chochajin: (Hanakimi: cool judge)
chochajin ([personal profile] chochajin) wrote2008-07-25 08:53 am

[Japan]: Hiroshima, BBQ, Matsuri, Food

Hey everybody,

how are you?
It's been a while and a lot of things were going on lately.
First of all I want to let you know that one of my photobucket accounts' bandwidth has expired. I don't have the time to reupload ALL of the pics, but they will be automatically back after some days (maybe 2 weeks), so please be patient.
I'm sorry for this, but it seems quite a lot of people were staring at my pictures, far more than commenting here , so I was kind of surprised that the bandwidth broke down XDDD

Anyway last Friday I went to Hiroshima for the first time (!) together with [livejournal.com profile] leviosa8. I didn't check out any sightseeing spots, because she has seen all that stuff already and I can go another time alone to do so, so we spent a lot of time SHOPPING for fandom stuff. It was a great day. Actually I wanted to do another "Day of my Life"-entry for this day, but I was so busy that day that I forgot to take photos after a while (^^'')> .... sorry!
We went there by local train which took quite a while (~ 3 hours), but was ABSOLUTELY worth it! The landscape and the ocean, the nature, mountains, all the green, it's so beautiful. I tried to take some photos out of the train:



Yay, the sea!! I was happy like a little kid as I don't get to see the the ocean so often at all (^__________________^)
It looks a little bit cloudy, but BELIEVE me when I say it was one of the hottest days (maybe ... all of the days lately are way too hot XD)



Really beautiful! I think we spent almost all of our time just staring out of the window! :D



Sun is coming out again.



And more ocean photos (*___________________________________*) .... I wish I'd live there!!!!!!!!!! <333



With all the beautiful landscape outside the 3 hours were over very fast and we arrived in Hiroshima.





Whenever I come out of this tiny city here and go to a real one I'm really impressed and always take a lot of photos.
Hiroshima was a pretty city,it felt kind of weird to walk around there as "gaijin" though ..... well, I'm not even American I wonder how Americans feel when they wander around in Hiroshima?!
I felt a little bit strange at first, really. Even guilty although I'm German, that's kind of stupid, I know XDDD ....



Nice, isn't it?
We went shopping for some doujinshi and merchandising and I also wanted to buy more Japanese textbooks and the likes.
This time I was smarter. I didn't take the doujinshis I bought with me, but let them send to my home. In the end it was less than 10$ shipping costs and I had my hands free. Otherwise it would have been really heavy and believe me in that kind of heat you have better things to do than carry 20kg of doujinshi around XDDDDD



They arrived safely a few days later :)
(And yes that's Hibari (*___*) ... haaaa~)



We also came across this in a department store. I know that some of the people are really interested in these kind of clothes (I am not XD), so I took the chance and took some photos :D



Well ... they are cute, but I personally would never wear it (^-^'')>



Look what we found!!! CAPTAIN TSUBASA and INDIANA JONES figures!!! Of course I had to buy those!! <33



Yay, I got Indi! <333


While [livejournal.com profile] leviosa8 stayed in Hiroshima to go to Miyajima the next day, I had to go back (-__-') ... as I always only have ONE day off in a row *sigh*
But some day I wanna go there, too!!


On Saturday was a normal working day. Nothing special to report.

On Sunday though we had a BBQ. We, that is our boss, his family and all (?!) of my coworkers.
Well .... all is not true. Actually I was the ONLY non-Japanese person there! All the other foreign teachers didn't come for various reasons XDDDD .... But for me it was great! Surrounded by Japanese people only, I got to practice my Japanese quite a lot and it was REALLY on of the best days here so far (well all days off when I can leave this small city are great! XD) .....

We went over an hour by car and there it was ... THE SEA!!! Totally blue, beautiful and .... I fell in love immediately. Again it was a way too hot day, everybody was sweating and carrying towels, but it was GREAT!



Isn't this absolutely gorgeous?



Later that day we also went canoeing in the sea. It was a lot of fun ^-^





There were a lot of other Japanese people, swimming, grilling, enjoying the weather. It was nice.



And the water was clear and coolish, too.



