… and she’ll still find a way to gorge herself on delicious Japanese food. Here, we have a cup of umeshu and the sashimi appetizer at Ukiyo on Exchequer Street : Followed by orders of kimchi, kimchi chigae, rice and bulgogi (which are, obviously, not Japanese, but that’s what we ate after the sashimi. 美味しいかった!) […]
Japan
Fun (ふん）in the Snow
Last weekend, there was snow, snow, everywhere. Snowmen dotted the streets and we became jealous, desperate to feed the kid within us. So we stomped into a park and started making a snowman of our own. Then we realized it was hard work making a snowman, and changed the design to a wedding cake. We […]
The Blacker the Tea
I never drank tea before I moved to Japan. There, it came in shades of green and black and barley; iced in the summer, steaming in the winter. Tea straight up, sometimes with bitter leaves or bright green powder swimming about in the smooth ceramic cup. Dozens of varieties in the store – loose, bagged, […]
いいな？
Sean and I are having lunch in Little Tokyo on St. Mark’s before our yoga class. Little Tokyo wasn’t Little Tokyo when I moved to Japan. There were a couple of sushi places, a JAS Mart, and the now-famous Kenka Ya; one of New York City’s first izakayas. I visited Kenka Ya once with Erma. […]
Nihonjin, I presume?
There’s a Japanese grocery store just a few blocks away from my brother’s apartment. I’ve been eyeing it since before Sean left. Every time I pass it, though, it happens to be closed. It doesn’t help, of course, that I rarely leave the apartment before 8 these days. I’m inside, avoiding the siren call of […]
For Better, For Worse: Ways I’ve Improved Thanks to My Time in Japan
Great success – Diego has, in fact, noticed that I am the New and Improved Liv with Increased Sudsing Action! Not only did he high-five me several times on Cleaning Sunday, but I even overheard him telling his girlfriend on the phone that I am “earning [my] keep.” This pleases me greatly; I did so […]
Last Dance
On my last day in Japan: It is glorious weather – cool, bright and breezy, smelling of new green life. I am hungover from the previous night’s hot sake bomb marathon It is a Good Japanese Day; I can conduct my final bank transfer with ease and ask appropriate questions at the Post Office Bleary-eyed […]
Spring Ahead, Fall Back
It never quite feels like I’m really back in Japan until I hear my first shopkeeper scream, “いらっしゃいませ!!!” We arrived at KIX at 10 in the morning and were at Bob’s apartment by noon. Bob, who very graciously held on to all of our wordly effects while we were away, had also offered to put […]
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The Wind Down
The days have become an endless series of goodbyes. Classes are finally over so there are gifts, hugs, and obligatory promises to come and visit. There was a Sayonara Sale for coworkers, a goodbye in Kyoto with the friends from training, and an early hanami with my soon to be ex-bookclub. Even though it was still far too […]
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Let Me Ask You Something
… and another thing I wanna know is why the heck I asked the man at the cafe where the “honorable” toilet was. What, am I Amish and amazed by the concept of flushing? And I want to know why, when the unification of Japan was mentioned in relation to the building of Osaka Castle, […]