Isn't food just wonderful.
An update from me who finds happiness in delicious food.
This time I would like to introduce a local restaurant serving since 1919: Eijyu-tei, and their katsudon (fried pork cutlet bowl).
This katsudon which I have been indebted to since childhood is in two words deliciously cheap! A fair price for your average katsudon is give or take 800 yen, but this restaurants katsudon A is available for 400 yen. Don’t be expecting low quality due to a low price!
These freshly fried katsu get doused in a Japanese style dressing and piled to the count of three slices atop a bed of rice. Hold on a second! Here in Takasaki when mentioning fried pork we’re talking about sauce topped katsudon, not your average steamed egg mix.
There are three flavors, katsudon A (Japanese dressing), B (steamed egg), and C (Jumbo). I always order the katsudon A with extra rice and an extra slice of pork.
If paying a visit to Takasaki, by all means stop by Eijyu-tei and give their katsudon a taste. This restaurant only serves lunchtime so be careful.
From Creampuff-fingers
On a recent day off of mine, my son told me he wanted to see the trains of Kagohara station. I knew he wanted to see the joining of two trains that was being performed at Kagohara station. As a parent I figured that alone wouldn’t be a full day, so planned to take the Ueno Tokyo Line for fun, walk the last bit to Tokyo and enjoy some pasta together.
As planned we watched the joining of the Kagohara trains and I thought we should be off the Tokyo. Alas, an accident had thrown the gem of intra-city lines into chaos.
After waiting, at last we made it onto the train I thought, but again we met trouble... The Ueno Tokyo line was also being stopped due to the same accident... Even after all that waiting for the Ueno Tokyo line, I started to groan, but we decided to take this chance to go and see the Ginza line we both like.
After that, our trains destination changed to Asakusa, Asakusa = Sky Tree!! So on that whim we went to see Tokyo Sky Tree. From Asakusa walking to the base of Sky Tree, and from there via a connecting train at last we arrived in Tokyo.
Normally we would travel from Ueno to Tokyo in five minutes, but unplanned events led us to new and fun experiences. It made me think how at times, including troubles, it can be good to go with the flow.
To me physics and astronomy are the most important professions of mankind. They create our future, foster in new awareness, and change the very way we see our world. If you study psychology you can understand the human brain is actually very selective and will ignore what it does not want to see. Through new knowledge and understanding you can literally see things that you could not see before.
Did you know that there are people that can see colors that you cannot? Sounds impossible does it not? How can you even imagine a new color? What is a color?
Colors are actually waves created by travelling heat or energy known as photons. In fact, the entire universe is made up of little more than energy and waves. The pliability of wood, the smell of caramel popcorn, the laughter of children, these are all created and composed of little more than energy and waves.
Here at Akiba Die Casting we like aluminum. It has a nice silvery shine to it unlike gold which has a much more yellow color. The yellow color of gold is also caused by the waves of photons. When light hits gold the gold absorbs some of the blue light reflecting back a new color. The blue photons are literally absorbed as heat into the gold increasing its overall energy.
Does this mean the longer you shine a light on gold the more photons it has? No.
Does this mean the light is using up its photons? No.
Photons are simply expressions of energy that travel through space transmitting heat, energy, and sometimes information to often faraway places. When you look at a star in the night sky you are seeing photons that it created sometimes millions of year ago that finally, after millions of years of flying through space found something to bump into, hit the cones in your eyes, and are translated by your brain from a heat signature into a visible image. They come and they go as they please unlike matter which can change shapes but never go away.
Sadly the waves of light that we can see with our eyes are only one millionth of all the light that is actually out there every day flying around us. More and more we make machines to see things we cannot, but imagine what else might be out there waiting for us, if only we had the eyes to see it.
From Postman
Last week I fell victim to acute gastroenteritis.
From the moment I woke up in the morning I though [ am I sick? ] but headed out to work anyway. Half way down the road I suddenly realized [ this is bad ], called in to work, and made a U-turn. Back at home I took my temperature and found I had a fever of over 38 degrees. For starters I tried sleeping for the day, yet waking up later that night emergency evacuation procedures began from both above and below.
Going to the doctor the next day, [ looks like acute gastroenteritis, probably Noro ] was the decision leading to an unforeseen four days stuck at home.
*Acute gastroenteritis has two forms, viral and bacterial, though there is no quick way to tell one from the other, normally only done with an expensive test that takes over a week.
*Also antibiotics do not generally work forcing a patient to just wait until the disease passes through their system with only antipyretics and intestinal medicine.
This was the second time I have caught acute gastroenteritis. This time I have no idea where I picked it up from but catching it is hard not only on the individual but on their family and place of work as well.
I am now being much more diligent with the basic practices of gargling and washing my hands.
However, not that I am looking for gain within loss, but my weight..... unchanged. How come?
From Naotyn
Even when starting something new, when repeated frequently all things start to feel common.
A younger me used to think going skiing or golfing was an extraordinary event, though nowadays they both feel quite common. Of course I still taste the extraordinary when I am actually sliding or hitting a ball.
