Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

5th Ski Day, Lunch

　　We brought our lunch up to the mountain today too. That's because most of the menu items in the lodge were too oily for us. To my surprise, my friends grew accustomed to having lunch in the lodges and they used the hot water provided for tea bag users to prepare cup noodles. The instant noodles packed in a cup or pot are called "cup noodles" in Japan, but I don't know what they are called in Canada. Is "cup noodles" the acknowledged name? Anyway, the combination of rice balls, hot noodles and a bottle of domestic beer was perfect.

　　The weather was not so good in the afternoon. We got back soon after lunch and whiled away the early evening. As for me, I rushed to the jacuzzi, which was one of the best amusements.

　　The second picture was of the driver's seat on the shuttle bus. I visited here after a 4 year interval and found that shuttle buses had become very stylish and clean. Judging from the logo, "Fuel Cell", printed on the bus, the buses must be driven by electricity. It will contribute to green action. As for the drivers, I often saw Indian people working. It was the same for taxis. I didn't know why, but the security of Canada is great and they can communicate with English. I wondered whether these ideas might be the reason.

(Vocabulary)
while away sth  ＜時＞をのんびり過ごす
fuel cell:   a piece of equipment that combines two different ELEMENTS, such as OXYGEN and HYDROGEN, to produce electricity in order to supply power to a vehicle or machine

Lunch

　　I'll do a piece on lunch at the restaurants in the mountains. I couldn't take pictures of the show windows of the cafeteria, but they served a variety of dishes that were unknown to us. We tended to choose oily, high-caloric or highly-sweetened, what you call western, dishes from curiosity at around the beginning of the stay. The first picture shows the lunch on the first day. I don't remember the name of the dish and the soup. I wore my ski boots and was unstable in walking and I had spilt the soup a little. A bottle on which "Kokanee" is printed is one of the Canadian beers.

　　The second picture shows what they say are Japanese noodles, but I couldn't define its name. My friend said, "The taste was not bad! It's OK." As for me, I ordered consomme beef soup. Some might wonder if that was all? Actually No. We brought rice balls that we prepared this morning as we cooked too much rice the previous night. Now, we had lunch today in Glacier Creek Lodge in Blackcomb. Shortly after we started eating, I found people around us having a quick look at us. I was afraid at first that we weren't allowed to bring food in the lodge, but that was not true.

　　We wrapped rice balls with thin sheets of dried seaweed, which is called "Nori" and is very popular and everyone in Japan knows it. People around us seemingly looked at them as if they were grotesque. (grin)

(Vocabulary)
piece   (新聞・雑誌の) 記事, (テレビ，ラジオの) （1本の）ニュース
write/do a piece (on/about sth)  （＜…＞について）記事を書く
Robert wrote a short piece on the earthquake.  ロバートは地震に関する短い記事を書いた．
highly-sweetened  糖分の多い
from curiosity  物珍しさから
consomme beef soup  ビーフコンソメ
glance at sth/sb  ＜…＞をちらっと見る
glance at よりも have a quick look at のほうが日常よく用いられる
I had a quick look at my watch.  腕時計をちらっと見た．

Our Chef

　　Two consecutive days' skiing completely exhausted me. I realized that I lacked physical strength or everyday exercise. The muscular pain in both thighs and calves was serious and made me decide to take a one-day rest on the next day. I bought an analgesic ointment and knee supporters, which I'll show you below.

　　The main dish of dinner was roast chicken. The person who is smiling in the picture is our chef, Mr. W. In everyday life he is an anesthesiologist, but also a skillful cook as well. He was seemingly happy to show his cooking skills to us. I'm not good at cooking and, to tell you the truth, I envied him his cooking skills. It was a great pity that what I could do was only wait for the finish of his preparation over beer.

　　I first met Mr. K and Mrs. K this time, but we hit it off with each other. We drank nice wines until late at night from the Okanagan, on the label of which a beautiful woman's legs were printed, though I don't remember the name of the wine. Our chef's cuisine apparently became an ice-breaker.

　　There are two liquor shops in the village. They sell a wide variety of wines, beers and other alcoholic beverages. I like to drop in on them. Canadian beers and wines are rarely seen in the liquor shops in my hometown.

(Vocabulary)
calf  ふくらはぎ
envy sb sth  ＜人＞の＜…＞をうらやむ
He envied Rosalind her youth and strength.  彼はロザリンドの若さと体力をうらやましく思った．
hit it off  (インフォーマル)  会ってすぐに意気投合する

(Vocabulary from comments)
assuage əswéɪdʒ (フォーマル) 〈苦痛・怒り・心配など〉 を和らげる [同意] relieve
ailment  軽い病気
spirits 《[C]通例複数形で》 蒸留酒 (ウイスキー，ブランデーなど)
to boot  そのうえ, おまけに

2nd Ski Day

　　Do you know what looks like dog dirt? I found it at the meat shop in the IGA on the previous evening. I hadn't seen it before, and I wanted to try it even more. It was a kind of salami and nice. Unknown food is also full of fun.

