ナットわおいしい？？？はい！はい！

私わ朝ナットをたべます！　ナット輪とてもおいしい！

So 'natto' (ナット）is a traditional Japanese side dish, usually eaten over rice. Its fermented soybeans, but as you can see from the photo, the texture of the fermented beans is that of stringy goo. I tried it at the beginning of my trip, and wretched, but its just so damn healthy! Since I'm a vegetarian in a very un-veggie diet friendly place, I sometimes worry about different sources of protein. natto is the answer to that fear. The beans are pure protein, and the dish is probably one of the most nutritious things I could eat.

Once I got over the snotty texture of the dish, I actually ended up liking it. This morning I put some mustard and some other sauce that it came with on the beans and this gave it some real flavor. If you find any ナット in Canada, I urge you to be adventurous and give it a shot! Its pretty strange at first, but it grows on you and like I've ranted- its pure health in a dish.

Enjoy!

Kamakura

This Temple is in Kamakura, its called the Hasedera Temple. My three friends and I, Naomi, Yuko and Ayano hiked up a pretty big hill to get to the top, but once we got there we weren't disappointed with the view.





This is taken from someplace near the top of the mountain we were on. The temple (last image) is a bit below where we were when this picture was taken. The water and roof tops looked so tropical to me, sometimes I forget that Japan is an island! Its hard to think of it in those terms when you're living in the middle of Tokyo! All three of us just stood there mesmerized by the view. It was a hot, sunny day but in the forest is was cool.





These two shots are of the surrounding garden. Most large/popular temples have ridiculously manicured gardens around them, and this temple was no exception. They are absolutely beautiful, but a part of me doesn't really like them that much. They are so fake and man made. Even the ponds are made... It takes away from the effect I think. Maybe I just love natural Canadian forests



So this is clearly what made Kamakura so famous. This Buddha statue is absolutely massive. Its at the Kotokuin Temple, and this fella is called "the Great Buddha Daibutsu". It was crazy to think that this nation identifies with being Buddhist, but I have yet to meet a practicing Buddhist Japanese. They only practice Buddhist traditions around funerals here. Buddhism has lost a lot of its authority in Japan.

I think that's why I really liked visiting the Great Buddha. It was such a religious symbol of course, but it was also really historic. I liked how so many families, Japanese or otherwise, were visiting, eagerly snapping photos. I thought it brought people together nicely.



I could also go inside the Buddha itself. The statue is hollow, and the head was replaced not too long ago when an earthquake shook it off. The Buddha's head is so large for its body they have to make all these extra reinforcements from the inside to support the new one. It was pretty cool being inside; actually I should say that it was stifling hot. Since the sun was beating down on the statue, it absorbed all the heat and trapped it inside, when you touched the walls they were actually hot from the inside. I couldn't stay inside very long on account of a million other people and the heat. But it was pretty cool.

Inokashira Park

Inokashira is a park near the Ghibli Museum. Naomi and I were planning on going to the Ghibli, but with ticket confusion and homework mounting, we ended up wandering around the park instead.

If I was looking for Japanese hippies, I would have to go no further than here. Right on a lake, Inokashira Park was in a forest outside of Mitaka. It was beautiful, and the vibes of this place were awesome. It felt almost Canadian! People were practicing hula and juggling, people were playing bongos, old men were reading stories to a small crowd of kids gathered around them, and couples rented little row boats to paddle around in the sun together.



People were selling their artwork, jewelry, kaitai charms and more. I had the best ice cream ever (Creme Brule, drool) and sat around in the sun enjoying the park. It was a great Sunday afternoon.

They played La Cucarocha and I almost died. Best musical group ever.

This was a super awesome little trio. They obviously made their instruments (except for the banjo). The woman was playing a washboard with some bells attached to it with spoons. The man beside her was playing a stand up base substitute which was a large bucket with a string and stick on it. Pretty original.

Bikes

Bike Cage in Kamata. Hundreds.



Everybody and their mother's rides a bike in Japan. I love it, but at the same time I hate dodging those suckers when someone comes screaming around a corner at me.
I have become obsessed with photographing them.

