Yesterday one of my students who often travels to Tokyo delivered one of my favorite souvenirs in Japan – Tokyo Banana. It is kind of like a small sponge cake, filled with banana cream. It’s the closest thing I have ever had to a Banana Cream Pie in Japan. I’m not sure why anybody ever thought of Tokyo selling Tokyo Banana – there are not really any banana trees in Tokyo. Maybe they needed a distinctive souvenir that other cities didn’t have. Lots of people go to Tokyo on business or to see family, so I guess it made sense.

Anyway, these things are delicious. I’ve been snacking on them last night and this morning and it is hard to stop.

Tonight after work I’m meeting the Denya master for drinks. He’s got every Tuesday off, so it is a little difficult to meet on the weekends. I’m not sure what the plan is, but it’s a school night for me so I don’t think it will be a crazy party. At least I hope not…

For once we had a full schedule this weekend. For starters, I met up with Antoine in Sannomiya to catch up – it had been a couple of months since we had met up and talked. He recommended a Cuban restaurant, and since I’ve never really eaten Cuban food we went over there with more than a little excitement. The place, called “Caliente” was decorated with Cuban posters as well as period art from the 1960’s. We sat at the table, and the waiter brought over a menu written on a chalkboard. Unfortunately, there was nothing but your normal Sannomiya French food. I asked about Cuban food, and he apologized and said there were no Cuban dishes available. What?

He felt bad and went to ask the chef, and he cooked up a chicken dish with a spicy sauce that perhaps was Cuban, but other than that we had pretty normal stuff – cheese melted on pita bread, and a couple of venison filets that were a little dry. One good point was that we were able to try Cuban beer for the first time, and it wasn’t bad.

Reeling from that experience, we decided to go another place for drinks. Antoine had heard that an old gaijin bar that used to be in Kobe years and years ago had re-opened. The place, called “Bar Isn’t It” was a popular mini-chain, and we have been to the one in Osaka once years ago. So we tried to search for the location, but all the power of two iphones and an internet connection could get us zero results. The only thing we could find was a blog post from 12 years ago with a tiny map of the area. We decided to try to find it based on the idea that if they reopened, they might have opened in the same place.

So about 30 minutes later we found the place, and we also figured out why we couldn’t find it by searching the web – the name was now “Izn’t It” with a Z – so our searches for Isn’t It came up empty. We went inside and ordered a couple of drinks, hung out for a while. The place was mainly full of foreigners, but once in a while a couple of Japanese folks came through. I’m not a big fan of gaijin bars, however, and it wasn’t long before we made our exit. Kuniko met us on our way back to the station, and we were able to go home together – a bonus!

It was good to catch up with Antoine, and talk about his experiences with his son, who is now up and walking around the house. Antoine is busy with his web stuff as well as his regular job these days, but it sounds like he is enjoying what he’s doing.

Saturday night we had the Tojos over for dinner. I baked hamburger buns during the day and then we grilled some monster burgers out on the patio. The sheer size of the burger was incredible, and after we put the toppings on the whole things started to slide around making it pretty hard to eat. I passed out the steak knives, and we managed OK. The Tojos are fun to talk to, and so we stayed pretty late trading stories and talking about the neighborhood. Really nice people!

Finally yesterday we did an all-day hike, starting from Kuniko’s school and going all the way to Hankyu Rokko station. Four other people joined the hike, some of them Kuniko’s coworkers. They were younger coworkers, so Kuniko was the boss of the trip and took the lead. It was an interesting dynamic to watch. Until recently Kuniko was the young teacher, now she is doing more guidance these days. There are benefits and drawbacks to this role, but I think it is good for her to have the chance to tell some people what they should do and lead by example.

The total hiking time was about six hours, and most of the hike was through ice and snow at the top of the mountain. Luckily everybody dressed warmly, and there were no fingers lost to frostbite. Our bodies were pretty tired by the time we got back to Sannomiya, and after drinking some beers at Brugge we went over to Mikaen to eat some authentic Chinese food. As usual the food there was great, and it was fun to introduce the restaurant to the other teachers.

Now it is back to work – we’ve got a regular work week, but I may have a couple of after-work parties Tuesday and Friday. I hope my liver is up to the challenge.

