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] wavy.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 07:16 am (UTC)(link)
I've only been on your friendslist for a little bit, so this question might sound weird but -- what's your job in Japan? I hope the workload eases but have fun on your vacation! <3

[identity profile] andou-.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 07:18 am (UTC)(link)
Wie schön, morgens aufzustehen und
solche Bilder zu sehen *____*
Meine kanadische Freundin, bei der ich bin,
staunt gerade bei jedem Bild aufs neue XDD
"Amazing" "Looks great" XDDD Sie kann deutsch,
aber gerne babbeln wir englisch *gg*

Hiroshima sieht so toll aus *___________*
Weiß aber auch nicht, wie ich mich
da fühlen würde. Amerikaner oder Deutscher,
egal. Einfach nur, weill man weiß was passiert ist. ;___;

OMG, ich will auch eine Indi Figur XDDD Die ist ja süüüß!!
Die von seinem Papa alias Sean Connery aber sicher auch.
Ich will beide XDDDD

Das Essen *___*
Yummy!!!!!! Sollte auch mal wieder was knipsen...
irgendwann. XDDDDDDDDDD
Und die kleinen Fishies habe ich auch mal gegessen.
Die z.b ein Bestandteil von Ochazuke bei Yama seiner
Mama!!! <333

Ach ja.... OMG, DAS MEER :_______________________:
<33333333333

(Anonymous) 2008-07-25 07:24 am (UTC)(link)
In 3rd picture, that full view car looks like my little cute car... Now I feel closer to Japan on the other side of the world. hehehe...
I hope you will get a chance to visit the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima. I have always wanted to visit there. But you can do it on my behalf. And please make sure you take notes on what you were feeling with each step you take. And of course, take many pictures for me.
I, like you, can't imagine myself wearing one of those babydolls dresses. I would feel waay too embarass to be seen in public wearing that. But I would definitely try one on and take a picture of me in the dressing room just as an experiment. heheheh....
The Sea really is gorgeous and I can't remember the last time I have ever saw the water as clear as that. It is most breathtaking indeed.
Thanks for taking the time to post these amazingly cool pictures! Hope your week is not as stressful even though you would be busy. Hope to read your next post soon.

[identity profile] salavin.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 07:26 am (UTC)(link)
Oh my is that a BABY the stars shine bright sale or something? Look right out of a picture book.
And Indi Jones chibis! Oh my god that's so cute! <33

Your food shots make me super hungry first thing in the morning! (_ ̄Д ̄)

[identity profile] quinnsan.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 07:34 am (UTC)(link)
Oh oh! I went to Hiroshima! It was fun..but it was raining the whole time. xDD We didn't really do a whole lot, but we went and saw this church that was in the bombing attack, though we didn't go see the museum because we already went to the one in Nagasaki and that was pretty hard on us, so..yeah. xD
Omg you have to go to Miyajima, the deer there are really cute and really crazy. xDD They'll walk right up to you and try and whatever your holding..little monsters tried eating my plastic bag. xDD It was pretty fun, though I was the only one who didn't climb up the hill thing there..I was just to tired for it, but it was really relaxing to just go sit and look at the ocean.

Those little fishes kind of freak me out to be honest. xDDD

[identity profile] missmomoko.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 07:38 am (UTC)(link)
Ah I love your posts so much. Always very interesting.

What does Natto taste like? It looks yummy!

[identity profile] ayuehime.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 07:39 am (UTC)(link)
Mal wieder wundervolle Fotos!
Und die Lolita Sachen O____O
T_T wunderhübsch ♥

edit: achja wegen dem photobucket account - wurden da jetzt all deine Bilder gelöscht oder wie?! O_O
Edited 2008-07-25 08:46 (UTC)

[identity profile] leviosa8.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 07:49 am (UTC)(link)
I LOVE your picspam posts. And the water was so beautiful that day! Lucky you ^___-
The donburi you prepare looks yummy, nattô and all. Very restaurant-like!

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/turarachu__/ 2008-07-25 08:25 am (UTC)(link)
aaaah wie machst du das onsen-tamago?? *0* (sag nicht mikrowelle... ;__;) ch bekomm das nie hin... dabei ist es so n leckere sache....

[identity profile] amvn.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 08:34 am (UTC)(link)
Hiroshima looks so beautiful! I agree, I can't stay away from the ocean for too long either, I love it so much ^__^ I'd really like to have a bbq on the beach right now *sigh* but I'm at work and the weather is sh*t atm T___________T

Glad to hear you enjoyed your 2nd matsuri ^_^ I guess it really does make the experience quite different when going along with Japanese people, ne?

