There's a Sake Museum...and I've been there!
Hello Friends, Family, and various Well-Wishers!
A request has been made to add a picture here or there of the type of food I eat on a regular basis (unlike The Unbelievable, mentioned in a previous entry...though I would eat it everyday if it wasn't over 25 American dollars!) Speaking of The Unbelievable...the Thais and Americans now refer to the seven of us as a whole as "The Unbelievables" due to our recent victory over the aforementioned ice cream.
ANYWAYS...here's a picture of the feast I woke up to yesterday (Tuesday) morning. If you recall, I had saved it from the previous night's dinner (once again, a byrproduct of The Unbelievable...it's changed my life forever).
Sushi...this kind has tuna, rice, egg, cucumber, and seaweed. Oishi cata (It tastes delicious).
After a morning at the farm (we planted some scallions) Umeo, Kio, Chris, and myself went on a few errands. First stop: The Video Store.
Last time we went, I wasn't looking for anything in particular so it was easy...you look on the wall and find the picture on the cover of an american movie you recognize. Most of the movies from America are spoken in Englis?"h with Japanese subtitles...so as long as you can pick out the movie by the picture on the front of the box, you're home free.
This time, however, I was looking for something very specific. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"
In the red corner...Matto, an American who can speak enough Japanese to greet you at anytime of the day, can say "thank you" (in formal or not so formal style), can tell you "no problem," and can tell you that the food you cooked looks or tastes delicious.
In the blue corner...a Japanese video store employee who doesn't appear to speak any English whatsoever (though I'm sure he could say more than "The meal you cooked looks delicious.") and...this store...
Though there are Americans on the movie covers and advertisements, the only english I see is "X-Men" on one of the posters. Ok...let the battle begin.
Enter Japanese Video Store Employee
Matt: Hi...umm...can you help me?
Employee: *Blank stare*
Matt: What is Eating Gilbert Grape?
Employee: .......*blink*.........*blink*.........
Matt: *In a stroke of genius, picks up "Edward Scissorhands* JOHNNY DEPP!! *Picks up "Titanic"* LEONARDO DICAPRIO!!! Editors Note: Matt is a genius because those are the two main characters in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"
Employee: ......*nervous smile*........*looks around for help*
Matt: Seeing that the employee is looking around for help, deduces that there might be someone in the store that speaks a little more english than this fellow. Matt gets a piece of paper and a pen and writes "'What's Eating Gilbert Grape.' Leonardo Dicaprio, Johnny Depp, 1993"
Employee: Says the phrase for "Please wait one minute," that I can't currently remember.
About three minutes later, Employee is back with a "What is Eating Gilbert Grape." VICTORY!!
A quick stop at the grocery store, and we were back at Aichiyo!
Chris and I go back to the room and in about 15 minutes Coz walks in and gestures that he's going out by putting his hands on an imaginary steering wheel and moving them back and forth. We ask where and he points at us which we guess means that we can pick.
We tell them we'll go wherever he wants to take us! He laughs...and 10 minutes later Chris and I are in a van with Coz, Hatchan, and the Thai guys.
On the way we're all making guesses as to where we might be going. Nagoya? Tokoname? More ice cream?? Coz says something to Hatchan and then she tells us that he's taking us to the Sake Museum. BOO-YAH!!
The museum was right in Handa City and pretty small...but we had a good time! The Thai guys are entering the museum, Chris is wearing the sweater, and Hatchan is to his left.
There was a step by step "How to Make Sake" section (thankfully, we were given english pamphlets to help us out). I joked with Coz that Chris and I were going to start stealing rice from the kitchen and making our own Sake in the jacuzzi at the dorm house. He laughed (for some reason, it always feels like a big victory anytime I can make Coz crack up. It's obvious that he's happy making us happy and watching us joking around with eachother...so I guess it's just nice to be partially responsible for making HIM laugh every once in awhile).
What sake museum would be complete without a tasting area. Coz bought us some samples and, I found a couple of really good ones (though, none compare to the sake I had at the hotel when we went to the Kamikochi Mountains.
Here's Mate and I, enjoying the samples.
After the Sake Museum, we headed over to the nearby town of Tokoname (this is where Hatsumi and Coz took Chris and I on our first sightseeing exhibition...when we went at the point, it was to see the tile museums). Today we were going to a place we refer to as "Cera (as in ceramics) Mall. We spent an hour or so looking through all of the shops and I found a few things to help decorate my new NYC apartment this January.
One more stop at Centrair (in the Nagoya airport) for some quick shopping, and lookin around the airports various galleries and museums (it's a big airport).
Back to Aichiyo, just in time for prayer, dinner, rehearsal, soccer, and...welp...I justfell asleep and now it's 5:30AM here...so goodnight!
