Beauty of Japanese Women’s Legs!

Creating the kind of well toned legs I love to look at on Japanese women don't come easily unless you have good genetics. Some women are just born with gorgeous legs while others may have to work at them a bit, and then, you have the pigeon toed women who ruin their knees through unnatural walking for years and wind up with a whole lot of back related problem when they get old.

Nice and strong legs foster proper posture which in turn helps the back stay in alignment. Having weak legs almost always means you have weak knees, and if you have weak knees you will almost always invariably have a weak lower back which in turn will eventually lead to a hunched back. Of course age plays a factor,too.

One good exercise I recommend would be the knee lift skip. This is the perfect warm up to any walking or running exercise you can do. The biggest challenge though would be learning how to master the rhythm first.

First imagine you are running in a stationary position. In pictures one to three you can see the model lift her right knee high while pushing off the ground with her left leg; like she’s skipping and being extra careful about her posture and arm movement all at the same time. The timing will take some practice because you have to create your own rhythm.

Continuing this knee lift skip will seem a bit awkward at first, but if you use a little imagination and try, you will eventually get the rhythm down.

Good hamstring development is also essential to having beautiful legs. This exercise also improves ankle strength. If a Japanese woman has good ankle strength she’s going to walk better in pumps/high heels.

And then lastly, there’s the knee lift walk which is a bit easier for beginners since both feet never leave the ground at the same time. Basically, it’s just a high knee walk that focuses a lot on the quads, ass and calve muscles. You should train like this everyday before you start your day.

Maintaining a diet that’s full of minerals, fibers, and complex amino acids is essential to beauty. Good sleep and less stress are also important too.

Anyway, this post was inspired by my experience at Konami Gym in Ishikiwacho awhile back, and is also the reason why I stopped going. I mean, how obvious can a guy be if all he is doing is looking through the glass walls as sexy J-mamas dance rhythmically in tight spandexes as sweat and determination flowed from their napes. One of the loveliest sights you can behold, but was too much for me to bare.

Winter Rice Varietal

This month's new rice - about every other month I blog about a new rice - hails from Hokkaido. I chose this part of Japan again because of its cold winter varietals.

These cold temperature resistant rice grains has lead researchers from the National Institute of Agriculture to develop newer types of rice that are even more resistant to colder temperatures - yes, even snow. The rice is called OBOROZUKI and it's been in the works for nearly 8 years now.

The key ingredient in this rice is a starch compound called amylose (ăm'ə-lōs', -lōz' ), which every rice grain has but at a varying levels. Oborozuki has low-amylose whereas, say, a long grain North American rice grain would have higher amylose. What does all this mean in terms of taste and nutrition? Amylose is important in dietary circles because foods low in amylose will be broken down faster in the body as opposed to foods high in amylopectin, which is another starch compound usually combined with amylose in rice.

As for taste, long grain high amylose rice will hold together better and is less likely to fall apart after cooking, it works better for spicy foods like Indian curry and Southeast Asian type foods. The low amylose rice is generally smaller and less flavorsome from a Western palate's point of view, but for Japanese gourmet minded people, myself included, the taste of medium Japanese style rice is the best, often times just as it is.

In North America, it’s not uncommon for Americans to add butter, pepper or even salt to their rice – long grain rice. I’ve even heard of people adding sugar and milk to their rice.

The way rice is eaten in Japan, for me, is the most commonsensical way. You steam it in a rice cooker or a traditional cooking apparatus, or even a microwave oven. This is done in order to bring out all of the natural flavors, minerals, and textures. You eat it as it is, plain, simple, and nutritious.

For this month’s featured rice you add 5 to 10% less water than usual. It also cooks faster and is very delicious.

Good nutrition is key to beauty. A Japanese woman should eat a bowl of white rice everyday – not brown rice.

A diet high in protein and complex amino acids is a very good thing for a woman. Good bones means good blood, so lots of calcium and minerals are essential. Japanese women should never diet because diets are dangerous and ultimately do more harm to the human body than good. Japanese women should eat full portion sizes, not tiny little bits and pieces of food.

