I HEART Niigata Winter After All

Due to National Foundation Day, Wednesday was a holiday… which means SNOWBOARDING!!!  During our Saturday adventures we invited the whole bar and then some to join us on the slopes of Tainai. 

Since we would all be getting up early on Wednesday morning, Ru and Futoshi invited me to a sushi event at one of their favorite sushi restaurants in the city.  I had to book it after school, but was still late due to rush hour.  I got to their place, threw my stuff down, and we left on three of their 5 ‘mama-cherries,’ or bicycles to the other side of the station where the event was happening.  So what exactly was this event you ask??  Well, every now and again, the restaurant gets a huge TUNA, and cuts it up on the sushi bar in front of everyone and serves it immediately after.  We had the cheapest, middle, most expensive fatty tuna (maguro), the part behind its gills, liver, salmon, buri, raw Murakami cow meat, and other fish that I tried to learn the names of but can’t remember right now.  Since I’ve been born, I’ve never tasted sushi THIS DELICIOUS.  The sashimi melted in my mouth, and the maki (rolls) combined the most amazing sushi rice with the most mouth-watering raw fish, UGH words can’t even begin to explain how happy my mouth was!!  They had janken (rock paper scissors) tournaments for a giant slab of tuna, and then by the request of Ru, another tournament for a slab of Murakami beef.  Unfortunately our group lost both BUT fortunately, Ru fussed enough to get us a secret piece of the raw beef :p  Of course Ru and Futoshi are friends with all of the sushi chefs and were able to get dishes that aren’t even on the menu!! 

  We met us with Jenelle who would also be snowboarding at Tainai the next day, and had to run away when she tried to kill an octopus on the walk back to Ru and Futoshi’s apartment ~ HILARIOUS!!

Futoshi not only brewed us Weasel Coffee in the morning, but also cooked us a gourmet western breakfast including eggs, sausages, bread, lettuce, jam, and mayo.  It hasn’t snowed much in the past week or so, so Tainai’s snow was icy in the morning.  The more I go, the more courage I build to go faster, but I fell pretty bad on a narrow part, bounced, and nearly fell off of the mountain.  Luckily the sun rose, and the snow turned to slush by the afternoon, becoming faux powder.  A group of nearly 20 of us showed up on Wednesday to ski/snowboard and then take over the onsens to make me LOVE winter in Niigata finally!!

It's Getting Warmer ... but it's STILL Winter (Monday, February 9, 2009)

This past weekend had to have been one of the greatest all Niigata weekends of the winter.  It all started with having plans, then cancelling those plans for different plans, then those plans being canceled, and then maybe plans turning into AWESOME plans!! 

Becoming friends with Ru and Futoshi, has been like hitting the jackpot.  They live in Niigata city and are so open and welcoming to meeting new people that they’ve accumulated quite an array of friends.  They know the manager of a Niigata pop band, a Ramen Shop owner has them taste test new flavors at their house, bar tenders down the street, and on and on.  Timing doesn’t always work out, but I try to go to as many of the events they invite me to because I know it’s going to be a good time. 

Saturday and Sunday in Niigata City was an event called Shokunojin.  It’s similar to the Taste of Chicago in that prominent restaurants around the area set up tents with their most delicious foods.  Ru and Futoshi warned me not to pay for anything.  They know from past years that if you hang around a tent and talk about how tasty the food looks, the workers are bound to offer up some free samples.  We sampled cake, salmon, Japanese sweets, sake, rice crackers, squid, and much much more.  For dinner and more drinks, we went to The Local, a Kiwi bar, where a pretty big group of JET friends gathered.  It was a great mix of Japanese and English conversation, jokes, and good times.  Ru, Futoshi, and I skipped out on karaoke so that we could get back to their apartment at a decent hour and get up early to go to Myoko’s Suginohara Slopes!!  (well, Ru and I … Futoshi had to work)

Aya-sensei and I have been trying to find a time to go snowboarding for quite some time now.  Since she’s a teacher and I’m doing the musical thing, it’s been difficult to find a good weekend until THIS weekend!!  She BRILLIANTLY suggested Myoko City’s Suginohara, a place 2 hours south of the city with a 8.5 km (5.28 mile) long run!!!!!!!  Aya-sensei picked Ru and I up, we drove a bit south on the expressway, and picked Aya-sensei’s friend, Hiromi up ON the expressway!!  Our area’s snow has mostly melted, but the further south and into the mountains we went, the more snow on the roads appeared.  Suginohara has got to be one of my favorite ski parks so far.  You have to take your gear off, and get into a moving gondola in order to get all the way to the top.  The run feels like it’ll never end and I couldn’t help but smile the whole way down!! 

To split the journey from the south of Myoko to the north of Murakami up a bit, I had another delicious dinner at the Aoki’s (Ru and Futoshi): salmon, vegetables, and potatoes.  MMmmmmmmmm J

Since I've Been Gone

Since I’ve been gone, we had our first set of musical performances; there was the midyear seminar; I got the influenza, went snowboarding at Fukushima’s Alts Bandai, and got peanuts thrown at and around me!!

