Sumo Vids

Sumo!

So a few weeks ago I headed to the small town of Nomura to check out their 158th annual sumo match. Nomura is a small country town located about two hours to the south of Matsuyama. We got there around 11pm, just in time to eat chanko nabe. I think that's how you spell it. For those that don't know, this is another boil-everything dish, but it's particular to the sport of sumo, mostly because this nabe has just about every type of meat and vegetable imaginable packed into it. I'll put up a picture of it. Probably the best part was the large, human-sized cauldrons that they were cooking it in. The whole event had that small town feel to it, it's not a well known match, but they've been having it for quite a while.

We went inside the arena, which was about half the size of my high school's gymnasium, and sat down to watch the matches. There were no yokozuna's at this match (for those who don't know, yokozuna is the highest league of sumo wrestler), but there were still a fair number of professionals competing. I'd like to go on record and say that sumo wrestling is one of the politer sports I've ever watched. If one of the wrestlers attacks before the other is ready, they stop, apologize, and being again. A little different than boxing back in the states. (Side note: I still don't understand the big deal about the whole Mike Tyson biting the ear thing. I mean, the object of the sport is to knock your opponent into unconsciousness by beating them with your fists. Who cares if the guy takes a little nibble? But I digress...) Considering the massive size of some of the competitors, I was expecting a few more KO's, but the matches were fairly tame. Sometimes it seemed a little unevenly matched, with a 80kg guy taking on someone who must have been 150kgs, but for the most part, the matches were pretty straight forward. I made sure to take some videos, so I'll put them in the next section.

Ahh, one other thing, at the end of the match the two highest ranked wrestlers performed a special honor for some of the families who attended. This involved taking their babies and walking them around the ring. I could describe it more, but I think the video says it all, so check it out. All in all, a really interesting day.

Back on Monday

Ok, I'm going skiing starting tomorrow up in Niseko, should be a ton of fun! I'll try and take as many pictures as possible, and start posting again when I get back on Monday night! Time to hit the slopes!

Genbaku Dome

I didn't take many pictures on the trip I took to Hiroshima with my parents, but I did manage to get my camera out to take some shots of the Genbaku, or A-bomb, Dome. To say it's a sobering sight is to greatly understate the area. I'm not very interested in the debate over whether or not the US should have used this weapon during the war, the salient points have been discussed for over 60 years by smarter minds than my own. Indeed, the morality of what happened didn't really enter into my mind as I walked around the site. Instead, I was struck by the dichotomous nature of scientific progress. The ability to harness the power contained at the atomic level can at once save humanity, or be instrumental in its efforts to destroy itself. Then again, on reflection, I don't think that the dichotomy of good and evil is contained in science, but within ourselves. Science qua science is by nature amoral. Discovering and analyzing the properties and relationships inherent to our physical universe is a project that transcends ethics. It is in the application of such knowledge that we err. The entire Hiroshima area is a testament to what humans can do when we give in to our more destructive urges, which, history being the primary witness, are legion. When I look at these pictures, it reminds me that we must tread carefully, and to always understand to the fullest the ramifications of our actions. Humanity, not science, is the entity that so precariously stands at the edge of the abyss. I believe in scientific progress, but knowledge without reflection is, at best, dangerous, and we should never forget the lessons taught by monuments such as these. If not out of respect for the past, then for the protection of our future.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Umm, this gives a new meaning to "You better watch out." Good to see the local merchants are getting into the spirit of things. Good luck, Rudolph, your red nose might prove to be a bit disadvantageous with this jolly animal.

Nabe!

Another good meal! One of Lisa's students took us out to dinner in the city for a nabe party. For those who don't know, which I assume is most of you, nabe is like imotaki in that its modus operandi is "take-everything-you-want-to-eat-and-boil-the-hell-out-of-it." Except instead of a metal pot, you use a ceramic pot. We started off with a nice boiled squid and sashimi, and then moved on to boiled fish, cabbage, mushrooms, lime, lettuce, seaweed, and giant green onions. I've included before and after pictures so you can get an idea of how this works. The best part is that you use a portable stove on your table, so this is a great method of cooking for my apartment, which is starting to get ridiculously cold now that winter has arrived. Luckily for me, some of the old occupants of my place already bought a nabe pot and a portable stove, so I've been making stuff like this for the past two weeks. Great party food. Itadakimasu!

Cognitive Dissonance, anyone?

Sometimes I just don't understand the Japanese. Why even bother shaping it like that, if you're going to put a warning sticker on the bottom? I love the fashion over here, people will wear just about anything with American connotations, even if they have no idea what the cultural significance is. Then again, I shouldn't be critical, considering the amount of people in the States who get tattoos in Asian languages without bothering to check if what they're getting inked on their body actually means what they were told it meant. I've heard horror stories before. Anyways, I thought this was pretty funny, so I took a picture of it. Enough said!