Bike, empty lot and house in Inokashira

Bikes, in Inokashira Park.

Things I Have Learned

This is where the Vietnamese Embassy is located. Its in a place called Motoyoyogi, near Yoyogi-koen station. I was lost for a bit trying to find the place, but using my newfound Japanese skills I was able to piece together directions. Walking around was beautiful though.

Japan has taught me so much about culture differences. I had no idea what to expect when I stepped off the plane, but I know that never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined a place like this.

Japan is an extremely strict culture. Bowing is a must, hugging is weird. I learned this when I hugged one of my new Japanese friends. She stepped on my foot, and both our faces turned the same way. We awkwardly hugged with our cheeks pressed together. I will never try that again.

While Japan is strict, there are some strange exceptions to this type of social discipline. For example, people can walk around in public (sidewalks, parks, subways, trains... anywhere) drinking a beer or a yummy chu-hai (this is kind of like a cooler, but definitely sneaks up on you!). I could not get over this. It felt so strange to be walking around bustling Shibuya with open liquor. Its going to suck getting back to Canada! haha

Being caucasin is a blessing and a curse. I can play the dumb "gaigin" card and get away with plenty of stuff. Most of the time I legitimately have no idea what is going on, but sometimes I can pretend... and get out of some pretty sticky Japanese situations (example: I'm a couple yen short of train fare, so I run through the Gate. When I walk back into the station next, I obviously can't use my card to get on the train. So I go to the gate supervisors and explain that I am confused. They usually don't even bother trying to explain to me, and just let me into the station, getting rid of the money I owe on my card.. muahaha.) Sometimes its not so good though. For example, its really hot in Japan right now. Humidity is stifling and the heat is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. Naturally I want to wear a tank top and shorts- but this is pretty faux-pas. Showing skin draws some pretty questionable attention, so instead a sleeved t-shirt and capris it is. Even though its about 30 degrees here, everyone wears pants and a jacket. I just can't believe it.

Eating in public is not a good idea. While it is not illegal or anything, its just taboo and disrespectful. I guess this is another instance where I play the oblivious tourist card... When a girl's got to eat, shes got to eat.

Brown Rice

FOOD:

My friend Allison introduced me to some of her friends- Ryoko and MK and we all headed down to Harajuku for dinner together. Allison is a vegitarian, so her and I have bonded over the pathetic amount of meat free food they offer here in Tokyo.
Her friends discovered this place online, and told her about it since it offers meat free meals and she invited me along.
The place was right downtown Harajuku, on one of the famous side streets which wind around and lead you along residential buildings cozied up to shops and clothing stores.

See the clothing store right next to a house? its crazy!

I was pretty hungry by the time we got to Brown Rice, and super excited since Allison has proved to have awesome taste in food.

I ordered the bean curry, which had kidney beans in it! man I miss those. The rice was delicious and so was the side salad of seaweed.
This was my meal! It was pretty tiny, but holy hell was it filling.

We ordered a soup to share between us all. When it came we were all so excited! It was brimming with potato chunks, CHICK PEAS and corrot pits, a real nice stew. When we were eating is was completely silent... we were all obviously enjoying the food
yummy soup. allison i owe you one.

So if you know me at all you know that I obviously caved and bought a desert too. I ordered a peacan and cranberry (spelled "cramberry") tart. When it arrived we all couldn't help but laugh at little since it was about the size of a toonie. haha I guess thats what you get for 300 yen!

my tiny little tart.

It was such a great meal. I walked away so full I felt like I would have to nap on the train ride home. I love Harajuku, I love the people I've met here.

Baseball

Keio played their rivals Wasaeda in baseball. I went with some friends from my dorm.
When we got there, underneath the stadium was filed with people, they weren't letting people in to sit until an exact time. Needless to say everyone was humming with excitement and cheering. School sprit swept over and I was attempting cheers in Japanese alongside hundreds of other dedicated Keio fans.
The cheerleaders performed well, coaxing the crowd into shouting and cheering. Wasaeda had a way better crowd, they perfected the wave, and made a massive "W" with towels they held up to the sky.
Wasaeda won, and it rained pretty hard. It was fun running home through downpours.