« "Would you like raw egg with that order?", etc. | Main | Getting older, sometimes acting younger (way too much younger!) »

Japanese Festival, Squid Spaghetti

Last Saturday Li-san joined us and we went to the Hachioji matsuri (festival). It was interesting to compare it to the Tremont Turkey Festival back home! Basically there was a parade, lots of booths selling interesting food and toys, and lots of people--many women and children in brightly colored summer kimonos. The parade consisted mostly of ornate wooden carts pulled by long ropes. Each neighborhood has it's own cart. There are drums and flutes played on each cart and there is a man in a strange costume--somewhat like a wizard. It was kinda creepy for me to see. Also they played the town song and many different neighborhoods all wore different kimonos and together walked/danced down the street. It was cute to see the little children walking along trying to do the hand motions too. Later on we saw some idol boxes being carried down the street by groups of people. They carried them on their shoulders--similar to what we read about in the Bible and the Ark of the Covenant. It is interesting to see how even though religions are very different, there are some similarities. The food--interesting! No turkey sandwiches or drumsticks here, though I did see cotton candy! There were lots of booths selling okinomiyaki--a vegetable pancake with cabbage, and a variety of ingredients. Looked really yummy, but we got the cheapskate version at a grocery store stand, so it was not so delicious--oh well--we learned our lesson! There were also booths selling takoyaki--be careful! It looks like a delicious hush-puppy, but inside is a nice chewy morsel of octopus! Other popular food items included grilled squid, hot baked potatoes, hot dogs, yakitori--meat on sticks, chocolate covered bananas, snow cones, and crepes. It was an interesting experience, but I was glad to get out of the crowd and back to our quiet neighborhood! I took pictures with my cell phone, but they aren't the greatest! Sorry!

eka.JPG

Our Ito Family Vacation started off with fishing in Akihiro's dad's bot. It was my first time to catch a squid! We caught around 30 of them! It was an interesting process, using about 6 lures at various depths and a lighted lure to entice the squid to bite the lures. Sometimes otosan (dad) would catch 4 at one time! To "cast" this contraption into the ocean, we used a seven-barrel pvc pipe contraption and a large weight. We were fishing 120 feet deep! The only way we could tell if we got a squid was if the line was heavier to lift! Thankfully, we could use electronic reels to pull up 120 feet of line! When we brought up the squid they would sometimes shoot out this black liquid (same principle as a skunk!). Thankfully I was able to stay out of the way of this black stuff, but otosan was not so fortunate--he got hit right in the face! But, he's a "die-hard" fisherman, so he kept right on fishing! As we kept catching them, ocasan (mom) was talking about how we would take them to a restaurant and have them make squid somen and squid tempura. Hmmm...sounds interesting! Well, somen is a thin Japanese noodle that is dipped in a soy sauce and ginger sauce and slurped up! So....squid somen is raw squid cut into this strips like noodles and eaten in the same fashion as somen. Actually it was very good! (Mom says she's been praying for me for the gift of tongue, meaning speaking, but it appears that my taste buds are being gifted for Japanese tastes instead of my langauge ability improving!) The squid tempura was also very good! Many times squid that is not fresh is very tough and cannot be bitten with your teeth, but this was able to be bitten and was a little sweet. Tempura means that food is deep fried in a light batter.
ekasomen.JPG

Otosan has been treating our stomachs too well this trip, but we are trying to exercise frequently! Yesterday we all went on a bike ride. Akihiro and I tried a bicycle built for 2! I was worried about it because of my lack of coordination, but actually, it was quite fun and I only ended up with one bruise from the pedal! We rode our bikes around a large lake. In the afternoon, Akihiro and I went with his parents for their first canoe trip! There was a canoe school that gave a two hour tour. It was interesting to see the Japanese approach to canoeing--quite structured as usual! After being outfitted in our rain gear (it has been raining off and on all week), we got a thorough lesson in canoeing. All four of us were in a large wooden canoe that had been handmade by the owner. It was a beautiful and lightweigt canoe. There were about 6 canoes and 4 guides. We rowed across the lake and there the guides made coffee on a portable burner. We had a little rest and then headed back across the lake in the pouring down rain. We stopped at a little island for another rest and pictures in the hammock there. We all really enjoyed the canoeing, despite the inclement weather. We headed back to our resort to take an onsen. The hotel has an outdoor onsen that looks out onto a small lake. It was very nice to be clean and warm!
itocycling.JPG

canoe.JPG

A few other food notes... One day it was teppan yaki--fish, crab, oysters, steak, veggies, and fried rice is prepared on grill in front of us. The second day we had what the Japanese call kaiseki ryori. This style means that we are served special dishes artfully presented one at a time. It is quite an experience! The main dish was a huge crab leg with a light curry sauce. It (and everything) was delicious!
crableg.JPG

It's very hot and humid back in Tokyo (highs of 98 degrees F)! I didn't appreciate the cool weather in Hokkaido near enough! So thankful for air conditioning!

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ito3.name/cgi/mt/mt-tb.cgi/89

About

This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on August 10, 2007 10:41 AM.

The previous post in this blog was "Would you like raw egg with that order?", etc..

The next post in this blog is Getting older, sometimes acting younger (way too much younger!).

Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

Powered by
Movable Type 3.34