If this shirt had not been made of really scratchy, cheap material, I would have bought it in a heartbeat.

This is one of my favorite parts of my tours - this is a REAL maiko (apprentice geisha) in her final year of training.
She will become a geisha (known as "geiko" in Kyoto) at the end of this year. Her skills in tea ceremony are excellent.
Graceful, charming and adorable - a little doll come to life. うつくしい、でしょう！？

Flush, dammit!

If any society has mastered the art of making life more complicated than it needs to be, it might be the Japanese. In America, rules for flushing a toilet are very simple - find handle, push down. Here, they make a little game out of it - would you like a BIG flush or a SMALL flush? Oh yes, and you have to be able to read kanji in order to actually execute your final decision. Buttons on the very top of the box are for flushing (left one is 'big' flush, right is small), numbers across the top turn on the bidet, and the small, circular buttons below are for moving the stream of water around AND for a little massage on your backside. Kid you not. Most importantly, the red button at the top left-hand is the STOP (the madness) button.

Cherry tree on Tetsugaku-no-michi (Path of Philosophy), Kyoto

Matcha scone!!

I know, it looks like a Hungry Jack biscuit that only Sam-I-am could love. It is the MATCHA SCONE from Cascade coffee shop in Shiyakusho-mae Station, close to the Kyoto Royal Hotel. This scone has been calling my name for years, and finally today, I had a chance to taste it. You can barely taste the green tea flavor, but it was fresh, flaky and went great with my cappuccino.

gion

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Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Takayama festival float

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Originally uploaded by js_hale.

明太ポテト(Mentai-Potato)

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Originally uploaded by js_hale.

These were absolutely righteous - served up by a humble little izakaya just across the street from our inn in Takayama. Mentaiko (cod roe) is mixed with mayonnaise and chilis to create something akin to a creamy cocktail sauce - then topped with thin strips of nori seaweed. Ridiculous. I nearly ate the whole plate.

5 floors of wall to wall cuteness

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Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Move over, Hello Kitty - here's the latest Sanrio creation. Out of all the places that I took my clients, they spent the most time (and money) in this store by a long shot.

oh, it was GOOD

Sushi Iwa agemono course
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Everything in this bowl absolutely ROCKED.

monkey monitor

monkey monitor
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

only in Japan....

My group and I were led around Akihabara this afternoon by Ren - had an awesome time.

Me missing Peter

I brought this picture of us from Christmas - that (and my imagination) going to have to do for just a couple more weeks....

Taiko game

Coco and "Jiji" playing a taiko game.

lazy Sunday

lazy Sunday
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Peter and I took the bikes down to the beach in the Marina and laid in the sand. This was an unbelievable day, weather-wise. We've hit those precious few, magic days in the city when you hardly ever need a jacket. soooo nice.

Heather's b-day party, La Barca

Heather's b-day party, La Barca
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

It was a fun night - dinner was followed by dancing at Comet Club, which is only as good as the crew you're with. In our case, the sheer awesome-ness of our group would have made any place fun.

Ack-cho

akcho
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Far more entertaining was the outfit sitting across from me on the bus AFTER leaving the Farmer's Market!
When I was in college in New York, we used to play a version of "There's your Dad" - we'd find the funkiest-looking dude and instead of saying "There's your Dad," our code for it was "Ack-cho Daddy," or simply "Ack-cho." So for everybody who reads this blog (all 3 of you out there)..... "ACK-CHO!!"

SF Farmer's Market

SF Farmer's Market
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Went to Language Exchange bright & early this morning & stopped by the Farmer's Market on the way home. The prices are surprisingly steep, but I managed to find some smallish Fuji apples for $.60/pound - not bad.

Me and Annabanana, Christie Winery, Sonoma.

Barrel Tasting 2007

Another awesome Barrel Tasting event - I think it's the 5th year that we've been doing it. This was Peter's first time, and we had an awesome day. A little less food than in previous years, but that usually all depends on which wineries you go to. Tasting Notes from this year are as follows: Geyser Peak: Meritage 2005 Barrel was awesome - it will be on the market in 6-7 months. I'm definitely grabbing a bottle as soon as it's available. Ferrari Carano: they did NOT do barrel tasting this year, but we stopped by anyway and picked up one of my favorite discoveries, the 2004 Fume Blanc - it got a 91 in Wine Spectator, and I had brought a bottle up to Thanksgiving Dinner at Peter's brother's house. Ferrari's 2005 Syrah was also pretty good. Dutcher: this was a new one. The barreled Cabernet was good, and the Gold Metal 2005 Zinfandel was also good. Dry Creek: this was a bummer compared to previous years, there wasn't much that impressed us. However, they had a very decent table wine for about $8 called Regatta that we picked up. It has the kind of flavor that will go with anything. Rued: pronounced "Roo-ed." Another new one - they had a GREAT, unusually fruity 2005 Zinfandel that will be released in October. I put my email address down to get the release notice. Everett Ridge: we know that their chardonnays and sav blancs rock. Their Zin was also good. I picked up a reserve chardonnay while I was there. Limerick Lane: Anna wanted to stop here, and she usually chooses well. we liked the '04 Zin, and we bought the '97 Zin just out of curiousity, since that was supposed to be a great year overall. The crowining glory of the day was CHRISTIE, a new winery just opened in 1993. Everything I tried was awesome - standouts were the cabs (both the '03 and the '04) and the '04 chardonnay. Sublime....now we just have to pick out the right foods to go w/ all our wines.... a nice problem to have!