　　The second picture was shot when we were preparing for skiing behind our condominium. One of the features of this condominium is that the visitors can go out and come back with their skis on from the backdoor. Additionally it was provided with a heated pool and a hot tub. A hot tub after skiing is incomparably comfortable. You can see a small part of a heated pool in the picture. We were going down to the base of Blackcomb and going up by the chairlift.

　　The sun emerged from behind the clouds and we headed for the summit of the Blackcomb area to view the scenery, but when I arrived at the top, a blizzard had started to blow. The third picture shows our get-away from the col, the highest point we could reach by chairlift.

　　The last picture is of me in the 7th Heaven ski area. The upper half of this area has no trees and the lower half is rich in woods. Here is my most favorite area in Blackcomb mountain. By the way, did you notice my new boots? They fit my feet and were really nice.

(Vocabulary)
dirt   (インフォーマル) (犬の) 糞(ふん)
dog dirt  犬の糞

Sunday

　　After dinner, we dropped in at a supermarket, the IGA, to get daily food and other necessities. Everything in the fridges looked nice and I was obsessed with an appetite to try everything. We got at first something for tomorrow's breakfast. I eat Caesar salad every time in Whistler. The main ingredient of it, romaine lettuce, is rarely seen in my hometown, and so it's much more valuable for us. Of course, I found the lettuce arranged in the vegetable area.

　　I was going to buy several bottles of alcoholic beverages on the way back to our condominium, but it was Sunday. Both liquor shops in the village were closed. Did they go to church? Anyway, I was so disappointed. I should have bought something at the duty free shop at Narita International Airport.

　　While walking, I found a considerably large space, which was formerly a forest, almost untouched. The first picture is of it. Yes, this was the place for the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics. It must have been pomp-filled at the ceremony. Two couples were taking pictures.

　　At the bottom of Whistler, a snowboarders' event was being performed. People were cheering to watch the acrobatic snowboarding. Snowboarders were jumping through a flaming hoop. On the opposite side, I found a nice place for drinking whisky around a fire. Inside the house called the "Irish Pub", a group of artists were playing guitars. Finally, our alcohol for tonight was a 200ml pack of Japanese sake for cooking.

(Vocabulary)
romaine （lettuce）  《植物》ロメイン・レタス
Caesar salad  シーザーサラダ
so much the more  それだけ一層
pomp-filled  華やかさに満ちた
pomp  (フォーマル) (式典などの) 壮麗さ, 華麗さ
pump  ポンプ
cheer 〈聴衆・観客などが〉 歓呼する, 喝采する, 歓声を上げる
jump through flaming hoop  （曲芸などで）火の輪くぐりをする

Olympic Memorial

flaming hoop

Irish Pub

Japanese cooking sake

Woodrun; Nanami or Shichimi?

　　It was the second time that I had stayed here, because I used it 6 yeas ago. At that time I was with my daughters, who were still high school students. Time flies really fast.

　　After we settled in a living room for some time, we went out for dinner. The 3rd picture is the bus stop of the shuttle bus which transported us for free in the village.

　　We came across a young man who was using a pair of crutches. He was rather taller than me. The top of his crutches might be the same level as that of my jaw. I was interested in them; How long could they extend? There were more than 10 notches left. I wanted to handle them, but I refrained from asking him to let me use them. He looked to be in pain. However, my hopes did come true a few days later. Who knows how such things play out. We came across several unpredictable happenings on the trip and these happenings are sure to make you subscribers amused, I believe.

　　At a sushi bar, one of my friends ordered a bowl of Udon noodles. Then, the waiter asked him immediately whether he needed "Nanami" or not, but what's "nanami"? The waiter naturally saw we were Japanese, and he also looked doubtful. Anyway, he brought a small bottle of "Nanami", and it meant "Shichimi". We thought that he had memorized it mistakenly, but he was right as the pictures show below. I don't know yet why "Shichimi" is called "Nanami".

one of washrooms


my room

crutches

menu

Shichimi

Nanami

Narita Airport

　　I flew into Tokyo International Airport. The sky was blue and the flight was really comfortable. The picture is of the Dreamliner that took me. As soon as I got to the airport, I headed for the bus station. I had to use the bus service to move to Narita International Airport.