Until a couple of days ago the prime minister of Japan was wearing an eye patch for about a week. You can see a picture here. It was pretty surprising to see him all week wearing the white patch. One thing I’ve noticed in Japan is that a lot of people walk around wearing eye patches – more than you would normally see in the USA. It’s pretty common for normal folks to wear them, but the prime minister?

Last week I bumped into a couple of Kawasaki employees at the tachinomi while I was killing time waiting for Kuniko to show up. They were both managers and had some of their staff in my class. We had a good conversation for about 20 minutes, and then I went off to meet Kuniko.

Fast forward to yesterday morning, and I bumped into one of these guys while crossing the road on the way to work. We had another nice talk, and he seemed very happy that I remembered his name. We walked a ways to the office building and then split up to go to our respective offices.

Finally, last night I met up with a couple of the inspectors back at the tachinomi after work, and we spent a little over an hour talking about this and that. And who should walk in, but my new friend and three of his staff – two of which are my current students. We said hello, but since the inspectors didn’t know any of them it was a little hard to try to merge the two parties together. Luckily over time I was able to bring them a little closer together, and I think it went pretty well. My poor students were under pressure in front of their boss to speak English, but everyone was encouraging, and it was fun. Even the manager spoke some English, which is going out on a limb in business culture – a lot of times people think it is better to keep quiet than to stumble in front of your staff.

Anyway, I had a good time with everyone last night, but since it was a school night I left a little early and got home around 8:30. I threw together a quick dinner, and when Kuniko got home a little later we had another mini-party. It was a very good night.

Yesterday Kuniko had the afternoon off of work, so she cooked dinner for us. She made an asparagus and bacon pasta with white sauce and hit it out of the park. I was going to make this dish the other night, but we ended up going to Swaad for dinner. I think she did a much better job on the white sauce than I could have done.

Tonight after work I’m meeting one of the inspectors from the factory for the first time in a long time. We’re going to the usual tachinomi for a couple of beers and to catch up. We’re both starting to be short-timers around work. I’m always a short-timer around the end of my current contract (which ends in March) and as production winds down on his project he’ll get ready to move to the USA for a year or so to manage the mass production of the project. So I think our opportunities for meeting up are getting fewer and fewer.

Last night while walking home after work it started snowing. This was my first snow of the season, and as usual, it was pretty surreal for a guy from California. Luckily it didn’t last very long, and melted as soon as it hit the ground. It’ll be interesting to see what the weather is today…

After work yesterday I was at the train station, just about to board a train home, and I got a phone call from Kuniko saying that she was driving home from work right then, and she offered to pick me up and drive me home. I couldn’t pass up on that offer, especially in the crappy weather we were having, so I did a little shopping at the station and by the time I had finished she was there.

Kuniko suggested stopping at Swaad for dinner on the way home, and it sounded great. As usual, the food was great. The chef came out to chat with us – and we talked about his marsala kofta and he told us how he makes them. He said that he often sweetens the curries that he serves because that seems to be popular with Japanese people, so I asked him to make an authentic version for us the next time we come in. That should be interesting.

It looks like this Friday Antoine and I will meet up in Sannomiya for the first time this year. He suggested a Cuban restaurant that I haven’t been to yet, so it’ll be fun trying something different. The following two Fridays I also have some parties with ex-students, so it looks like it’ll be a busy couple of weeks.

Saturday night after Kuniko finished up a grueling meeting at work we met at Nadaya, our current favorite sushi bar. We had a seat right in front of the master, who took care of us all night. As usual, we ordered the “omakase” (master’s choice) course. The season is winter, and that meant several kinds of crab, lobster, and shellfish made an appearance, as well as squid, fatty tuna, and snapper. While we ate we drank a beer first, and then changed to sake. It was a good evening – certainly better than Kuniko’s day.

Sunday we did a little bit of walking around town for exercise. We did some grocery shopping, rented a movie, and then spent the rest of the day inside baking, eating and relaxing. It was the first day off for Kuniko in two weeks.

While this weekend was pretty slow and relaxing, next weekend should be pretty action-packed. Friday night we’ll each be doing some partying after work, Saturday night we’re hosting the Tojo’s here for dinner, and then Sunday we’ll hit the mountain for an all day hike with one of Kuniko’s coworkers and her boyfriend.

