May 18, 2014 by Nikki J.

My Accidental Japanese Dessert

On Friday, before Chuck left on his work trip, I made a reservation at a cute little restaurant on a quiet, picturesque street that I found on one of my wanderings. I perused the drinks section of the menu and determined to try something different and local. I spotted
“milk zenzai” and suddenly realized I had been craving bubble tea. I speculated that perhaps the milk zenzai would be similar to the milk tapioca tea that I so loved at the Asian restaurants back home, and ordered a glass with my meal.

When my dinner came without the milk zenzai, I tried to ask our waitress about it. Of course, my lack of Japanese language skills made this extraordinarily difficult, and while she understood that I was asking about milk zenzai, neither of us could communicate my specific issue. I only ended up confusing her and embarrassing myself by the time I gestured “never mind” and demonstrated happy satisfaction with my glass of water.

Moments after we finished our meal, the waitress brought me this:

“Milk zenzai!” she chirped. Chuck and I looked at each other and grinned. Of course milk zenzai isn’t a beverage – it’s a dessert! I must have confused the sections on the menu (no real surprise there.) Feeling foolish, we gave it a try. It did have the sweet tea flavor, and there were tapioca balls submerged in the milky liquid, so I like to think I wasn’t too far off. However, I was mystified by the presence of kidney beans in a dessert. The pastry-like piece in the middle of the bowl was a sort of baked bean-puff as well, that made for a most unique flavor. I enjoyed the sweet milk, but jury is still out on the bean-pastry. It was yummy and different to be sure, but I mean – it’s no chocolate lava cake 🙂 Chuck, on the other hand, thought every bit of it was delightful.

I’m really glad I made the mistake, because I tried something new that I otherwise may not have gone for, had I known what it was. Here are some pictures of the rest of the meal… just because 🙂

What’s in Our Kitchen: the Okinawa Version

Chuck and I both love to cook, and now that we find ourselves in a completely different culinary environment, we are eager to discover the ways in which we can concoct new recipes and experience new flavors. Of course, we also want to know where to shop for the best ingredients for the flavors we already know and love! For instance, I will never tire of Chuck’s deep dish pizzas 🙂 The Commissary here is sufficient for some things, but it’s small and pretty boring. I will probably only go there for things like cereal, milk, pasta, and some meat. Luckily, the local grocery stores out in Uruma are a real treat! I don’t know what 95% of it is, but the 5% I do know is fantastic, fresh, and relatively local (even if the squishy raw seafood with eyeballs and tentacles on display freaks me out!) Better yet, we found a farmer’s market within walking/biking distance, with all sorts of fresh fruits, veggies, and flowers. It was just a quick trip in the middle of a rain shower, so I didn’t take many photos, but I couldn’t resist snapping a quick pic of the pineapples adorned in pink ribbon below…

We brought home our goodies and whipped up some dinner: seared tuna in a homemade ginger-soy-lemon-garlic sauce served over a bed of fresh greens and accompanied by fresh avocado and tomato. Delicious, and healthy too! We also got Japanese eggs, which are very large, brown, and don’t require refrigeration. In fact, the U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that refrigerates its eggs. We also treated ourselves to a delicious item from the dessert section of the Japanese grocery store – the half-eaten chocolate log pictured below. We don’t know what it is exactly, so Chuck calls it “Dragon Poop,” naturally. Appetizing, right? Right.

In conclusion, I was particularly tickled to find out that while most Japanese produce is regional, they still import their oranges from the good ol’ US of A. I guess you just can’t beat Florida citrus! 🙂

Wanderings in Uruma

Now that Chuck and I are settled into our new apartment, I’ve had some time to explore the town of Uruma. I bought myself a used, Japanese-style bike (with a basket!) and I just love it. It has truly maximized my adventuring potential, as it covers more ground than walking yet gives me the freedom and visibility I would lack if driving a car.

So, even though the weather has been rather blah, I hopped on and turned left outside of our housing gate. I turned again onto the main road and wandered for several blocks, occasionally venturing down side streets that looked particularly intriguing. Of course, I couldn’t read any of the signs or storefronts, but I still managed to find multiple restaurants, bars, grocery stores, bakeries, spas, and even a florist. It’s certainly a quieter, more residential area of Okinawa, but it clearly has a lot to offer. And, despite the typical gray, concrete architecture, there are oases of beauty everywhere you look…

Excited about all the new places to try (most especially the food), I finally turned around and biked the river walk, where I couldn’t resist snapping photos of the pretty flowers. Even on a gray day, the colors just POP. I love all the flora and fauna around here.

