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I assure you, this was purely accidental.
Japan has its share of interesting bugs from nightmarish Giant Asian Hornets to extremely cool miniature tanks – Rhinoceros Beetles, or kabuto mushi as they are called in Japanese, since they resemble a samurai helmet.
Last sunday I visited Centrair, Aichi for the first time since my arrival in Japan (back in February 2008) in hope to acquire my favorite sweets – Kurikinton (chestnuts mashed with sugar). Traditionally, those are enjoyed with green tea throughout autumn. Unfortunately, they are still not on sale yet and so a box of “Raisin Sand” had to suffice.
These sweets native to Nagoya has very little to do with sand, instead Japanese “sand” is nothing other than shortened English “sandwich”. Each of the sweets is a two soft buttery biscuits with a creamy filling between. The usual variety can be easily obtained in many gift shops around Nagoya – particularly in the massive underground shopping centre in Sakae. Once bought they should be consumed within 2 weeks.
This particular variety deviates slightly from the original due to addition of raisins. Box can be only purchased in Centrair (possibly in Toyota City), so if you are passing through I would recommend grabbing a box or two, as it is not only enjoyable to eat yourself but also makes an excellent gift. Price for 12pcs box is 1550 Yen, alternatively 1050 Yen for 8pcs box and 550 yen for 4pcs box (although the latter escaped my attention).
Happy Munching…
Last Sunday my in-laws and me visited Tokoname, Aichi (near Centrair airport). The Tokoname Boat Racing centre was turned into a pottery fair. To be fair (no pun intended) it was a rather modest fair market type of fair sporting pots, vases, mugs, etc. Tokoname is famous for pottery, and besides all sorts of pottery a fair deal of Tanuki and Manekineko were on display. Tokoname is proud of it’s huge Manekineko statue, which recently became famous thanks to “Nanikore Chin Hyakkei” variety show.
If you are stuck in Centrair waiting for some reason, and maybe you even brought your camera with a tele-zoom, visiting boat racing grounds during the show can be fun. It is only one train station and about 15 minutes walk away…
But, in order not to deviate from the topic for much longer – I bought a Bonsai tree. His newly acquired name is Tomodachi-kun (The Friend). So far, he (indeed “a he”) is living next to my computer screen in a rather modest fashion. He is not a whingeing type, although is not very talkative either, I must admit.
Today we had a first photo shoot. Being an excellent model, he understood straight away what the photographer was after and did his best trying not to move much around. I think it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship…