　　At Narita, all the six members of this trip got together. They will show up repeatedly in the following entries, and I'm going to call them Mr. and Mrs. K, Mr. and Mrs. W and Ms.O respectively. Ms.O is the group leader of this trip. I had no personal acquaintance with Mr. & Mrs. K, but I felt something unusual toward Mr. K. It proved a few days later that he was a leading figure of a big pharmaceutical company. I'll introduce him later.

　　The check-in counter of Air Canada was heavily crowded. I knew the reason after I checked in. The boarding passes of 3 of 6 members had no seat number. An overbooking seemed to have happened. Eventually, Mr. and Mrs. K got seats in business class. I wanted to see how sumptuous the meals in business class were, but I refrained. I tried to have enough sleep to keep the jet lag away. I was asleep except for mealtimes. The picture show the in-flight dinner and breakfast of Air Canada.

(Vocabulary)
have no personal acquaintance with  ～とは個人的な面識がない
sumptuous  豪華な, ぜいたくな
a sumptuous feast  豪勢なごちそう

 

 

Stupid Sea Shepherd (SSS)

　　A long time has elapsed since the escalation of the anti-whaling movement.

　　Cetaceans are said to be smart, being typified by dolphins. Is that the reason why the SSS is against whaling? Someone says that whales weren't included on Noah's ark. They say that God doesn't regard whales as food for human beings. Were whales just too big to be accommodated?

　　I knew of this story as follows; a small amount of oil obtained from the brain of whales is highly prized as the most useful oil on the globe. It has been utilized in the gyroscope bearing to maintain the position of missiles.

　　The U.S. used to be a whaling nation. It is said that the U.S. changed its attitude toward whaling to prevent other countries from getting that valuable oil. The U.S. has reportedly stored enough oil for 100 years. The progress of GPS might have diminished the importance of the oil, but such excellent oil can be used in many ways. Anti-whaling activists wouldn't know that anti-whaling, supposedly insisting on the importance of life, is associated with the production of weapons.

　　Even if SSS's purpose is genuinely to preserve nature, how do they cope with the outbreak of anisakis in the whaling-prohibited ocean. The number of anisakis used to be controlled by whaling. The amount of fish catches around the Antarctic Ocean will decline due to the change of the food chain. Can we not say that the activity of the SSS is the apotheosis of arrogance, forgetting that human beings are also members of nature.

　　Human beings need other creatures' lives to live. I can't understand their appeal that you can eat livestock like cows, but never eat whales. Because whales are smart? How about the tradition of eating dogs in China and Korea? SSS is full of deception.

　　To claim lives instantly without giving pain, and receive them with thanks, honoring them; it's the Japanese way and far different from simple slaughter.

　　This is the scene of seal slaughter in Canada. People control the number of seals for their livelihood. I don't want to criticise them. What does the SSS think of it?
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/canadian-seal-slaughter.aspx

　　Next, I'll present you a picture and movie from Denmark. They are slaughtering numerous dolphins in a small bay in Denmark. Dolphins are gradually dying. Isn't it cruel? Dolphins are surely suffering pain. What comments does the SSS issue? I hope that people try to remove pain from dolphins.
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-371086?ref=feeds/latest

　　As for my personal opinion, the SSS seems to be obsessed by the notion of racial discrimination, just like the former U.S. president, FDR. I can't help feeling like that.

(Vocabulary)
elapse (フォーマル) 〈時が〉 経過する
cetacean クジラ目(もく)
include…を含める, 加える, 盛り込む
include sth in/on sth  ＜…＞に＜…＞を加える
We've included some music in the evening's program. 夕方のプログラムに音楽を盛り込みました．
Noah's ark  ノアの方舟
prized 大切な, 貴重な
highly prized  珍重される
fish catches  漁獲量
catch  [C] (魚の) 捕獲量, 漁獲物
the Antarctic Ocean  南氷洋
food chain  食物連鎖
apotheosis [名] [U](フォーマル)  極致; 頂点
deception  だますこと, 詐欺行為
claim a life/victim 〈事故・病気・戦争などが〉 人命を奪う［犠牲者を出す］
slaughter  [名] [U] (家畜の) 食肉処理, 畜殺;(けなして) (人間の) 大量虐殺
livelihood  生計
We depend on tourism for our livelihood.  我々は観光業で生計を立てている．

 

Rainy Morning

　　The next day was rainy. The picture was taken on the way to the restaurant through the window of the aisle in the hotel. In Beppu City, clouds of white steam rise from all over the city. Tourists who visit the city for the first time might think they were fires. I'm really sorry not to be able to show you a clear view of the city.
　　At the restaurant, what you call a smorgasbord style one, I could have as much as I wanted from lots of dishes. I was fully satisfied with them for there was a variety of cuisine. I've only ever stayed in German, Canadian and American hotels and often utilized the same style restaurants. The dishes that had been served there were all western dishes. It's, of course, natural. When in Rome, do as the Romans. However, I sometimes felt like eating acquired tastes. IN JAPAN, I can have both Japanese and western cuisine in a single restaurant. The second picture was my first serving; rice, miso soup, tofu, jako (dried young sardines), a boiled egg which was heated with the steam from the earth and a western style dish. I like my bacon crispy but it was soft, to my regret.
　　After breakfast, we started sightseeing in the rain and I'll show you the unique tourist attractions in the next entry.