I love those fishies ^-^ We ate a lot of those in Singapore (well, me and my mother that is) When we got leftovers we used to bring them with us and donate them to some astray kittens outside our hotel =^.^= Oh, and nattou is one of my fave foods as well! It's hard for me to understand why so many people find it awful, I love it XDDD All the other foods looks so delicious as well, now I really miss all the well-stocked and awesome Japanese supermarkets and department stores in Singapore :T________________T: TAAAAKOOOYAAAKIIIII!!!! XDDDD

[identity profile] shinigami-93.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 09:14 am (UTC)(link)
Your posts makes me hungry-.-"
It feels like I haven't had food in my whole life xD
I want to eat Japanese food and there is only two chinese resturants here where I live -.-"

And those sea pictures are pretty *.*

[identity profile] gintoki-sama.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 09:19 am (UTC)(link)
WOW!! I agree the ocean looks soooo pretty ~♥
Also I like that cute lime green skirt I see in that picture you took in that department store lmao I can't believe I can spot that

[identity profile] sternenchaos.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 09:47 am (UTC)(link)
haha :D kann mich egtl überall anschließen :D :D :D
außer dem ersten absatz xD

[identity profile] nday-ucul.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 09:55 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, the sea... I wonder how many times I've been obsessing with Japanese sea.
Ya know, in my country it's rare to find that clear sea.. <3 even Bali is a little bit dirty now. [T.T]
I wanna eat that natto too! Seems yummy! And how's the taste of half-raw-cooked egg? I haven't eat it since born. :D

[identity profile] bel1982.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 10:18 am (UTC)(link)
Sehr interessante und hübsche Fotos mal wieder :)
Ich glaub diese Fishies würd ich nur essen wenn ich nicht weiß was es ist :P

[identity profile] samispo0n.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 10:19 am (UTC)(link)
Mmmmmm Umeboshi
Everyone i know hates it lol
But those tiny fishies are kinda creeping me out lol

What are those Starbucks drinks? Ive never seen them before :S

[identity profile] mtassarion.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 10:52 am (UTC)(link)
Those train pictures are so nice o.o

Where is a picture of you in yukata!?! or any picture of the matsuri in general -_- :P

omg.. that self-made lunch looks like an aesthtic warzone! LOL! but i bet it was really good :P :)

[identity profile] ravanna.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 11:19 am (UTC)(link)
Soooo amazing pictures again*sighs* Thanks for posting these.
But geez...It's so sweet to see how much you admire the ocean; I mean, I'm living SO goddamn close to the seaside (Ostsee) that it's nothing special for me anymore, sadly - but I do know how you feel. Sometimes I still do so, too, when I'm there late at night.
....
and I am feeling soooo hungry right now, all thanks to YOU @-@

[identity profile] currynana.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 11:25 am (UTC)(link)
うみだ!!!!!
haha, i'm craving to go to the beach but it's too far away from where I live. But anyways, the nearest beach doesnt have pretty ocean water like the one u have in the photo. It's like crystal clear!!!

And the Indiana Jones figure is so cuuuute! Ah, but thts to be expected no?

Did you take a photo of wearing a yukatta? Sounds so much fun...How about はなび? Haha, recently i found out my laptop cant type Japanese..which would explain but current random use of it. XD

Ne, I've always wondered...Japanese ppl seem to like natto a lot..but what does it taste like? I know those lil fishies! We eat them too but here they're more popular fried up to go with rice. ^^

Take care okay! ^^

[identity profile] asahifirsa.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 11:26 am (UTC)(link)
Just wandering, do you know of the Seishun 18-kippu? If you don't mind going pretty slow this is really cheap! http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2362.html

You could make the Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Aso-san, Beppu route :) That way you'd see quite a bit of Kyuushuu without going to far from home. There's a cheap Youth Hostel on Aso-san to stay at. Beppu also has cheap hotels (I stayed for 5000 Yen). Nagasaki is a bit expensive unless you take one of the YH that is farther away from the station. Kumamoto I don't know as I didn't stay the night. If you want to see something really cool try Kagoshima, but it's towards the very south. It's rare to see an active volcano so close though :)

When is your vacation?

[identity profile] mhizxkyloz.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
So much food

KYAAAAA~

Anyways, the pebbles under seawater look really pretty.
The BBQ looks nice, sea shells O_O

Hahaha, those mini fish scare me >< I don't think I'd be able to eat it!

[identity profile] akupushi.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 11:37 am (UTC)(link)
hibari is so awesome *tears of joy*
anyways. the food looks kinda scary, but the self-made lunch looks nice 8)

the pictures of the place are good. wish i can go there and have some fun ;_;

[identity profile] chatiel.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 11:53 am (UTC)(link)
Nice photos, it looks really cool.

Hahaha I ould have bought the Captain Tsubasa and Indiana Jones figures too! They're so funny XD Indi is great indeed!

[identity profile] t-zou.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 12:36 pm (UTC)(link)
i personally love the green tea. it tastes great!

the clothes were all super cute. though i wouldn't be caught dead wearing them.. i'd look stupid hahahaha!!!!

[identity profile] pandanroll.livejournal.com 2008-07-25 01:54 pm (UTC)(link)
I really don't like natto. :x I knew it was fermented and I already don't like the taste of yeast. :P
The only Japanese food I seem to like so far is stuff you'd put in a sukiyaki dish like shirataki noodles made from konnyaku, enokitake mushrooms and tofu. :D
You seem to buy a lot of ready made foods. :P

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