First pics of the Kyushu trip...from the wild island of Yakushima !! wild, green, dense, fresh, alive!
21/5/13
Yakushima!!!
Primeres fotos del viatge a Kyushu. Fotos fresques de la illa salvatge de Yakushima...salvatge, verda, densa, fresca, viva!
First pics of the Kyushu trip...from the wild island of Yakushima !! wild, green, dense, fresh, alive!
First pics of the Kyushu trip...from the wild island of Yakushima !! wild, green, dense, fresh, alive!
15/5/13
Descobrint Kyushu! - Discovering Kyushu!
Hola hola! ja torno a estar per aquí...i torno amb un munt de coses per explicar! Resulta que fa poc vàrem tenir la famosa "Golden Week" (Setmana Daurada) que és una setmana amb varis dies festius marcada amb vermell al calendari i és que molts japonesos, de forma excepcional, s'agafen tota la setmana de vacances. Amb la GW va arribar la visita dels meus estimadíssims pares, uns veterans ja del Japó, i amb ells vaig decidir visitar Kyushu, la única de les 4 grans illes que hem quedava per visitar. Kyushu és l'illa que hi ha al sud-oest del país, d'un tamany similar a Catalunya, al Japó és coneguda sobretot per tres grans coses: terra de volcans i aigües termals, clima més càlid i evidentment per la seva gastronomia (peix, maduixes, carn de cavall i...shochu, el famós alcohol destil.lat del Japó).
Hi!! I'm back...and came back with lots of things to share! A couple of weeks ago we had in Japan the famous "Golden Week" which is a week with several days of holidays and, exceptionally, is one of the few periods of the year were most of the Japanese will take a week off. And with GW I had the visit of my lovely parents, with whom I decided to go down to Kyushu, the last of the 4 big islands that hadn't visited yet. Located in the south-west part of the country, here is well-known for three main things: land of volcanos and hot spring, warmer weather, and of course its cuisine (lots of fish, strawberries, horse meat...and shochu the famous distilled of Japan).
Vàrem volar fins a Fukuoka i des d'allà vàrem llogar un cotxer per poder explorar bé la illa. De Fukuoka poca cosa, a banda d'un sopar en un restaurant que ens vàrem posar les botes. La següent parada va ser Beppu, la ciutat-onsen, un lloc on el vapor d'aigua surt de cada cantonada!. Us recordo que els onsen són els famosos banys d'aigües termals, doncs bé, en aquesta ciutat costanera hi ha la concentració d'onsen més alta del Japó, per tots gustos i colors, fins i tot vàrem trobar banys exteriors (el que ells anomenen "rotenburos") perduts al mig de la muntanya on la gent es banya sense cap pudor, rotllo platja nudista. A recordar, la visita que vem fer en un onsen super-tradicional amb més de 100 anys d'història, molt autèntic i a sobre vàrem poder gaudir de l'experiència de fer un bany de terra calenta! La següent parada va ser Aso san, el volcà en actiu més important del Japó. En un entorn natural espectacular et trobes aquella xemeneia de vapors que no para de fumejar! Diuen que aqui es van filmar unes quantes pel.licules de Kurosawa! Seguidament vem anar fins a Kumamoto, ciutat coneguda per tenir un dels 3 castells tradicionals més imponents del Japó, el Kumamoto-jo, un castell originàriament construït al S.XV (tot i que va ser reconstruït vàries vegades) i que és un exemple del tradicional castell de samurais japonesos. L'altre element a destacar va ser Suizenji koen, un dels parcs/jardins més macos que he vist en aquest país, aquesta gent són uns artistes en tema de jardineria! La següent parada va ser al sud a Kagoshima, una ciutat que a banda del seu peculiar nom alberga un altre dels famosos volcans del Japó, el Sakurajima, una illa volca. Aquell dia però ens va ploure molt i ens va limitar la visita. No obstant, Kagoshima era també el punt de partida de la següent destinació, la illa de Yakushima, sens dubte per mi el millor del viatge i un dels indrets més guapos que he vist al país.
