Bring on the Nihonshu! (Sake)

I do have a soft spot for Japanese sake or nihonshu (日本酒） as it is called here. For the last few years, a good friend and I have been attending the bi-annual (spring and autumn) sake tastings held in Iidabashi.
What makes this event great is that for 4000 yen, you can try all the different varieties of the more expensive varieties of Japanese sake. Specifically, this event caters to the more expensive brews - what is known as daiginjo (大吟醸）. What this means is that the rice used in the fermentation process is polished all the way down below 50% - resulting in sake that is usually light, crisp and thoroughly refreshing. I have a preference for slightly sweeter, crisp sake's so there are many brews here that fit my particular tastes. At this event, sake brewers from all over Japan come to showcase their premium sake in a large banquet hall. In addition, the 4000 yen tasting fee includes a box of snacks for the tasting (advance reservations only) and mystery bag of sake - some worth more than the entry fee! (both my friend and I have gotten sake that was worth more than 4000 yen - totally worth it.)
Last year, we both felt that eastern Japan did better with their brews but to our great surprise, the west did much better than the east this year.

I highly recommend this event and encourage you to check out their website (Japanese only) if you are interested!

http://www.ginjyoshu.jp/index.php

Thankful

Thanksgiving weekend is finally over; I don't know how, but we managed to fit close to 30 people into a Japanese sized apartment and two entire turkeys were stripped to the bone...
Spent the entire Friday evening preparing for Saturday's mega feast - made 4 pies from scratch, prepared for casseroles, stuffing, stew and numerous other things that could be prepped ahead of time. I also had to pre-roast one turkey as we were having two 14 pound birds. Even if my oven is large by Japanese standards, there was no way more than one turkey could go into the oven at a time. Ended up going to sleep at 3:30 am.
Come Saturday, had to prep all the vegetables, roast the second turkey, prepare the gravy and finish off all the side dishes. Luckily, everything came out perfect. Many bottles of wine and way too much Turkey later, I am glad that everyone left well fed. Of course there were also those that stayed into the wee hours of the morning, drinking and chatting for the remainder of the evening. Thanksgiving is a challenge every year but so far, I have not regretted hosting every time it rolls around.
Many thanks to my family, friends and the many years to come!

Got my Turkey's at Nissin International Delicatessen in Azabu Juban for those looking for a Christmas bird!

Hasta la vista, student loans!

It may be a dark and gloomy Tokyo morning today but I am ecstatic. After three years of headaches, the dark veil cast over me by my student loans has finally been lifted!
The trouble started when I became a graduate student here in Japan. As the U.S did not recognize my school, I could not defer the payment of my student loans - a big monetary problem indeed. Thus, I've been grudgingly paying them throughout the duration of my study here until finally I received this notice in my inbox.
Payday and debt-free in the span of 24 hours, life is good today. The only thing on the horizon now is looking forward a belated thanksgiving feast on Saturday cooked by yours truly. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thanksgiving

Hosting a thanksgiving feast on Saturday and planning on a 14-16 pound turkey. That means I have to prepare today - going to buy then thaw a turkey...I don't think it will fit in my fridge but we will see how it goes!

Timeline of a work visa

This is basically what happens when you are switching visas in Japan. Well, technically not a work visa, more of a permission slip if you will. As you can see, I managed to get "specialist in humanities/ international services"! Since its laid out so linearly in my passport, I thought I'd share the process.
I hope this visual provides a clearer picture regarding the visa process of Japan, I'll briefly talk through each point.
1. This is the temporary visitor stamp - I had switched to this from a student visa, but since I didn't leave the country, I didn't need to give in my Gaijin card and my Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) from two years ago was still valid.
However, if this is your first trip to Japan, go to the local ward office to get your gaijin card (外国人登録証) and apply for the Certificate of Eligibility at the immigration office. Doing so will expedite the residence change (work visa) process
2. After filling out the form take all documents to the immigration office. They will ask you to fill out a postcard addressed to yourself. Additional documents includes a copy of your passport, gaijin card, copies of your degrees/qualifications, tax records for the sponsoring company, company registration, company brochures and most importantly your work contract. Along with the application to change your status of residence. If all goes well you go home and wait for the postcard you filled out earlier to arrive.
3. When the postcard arrives, if you are successful, the 4000 yen box will be ticked - this means you must go back to immigration, purchase a 4000 yen stamp from family mart and proceed to counter A. Once there, hand in the postcard along with your passport. They will give you a number and you wait for them to attach the sticker.
When they call your number, your passport is returned with a new status of residence!
4. After that is done, if you plan on traveling, I highly recommend getting the multiple re-entry permit. It will cost you an additional 6000 yen and like before, purchase a 6000 yen stamp to hand in with your application.

(*Update* As of 2013, re-entry visas are no longer necessary, as what was previously the 外国人登録証 (Gaikokujin Rouroku-shou/foreigner registration card) now doubles as your visa. It is also now called the 在留カード (zairyuu ka-do/residence card.)
The new residence cards are now also the responsibility of the immigration bureau, so you no longer need to go to the local ward office to apply for one.