I’ll admit, I was a little tiny bit worried about how our musical was going to fit all together.  All the other roles had their scenes clean and ready to go except the ninjas!!  With some people absent for the weekend, others had to pick up their lines and dances.  When the curtains were closed, we scrambled frantically trying to remember what scene was what, but when the curtains opened, all went WELL.  Put the whole musical together, and I think we have a pretty good production.  It’s difficult to tell with a Japanese audience and a mostly English script though.  The story is a bit ridiculous, our jokes are clever, and the lyrics to the songs might be a bit tricky to hear.  Unfortunately, the audiences that we’ve so far encountered have lacked the big obnoxious laughing and clapping uncle sitting in the front row.  At the end of the show though, everyone tells us that we were spectacular spectacular.  We make money for Papua New Guinea and all is WELL.

Monday and Tuesday of last week was the mid-year seminar in Niigata City.  After sitting through seminars on how to teach and live in Japan, we PARTIED!!  Those two days were pretty fun, but then led to the 3 most horrible days.  All of us teach at multiple schools with hundreds of coughing kids.  Get all of us together in the same auditorium, dance floor, and hotel rooms, and we are bound to come out infected with the influenza. 

I felt really bad missing school, but for the next three days, I couldn’t do anything besides sleep and drink juice.  At one point, Hiki-sensei even dropped by to bring me juice and help me clear the snow from my car!!  What a sweetheart!!

That weekend Jenelle had a get together at her place followed by snowboarding at Alts Bandai.  It was weird to get out of my tiny apartment and then back in with society after 3 days of seclusion.  Alts Bandai, in Fukushima is HUGE.  The amount of powder there, and come to think of it, everywhere else I’ve been so far is making me think that I’ll never see a smooth slope while in this country… and I think I’m OK with that. 

Yesterday was February 5^th.  I guess it’s another one of those traditional Japanese days.  In the old days, this day was seen as one of the transition days from Winter to Spring.  Townspeople got together to ward off the devils.  How did they do this?  By throwing beans at them!!  So the kids of Iwafune got together in the gym during their midday recess.  4 or so teachers and students stood on the stage and threw peanuts down at everyone.  The kids scrambles to collect the peanuts.  One 6^th grade boy let me help him gather peanuts.  When the bean-ing was over, we sat in circles and ate the number of peanuts that matched our age.  For some reason I get so amazed by all of these traditions that Japan has.  The 6^th grade boy noticed my especial amazement and gave me the rest of his peanuts!!  So nice J

OH, AND I started an Eikaiwa (English Conversation) class on Wednesday nights.  I was a bit nervous at first because of the number of students, 18, and varying English levels, but so far so good!!  Cookies probably help ;)

A Weekend in Koide aka Fish Swamp (Sunday, January 18, 2009)

Saturday was our LAST of the LAST dress rehearsals.  It was held in the same concert hall that we’ll be putting on our very first performance.  I have a pretty tiny ninja part but still manage to jump the gun on a couple of scenes – ah well.  I’ve also volunteered myself to be in the front row for ALL of the dances I’m in.  I usually forget at least 3 parts per dance but you know, it’s ALL good J  That night some of us stayed in the area so go snowboarding and skiing at Hakkaisan the next day.  We had DELISH pizza and then headed to Richie’s to huddle around the kotatsu and have crazy conversations that can only erupt from such a diverse group of people. 

Moving on, Hakaisan was AWESOME.  The lift to the tippy top was so far away, a gondola had to take us there!!  There were more runs than just that though, but all in all, it was a perfect warm day with soft powder, and Hannah’s birthday!!

Coming of Age Day (Monday, January 12, 2009)

Another Japanese holiday, meaning another Monday off.  This one is for the 20-year olds.  Being 20 in Japan means that you’re an adult.  You get to dress up in your prettiest kimonos, get your hair did, and are now allowed to drink, drive, and vote. 

I spent the day in Niigata City.  I had kaien-sushi with my grandma and her best friend, Yasai-obasan.  It took a while for us to find the place, but we finally found it and of course I did all of the eating while they had a bite of one sushi and said they were full.  And again, I left obaachan’s place with 2 bags of tangerines, 2 massive bottles of soy sauce, a platter of salty mini fish and vegetables, a can of seaweed, and some anko, or sweetened red bean paste. 

On the way home, I stopped by at Futoshi and Ru’s place for some home cooking.  Ru and her friend went snowboarding, and Futoshi did the cooking.  He did an AWESOME job making nabe, a regular Japanese winter meal.  It consists of various kinds of meat and vegetables, boiled and simmered in a seasoned soup in a huge communal pot.  I love hanging out with Ru and Futoshi because it’s always such a relaxed atmosphere.  The conversation is light and funny, but also educational as we explore the differences between cultures.  One of the hilarious stories that sticks out is the one they told of the previous weekend when they had a Japanese friend and her half Japanese/half American son over.  The son was writing a letter to his father.  ‘to daddy …’  Futoshi is a thinker and spent that night thinking ‘I wonder why Americans begin letters with +0 (plus zero)’ and then it came to him ‘OH!!  It’s TO Daddy.  That makes sense J”

Tengendai (January 11, 2009)

