Monthly Archives: June 2004

My Favorite Places To View Hotaru

One of my favorite ways to spend a spring or summer night in Japan is to go out and watch the hotaru (fireflies) flicker on and off in unison. The Hotaru Festival in Kyokushi (North of Ozu in Kumamoto-ken) is … Continue reading

Posted in Creatures

Rainy Weekend

This weekend I had to work, and so I missed the last hash with our group in Kumamoto. I hope it went well, and that you all had to swim through the brown dirtiness that is the Shirakawa River. It … Continue reading

Posted in Around Kyushu

Chewing Through The Gag

Over the past year, posting stuff on Higo Blog is something that I have really grown to enjoy. It’s a much needed release sometimes, and helps me to stay sane in my relative isolation in the Japanese country side. I … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized

Cooking With Green Butter

Avocados are only 100 yen right now, and so I have been using them a lot lately. My favorite ways to eat them are sliced with shoyu (California-nisei style), as part of a sandwitch/cheeseburger, or as guacamole. Fresh tortillas are … Continue reading

Posted in Food

Spy vs. Spy

Justin told me that he ran Ad-Aware and Spybot on Merin’s computer last weekend, and that he was shocked to see how much spyware (check out this article for more information) was on her computer. He said that it had … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized

Classroom Punishment

What ever happened to time out or setting up conferences with the parents of a kid who is having problems in school? In Japan, you hear many stories of how screwed up the educational system is, and how the pressure … Continue reading

Posted in Education

Cooking With Goya

This weekend I cooked with goya(bitter melon) for the first time, and it turned out awesome! I first tried goya in Okinawa as a component in a chop suey-like dish, and made it with the help of a friend. After … Continue reading

Posted in Food

Genocide Cocktail

My sister Merin sent me this picture of a tank full of habu in awamori that she took while on vacation to Okinawa this weekend, in a place called Gyokusendo Kingdom Village. I wrote all about habushu and mamushizake in … Continue reading

Posted in Travel

A Gaping, Unfilled Niche

There are a few things that I used to depend on for everyday cooking and I still use many of them over here, but I sorely miss Mexican food ingredients. I miss the abundance of tortillas, both flour and corn … Continue reading

Posted in Food

Tienes Arroz, Bitch?

This thing made me want to put on a blindfold, spin around ten times, let the force guide my bat straight and true, and smash it open to get to the candy.

Posted in Travel