Kokuryu Hiya Oroshi

Kokuryu "Hiyaoroshi" Kokuryu Brewery (Fukui)
Gohyakumangoku 65% polish (fukui grown). When autumn comes to mind look for "hiyaoroshi" a nihonshu that's pasteurized once after brewing but released in the fall without the usual second pasteurization. The alcohol we get from this sake is 18.5, so it has a fairly decent bite for a sake, along with the usual sweetness. It's a nice flavorsome and clean sake. Upon tasting I pick up hints of banana. The thing to remember is that with hiyaoroshi type sake you get good lots of umami(旨味) which basically means richness. That's what I taste when drinking this sake. Whatsmore, the prefecture where the sake came from is important to, as there are many prefectures that consistently produce good sake time and time again, Fukui is one of them.

There are about five cities located in Fukui and one of the cities happens to be named Obama. There's no relations there. The thing I like about Fukui is that it's located on the Sea of Japan side of Japan. Lovely little area full of history. All of the seasons, especially spring and autumn, are beautiful times to be in Fukui Prefecture. I remember the first time I was turned on to "Fukui - anything" was when I was invited to a food fair a few years ago. There I sampled Echizen crab for the first time, which wasn't all that impressive. N.B. After you've eaten Hokkaido's Hanasaki and Taraba crab you can never claim a better tasting crab. It was the nihonshu that sold me. Clean. That's the word I remember.

I have enjoyed a few good sake from Fukui in my time. This is another Kokuryu I have tried here. This one is quite rare, yet very delicious if you like full flavors. Another one is called hakudake. Sake from Fukui are definitely worth being explored and I hope you try some of them to.

Japanese Music

Special shout out to Nippon-Ichigo for hosting this month's Jblog matsuri. The theme for this month is called "Japanese music."

I think music is a huge part of any culture. It's just as essential to the transmission of culture as the actual spoken language of the country and its people. Before I was really into Japan I had an enormous interest in eastern European culture, especially the German culture's, language, and history and I remember the first musical piece I was introduced to called The Moldau by Bedrich Smetana; this was years ago! Moldau is German for Vltava which is a river that flows through the Bohemian countryside in present day Czechoslovakia. Though there are no spoken words to this musical piece you can get a sense of a mighty river flowing through an old city. The river isn't as mighty as it was centuries ago due to modernization and structural obstructions. Many have regarded this piece as nationalistic evoking a memory of the Republics defiant nature and turbulent past. I have always had an interest in music of a nationalistic theme, but I have also been fond of other types of sentimental music.

When I finally arrived in Japan I was quickly introduced to the culture and had quickly assimilated into the national pastimes here. I travelled all over this island with my gf. We started in Hokkaido, her hometown, and worked our way down to Honshu, the main island. We spent years enjoying the great outdoors. It was a great memory for me. The music that really sunk into my head, and the one that created the "Japan Experience" for me then and now, is still by the voice of Hitomi Shimatani when she sang the Kimigayo, the national anthem of Japan, and my most adored Japanese piece. This is a rare recording of that. She initially started her career off as an Enka singer, much like Black folks who started their singing careers off in Gospel. Both fathers of Rock-n-Roll, Little Richie and Chuck Berry are just two examples. As an enka singer Ms. Shimatani was very popular with the older generation, but with the growing popularity of Pop music her record sales didn't do to well. So like many artist, she had to change and give up on the musical genre she loved to pursue a more modern style of music. She enjoyed a successful career in not only pop music but acting as well. She's best known for her exotic voice and beauty.

Another great Japanese singer would be Masayuki Suzuki, best known as a former member of Rats & Star - without the "S". His trademark are sunglasses and a moustache, a far cry from the pretty little 'lady boy' boy band types you see nowadays here in Japan. "Martin" as Masayuki is called is a gospel/soul singer best known for his track called　“Koibito" Some Westerners may be familiar with this singer's use of dark face paint to portray black people. A lot of Showa era Japanese enjoy listening to his music at "nomikai" or, drinking parties because his music is really easy to sing to when drinking. With Masayuki, like Shimatani, you pick up a lot of the energy of the times. I'm sure there are more people I like but these are the main two. Enjoy.