We flu to Fukuoka and from there we rented a car to easily explore the island. From Fukuoka I can say very little, besides the wonderful dinner we had in a restaurant (yes...food is excellent). Our next stop was Beppu, the hot spring paradise of Japan, a place were steam pops up from everywhere! Here you find the highest concentration of Onsen (natural hot spring baths) in Japan, all kinds, we even found outdoors Onsen (rotenburos) lost in the middle of a mountain were people takes a bath in complete harmony with nature. From here as well, I would highlight the visit to a very old Onsen with more than 100 years of history, really authentic and we had the opportunity to try a "hot sand bath", quite weird! From Beppu we continue towards Aso san, the most important active volcano in Japan. Here the landscape was amazing, surrounded by a vast area of a national park emerges the steam of the volcano, a masterpiece of geology. In this area it is said that Kurosawa shot some of his movies! After this, our next stop was Kumamoto, city known for its impressive castle, Kumamoto-jo, one of the 3 best traditional castle of Japan, originally built in the XV century (although it had several restoration over the years) is a great example of the traditional castle of samurais of that period. The other must see of Kumamoto is the Suizenji koen, one of the most beautiful parks/garden I've seen in this country, absolutely amazing how this people master the art of gardening! Next was to the south, Kagoshima, a city with a particular name, known for being place of another volcano, Sakurajima, and island-volcano. Unfortunately our stay in Kagoshima went with heavy rain and couldn't enjoy as much as we wanted, however the main reason of being there was as departing point of our next destination, Yakushima island, without a doubt the best of our trip and top place in my visits in Japan.
Yakushima és la primera illa de l'arxipèlag d'illes d'Okinawa, però com que està tan a prop de Kyushu, depèn administrativament de Kagoshima. Des d'allà doncs, ens vàrem llevar d'hora ben d'hora per agafar el primer vaixell que sortia del port en destinació a Yakushima i un cop allà va ser brutal, la illa és com una jungla, tot són muntanyes, naturalesa i verdor. L'illa és a més patrimoni de l'Unesco sobretot per la presència d'uns cedres mil.lenaris bestials, el més conegut el Jomon-sugi diuen que podria arribar a tenir més de 7000 anys!. En definitiva un paradís pels amants del montanyisme, al punt que sembla que va inspirar Miyazaki en la seva pel.lícula "Princesa Mononoke".
Yakushima is the first island of the archipelago of Okinawa islands, but as it is so close to Kyushu it reports administratively to Kagoshima. So from there, we took an early (very early) boat from the port with destination to Yakushima, and one there it was simply great, this island is like a jungle, all about mountains, nature and greenery. On top, it's protected by Unesco as World natural heritage since it has several ceder trees with thousands years of history, the most popular Jomon-sugi which could have up to 7000years! So, a paradise for mountain and trekking fans, it seems the island was an inspiration for Miyazaki's movie "Princess Mononoke".
Ja de tornada, un altre vaixell i després cotxe amunt direcció a Nagasaki. La ciutat, internacionalment coneguda pels fets de la II guerra mundial, al Japó és a més coneguda per ser un dels punts claus per on van entrar i establir la immigració occidental al país i és que a l'època tenia un dels ports més importants. No obstant, avui dia la visita té un interès centrat en els dramàtics fets del 1945, amb el museu de la bomba atòmica (comparativament prefereixo el d'Hiroshima) i sobretot amb el Memorial de la pau, dissenyat per Akira Kuryu, una autèntica obra d'art arquitectònica amb un gran valor emotiu. De Nagasaki, vàrem fer una última parada a Arita, un petit poblet conegut per la producció de ceràmica japonesa, i tornada a Fukuoka. En total vàren ser més de 1000km voltant de dalt a baix per Kyushu, de la qual em quedo amb moltes coses però sobretot, com és habitual, em va sorprendre de nou l'abundància de naturalesa salvatge general en tota l'illa...realment el Japó de veritat és molt més que la imatge de grans ciutats urbanes. Aviat penjaré fotos!
Back to mainland, another boat and then we took the car towards Nagasaki. This city, mostly known outside Japan for the bombing in the WWII, here in Japan is also known for being a key location from where westerners entered to Japan and settled down, since at that period it had probably the most important port of the country. Nowadays however, it is clear that its interest focuses in the events of 1945, hosting a museum of the Atomic Bomb (similar to the one in Hiroshima but if I had to choose probably I will say the latter), and above all the Nagasaski memorial hall for the atomic bomb, designed by architect Akira Kuryu, and authentic work of architecture with a strong emotional significance. After Nagasaki, last stop in Arita, a little town known for its pottery where we found a popular pottery fair, and finally back to Fukuoka. Altogether, more than 1000km to visit all around Kyushu and discover many great things, although probably the most striking thing for me was to see again that mostly the island is surrounded by deep wild nature everywhere...another example that the real Japan is much more than the typical urban city image that we are used to. Pictures to come soon!