 

(Vocabulary)
a variety of sth  さまざまな＜…＞
acquired taste  慣れ親しんだ味, 習い覚えて好きになっていくもの
acquire a taste for sth   ＜…＞が好きになる
like  (好み・嗜好(しこう)などについて) …を好む
I like my coffee strong.  コーヒーは濃いのが好きです．

Raw Fish

　　I'll show you some Japanese traditional cuisine in this entry. Do you know a fish named the Japanese horse mackerel? We dropped in at a restaurant near my family graves. The picture was shot at that time.
　　There are several methods for preparing the fish. The picture shows the preparation called "arai". The dish looks like "sashimi" which is well-known globally, but it isn't "sashimi". Have you ever heard of "arai"? If you are interested in it, look for the recipe on the internet. You have to use the live fish and need hot water in the preparation of "arai".

(Vocabulary)
horse mackerel  《魚》/ Japanese horse mackerel  アジ
prepare   [他] 〈料理・食事など〉 を調理する, 作る
prepare sth for sb  ＜人＞のために＜食事など＞を作る

Lunch (Shojin Ryori dishes)

　　We got off the highway some time after the short stop at the Shizugadake Service Area. The next destination was Eiheiji Temple. This temple is so famous that you can find its features in the English literature or on the internet.
　　When we reached a few kilometers before the temple, we decided to have lunch. The temple would be large in area and it would take more than two hours to see around. That's why we had lunch before visiting the temple.
　　My wife found a lavish restaurant by the roadside, which served tofu dishes. Originally Japanese Zen monks didn't eat meat and obtained protein from soybeans. As we all know, soybeans are the material of tofu. Several temples which have a long history often have their own recipe for tofu and now their original tofu became one of the main products of the region around the temples. So, my wife wanted to have them, but I don't like tofu.
　　Soba, buckwheat noodle, is also in the same position. Old temples were usually established deep in the forest or in an isolated place. In such places, not so many crops have been harvested. However, buckwheat could have been planted on deserted land or even in dry land. Zen monks raised buckwheat for their food and it has also become one of the products around the temples. Naturally, there were many soba restaurants around Eiheiji temple, but I hate soba too.
　　My wife pestered me for a choice between tofu and soba, both of which I hated. In such a case, if I didn't follow her, she would have continued to complain that she wished to have eaten tofu FOREVER. I gave up and stopped my car at the parking lot of the tofu restaurant.
　　The ordinary meals for Zen monks are called Shojin Rhori, which means vegetarian dishes. Shojin Rhori is actually the specialty of the temple, but,,,I don't like it. The menu was all tofu-related and awful for me, and I ventured to choose the dish in the first picture, which was soba soaked into soybean milk. There was no more terrible dish for me, but it was not bad. The second picture was my wife's. These were completely vegetarian dishes.

(Vocabulary)
specialty  自慢の品［料理］, 特産（品）, 名物料理

 

Pictures 1

　　I chose 10 pictures for you. If you live outside Japan, these pictures might be interesting. Enjoy them.

　　The first picture shows me riding downhill southward on Ohshima Island. You can also see the Kurushima-Kaikyo Ohashi Bridge in the picture, which is the world's first three-consecutive suspension bridge. The length is 4105 meters.

　　We reached the southern end of Ohshima Island. As you see, this was a fishing port and lots of small fishing boats were moored there. There was a make-shift restaurant serving local sea food and clay charcoal stoves. The visitors could roast and eat the freshly caught sea food. We would have liked to eat them, but the view of the bridge column deterred us from doing that because we couldn't have done without beer if we had eaten roasted sea food there.

　　One of the bridge columns of the Kurushima-Kaikyo Ohashi stands on the really tiny island of Umashima. We descended to the land. The picture shows the elevator arranged to the wall of the column. You can see its whole appearance in the next picture. It helps the inhabitants of this island do daily shopping on the mainland Shikoku.

　　The last picture was shot at the southern edge of Umashima Island. This area is well known as the channel which has the most rapid current in Japan.