Friday has come and I’m feeling pretty good about it. Yesterday I walked to work under slightly cloudy skies, but by the time I came home it was windy, rainy and cold. That’s a bad combination for me – and a little unusual for winter in Kobe. Today looks like there may be a little rain now and then, but it shouldn’t be nearly as wet as it was yesterday.

Today we’ve got no special plans in the evening, but tomorrow we’re going to meet in Kobe to enjoy some sushi at one of our favorite restaurants. Kuniko will have a stressful day tomorrow meeting face to face with the “Monster Parents”, and so it’ll be nice to recap and de-stress over sake and good sushi. Luckily her principal has agreed to attend the meeting and help her deal with the monster parents – so hopefully that’ll take some of the pressure off.

We’re also thinking about doing some hiking on Sunday, but now I think it really depends on the weather. This is the first rain we’ve had in a couple of months, so it seems strange to have to worry about the weather for a hike.

Yesterday I had a normal day at work, a strange meeting after work at a family restaurant, and a recap meeting with Kuniko at a bar afterwards. There may or may not be big changes in the air, but nothing solid and nothing I can talk about right now. I’ll be sure to update when I hear more – probably by the end of this month.

All this cold weather means that it is time to pull out the nabe and have a steaming hot soup tonight. I think we’ll go with an Italian theme – tomato nabe is still one of our favorites. Some tomato-based soup, cabbage, mini-sausages, carrots and onions, all heated to boiling in a clay pot. Simple and good!

OK, more info when I have it!

Every morning at around 4:45 an electronic timer trips in our kitchen, which causes the heater to fire up and push hot water through thin reservoirs that lie under our living room floor. It takes about 15 minutes, but by 5:00 am the floor is warm to the touch, and by 5:30 the entire room is pretty warm. We wander in after our showers about this time, and it is very comfortable compared to the rest of our house which is not heated. At 6:00 am the switch turns off the hot water, but the room stays warm until about 7:30 or so. Since we leave the house between 6:30 and 7 o’clock, it works out great. The same procedure happens in the evening before we get home, so we walk into a warm living room after walking home from the train station.

Combine this with the heated toilet seat, and winter isn’t so bad. There are a couple of cold moments walking around our bedroom, but it is pretty comfortable around here. The bills aren’t too bad – we pay at most around $70/month for gas in the winter. Electricity is lowest in the winter (around $50/month), but shoots up to around $90/month for operating our air conditioners. Thanks to all the insulation in our home, the bills are pretty reasonable compared to our old apartments.

One of the expressions that originated in English has made its way to Japan – “monster” parents. Kuniko currently has one going now, and they are a serious source of stress for teachers. Kuniko’s situation is complicated by the fact that in working at a private school parents are also customers. This particular parent has had a lot of problems with her daughter, and is taking out her frustrations on whoever may take responsibility. Unfortunately, this time around it is my poor wife.

But Kuniko is holding up well, and I’m doing my best to support when she comes home. We pour a glass of red wine, talk about her day, and take a bath together to wash her troubles away. It is interesting to hear about this otherwise rational and intelligent parent totally losing her shit and looking for someone – anyone – else to blame. I’d like to prescribe her a week of introspection, but I don’t think she’d be very interested in my opinion.

Anyway, other than that things are going fine. My students are doing pretty well getting back into the swing of things with English, and I’ve just about distributed all my omiyage from the trip. It is getting good reviews from my students – sunflower seeds haven’t really caught on in Japan yet. I got honey roasted ones, and with the sugar they are pretty user friendly.

OK, off to work. Lately it is dark when I walk to the station, and the few cars that pass have their headlights on. Winter is really here.

Although Kuniko was working both days this past weekend, she was able to come home at a reasonable hour (both days early in the afternoon), so things weren’t nearly as boring as I expected them to be. I worked at home in the mornings doing chores, reading books, and dreaming up recipes both days. When Kuniko came home then I’d give her some downtime and start throwing together cocktails and eventually dinner. It worked out pretty well.

Speaking of cocktails, my new go-to-favorite is the Sidecar. I’ve been drinking them lately, in Thailand and since we’ve gotten back, and I love it. I had to buy a new bottle of brandy at the grocery store yesterday. I’m ready to try some variations on the standard, so maybe next weekend I’ll work on that.

