Sapporo Snow Festival

This weekend we are going to the Sapporo Snow Festival. It doesn't officially start until next Tuesday but we were clued in to go the weekend before because most of the sculptures and attractions are already up but without the tens of thousands of people. Sapporo is the largest city on Japan's northernmost island, Hokkaido. Likely you have only heard of it because of Sapporo beer, maybe not even because of that. There will be snow and ice sculptures there, snow slides and mazes and lots of food. Not sure how much of the food we'll eat though because it's not like going to the Minnesota state fair is it. Although there will be food on a stick I doubt it will be of the deep fried candy bar and pronto pup variety. More likely yakitori (chicken), tako (octopus) balls and the like. All in all it should be fun though. It is famous like the St. Paul winter festival to which we have never been.


I also have to mention that we have tried corn soup. As part of our "try new restaurants" oath, we happened to go to Smoky's, which, as a restaurant, I'd highly recommend. It is known for sausages of all things and has a few different options of sausage platters to order. I ended up going with the recommended "spicy" selection. It didn't disappoint. In fact it was delicious and is driving my impulse to forego the new restaurants and return to Smoky's. The kids enjoyed their hamburger steaks but Robyn was a little less pleased with her spam-like meatloaf sandwich. But my sausages, I tell you what, they were grade A. The platter included chorizo and (I'm embarrassed to admit) two other kinds that I don't remember what they are. They were so good that I even ate the sauerkraut-looking-but-not-tasting vegetable item that accompanied them. This is a must attend for all you future Tokyo-visiting folks.


What was I talking about again? Oh yeah, corn soup. Well, as an included side item to Robyn's spam, I mean meatloaf sandwich, she got a bowl of corn soup. It was definitely not a chowder as it wasn't chunky or thick at all. In fact it was kind of creamy and light. It was very tasty and hopefully it is something that will draw Robyn in so we can revisit a new favorite restaurant.

Casting Calls

I had another opportunity to be on film last Sunday. They were filming a commercial for Adidas and needed foreigners to be background runners. I was planning on going but then the thought of standing out in the cold all day made me decide otherwise. Especially since the chances of me actually seeing the commercial are low. A friend of mine from Australia who went said it was "was freezing cold, but was still fun in a strange way." That's about what I would expect, a strange sort of fun.

But that was just for a commercial; I also have another opportunity for the big screen. A film about a Japanese soldier is being filmed. The soldier gets caught and is tried for war crimes. They need foreigners for a courtroom scene and for a prison camp scene. I'm sure I'm a shoo-in for those roles. Be on the look out for “Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai” at theaters near you (or maybe not so near.) The title means "I want to become Kai". Not sure if Kai is a person or thing.

Snow Days

It's snowing today. The number of days that it has done that while we've been here can be counted on one hand. The last time we accumulated any snow Cole and Kaori had a great time playing in it in our back yard so they are excited to play in it again after school today. Unfortunately I think it will turn to rain and warm up and will disappear before they get a chance to frolic.

Anyway, this is the way snow was meant to be; big and fluffy without the bitter cold. Nice and pleasant.

Edit: BTW the picture is of our back yard.

Maybe You are Wondering

With an important playoff on TV I toughened up and arose at (actually shortly before) 3 AM last Sunday to get my run in. I got back home and Robyn was still in bed and Cole and Kaori still at their sleepovers. I flipped on the TV just in time to see the Packers go down by 14 points early in the first quarter. How could that have happened so quickly? I must have been a good luck charm for the Packers though because right when I started watching they started scoring (fyi: all fans see things that way). Later Sunday evening I found the game being rebroadcast on the TV at a comfortable 7 PM. Still, had I known I don't think I would have done anything differently because if I had waited to watch the game that night I would have been on pins and needles all day and probably would have found out the outcome of the game on the internet; thus spoiling that actual watching of the game.

This weeks game provides no such hardships. It will be broadcast here at about 8:30 AM on Monday, shortly after I get home from taking Kaori to school. I did have to cancel my Japanese lesson for Monday though but I'm willing to sacrifice for the Pack.