(Vocabulary)
suspension bridge  吊り橋
moor [他]（船）をつなぐ, 停泊させる
A few fishing boats were moored alongside the pier.
clay charcoal stove  七輪
bridge column  橋脚
deter …を思いとどまらせる, やめさせる
deter sb from (doing) sth
A loan system would deter many young people from going to college. 貸付制度は多くの若者たちが大学に行くのを思いとどまらせるだろう．

(Vocabulary from comments)
eatery [C] (複 eateries) (インフォーマル) レストラン
wick away moisture  水分を逃がす

 
 
  

Fish and Seafood

　　Japan is an island country blessed with the riches of its many rivers and the sea that surrounds it on all sides. Warm and cold ocean currents flow along the coast of Japan and lots of fish can be captured where both currents meet. It is said that the kinds of fish reach up to 2000. Fish and seafood have been key parts of the Japanese diet since ancient times. Viewing the fact that lots of kinds of fishbones were discovered at the Sannai Maruyama Remains in Aomori Prefecture, the Japanese are thought to have been eating fish and seafood since at least more than 4000 years ago.
　　The techniques of processing fish and seafood developed and preserved food was made using salt and rice malt. This lead people in mountainous region to be able to eat the products from the sea. Additionally, in the Edo period, sushi became popular among ordinary people, which has developed into the primary Japanese cuisine culture.
　　According to the FAO's statistics, the yearly average consumption of fish and seafood in Japan is 70kg per person. It is 4 times more than the average of the world. The interest of the Japanese  in fish is strong, and lots of people enjoy fishing and having ornamental fish. There are more than 100 aquariums across the country. Over the centuries, various specialized fishing techniques have been developed. I'll show you the everyday Japanese dinner table.

FAO Official Website: http://www.fao.org/

　　The traditional pole-and-line method is used for catching the ocean fish katsuo skipjack. The fishermen wield their rods so deftly that the fish are caught in the blink of an eye. It's a centuries-old method of fishing that avoids causing any damage to the fish.
　　Cast nets are used to catch the freshwater ayu, sweetfish. Sweetfish are very sensitive, so first the current must be dammed with branches to prevent them from escaping. Then the fisherman must stand quietly in wait until a shoal of sweetfish arrives. As soon as the shoal arrives at the dam and wheels around, he casts the net with split-second timing. If the timing is not perfect, the fish will scatter and few will be caught in the net. It takes long years of experience for a fisherman to learn to judge the precise timing for casting his net.
　　Fishing techniques have been developed to suit each region and the kind of target fish. There are also various different ways to prepare and cook fish. You can enjoy distinctive seasonal fish and seafood delicacies such as sushi, tempura and hotpots.
　　Early summer is the season for katsuo skipjack. One of the classic ways to prepare the skipjack is a technique known as tataki. Fillets are lightly seared over a fire made from rice straw. The sliced fish is dipped in a soy-based sauce seasoned with spices.
　　Midsummer is the season for unagi, freshwater eel. The most common unagi dish is kabayaki. The unagi flesh is basted with a sweet savory soy sauce and broiled; its delectable aroma and melting texture are irresistible.
　　Autumn is the season fro sanma, Pacific saury. One of the most popular broiled fish dishes is sanma-no-shioyaki, sanma just rubbed with salt and broiled whole. It's usually served with grated daikon radish, soy sauce and a citrus juice.
　　There are plenty of excellent seafood dishes in winter too, especially snow crab hotpot and sashimi. In most areas, the crab-catching season opens in November. The crab's firm flesh and subtle flavor make them the ultimate delicacy of winter.
　　A rich variety of fish and seafood is available all year round.

(Vocabulary)
preserved food  保存食品
rice malt  麹
ornamental  観賞用の, 装飾用の
lead sb to do sth　人に～させる
riches 《複数扱い》(特に文) 富, 財産; 豊富さ
pole-and-line method 一本釣り
skipjack (skipjack tunaとも) カツオ(魚)
wield 〈武器・道具〉を手にする, 持つ; 〈権力など〉を持つ, 握っている
deftly 器用に, 巧みに, 手際よく
cast net 投網
freshwater -- saltwater
sweetfish アユ
sensitive 警戒心の強い
lie in wait (for sb/sth) ～を待ち伏せている、（いやなことが）～を待ち受けている
shoal = school　魚の一群
wheel wi:l 反対側に急に向きを変える
wheel around 後ろを向く、振り返る
split-second  [形]《[名]の前でのみ》 瞬時の, 一瞬の
split second [名] 《常に単数形で》 ほんの一瞬
delicacy [C] ごちそう, 珍味/ [U] 慎重さ, 繊細さ, 細やかな心遣い
distinctive 独特の、個性豊かな
distinct 別個の、はっきりした
Japanese traditional nursery songs have distinctive melodies. 独特の旋律がある。
Japan has four distinct seasons. 四季がはっきりしています。
sear  [他] …を焦がす, 焼く/  [他] (強火で) 〈肉など〉 をさっと焼く
baste〈肉〉を焼き汁をかけながら焼く
delectable〈料理などが〉 おいしい, 美味な, 〈においなどが〉 おいしそうな
texture  触感, 手触り;  食感, 質感, テクスチャー
Pacific saury  サンマ
rub sth with sth  ＜…＞に＜…＞を塗る［擦り込む］
Rub the fish with salt. 魚に塩を擦り込みます．
snow crab　ズワイガニ
firm 身の引き締まった
subtle 繊細な