Lately the few times I feel that sense of extraordinary are usually during my business trips abroad.
Going to Narita. Getting on an airplane. Staying at a foreign hotel. Tasting the foreign air. These all become extraordinary.
Here are some extraordinary experiences from this year and last during my business trips to Thailand and Vietnam.
Neither trip was my first experience in those countries and yet a short five days is never enough to get used to everything. The food, and taking care with the water are things we never normally worry about. Even with extra care and attention I often seem to meet an upset stomach.
Especially in Thailand where I usually try and enjoy the local cuisine, I find myself each time wondering “will this be ok?.” Both Thailand and Vietnam use a lot of cilantro which is something I never seem able to accustom to. Small those leaves seem but they sure have a punch. Differences in food culture sure are hard to overcome. However, each time I go abroad I always bring several nutritional supplement type foods just in case, yet always find myself bring them back home with me. In the end it seems I am enjoying the food culture after all.
This too is extraordinary.
From 3+
Welcoming in the season for Sakura fuels an appetite for Sakura Mochi does it not.
Though the name [ Sakura Mochi ] may be widely used, the item itself can vary greatly by region; especially when comparing the Kanto region and the Kansai region.
In the Kanto region Sakura Mochi is made with flour baked into a ball, filled with sweet bean paste folded or rounded in shape. This type is known by another name, [ Life Extending Temple Sakura Mochi ].
In the Kansai region, sweet bean paste is wrapped in rice like a bun and is known as [ Fated Temple Sakura Mochi ].
In this way the temple names of the original creators are added on. Both styles are then wrapped in the salted leaves of Sakura, usually the [ Oshima Sakura ] which are soft and have fewer hairs than most.
Each flavor can be separately enjoyed, especially by those enjoying the Sakura during flower viewing each year!
Also, the salted leaves of the Sakura contain a light poison known as Kumarin, so let’s be sure not to eat too much!
From Aqua
At last we are really starting to hear the footsteps of Spring.
On March 18, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced Kochi-prefecture as the first prefecture to host a Spring air with the flowering of their Yoshino Cherry Trees. The most feel good of the seasons, wouldn’t you say.
A feel good season it may be but for me it is the season when I want to go outside the least of all. The reason being the sudden heavily scattered pollen and the nasal inflammation among other symptoms it brings completely turn my motivation switch OFF. In regards to the nasal inflammation I survive most years by taking allergy medicine and wearing a mask but lately the worst has been my itching eyes.
No matter how many eyes drops I apply I don’t seem able to clear the pollen so I started a little market research into the well-known local company [ JINS ] and their pollen countering glasses. They were a hot topic when first announced 3 or 4 years ago and were too popular for me to garner a pair as they sold out as soon as they were made available. This season, heading to a shop to see their main attraction, the perfect fit type cutting 98.7% pollen (7,900 yen) were already sold out by pre-order.
It was a bummer, having thought maybe this year I would have a chance, but at the same time it’s great to see a company capable of making a product so loved.
From Pumping both wheels
Isn't food just wonderful.
An update from me who finds happiness in delicious food.
This time I would like to introduce a Cooked Udon Stew specialty shop [ Satori ] and their [ Boiled Beef Kalbi Udon (Spicy) ].
[ Satori ] specializes in Udon boiled on burners right before your eyes; something you can’t easily find somewhere else. The noodles are kept hot until the very end making it a perfect place for the colder seasons.
The dish I introduced [Boiled Beef Kalbi Udon (Spicy) ] uses quite a bit of garlic, something rather uncommon in Udon. Garlic is more and more referred to as a nutritional treasure, but boy is it tasty! Couple it with the large amount of beef kalbi and strength is sure to follow.
The introduction up until now was probably more than enough to explain the greatness of this restaurant, but their [ Closing Rice Gruel ] is also quite wonderful. After finishing your udon, add rice and egg into the pot (which are included with the udon set). The leftover soup is delicious making for a delightful rice gruel. Finishing off a set of hot gruel and udon awards you with satisfaction, wrapped in a sense of well-being.
For people that aren’t interested in garlic there is a plethora of stews without garlic and all are quite tasty. Why not enjoy one yourself.
From Creampuff-fingers
“Keep your chin up” or something similar is probably something everyone has heard. When you’re feeling down or deep in thought about something, often you find yourself looking downward. Pointedly, I try to look up at the sky at those times to change my feelings up.
But did you know, sometimes looking down while walking leads to good things. Not like finding money or anything like that, lol.
For example, on the right is a manhole near my house.
The cities flower [ Sasanqua ] and the cities tree [ Zelkova ] are used in a design showing the nations special historic site where the Tako Monument is stored. In researching the topic I knew for the first time that our cities flower was [ Sasanqua ] and our tree is the [ Zelkova ].
What do you think researching the manhole near your house might reveal? You might learn something new.
However, be sure to be careful of cars and other people.
Let’s look down while we walk!
2014 posts:
Oct-Dec
