日本の料理ー Japanese Home style Cooking!
Today I went to one of my co-worker's house with two other ladies and we had a little afternoon feast.  I learned how to make Chinese dumplings and chirashisushi; this was a lot of fun since I love cooking.  I already ordered a Japanese cookbook a few weeks ago, and cannot wait until I can begin cooking from it.  We also ate spinach, black miso soup (versus the more commonly known white, black miso is from the Nagoya area), olives, and more.  It was a delicious meal!  A dessert of sweet potato treats and pineapple pound cake followed, with tea and iced coffee to drink. We then spent the afternoon chatting, talking about cooking, looking at cookbooks, etc.  It was a really pleasant day and I enjoyed being able to experience the relaxed, at home atmosphere.

 My cooking teacher and me!  I am fanning the rice while she stirs it, apparently that is a vital part of the process. 

 Here I am making the egg topping for the sushi, I cooked and flipped it without tearing it at all- which takes skill.

 Here- making Chinese dumplings.

 Our feast! ( Well some of it, there was more added later)

おいしい！

歓迎会　＃３－ Welcome Dinner Party
Yesterday I had a dinner party with my department at Toshiba in honor of a girl they recently hired and myself.  This time it was just our department so it was about 22 people, and we went to a traditional Japanese restaurant.  So we removed our shoes in the lobby and put them in little boxes where you take out a huge wood block which acts as the key, it is such an interesting and effective old-fashioned lock system. Our party had our own private room with a long table where you sit on the ground and there is space under the table to put your feet.  We ate Japanese style with dishes of food down the center of the table that you munch on while socializing.  The other girl and I both gave a quick thank you speech and then everyone around the room took turns standing up and saying a few words to each of us.  I always have a great time going to dinner with people from Toshiba because they are so much fun to talk to and get to know outside of work.

カラオケー Karaoke!
When our general manager found out that I had never done karaoke, specifically karaoke in Japan, he decided we must go together.  So after dinner a group of 9 of us went to a karaoke place and had a blast.  Here in Japan when you do karaoke your party gets a private room that has the TV and hand held microphones all set up.  You can order drinks and desserts and there are even tambourines provided so you can do back up for your friend that is singing.  Here everyone sings karaoke, no matter your age or singing ability.  Whereas in America it is hard to convince people to sing karaoke, here everyone sings and has a fun time doing it!  There is a famous Japanese song titled "Olivia," so one of my co-workers sang that song especially for me.  It was so much fun and I am so glad I had a great night full of awesome experiences!

仙台ー　Business Trip
This past Sunday I went on a business trip to the Miyagi prefecture.  I rode the shinkansen from Tokyo to Sendai, but this time I was in a huge double decker train.  I was in the lower deck though so the view was mostly obscured by a wall so I caught up on my reading on the way over.  Once in Sendai, we spent our afternoon on sight-seeing.  We started by going to the Aoba castle ruins which were built by the Date family over 400 years ago.  There is no castle left, just the pillars from a wall.  But the site is marked by a museum, shrine, and statue of Masamune Date, the first of the Date rulers.

While we were there, some local dance groups performed an exhibition of the traditional dances that were done when the castle was built.  We watched one dance that was supposed to represent the wings of birds- in honor of the Date family crest which features bamboo limbs and two birds.

Next we went to Zuihoden which is a mausoleum for the Date family.  Masamune, his son and grandson each have a beautiful building dedicated to them (and once held their remains).  They are black with lots of gold and multi-colored decorative work.  Very beautiful to see.  To get to the mausoleum we first had to climb a massive stone staircase.

Our last sight-seeing stop was Rinnoji, a temple built which houses a pagoda and gorgeous garden complete with a pond stocked full of coy. 

石巻魚市場ー The Fish Market in Ishinomaki
On Monday, business began.  We left the hotel at 3:45 a.m. to get to the fish market by 4:00 to observe the process they use to bring fish in, sort them, sell them to buyers, and test samples to ensure that they do not have radioactive material.  It was very interesting to see how this whole process works.