On the day I left for Vietnam, I accidentally agreed to go on a snowboard trip with some teachers from Icchu.  I say accidentally because at the time, I didn’t realize that only 4 people total would sign up, it would be 3 hours away, or it would cost $300 (actually more with the current wacky exchange rate).  In the end, I’m glad I signed up to go.  I kept laughing at the way the trip unfolded, as it was almost exactly like the last Japanese weekend trip I went on … and the one before that.  They all start with a long (2-4 hour) ride to a place that can also be found much much closer to where we live.  Once in the area, the crucial stop to a convenient or grocery store is made to pick up more snacks and cans of alcohol than we will ever be able to finish.  The ridiculous thing about these crucial stops is that A. technically not allowed into the ryokan we’ll be staying at, B. the purpose of buying everything is to eat and drink immediately after the enormous dinner and endless bottles of beer that comes with our stay, and C. Japanese people just don’t eat THAT much!!

We skied and snowboarded in the coldest and most blizzard weather conditions I’ve so far experienced in Japan on both Saturday and Sunday.  With how much it was snowing, and the size of the snow chunks coming down, it was impossible for skiers and snowboarders to make a smooth downhill course.  It was a little frustrating at first when I kept on falling because the edges of my snowboard kept getting caught up in the snow.  Then I realized that because of the fluffiness of the powder, falling was painless, and anything was possible. 

After the first day of skiing/snowboarding, we went back to the Ryokan and bathed in the coolest onsens thus far!!  One was an ‘olympic’ onsen.  The only reason I can think of for this name is that it’s kind of long and rectangular.  The hot spring water was scalding hot, and came right up to floor level.  It was the perfect remedy after an ice-cold day.  The other onsen was a Rotenburo, or outdoor onsen.  There was a roof to protect our heads from the snow, but besides that, we were out in the cold.  The warmth of the water combined with the beauty of the falling snow makes for a gokuraku kimochi – or a heavenly perfect feeling. 

Dinner at the Ryokan consisted of whale fat sashimi, coy fish in all forms, nearly raw beef, shabu shabu, and the usual mix of delicious Japanese dishes.  We ate and drank until it was all gone, and then headed back to the hotel room for more snacks and chuhais.  It was really nice getting to know some of my colleagues outside of the courteous business scene.  One of the teachers teaches Japanese, and is one of those who knows a little about a lot of different things.  Every other minute was a ‘did you know’ moment.  I learned a lot from her about Japanese history and the education system, which was pretty neat. 

We woke up early the next day for more skiing and snowboarding, but thankfully only stayed for half a day.  When in Yonezawa, we MUST get Yonezawa beef.  We had it yaki-niku style and it was DELICIOUS.  Fatty and greasy, yes, but also flavorful and moist and perfect!!.  

Back to Japan Land

After over 24 hours of travel, I found myself back in Murakami.  Just because the Vietnam Vacation was over, didn't yet mean that my winter break was completely over though!!  After throwing down my dirty stinky backpack, I ran into the shower and back out to the city.  I was off in the cold to Gakkoucho Niban cho to celebrate my grandma’s 87^th birthday and with the second of the three days of New Years celebration they do here.  As usual, she made me eat all the food she receives from people that she can’t eat by herself.  I was then able to get her to go to Hakusan Jinja to pray with all the other people who missed the 1^st.  The tradition is for people to throw all of their previous year’s good luck charms into the huge bonfire, and then buy new ones to keep them safe, happy, healthy, and lucky.  (hey Schrocks, I’ll be sending the safe driving good luck charms home soon)  The first jinja (Shinto Shrine) we went to was super crowded so she took me to a smaller one later, getting lost along the way.  You’re supposed to throw money into the wooden box (obaachan says since we’re poor it’s OK to throw only 15 yen in, but some people throw up to 10,000 yen), clap twice, and pray.  I never know what to pray for when we go to these things.  I think most people have some standard Japanese way of really formally saying ‘thank you for the previous year, please and thank you for this year.”  I love sleeping at her house.  She always has the word’s most comfortable futon fully equipped with a heated blanket set up for me.  It had been a couple of days since I had actually slept lying down, so that night I slept from 7pm to 7am!!  Before leaving the next morning, we went to the cemetery to pay some money, light some candles, and pray to our dead relatives.  It was nice to participate in these Japanese religious customs with my grandma. 

Before going to Vietnam, I had made plans with Saori, Ru and her husband, Futoshi to go snowboarding on the 4^th.  When I woke up that morning, it was cold and rainy in Murakami.  Wakabuna, one of the closest ski resorts (only 30 minutes away!!) was our destination.  I thought for sure there wouldn’t be enough snow on the mountain, but it was crazy!!  After going through a tunnel from Murakami to Sekikawa, there was snow – and lots of it!!    We ended up snowboarding, slalom snowboarding, skiing, and short skiing until the lifts shut down for a total of 7 hours!!  Futoshi took pictures and video of Ru and I snowboarding.  I now know that I look like a freak when going down the mountain, flailing my arms when turning.  Oh well, it was TONS of fun and I can’t wait to go again!!  Afterwards we went to an onsen, and then out to eat some delicious cheeseburger with rice!!