Why Hakone?

Hakone, a town known mainly for its natural hot spas and gorgeous vistas. Old Timers especially enjoy stopping through here to relive a time when there was no tourism. They also make trips here to enjoy sweet bean and fish cakes. The thing I like about Hakone is that though many tourists visit here, the town has not succumbed to the ubiquitous tourist traps found in many major vacation spots like Hawaii and Thailand. You don't see shop owners trying for force their products on to you, and haggling is almost unheard of down here. I hope it remains that way. That's probably why I keep going there.

Another thing I like about Hakone is that it is so conveniently located. Like so many vacation spots in Japan, Hakone is the most conveniently accessible by train, car, bus, and even for cyclers. If you walk to Hakone from Yokohama it only takes 14 hours, and from Tokyo 18 hours. I'm sure you won't be walking there, but if you do and need a place to recuperate your energy then there're plenty of hot spas.

Aside from hot spas what else can you do? Nothing. The spa is the Hakone experience. I'm sure there's plenty of information out there about what to do and where to go, but like many travel itineraries, they rarely work out the way you had originally planned them, so I don't want to give you a long list of what-to-dos. I do recommend, however, that you pay a visit to Kappa Tengoku, perhaps the most original hot spring in all of Hakone. There're no amenities, it's not pretty, but the water is good. Original because it has never changed and has not modernized. It's located right behind the Hakone-Yumuto Station about a 3 or 4 minute walk.

Another nice thing would be to visit some of the fish cake shops because this food is also the most original delicacy in Hakone. I say original because Hakone doesn't take from other prefectures different fish cake techniques. If you eat a Hakone made fish cake it is authentic! No better fish cake you can find in Japan. Also the bean pastries are original.

As far as other places go, well, they're becoming too touristy. Avoid these places.

I like originality. I have a strong aversion to fusion. Many things in Japan just taste good the way they are.

Milk Liqueur!

These are in limited quantity so I snapped up a few to try a few weeks ago. I love some of the concoctions the Japanese come up with, especially when it comes to seasonal drinks and aperitifs.

This new drink from Akita Prefecture is called "Yogursh" and of all the little sweet concoctions I've tried over the last few months this one by far is the best. It could be because I'm a milk drinker. Yogursh uses 100% natural milk in this product. It's made using low temperature pasteurization along with very basic techniques for creating yoghurt by hand. Nothing complex about it at all so I wouldn't classify it as a " sake." If anything this is more like an Amazake, which is a type of super sweet and thick drink that's enjoyed during the winter and spring seasons in Japan. The biggest difference I notice between Amazake and Yogursh is the silky smoothness and natural texture. No noticeable alcohol on the palate at all. The sweetness is just right. Not the face twitching sweetness you get with most amazake(s). This drink for sure will go over well with the occasional drinker who may not be into drinking that much.

Tedorigawa: Autumn Junmai

Starting Autumn in Japan off right I want to set the mood a bit. Above is a video I put together about Autumn along with a musical score. In a lot of my posts I try to merge elements of nature, people, and sake in order to create a sense of connectivity to my experiences here in Japan. One of the nicest times to be in Japan is during this season. One of the things I enjoy doing is sitting in a wide open park on a cool crisp Autumn sunday, thin skies, red and yellow leaves swirling around like dancing dervishes in the breeze. I especially love the faint aroma of sweet beans in the air. Several sips of good sake and good company to pass the time along. Warm smiles as passersby greet in that familiar "konnichiwa" or good afternoon. I love Japan.

My first official Autumn sake that's been getting a little buzz here in Japan is called Tedorigawa Autumn Junmaishu Karakuchi(dry). Looking at the label on the video one can get a sense of the season. The dragonfly on the label represents the beginning of Autumn. The wide long road and the rice field are supposed to evoke a sense of nostalgia for bygone days in the countryside. It's good to know that this prefecture continues to produce great Japanese sake while still maintaining time honored traditions in sake making. This Tedorigawa is no exception, clean, crisp, long finish. A little hint of banana. It uses Yamada-Nishiki, a type of premium sake rice. Nihonshu-do is minus 2. Remember Nihonshu-do(日本酒度) is the number that indicates in a general sense the sweetness or dryness of a sake. The higher the number the drier the sake. Acid is 1.3.