Hi!! I'm back...and came back with lots of things to share! A couple of weeks ago we had in Japan the famous "Golden Week" which is a week with several days of holidays and, exceptionally, is one of the few periods of the year were most of the Japanese will take a week off. And with GW I had the visit of my lovely parents, with whom I decided to go down to Kyushu, the last of the 4 big islands that hadn't visited yet. Located in the south-west part of the country, here is well-known for three main things: land of volcanos and hot spring, warmer weather, and of course its cuisine (lots of fish, strawberries, horse meat...and shochu the famous distilled of Japan).
Vàrem volar fins a Fukuoka i des d'allà vàrem llogar un cotxer per poder explorar bé la illa. De Fukuoka poca cosa, a banda d'un sopar en un restaurant que ens vàrem posar les botes. La següent parada va ser Beppu, la ciutat-onsen, un lloc on el vapor d'aigua surt de cada cantonada!. Us recordo que els onsen són els famosos banys d'aigües termals, doncs bé, en aquesta ciutat costanera hi ha la concentració d'onsen més alta del Japó, per tots gustos i colors, fins i tot vàrem trobar banys exteriors (el que ells anomenen "rotenburos") perduts al mig de la muntanya on la gent es banya sense cap pudor, rotllo platja nudista. A recordar, la visita que vem fer en un onsen super-tradicional amb més de 100 anys d'història, molt autèntic i a sobre vàrem poder gaudir de l'experiència de fer un bany de terra calenta! La següent parada va ser Aso san, el volcà en actiu més important del Japó. En un entorn natural espectacular et trobes aquella xemeneia de vapors que no para de fumejar! Diuen que aqui es van filmar unes quantes pel.licules de Kurosawa! Seguidament vem anar fins a Kumamoto, ciutat coneguda per tenir un dels 3 castells tradicionals més imponents del Japó, el Kumamoto-jo, un castell originàriament construït al S.XV (tot i que va ser reconstruït vàries vegades) i que és un exemple del tradicional castell de samurais japonesos. L'altre element a destacar va ser Suizenji koen, un dels parcs/jardins més macos que he vist en aquest país, aquesta gent són uns artistes en tema de jardineria! La següent parada va ser al sud a Kagoshima, una ciutat que a banda del seu peculiar nom alberga un altre dels famosos volcans del Japó, el Sakurajima, una illa volca. Aquell dia però ens va ploure molt i ens va limitar la visita. No obstant, Kagoshima era també el punt de partida de la següent destinació, la illa de Yakushima, sens dubte per mi el millor del viatge i un dels indrets més guapos que he vist al país.
We flu to Fukuoka and from there we rented a car to easily explore the island. From Fukuoka I can say very little, besides the wonderful dinner we had in a restaurant (yes...food is excellent). Our next stop was Beppu, the hot spring paradise of Japan, a place were steam pops up from everywhere! Here you find the highest concentration of Onsen (natural hot spring baths) in Japan, all kinds, we even found outdoors Onsen (rotenburos) lost in the middle of a mountain were people takes a bath in complete harmony with nature. From here as well, I would highlight the visit to a very old Onsen with more than 100 years of history, really authentic and we had the opportunity to try a "hot sand bath", quite weird! From Beppu we continue towards Aso san, the most important active volcano in Japan. Here the landscape was amazing, surrounded by a vast area of a national park emerges the steam of the volcano, a masterpiece of geology. In this area it is said that Kurosawa shot some of his movies! After this, our next stop was Kumamoto, city known for its impressive castle, Kumamoto-jo, one of the 3 best traditional castle of Japan, originally built in the XV century (although it had several restoration over the years) is a great example of the traditional castle of samurais of that period. The other must see of Kumamoto is the Suizenji koen, one of the most beautiful parks/garden I've seen in this country, absolutely amazing how this people master the art of gardening! Next was to the south, Kagoshima, a city with a particular name, known for being place of another volcano, Sakurajima, and island-volcano. Unfortunately our stay in Kagoshima went with heavy rain and couldn't enjoy as much as we wanted, however the main reason of being there was as departing point of our next destination, Yakushima island, without a doubt the best of our trip and top place in my visits in Japan.