Flowers for the patio

These are Peter's favorites. There was only 1 of these in a deep, velvety red. We had to cover them up the other night to protect them from marble-sized hail. Weather has been wacky lately, but the flowers are surviving so far!

Flowers for the back deck

flowers
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Our weekend was incredibly productive. We got flowers for the back deck, and also got most of my things from my old place in the Mission. It was a very productive weekend!

Trip to the nursery

Peter and flowers
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Peter and I went up into Marin County to get some flowers and plants
for the back deck. Peter got super-busy and arranged them all & look AMAZING.

poochers!

poochers!
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

We were visited by Charlotte Gaynor, a breeder of Golden Retrievers who lives in Santa Cruz. She brought Mom and Dad (Ritze and Radcliffe) over for a visit. We went walking in the park - cannot WAIT to get a dog now!!

Sushi and Sake Tasting

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Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Brother Patrick came over last night for some store-bought sushi and sake sampling. The hands-down favorite was the tiny white bottle of Hakutsuru, right behind Pat's elbow. I had received it as a gift for visiting the brewery in January, so I had expected it to be mediocre - shows what I know. It was really smooth and flavorful. Other standouts were the corked sake in the middle called "Fujioka Shuzu." This was a less refined sake that we preferred to drink at room temperature, versus chilled - the sweetness was more pronounced that way. Tasty! Peter plated the sushi, and developed a new appreciation for the artistic flair and precision demonstrated by the pros. I made the miso soup and the shiro-ae spinach salad (still perfecting that one) and the bamboo shoots came from Nijiya supermarket in Japantown - now that I live w/ Peter, I only have to walk a few blocks to get there!!

Me & Peter - hiking in Marin

Me & Peter - hiking in Marin
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Hikin' on President's Day Weekend

The winds were high and the scenery was spectacular!

Valentine's Day Feast 2007

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Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Peter had an excellent idea for Valentine's Day - leave work early, go get massages (yes, ladies, HE made these plans!), walk down to Whole Foods and find the best surf-n-turf combo that money can buy. The filet was cooked to PERFECTION, and the lobster (flown in from Canada) was so tender, I daresay it was as good as any lobster you could find anywhere in the world. Sides were wild rice (Uncle Ben's - don't laugh, it was GOOD) and steamed asparagus. All of it washed down with a Grgich Hills merlot....I was in food ecstasy.

happy couple in Tahoe

happy couple in Tahoe
Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Peter took me to Heaven(-ly) in Tahoe this past weekend. I hadn't skiied in about 8 years. By the end of 3 days, I was doing small moguls, which was AWESOME. Can't wait to go again!

Shiro-ae

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Originally uploaded by js_hale.

Back at home

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Originally uploaded by js_hale.

I made Niku-jaga (肉じゃが) shiro-ae (白あえ) for dinner last night. It's part of my new resolution to cook more at home & try to re-create the absolutely phenomenal home-cooked food that my good friend Hiroko makes.Fortunately, I have a willing guinea pig (Peter) who thinks I'm an excllent cook - lucky me! I also had shin-mai Japanese rice on hand, which was fantastic. AND we cracked open the KAGATOBI sake that I brought home from Japan - it DOES have the most amazing aftertaste that suggests the flavor of uni (sea urchin)! It's delicious, but it absolutely must be served chilled.

I got back from Japan on Wednesday, and I'm looking for tasty Japanese recipes to try and replicate
at home. I'm tempted to just give it up & just go to Tanuki, but I like the challenge. As Hiroko says,
it's only when you cook something over & over again that you really start to learn. Anyway, I found this
bit of Japanese-English and had to post it.

Last Day in Tokyo

For me, there is no shame in being coddled, especially if it's by my Japanese family. After a few days with them, I have unwound, calmed down, slept a lot and been fed even better. The sake tour was a fabulous success, thanks to a great working relationship with John Gauntner and a fantastic group of aspiring sake experts. They were a lot of fun, and for the most part, extremely accommodating and cooperative. Now I'm back in Tokyo, getting ready to spend 1 more day in my favorite area, Ningyo-cho, to buy every weird and wonderful specialty food I can find!

Kilkenny!

Stopped off last night at Dubliner's for a wee pint of yumminess that you can't get in the US - "Kilkenny" is an Irish brew that has a reddish color, fairly bitter, with a rich foam like Guinness. Total nostalgia from when I used to live here. Happy girl!!

Uni and yuba - delicious!

I'm putting this picture up especially for my wonderful boyfriend, Peter, who despite having never been to Asia, LOVES uni (sea urchin). I added a little soy sauce to my portion - DELICIOUS. Like anything else, if you taste GOOD uni the first time, you might really like it, otherwise the texture and flavor is more "challenging." This uni is prepared sashimi-style, and mixed with a thin, skinlike tofu called yuba. It's usually not as soupy as what's pictured here, and it's more often used to wrap rolled sushi, or as a noodle-like addition to soup. I've even seen it used to replicate poultry skins on products like "Tofurky." Again, I recommend trying yuba in Japan - totally different than what you find in the US. MUCH better.