Of course the food was great as well. Those shells I ate for the first time btw.
And of course squid! <33333


It was a long day. It was already early evening when we returned. The daughters of my boss asked me if I want to join them later and go in a yukata to a matsuri (Japanese summer festival). I was already very tired and had a headache because of the sun, but I definitely wanted to go. So I just jumped home, got some coffee, changed clothes and was already on my way to their house. We all got dressed by their mother. I never knew that wearing a plain yukata is so difficult .. 1.) getting dressed is quite complicated if you've never done it before 2.) it's quite painful, because everything has to be really tight! I could barely breathe! XDDDDD
And it was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hot! (T_____T)
But as some of you told me that I would, I really had a great 2nd matsuri experience this time *nod nod* ^^
Of course there was a lot of staring again, because ... gaijin in yukata?! .. but this time I was with 3 Japanese girls, so I could ignore most of it and enjoy my stay. We also got some yummie food and ran into some of our students (^^')
It was a REALLY nice day.
I hope we can go again some other time :)
I don't wanna go alone ever again (T________________T)


So as you can see I've been quite busy lately. During work days I don't have time for anything and when I do stuff like THAT *points above* on my days off, then I really don't have time for anything else.
I still have to plan my vacation which will start soon, but I didn't have time yet.
Any recs for me? I wanna go to Beppu and Nagasaki. Anything else that you can recommend to me and that is not tooooo far away from .. let's say Hiroshima/Fukuoka????
I'd really appreciate it!

I will be quite busy in the next few weeks as well. Just wanted to let you know, so please don't expect me to write or comment much :/
Sorry ;__; .....




And finally as always some food photos:



Inspired by [livejournal.com profile] nighstar I bought these tiny yummie fishies.



Looks like this then XDDDD Tamagokake-gohan with fishies = yummie :D
I'm still a bit unsure what kind of eggs might be safest when it comes to tamagokake gohan as you eat the eggs raw.
I found out that they sell eggs which are cooled and are supposed to be used for tamagokake-gohan. At least that's what's written on them. But those are not really raw.



With those kind of eggs, it looks like this.
Apart from half-raw-cooked-whatever-yummie-egg I added fishies and nattou!! Yes I'm a nattou freak, I know that XD



And here we have scrambled eggs, fishies, nattou and nori.



Self-made lunch with a LOT of stuff XDDDD ... Rice and on top sashimi, salad, scrambled eggs.



Newest discovery: yummie!!!! you really can taste the strawberry flavour here! I like them more than the pocky ones actually.



Completely random shot of what I bought in the supermarket yesterday.
Some coffee, yoghurt, milk, calcium drink, lovable grapefruit juice, fruits, prepacked bentos, nattou, umeboshi, tsukemono, more fishies, ogurapan.
The takoyaki + yakisoba were super delicious :D



Okay that's all for now!
Going to take a break now and eat the ogurapan :D


See ya! (^-^)/

[identity profile] amandioka.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 01:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Very pretty photos of the sea! I'm glad you had a good time in Hiroshima and at the BBC.

[identity profile] shiinait.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
The photos of the sea are great!
It is very clear...
I love the figures of Tsubasa and Indy!

[identity profile] gabenut.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 03:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Uwaaa! It's so amazing that the same country can have so many different and beautiful sceneries. I mean, UK's nice and all but it's either cities or countryside! XD Chibi Indy! Cute!

[identity profile] nez.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
gorgeous photos! ahhh actually i'm going to hiroshima for an exchange in september so when i saw the title of your post i was quite thrilled XD and now i cant wait! -flail-

and it's great to hear you've had a good matsuri experience =) take care!

[identity profile] ilinguist.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 04:20 pm (UTC)(link)
OMG the food looks soo delicious!!!!! The plate with all the nori looks absolutely divine! :D And I heard that natto there is really cheap. ::is jealous since I have to pay $2 for only two containers D: :: Which type of natto is your favorite?

The pictures of the sea are amazing. I can only imagine what it will feel like to be living next to the ocean there. (I'm gonna be studying in Sapporo next spring! :D)

[identity profile] nyanto.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 04:41 pm (UTC)(link)
So many lovely pictures. ♥ especially the ones by the sea.

The food on the other hand. I don't think I would ever be able to try and taste natto or those fishes (they look too much like worms for me.).
Those Pocky-like things look really yummy though.

[identity profile] kare-chan.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 07:29 pm (UTC)(link)
*points at the green bottle on the last picture*
Is this with Meal Fibres?

I once had one of those and they were... aweful!
*schudders*

But Indie looks kinda cute. *^^*

[identity profile] karro.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Will you come cook for me once I move out? ♥ Your food looks so delicious sob sob!

