Return to Kansai

おはよう皆！
As some of you know, I was back in the US for a few weeks but now I'm back in Osaka and already settling back in. It's actually been a surprisingly easy transition back and forth between here and there. It seems that I've been here long enough for it to feel like this year's home, while the US still does feel that way. In any event, the only real adjustment I've had to do is for jetlag, and even that has been fairly manageable.
Business accommodations
My first night back in Japan was actually spent up in Tokyo because my plane got in too late to catch a train down to Osaka that same night. So I ended up staying in the cheapest non-hostel option available to me: a capsule hotel. (I've heard the term coffin hotel as well, but that seems needlessly sensationalist.) I found it rather cozy and was able to get a few hours of jet-laggy sleep before leaving at 530 for the first Shinkansen of the morning.
Thanksgiving 日本スタイル
After making it back on a very crowded train (Friday was a national holiday), Rachel got us going on my second Thanksgiving dinner of the week - adapted for Japanese grocery options.

Above you can see (from left to right): balsamic glazed chicken, fried onions (to be used on top of...), "green bean casserole" (mushroom and cream base with green beans and fried onions), mashed yellow sweet potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie. 

It was a great meal and provided the appropriate post-thanksgiving tiredness to catch up on a little sleep before.... 

紅葉狩り(autumn leaf viewing) in Kyoto

This is the fall counterpart to the famous spring cherry blossom viewing. We went with Keiko and did some temple visits, shopping and good eating during a very long day in Kyoto. The leaves really are quite striking in their intensity of color and in the contrast between the various red and yellow hues of the deciduous trees and the bright green of the evergreens. Most of these are from Kyomizu-dera, a temple up in the hills on Kyoto's eastern side. 

 

The holiday weekend meant that the temple was packed with school groups who had come from other places in Japan for the viewing. 

This (and the one below) are from a smaller garden area at Chion temple 

After Kyoto we trained it back to Kyoto and have been home bodies for the most part (with a small excursion to Ikea yesterday). We've also been enjoying the chilly temperatures and comfort food. 

Things I'm loving recently

So, we've fallen off blogging a bit, probably in part because Richard has been gallivanting around North America for the last few weeks. While he's gone, I've been indulging in a return to singlehood-living. For me that means waking up late, eating weird things (dinner the other night was 2 clementines, saltines, and peas with sliced ham), and watching sappy movies on Youtube. I'm excited that Richard will be back soon, but I won't be giving up the peas and sliced ham (seriously, yum).

I'm also excited that Osaka has stopped dipping its toes tentatively into the pool of fall and finally cannonballed in. The temperature is now solidly around a high of 17˚ C (63˚ F) most days and the leaves are turning colors. In honor of a return one of my favorite times of the year I thought I'd post a list of some things I've been obsessing over recently.

Star Talk Radio Show

This is a radio show/podcast hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and wearer of cosmic vests. Basically, he's the Bill Nye of astronomy. The Star Talk podcast is usually co-hosted by comedian Eugene Mirman. The show is a great mix of science info, humor and general nerdiness.









Curry Udon (カリーうどん）
Curry udon is a fantastic mix of two classic Japanese comfort food dishes. Many of you have probably had udon before. It's a lovely soup with thick noodles that can have a variety of vegetables and meat/fish toppings. Japanese curry is based on Indian curry and is usually a brown curry served on rice. Although not technically a "traditional" Japanese dish the way udon is, it is hugely popular and has become so thoroughly domesticated that it really is now a "Japanese" dish.
Basically, curry sauce + udon noodles = curry udon. It's a spicy, warm, fragrant soup that is fantastic for rainy days. This is a pic of a cheap instant bowl I had the other day, restaurant versions are (unsurprisingly) superior.


These Socks

Japan does socks, stockings, and leggings really well. There are tons of great options everywhere. I only brought 3 pairs of socks with me to Japan, knowing that there would be plenty of options here. I'm loving these Little Red Riding Hood socks. There is a whole series of fairy tale socks from the Luluana brand. I think I'll be going back for Snow White (featuring the 7 dwarves). I think it's the pixelated quality of them that I like so much. It makes me wish there were an old video game where Red Riding Hood has to jump over bushes and trees, picking up bonus baked goods, fight the wolf boss, and deliver the basket to grandma.
















Quite Interesting
QI is a BBC quiz television show hosted by the great Stephen Fry. Basically you take 4 comedians, ask them really hard questions about science, literature, history, biology, etc. and listen to what they come up with. You get points for being interesting, even if you can't actually answer the question. Very funny and sometimes you learn something.

Click below for an episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDfP96bJwZE&feature=related

Taiko
I've been taking Japanese drumming lessons for almost 2 months now. The classes are fun and my teacher is really great. At the place I'm learning, they start you off on the medium sized upright drums.  (If you click on the video link they the middle line of drums. Not the small one in the front but not the massive ones in the back.) I'm at the "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" level, but I plan to keep on with the lessons for the rest my time here, so I should have nicely toned biceps by next summer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4J37vLLb_A&feature=related
This video is of the famous group Kodo. They are basically the founders of the modern taiko style and made taiko famous internationally.

New Printer
We picked up a printer a few weeks ago and it's been awesome having one again. It's a copy/scanner/printer combo and I love it.

So those are some of the things that are making me happy recently. Hope everyone is having a good fall!