More Temple Pictures

Ishite Temple

Still catching up on posts from a few weeks ago. Another trip that Gentry and I took was to visit the Ishite temple with Azami and Lisa. I'm no expert on Buddhism, so I couldn't tell you what sect was being practiced here, but I will say that the temples in Japan differ greatly from the temples in Nepal, which was to be expected, I guess. In any case, we took a full tour of the place. In addition to the giant bell that comes standard with all Buddhist temples, there were about ten different buildings scattered over the compound where you could pay your respects, as well as pay a few coins out of your pocket to support the local monks. One of the cooler things was getting to go inside one of the buildings and joining in a mantra with one of their head monks. A bit of culture shock though, in the outer room was a man chanting into a microphone, which was being broadcast over the entire area. That in itself wasn't odd, but the fact that he had his cell phone out next to all of the holy documents he was singing from was a little off. Kinda made it less impressive. Maybe it's because the Nepalese lamas don't have cell phones, but I just can't see that sort of think happening near the feet of the Himalayas. Oh well, different cultures, different customs.

Another interesting point was walking through a crevice in the hillside and seeing the back area behind the temples. Talk about your grab bag of statues! I posted some pictures, see if you can spot the deity that looks suspiciously like Vigo Mortensen! All in all, a really interesting place. Gotta love the smell of hundreds of sticks of incense!

A Fish, A Fish, A Fishy-ooooo

Per usual, another food entry. On the Thursday night when Gentry visited, our friends Azami and Tetsu took us out to yet another amazing place, the name, as usual, I forget. Really tiny, the entire restaurant consists of a bar and a table for about six people. The bar is definitely the place to sit, as you can see by the first picture. All of the fish was laid out for our choosing, cooked, or not cooked, to order. Loved the place, we ended up going back when my parents visited last week.

After Gentry and I filled ourselves to the brim with fish (I'm assuming Gentry was filled, he got there with Tetsu and Azami a hour and a half before I could make it), we headed to another cool find of Tetsu's. From the outside, it looks like a storage area, something you would pass by without a second glance. On the inside, however, is a quaint little wine bar. I'm not much of a wine person, but luckily the master had a bottle of some really tasty Grappa. We spent a few hours there, and retired for the night. The last picture should explain it all!

Mmm, fish eggs....

Stopped by Takashimaya before we headed back home after seeing Dogo. As luck would have it, a regional market was open on on of the higher floors. Apparently it was supposed to be like the fish markets in Hokaido. Let me tell you, the smells coming from some of these booths were absolutely incredible, both in their savoriness and in their ability to completely overpower the nose. I could have spent a lot of money their, but a lot of what was being sold involved bento boxes, and we had our meals planned out for the rest of the week. Oh well. One thing in particular caught my eye. One of the booths was dealing in fish eggs, and they had one of the biggest piles of salmon roe I have ever seen, so I managed to get a picture. Doesn't it just make you want to grab a handful and pop them in your mouth? And I mean pop them, since that's what they do when you eat them. Mmm, makes me hungry just looking at the picture again.

Some Dogo Fun

The next day, Lisa and I took Patrick to visit Dogo Onsen. Rumor had it that there was beer to be had that was brewed from the same hot spring water they use to fill the baths. Forget the history about the place, we were just interested in a good micro brew! After walking through the shopping street, and seeing that ridiculously scary mannequin I posted about earlier, we refreshed ourselves with some Japanese gelato. I guess it's really Italian, but there was a green tea flavor, so I'm calling it Japanese. Then we tried to wander over to the brewery. Problem was the brewery was closed, but being the resourceful people that we are, we found a bar right next to the onsen that specialized in tasting the Dogo beer. There are three types, one pale ale, one red ale, and one stout. I was more concerned about trying the different varieties, so I forgot to take a picture. I did, however, manage to snap a shot of the lovely little appetizer we had, a deep fried clove of elephant garlic, called, "Fried a garlic." I'm not kidding, see the picture. Very tasty. Another good trip to Dogo. I like the onsen, but I'll admit that the surrounding area is way too touristy for my taste. Maybe I just don't like that mannequin.

Dear Jesus!

Random post, but this is quite possibly one of the scariest things I've ever seen. It's a mannequin in the Dogo shopping street. It reminds me of some horror movie, can't remember which one, but I'm fairly certain someone gets eaten in it. I love Japan, but sometimes the stuff they make worries me a little bit. It looks like it's either really really happy, or about to eat brains. One or the other.

Posting again!

Ok, now that everyone has come and gone, my internet is fixed, and I have a little time, I can start posting again, woohoo!

It's been a while, but I guess I'll just start where I left off about three weeks ago, and fill in everything that's happened since then. To start with, I had my buddy Gentry come visit starting on Halloween. Didn't do much that day, since he was still gorked out from his flights, but the next day, oh did we eat. My friends Tetsu and Azami took us to a little izakaya, and as usual, I can't remember it's name. Great food, as usual. We started off with squid that was so fresh, it was still moving on the plate. I'm not kidding, I'll post the video.


Tasty tasty stuff. Perhaps the best part of the menu for that night though was the whale. Yes, I said it, whale. Sorry Dorfman, sorry Greenpeace, but it was delicious. I definitely took a picture of it, it's the last one in this post. Considering how much most the average America eats, it's probably a good thing that we don't think eating whale is a good thing, otherwise we'd really make them endangered. Oh well, bottoms up!