That trip with your coworkers and everyone seems like so much fun! I've always wanted to do something like that, but I guess it's not that common in Norway ;_; I'm really glad you had such a good time~!!

[identity profile] chibi-bijutsu.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
Lolita cloths..xD I'm not into it either. It's like life size dolls to me. :o xD
Beautiful pics of Hiroshima.
All the other foreign teachers didn't come for various reasons
XDD yeahhh sureee, lol jk.

The BBQ pics are cool. xD

Must be having a lot of hot weather there. O_O
xD I've always knew that yukatas were difficult to put on and wear..but would like to experience at least once. LMAO.

Wahh the fishies look so weird!! XDDD Kind of scary because of the eyes.

http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k463/chochajin_japan_ver2/jfood/jfood_0047.png
I LOVE THIS PICTURE. FOOD IS LOVE.<3 JAPANESE FOOD IS LOTS OF LOVE. <33333

[identity profile] ikona-rakasha.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
Little fishies. I love me the little fishies.
And fran so beats pocky in taste!


Hmmmm i need to go to the beach now. ureshii post dear :)

[identity profile] girlearthless.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
wow Hiroshima's so beautiful! And the water's so clear!

Food looks yummy too! I've never at nattou before.

[identity profile] animeshon.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 11:19 am (UTC)(link)
Absolutely stunning photos as usual, and you seriously have me drooling over the food :) I love the Indiana Jones figurine too!

It's interesting what you said about feeling guilty in Hiroshima though, I took a paper on Japanese Film last semester and we watched Black Rain & Rhapsody in August, and one of the things we discussed was the sense of guilt that the majority of Westerners feel over the bombing, no matter what nationality they are. One of my classmates who is Norwegian said he felt so terribly guilty when he visited.

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 12:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Sounds not too bad. Thanks a lot :D

Ich bin eigentlich nicht so sehr der Jugendherbergen-Fan, aber ich muss eh nehmen, was ich jetzt noch kriegen kann. Hier hat ja jetzt grad eh jeder Sommerferien, also kann es gut sein, dass sämtliche Hotels schon ausgebucht sind (T____T)
Also Beppu (und Onseeeeeeeeeen!!!! trotz Hitze XD) muss sein! Wir haben hier zwar auch viele Onsen, aber die Wahrscheinlichkeit da nackt Schülern über den Weg zu laufen ist einfach zu groß ;P ....
Nagasaki muss auch sein und Aso-san wollte ich auch sehen. Kumamoto wurde mir auch empfohlen.
Also ich hab vom 10. bis zum 17. August Urlaub :D
Was spricht da die Fachfrau? Ich will keinen zu stressigen Urlaub bei dem ich von einem Ort zum anderen hetze, aber ein bisschen was von Japan will ich schon sehen ;)

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 12:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm a teacher :)
And thank you.

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 12:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not sure. I wrote more about it in my newest entry. I guess you can compare the taste to the one of mold cheese?! ^^;

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 12:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Nö, die kommen nach ner Weile wieder automatisch zurück. Die Bandbreite wurde lediglich überschritten. Ist nicht das 1. Mal, dass das passiert, aber das 1. Mal, dass es bei Fotos passiert. Logisch, dass das bei Icons etc. passiert, die ich auch in 234234234 Communities gepostet habe und 234234234 Leute die anschauen, dass da die Bandbreite schnell ausgelastet ist, ist klar ^^;

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 12:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks :D
Come on, everybody can do that! At least you can cook! XD

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 12:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Ich hab das Ei schon so gekauft gehabt o___O;; ..... ^^;;

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 01:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, it's definitely another experience :D You feel more integrated, too :D

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 01:01 pm (UTC)(link)
I love the taste, but it's hard to describe it ^^;

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 01:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Really? I've never heard of anybody that hates umeboshi o__O; .....

Where do you see Starbucks?

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 01:03 pm (UTC)(link)
To answer almost all of your questions, see my newer entries XD

And I haven't been to any Hanabi yet ;___; ... haven't seen any yet ;__;

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 01:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Where can you buy those in France? ^^

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 01:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, you're not alone with that! Actually I'm glad that only half of the Japanese population likes it. Maybe it would be more expensive otherwise XDDDD

Excuse me, I have a full-time job and no real kitchen and ... and .. I'm lazy! XD

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2008-07-26 01:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Waah! Lucky you!!!!!!! I definitely go to Hiroshima again soon, I loved it.

Thanks <3

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