(和訳)
　日本は四方を海に囲まれた水の豊かな島国です。日本の近海には暖流(黒潮)と韓流(親潮)が流れ込み、さらにその２つがぶつかるエリアがあるので、２０００種類もの魚が獲れると言われています。太古の昔から日本人は魚介類を主な食料にしてきました。青森県三内丸山遺跡から多種の魚の骨が見つかっていることから、日本人は４０００年以上前から魚を食べてきたことがわかります。
　魚の加工技術が発達し、塩や麹を使った魚の保存食が作られ、山間に住む人々も魚介類を食べられるようになりました。江戸時代にはにぎり寿司が登場。日本を代表する食文化に育っていくのです。
　ＦＡＯによると、日本人の魚介類の消費量は一人あたり年間約７０キロ。世界平均の４倍以上に当たります。また、日本人の魚に対する関心は深く、多くの人が釣りや観賞用の魚の飼育を楽しみ、全国には１００以上の水族館があるとも言われます。そして長い時をかけて、様々な漁の方法が発達してきました。現代の日本人の食卓を紹介しましょう。
　こちらはカツオの一本釣りです。釣り竿一本で一匹のカツオを豪快に釣り上げます。この漁は、魚に傷をつけずに釣ることができる伝統的な方法です。
　こちらはアユを捕まえるための投網を使った漁です。逃げられないように川の流れをせき止め、群れが来るまで気配を消してじっと待ちます。アユの群れが泳いでくる一瞬のタイミングを計って投網を打ちます。このタイミングが合わないとアユは散ってしまい、うまく網にかかりません。長年の経験で、魚との間合いをうまく計るのです。
　川でも海でも、その地域や魚の種類に合わせた漁法が編み出されてきたのです。魚の料理法も様々です。すし、天ぷら、煮物・鍋料理など、四季折々の個性豊かな魚料理が楽しめます。
　初夏は、カツオの季節です。カツオの伝統的な料理法の一つ、たたき。節に切ったカツオの表面だけを、藁を燃やした火であぶります。薬味の入ったタレにつけていただきます。
　夏。７月下旬に食べるのがうなぎです。ウナギは甘いタレをつけて焼く蒲焼きが一般的です。焼き上げられた身は香ばしく独特の食感。
　秋の定番はサンマです。サンマの塩焼きは焼き魚の中でも広く親しまれている人気のメニュー。大根おろしと醤油、あるいはスダチなどの果汁をかけて食べます。
　冬も海の幸は豊富です。１１月に漁が解禁となるズワイガニ。鍋や刺身などでいただきます。引き締まった身が繊細な味わいです。冬の風物詩の一つです。
　一年を通じて魚介料理は日本人の食卓を賑わせています。

Ten Eggs

　　A patient gave me ten eggs which his hens laid this morning. He breeds lots of hens organically. His hens seem to stay outside in the sunshine in the daytime and freely walk or run on the ground which is kept untouched. I'm in another office now and have to stay until tomorow morning. What should I do with these eggs? I don't have any cooking equipment except an electric pot, if it can be called cooking equipment.
　　My coworkers told me that his hens were great and popular regionally, but the eggs are usually laid scattered all over the farm. The farm personnel collect them every morning, but they can not always pick all of them up. That is to say, some of the eggs might have been laid before yesterday and had been left on the ground for more than a day. They advised me not to reserve them because of the possible deterioration. I had better not take them home.
　　In this way, I had to cook or deal with them in a very short time and so I tried to put the eggs into an electric pot, though I wasn't confident about the result. What do you think became of them? Left in the pot for about an hour, the eggs were nicely cooked. They were genuinely hard-boiled eggs.

(Vocabulary)
lay
[他] 〈鳥・昆虫などが〉 〈卵〉 を産む
[自] 卵を産む
breed 〈動植物〉を繁殖させる, 飼育［栽培］する, 品種改良する
They breed cattle. 彼らは牛を飼育している．

Soy sauce

　　I've ever been to several countries. During the stay, I often visited local supermarkets to get local foods and drinks. At that time, I came across a certain Japanese product at every supermarket. Guess what? ..... It's "Soy Sauce", shouyu in Japanese. I'm talking about soy sauce this time.

