While not as early as our little jaunt up to Mt. Fuji, I still got up at 7am to take a shower and get ready. I offered to make something American for breakfast: oatmeal.
I know, I know, none of you are impressed. Oatmeal is one of those controversial subjects; half of America loves it for its convenience (instant!), variety of flavors, and health benefits. The other half can’t stand it because they hate the gooey texture and probably were forced to eat too much oatmeal as a kid and it ruined their appetite for the bowl of healthy goodness. I happen to be a part of the former, and when otoosan bought me a big bag of it at the expensive import store I couldn't just leave and not share it with Japan.
I kind of cheated and let their first experience of oats be swallowed up in a sugary cookie. The REAL oatmeal we all know and love (or hate) is what’s for breakfast.
This was the real deal, and the only Americanish dish that I was making. The pressure was on….cooking oatmeal. How sweet do you make it? Most Japanese foods favor salty over sweet, contrary to our fattened tastebuds.
I boiled the water. Phew. Then I added some oats…not really caring about measurement and hoping it wasn't too soupy. That’s another thing that’s up for interpretation with oatmeal. I chose a more substantial texture and thought if anyone preferred it more soupy they could add milk and give it a stir.
I added some sugar and spice. No brown sugar was available so I just added a bit of white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins. At least that’s how I like it J
I chopped walnuts and got out honey to put on the table. I’m pleased to say that everyone seemed to enjoy it. You never know, but I’m going to call it a win for oatmeal.
Now that sharing a piece of America was finished it was time to start another day soaking in Japan.
We piled into the Prius and took the scenic route to the ocean!
After arriving in Kumakura we backed into a space big enough for a motorcycle and spilled out onto the hot asphalt. Being the first day of a national festival (obon) the streets were crowded with both Japanese and foreign tourists peeking into little shops and devouring weird flavors of ice cream. You doubt? Try sweet potato and green tea MIXED. Yep, that’s what I had and it was delicious.
We visited several shops including an old kimono shop, hand-crafted pottery, and facial paper. That’s a special paper made in that prefecture that you can put on your face to remove oils without ruining your make-up.
We entered a beautiful garden and took some pictures as we followed the crowd up a path. It ended at a beautiful shrine where some people were holding a service in front of a massive Buddha. From an observation point I looked out and saw sailboats on the ocean. My first glimpse of that beautiful body of water that connects us all. I also got a few whiffs of fresh salt air…mmm….just like home.
The rest of the afternoon we spent in one of the popular shopping districts, a crowded street full of various food and goods vendors. There were so many beautiful things there: fabrics and hand-pressed paper, clothes and fashionable purses, traditional clothes and geta (wooded) shoes, fancy omiyage treats and street food. I’m so glad I have a “Try everything at least once” policy. Yummmmy.
I left that street with more that I brought…are you surprised? Not me. I’m on vacation!!! I also left with a few more calories than I brought…and I added a few more later on.
Us girls napped in the car for an hour and a half while otoosan drove us safely home. That’s where we picked up ojiichan, okaasan drove the car, and otoosan zipped along on his moped as we caravaned to the sushi restaurant. Being Saturday night and vacation time in the summer, we had a little wait for an hour and a half. That was fine because between the breakfast oatmeal and various treats throughout the day I wasn’t the least bit hungry. Yuko, Takae, and I visited the bookstore across the way for awhile. When we were finally seated in a spacious booth at the round-a-bout sushi I was hungry…and I expressed it in an appropriate manner by following directions to “please eat a lot.” Yummmmmm! The coolest thing about this particular place is that instead of stacking your plates and counting them at the end to determine the cost, you deposit them in a little slot at the edge of the table and it automatically counts them for you out of sight. Even better is that for every 5 plates you get to watch the computer play a game with itself and if it wins you get a prize. It’s completely random, but out of 50 plates we devoured we won twice! Otoosan and I were particularly excited about it.