The Japanese female body is one of the most complex living organisms in the world, over 30 million years worth of evolution and biology has created her into the delicious looking being that she is and over 200,000 years of history before she emerged from the darkness of incivility.

Midtown Christmas Tokyo 2009

 

The finest illuminations and spectacles of light can been seen here at one of Tokyo’s swankiest business districts.  This year, like last year, the night time displays of lights not only lit the atmosphere, but our hearts as well.  Christmas was everywhere in Midtown this year!

In the Galleria you can enjoy more illuminations.  This one is called the Welcome Chandelier and every 15 minutes it changes colors. 

The trees in Sakura-dori and in the streets all around Tokyo Midtown are decorated by around 470,000 LED lights that are the color of candle flames. The camphor tree in the Midtown Garden will be illuminated with pink LED lights. The electricity are solar-generated.

Below is the Enya Tree

There’s a new staging this year for the "Starlight Garden", the symbolic illumination for Tokyo Midtown that will be set up on the Grass Square spanning 2,000 square meters. Adding to the dreamlike atmosphere are  lights in the surrounding trees. Every 20 minutes, visitors are able to enjoy the illusion of shooting stars turning into stardust.

I have seen all sorts of illuminations in my time, but this by far was the best.  A must see for anybody visiting Tokyo during this time of year – without the Christmas music. 

An environmentally friendly Christmas as everything was solar powered.

Cities

I took this shot of a plant somewhere in Kawasaki near a very busy part of town.  There’s so much air pollution there nowadays.  But even still, even in other major cities in Yokohama, the biodiversity is can be quite interesting.  Just the other day I saw a palm tree and a cactus growing near this torn down old shack near my place and had wondered what the heck is a palm tree and a cactus doing thriving in this type of climate.

Inside the Yokohama bus terminal you can see these huge ventilation ducts that filter the air and exhaust fumes from the tour buses.   It’s nice seeing environmentally conscious Japanese people in modern cities take steps to cut carbon emissions.    It’s even nicer to see younger Japanese embracing this idea,too.   The English word “litter” is an offensive term in Japan.

In the U.S. you'd be lucky to find structures that are designed around the idea of environmentally conscious awareness.   When you see a ventilation duct in the U.S., it’s usually there to either help filter second hand smoke or to air condition a room or space.

The buses are mostly on time in Yokohama, but on Sundays they are usually always late.  The number of elderly that ride the buses daily is scary.  It’s not uncommon to stand by the exit door of the bus during the peak hours due to the buses being filled to capacity.  I mean, it’s good for me, you know…being crushed by a lovely Jukujo, but not so good when it’s not.

 

Here in Kanagawa you board the bus from the front and exit from the rear door.  In the countryside it’s the opposite; you board from the rear and exit from the front, but only this time you have to grab a ticket first and then pay before getting off the bus.  In the city you pay the standard fare of 210 yen first before you can ride the bus, and that one fare will cover you until you reach the final stop on that bus.  Just recently, Yokohama City implemented a “last bus” fare hike.  Now, instead of paying the usual 210 yen, you pay 420!

I love living here in Japan.  I love the natural surroundings of lush green and urban landscapes that blend into its huge megalopolises.  Not everything about modern societies is dreary, there’s still some life left, some soul left.

Railroads of Minato Mirai

A few years ago, these rails were used for the Toyoku line, which has since been closed because of the creation of another line called the Minato Mirai.  This new  line connects Yokohama to Tokyo in less than 40 minutes and has revolutionized the way people shop.

Unfortunately, these old rails will lie here unused and dormant.  There’s so much history here on this line, almost a hundred and fifty years worth. 

 

Now, there’s just graffiti on the walls.  A few pedestrians cross here on their way to somewhere.

There’s just graffiti here now.  Japanese have such a strange fascination with obscure things, especially death.  I guess that’s why the suicide rates have been soaring.  I think the figure is up to around 34,000! 

Yokohama is truly one of these bizarre and strange cities.

Yokohama 横浜

Often wonder where ordinary people are headed off to midday on a beautiful weekday.  Nearby from where I took this picture there’s a coffee shop that’s always packed to capacity; like they usually are.  It makes me wonder sometimes if people actually work. 