I took the above picture in Hakone at an open air museum. The statue is depicting a woman stretching after wakening to a brilliant Autumn morning. As the seasons change so does the woman's mood as she changes out of her gown and then welcoming the crisp cool Autumnal morning with her beauty. I like observing these moments over nihonshu or an onsen.

Green Tea Heaven

Amazing how people living in the new millennium can still believe  heaven  still exists in the sky somewhere.  I could be dead wrong, but I'm pretty certain that heaven exists here on earth too, even on a plantation in a gigantic tea field.

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In my previous post I wrote a little bit about my tea picking experience in the tea capital of Japan.  This post will be a continuation of that.   After tea picking on the plantation we headed over to a restaurant called Maruobara, which is located directly on the premises. Here we were able to enjoy dishes that were made using the same tea we were picking. The restaurant only opens for lunch, which is from 11 to 2:30. There is no breakfast or dinner menu.

After being seated we were immediately served a complimentary appetizer of tempura tea leaves, some cold tea, and a small bottle of nihonshu - I ordered the nihonshu. The sake is called "Kihei" and it's a Nama-Chozo-Shu, which basically means that it was stored after brewing like a Nama without pasteurization and then only pasteurized once before being shipped out. Shu just means sake.

Basically, this is just a more refined "nama" type sake and since it's from Okayama Prefecture it gets high marks in my book, mainly because of that prefecture's delicious water and rice. Need I also note Okayama has gorgeous women.

Sake and green tea leaf tempura. After dipping the tea leaf tempura in green tea salt and eating it, I almost cried tears of joy, j/k. It was just so delicious. The soft and elegant refinement of the Kihei coupled with the greenish(ness) of the aromatic bitterness of the tea's natural flavors crunching in my mouth was just beyond my comprehension! It was just simply the finest tempura I have ever eaten in my life.

Tea Tempura Recipe:

Ingredients

1) Picked green tea (cut into halves)

2) Dried shrimp(sakura ebi): As much as you like.

3) Onion 1/2

4) Flour ( Tenpura-Ko): 1 cup.

5) Cold water 1 cup

6) Cooking oil: a lot( 1/2 a pan)

How to cook:

1) Thinly slice the onion

2) Make batter: mix cold water and flour.

3) Mix batter, tea shrimp and onion.

4) Ladle out 3, and dip into cooking oil slowly(pre-heated to 170 degrees C / 340 degrees F

5) When it floats, poke it with long chopsticks several times to sink it(*don't flip it over!).

Cooking Hint--To produce a crispy finish

1) Check the oil temperature

2) Don't over-beat the batter mix

3) Fry only enough at one time to cover about half the surface of oil in order to allow the ingredients to move freely.

4) It is important to keep the oil temperature constant while frying.

5) Use all purpose flour( not flour for bread). In Japan, they sell special flour for tempura ( tempura-ko), it is easy to deep-fry.



This was my spread. I was surprised to see three peanuts in the middle in the gold tray. Now I know that the most famous brand of peanuts are grown in Yachimata in Chiba Prefecture, way up near Tokyo-to, in the Greater Tokyo Area near the Boso Peninsula, but in Shizuoka...? Well, come to find out, the Shizuokans enjoy a variety of dishes with peanuts, too.

The unique flavor of standard peanuts, or groundnuts, served here were of a wet consistency, not like in America where they're dry. The outer shell on these nuts just fell right off with hardly any finger effort as if they were marinated in some kind of sake or fruit marinade. On the table there were wild vegetables with green tea leaves mixed in together, green tea noodles, green tea gelatin, green tea topped rice. It was a really nice green tea experience.



My partner had something similar also but was a hodge-podge of different things jumbled together. This bowl measured about 11 by 12 inches, so it was pretty big for just one person.

Everything was just delicious and tasty. We finished off with some homemade green tea ice cream and a dried fig.

I almost forgot to mention the anmitsu.   A type of fruit and bean dessert with green tea gelatin.  Nice!

All-an-all, the trip was really nice. The staff even drove us back to the station where we continued our journey, but this time back to Shizuoka city for an unagi ( eel )dinner. I will blog about in the next post.