This week is a regular full week, and actually the following five weeks after that are as well. There is a long dry spell without a holiday, so I’ll be a regular working stiff for a long time. During this time I’m hoping to get some news on my future employment prospects either with KHI or another company. My contract ends in the middle of March this year, so it’d be nice to know what is on the horizon after that. Besides my parents’ visit, of course. They’ll be here the last week in March and the first week of April. They’ve got a bit of a fan club around here, so it’ll be a trick to get them around to visit everyone that they’d like to see.

Here’s a story I can’t really tell anywhere else. The names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Recently a Japanese guy I know went out drinking with a bunch of his coworkers. This was a special night, because it was the first time in seven years that the guy was able to drink alcohol. For whatever reason, he hadn’t had the chance to drink, and he was looking to enjoy alcohol that evening. And he did. Everybody drank a lot, and after the first party most of the members moved to another place for a second party. As the alcohol really started hitting him, he decided it would be best to hit the road before the end of the party, and get safely home.

So he excuses himself, says goodbye to everyone, and heads to the station. The remaining people at the party noticed that he was pretty drunk, but understand that it has been a long time for him, and are just happy that he is having a good time. After about an hour or so, the party starts to break up, with some hard-core members moving on to a third place, and the rest heading to the train station to go home.

Two members of the party are walking to the station, completely sober. They are both young women, and they both happen to be pregnant, so they haven’t had any alcohol all night. And as they walk to the station, they see some guy passed out on the sidewalk. People in the busy city are walking past the drunk guy passed out on the ground like he isn’t even there. And the young women are startled to discover that it was the poor guy who hadn’t had a drink in seven years.

They try to get the guy up on his feet, but he’s having a lot of trouble standing. He’s not puking, but it looks like it is just a matter of time. He is reasonably coherent, though, and understands who is helping him and thanks them profusely. The women each take an arm, and start walking/dragging him to the station. The time until the last train is ticking away, so they hurry.

So here’s this guy, getting carried to the station by two compassionate young pregnant women, and when they get to the station they put him on the train to his home, and they can wash their hands of the incident. The next day, the guy comes to work a little late, but nobody says anything about the incident, and he quietly thanks the two women by e-mail later in the evening.

And the reason I love this story, is because it perfectly illustrates the relationship between work, drinking and social life in Japan. This kind of thing doesn’t happen every night, but it isn’t all that unusual. You help out your coworkers, and they help you when you need it – even if that means dragging your drunk ass to the train. And the next day nobody teases you, lectures you, or says anything about it. Like it didn’t even happen.

One of my “resolutions” this year is to try to cook French food once a week. I don’t know how long this is going to last, but yesterday I cooked potato soup according to Julia Child’s “Mastering French Cooking” recipe. Easy – no problem – piece of cake. It was a chance to try some new kitchen methods, and it was kind of fun. The soup itself was good, and there is enough leftover for some when we get home tonight. I just couldn’t bring myself to put so much cream in – so I guess my recipe was a little healthier.

The weather around here is just getting colder and colder. Especially our early rising and early departures in the morning – it is usually hovering around freezing when we leave. Yesterday it was really windy on top of the cold temperatures. Hard to believe we were wearing flip-flops a couple of weeks ago in Cambodia.

I’m getting close to wrapping up the translation project at work – hopefully I can get it done by the end of today. So far it has been a good experience. I just wish I had more time to deal with it during my day. I have to sneak some work on it five minutes at a time between classes, which isn’t very efficient.

OK, off to face the cold this morning. I’ve started wearing gloves to work, but it is not quite cold enough for the scarf yet.

At work I was welcomed yesterday with a big task. One of the staff requested that I translate an 8 page document from Japanese to English. Usually I like to help out people at work by cleaning up their English, making it more professional and natural. This time, it was completely different – starting from scratch. So I’m using it as a project to brush up on my Japanese skills. It is due at the end of the day on Friday, so hopefully I can get it done…

Back at work after a long holiday is always tough. I felt pretty good, though. My students were just as tired as I was, but I put together kind of a “let’s get back into English mode” lesson, and I think it went well. More of these kinds of lessons coming up this week, and then we’ll get to new material.

One of my students gave me his New Year card, and on the front he had created a number puzzle from scratch. It was very clever, and it took me about an hour with an Excel spreadsheet to figure it out. I’ll turn it back in to him tomorrow – hopefully I got everything correct. Going from relaxation and no thinking at all to two brain puzzlers in a week – kind of a shock to my system.