I remember listening to a song by Vangelis called Abraham’s Theme  while looking through the viewfinder of my camera just before I took this shot.

A couple of Autumn leaves leftover from last fall clinging on to each other.  They only have each other.  They’re  all that’s left.

A month ago people were fawning over its beauty, now they walk all over it, crushing it under their feet and think absolutely nothing of it.

All the color is gone, all of the life is gone out of it.  It’s dead now.  Such is life for this once so beautiful leaf.  Not even one single memory is cherished of it.  Soon the winds will come and carry it off to some unknown direction and remnants of its glory will be etched in the annals of the lost and forgotten greats just like the Soul of this nation.

Dark Grainy Ilford 3200 B/W Yellow Filter

Cosmo clock of Minato Mirai, Yokohama Japan. 

The two large tiers on the top left is the Yokohama Bay Bridge connecting Kawasaki to Yokohama through a long winding loop of highway that overlooks the Minato Mirai skyline. 

Normally, I would never shoot with this type of film in the daytime – too grainy.  But, did it anyway in order to get those really deep edges and angles.  Not pretty but complete. 

The Landmark Tower

Kamiooka and Tsurumi

( pentax k-1000;green filter; ISO 50 Ilford)

Ilford is arguable the best when it comes to deep and contrast heavy black and white photos.

Along the Keikyu Line.  

Contrast heavy.  The ventilation ducts on the roof of the bus and train as linear lines running along the sides come into view.

I like Tsurumi.  There are two major train lines that are adjacent to each other and run almost parallel to each other until they both reach Yokohama Station.   In Tsurumi, JR and the Keikyu line stations are less than a 3 minute walk from each other.

Green filter; pentax K-1000; Ilford iso50 b/w film; underexposure shot.

Picture by Kazumi Ogaeri.  Monochrome Jukujo.

Nature.

December 2009 Edition

There’re less than 17 days left before the end of the year and the days have gotten shorter and colder, I sleep in more just to keep warm.  I don’t want to run the heater just yet; the warm blankets do just fine for keeping me warm for now, but this mattress is starting to cause a little discomfort lately. 

 

I have been nurturing this little Shikuramen on my little wooden stool for a week now; watching it as the little buds start to unroll.   This type of plant thrives in the winter, yet it hates moisture.  My apartment windows are full of condensation in the mornings because I leave my hot water pot on all night plus the extra carbon in the air from my breathing adds to further create the type of moisture  this plant hates.  Since it was a gift I try to take extra care of it.  I’ve  never had a green thumb for growing anything,really.  I either over water something or don’t water something enough. 

 

Later I came to find out that the best way to raise a plant is from a seedling, by first  placing  it in a very small pot by itself, and then providing either some artificial light or natural light.   I wonder how many life lessons I can learn from planting flowers?

 

One lesson I have learned over the years is that this is Japan and that no matter how outdated some of its cultural practices are, in the end, these practices are what make Japan unique.  As a result,  Japan will always have the best social practices and the best of everything in between, in my opinion.  I love the idea that the customer is god when I’m the customer.  In America this same notion of the “customer is god” also exist, but not from a cultural sense like it exist here in Japan.  I come across hundreds of Japanese students  every year who return from overseas and tell me that the Japanese way was always better, and that after several years of living overseas has taught them that the grass was never greener on the other side.

 

When Westerners visit Japan many of them get swept away with the country’s sub-culture; things like manga, figurines, and made cafes.  There’s also Asakusa and Tokyo Tower and Akihabara which also attract certain geeky type people who love tech stuff.  Since when did a sub-culture come to dominate the truest essence of Japanese culture?     I shun the modern day sub-culture of Japan and make my opinions about it perfectly clear to anybody who asks me.  I do not like it at all.   Instead I’d rather focus my creative energy in nurturing relationships with real people – human beings.   That doesn’t mean I’m a people person, though.  In fact, I am as anti-social as they come.  If the possibility of a true and fulfilling relationship is possible then I can be the warmest person in the world.   I’m an epicurean without the need to surround myself with people.