Yakushima és la primera illa de l'arxipèlag d'illes d'Okinawa, però com que està tan a prop de Kyushu, depèn administrativament de Kagoshima. Des d'allà doncs, ens vàrem llevar d'hora ben d'hora per agafar el primer vaixell que sortia del port en destinació a Yakushima i un cop allà va ser brutal, la illa és com una jungla, tot són muntanyes, naturalesa i verdor. L'illa és a més patrimoni de l'Unesco sobretot per la presència d'uns cedres mil.lenaris bestials, el més conegut el Jomon-sugi diuen que podria arribar a tenir més de 7000 anys!. En definitiva un paradís pels amants del montanyisme, al punt que sembla que va inspirar Miyazaki en la seva pel.lícula "Princesa Mononoke".
Yakushima is the first island of the archipelago of Okinawa islands, but as it is so close to Kyushu it reports administratively to Kagoshima. So from there, we took an early (very early) boat from the port with destination to Yakushima, and one there it was simply great, this island is like a jungle, all about mountains, nature and greenery. On top, it's protected by Unesco as World natural heritage since it has several ceder trees with thousands years of history, the most popular Jomon-sugi which could have up to 7000years! So, a paradise for mountain and trekking fans, it seems the island was an inspiration for Miyazaki's movie "Princess Mononoke".
Ja de tornada, un altre vaixell i després cotxe amunt direcció a Nagasaki. La ciutat, internacionalment coneguda pels fets de la II guerra mundial, al Japó és a més coneguda per ser un dels punts claus per on van entrar i establir la immigració occidental al país i és que a l'època tenia un dels ports més importants. No obstant, avui dia la visita té un interès centrat en els dramàtics fets del 1945, amb el museu de la bomba atòmica (comparativament prefereixo el d'Hiroshima) i sobretot amb el Memorial de la pau, dissenyat per Akira Kuryu, una autèntica obra d'art arquitectònica amb un gran valor emotiu. De Nagasaki, vàrem fer una última parada a Arita, un petit poblet conegut per la producció de ceràmica japonesa, i tornada a Fukuoka. En total vàren ser més de 1000km voltant de dalt a baix per Kyushu, de la qual em quedo amb moltes coses però sobretot, com és habitual, em va sorprendre de nou l'abundància de naturalesa salvatge general en tota l'illa...realment el Japó de veritat és molt més que la imatge de grans ciutats urbanes. Aviat penjaré fotos!
Back to mainland, another boat and then we took the car towards Nagasaki. This city, mostly known outside Japan for the bombing in the WWII, here in Japan is also known for being a key location from where westerners entered to Japan and settled down, since at that period it had probably the most important port of the country. Nowadays however, it is clear that its interest focuses in the events of 1945, hosting a museum of the Atomic Bomb (similar to the one in Hiroshima but if I had to choose probably I will say the latter), and above all the Nagasaski memorial hall for the atomic bomb, designed by architect Akira Kuryu, and authentic work of architecture with a strong emotional significance. After Nagasaki, last stop in Arita, a little town known for its pottery where we found a popular pottery fair, and finally back to Fukuoka. Altogether, more than 1000km to visit all around Kyushu and discover many great things, although probably the most striking thing for me was to see again that mostly the island is surrounded by deep wild nature everywhere...another example that the real Japan is much more than the typical urban city image that we are used to. Pictures to come soon!
6/4/13
I un any més...el sakura ha arribat i marxat - Once again...Sakura came and left!
