11/11/08: Day 12 in Japan Part I - Family Crest

After a quick but fun visit to Shichiken, I am headed back to Tokyo for the last leg of the trip. My agenda today is to meet up with my uncle and aunt who happen to be in the town for lunch.
七賢の訪問はあっという間でした。今日は早朝から東京へ向かい、日本に尋ねている家族とランチで合流する予定。いよいよ、この旅の最終段階が近づいてきた...

The people in the first picture are my uncle (your eyes haven't betrayed you, he is Caucasian), and my aunt (Japanese.) When I visited their apartment, they showed my a picture of my great-great-grandfather. I was particularly interested in the designs etched on both sides of his chest, which is our family crest.
写真には叔父のグレッグ(日本人ではありません)と叔母のテルコさん(日本人)。彼らのマンションに訪ねたら、家族の先祖の珍しい写真が飾られていた。私が注目したのは和服の胸に飾られている家紋。

I find Japanese Family crest to be a fascinating traditions, carrying significant meanings. Our family crest symbolizes toughness from a certain type of weed plant, and the fact we belong to a samurai class.
家紋は伝統的なシンボルであり、意味も深い。篠崎家の家紋は「丸に剣片喰」と呼ばれ、雑草の粘り強さと武家の意味が示されている。

Of course, the most respected family crest belongs to the house of the Emperor, modeled after chrysanthemum.
勿論、日本の代表的な家紋は天皇家。

These are the crests for the lieutenants of Shinsengumi.
新撰組局長と組長の家紋。

This is a crest commonly seen in temples, called "Mitsu Domoe."
よく神社などで見られる三つ巴。

The family crests can still be found in many traditional buildings. Of course, it is a common sight in breweries. More I visit the breweries, the more I feel attached to the history of Japan.
家紋は伝統的な建物に飾られる。色々な蔵でも見られるので、歴史を感じる。

11/10/08: Day 11 in Japan - Shichiken Brewery

My next destination took me to Yamanashi Prefecture, where Shichiken Brewery is located.
今日は七賢の見学のため、山梨県へ向かった。

Yamanashi is a landlocked prefecture, located at the foot of Mount Fuji in central Japan. Yamanashi reminds me a bit of Switzerland, and is famous for their water. In fact, Suntory operates Hakushu Distillery to take advantage of this water.
山梨は山に囲まれ、まるで日本のスイスみたいだ。山梨は水の質で有名で、サントリーも「白州」蒸溜所を持っている。

The brewery is surrounded by the mountains.
勿論、蔵は山に囲まれている。

Decoration around the brewery.
入り口にはおめでたい飾り物が...

The brewery is modern and clean, yet there are plenty of spaces that showcase their history.
七賢はモダンで綺麗な蔵でありながら、歴史を感じる空間も十分ある。

There is calming sense of zen.
和の空間


The high ceiling is supported by these wooden beams.
屋根を支える梁。
Garden from the view of the main guest room.
客間から見える中庭。

These rooms once occupied by Meiji Emperor during his visit in the area.
実はこの客間に明治天皇が宿泊したこともある。

Polishing machine.
蔵自慢の精米機。


Steaming machine and vats of rice
蒸すための機械。

Fermentation tanks.
発酵用のタンク。

Floor above fermentation tanks. The vastness of the area is indicated by scale of size compared with kurabito.
上の階。蔵人を見れば広さが伝わる。

Fermentation in action.
発酵中の酒。

Thermal tank for high grade saké.
大吟醸レベルの酒はサーマルタンクに貯蔵される。

The preferred method of pressing is by Yabuta.
七賢では搾りにやぶたを使用。


Shichiken aims to maximize the character of their water. As a result, they use heavy amount of charcoal during filtration to bring out clean flavors.
七賢は山梨の水の質を生かす酒造りに励んでいる。透明感を出すため、濾過は石炭を多めに。


They also experiment in different styles, from using yeast meant for shochu to aged saké.
七賢はすっきりした酒だけに限らず、黒麹仕込みや古酒などと色々なスタイルをチャレンジしている。

After the tour, Kitahara-san took me to the house restaurant to take advantage of the local ingredients.
見学の後に、北原さんが蔵のレストラン「臺眠」で地元の素材を生かしている料理をご馳走してくれた。
Kitahara-san treated me to a fantastic dinner featurin local igredients at brewery restaurant, "Daimin."

The evening ended with not famous houtou, but plain udon noodles.
〆は山梨名物の「ほうとう」ではなく、うどん。「ほうとう」は現地の方より見学者に人気があるそうだ。

Here is Kitahara-san, son of the President of the brewery. I shared quite a few sakés with him in New York, and it was a pleasure and honor to drink their saké from their brewery.
社長の息子の北原さん。ニューヨークでは飲み友達だったので、地元で彼の酒を飲めたのは光栄でした。

11/9/08: Day 10 in Japan - Food of Kansai

Kansai region in western Japan is very famous for their food culture. Recently, horumon has been a big hit in Osaka. Although this is parts of animals that may be considered less than desirable, its high collagen content makes it popular among women.

Western Japan is famous for "kona mono," or "powder food" which refer to food made from flour. Ramen is one such food, and one can have pretty heated debate about this particular subject matter. This particular ramen was the Dan Dan Ramen I had at a Chinese restaurant in Kyoto.