 

The other week I had this Jukujo over at my apartment.  She was sitting in my office chair and chuckling on about her recent trip to Korea.  She went there with a tour group to visit some Korean idol named (bong-yon-hon. Egg Fu yong), I could care less how his real name pronounced.  I was just disgusted that she was telling me this story and rocking back and forth in my chair like she achieved something great by flying her ass all the way over to Korea just to meet some Korean idol, what a fucking retard she was, I said to myself, and she’s sitting in my chair with a Hinomaru draped across it.   Her hobbies are watching B rated foreign movies and dining out at expensive Italian and French restaurants.  She never once mentioned anything about her own country’s cuisine being delicious, she even hates nihonshu too, which is a major sin in my book.   She was in her early forties I think.  A few days later she sends me  this e-mail asking if I could take her out to a movie and dinner.  Of course I didn’t.   She must’ve skipped ‘how to be Japanese 101’ class when she was in primary school.

 

A couple of weeks later I met two new Jukujo down around Sugita, actually three!  The one that was hot I accidently gave her the wrong e-mail.  The other two were decent looking, in fact one had a very nice chest and legs.  She showed me where her office was located and gave me both her home and cell phone number.  I had asked her if she had had any children from a previous relationship and she told me maybe, with a devlish grin across her face,…..and then laughed at me.  I quickly retorted and said, can I be your big son!? She chuckled at me again and told me to call her as soon as I got home.   No ladies and gentleman I haven’t called any of them yet and it’s been over a week now.  Don’t know why…. 

 

I’ve been focusing a lot on freelance work and my own Jukujo English club in Yokodai.  I’m in the process now of redirecting my life, guess.   The last Jukujo I met was a Chinese lady who actually made a move on me first.  I was on bus #158 in route to Takigashira when she made the initial greeting and how are you.  I haven’t called her yet either. 

 

The term “Jukujo” is exclusively for Japanese women only, and is a term generally used to describe a ripe and mature JapanEse woman in her 30s to late 50s, so a Chinese woman wouldn’t bare this label.   The term itself is degrading for most Japanese, but then again, in a nation where there have been many incidences involving old Japanese men who prey on young school aged girls, and where the birthrate is at an all time low, nothing would surprise me as to what Japanese men find sexually attractive or disrespectful these days.

 

I have even gone as far as to deify women of this caliber, Jukujo,  and do not think it’s a derogatory term at all.  I think the word sounds sexy and alluring, a far cry from the pigeon toed fruit cocktail drinking shy types who have no national pride.  Not nationalistic like this one. 

  

( Pentax K-1000)

The best years of a Japanese woman’s life is called 女盛り[ onna-zakuri] and this is at an age where she is at the height of her physical, emotional, and mental maturity, and that’s  called 女つ振りor onna-tsuburi, which usually starts at around the age of 38 and then continues on, for American women it’s much earlier.  Often times though a lot of women here get stuck in the Disneyland mentality where they think that  everybody all over the world is fun loving and friendly to everyone and that Americans for some intrinsic reason love each other regardless of race.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

 

In North America there’s a similar term called “cougar,” which  describe American women in their 40s who prey on young men-ask Tiger Woods.  However, the term cougar has a more sensual and sophisticated ring to it whereas in Japan, the term Jukujo, from the stand point of a Japanese person would come off as a bit negative and disrespectful. 

 

Again, in a country where prepubescent and anorexic air headed Japanese women are idolized as the ideal sex objects and where men abstain from sex because they lack the balls to approach a real woman, or when they sit down just to take a pee for womanly reasons, I say to hell with all of that!  Love the Jukujo.

 

Lately, there’s a 25 year old very sweet and extremely cute Japanese girl student who’s constantly on me in a major way.  There’s no way I’m going to even try, especially as she keeps begging me for lunch and dinner and private time together.  I refuse.  I am a Jukujo Boy!  I really enjoyed the nikujaga she made for me tonight, though.  I’m such a hypocrite sometimes, aren’t I?