Ai, ai, ai...que fa un mes que no escric res...i a sobre en el període més famós de l'any...sí sí ja ha arribat el Sakura o sigui l'afloriment dels cirerers...i pràcticament es podria dir que ja s'ha acabat, en poc més de 10 dies exploten tots els cirerers per després perdre totes les flors en un obrir i tancar d'ulls. A sobre aquest any no han ajudat gaire les pluges que estem tinguent els últims dies. Amb tot, és en la durada efímera on recau la clau de l'èxit, romanticisme japonès que es tradueix en apfrofitar el moment al màxim, que vol dir riuades de gent als carrers i parcs, passejant, tirant fotos a tort i dret i cel.lebrant-ho amb amics, familiars o companys de feina en l'habitual festa "hanami" on gairebé tothom acaba amb una turca considerable. Els mals auguris han fet que aquest any no ho hagi pogut gaudir plenament perquè la setmana oficial de l'afloriment a Tokyo estava fora de viatge...tota una pena però bé encara vaig tenir temps de tirar algunes fotos. Aquí us deixo unes quantes imatges de l'ambient al voltant del riu Meguro, al costat de casa i un dels llocs més concorreguts en l'època dels cirerers :)
aish...it's been a month I don't write anything!!....and on top is the most famous period of the year...yes it's Sakura time or the cherry blossom period! But unfortunately I should rather say it's almost over, in about 10 days the cherry trees get full bloom to the loose their flowers in the wink of an eye. On top this year the rain we are having lately hasn't helped much. At the end however, it's in this short period of life that falls the success of it, Japanese romanticism which translates in getting the most of it in such a short time, meaning lots but lots of people in the streets and parks, walking, taking pictures everywhere and celebrating the typical "hanami" under the trees with friends, relatives or co-workers where usually most of them end up quite pissed. Unfortunately, this year I couldn't enjoy the most of it because during the official week of Sakura was out traveling ... a real pity but at least I was able to take some pictures before and after my trip. Below some images of the atmosphere around the Meguro river, nearby my place and one of the most popular spots during the Sakura season :)
primer algunes fotos de nit que vaig tirar junts abans de marxar i quan encara no hi havia l'afloriment màxim.
First some nights shots I took just before leaving and when the full blossom had yet to come
i aquí algunes de dia, una setmana més tard quan les flors de cirerer ja s'estan acumulant al terra.
here some day shots a week after when the cherry flowers start to populate the ground
aish...it's been a month I don't write anything!!....and on top is the most famous period of the year...yes it's Sakura time or the cherry blossom period! But unfortunately I should rather say it's almost over, in about 10 days the cherry trees get full bloom to the loose their flowers in the wink of an eye. On top this year the rain we are having lately hasn't helped much. At the end however, it's in this short period of life that falls the success of it, Japanese romanticism which translates in getting the most of it in such a short time, meaning lots but lots of people in the streets and parks, walking, taking pictures everywhere and celebrating the typical "hanami" under the trees with friends, relatives or co-workers where usually most of them end up quite pissed. Unfortunately, this year I couldn't enjoy the most of it because during the official week of Sakura was out traveling ... a real pity but at least I was able to take some pictures before and after my trip. Below some images of the atmosphere around the Meguro river, nearby my place and one of the most popular spots during the Sakura season :)
primer algunes fotos de nit que vaig tirar junts abans de marxar i quan encara no hi havia l'afloriment màxim.
First some nights shots I took just before leaving and when the full blossom had yet to come
i aquí algunes de dia, una setmana més tard quan les flors de cirerer ja s'estan acumulant al terra.
here some day shots a week after when the cherry flowers start to populate the ground
27/2/13
De tan tranquil fa por - So quiet is scary
La curiositat del dia, aquesta nit estava amb en Cesc al metro camí cap a casa, anàvem parlant tranquilament quan de cop ens hem parat a una estació i ens hem adonat que ningú però absolutament ningú parlava al vagó, és més no hi havia cap soroll! No és la primera vegada que hem passa i en alguna ocasió ja us havia explicat de la pau i el silenci que es viu al metro on la gent aprofita per descansar i relaxar-se...ara bé no deixo de soprendre'm cada vegada que m'hi trobo i me'n faig creus comparat al xivarri i safareig que hi ha als transports occidentals :)
The feature of the day...tonight I was with a friend at the underground going back home, we were chatting as usual when suddenly we realized we were stopped at a station and noticed that no one but absolutely no one was talking in the car, what's more there wasn't a single noise! This is not the first time that happens something similar, actually it's quite common, as I mentioned in other posts, the underground is a place where people always takes the opportunity to take a break in their stressful lifestyle and try to relax and rest for a while...yet I'm still amazed of the situation every time it happens, nothing compared to the noisy and loudly transportation of the west :)
The feature of the day...tonight I was with a friend at the underground going back home, we were chatting as usual when suddenly we realized we were stopped at a station and noticed that no one but absolutely no one was talking in the car, what's more there wasn't a single noise! This is not the first time that happens something similar, actually it's quite common, as I mentioned in other posts, the underground is a place where people always takes the opportunity to take a break in their stressful lifestyle and try to relax and rest for a while...yet I'm still amazed of the situation every time it happens, nothing compared to the noisy and loudly transportation of the west :)
24/2/13
Sumo, sumo, sumo!!!