Here's a picture of Junt and I eating fried tuna.
A request has been made to add a picture here or there of the type of food I eat on a regular basis (unlike The Unbelievable, mentioned in a previous entry...though I would eat it everyday if it wasn't over 25 American dollars!) Speaking of The Unbelievable...the Thais and Americans now refer to the seven of us as a whole as "The Unbelievables" due to our recent victory over the aforementioned ice cream.
ANYWAYS...here's a picture of the feast I woke up to yesterday (Tuesday) morning. If you recall, I had saved it from the previous night's dinner (once again, a byrproduct of The Unbelievable...it's changed my life forever).
Sushi...this kind has tuna, rice, egg, cucumber, and seaweed. Oishi cata (It tastes delicious).
After a morning at the farm (we planted some scallions) Umeo, Kio, Chris, and myself went on a few errands. First stop: The Video Store.
Last time we went, I wasn't looking for anything in particular so it was easy...you look on the wall and find the picture on the cover of an american movie you recognize. Most of the movies from America are spoken in Englis?"h with Japanese subtitles...so as long as you can pick out the movie by the picture on the front of the box, you're home free.
This time, however, I was looking for something very specific. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"
In the red corner...Matto, an American who can speak enough Japanese to greet you at anytime of the day, can say "thank you" (in formal or not so formal style), can tell you "no problem," and can tell you that the food you cooked looks or tastes delicious.
In the blue corner...a Japanese video store employee who doesn't appear to speak any English whatsoever (though I'm sure he could say more than "The meal you cooked looks delicious.") and...this store...
Though there are Americans on the movie covers and advertisements, the only english I see is "X-Men" on one of the posters. Ok...let the battle begin.
Enter Japanese Video Store Employee
Matt: Hi...umm...can you help me?
Employee: *Blank stare*
Matt: What is Eating Gilbert Grape?
Employee: .......*blink*.........*blink*.........
Matt: *In a stroke of genius, picks up "Edward Scissorhands* JOHNNY DEPP!! *Picks up "Titanic"* LEONARDO DICAPRIO!!! Editors Note: Matt is a genius because those are the two main characters in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"
Employee: ......*nervous smile*........*looks around for help*
Matt: Seeing that the employee is looking around for help, deduces that there might be someone in the store that speaks a little more english than this fellow. Matt gets a piece of paper and a pen and writes "'What's Eating Gilbert Grape.' Leonardo Dicaprio, Johnny Depp, 1993"
Employee: Says the phrase for "Please wait one minute," that I can't currently remember.
About three minutes later, Employee is back with a "What is Eating Gilbert Grape." VICTORY!!
A quick stop at the grocery store, and we were back at Aichiyo!
Chris and I go back to the room and in about 15 minutes Coz walks in and gestures that he's going out by putting his hands on an imaginary steering wheel and moving them back and forth. We ask where and he points at us which we guess means that we can pick.
We tell them we'll go wherever he wants to take us! He laughs...and 10 minutes later Chris and I are in a van with Coz, Hatchan, and the Thai guys.
On the way we're all making guesses as to where we might be going. Nagoya? Tokoname? More ice cream?? Coz says something to Hatchan and then she tells us that he's taking us to the Sake Museum. BOO-YAH!!
The museum was right in Handa City and pretty small...but we had a good time! The Thai guys are entering the museum, Chris is wearing the sweater, and Hatchan is to his left.
There was a step by step "How to Make Sake" section (thankfully, we were given english pamphlets to help us out). I joked with Coz that Chris and I were going to start stealing rice from the kitchen and making our own Sake in the jacuzzi at the dorm house. He laughed (for some reason, it always feels like a big victory anytime I can make Coz crack up. It's obvious that he's happy making us happy and watching us joking around with eachother...so I guess it's just nice to be partially responsible for making HIM laugh every once in awhile).
What sake museum would be complete without a tasting area. Coz bought us some samples and, I found a couple of really good ones (though, none compare to the sake I had at the hotel when we went to the Kamikochi Mountains.
Here's Mate and I, enjoying the samples.
After the Sake Museum, we headed over to the nearby town of Tokoname (this is where Hatsumi and Coz took Chris and I on our first sightseeing exhibition...when we went at the point, it was to see the tile museums). Today we were going to a place we refer to as "Cera (as in ceramics) Mall. We spent an hour or so looking through all of the shops and I found a few things to help decorate my new NYC apartment this January.
One more stop at Centrair (in the Nagoya airport) for some quick shopping, and lookin around the airports various galleries and museums (it's a big airport).
Back to Aichiyo, just in time for prayer, dinner, rehearsal, soccer, and...welp...I justfell asleep and now it's 5:30AM here...so goodnight!
Here's a picture of Junt and I eating fried tuna.
posted by Matt at 9:48 AM
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