Stove Top & Fish Broiler Cooking 4

Grilled cheese with spinach and Farmers Market tomatoes.

Random Visa Check

I was the victim of a random Visa check on Monday at the airport. Shortly after I arrived in the International Arrival South Meeting Place and started to snack on an orange I was approached by an airport police officer.

I immediately stuffed the orange in my purse thinking that was my violation, but she assured me that my orange was OK and I was chosen for a Visa overstay check. Because I have a work visa and will stay in Japan longer than 90 days I have an alien registration card that I keep with me rather than having to carry my passport everywhere. The officer was speaking to me in Japanese so I was a bit confused, but she asked if she could copy of the information on my card into a notebook that she was carrying with her that contained the information from other foreigners whose visa status she had checked. I didn't see any other choice, or any issue for that matter with her copying my information, hopefully I gave the correct answers. She seamed most concerned that I was there waiting alone, she kept saying ''一人'' meaning ''one person?'' and then ''気おつけてね'' meaning ''take care''

First Visitor

I am super excited to have my first visitor, my mom arrived on Monday.

She brought with her enough of my random ''things I can't get in Japan'' requests to fill my entire kitchen table.

Uniforms

The OLs (Office Ladies) have the option of wearing uniforms to work. Some wear a blue apron, which supposedly protects against harmful computer rays, and others wear a gray skirt and vest combination with a collared shirt. School children also wear uniforms here and some of the high school girls (infamously?) modify their uniforms, shortening the skirts to varying degrees. I have recently noticed that this trend seams to have carried on past high school, some of the uniform wearers in my office have shortened or added slits to the otherwise conservative skirts.

Nagoya Aquarium

Saturday, M, L & I took the trip to the Nagoya Aquarium, for which we had heard rave reviews.The aquarium is situated prominently in the Port of Nagoya, on the right in the photo above. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but M&L were nice enough to share their photos with me.

Highlights included a giant sea turtle exhibit complete with a sand area for the turtles to lay their eggs, a penguin exhibit, and a two story dolphin tank with observation areas from ground level through glass or above ground looking down into the tank. The lowlight was learning that the Aquarium's Killer Wale recently died, and seeing a memorial for it, complete with its toothbrush.

It was a bit frusterating being unable to read or understand most of the display descritions. I was able to learn that sea turtle sex is determined by the temperature during hatching. A temperature >29° C produces more females while cooler temperatures <29°>

Happy Birthday Ron!

Catch it Yourself Restaurant

Today was going away party 2 of 3 that I have been invited to for K. The last party was at a DIY BBQ restaurant (http://ictjapan.blogspot.com/2008/10/uotaro-bbq.html), today's event was at a chain restaurant where you catch your own food.
Tables are arranged next to 'streams' running throughout the restaurant. The lower tables have windows to block splash when other groups catch a fish.


We were provided with shrimp bait and a fishing rod.


The bait was drooped in the water and we tried to catch a tai, our desired fish, out of the 5 types priced roughly $5~25 swimming near our table.

Netting up the catch...

...to be sent away with the waiter to be done in our choice cooking styles.

Roadside Cemeteries

Perhaps it’s because of the proximity of the gravestones to each other that, I find whenever I drive past one of the innumerable cemeteries, I want to take a closer look. I realize that cremation is the norm here, but it isn’t natural for me to think that when I see the tiered rows of memorials.