Sumo, sumo, sumo !!! Fa uns dies vaig anar de nou a veure sumo...aquesta vegada una ocasió especial, el 37è Grand Sumo Tournament que va tenir lloc a Tokyo, un esdeveniment d'un sol dia amb competició tipus copa, o sigui que no hi havia lloc per l'error, guanyar o quedar eliminat. Acostumat al torneig estàndard de 15 dies, aquest va ser bastant diferent tot i que al no ser competició oficial es podia palpar en l'ambient que tot estava més relaxat. Tot i això, bons combats, potència humana desfermada i molt de contacte...amb tan de "roce" el sumo em comença a semblar un esport amb cert romanticisme ;) Aquí us deixo una sèrie de fotos
Sumo, sumo, sumo !!! Some days ago I went again to watch sumo...this time was a special occasion, the 37th Grand Sumo Tournament held in Tokyo, a special single-elimination event where there is no room for error, either you win or get out. Used to the standard 15 days tournament, this one was quite different although not being an official competition was clear that the atmosphere was much more relaxed. Nonetheless, as usual good fights of human warriors of amazing power and flexibility that always keeps me astonished... and with all that contact start to see this sport with certain sense of romanticism ;) here some pics of the day
Sumo, sumo, sumo !!! Some days ago I went again to watch sumo...this time was a special occasion, the 37th Grand Sumo Tournament held in Tokyo, a special single-elimination event where there is no room for error, either you win or get out. Used to the standard 15 days tournament, this one was quite different although not being an official competition was clear that the atmosphere was much more relaxed. Nonetheless, as usual good fights of human warriors of amazing power and flexibility that always keeps me astonished... and with all that contact start to see this sport with certain sense of romanticism ;) here some pics of the day
18/2/13
Res més relatiu que la bellesa - Nothing more debatable but beauty
Gran història la d'avui, 100% made in Japan. Resulta que des de que vaig arribar en aquest país hi havia un aspecte que des del principi em va cridar l'atenció en les noies...n'hi ha moltes que tenen les dents mal posades! Vaja que no les tenen aliniades, sobretot a nivell dels canins (ullals) que els acostumen a témer bastant sortits però per altra banda tampoc sembla que s'utilitzi gaire l'ortodòncia correctiva...mmm tot un bon misteri que finalment recentment ha trobat resposta...fa poc que he après que al Japó la imperfecció dental és un signe de bellesa (!!), tal qual als nois japonesos troben atractives les noies amb dents descol.locades, fins i tot hi ha un adjectiu per definir-ho, s'anomena Yaeba (literalment doble dent). El tema és tan popular que fins i tot han aparegut cliniques dentals que ofereixen "implants" de canins, conegut com tsukeyaeba! el no va más és que la propietària d'una clínica dental a Ginza sembla ser que com a campanya de marketing va esponsoritzar un grup de J-Pop (Pop Japonès) conegut com TYB48 (contracció entre TsukeYaeba i el famós grup AKB 48) que està format per tres noies que van a la moda yaeba! Què us sembla?? Interassantíssim no?...nosaltres pagant per tenir les dents rectes i aquí per descol.locar-les, però ben mirat qui defineix els canons de bellesa, per a gustos els colors :) !
