Oot and aboot this little town in Northern Japan

The first thing I bought when I got to Tokyo (well, other than food, of course, but that's *long* gone) was a camera. Now that the weather is changing for the warmer and I can work on shaking this cabin fever, when the weather is favorable, I make an effort to explore the town I live in.

Welcome to Shichinohe Machi (七戸町）

View Shichinohe-machi, Aomori-ken, Japan in a larger map 七 = shichino= seventh 戸= he (pron 'hey') = door/gate 町= machi = town
For further explanation of the name, check out the history of Gonohe's name on Wikipedia. I presume they are all part of the same history and subsequent naming. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I can't find much information myself... There are two National Highways (国道= kokudou "country" +  "road", blue triangle signs) that go through town, the #4 and the #394. The #22 and #118 are Prefectural Roads (県道= kendou "prefecture" + "road", blue octagons . The streets have no other names and I'm still trying to figure out how folks find their way around without Google maps or other GPS capabilities. If you click on the different blocks on Google maps, it will highlight them for you and you can see that they are just arbitrarily shaped. Hopefully one day it will be explained to me, but until such a time, it's just weird. You have no idea how excited I was when I finally figured out where my home was and how to walk to the grocery store without getting horribly lost. I think the set up has to do with the fact that it's an old samurai town and if you don't live there, you're not supposed to be able to find your way around. As you can see from the map above, there is no set pattern, no grid, no main road that goes right through... it was very strange and disorienting for me when I first arrived. Whenever it's a nice, sunny day, I get the urge to explore...   Points of Interest:
Castle Ruins, Tenno Shrine(s), Temple(s), Art Gallery (featuring lots of lamps... apparently)

Amenities: Post office, grocery store, drug store, supermarket, shinkansen station, banks, gas stations, schools, hospital, public bath and a library. There's a 'shopping district', about a dozen hair salons (!? seriously, they're like... weeds!).
There should be a bunch of pegs and explanations of locations on the map, if there isn't, lemmie know and I'll fix it. :)

Recipe Requests

I know spring is trying to come to Aomori, I see it in the hours of bright & sunny the cut through those of blowing snow. Even the sun has started to get up as freakishly early as I do...*shakes fist at the weather* In an effort to keep warm while really wanting to be able to open my windows to let some fresh air in, I made up some pretty nifty soup and some tasty chicken.

Finished curry product all boxed up for lunch!

給食 "School lunch"

A post devoted to the sometimes delicious, sometimes mysterious kyuushoku.

As a kid going to public school in Winnipeg, I always brown bagged it. Well, for a while, in elementary school it was a really sweet Empire Strikes Back tin lunch box with matching thermos but I digress. My Dad always packed me a lunch. Now that I'm a grown up, I like to pack my own lunch. However, if you want to spend time with the kids, you must eat like everyone else and take part in school lunches.

I really do work, honest!

Although perhaps my previous posts do not indicate otherwise, I *do*, in fact, have a job out here. I am an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) based out of the Chubu Kamikita Board of Education office though the JET (Japanese Exchange and Teaching) Programme. JET has been around for 26 years and works with various local government ministries to find placement and provide support for English teachers in Japan. For the official definition, go here.The only prerequisite was a completed Bachelor's degree from a recognized institution (however having TESL/TEFL certification is always a bonus, which I had. As is teaching experience... which I didn't have, unless you count boating lessons at summer camp... which I doubt. Haha.)

Sign by the entrance to the office parking lot... chubukamikitasomethingsomethingsomethingcentaaaaa. :p

Quiet Saturday Adventures in Baking

What's shaking, cats and kittens? I'm laying low this weekend and decided to try a couple of ideas I had for some healthy treats.

Yeah yeah, quiet you. They are.


I've made these without adding any sugars or salts to the mix.