The price was reasonable and the service was timely and excellent. One other really nice thing was that the waitress explained everything about the food to us. She just didn't put the food down and leave. It was a really nice experience.

Tsurushi

Starting September off right I would like to introduce a last minute summer sake that I feel is worth mentioning. The first is, as the title says " Tsurushi." The title has no association with the literal meaning associated with a 17th century torture technique the Japanese used on Christians to get them to recant their faith. Other meanings that can loosely be associated with this sake's title have no specific meaning, other than one technique used to separate sake lees which I haven't confirmed yet. Quite often sake labels have little association to the meaning of the sake, or why it was named, unless it's the name of the brewery.

The way it is stocked on store shelves is with cardboard wrapped around it. I assume it's to reduce light exposure on the sake. There're other breweries that do similar things with their sake as well, but instead with different colored bottles. The whole idea is to preserve the sake's natural state and to help it sleep better. Too much ultra violet light may have a negative effect on the finished product.





It's more economically feasible to purchase the large 1800ml than the 750 ml. The reason being is that you need time to drink and appreciate the nihonshu, so rather then paying 1200 to 2000 yen for a 750ml bottle, for just a few hundred more yen you can get the largest size. Tsurushi is a Junmai Muroka(unfiltered) that's been polished at 60% using a premium sake rice called Go-hyaku-mon-goku(Aizu Grown). Unfiltered premium class sake are known for having nice full on taste. I prefer unfiltered types personally.

Where this sake hails from is Aizu Wakumatsu, a city located in the Tohoku region in a prefecture called Fukushima, a region of Japan steeped in thousands of years of history. The president of the brewery that makes this sake is quite young from what I hear, under 30, which kind of reminds me of Aizu City's history and its most famous legend of Byakkotai, where a cadre of 305 young teenage boys, samurai, who fought valiantly in the Boshin War, 19 of which who committed ritual suicidal.





The reason why I make a lot of historical references when I'm drinking sake is because just drinking sake for the sake of drinking sake is an unfair drinking experience for the drinker or drink(ee). You need to add other elements to that sake drinking experience. Some people enjoy drinking sake with friends, which for them enhances the sake drinking experience, while others like myself enjoy with just one special person or a landscape.



I get lots of flavors swirling around in my mouth when I taste this. It's a little hard to latch on to one distinctive flavor profile. It's soft and straightforward and very pleasant to drink. The brewer is called Takahashi Brewery.







Final notes:

Clean, straightforward, refreshing. I do recommend trying it as a starter to something very light tasting, or as it is is fine.

While writing this, I was listening to "Karaoke (feat. DJ Khaled)" by T-Pain

Autumn Fish in Japan

Autumn, the most beautiful season in Japan, brings with it great sushi and Japanese sake. In order to start the season off right, I'd like to introduce the most popular autumnal fish in Japan. First one is called Katsuo, or Bonito, other names would be Skipjack or Bonita.



The Katsuo is in season twice a year. During spring the first Katsuo are leaner and more flavorsome. Around September returning Katsuo appear. The fish are fatter and are much heavier than the spring Katsuo. I recommend visiting Kochi Prefecture, Kochi is on the southern coast of Shikoku if you want to eat absolutely the best Katsuo. But, even if you are not able to travel that far, then local supermarkets around Japan should start selling them around mid September. If you are around Shizuoka I recommend visiting this site called Shizuoka Gourmet which is an amazing site packed full of useful information about Japanese food, and nihonshu ( Japanese rice brew).


Another big name fish for Autumn would be the Kohada, or Gizzard Shad. I think a lot of Western gourmands overlook the sublime and mellow texture of this fish. People who eat this fish tend to admire its brilliant silver skin and overall good taste. Personally, I think the fish is underrated and should be pushed more because of its visual appeal.



And then, how can I forget Saba or Japanese Mackerel. I think in Kanagawa Prefecture, Saba is the most popular local specialty. Saba is usually marinated in vinegar and then served up as a sushi. The best saba for me is when the sushi rice is nice and warm, and the saba is fresh as it just melts in your mouth and blends perfectly.