　　Soy sauce is a multi-purpose condiment essential to Japanese cooking. Sushi and sashimi are dipped in soy sauce before eating. Sukiyaki meat smells and tastes great because it's seasoned with soy sauce.
　　There are many kinds of soy sauce. The Koikuchi variety is the most common one. It's dark in color and has a strong aroma. The Usukuchi variety is pale. It's perfect for accentuating the tastes and colors of the natural ingredients. Do you know the traditional way of making soy sauce?
　　First you need steamed soybeans and roasted wheat. A type of mold, called kojikin, is added to them, and the ingredients are carefully mixed. Left for a few days, the mold breeds, and the culture is now called koji.
　　Next, a solution of salt in water is added to the koji. The resulting mixture, called moromi, will turn into soy sauce. When left in vats for a few months, the moromi undergoes the chemical change known as fermentation.
　　The mold breaks down the protein in the soybeans to make amino acids, which are responsible for producing umami. There are many fermented food products in Japan, such as miso, natto, and sake -- and soy sauce is one of them.
　　Some soy sauce producers let their moromi mature for as long as 5 years. Making soy sauce requires a lot of labor as well. For instance, the moromi needs to be stirred thoroughly to let oxygen penetrate evenly. This promotes fermentation. When the maturation process is complete, the moromi is strained through cloth. What comes out is soy sauce. A great deal of time and effort goes into making delicious soy sauce.
　　These days, the use of soy sauce is not limited to Japanese cuisine. In French cuisine, for example, it's used to add flavor to certain dishes. In the U.S., it's a key ingredient of teriyaki sauce.
　　A traditional condiment in Japan, soy sauce has crossed national borders and is now an essential element in many cuisine around the world.

(From comments)
mainstay  (経済・文化などの) 柱（となるもの）, 支え /  (集団・組織の) 精神的支柱, 大黒柱
catch on  気づく, わかる / 人気が出る, 流行する

(和訳)
和食に欠かせない万能調味料、しょうゆ。
寿司や刺身は、そのままつけて食べます。すき焼きの肉に香ばしい風味を添えるのも、しょうゆです。
しょうゆには、多くの種類があります。一般的によく使われるのが、濃い口です。色が濃く、香りも強いしょうゆです。薄口は色が淡く、食材が持つ味と色合いを生かすときに使います。
しょうゆを使い分けることで、料理の味と美しさがより引き立ちます。
伝統的なしょうゆ作りの行程を見てみましょう。

原料となるのは、蒸した大豆と炒った小麦。ここに麹菌と呼ばれるカビの一種を加え、丁寧に混ぜ合わせます。数日経つと麹菌が繁殖します。この状態を麹と呼びます。そこに塩水を加えると、しょうゆのもととなる「もろみ」の出来上がりです。

これを桶に入れて数ヶ月おくと、発酵と呼ばれる化学変化が起きます。麹菌が大豆のタンパク質を分解し、うまみ成分となるアミノ酸を作り出すのです。みそ、納豆、日本酒など、多くの日本の食品は発酵を利用して作られます。しょうゆもそうした食品の一つです。

作り手によっては５年もかけて、じっくりと熟成させていきます。さらに、人の手間も欠かせません。桶の底までかき回すことでまんべんなく酸素を送り、発酵を促します。熟成が終わったものを布でこすと、ようやくしょうゆの完成です。長い時間と人の労力。手間暇をかけることで、おいしいしょうゆが出来上がるのです。

最近、しょうゆは和食以外でも使われています。フランス料理では隠し味として活用され、アメリカではテリヤキソースの元として親しまれています。

日本の伝統的な調味料、しょうゆは、今や国境を越えた味となっています。

 

New Year Meeting

　　I have several good friends on the net and they have had a party at the beginning of the year for these last 10 years. January 22nd was the day of the party. The place for the party was the same as usual, Yokaro. This restaurant looked shabby, but the dishes were great. The chef's speciality was fugu, the fish which looked like a balloon, and had some poison in its organs. Cooks who deal with fugu are required to have a license because the fugu is poisonous, but fugu is delicious.
　　I almost forgot to write about the combination of fugu and Japanese sake. They match well. You can see hirezake everywhere in Japan in winter, which is a cup of Japanese hot sake with floating dried and roasted caudal fin of fugu. It warms us very much. If you have a chance to visit Japan in winter, be sure to enjoy fugu. I'm so sorry to show you pictures of fugu.