女川の発電賞ー Nuclear Power Plant
In the afternoon we went to the nuclear power plant in Onagawa for a tour of the facilities.  The power plant has extremely strict requirements for entrance of visitors, to protect from terrorists.  We had to change clothes and wear protective gear to go in as well as verify our identities and privilege to enter several times.  I was able to see the reactor vessel, spent fuel pool, suppression chamber and control room.  It was an incredible experience, and furthered my knowledge of the nuclear power industry.  I have read information on nuclear power equipment and plants and after this trip I have concrete mental images to increase my understanding.  While at the power plant, the manager told us stories from the disaster last year.  Apparently all three access roads to the plant were blocked due to damage from the earthquake for five days. The crews on duty at the time had to continue working without relief, and food and water was flown in by helicopter. 
The Miyagi prefecture where we were was hit incredibly hard by last year's natural disaster.  In Ishinomaki, we saw miles of land that used to be covered in houses and development but was completely wiped away by the tsunami.  Also, there were enormous piles of crushed cars and debris, all left over from the disaster.  Many of the buildings that were left standing are empty and windowless and look gutted and forlorn.  While we were in Ishinomaki, we went to a hill overlooking the coast that the people ran up to in order to escape the waters coming in.  I couldn't help but imagine how awful it must have been to run up that hill and then turn around and watch your home being swept away by the sea.

台風ー  The Aftermath
On Tuesday night a typhoon blew through, producing the aftermath of craziness on the trains. The trains had to stop early the night before due to the strength of the storming, which also resulted in obstacles on the tracks that had to be removed.  So when the trains started again in the morning they were slower than usual and slightly off schedule.
When I got to the station that morning there were three or four times as many people as usual waiting on the platform. I had to wait for the second train to go by before I could get on.  And as soon as the train doors open the people on the platform made a mad dash to get inside and get a spot on the train so they wouldn't have to wait again.  The people take it upon themselves to pack themselves in so tightly that everyone is literally crushed together.  I am not exaggerating.  It is the most ridiculous transportation experience I ever have had in my life. But I am glad I got to experience it, because that is just another part of business culture for you. Everyone wants to get to the office early, so they do everything they can to get on a train!
After work that day, I went to watch an a capella singing group from Harvard University that was performing at Josai University here in Tokyo.  They were very good and so entertaining, and sang a great selection of oldies and classic songs.
For dinner I went to a yakitori place.  Yakitori is a cuisine where they grill chicken and vegetables on skewers over charcoal grills.  Everything is chicken, and I ate all kinds of parts including liver, soft bones, hearts, skins, as well as regular parts of meat like breast and leg.  They also made ginko nuts on the grill which were especially delicious! At this restaurant there were two options, either choose what you want to eat from the case at the counter, or let the chef grill stuff up and keep serving different things until you are full.   So we went with chef's choice.  Periodically he would grill up another couple skewers of some chicken part, or some vegetable like asparagus and serve it to you.  It was a lot of fun to watch them cook (this also was an open kitchen inside the eating counter) and great to eat.

Clockwise from top- Japanese pickles; mushed radish maybe? with raw egg and soy sauce; and barely seared chicken will Japanese herbs.

            Pictured here is chicken leg pieces and ginko nuts.  Also raw eggplant and tomatoes at the top.

        This was a steamed pudding (but not sweet!) made of egg, chicken broth, mushrooms, and more.

渋谷　Shopping Trip
I went to Shibuya on Sunday for a shopping trip with two of my friends from Toshiba.  Shibuya is one of the famous Tokyo shopping districts.  We started the day by meeting at the Shibuya Station Hachiko exit, by the dog statue.

As the story goes, many years ago there was a man that walked to Shibuya station every day to take the train to work.  His faithful dog always walked with him and waited at the West exit for the man to come back at the end of the day so they could walk home together. One day, the old man went to work and died while he was there.  His dog waited for him all night.  Even though the man never came back, the dog came to the station and waited for his master every day for the next ten years. So this statue was erected in honor of the dog, and now this are by the statue is the most famous meeting place in Shibuya.
For lunch we ate at an awesome little sushi place, using the conveyor method to serve patrons. The restaurant has an open kitchen that had about 5 chefs working in it.  As they prepare sushi the chefs put it on little plates and send it down a conveyor belt that runs by every table in the restaurant. So you can order something specific from the chefs, or you can just grab a plate off the conveyor when you see something you like!  The prices are coded by the color plates, and at the end when the girl comes to give you your bill she just has to wave a handheld machine by your stack of plates and it automatically totals up what you ate and prints your bill right there at your table.  The sushi was delicious and the chefs were very sociable and hilarious so it was a great place to eat lunch, and I will definitely be going back!

     Some delicious food we ate!

Unfortunately at this point my camera died.  But my friend took several on her phone, so later I will be able to post those- there are some pretty great ones!

After lunch we started our shopping at the famous 109 building, an 8 story shopping center.  We started at the top and shopped all the way down!  Next we went to what they call a "game center."  First we took pictures in the most awesome photo booths in the world.  You get to choose the lighting and other settings so that you come out looking super glamorous, and you take several shots.  Afterwards you can decorate the pictures, and then print them.  And it only costs 400 yen! While in the game center, we also played with the claw prize machines (none of us won anything :( ) and finished by playing a round on the Taiko drum arcade game.  It is similar to rock band except you are playing on big Taiko drums.  Very noisy, very fun.