Great story today, 100% Japanese!. Since I came to Japan one of things (among many others) that caught my attention with girls, was that many of them have crooked teeth resulting in an imperfect smile, particularly the canines pushing forward in a vampiresque look. On the other hand however I don't see that many girls with dental correction so altogether was quite mysterious until few days ago when I finally found the answer....in Japan teeth imperfections are considered cute!!Apparently some men find the imperfect smile as attractive, childlike...they even have a word to describe this which is Yaeba (literally double tooth). This subject is so popular that there are even dental clinics offering the possibility to get Yaeba implants for those with "straight" teeth, called "Tsukeyaeba" (added Yaeba). The most stunning thing I read is that the owner of one of these clinics in Ginza decided, as a marketing campaign, to sponsor a J-Pop band called TYB48 (playing with the word TsukeYaeba and the famous J-Pop band AKB48) which is composed by three girls all with yaeba smile! so, how do you like this? Amazing isn't it?...we, in western countries, paying to align teeth and here they are paying to disalign them! But well, it's true that at the end who defines the rules of beauty? everyone to his one taste :)
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| Aquesta és la Tomomi Itano una famosa cantant del grup AKB48 i un dels personatges més coneguts amb Yaeba / Tomomi Itani a famous singer of AKB48 and one of the most well-known Yaeba characters |
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| I aquestes noietes són les tres components del grup de J-Pop TYB48 / These are the three girls of the TYB48 J-Pop band |
10/2/13
Aprenent cuina japonesa - Learning Japanese cuisine
Un dels desitjos pel 2013 és que a part de continuar gaudint dels plaers de la gastronomia japonesa, vull aprendre a cuinar-ne les seves receptes. La veritat és que al Japó degut a la gran oferta (i barata) de restaurants i al fet que els apartaments acostumen a ser molt petits, la gent menja molt a fora casa i jo que sóc bastant de cuinar i trobades casolanes al voltant d'uns taula doncs des de que estic per aquí ho he trobat a faltar...i evidentment no pot ser, el dia que marxi del Japó a banda d'emportar-me'n bons records gastronòmics també voldria que anéssin acompanyats de coneixement o sigui que finalment aquesta setmana vaig experimentar la primera classe de cuina japonesa. Aquí us deixo el menú....bo bo bo ;)
One of my resolutions for 2013 is that besides enjoying the japanese cuisine, I would like to learn how to cook it. Actually although I like to cook since I'm in Japan I don't do it very often. Here the tendency is usually to go out, either because the offer of restaurants is huge at reasonable price or because the size of appartments are quite small, people tend to meet up outside home. So at then I decided that regardless of this I wanted to learn and finally this week started my first japanese cooking lesson. Here the menú...yummy, yummy!!
1. Amanida de Nagaimo condmentada amb una salsa de Wasabi / Nagaimo salad with wasabi dressing
Bona recepta per començar, el nagaimo (un tipus de boniato) era la típica verdura japonesa que mai sabia com cuinar-la. Em van comentar que normalment es menja cru o lleugerament fregit (com el nostre cas), la seva gran característica és la textura mucosa, bastant peculiar! La salsa wasabi mmm....boníssima!
Nice recipe to begin with, nagaimo (a kind of yam) so far was the typical japanese vegetable that I never knew how to cook. Now I learnt that usually it is eaten raw or slightly fried (like ours), its main characteristic is that is very sticky becoming mucilaginous when grated! The wasabi dressing....yummy yummy!!
2 Soja amb renkon i gobo amakara age / Soybean with renkon and gobo amakara age
La base d'aquesta recepta és la soja (en mongeta) barrejada amb dos vegetals clàssics, el renkon (arrel del lotus) i el gobo fregits amb una salsa agre-dolça a base de soja i sucre. Resultat boníssim...la millor de la nit sens dubte!
You take soybeans as the base mix with two classic japanese vegetables, renkon (lotus root) and gobo, deep-fry them and add a sour-sweet sauce made of soy and sugar. The result really goood....to me the best recipe of the night!
3. Irodori soboro gohan
Aquesta és una recepta típica japonesa que habitualment forma part dels bentos (carmanyoles) dels més petits. Irodori vol dir colorejat, soboro gohan (arròs) doncs és arròs amb toppings de diferents colors, en el nostre cas, pollastre, ou i gamba que es cuina amb una salsa dolça de soja.
This is a traditional japanese recipe commonly found in bentos especially among children. Irodori means colourful, soboro gohan (rice) then is rice with colourful toppings in our case chicken, egg and shrimp cooked with a sweet soy sauce.
4. Sardine dango isobe maki (Hamburgueses de sardina / Sardine hamburger)
Segurament el plat més elaborat i interessant de fer. Tal qual, hamburgueses de sardina farçides de verdura (entre d'altres bambú) i recobertes d'alga nori. Resultat més que acceptable!
Probably the most sophisticated and elaborated dish. They really were sardine hamburger 100%. with vegetables (among others bamboo) and wrapped with nori seaweed. The results was very interesting!