I believe that there is some sort of unwritten law that if one orders ramen, it must be accompanied by pork gyoza.

When one thinks of mecca of Kansai food culture, it is Dotonbori in Namba. The big crab is one of the landmarks of Dotonbori.

We stopped by Creoru, and proceeded to have yakisoba for appetizer...

...and okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki means "cooked the way you like it," and it's like a cross between pizza and omelet.

Following Creoru, we went to Tako Masa for their famous tako yaki, which is a hot cooked flour ball stuffed with piece of octopus. It actually tastes much better than it sounds. Nothing is better than a smoldering hot tako yaki and ice cold beer.

Of course, there is nothing better than a well-made saké. This is a bottle of Hakuro Suishu I received from Aisawa-san. Nothing is better than a light, fresh nama after all that food!

11/9/08: Day 10 in Japan - Kobé Shushinkan

When in Hyogo, I always visit Kobé Shushinkan for their hand-made soba and freshly brewed namazaké. Incidentally, Shushikan produces saké under "Fukuju" label.
灘の酒蔵巡りでは神戸酒心館の手打ち蕎麦と生酒は欠かせない。酒心館は「福寿」の銘柄で有名。

Inside Shushinkan is Sakabayashi restaurant. On this day, their garden was full of lush, fresh vegetables.
レストラン「さかばやし」の庭には美味しそうな野菜が盛んに育っていた。

I had their Junmai Ginjo "Hiyaoroshi" Nama.
注文したのは純米吟醸のひやおろし。

The hard Miyamizu water of Nada is clearly expressed through clean and intense flavor.
この酒には味が確りして切れが良い宮水の特徴が生きていた。

For the appetizer, we had their home-made tofu with yuba tofu skin. The soft texture of the tofu was a great contrast to the lively body of the saké.
前菜には手作りの豆腐と湯葉。豆腐の食感が生酒のスッキリ感を強調する絶品のマッチング。

The main dish was tempura soba.
注文したのは天ぷら蕎麦。

There is nothing like tempura in Japan.
やっぱ、日本で食べる天ぷらは違う...

Because I was going to Osaka in the afternoon, my time at Shushinkan was very limited. That is not to say that I didn't savor every strand of soba...
午後から大阪へ向かうので、酒心館での時間は限られていたが、料理は十分味わった...

11/8/08: Day 9 in Japan Part II - Kiyomizu-dera

Each time I am in Kyoto, I feel compelled to visit Kiyomizu Temple because of the magnificence of the temple itself and fun atmosphere surrounding the temple.
京都へ行く度、清水寺の魅力に引っ張られる。寺の周りの雰囲気も賑やかで楽しい。

Kiyomizu Temple is established in 798 AD, and its current buildings were constructed in 1633. The construction process is reknowned for not using nails.
清水寺は宝亀９年（７７８）に開創され、寛永１０年（１６３３）に現在の規模に再建された。

The main hall has a veranda at the height of 13 meters (40 feet), and there was a tradition during the Edo Era that one can have their wish come true by jumping from the stage and surviving. (My wish would be to survive the jump.)
本堂は「清水の舞台から飛ぶ…」の諺(ことわざ)で有名な舞台がある。江戸時代では舞台から飛び降りることも流行った。

My visit coincided with the rare opening of a hall that houses rare statues, but unfortunately, photography was prohibited. One of the areas we visited was situated underneath the temple, and it was the darkest room I have ever been. We were supposed to navigate our way through the winding corridors following the guardrail, but I kept bumping into a wall. At the end was a lighted golden statue that appeared like a hologram.
今年は偶然、25年おきの「清水寺御本尊御開」。普段には見られない像の見学は出来たが、写真は許されない。もう1件の像は地下に保存されていた。光が漏れない闇の中、手すりを頼りに迷路をしっかり進んだ。像は奥の部屋にあり、ライトアップされていた。今まで真っ暗だったので、像はホログラムらしく見えた。

After visiting the temple, we made our rounds of the store down the hill and admired the beautiful buildings that feature lot of traditional elements. While there were many eateries, Kiyomizu area is famous for their pottery.
見学の後は、坂を下り、色々な店に立ち寄った。勿論、清水は清水焼が盛ん。

It has been my tradition to make my own Kiyomizu-yaki, and I've made a rice bowl and medium-sized plate during my prior visits. This time, I was looking to make a serving bowl.
以前には茶碗とお皿を作ったので、今回は煮物用の器に挑戦。

The place to go is Kashogama.
お世話になったのが嘉祥窯（かしょうがま）。

It takes 15~20 minutes to shape your ware, and after that, you choose the color.
器の形をとるのには15~20分かかり、満足した時点で色を選ぶ。

Once everything is set, it takes few weeks for the pottery to dry, colored, baked in the kiln, and shipped. (Shipping fee is flat rate of 1,000 yen which is roughly $9.70).
乾燥、色塗り、焼きは数週間かかる。アメリカに届くのには1ヶ月後。海外への送料は激安の1,000円。

Here is my 2008 creation. The total cost was 4,000 yen, or $38.80.
これが2008年の作品。

Believe me, all my cooking seem to taste a lot better now!　
手作りの器だと料理が益々美味しく感じる。