Mochi Pounding (Rice-cake Making)

　　I'll write about the village festival continued from the last entry.
　　Have you ever seen Japanese-style mochi pounding? I'll show you a Google Image site linking to lots of images of mochi pounding. When celebrating something in Japan, people like neighbors, relatives or companies often get together and cooperate on rice-cake making. I'm going to tell you how to make rice-cake, but it's not easy to translate items into English. I hope that the pictures from Google will help you understand what I want to say.
　　Now, at first, you steam the sticky rice and put it into a rice mortar, and pound it with one, sometimes several, big and heavy pestle. As I couldn't find suitable words, I expressed special items for mochi-pounding as "mortar and pestle". If you know more suitable words, tell me please. I think that you'd know what I was talking about.
　　Anyway, repeating the action of Lifting a pestle in the air and banging it down on the mortar requires physical power and is hard work. Women usually don't pound rice cakes with a big pestle, but I found a smart pounding machine that is shown in the picture. An aged woman was pounding a mass of sticky rice with a man supplying a small amount of water that prevented the rice from caking to the mortar and pestle. I was watching the movement for a while. She didn't need to aim at the mortar. The machine was set just in a good position. She was only stepping the bar down regularly. It was very simple and easy. I was impressed with the idea.

Google Images

(Vocabulary)
mochi pounding / rice-cake making 餅つき
mortar and pestle 臼と杵
glutinous [sweet] rice / sticky rice 餅米
steam（ご飯などを）蒸す
sweat（野菜などを）蒸す
bang down〔斧や棒など〕振り下ろす
cake [自] 固まる, こびりつく
be caked with/in sth  ＜…＞がこびりついている

Eriocheir japonica

　　The title is the name of a crab which is frequently seen in Japanese small rivers. I am showing you the picture of it. One of my friends shared them with me today. His wife's original house is located in a rural area and her father caught them near his house.
　　This blog is read all over the world and some readers sent me e-mails. I was often surprised to read them, because their ways of thinking about Japan were sometimes far from the truth. Lots of people seem to think that Japan is too developed to keep its environment normal and natural across the country. I'd like to put emphasis on Japanese efforts to keep the earth as it was meant to be.

(Vocabulary)
share some of ~ with ～のお裾分けをする
place/put emphasis on sth  ＜…＞を強調する
as it was meant to be

Today's Breakfast

　　The picture shows today's breakfast for inpatients and me. I stayed at my hospital last night and it's also my duty to have the same breakfast as the inpatients' and leave some comments for the nutritionists and staff members of the food service. To tell the truth, it wasn't so good. It might be good for the health, but its taste was bland. The salt and fat are restricted for preventing hypertension and obesity.
　　I have been eating hospital meals for more than a quarter of a century. I think the supper and breakfast before and after night duty, and the everyday lunch must have contributed to my health. My laboratory results are totally within a normal range. I can't believe that this fact hasn't anything to do with hospital meals.

(Vocabulary)
dietician / dietitian / expert in nutrition / nutritionist 栄養士
bland  味けない, 平凡な; (料理・食品などが)味に特徴がない, 淡白な; (表情・口調などが)感情を抑えた(表に出さない), （意見などが）控えめな, 当たり障りのない

Miscellaneous Thoughts about Meals for Guests

　　When we came back home, breakfast was ready. My wife didn't know what to prepare for them, and cooked both Japanese and western-style food. I heard some foreigners didn't like the smell of miso (fermented soybean paste) soup, which is one of the most traditional Japanese soups. I should've asked them about their preferences before coming to Japan via e-mails. After they left for the next place where their concert would be held, we thought that it was an option to serve Okonomiyaki or Takoyaki, which were the representative Japanese fast foods. It might be fun to cook such food with them over chatting. We are thinking of serving Okonomiyaki or local dishes in Ehime prefecture, if we have another guest from a foreign country in the future. We're afraid that he or she'd hate the dish, but in such a case, we may prepare a small amount of bread or something.
　　One of our guests was born in Colombia and lived in Freiburg. It was regrettable that I didn't know much about his country. Even the spelling of Colombia was new to me. I didn't know it until I wrote this entry. I took it as Columbia for a long time. I barely remembered the name of the capital city, Bogota, while talking with him. The news from Colombia is almost always bad news, like abductions and the production of illegal drugs. However, he was a really nice guy. As I wrote again and again in my blog, there're both good and bad people in every country. I want to enjoy chatting with those good people in the world.
　　The picture shows our guests, my wife, Annlie and me at the entrance. We didn't have a tripod and the camera was placed on the brick wall. My wife couldn't get a day off, and so Annlie and I took them to several places. I'm showing some pictures in the following entries with complete comments that we couldn't provide them with at the scene.
　　After taking a picture, we visited Dogo Spa, which is the most ancient hot spring in Japan, and Ishite-ji temple, on the Shikoku 88 pilgrimage. Then, we got together with other members of Jazzchor Freiburg at Matsuyama Castle Park. I took some funny pictures here too and I'll post them. Please wait for them with anticipation.

• (Vocabulary)
• tripod  三脚