Wednesday 27 June 2012

Weird Things I Found in the Supermarket

I'm hesitant to post this, because John's parents are coming to visit in under 2 months, and mine less than a month later, and they're all already convinced that Japanese food is weird and strange and they're all going to starve. As we know, and they'll soon realise, most Japanese food is delicious and safe and not scary at all. However, there is some very strange stuff lurking around. Evidence:

I think these are hearts. Or some kind of bizarre innards anyway.

Chicken gristle

Freaky sea monster.

Sea urchin. It'd have to be a lot cheaper than half price to tempt me.

OK, so this was at a sushi bar, not the supermarket, but it's massive octopus tentacle sushi. We actually ate this one (as opposed to all the ones above). It was tasty enough but too chewy and the suckers kind of popped as you bit them. Gross.

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Typhoon

Last week, there was a typhoon. John tried to tell me that by the time it got here it was just a storm, but despite meteorological semantics, it was a LOT of wind and rain. We were slightly worried our flimsy little apartment would blow away, but when we awoke we weren't in Oz, so it appears it survived! However, the next morning, as we looked out of our apartment, this was the view outside our window...

Lots of diggers moving lots of dirt.

Where did it all come from, I hear you ask? Well, a quick look up the road revealed this...

BOOM!

How we didn't hear this explode in the night is beyond me, but obviously the rain drumming on the roof drowned it out. Our best guess is that the water pipe somehow exploded, but if anyone has a better guess, I'd love to hear it! 
But by the next evening, all was peace and happiness. 

There was a lovely sunset (I hate wires)...

...and the road was completely sorted out. 

Thursday 21 June 2012

My Week: Indoor Pursuits

As you might have heard, it's the rainy season in Japan at the moment. Well, that's what everyone says. This climate chart seems to suggest that actually it just gets rainier and rainier until it's winter again. Yippee. But, you know, we're British. Enjoying complaining about the rain is part of our national heritage! Plus, we've found plenty of indoor activities to keep us entertained!

Izakaya (Japanese bar), take 1. John with fish.

Izakaya take 2, nabe and sashimi

Failing at bowling because it was too busy, but the table tennis was fun!

We're useless at table tennis, but great at photos! 

Purikura time! 


I rearranged our room to clean, and John was very helpful :s

It was going to be a Christmas present, then a birthday one, but I finally finished my sewing in time to send to my Dad for Father's Day!

My amazing mother posted me some cookies!! They were so yum! Just don't tell customs...

Reason 10,000 why I am becoming my mother...I put far too many things in my bike basket then try to cycle home!

Note to Susie...STOP BUYING CARD MAKING ITEMS. They may only be ¥100 each and very pretty, but you have a very small apartment and not that many people to send cards to.

New love, bento box making. Craft plus food plus lots of cute accessories to buy. Heaven.

Me and my favourite little class decorated our initials. Great, until someone decided the paper was confetti. Good thing the vacuum worked!

Putting craft items to good use. Parcels on their way, girls!

Sunday 17 June 2012

Rinnoji Temple

We'd planned a trip to Yamadera (a temple on a mountain near us) on this day off, but gloomy weather put us off making a big trip. Instead, we got the train to Kitayama, and went to Rinnoji temple. It's the family temple of the Date clan (family of Date Masamune who founded Sendai). It was founded in 1444, but only moved to Sendai when the Date's did in the 1600s. The buildings are OK, but it's the garden that's really pretty. 

There were donkeys but I have no idea why. John enjoying meeting people of his own intelligent level though.

Calm and peaceful.

Day was really overcast, but it was still lovely.







Date family emblem. See the sparrows in the middle? They're the reason for the Sparrow Dance.




Just down the road there was a smaller shinto shrine that we visited too.

And after reading this post, I had to take photos of these statues, and impress John with my knowledge about why one has an open mouth, and one a closed one :)


Saturday 9 June 2012

Aoba Matsuri Part 3, Parade

Now the last two posts about Aoba Masturi were as close as I come to being scholarly, but I have no more information to offer, but a lot more photos, so that's all you're getting in this post!

Dancing down Clis Road, the main shopping street in Sendai.

Firemen holding up a ladder...

...ready for some acrobatics

Date Masamune

John being made useful

Mayoress of Sendai

Suzume Odori band

The Japanese 7 Lucky Gods on their float. I like Ebisu, the one on the left with the fish. He seems to really love his fish.



Masamune's fight for Sendai, re-enacted by high school students

Sunday 3 June 2012

My Month: Bits and Bobs and Being Outside

Onigiri. I've been making these a lot recently. Yum.

Storytime at school

Gyoza, ready for the pan. I've been having a dumpling phase recently too!

We went out with our friend Shoko and some of her friends last week. It was 90 minutes of all you can eat BBQ meat and all you can drink. Yum!

We went for a bike ride. The countryside is gorgeous.


I have no idea why there was a random church in the middle of nowhere!

Hirosegawa River

Rice and water everywhere!

Pretty flowers

Firefighter drain cover, mark 1.

Cool firefighter drain cover, mark 2.

A battery vending machine