Ikura, or salmon roe have high nutritional content, but is also high in salt which may not be good for people with high blood pressure. Nevertheless, it's an acquired taste that some people like myself don't particularly prefer because of its high salt content. Other then that, it's a fairly good seafood if you don't mind the little eggs bursting your mouth.

So the next time you stop through your local sushi restaurant or kaiten sushi, remember to eat these fish first. Cheers!

Good Blogging Journals For Mac Users

Leaving the world of Bill Gates, expensive software, and a junk load of hardware behind a new era of computing has begun for me. I am cool, I am chic, I am....a Geek.

There's but one thing I miss though, it's the one thing that for me is the most important blogging platform client in the world. It's called Windows Live Writer, and it's a pity Mr. Jobs hasn't jumped on this mega mammoth new era in world communication. It's no secret that Steve Jobs hates us bloggers! He prefers news aggregates for his iPads by making it clear that he's more interested in making how we get our news more profitable for the giant newspapers and himself. Us bloggers have and are changing the way the world gets its news. The blogging community is reshaping the entire world of communication, so I hope that Mr. Jobs will see the demand for this and bring us something better than WLW.

I had to give up WLW when I converted to Mac, and I am having to struggle to learn a whole new platform all over again. When I was using WLW there was no learning curve. You could download the software and within minutes you'd be posting pictures and videos hassle free. Everything was so user friendly. No other blogging platform even comes close to what WLW can do. Blogo, the platform I am using to post this entry, is very smooth and very simple to use. I especially like how you can preview how the entry will look on your own blog's template before you post it.

A few days ago, in a hurry to post backlogged entries, I purchased Macjournal and downloaded Ecto, two of the biggest money and time wasting blog writing platforms in the world of Mac. The biggest turn off for me with MacJournal is how you have to adjust a setting in your tool bar called "inspector." In it you make all of your adjustments and other technical specifications for the post entry. I had to watch the Youtube tutuorial a few times just to see exactly how to use it. The biggest complaints that people have been saying about it is that you cannot post pictures with your entry. This is true. I have wasted so much time reading up on and trying to trouble shoot the problem. No solution. The one thing that could make it useful is the journaling features that allow you to neatly organize your diary and thoughts into Journals, which actually post to any blog platform very easily. Ecto, is just not worth the download at all, not even a review. Still same problems with uploading media to my post.

I downloaded Blogo and within fifteen minutes I was posting pictures and videos. A very smooth and clean interface. Everything is laid out and right there at your fingertips. So far I'm loving it.

There's Only Me [Instrumental] by Rob Dougan

Tea Picking in Shizuoka

No blog on Japan would ever be complete without some kind of fruit or tea picking. So, knowing me, and how much I over indulge myself in the host country I took a trip down to the tea capital of Japan where over 50% of all the tea is grown and cultivated in this country, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Of course tea is grown in other areas through-out Japan also, but in Shizuoka, namely Nishi-Ogima in Makinohara City, is where most people go to get a hands on feel for how authentic Japanese tea is grown and cultivated.

In order to start my trip off right I have a beer breakfast FIRST, and then I always grab one of these eki bento boxes( train station lunch box). Kanagawa Prefecture is famous for a few good eki bento. This one in my hand is a saba( horse mackerel), on rice.   

I was on my second Kirin Beer when I realized that in the wee hours of the morning, nothing can top an ice cold beer before a big trip; it’s just good for the blood circulation.  

Most of your urbanites and Tokyoites who travel down to Shizuoka prefer a faster mode of transportation. It’s quite rare for most of them to take a local line 3 hours in one direction. In our case we chose the slow local line leaving from Ofuna Station to Kanaya Station. Though we had to transfer about 3 or 4 times we saved about half on our fare, but it took forever to reach Kanaya Station which wasn’t bad at all actually. 

From our train window we were able to catch some amazing views of Mt. Fuji and of the Giant Gundam that’s now on display in Shizuoka City. I also can’t forget the brief but awesome views of the sea and bridges, especially Kanaya Bridge, near the Kanaya-juku station. The kind of bridge you see on picture postcards of steam trains chugging across a shallow river bed. I have always believed that the train ride is a part of the trip.

