operates a think tank of one, The Law School Tuition Bubble, where he archives, chronicles, and analyzes the rising cost and declining value of legal education in the United States.

On December 5, the American Lawyer (aka the AmLaw Daily) published Leichter’s most recent article, “Law School Debt Bubble, Part II: Data Show Feds Will Lend $54.3 Billion to U.S. Law Schools by 2020,” in which he uses American Bar Association data to project the exponential growth of law school debt in contrast to the small number of new lawyer jobs in the U.S.

Despite my oft-mentioned love of turkey, I had actually never cooked one until this year. In between being a super serious high-school student buried in a stack of books during the holidays and being a super-serious undergrad/grad student visiting from out of state, still buried in a stack of books and often rushing to get back home in time for holiday meals, I somehow seemed to have missed participating in the time-honored ritual of roasting a whole bird. This year marked my third consecutive Thanksgiving missed because I live in Japan, so rather than cry over my twitter feed of satisfied turkey-eaters in the US, I decided that my upgraded oven range was going to good use this year: we would host Thanksgiving, and, moreover, we would cook the turkey.

CLICK HERE to read the full post.

Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) (Saitama-ken 2003-05) is a renegade attorney who plays by his own rules.  He operates a think tank of one, The Law School Tuition Bubble, where he archives, chronicles, and analyzes the rising cost and declining value of legal education in the United States.

On November 22, the American Lawyer (aka the AmLaw Daily) published Leichter’s most recent article, “Law School Debt Bubble: Aggregate Law School Grad Debt Grew $475 Million Between 2008 and 2010,” in which he uses U.S. News and World Report and American Bar Association data to illustrate the ever-increasing growth in law school debt graduates have taken on even though law jobs have been disappearing for decades.

Links to Leichter’s previous AmLaw articles can be found here.

もちもち (mochimochi): springy (texture)

Back in my language-school days at Midd, a New-Yorker foodie friend got on my case for eating the dining-hall bagels, telling me, “That’s not a bagel. That’s a piece of bread shaped like a bagel.” It’s probably for the best that he doesn’t find out what sort of things pass for “bagels” in Japan–it’s more like “cake shaped like a bagel.” Sometimes you can get passable bagels in the chain bakeries of Kanazawa, and Kaldi Coffee sometimes has imported frozen bagels, but they’re a bit pricey. Either way, it’s not just like popping over to Espresso Royale for a fresh Barry’s Bagel during an intense paper-writing session.

Bagels are one of those foods that seem very intimidating in part because of the multi-step process of making them: using yeast, letting the dough rise, shaping, boiling, and then finally baking; and in part because you really never need to make them in the US when they’re so widely available.

CLICK HERE to read the full post.

Most homes in Japan aren’t equipped with central heating, so people typically rely on space heaters and similar items. Now, we all know that wearing some extra clothes and warm fleece is a good way to avoid turning the heat all the way up, but most likely you will need (or desperately want) a heater at some point.

And, just to note, I am not an expert on heaters, so if you are curious about how a heater works a certain way, go ahead and google that.

Also, most of the heaters below have timers and auto-turnoff options in addition to running constantly. They also often have automatic shutoff features such as if the heater fell over.

*Keep in mind another way heater might be written is 電気ストーブ (denki stobu).
*The word used for “heating” is 暖房 (だんぼう, danbou).

A guide to heaters in Japan

1. Aircon – エアコン

The air conditioner is commonly known as an aircon in Japan, and most aircons are equipped with a heating function. So, if you have an aircon, you may want to check that out (look for “暖房”). From experience I know it does a pretty good job heating a room, although I found that all the heat rose to the ceiling which was somewhat pointless if you spend most of your time sitting on the floor and don’t have a ceiling fan.

I also found that running the aircon was incredibly expensive. Some are much more energy efficient (look for 省エネ on the outside or description). Aircons are also one of the more expensive options, considering that most will be ¥30,000 – 40,000 and up, depending on the size.