Good Luck!

Time to change that visa!

I don't know if this is helpful for anyone, but in case they were curious, should you work visa application be successful, you will receive this postcard in the mail. It will be the same postcard they give you to fill out during the application process.

Basically, all that is left from here is to head down to immigration (In my case the one in Shinagawa - 入国管理局）, pay for your stamp (4000 yen) and you are home free! I guess I can celebrate a little eh?
Once you change your stamp, dont forget to go to the ward office to get a new gaijin card!　(外人登録証!)

Bringing Back the House Party/Izakaya Ramblings

House parties - it certainly is a wonderful thing that there simply are not enough of here in Japan. While studying in the U.S, House parties were a common occurrence, even in the tiny apartments of New York City. Needless to say, a few unhappy neighbours along the way (particularly the ones downstairs.) As space is usually very limited in Tokyo - coupled with nearly paper-thin walls at most apartments; most of the drinking and eating is done in izakaya (居酒屋.）

Essentially, an izakaya is a drinking parlor that is laid out like a restaurant. Food is served with a wide range of alcoholic beverages. These establishments can range from tiny tiny establishments (such as those found in "nonbei yokochou" (のんべい横町) right by the Shibuya cross walk) which at best can seat 4 people to large sprawling chains that are found throughout Tokyo.
The food typically served at izakaya is composed of many small dishes which one orders throughout the course of the night. Being small dishes, it is typical to begin with a beer and 2-3 dishes and ordering continues throughout the span of the meal. This is appealing because one can order various things depending on ones particular mood at the time. There is of course, the danger of ordering and drinking way too much - but that is what the izakaya's want, right?

Although izakaya are wonderful things in their own right, cost performance is still best with a house party. Pictured to the right is the result of this weeks cooking, a veritable feast of Thai food at a fraction of the cost one would see at a restaurant - with lots of liquor to spare! Cooking your own food and drinking straight liquor and beer from a can, it is still one of my favorite ways to hang out. Now that my apartment has concrete walls and a relatively spacious living room (By Japanese Standards) the tradition of the house party lives again!

Thai Food

The streets of Thailand, the smell of the street stalls, the rumble of the passing motorcycles weaving amongst unmoving traffic. While you wait, sweat dripping from your brow you catch a whiff of fresh herbs amongst the tangled scents of smog, sweat and garbage...the feeling is like no other...

Thai food is ever so delicious but ever so expensive in Japan. However, there is a trick that works well when it comes to buying things such as Thai Basil, Holy Basil, Galangal or Lemongrass - even these supermarket herbs can be grown by taking cuttings!
Basically, you can grow new plants from the ones you buy from the supermarket!
With the Thai and holy basil, simply
1. pick off most of the leaves (but leave the top leaves intact)
2.make a downward cut near the bottom of the stem, just under where the leaves would grow out.
3. Place the cuttings in Water or soil and cover with a plastic bag to prevent moisture loss.
4. Keep the soil damp but not wet and wait for roots to grow
5. When there are enough roots, plant in a pot and gently introduce your new plant to the outside world!

With lemongrass, just put the whole thing in about 3 centimeters of water or directly into the ground!

Lastly, for galangal, just dig a hole and drop it in!! (it grows tall, be careful!)

All in all, this is much cheaper than having to always buy from a supermarket.

Lastly, I leave you with my simple recipe for moo-bing (pork skewers)

*Soak bamboo Skewers in eater first so they don't burn when grilling!

3-400grams of pork, sliced thinly

marinade:

1/4 cup of coconut milk
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 chopped coriander root
1 chopped coriander bunch
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar (white or even better palm sugar)

- Mix marinade together in a zip lock bag.
- Add about 3-400 grams of sliced pork
- mash everything together in the zip-lock bag
- marinade for at least an hour
- put on skewers
- grill for a few minutes on each side until a little burnt (5-7 minutes)
- serve with chili sauce!

School Spirit

If there is one thing to be said about events held at Japanese universities, it would probably be the sense of school spirit during events. My previous university, elementary, middle and high school had basically no school spirit so coming to Japan certainly was a shocker.
One event that happens annually is the school festival. Most recently, I attended the school festival of the last university I attended - Waseda University in Tokyo. During the school festival (known as 早稲田祭/waseda-sai in the case of Waseda.) The school clubs collaborate with one another to put on performances, food stalls and a variety of other events over the duration of a few days. Some popular events include acapella groups, beauty/macho pageants, Japanese dance, hip-hop and guest artists. In regard to food, its the standard matsuri fare such as takoyaki, okonomiyaki, yaki-soba, wieners, crepes, choco-banana and a sprinkling of other random food stalls.
In some instances, these school festivals are notorious pick-up spots where guys will hit on anything remotely resembling a female. This is especially true for Keio's school festival (三田祭/Mita-sai) where groups of guys will basically jump any girl that walks past them. To see this in full effect, be sure to visit the school festivals around the later hours of the day - especially around twilight.
Being in Tokyo, Waseda-sai and Mita-sai is extremely cramped and crowded - every inch of the campus is carpeted by a slow moving mass of people which means one should set aside an entire day to explore this aspect of Japanese life. As crowded as it is however, it is a lot of fun - especially if you or your friends are running stalls or performing. It is almost a must to get wasted at the end of the day as well...ah, the student life...