I'm Dilemma'd

First of all let me say that I'm quite enjoying Tokyo's winter weather. Everyday is in the 50's and it never gets below freezing. Also no messy snow and slush like back in the upper Midwest. I'll admit it, I've become a weather wimp and I could get used to this.

Now for my dilemma. Sure it's convenient in the U.S. for the Packers to play at 3:30 CT on Saturday afternoon but that is 6:30 Sunday morning for me. That isn't so bad because I've spent many a game this season getting up to watch the Pack play at 2 or 3 in the morning and then going back to bed. My problem is that the Tokyo marathon is fast approaching and Sundays are reserved my long runs, up to 3 hours. We leave for church at about 10:30 so I couldn't run after the game. Getting up at 3 AM to run before the game makes me feel grouchy just thinking about it. What to do?

Sleeping Woes

I think I should have added another option in the current poll: "Adjusting to the time change." Robyn and I have been seeing a few too many 3:30's and 4:00's in the morning lately. However the kids seem to be getting back to normal nicely.

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig

Number one sign that we are back in Japan: A band was playing loudly at 7 AM this frigid (by Tokyo standards anyway, 34 degrees) morning at the Imperial Palace. The accompanying singing was more like organized yelling by my estimation but their enthusiasm is a testament to the importance placed on the new year. I can only imagine a similar celebration in the U.S. starting at a much later hour. I only witnessed it because I was out running.

Of course we had a great time on our Christmas vacation. Spending time with family, going on our cruise, etc. Makes me wistful to move back to the U.S.

Speaking of the cruise, you blog reading veterans might remember that after our cruise in 2005 I had "Leavin' on a jet plane" stuck in my head for what seemed like ages afterward. This is because a parody of it is sung by the wait staff at the last dinner. Well once again it is firmly planted in my head, however somewhat less irritatingly so this time.

Also for a second time after our Christmas trip home we had to obtain another bag to bring all our stuff back to Japan. Does it really expand that much? No, but all those Christmas presents, as small as they are, really add up. So we ended up checking three bags that were all within a pound of the 50 pound weight limit. That part, not so much of a problem. Lugging them around airports and subways, large pain in the derriere.

Oops, I did it again

Last Sunday I was talking to a running friend about another running friend's injury. She said he was taking acupuncture. So I asked where, in his legs or his back. At least that's what I thought I asked. Turned out I asked if he was injured in his legs or in his fish.

Sakuna = Fish
Senaka = Back

It's always good for a laugh anyway.

Okay, down to business. This afternoon we fly out to Minneapolis and arrive there this morning. Christmas with the Schmidts this week, fly to Houston on Saturday and then on a cruise with the Zellers next week.

Happy Holidays!

Egg Nog

It turns out you can make a rather tasty egg nog in your own kitchen. Who'd have thought? I guess some of you guys that's who. I figured it grew on trees. Anyway my lovely wife whipped me up a batch and I've just about drunk it all down. One question, any problems with those raw eggs? (See poll.) As noted in the comments, it happens frequently over here but hey, they have chicken sushi too so raw foods don't seem to bother anybody.

Woo hoo, we get our Christmas this Saturday. Woo hoo!

Poll Winners and Christmas

Well, Cole's favorite thing was his new basketball shoes. Congratulations to those who picked it and thank you to all who voted. I'll get a new poll up soon. Cole's shoes have "JORDNN" written on them but I think that was a typo. I really think they are the authentic brand. Kaori doesn't get a poll because she picked about five favorites, the Great Wall, the alpine slide, the rickshaw ride, the hotel room etc.

I must vent. Here it is the Christmas season and there is no egg nog at our grocery store. I mean it must be a top holiday seller on the strength of me alone. It is Christmas season right? We are going to parties, the kids' schools have had holiday shows and gatherings. I'm hearing the music and seeing the trees, so where's the nog?

Beijing, China

Beijing was a little different from the big, modern city that I expected. I guess Shanghai, China's business and financial center, is more like that. Beijing is the older, more cultural capital. Not so many large, modern buildings. A little bit older, a little bit dirtier. Still very bustling and full of people, bicycles and cars. Air quality was poor. Very poor. There was a constant haze over the city. Maybe it was my imagination but it seemed like when you went outside you could taste the air pollution.