2. Oil heater – オイルヒーター

This heater is the one that looks like a radiator, and some of you may be familiar with already. My family used these when I was a kid, and though they work really well, they are typically energy hogs. Some are better than others though, so it’s best to compare when looking at energy usage. Some of the ones I looked at operate at 1200 watts at the highest level, with an estimated ¥15-20/hour cost to operate (though this varies). Price may range from ¥5,000 – 30,000, though it’s possible to find cheaper options at a recycle shop (this goes for all of the following options as well).

3. Panel heater – パネルヒーター

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the post.

I wrote Part 1 of this “Giving Birth in Japan” series last week, so if you haven’t read that already, you may want to before reading Part 2 below.

********

Ashley Thompson is "Surviving in Japan (Without Much Japanese)"

As I was being stitched up, I started shivering uncontrollably. Of course, the temperature in the room had been pretty low as I was sweating and hot throughout the labor and delivery. My husband changed the temp while the nurses helped me change out of my sweaty long t-shirt. (Note: this particular clinic, and probably many others, provide hospital gowns that women typically wear throughout their stay. However, the gowns at this clinic were really uncomfortable and stiff-feeling, so I brought my own clothes to wear for the birth and for the stay. We discussed this with one of the midwives at the clinic beforehand so it wasn’t an issue.)

The nurses also had to put these giant pads on me that were sort of like a diaper as all of the blood came out (sorry, graphic I know), which they changed several times right after I had given birth.

After all this, baby was cleaned up and I got to hold her, and also try nursing her. One important thing I should point out is that depending on where you deliver, the midwives or nurses may have different ideas on the best way to breastfeed. We had been warned beforehand that this clinic wasn’t that great with breastfeeding support, and it seemed like almost every nurse/midwife had a different idea about how it should be done. Initially, they only had the baby feed for a few minutes on each side, and then took her away for some tests. One of the nurses explained that the baby should only eat for 5 minutes on each side and then switch, and many of the others nurses also reemphasized this, but some of them didn’t care about the length of time. And everyone had different ideas of how to manually express milk as well, but a pump was frowned upon).

I was still exhausted and a little out of it for that part, but if I went through this process again I probably would have requested to let her feed longer if she was willing to, instead of just pulling her off after less than 10 minutes. I also would have wanted more skin-to-skin time with the baby, since I was fully clothed again (like I mentioned in the previous post, modesty is preferred) and baby was bundled up as well.

I had to go to the bathroom around this time (it had been a while since I last peed), so asked if I could go. The nurse gave me some cleansing wipes, a pad, etc., and walked with me to the bathroom. I have to tell you, I was so weak at this point, and sore, that it was difficult just getting there. As I was going about my business, I became really faint and lightheaded. My head felt heavy and I had to lean over between my knees.

I should make a brief note that I’ve had various instances happen in my life when I’ve become very lightheaded and faint, and I either nearly pass out or actually do. Usually I try to lay down before I pass out completely, but sometimes it’s been hard to avoid.

So I told the nurse I was lightheaded, and she said we should walk back to the room. I tried standing up, but I found it difficult to stay standing and fell over the sink, grabbing the counter. I willed myself to stay conscious enough to walk back so I could lay down.

That didn’t happen. The nurse called another nurse and they both held onto me as I stumbled my way down the hall. I ended up falling to the floor since I completely lost strength and neither of them could hold me up. There I was laying on the floor in the hallway, just outside the LDR room as one of the nurses called for my husband. The last thing I remember before I blacked out was my husband wrapping his arms around me to pull me up. -- CLICK HERE to read the rest of the post.

Travel Checklist: Local Foods in Hida-Takayama, Part 2

To recap– In September, a friend and I traveled to Takayama, about 3 hours from Kanazawa. Located in Gifu near the border of Nagano, the old towns of Hida (飛騨) and Takayama (高山) are a food tourist’s paradise. Since the town is quite small, most of these foods can be found in stands or restaurants near Takayama Station and nearby morning markets.