Royal Family

Today I saw the Royal family on their way to Meiji Shrine. This is crown prince Naruhito waving from the car! The people were handing out Japanese flags for everyone to wave as the cars passed, it certainly was a festive atmosphere!

How to have two days worth of calories in one sitting (a tale of Jiro)

Imagine, a cauldron of pork parts simmering slowly in a broth of garlic and soy. As the hours pass, the collagen and fats from the pig melt into the soup. Discarding the spent bones, the resulting broth is luscious, silky, decadent.
An empty bowl, a bit of soy sauce goes in the bottom, followed by what appears to be at least a kilo of ramen - though the thickness of the noodle suggests udon. This is soon covered with 4-5 slabs of thick cut pork which has been simmered in a salty, soy sauce mixture. To cap off the heaving mass, a mountain of cabbage and beansprouts, a dallop of chopped garlic and the tour-de-force: a ladleful of glistening lard, scooped off the top of the steaming cauldron.

I speak of course, of the experience known as Ramen Jiro. I still struggle to find the reasons why I continue to return to Ramen Jiro, a shop best known for its gargantuan bowls of Tonkotsu-broth ramen. Needless to say, I feel my arteries clog and my stomach churn every time I go. But I cant stop. Everything they do at Jiro seems bigger, grittier, heavier. Exact figures are unknown but it feels like each sitting at Jiro results in the consumption of at least two days worth of calories. Not exactly known for their decor, Ramen Jiro draws long lines nonetheless. Perhaps its the its the portions, tiny interior or the rough run-down appeal of thier shops (they do not to call their simmered pork as "Cha-shu", they instead refer to it simply as "buta" or "pork".) While the flavor is not the best in terms of ramen, Ramen Jiro's no can do attitude and monster portions certainly appeals to the after work crowd.

My suggestion is, if you plan to visit Ramen Jiro, you might as well go all out - that is, order the big bowl and ask for "yasai to niniku mashi-mashi" (Lots of vegetables and garlic) and of course "abura" (oil, or in this case, lard.) Be prepared to smell of pork and garlic for the rest of the day and into the next morning. Go see for yourself and see what the Ramen Jiro experience is all about. Oh, and be prepared for a wait - the lines can stretch around the corner.

*I've been to the Ikebukuro and Mita branches but most recently the Kanda branch. Here is the Kanda branch address:

ラーメン二郎（神保町店）

東京都千代田区 神田神保町 2-4-11

Ramen Jiro (Jinbo-cho shop)

2-4-11 Kanda Jinbo-cho, Chiyoda-ku、Tokyo

Morning coffee...FOILED!

This morning, as I do everyday before I arrive at the office, I buy a can of coffee from the vending machine. However, to my dismay I was greeted by a little notice tagged onto the machine...the metro has stopped all sales of vending machine beverages! Not only that, Apecs gotten all the garbage cans removed and extra policemen patrolling not only the platforms, but the train cars themselves! The horror! This of course, is due to the APEC conference held in Yokohama, the next city over from Tokyo. Running until Nov. 14th, you have made my life just that much more inconvenient...thanks.

Check out Apec all over Yokohama now! (and be prepared for some inconvenience...ha!)

Blue skies

Finally a clear day, its been a while.

Listening to Masaharu Fukuyama's "Beautiful Day" seems strangely appropriate.

Baking deliciousness

Living in Japan, one of the things I have missed the most is an oven. Like many have said before, they are virtually non-existent with any apartment. After 2 years, I finally broke down and bought an oven.
I settled on a panasonic "bistro" series steam oven which essentially acts as an oven, grill, steamer and microwave all rolled into one compact, sturdy machine (just try picking one up!) The oven holds three racks and is big enough to bake 2 chickens or 24 cookies at a time (tried and true) and the results are fantastic. Oven preheating doesn't take very long and the digital timer ensures that everything is cooked at the correct duration.
The oven exterior also stays cool which means I can save space by putting it on top of my single-person refrigerator. It browns meat well and handles a large load of cookies well - although a halfway rotation is needed for cookies and cakes.
The price maybe the only drawback to this oven however, its sales price is 89,000Yen - but look around and you can get better deals, I got mine for 58,000 Yen, a good amount of savings considering. The next challenge - Thanksgiving Turkey!

When in Rome

I hosted a Halloween party over the weekend. Because I didn't get a pumpkin in time, we were stuck carving little kabocha squashes. So even though the color was completely off, we still had our jack-o-lantern (Albeit a very Japanese version.)