British invasion - Part 2

On the 2nd of April mum arrived! She was with us for 12 days, and I'm sure that it was a 12 days unlike any other. Her flight arrived at Narita airport in the morning, and she seemed fresh-faced and extremely with it for someone who had just endured over 16 hours of flying. In an attempt not to let the jet lag get the better of her, once we dropped off her luggage (one modestly light suitcase) we whisked her down to Chiba for a ramen lunch and a wander to Chiba castle. As it was sakura (cherry blossom season), the castle grounds had flags and food stalls set up, it looked great. We had some tea at the tea house there, but when I ordered what I thought should be green tea, I actually ordered 'matcha' (powdered green tea) which comes frothy in a bowl and with a set of fruit salad and some mochi (sweet, gooey rice balls) covered in sweet beans. Mum made an excellent attempt at all of the things, I was impressed, I cannot express how strange those things are to a western palette, I've certainly never come across any of the flavours or textures, and probably never will again outside of Japan.

After that baptism of fire, we headed out to our local okonomiyaki place for some more strange-looking but tasty food. It involves a hotplate at your table where you mix together your ingredients and cook them to your preference.

This is how it arrives...



The cooking process...


After a good amount of sleep, mum and I headed to Motoyawata to have lunch with one of my favourite groups of students - my Wednesday afternoon class. They are all into their 60s and over and are incredibly friendly, kind and funny! We went to a place called Tofu-un, which means 'Windy Cottage'. This was our starter - the bowl on the left was sashimi (raw tuna and squid), the next bowl was a green salad with a delicious dressing, and the nearest bowl was a ball of creamy tofu which you sprinkled some powdered green tea and salt over. Again, mum ate with gusto (and bravery - it was her first time to try raw fish, and with an audience!).
After this, the main course was served in individual rice pots which contained scorched rice and cooked sea-bream with was incredibly tasty, and some pickled vegetables and miso soup on the side.
Here's the gang (l-r omitting mum and I); Etsuko, Yoko, Keiko, Norie, Hisako and Kenichi. At the end of the meal, everyone wrote in mum's journal and also gave her some gifts (a Japanese printed cloth and some Japanese paper placemats).


We spent the afternoon at the Mingekan - the Japanese folk crafts museum, a few stops away from Shibuya. Again - it was mum's first time to visit the centre of town or travel on the trains, which are always hectic and busy. The area where the museum was was quiet and peaceful, so that made a nice change to the assault of noise and advertisements that is Tokyo.

Saturday, and there was no let up. We got up and headed to Tomoko's house for lunch (she is the student that I have cooking lessons with, again, a lovely and generous woman). We arrived at 11am and by 11:30am we were sat down with a glass of white wine and a starter that involved raw baby squid. Not even I had had that before, and I am sure mum was screaming inside as much as I was, but we dived in, and it was actually ok. Tomoko had also made what I can only describe as a Japanese hummus as it had a similar texture and was blended with sesame paste, but uses tofu instead of chickpeas. It was enlightening to me as you cannot get hummus here for love nor money, so I am definitely going to learn how to make this and have it as the Japanese alternative. Also on the menu, was an absolutely delicious spring dish of chunks of raw bonito (a popular fish here, especially in spring) with shredded salad leaves and lemon peel, with a lemon-type dressing. It was so fresh and delicate, absolutely perfect, we both could have eaten more if there wasn't more food to come. Other dishes included beef and burdock, thick seaweed soup, bamboo rice and a pudding of black sesame mouse (made with out dairy, but soya instead, and bizarrely moorish).




After luch, Tomoko talked us through tea ceremony and what we had to do (various movements and turning of bowls etc). We were both nervous as we didn't want to make any mistakes or inadvertantly do anything that would offend Tomoko. However, it was fine and a special experience - almost meditative.

All aspects are considered in tea ceremony, including the crockery you choose and the decorations in the room.

Part three to follow soon...