CLICK HERE to read the full post.

Travel Checklist: Local Foods in Hida-Takayama, Part 1

In September, a friend and I traveled to Takayama, about 3 hours from Kanazawa. Located in Gifu near the border of Nagano, the old towns of Hida (飛騨） and Takayama (高山）are a food tourist’s paradise. Since the town is quite small, most of these foods can be found in stands or restaurants near Takayama Station and nearby morning markets.

Hôba Yaki Miso （朴葉味噌）

CLICK HERE to read the full post.

Here are updates from a few more of the 20 Tohoku region JET alumni selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to return to their town to both engage in volunteer efforts and also help document and share what’s going on there.

• “Back to Iwate“ by Alan Mockridge (Iwate-ken, Ohtsuchi, 1992)  - http://alanmockridge.com/  (Lots of excellent photos.)
• Here’s a schedule of Alan’s trip:

Visit schedule

19 Sep (Mon) Depart San Francisco

20 Sep (Tue) Arrive Tokyo

21 Sep (Wed) Briefing at Min. Foreign Affairs. Bullet train to Iwate

22 Sep (Thur) Hiraizumi (UNESCO World Heritage Site) & Morioka

23 Sep (Fri) To Kamaishi via Miyako, Yamada & coast road

24 Sep (Sat) Kamaishi

25 Sep (Sun) Ohtsuchi

26 Sep (Mon) Ohtsuchi High School (cultural exchange)

27 Sep (Tue) Kamaishi to Narita. Depart Japan

Ashley Thompson is "Surviving in Japan (Without Much Japanese)"

6 weeks. I can’t believe it has already been about 6 weeks since our dear daughter Ai-chan joined us in world. It’s mostly been a blur of sleep, insomnia, diaper changes, incessant feeding, incredible soreness and lots of baby time. But, reality shows up sooner or later and it’s time for me to try and start adjusting back into some sort of routine (while I hope that our child also figures out some sort of routine in the coming weeks).

I’ve mulled over sharing this experience many times, as I want to present it as objectively as possible, because to be honest I came away from the experience completely traumatized. NOT because of the fact I gave birth in Japan, just the labor and childbirth process itself. So, I’ll do the best I can here, and please understand that this is only my experience. Everyone has completely different birthing experiences, no matter where they are in the world, and even in Japan, your experience may differ depending on your doctor or midwife, and various other factors.

However, I don’t believe there is any reason to fear giving birth in Japan (and I do speak from personal experience now!), so rest assured that as long as you find a doctor or midwife you like and (hopefully) trust, you should be fine (well, as fine as you can be going through this kind of experience…)

*******

Our daughter was due on August 22nd, but the day came and went rather uneventfully. No baby.

I was tired of being a giant whale in the ridiculous heat of summer, so was eager for the baby to hurry up and come out. My husband and I did what we could to “prepare” (although in hindsight it was worthless – how can you “prepare” if you’ve never given birth before? You have no idea what it’s going to be like or feel like), and basically waited, while visiting the doctor twice that week for fetal monitoring. [Side note: After 40 weeks in Japan you typically visit the doctor twice a week.]

On Friday, the 26th, we were at the clinic again for another heart rate test of the baby in the early afternoon, and the doctor said I was 2 cm dilated and that I would likely go into labor within the next couple days.

Later that evening, as my husband and I ran errands, I started getting random contractions. I’d never felt a contraction before, and the doctor had asked me at the past few appointments if I had felt any contractions yet, but my answer was always “no.”

I figured the contractions I was having were just the practice kind preparing my body for labor, so didn’t worry too much. We ate dinner at home, watched some TV and went to bed (I was still having irregular contractions).