Finally arriving at the tea plantation, about a 20 minute taxi ride, there were only a few dozen people there. I was expecting more since it was on a Sunday that we went. Of course, I requested the Jukujo instructor to be our tour guide. As you can see, how she charmed even the shyest of butterflies with the tips of her nimble fingers, so did she to me

(While writing this, I was listening to “Esther” by Kenny G)

These were Sencha tea bushes. Sencha is your common table variety that you find in most sushi shops and restaurants.

Here she’s explaining about how to pick the tea leaves. You can see below in the next picture three leaves near the top of the stem, you pull these ones, not the long fourth one next to the index finger. You have to also be careful about the color. If the leaf is too dark then don’t pull it because it won’t produce delicious tea; something about it being too bitter. The ideal tea leaf is light green and shiny.

We had thirty minutes to fill our baskets. I was the slow one.

This small curled up leaf is not good because it’s been effected by a fungus. Since 1989 the fungus Pestalotia Longiseta has been causing tea gray blight on many tea plantations. Fortunately, this is under control.

If ever you come out this way you’ll see thousands of these plantation fans. Their primary use is during the cold winter months when leaves become vulnerable to ice and frost burn. These fans are supposed to mix hot and cold air to prevent frost from forming on the tea leaves.

The little green house you see at the top of the page is used for cultivating higher grades of tea

These columns are extremely narrow, even for Japanese, but it felt nice walking down them and feeling the tea bushes rubbing against me. Sometimes these bushes can grow as high as 4 meters if left untouched.

It was nice seeing Japanese kids learning about their tea culture and taking part in picking these tea leaves. If my livelihood had to depend on picking tea I’d go hungry; I’m just too slow at picking these little leaves.   I had fun on this trip. Tea picking season is from April to October. The trip was definitely worth it. The next post will introduce the restaurant on this plantation.

Sawanotsuru

Thank you all for your patience. Now I'm back up and running. I recently changed computing platforms. A major change by the way. I have fully converted from PC to Mac and I am not looking back baby. I have had my last straw with Bill's software monopoly and I won't tolerate it any longer, but enough of that. Listen to the pronounciation of this sake:

clickbelow.

Closing summer out right I will be introducing a couple more summer sake. This one " Sawanotsuru" comes from a very well known and established brewery that has a well known reputation in the sake drinking community. By the way, the name "Sawanotsuru" literally means the " Crane of the Swamp." The reason for purchasing this brand is because normally, the nihonshu I choose come from smaller less known breweries, and since this one didn't I thought that I should offer my readers a little something more readily accessible. You can find this brand anywhere in Japan.

Now the nihonshu I am drinking tonight is the summer version and it's mighty tasty

What you are looking at is called a yubeshi, a type of guteneous sweet brown sugar walnut filled treat from Fukushima Prefecture. Whenever I am up this way I make sure to grab one of these. I especially enjoy how lovely they go with delicious nihonshu. The mild texture of the summer genshu and this yubeshi makes for a delicious summer afternoon treat. I can imagine a better summer than with a good sake and some something soft and peanut filled.

My First MacBook

So I gave in and finally purchased my first MacBook. So far I have no regrets, actually I love it, everything about it. Its design, weight, ergonomic feel, and ease of use. But what I find myself missing most, the only thing really, is Microsoft’s Windows Live Writer! Arguably the greatest blog writer ever made. Unfortunately, for Steve Jobs this amazing software is not available for the MB, and it’s a real pity too because I have so many journal entries backed up on my WLW; I haven’t even posted my summer vacation posts.

I don’t see a work around for this coming down the pike anytime soon so I went ahead and downloaded MacJournal, the next best thing for WLW. So far it’s smooth and operational. I like the typing experience and relative ease of use. I haven’t fully tested it out yet, that’s why I’m writing this post.

I picked up a MacBook Pro at Bic Camera yesterday for 74000 yen after signing a three month OCN contract for home internet service. Retail for this MB is about 114,000 out the door, so I got a $400.00 discount on a 3 month deal. Not too bad. Couple with a wimax wifi internet wireless router set up that fits right in my pocket. I’m running 40mps, which is the fastest in Japan.