 

Anyway, another thing that gets my goat is Christmas,which has become somewhat of a novelty in Japan over the years.  If you know how I am from my previous postings, I hate this time of year, especially the  Xmas music.  I hate the sentimentality it creates in the atmosphere, that’s why.  Slow and long drawn out melodies  that make you remember things you’d rather forget.  Bus #113 was all decorated up last night.  I was surprised to see this as it was the first time Yokohama City decided to decorate its buses for the holidays.  Nice touch I have to admit.

 

In class  yesterday I had fielded the question about Xmas music and was surprised to find out that many of the girls didn’t like it since many of them would be spending Xmas alone this year.   I might hang out with Andy Hayes from Oregon….Or have a double chili-cheeseburger with Neil Duckett, who knows…? Shane Sakata won’t talk to me anymore, and neither will Narrative Disorder….for some reason.  Maybe I’m too Japanese for them.

 

Yesterday afternoon I made a couple of phone calls to Hokkaido to  inquire about this years crabs.  I was disappointed to find out that most of the crabs will be coming from Russia this year.  Apparently, there’s a sushi boom going on there and many Russians prefer to eat Japanese style cuisine, including crab.  As a result, Japanese fisheries are starting to raise their prices on crabs and other seafood domestically.  It’s going to cost me a bit more to get crab this year than last year, and it’s going to cost even more to get the crab from Japanese territorial waters.   Luckily, the Chinese haven’t developed a taste for delicious Sea of Japan crab, yet.  Thank god.   When they do then it’ll be time for me to commit seppuku.

 

Russian merchants damage their crab hauls because of sheer ignorance and lack of knowledge on proper storage techniques for crab.  They  freeze everything they catch and then try to sell it at high prices.  Japanese fishers never freeze their crab hauls.  They speed their hauls  back to port for auction, fresh and alive. 

 

These final weeks of December I plan to stay home and appreciate Japanese seafood at its finest.  I have to research a work around for the crab and see if I can get it cheaper and at a lower price.  I know one more distributor in Hanasaki.  There’s also more sake to drink, too.   I have a lot of catching up to do.

Kokuryu Tarekuchi Black Dragon!

Exquisite, complex, and fruity are the three words that come to mind.  Usu-nigori is sake that has some  sake yeast, rice and koji in the bottle while the bulk remains behind on the filtering cloth..i.e… a light nigori that has a pino coloda(ish) flavor to it.   Normal sake is usually filtered to remove excess solid such as rice.  However, in nigori type sake nothing is removed and you get a cloudy almost milky colored sake.  The Usu-nigori is just a lighter and more flavorsome version of nigori. 

( The cloudy soft white sediment at the bottle makes this a true winter sake)

 

This sake hails from Fukui Prefecture, home of the Koshi-hikari premium rice grain, which is popularized in Niigata Prefecture, the single most recognizable prefecture for sake in the world by Westerners.

 

The brewery is called Kokuryu Shuzo and the rice used is called Gohyaku-mangoku and it’s grown right in Fukui, which is quite nice actually considering that a lot of breweries get their sake rice from other prefectures.   The rice is polished away at 65% placing it as a top class sake, despite there being no classification on the bottle. 

( listening to the studio version of Kenny G’s Esther, not the live version.  And admiring the light cloudy texture of this sake).

 

The flavor profile for this sake is complex and fruity.  It’s not very often you get to enjoy a complex fruity sake that dazzles the senses and conjures up images of bygone days with a lover or a friend relaxing in a hot mineral spring.  I absolutely adored this sake.  And the bouquet which further enhanced the clean and smooth texture which left a very clean and sublime after-taste moved me.  A big difference from the white dragon label on a previous post.

If I had to dress black dragon in flesh form it would look like her, a spry 42 year old Fukui beauty:

Light makes up, no fillers, slight dimple in the chin for uniqueness.  Great looking folds in the eyes which only serve to further enhance her already beautiful smile, especially the right eye.  Nice long ridge across the nose lends an air of intelligence – good nose for a sake cup.  Last but not least, black hair!  Black always works well against fair skinned flesh tones.  And as I’ve said before, Japan can be saved by these women.