The contractions continued over the next couple hours, though I just kept trying to sleep, as I was incredibly tired. My husband, on the other hand, was wide awake during all this and timed the contractions. They actually became regular, and went from 10 minutes to 5 minutes apart in the course of a few hours. I also started bleeding a little, and so after calling the clinic, the nurses told us to come in. – CLICK HERE to read the rest of the post.

Here are updates from a few more of the 20 Tohoku region JET alumni selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to return to their town to both engage in volunteer efforts and also help document and share what’s going on there.

• Audrey Shiomi (CIR Miyagi-ken, Sendai-shi, 1999-2001) has had some of her excellent writing and observations published in a series titled Tohoku Travelogue (http://rafu.com/news/tag/tohoku-travelogue/) including:
• “Moving On From Tragedy” (Oct 1)
• “Scenes from an Izakaya” (Sept 15)
• “Nearly Swept Away” (Sept 14)
• “Ah Matsushima!” (Sept 11)
• “Signs, Signs, Everywhere!” (Sept 10)
• “Gambarimasu” (Sept 9)
• “The Telephone Booth” (Sept 8)
• “Letters to Sendai” (Sept 8)
• “Ganbarou Nihon!” (Sept 7)
• “Omiyage 101” (Sept 6)
• “To Be Afraid or Not To Be Afraid….” (Sept 2)
• Brent Stirling (Fukushima-ken, Fukushima-shi, 2006-10) – “Why This is Only Blog #3.5” - Brent tries to explain the overwhelmingness of visiting Soma and how it has affected his approach to blogging about his trip.  He shares photos and questions why he has taken them.
• Sharon Van Etten (CIR Iwate-ken), President of JETAA Sydney, has blogged about her trip here:  Revisiting Iwate:  http://revisitingiwate.blogspot.com/  Here are some recent posts:
• “Iwate Highlights – World Cultural Heritage Sights in Haraizumi“
• “Back to School“
• “Getting Away From It All“

Click here to read other Return To Tohoku updates on JETwit.  You can also check the JETAA USA website post (“JET Alums Return to Tohoku”) for additional information. 

 Mini Okara Gateaux Chocolat

While looking for recipes the first time I bought okara, I had found several for okara gateaux. This recipe is the result of experimenting with a number of these, particularly with the amount of sugar and cocoa. The texture is quite different than a traditional chocolate gateau, but if you like desserts that have been remade with healthier ingredients (tofu, soy milk, etc.), this is bound to be a hit.

CLICK HERE to read the full post.

Leah Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A writer and translator for The Art of Japan: Kanazawa and Discover Kanazawa, she also writes I’ll Make it Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan.

Hello, JETwit! I’m pleased to introduce my food blog I’ll Make it Myself: An Expat Career Woman’s Love Affair with Things Culinary. I cover a wide range of topics on this blog, including Japanese recipes, recipes adapted for Japan, local food culture, and restaurant reviews. A little about me: I’m obsessed with kabocha and oatmeal; I go through cinnamon like a champ; and I’m constantly on the hunt for good microbrews–the darker, the better. Many of my recipes and reviewed restaurants are vegetarian-friendly, and I try to keep things fairly healthy. Today, I’m posting a recent entry about Kaga heirloom vegetables, a recipe for gorgeous, quick, and delicious Japanese-style pickles.

Aka-Zuiki Quick Pickles (Red-Taro-Stem Vinegar Pickles) 

Japanese food traditionally includes a lot of tsukemono (漬け物), or pickles. The first thing most Americans will think of when you say pickles is dill (cucumber) pickles that go with sandwiches; however, pickles are any vegetable that has been preserved with brining. Japanese pickles cover a wide range of base ingredients, including carrots, cucumbers, ginger, and plums; as well as a wide variety of pickling styles: salt, miso, vinegar, nuka (rice bran), and more. Some recipes call for the pickling mixture and vegetables (or fruit) to be aged overnight or for several months, but this recipe can be consumed right after cooking!

CLICK HERE to read the full post.