rakkity/shamaru

Mushrooms

Houses

rakkity/shamaru
My perambulations around Nobeyama Observatory via foot and rattletrap 2-speed.
And next door to that observatory is a museum with…..

(Editor’s note: I think shamaru’s having entirely too much fun.)

Mike,

I’m getting a little back-logged here with pictures and stories. Could you send Adam over to help me put these pictures on your blog? I’ll pay him with a dozen varieties of fresh, yummy mushrooms per story.

Due to popular demand here’s more about food.

–rakkity/Shamaru

Friday is shopping day for the guests of Nobeyama observatory, since no meals are servedon weekends. A driver picked Mukul and me up at the dorm (we were the only visitors at that time)and we drove to the closest supermarket–about a 20-m drive away. The store was like an American supermarket, except they didn’t accept credit cards and had no ATM. Since I was short of local currency, I needed an ATM. Our driver didn’t speak much English, so I mimed sticking my ATM card into a slot, and pulling out bills. He understood immediately, and took me down the street to the post office, where I filled up my wallet with several 10,000-yen bills.

Back to the store. I wandered down the produce line, and found mushrooms. Mushrooms galore! The greatest variety of mushrooms I had ever seen. It was a mushroom lovers paradise. I was tempted to buy several packets of odd varieties, but ended up picking just one. I went on to the fruit area. They had some good looking big apples. Initially I was turned off by the size. because in the eastern US, the bigger the apple, the worst the taste. But Mukul assured me that this is not the case in Japan. He also encouraged me to try a persimmon. (He bought 6.)

Then on to the meat area. I selected two packets of sliced fish from the myriad of choices. The only way I could cook these little fishlets in my room was to fry them, so I had to get oil. After wandering around a bit, I found some shelves with a huge array of bottles containing what might be oil. There wasn’t a single English word on any of the labels. I began to wonder if they might in fact be some other liquid–vinegar, perhaps? I turned around, and on the opposite shelves there were other similar bottles, and one of them, thankfully, was labeled Italian Olive Oil. I was saved. Got the smallest one there–200 g.

I also found some shelves of wine, whiskey and sake. I decided to try a local red wine called “Alps”. A few other items like broccoli, cereal and milk, and we checked out. My tab for the weekend spoils was 5500 yen.

That night I cooked one of the packets of fish, 1/3 of the broccoli, and half the mushrooms. Delectable, if I do say so myself. For dessert, I had half the apple, which was perfect.

My own meals are not as complex and colorful as the ones we have been having on weekdays. If you are a mushroom and fish lover, you would enjoy Japanese cooking very much. I am, and do. The only thing I can dispense with is the vast quantities of rice that everyone eats. But there’s so much food in our meals, I can get by with only one scoop of rice, and I’m satisfied.

I look forward to our next supermarket foray. This time I’ll get 3 or 4 packages of mushrooms, and some other kind of fish. Itadakimasu! (Bon appetit!)

Shamaru

Shopping Day

Rakkity ( December 4, 2005)

It was snowing lightly when I started out on my bike excursion yesterday. My plan was to check out the museum in Nobeyama village, and then ride to the tourist town of Kiyosato. The bike I had picked out was a woman’s bike (they all were), had exactly two gears, and the seat was too low. But the bike path was flat and easy, so I got to the museum in about 10 minutes, and found it was closed. The notes I had read said that the museum was open on Sundays, but the notes were pretty old, so the hours may have changed recently.

So I rode on up to Kiyosato on the bike trail that parallels the main highway (141). In about 2 km, I reached the highest point on the road (shown by a sign in English)–1360 m. That’s about 3000’. As I continued on, the snow started falling in earnest. My glasses were fogging up, and I could only catch glimpses of the ground now and then.

There happened to be a little store like a mini 7-11 across the street, so I decided to stop and go in just to get out of the snow. A little lady, the proprietor, was sweeping the snow off the steps and in a large area outside the shop. I started to brush the snow off my jacket and pants, but the lady waved her hand indicating it didn’t matter if I dumped snow on her floor. When I looked around in the store, there didn’t seem to be anything warm or hot for sale. So I bought a can of Sapporo beer, paid 105 yen, said “Arigato!” and went out to continue riding. I didn’t get far into Kiyosato before the falling snow got really thick and furious, so I decided to turn around, .I shot a picture of a park from a bridge before heading back. Didn’t see much of the town, but maybe I can next weekend.

The cars on route 141 were driving verrry cautiously, going only 20 kph or so. Apparently no one has snow tires. On the way back to the “highest point”, I found a nice looking restaurant. It reminded me of the Italian refugios. Lots of wood paneling, old, massive table, and big windows to look out at the view (which was mostly white on white). I asked for a beer by pointing at one in the menu. Then the waitress asked something incomprehensible. She went over and picked up mugs of 3 different sizes. I smiled and pointed at the middle one. She also brought hot tea and two little slices of braised beef, which apparently always come with beer. Everything was great. Afterwards I polished off a dish of ice cream, which they never provide at the observatory.

The tea house was just above the railroad where it reaches its highest point, 1375m. There’s a good walking/biking trail by the railroad, and it turned out to be a shortcut back home. I saw some charming Japanese houses and even other bikers on the way back. When I returned to my room, I took a hot bath and defrosted.

Not an excellent day but a good one. Any day in the snow is better than a day indoors. Now if I could only find XC skiis.

shamaru/rakkity

Bike Ride

—