Haku-ryu: 大吟醸 白龍

To be quite honest I was a little reluctant about picking this one up last time I was in Niigata.  For one, I normally stick with namazake or junmai ginjo; I also love honjozo nama type sakes as well.  The other reason would be that just because something is/was made with labor intensive techniques doesn’t necessarily mean it will taste better than the not so labour intensive brands.   This is where I feel foreigners differ from Japanese in terms of what they look for in taste.

Westerners in general tend to agree that a better brewed or better refined sake will almost always taste better than any other sake.  Japanese drinkers tend to digress from this line of logic as all sake regardless of how it was brewed has its own unique distinction and that it should be appreciated for its own unique  flavor characteristics. 

There are some futsuu-shu,regular table sake, that I have fallen in love with over a daiginjo simply because of some of the more unique flavor profiles you can get from some table or special designation sake.  But let me not take the spotlight away from this delicious sake:

( Beautiful Shikuramen flower next to the sake)

( soft touch on the lips is how this sake feels from the start)

Other Name: White Dragon
Type of sake: Daiginjo.
Seimai Buai: Rice milled to 40%
Alcohol: 16-17% by volume
Rice: Yamada Nishiki and Takane Nishiki
Water: Underground water from Agano-fukuryuusui
Yeast: Kyokai #9
SMV: +5 Acidity: 1 Amino acids: 0.5
No sulfites, no preservatives.

This is a good sake, but not my favorite.  I have had better.  This a smooth sake.  Clean refined and lightly fruity.   As you may know from my previous postings though that I prefer a sake with a greater flavor dynamic, like this one for example, or this one.  And although Hakuryu is a winner of the monde award, it lacks the full dynamic I  personally look for in a sake.
It’s definitely worth a try though.  I highly recommend it for white fish, not red – less oily is better. 

Top Sake Picks of Gunma

I decided to divide this up a bit.  First I want to make a special mention about  one particular sake I tried from a brewer I was introduced to a few years ago by a guy in Kamakura.   I remember walking around one day and came across an old liquor shop with a very small, yet modest selection of sake.  One particular sake he brought to my attention was brewed in Niigata prefecture, Kashiwa city which goes by the name of Harashuzou.  I recall that sake being one of, if not the best sake I have ever tasted, so when I went to Gunma and Niigata last weekend and was offered a bottle by the restaurant owner in Niigata the kanji looked vaguely familiar to me, and then a light went off in my head.  Harashuzou! 

 

This sake is called a namachozoushu [ nama-cho-zoushu]生貯蔵酒, which basically means that it was only pasteurized once.  What a wonderfully soft and crisp sake that could easily work well with dishes such as maitake tempura, salmon,  and even soba, all of which Niigata is famous for.  The brand for this sake is called Koshi-no-Homare and can be ordered through rakuten – they are sold out now I think.  Old favorites mysteriously always find me again no matter where I travel in Japan.  SMV is plus 5 and acidity is 0.9. 

 

After drinking two of these sake I headed back down to  Gunma prefecture, one stop, and took a nice walk around Jomo Kogen, which is in only about a 10 to 15 minute shinkansen ride.  One thing I really love about old towns  and rural hamlets like these are the trains.

After arriving back to Jomo Kogen station I visited a sake shop that had some excellent sake selections on display.   I drank three very good sake and all of them were brewed by Mizubashou Kura(cellar) of Nagai Shuzo in Gunma. 

The water used for these three sake were born from the snow deep in the Gunma mountains, the same mineral waters that feed the Ozegahara, a high altitude marshland in the Oze National Park that’s famous for a flower called Mizu-Basho(skunk-cabbage).

 

Purple label is the Junmai Ginjo version with a nice complex flavor and texture.

Tanigawadake Chou-karakuchi-junmaishu(green label; super dry) I really enjoyed the clean finish on this one.  Same kura, different line.

My top favorite was this mizubashou Junmai. I really enjoyed the taste of rice and the texture was perfect.  I was thoroughly satisfied with all three of these sake. 

If every you want to try a real winner from this part of Japan you can’t go wrong with Mizubashou!