Of course, what’s exploring an island without a beach within easy reach? Uruma has that covered, too! If you turn right out the housing gate, you get a completely different experience: the most lovely specimens of Pacific blue. To date, the majority of the beaches we have visited are on the East China Sea, but our very own Courtney and Uken Beaches are on the Pacific side of the island and are very beautiful indeed!

The beach route is significantly less urban, and a fun change of scenery from the more built-up side of Uruma. There are fewer restaurants, shops, and cars, but more fields, unpaved paths, ornate family cemeteries, and… THIS:

…Yep, that’s a bull. Walking the streets of Uruma. Can we be friends? 🙂

April 28, 2014 by Nikki J.

Journey to Hiji Falls

Nestled in the more sparsely populated Yambaru area of Okinawa Honto is the beautiful 26-meter Hiji Waterfall. Chuck and I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning and drove 1.5 hours north to make the hike. The approximately 2-mile trail incorporates steep climbs, wobbly suspension bridges, and sharp turns, and my calves are truly feeling it today, but who can complain when your ultimate destination is this stunning display of nature?

…Seriously. I felt like I was magically transported into South Pacific the musical, frolicking in Bali Ha’i with Cable and Liat. Such a lovely place to spend a lovely morning, and I am glad we did it before the extreme heat of summer arrives.

After working up a bit of a sweat, we made our way back to the car and drove a few minutes in the opposite direction to visit Okuma Beach. Any time I Google “Okinawa beaches”, Okuma is the one that truly dazzles me. Since we were in the area, we had to pay it a visit, even if it was a bit cloudy and chilly. It is a Japanese resort area in part, but we were surprised to see that the U.S. Air Force actually has command of a large chunk of it, as a “recreation facility.” Chuck and I are both not sure how we feel about the military spending money to run the place, and honestly, I had hoped for a more unadulterated, local beach, but none of this changed the fact that Okuma is absolutely beautiful and I will most certainly go again when the weather warms up. Even with the clouds and wind, it was just perfect – and the sun managed to peek out once or twice!

April 22, 2014 by Nikki J.

Shisa Dogs & Lucky Cats

One of the first things I noticed while driving around the island was the omnipresence of the rather creepy looking “lion-dog”, or Shisa. Nearly every business, household, and restaurant has two of each – one on either side of its entrance or rooftop. One, with its mouth open in a vicious snarl, is the male shisa (despite the obnoxious assumptions made by certain males in my company), and the other is the female shisa (with its mouth firmly shut, thank you.) As it turns out, these shisas are protectors based in Okinawan and Chinese mythology, intended to shun evil spirits. The open-mouthed shisa wards off the evil, while the close-mouthed shisa keeps good spirits in (although, according to Wikipedia, these gender roles can be “variously assigned.) I am not superstitious, but in the spirit of cultural immersion, I will definitely have to get a petite pair of these guys for my new home! Besides, who doesn’t want good spirits?

The other item I’m seeing everywhere I go – though less frequently than the shisa dogs – is the Maneki-neko, or “the beckoning cat.” Usually made of ceramic, these cats are meant to bring luck to the owner. White cats bring general good luck all ’round, black cats bring good health, and gold cats bring financial fortune. There are a series of beautiful (sometimes heartbreaking) Japanese folktales tying the cat to good luck, which – as a crazy cat lady myself – pleases me to no end. In addition to my shisa dogs, I plan on getting a few of these feline talismans in smaller form, since I find the large ones a bit tacky and overwhelming for my taste. Maybe one in each color!

April 21, 2014 by Nikki J.

Happy Easter from Japan!

Chuck and I spent Easter weekend gallivanting with new friends and exploring two of the beaches the island has to offer – Torii Beach, and Zampa Beach. Both visits were during low tide, so I’m not sure we experienced them at peak beauty (unless you find exposed seaweed and miscellaneous gooey stuff particularly attractive.) However, it was ultimately apparent that the water is clear, blue, and warm. I have already determined that I will keep a bikini in my car at all times, so that on any particularly hot, sweaty day, I can take a dip in the Pacific blue any time I would like (even though this is actually the East China Sea!)