We set out walking again and made our way to Harajuku to continue the shopping. We also stopped to get crepes from a street vendor, a sweet treat that Harajuku is famous for.  After finishing our shopping we went to visit the Meiji shrine.  We walked to the Iris garden first.  It is huge and absolutely gorgeous.  It is basically a big shallow stream that is planted full of irises, which were in full bloom so it was like looking at a river of purple flowers.  We also went to Kiyomasas' well.  It is considered magical because when you look at it the well appears to be completely motionless, however upon closer inspection you can see that it is pumping water.  The well was built sunk into the ground and provides continually flowing water, which follows the stream to water the Iris garden.  It is said that water from this well will bring you good fortune, so people constantly wait in line for 15 minutes to rinse their hand in the well water and take pictures with it. Although I had been to Meiji shrine a few weeks ago, this was my first time to experience the Iris garden and Kiyomasas' well, so I am very glad we went.  Hopefully I can post pictures of it soon!

着物のじゅぎょおー Kimono lessons

                                My kimono before putting it on ie. the pieces

Today I took a class to learn how to wear kimono. It is so surprising how many sashes and belts are used in these outfits!  The second time I went from start to finish in donning the apparel I think it took me about 25 minutes.  You start with the Nagajuban, which is like an underdress that you can barely see at the collar line when you are completely dressed.  So you tie a sash around your waist to hold that in place and then put the kimono on. The kimono also gets a sash to hold it in place and then the Obi (the wide belt) has several components including a cushion, stiffener, cord belt, and a sash.  Plus there are sashes you have to tie around you to keep certain parts of the Obi in place while you finish dressing, and then pull them off at the end.  I even learned the way you fold up the kimono so it is the right length.  I have heard that most people buy kimonos specific for their height, because folding up the robe is considered difficult.  It is a very complicated process, but it was so much fun to learn!

                                                  Here I am with my 着物先生（instructor)

After finishing my kimono lesson I went to Meguro station to meet the lady that I am working with at Toshiba for dinner.  We had tonkatsu, which is fried pork cutlets, and it was delicious!!!  It was served with shredded cabbage, sliced tomato, rice, miso soup, Japanese pickles, and peanuts.

The restaurant we ate at featured an open kitchen surround be a horse-shoe shaped counter where you sit to eat.  So while we were eating we were able to watch their assembly line while they prepared the food.

Also I found this earlier today and for your enjoyment I wanted to include it- an Eastern style squatty potty!

This was me the first day, with a little bit of Tokyo in the background...

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Hey everyone!  I finally got the internet set up in my room, so now I will be able to post and keep you updated on my trip for the rest of the summer.  Now… to get you caught up on the last three weeks…..

鶴見 – My Home

I am living in one of Toshiba’s company dormitories, located in Tsurumi.  I have a room and bathroom and even a little balcony (everyone has a balcony here!), and there is a community kitchen on each floor.  My room is smaller than my dorm room at college, but I think it is plenty of room.  Here the sun rises at about 4 a.m., which I love!  I normally get up between 5-6 am, and catch a bus to get to the station at about 7:40 where I get on a train to commute to the office.  My daily commute one way is about 50 minutes which is not bad at all, some of my friend’s at Toshiba commute an hour and a half, even two hours every day- one way.  

                                                                         私のへや

かんげいかいー Welcome Party

My first day at Toshiba was so busy!  I had an orientation to the company first, and then  I went to meet the eleven people that I am working with.  It was awesome how excited everyone was to meet and get to know me.  After I introduced myself to them they called a meeting so that they could individually introduce themselves to me as well.  After that I was given a tour of the building, which is huge so we didn’t cover all of it.  The building is 43 stories tall, and I work on the 27th floor.  My ears actually pop going up the elevator every day!  I ate lunch with my co-workers, who had a great time laughing at me, but were also sincerely interested in me.  After work that night they threw me a welcome dinner at a traditional Japanese style restaurant.  We had a room to ourselves and the waiters would periodically bring out dishes of food for us to nibble on as we socialized. Throughout dinner, they made 6-7 toasts to me and my being in Japan.  Later that night I discovered that five of them speak English very well, even though I had no idea since they had been speaking to me in Japanese all day.  Everybody wants to help me learn Japanese, so they are very diligent about avoiding English!　