First Day of the Saké Tour

Ok, everyone say it together....."SAH-KAY!"

Today is my first real day of work with John Gauntner, the "Saké Guy." Peter is jealous, as are a couple of my other friends - I met nearly everyone on the tour last night at dinner. Truth be told, I was thinking that I got a darn good deal too - here I am sampling some incredible saké, eating extremely well and working with some pretty cool people. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort to establish a rapport with my clients, and they can be challenging, but it looks like this is going to be pretty fun.

The place we went to last night for dinner was Takara. Takara specializes in all types of saké. One really good one was Urakasumi ("oo-rah-kah-soo-mi;" pronunciation is just like Spanish!). John said he's never had a bad bottle from this one. We tasted the "shin-shu" (new batch), similar to the "Beaujolais Nouveau" concept. Clean, crisp and delicious!

Tonchan's squid hat!

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Originally uploaded by renfield.

Ren's mom knitted a SQUID HAT for Chikage.

OISHI!

OISHI!
Originally uploaded by piroko_kuroda.

This is Ted, a Japanese antiques dealer and expert sword polisher.
The man knows so much about swords, you wonder how he keeps it
all in his head. He does, however, find time to enjoy the finer things in life, like sake. This is a variety of sake that he absolutely had to have, after I told him about its distinct aftertaste. It tastes just like "uni," or sea urchin. If you've ever gone to a sushi restaurant and wondered what that orange, gelatin-looking thing was, it's uni. And it's delicious. So here it is - uni-flavored sake, expertly showcased by Ted!

Angel pie

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Originally uploaded by js_hale.

This is Chikage - Ren and Hiroko's perfect little angel. She was born December 11th, 2006, just under 3kg, 49cm. I am an auntie again!

My Match.com pic

FOLLOW UP: I met Peter on November 5th - our first date went REALLY well, ending with a kiss
that left me floating on a cloud. We have spent as much time together as possible and it still hasn't
been enough. This picture was taken on Christmas Day - the first Christmas he spent away from home -
because he wanted to spend it with me & my family! I'm in Japan at the moment, and missing him like crazy. For the first time, I actually shortened my trip in Japan to come home early because I couldn't bear being apart from him any longer. Ladies, I'm telling you, it WORKS! :)


Ok, so a lot has happened. I met Peter, and I am really...how shall I put it?
Enamored, flabbergasted, all gooey inside, and pretty much falling for the guy,
fast! The worst thing I can say about him so far is that he's never been to Japan, which as my friend Ren (www.giveyourmeat.com) says, is easily fix-able.

So we met on Match.com, and I'm here to tell you, ladies - IT WORKS! The thing is, there are certain guidelines which I believe allow you to make it work much, much better. The first step is to have a kick-ass profile:

a. 4-5 flattering, CLASSY pictures - no bikinis - sexy evening dresses are great - in which you're smiling.
b. Be really clear about what you're looking for. I talked mostly about what I want in a relationship, and I think it was a good screener. The guys that I went on dates with were all sincere, intelligent, and ready to settle down.
c. You can talk a bit about yourself, but I think it's good to leave some mystery, too.
d. For the question, "What was the last thing you read?" I suggest putting something besides Cosmo or People magazine. Food for thought.
e. I put down that I wanted a guy with at least a college degree. Nothing for race, and I think I put a certain amt. for income, I can't remember. Let's face it - if you have any inkling to stay at home and raise kids someday, you'll want a guy who's willing and able to take care of his family, right? And as far as race goes, I know people will disagree with me, but I don't believe in such a thing. I think the concept is seriously flawed, at best. I'm going off on a tangent, I know, but 'race' implies a difference that extends to our intellect - which is a load of malarkey - when all it boils down to is how we adapted over time to the geography around us. We look different because our ancestors were exposed to certain temperatures, differing amounts of sunlight, etc. over time, and lo and behold, we adapted to our respective environments. End of story. Compatibility has nothing to do with the color of someone's skin, and I know from experience (ha) that love can be found the world over, among any population in the world. EDUCATION, i.e., formal training + life experience, plays a crucial part in the equation of compatibility!

Ok where was I...yes -

2. Do NOT look for guys. No searching, no winking, no emailing. Let them come to you. Pursue a guy, and it's like a mouse running towards a cat...the cat has no idea what to do, and might be tempted to run in the other direction! Men are built for hunting - it's been in their blood for thousands of years. So let them pursue YOU.

I'm curious to see what kind of a response I get, so I'll stop there, for now!

Rumsfeld is GONE.......

Poor W...oh, this is gratifying. Hearing press people take the piss out of Bush.
It's like a good shot of espresso - makes you feel all warm and tingly inside.
Brilliant. Bush cannot be humble - it's absolutely impossible for him to admit
defeat. "Risk-adverse" - I like that term. It still doesn't beat 'misunderestimated.'