I really haven't been keeping up with this blog this year.... sorry about that. I haven't been taking too many pictures. I think because I'm not out in nature much... But -
In early February there was a school trip with the 3, 4, and 5 year classes and many of the parents to a sledding mountain. It took about an hour to get there on 2 buses up windy roads, past rice fields and trees that were frosted with snow from the previous night.
Before hitting the hill, we had lunch. I wanted to show you some of the delicious and cute lunches the parents packed.
Okay, out to the snow!! It was a beautiful day, no one was cold (even me) the sun was shining but the snow wasn't melting. Luckily the sledding hill was sheltered from the wind because it was really windy on the way to and from the parking lot.
This is the hill. The children all got plastic sleds that had ropes attached to the front. They could hold 3 children or a child and an adult. On the left there is a ...hmmm what would you call it.... a flat moving sidewalk kind of thing to take you up the hill. Sort of like a moving sidewalk in an airport but made of rubber.
The sledding was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!! I had a few rides with some of the children and would have loved to do more but the teachers had to take turn watching and playing...
Another day I went into Nagoya with a friend from my previous school and we found this delicious fish place in one of the giant department store/malls.
This is a big bowl of rice topped with so much ikura (salmon roe) and a flower made out of delicious salmon sashimi. You can also see some pickled ginger and a shiso leaf. It came with soup and tea and cost a very reasonable $12 or so. Can't get that in the US.
A couple of weeks ago a few teachers went to see some weeping ume. The flowers are so pretty - different shades of pink and white, the trunks and branches are very twisty and interesting with or without blooms and they have a subtle sweet fragrance (which unfortunately most people can't smell because of allergies which are terrible here).
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| Those are leeks growing in the field and a giant bounce house. |
We also went to an old and famous eel restaurant. There was a line... but they had assigned seatings so you could go off and come back at the proper time. So we went for a walk through a nearby shrine area.
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| Chia, Takako and Yukiko |
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| This is a specialty of Nagoya - eel 4 ways 'hatsubushi'. The big bowl with the paddle is the eel. You divide it into 4 portions. Transfer 1 portion to the bowl on the left. Eat it plain (which is delicious since it is grilled with special eel sauce - like you'd get on eel sushi). YUM!! Portion 2 - Add which ever condiments you'd like - see the long plate in the back? Shredded nori (toasted seaweed), wasabi, and sliced scallions. Again, YUM! Portion 3 - into the bowl add condiments or not, and pour a special light fish broth over it. It weakens the taste of the eel and sauce a little but adds another wonderful flavor. YUM again! For portion 4 you are supposed to eat it in whichever fashion you liked best. I really couldn't decide so I did a combo! This was served with a clear soup and some pickles. It was Y4000, about $40, so it's a special meal, and Chia and I really wanted to try it before we left. So glad we did! |
And just last week I went to this place with my friend Hiroko. It was a post stop on the Tokkaido route between Tokyo and Kyoto back in the day, made famous in woodblock prints.
It's called Nansendo. It was a rainy day but the moutains looked beautiful.
They've redone many of the inns into restaurants and shops and updated inns.
Hopefully I'll be seeing some cherry blossoms in the next few weeks. If I do I'll share them with you!
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