Sorry, again

Sorry to all my readers, my internet has been quite terrible the last few weeks, and my buddy is staying with me, so I haven't gotten a chance to post much. I promise I'll fill it all in with tons of stuff this weekend, once I get my internet back up and running in good order, and some good pictures to augment everything. See you in a few more days!

Sunday Night Show

So Sunday night was pretty crazy too. Went back into the city to catch a concert at Bar Standard, near one of the covered shopping malls in the city. Little hard to find the place, since the directions and street signs were all in Japanese, but I eventually found my way there. I knew my friend Ar was singing at the show, but what I didn't know was that one of the other bands from Totokin's night was headlining. Their name: The Bigdicks. One word. I love the Japanese. Every time the lead guitarist said their name, he'd look at me and flash a thumbs up. Vulgar anatomy references aside, these guys can play. For your viewing pleasure, I've included one of the videos I shot during their set. It starts off a little slow, but then he gets into his solo, and great fun ensues. Hope you enjoy!

Shochu

A word on the local liquor. Most people in the States, when they think of Japan and alcohol, think sake. Interestingly enough, sake means rice wine and alcohol in Japanese, which sometimes makes it tough for me to know what I'm being asked to drink. However, what I've found is that the popular liquor down here in Ehime is something called shochu, which looks just like rice wine, but is actually much worse tasting and much stronger, usually around 25%. There are about four different types, distinguished by the nature of the starch which was brewed. The common types are rice, barley, brown sugar, and sweet potato. The one that I keep getting handed is the sweet potato type, which I'm told has the most kick and the strongest flavor. It's not the type of drink you take as a shot, instead you mix it into just about everything. Cold water, hot water, tea, fruit juice, soda, and even beer. Normally when it's been ordered for me, it comes in a glass of hot water. Let me tell you, this stuff sneaks up on you. I'll see what I can do about bringing some back into the States, but the problem, as you can see from the picture, is that the bottles are absolutely massive. The best, or perhaps, worst part about shochu is that it's about as cheap as water, which really helps at the end of the night once the bartender brings the tab. Tasty stuff, but I think I'll stick with my Suntory whiskey.

Good Weekend Out

Sorry, my internet has been somewhat spotty as of late, so it's been a bit difficult for me to get stuff posted. To my dear readers, I apologize. Couple of great nights this weekend. Won't bore you with the details, but I'll put up a little overview of what went down. On Friday, I got to meet up with some of Satomi's old English teacher friends from England. The first picture is of the four of us. On the left is good old me, then DD, Kathy, and Satomi. We conducted our revelry in a small pub near the entrance to Matsuyama castle named Mirai Kanai. The bartender is another friend of Satomi's, and he's in the second picture. We started the night at about 8pm, and I don't think we made it home till well after 2 in the morning. Those Brits (well, Kathy is an Aussie, but she lives in Britain now) really know how to drink! Makes me want to visit Europe again. Great way to spend a Friday night/Saturday morning.

After waking up and slaying my massive hangover (I use slaying because this hangover was of dragon-ian ferocity) I headed back into the city to meet up with some of my friends from the states, who were in town as part of the cast of Blast!. For those who don't know Blast!, its basically drum corps meets broadway. If you haven't seen the show before, I highly suggest you check it out. This particular cast had been touring around Japan for the past three months, and as luck would have it their last stop was in my little city of Matsuyama. So I was treated to a wonderful reunion with my 2006 seat partner, Samia, who was part of the colorguard (sorry, visual ensemble). Got a chance to show her and her father around the city, and managed to grab a bite to eat before she had to report back to warm up for the show. Met most of the cast, including another one of my old marching friends in the colorguard named Julianne, and got a backstage tour before the show started. I've seen the production a few times, but this was by far the best performance of it I've ever seen. Standing ovation even before they finished the last song. Good stuff, brought multiple tears to my eyes. Seriously, see the show the next time it comes around to your area.

I'll leave Sunday for another post, since I've got a video for that one, and I don't want to overburden!

Make Sure to Lock Up...

Why bother with the Club, when you can use the Spiderman to keep your motortricycle safe? That's got to be a pain to inflate every time you want to park somewhere.

Oh My Amazing Meat

After the festival, Ayumi and Hirata-san took me to see their friend who lives in Niihama. He's a butcher and a florist (I know, odd combination) who also teaches taiko drumming. Has a whole warehouse filled with different sizes of drums. We jammed a little bit, I'll post a video of it, and then had dinner at his house, which is right behind his shop. It was just one big room, with tatami mats on one side, and a firepit on the other with places to sit. His wife laid out a huge spread for all of us, sashimi, salad, thinly sliced beef with garlic, tofu and tomatoes, and also some yakiniku. Without a doubt, it was the best meat I've ever had. This beef just melted in your mouth, and ever time I ate a piece, I sighed. Was like stepping into a warm bath. I don't know if it was because of where he cut the meat from, or if it was cooking it over the coals, but one of the best meals I've ever had.

Afterwords, we played with his new pet, which is a baby goat, if you couldn't tell from the picture. Great people, hopefully I'll get to see them again soon and drum with them again!