As soon as we got home I went straight to bed and didn’t even write this blog until the next day because I knew it was going to be an early morning….
I know, I know, none of you are impressed. Oatmeal is one of those controversial subjects; half of America loves it for its convenience (instant!), variety of flavors, and health benefits. The other half can’t stand it because they hate the gooey texture and probably were forced to eat too much oatmeal as a kid and it ruined their appetite for the bowl of healthy goodness. I happen to be a part of the former, and when otoosan bought me a big bag of it at the expensive import store I couldn't just leave and not share it with Japan.
I kind of cheated and let their first experience of oats be swallowed up in a sugary cookie. The REAL oatmeal we all know and love (or hate) is what’s for breakfast.
This was the real deal, and the only Americanish dish that I was making. The pressure was on….cooking oatmeal. How sweet do you make it? Most Japanese foods favor salty over sweet, contrary to our fattened tastebuds.
I boiled the water. Phew. Then I added some oats…not really caring about measurement and hoping it wasn't too soupy. That’s another thing that’s up for interpretation with oatmeal. I chose a more substantial texture and thought if anyone preferred it more soupy they could add milk and give it a stir.
I added some sugar and spice. No brown sugar was available so I just added a bit of white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins. At least that’s how I like it J
I chopped walnuts and got out honey to put on the table. I’m pleased to say that everyone seemed to enjoy it. You never know, but I’m going to call it a win for oatmeal.
Now that sharing a piece of America was finished it was time to start another day soaking in Japan.
We piled into the Prius and took the scenic route to the ocean!
After arriving in Kumakura we backed into a space big enough for a motorcycle and spilled out onto the hot asphalt. Being the first day of a national festival (obon) the streets were crowded with both Japanese and foreign tourists peeking into little shops and devouring weird flavors of ice cream. You doubt? Try sweet potato and green tea MIXED. Yep, that’s what I had and it was delicious.
We visited several shops including an old kimono shop, hand-crafted pottery, and facial paper. That’s a special paper made in that prefecture that you can put on your face to remove oils without ruining your make-up.
We entered a beautiful garden and took some pictures as we followed the crowd up a path. It ended at a beautiful shrine where some people were holding a service in front of a massive Buddha. From an observation point I looked out and saw sailboats on the ocean. My first glimpse of that beautiful body of water that connects us all. I also got a few whiffs of fresh salt air…mmm….just like home.
The rest of the afternoon we spent in one of the popular shopping districts, a crowded street full of various food and goods vendors. There were so many beautiful things there: fabrics and hand-pressed paper, clothes and fashionable purses, traditional clothes and geta (wooded) shoes, fancy omiyage treats and street food. I’m so glad I have a “Try everything at least once” policy. Yummmmy.
I left that street with more that I brought…are you surprised? Not me. I’m on vacation!!! I also left with a few more calories than I brought…and I added a few more later on.
Us girls napped in the car for an hour and a half while otoosan drove us safely home. That’s where we picked up ojiichan, okaasan drove the car, and otoosan zipped along on his moped as we caravaned to the sushi restaurant. Being Saturday night and vacation time in the summer, we had a little wait for an hour and a half. That was fine because between the breakfast oatmeal and various treats throughout the day I wasn’t the least bit hungry. Yuko, Takae, and I visited the bookstore across the way for awhile. When we were finally seated in a spacious booth at the round-a-bout sushi I was hungry…and I expressed it in an appropriate manner by following directions to “please eat a lot.” Yummmmmm! The coolest thing about this particular place is that instead of stacking your plates and counting them at the end to determine the cost, you deposit them in a little slot at the edge of the table and it automatically counts them for you out of sight. Even better is that for every 5 plates you get to watch the computer play a game with itself and if it wins you get a prize. It’s completely random, but out of 50 plates we devoured we won twice! Otoosan and I were particularly excited about it.
As soon as we got home I went straight to bed and didn’t even write this blog until the next day because I knew it was going to be an early morning….
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