ケラケラ This Japanese video is too funny

みたかし Mitaka and Studio Ghibli

I first visited Mitaka and Studio Ghibli in August 2007 and then again in October 2009.

These are awesome little things they give you each time you go. Sorry for the blurry photo. I just snapped a photo of these on my phone after sitting for quite a few years. A bit dusty too.

Here are some photos from my first trip…

A street in Mitaka

A bit blurry but I couldn’t pass up this Hello Kitty car.

Top of the museum.

My friend and I outside the the museum.

And here are some more of the area in 2009…

There were so many artist along the streets.

Pretty contrast.

Finally I got to the top after missing it on the first visit.

Kiki’s Delivery Service lamp in the Museum’s restaurant.

My food. It was really good!

A straw made of real straw!

I thought these school children were so cute with their little hats and backpacks!

ちゃわんむし Egg Custard

Yesterday my fiancé and I decided to make chawanmushi since it’s one of my favorite dishes. Only problem was we didn’t have a steamer so we made a ghetto rigged one. We put a pizza pan that has the holes in it on top of a pot of boiling water then covered the top with tin foil. It took much longer then it should have taken but still tasted good. Also when we took them out they deflated making them look funny.

I only added the shiitake and carrot since that’s what was in my refrigerator but traditionally you can also add shrimp, chicken, ginkgo nuts and a couple others which have slipped my mind.

Recipe:
4 eggs
1 can chicken broth (2 cups)
Tbsp mirin
Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dashi
4 small Shiitake mushrooms
4 slices of carrot

First start the boiling water. While the water heats lightly mix the eggs so they can mix without bubbling. Then add the broth, mirin, soy sauce, dashi and mix. place a shiitake and carrot slice in each of the 4 ramekins. Add the mixture to each ramekin then cover each one with tin foil and place in covered steamer for about 20mins or till toothpick comes out clean. Finally let cool since it will be super hot and enjoy!

ラーメン Nom Nom Ramen shop

The other day I finally made it to the ramen shop in Philly, Nom Nom Ramen. It was the first time I had real ramen that wasn’t the little packets that you can make at home. If you live near Philly make your way over and try their ramen, it’s well worth it. I had the shouyu ramen and it was awesome.

となりのトトロ All things cute and Totoro

If you enjoy Totoro check out my other post! Totoro cream Puffs!

べんきょう verb conjugation

I thought today I would go over the some Japanese verb conjugation. This isn’t all of them but jut some common ones.

I will use the U verb to go.

The first is the dictionary form being informal

いく　                          iku                        to go

いかない                      ikanai                 to not go

いった                           itta                       went

いかなかった              ikanakatta         did not go

This is the formal version

いきます                       ikimasu                          to go

いきません                   ikimasen                       to no go

いきました                   ikimashita                     went

いきめん　でした      ikimasen deshita        did not go

This is the -ing form using the te form of the verb

いって　います                          itte imasu                       going

いって　いません                      itte imasen                    not going

いって　いました                      itte imashita                 was going

いって　いません　でした     itte imasen deshita     was not going

ex:  母は  東京に  いって います。 Haha wa Toukyou ni itte imasu.

Mom is in Tokyo . (She went to Tokyo, and she is still there.)

This is the probably form

いく　でしょう                        iku deshou                    will probably go

いかない　でしょう               ikanai deshou              will probably not go

いった　でしょう                   itta deshou                    probably went

いかなかった　でしょう      ikanakatta deshou      probably did not go

And some odd ones

いきましょう                ikimashou              let’s go

いきたい　                    ikitai                        want to go

ふろば Japanese bathing etiquette

For anyone that doesn’t know the basics of the Japanese bathing:

In a home the bathroom lay out is usually a sink and a place to get unchanged, then there’s the showering area and next to it the bath. Also in public baths there is a changing area, washing area and the bathing area. The toilet is usually in a separate room on its own.

Always wash yourself before entering the bath in the shower area. The bath is a place for relaxing, not cleaning. This applies at public baths and home since traditionally the whole family would bath in the same water.

かいろ Heat pack

In Japan they have these nifty little packets called kairo that keep your hands warm when you take it out of the plastic packaging. They look like a tea bag but slightly larger and they are disposable. They last for about 5 hours. I ordered some from jbox.com a year ago and they work great, but they are currently out of stock for the moment. They do have the cute hello kitty case I have here. This is a photo of the case below.

クリスマス Nothing says Christmas like a bucket of KFC chicken

When you think of Christmas you probably think of a family dinner with the fine china and a turkey or a roast, wearing your fancy Christmas clothes. Well in Japan nothing says christmas more then KFC for dinner.

Why not try a bucket of chicken with a salad and a christmas cake.

And for those people with a finer taste can get this premium roast chicken for 5600¥ which would be about $56 in USD.

富士山 Around the villages of Mt. Fuji

Back in 2009 I visited the villages around Mt. Fuji. These are a few of my favorite photos I took, though only one contains Fuji san. The rest are plants and and animals. The villages I visited were Oshino Hakkai, Sato Nenba, and a few other areas with crafts and lavender ice cream.