5. Kuromitsu kinako mochi
Per acabar un clàssic de la cuina japonesa, mochi (arròs enganxós) fregit amb salsa de xarop de sucre i kinako (farina de soja). Bo, però certament no seria el postre més adequat per fer la digestió :)
As a dessert, a classic of the japanese cuisine, fried mochi (sticky rice) with brown sugar syrup and kinako (soybean flour). Yummy, but certainly not the best choice if you look to ease your digestion :)
Aquí el menú complet, presentat a la japonesa....cada cosa té una raó de ser.
The complete menu presented in the japanese way....everything has a reason to be.
I finalment aquí algunes de les companyes que com a bones japoneses van immortalitzar el moment amb unes fotografies també ;)
And finally a picture with some of the colleagues who as a good japanese didn't miss the opportunity to took some pictures at the end ;)
One of my resolutions for 2013 is that besides enjoying the japanese cuisine, I would like to learn how to cook it. Actually although I like to cook since I'm in Japan I don't do it very often. Here the tendency is usually to go out, either because the offer of restaurants is huge at reasonable price or because the size of appartments are quite small, people tend to meet up outside home. So at then I decided that regardless of this I wanted to learn and finally this week started my first japanese cooking lesson. Here the menú...yummy, yummy!!
1. Amanida de Nagaimo condmentada amb una salsa de Wasabi / Nagaimo salad with wasabi dressing
Bona recepta per començar, el nagaimo (un tipus de boniato) era la típica verdura japonesa que mai sabia com cuinar-la. Em van comentar que normalment es menja cru o lleugerament fregit (com el nostre cas), la seva gran característica és la textura mucosa, bastant peculiar! La salsa wasabi mmm....boníssima!
Nice recipe to begin with, nagaimo (a kind of yam) so far was the typical japanese vegetable that I never knew how to cook. Now I learnt that usually it is eaten raw or slightly fried (like ours), its main characteristic is that is very sticky becoming mucilaginous when grated! The wasabi dressing....yummy yummy!!
2 Soja amb renkon i gobo amakara age / Soybean with renkon and gobo amakara age
La base d'aquesta recepta és la soja (en mongeta) barrejada amb dos vegetals clàssics, el renkon (arrel del lotus) i el gobo fregits amb una salsa agre-dolça a base de soja i sucre. Resultat boníssim...la millor de la nit sens dubte!
You take soybeans as the base mix with two classic japanese vegetables, renkon (lotus root) and gobo, deep-fry them and add a sour-sweet sauce made of soy and sugar. The result really goood....to me the best recipe of the night!
3. Irodori soboro gohan
Aquesta és una recepta típica japonesa que habitualment forma part dels bentos (carmanyoles) dels més petits. Irodori vol dir colorejat, soboro gohan (arròs) doncs és arròs amb toppings de diferents colors, en el nostre cas, pollastre, ou i gamba que es cuina amb una salsa dolça de soja.
This is a traditional japanese recipe commonly found in bentos especially among children. Irodori means colourful, soboro gohan (rice) then is rice with colourful toppings in our case chicken, egg and shrimp cooked with a sweet soy sauce.
4. Sardine dango isobe maki (Hamburgueses de sardina / Sardine hamburger)
Segurament el plat més elaborat i interessant de fer. Tal qual, hamburgueses de sardina farçides de verdura (entre d'altres bambú) i recobertes d'alga nori. Resultat més que acceptable!
Probably the most sophisticated and elaborated dish. They really were sardine hamburger 100%. with vegetables (among others bamboo) and wrapped with nori seaweed. The results was very interesting!
5. Kuromitsu kinako mochi
Per acabar un clàssic de la cuina japonesa, mochi (arròs enganxós) fregit amb salsa de xarop de sucre i kinako (farina de soja). Bo, però certament no seria el postre més adequat per fer la digestió :)
As a dessert, a classic of the japanese cuisine, fried mochi (sticky rice) with brown sugar syrup and kinako (soybean flour). Yummy, but certainly not the best choice if you look to ease your digestion :)
Aquí el menú complet, presentat a la japonesa....cada cosa té una raó de ser.
The complete menu presented in the japanese way....everything has a reason to be.
I finalment aquí algunes de les companyes que com a bones japoneses van immortalitzar el moment amb unes fotografies també ;)
And finally a picture with some of the colleagues who as a good japanese didn't miss the opportunity to took some pictures at the end ;)
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