We had a great time in Beijing. The first day we went to Tienanmen Square, evidently the largest city square in the world (whatever that means). There was a large monument there to the common worker, in contrast to the history of the square. Adjacent to the square was the Forbidden City, the ruling place for emperors. We were surprised by the sheer expanse of the city inside its walls. It seemed to go on and on and on. The kids thought so too, but not in a good way. Later our guide and driver took us to a little out of the way restaurant frequented by the locals. Very good. We decided that American Chinese food is closer to Chinese Chinese food than Japanese Chinese food. Got that? Later that day we went to the Summer Palace; the summer vacation home for emperors. This was one of our favorite places, nicely settled along a lake. Very scenic, very peaceful. Here we were able to walk along the longest corridor in the world (whatever that means).

The next day, Thanksgiving, we went to the Great Wall. Obviously everybody knows how big it is and can look up the dimensions. However you can't really appreciate its size without seeing it in person. At any one spot it isn't an overly large building, it's just that it goes to the horizon and beyond. Over 3,000 miles beyond. It was built hundreds of years ago on hilltops and rocky terrain. For its time, and ours, a truly impressive feat. We rode a gondola up to the top and walked along it for about an hour. To get down from the mountain we took an alpine slide. Now that's what I was talking about when I said there must be a more efficient way to get down from Mt. Fuji (see earlier post). After that we dined near the Wall. If this can be considered our Thanksgiving meal then I guess we ate what the locals eat. However for dinner after we got back from the Wall we ate at an international buffet. It would have been a very nice meal with a lot of different foods to taste and enjoy. But since we only had 30 minutes to eat before we went to a Chinese acrobatic show, it was a harried and frazzled experience. At the buffet we ate American, Italian, Chinese and Japanese. So if that was our Thanksgiving meal then it was an international affair.

The acrobatic show was fun to watch. It is amazing to see what the human body can do and odd ways it can bend.

On our last day we went to a Lama temple and the Temple of Heaven. The Lama temple is a temple for the Buddhist religion. The Temple of Heaven is a place to pray for bountiful harvests. After those we took a rickshaw ride. The ride kind of had a strange start as we went up and down some unattractive back alleys. Our drivers kept explaining where emperors lived or their sisters etc. We ended up going through old Peking and around a lake. Then we had lunch and went to the Silk Market which is actually somewhat like a mall but a little smaller and a lot more crowded. The best and worst part of shopping there is negotiating the price. At one store we bought two pairs of shoes, one for Cole and one for Robyn and the starting price was about $230 for both. That's crazy talk! We got them for about $26 total.

We did go to a silk manufacturing store (separate place) that was interesting. We bought a silk comforter there. Nice.

Our hotel was great. Our room had a nice sitting area, large flat screen TV and was equipped with a computer. The only problem was the bathroom as one whole wall was glass with a glass door. We called it the fishbowl because everybody could see in. Click here to see pictures of our trip.

Beijing for Thanksgiving

Next Tuesday we will be flying to Beijing for our Thanksgiving vacation. Here is our itinerary as provided by our tour guide Oliver An:
1. 21st November
Visit the Tienanmen square and the forbidden city. Afternoon visit the Summer palace.
2. 22nd November
Visit the mutianyu great wall (cable car up and slide down).
Evening visit the acrobatic show (children like it very much.) I would be make the reservation for your family.
3. 23rd November
Visit the lama temple and Old Peking (by rickshaw).
Afternoon visit temple of heaven and local shopping.
A lot of expatriates use this guy to arrange outings when travelling to China. I'm sure this is the standard package of outings that he uses. Mostly I'm looking forward to seeing the Great Wall. I think it will be impressive.

That daughter of mine is a silly one. I was eating warm apple crisp with ice cream and offered her a taste and she recoiled like I was offering her the bubonic plague. Then I was chopping onions and peppers for supper and she walked up and said "I want to try one" and grabbed a slice of onion and started eating it. That is just wrong on so many levels. You veggie eaters have to tell me, is it just me or is this strange?