I did have a preference for Zampa Beach, clearly more frequented by locals than Torii, which was mostly military. Since the tide was so low, we spent a good bit of time walking over the exposed reef, poking at odd critters and speculating at the more bizarre of them. We were especially fascinated (and somewhat disgusted) by what we dubbed “sea poops”, which were scattered literally every few feet across the reef. I can only assume they are some sort of sea slug – if that is actually a thing – but they seem relatively harmless.

Our Newcomer’s Brief did warn us of all the dangers these waters have to offer – box jellyfish, rockfish, fire coral, and more – but overall, I think it will be perfectly fun and safe, if we are smart. Chuck is the one who is more reckless with Nature – I’m gonna have to reel him in!!

… SEA POOPS!!!

April 18, 2014 by Nikki J.

Mizu shite kudasai?

So, remember the post I wrote earlier about our first authentic Japanese meal? Scratch that. We experienced it today, in the town of Uruma-shi.

We found this little spot after we accepted our housing offer, mildly depressed and famished. There was not a hint of English anywhere – not on the signage, the menus, and surely not spoken by the staff. I wish I could tell you the name of it, if only I read kanji. We removed our shoes and sat Indian-style on the bamboo mats, and the waitress brought us a strange beverage that I can only describe as really, really watered down coffee. Parched, I remembered I had downloaded my Babel Fish translator to my iPhone, and I hastily typed out a request for water. I also used it to ask for a meal recommendation, since we were hopeless in understanding the menu, and there were no pictures to guide us (as we had seen in other restaurants in the more Americanized areas of the island.)

The meal and the experience did not disappoint, though I had no idea what to do with the raw egg included on my tray. I REALLY need to learn some Japanese. I hate being that fool American. But seriously, thank goodness for smartphone technology!

April 17, 2014 by Nikki J.

Culinary Adventures in the Far East

Earlier this week, our wonderful sponsors organized a group dinner at Yoshihachi, the area’s landmark sushi establishment. Apparently, Yoshihachi has been frequented by celebrities, athletes, politicians, and high-ranking military officials over the years, so of course we had to pay it a visit. Chuck and I had tried quite a bit of delicious Japanese food already, but this was our first authentic dining experience in many ways – most notably that we removed our shoes and sat on the floor before eating, and paid in cash yen at the door for our meal (no credit cards accepted.)

Our new friends insisted we try the blowfish. Rumor has it that it makes your mouth numb and tingly, and if you’re really lucky, it gives you some trippy dreams. Alas – Chuck and I experienced neither – but I’m still happy that we tried it. What was more interesting was the sea urchin. If there is anything that straight up tastes like the ocean, it’s a sea urchin. Delicious!

Mostly, my focus in trying all this amazing Japanese food is mastering the chopsticks. Chuck was already pretty decent, but I’m proud to say I’m slowly catching up to his expertise and may even surpass it! I’m kidding… I’m nowhere near there… but I am definitely making progress. In a land where you can’t just ask for a fork, you learn to work with what you’ve got!

April 15, 2014 by Nikki J.

Nihon e yokoso!

…“Welcome to Japan!”

No one has actually said these words to me, but that’s how you say it, according to my trusty Babel Fish translator app. In fact, “welcome” is actually “kengai”, which makes no sense in light of the previous phrase and also indicates that Japanese may be a trickier language to learn than I thought. However, one of the first things I was told upon arriving here is that some of the bases offer free language classes, so I am determined to attend and learn what I can in order to make the most of my time here and befriend the locals. I would at least like to be able to order my food in Japanese! We shall see how it goes.

These first few days in Okinawa have been a whirlwind of discovery, rice, emotion, and noodles. I don’t even want to talk about the 40-hour journey to get here, or the fact that my cat probably hates me for life after putting her through it, but I do want to say that the island itself is beyond beautiful. The architecture, however, is a sharp contrast to the lush and colorful surroundings. It is stark… utilitarian … plain… ugly. But when you are reminded that this is a country regularly battered by typhoons and earthquakes, you start to understand the need for cold, hard concrete. I have no doubt I will appreciate this reality even more once I experience my first typhoon.

For now, we are attempting to get the logistical business out of the way so we can get the real adventure started. Housing, in-processing, vet appointments, and new vehicles are still pending, and it’s all very “hurry up and wait.” But since when has that NOT been the military’s style? 🙂 We are just going with the flow over here, as always… And still waiting to visit what looks like a series of drop-dead gorgeous beaches!

March 27, 2014 by Nikki J.

EuroTrip Re-Cap!

