酒井根下田の森 Sakaine Shitada Forest

Some years ago, I happened on a tiny valley bordered by a forest near Reitaku University campus. At that time the place was known as ふくろうの森 Fukuro no Mori, or Owl Forest. When I went looking for the forest last weekend, I got hopelessly lost because the name has changed to Sakaine Shitada Forest. Through a little [...]

湯たんぽ Yutanpo is gentle on my toes and the environment

It used to be that the Japanese version of the hot water bottle, 湯たんぽ yutanpo was either a flat earthenware or tin container. These days, they’re also made of plastic. At 無印 Mujirushi shops, they’re expensive and not that big. To my surprise, the Nitori shop on Route 6 has really cheap ones, so I bought two. Opps, [...]

野田市・やよい食堂 The Yayoi Diner in Noda City

This afternoon, in Noda City, we had a powerful hunger on us. It could only be satisfied with curry rice.
Sempai suggested we go to やよい食堂 Yayoi Diner, famed for it’s デカ盛り dekamori, or giant portions. I love the phone number on the noren curtain. It’s 三七九一 san nana ku　ichi, or as Sempai pointed out, 皆食い [...]

Eating Locally

Have you heard of the 100 Mile Diet? In 2005, a Canadian couple decided that, for one year, they would only eat food grown within 100 miles of home. They had some great challenges finding foods they craved and staying within their budget, but over time, they learned how to manage a local diet.
Why eat a local [...]