Since I have the worst memory, I was going to record what I did each day in England and France. That was obviously a big fat failure (and now I don’t feel like scrounging up that much detail), but I still want to share the highlights of our 10-day journey to see a slice of Western Europe…

London

This was my third trip to London, and I still don’t care for it much. However, it did have one major highlight: I saw my friend Beth for the first time in many years! She just got married this past December, and I was able to meet her delightful hubby James, as well. She hasn’t changed a bit 🙂

If I had to choose one other thing about London that I really liked, I’d have to say it was the spring blooms in Hyde Park. Beautiful!

Oxford

I love Oxford. Always have, and I think I always will. I was happy that Chuck liked it too! I was able to visit my old campus at Pembroke College, and I was delighted to see that the Alice in Wonderland shop and Ben’s Cookies are still there. Seriously, if you are ever in Oxford, go get a Ben’s Cookie. Amazeballs.

Also, I can’t forget to include that Chuck and I enjoyed a pint at the pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien brainstormed some of the greatest stories ever told, the Eagle and Child. I’m not even a LOTR or Narnia fan, but it was still pretty cool 🙂

Paris

Oh my goodness! Where do I even start? I fell in love with Paris. Every positive stereotype is completely true, and every negative stereotype completely untrue. Highlights included:

The entire first day & night – walking the historic Ile de la Cite and Ile St. Louis, lunching at Au Bougnat around the corner from Notre-Dame, eating Berthillion ice cream for dessert, sipping evening cocktails on the roof of Maison Blanche (where staff called Chuck Captain America!), watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle, feasting on the giant wheel of cheese at Philippe et Jean-Pierre, and watching burlesque at the iconic Crazy Horse (even if I did drink too much champagne in the end.) It sounds cheesy, but the misty, ethereal haze that hovered over Champs-Elysees on our walk back to the hotel added to the magic of that first evening in Paris… But sigh… moving on…!
Meeting with friends at Versailles and being the first to hear of their engagement
The fact that art and beauty are EVERYWHERE.
Our poignant, emotional visit to Belleau Wood (where countless American Marines and soldiers lost their lives fighting the Germans in WWI).
Monet’s Water Lilies at L’Orangerie
THE FOOD. And trying beef tartare, even though I had no idea it’s a raw ground beef patty with a raw egg on it…

Provence & the South of France

Growing up, I used to watch Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence with my mom and sister. I’ve always romanticized the region, and have long wanted to visit. I was worried that between the film, things I’ve heard, and the copious amount of dreamy Provencal images I found on Pinterest, I was setting my expectations a bit too high. I shouldn’t have been so concerned – Provence exceeded every whimsical expectation!

We started our trip in Gordes, un village perché in the Luberon Valley, and enjoyed the luxury of one of our splurge hotels with a series of killer views. Gordes is full of adorable nooks and crannies, and I met THREE cats while I was there 🙂 Also, it must be noted that I had the most delicious chocolate dessert ever in Gordes, and I can’t stop obsessing over it. I only wish I had a photo, or its exact name. Oh man. So delish.

Over the next few days, we explored the villages of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Aix-en-Provence, Cassis, and Arles. Cassis and Arles were my favorites (after Gordes!) At Cassis, we took a boat tour of les Calanquesand dipped our feet in the Mediterranean under a warm, sunny sky. In Arles, we ate delicious quiche, eclairs, and brioche in the courtyard of the building where Van Gogh sliced off his ear, and then explored Roman ruins. I did a few ballet spins and took a bow on the ancient stage at the amphitheatre… Chuck thought I was a fool 🙂 Honestly, I didn’t think I’d like Arles – I had heard it was a little “dirtier” than other Provencal towns – but I actually enjoyed its artsy, antique intrigue and mystique.

We ended the Provencal adventure with a visit to Glanum, an ancient archaeological Roman site near St. Remy. The history nerd in both of us was tickled pink, and I met my final French kitty snoozing in the middle of the museum…

Anyway. I heart France. And I have to give myself credit – I plan a good trip! It cost more than our honeymoon did, but I think it was worth it. Every night I have a dream about being back – sometimes in a spot we already visited, sometimes in a place I wish we could have seen. It’s kind of pathetic really…!

The only mementos I brought back (besides the memories and 1,587 photos) were a magnet for each city, a jar of lavender honey, and a little bottle of lavender liquor. I can’t wait to break into the latter two 😉

All in all, a very bon voyage!

Wildflowers & Whimsy

When life gives you weeds, seek out the wildflowers.

Travel