日本語- the Language

One thing I have realized for sure is that my Japanese speaking ability is not nearly where I want it to be!  Although I improved considerably in the first week, the first couple days I had no idea what anyone was saying to me.  After a week, my comprehension improved to the point that I could actually hear the language and distinguish the words rather than just hearing a a string of sounds.  My comprehension is continuing to improve, although my range of vocabulary still limits a lot of my understanding.  I began making a list of new vocabulary to review every day, and I also study grammar in my free time too which has been helping me.  I also watch TV every morning and night or at least listen to it while I get ready to help attune my ears to the language, a method which I believe has worked great so far.  However every day conversations are much easier for me, as well as going to the store or a restaurant on my own, and having a conversation with someone I just met. It is primarily language in a business setting that challenges me since this is my first time to be exposed to it.  

原子力- Learning about Nuclear Power

On day two I learned more about what we do in the Nuclear Power Systems and Services Division of Toshiba.  I went on tours of the engineering center where they design nuclear power systems and equipment, and a manufacturing facility where they produce a lot of the machinery that outfits nuclear power plants.  I feel like an expert on nuclear power now! (Just kidding, although I definitely understand it now.)

We finished the evening with dinner at a SUPER traditional Japanese restaurant where we left our shoes in lockers in the lobby and sat at a sunken table.  We ate sashimi and other delicious Japanese foods, and it was my first time to try sake as well. 

しゅまつの楽しいー My Weekend Trips

On the weekends I usually pick a station or two in the Tokyo area and then go there to explore.  So far I have been to Ueno, Kamakura, Harajuku, and Shibuya.  I have seen many beautiful shrines and temples, went to the Tokyo National Museum, Ueno Zoo to see the pandas, and so much more.  My trip to Kamakura, a beach-side town, was especially great.  I went with two people from Toshiba who have been instrumental in planning my internship from the beginning. We went to several gorgeous shrines, and for lunch  had okonomiyaki, which is so far my favorite Japanese food.  

                                                                    The Great Buddha

                                                                       おいしかった！

Okonomiyaki is kinda like a vegetable pancake.  The waiter brings you the ingredients in a bowl (usually cabbage, other vegetables, egg, and your choice of meat-we had clams) and you mix it up and then fry it on the grill which is built into the table you sit at.  Fun to make and delicious to eat!

While visiting the shrines and temples they taught me the traditional way you pay respects to the gods.  At Shinto shrines they throw their coin offering in the box, bow twice, clap twice, and finish with another bow.  At oteras (Buddhist temples) you throw your coin in and then fold your hands and bow once.  Also, there is always a fountain with dippers that people use to wash their hands before entering the shrine. 

じしん- Earthquake!

About a week after I had been in Japan I experienced my first earthquake.  It occurred at 1:30 a.m. and woke me up. It was shaking pretty hard for about 45 seconds (that is my estimation that I made in my state of sleepy delerium, it could have been longer), and then there were some softer tremors in the minutes following.  At first I thought "What in the world kind of maintenance are they doing on this building in the middle of the night???"  And then it dawned on me, oh this is an earthquake.    I figured it was not worth getting out of bed for unless it became serious, so I just went back to sleep.  About five days later there was another, although smaller, earthquake around 5 p.m. while we were still at the office.  As soon as it started everyone turned and looked at me!  They all assumed (correctly) that I would not be used to earthquakes and wondered if I would be scared.  I wasn't however, I just laughed at their reaction of immediately looking towards me.       

東芝のやきゅう- Baseball

I attended a Toshiba baseball game, which I can proudly say Toshiba won (by the way, two games later, the Toshiba team is on its way to play in the national championship at the Tokyo Dome).  The best thing about baseball games here is the cheer squad and the crowd.  They are so excited and everyone is cheering the ENTIRE game.  Toshiba's cheer squad is about 40 people, men and women, and they have a band as well. The cheerleaders lead yells throughout the whole game and the crowd is loud, excited, and lively the whole time too.  It was an interesting contrast to the office environment where everyone is usually quiet and serious. 

新しいともだち- New Friends

I have made several new friends both within Toshiba and people that I have been introduced to outside of the office.  I have already had some great times with the people here including going to a bowling party, and going to see the Tokyo Skytree- the tallest building in Tokyo that just opened two weeks ago.

                                                                     Tokyo Skytree

Welcome Ceremony

Toshiba hosted a welcome ceremony in honor of 4 new employees and myself as the new intern.  The managers made toasts and speeches, and all of us 新人(newcomers) also gave speeches. About 100 people attended and plenty of food and drinks were served.  I also experienced the Japanese tradition of a ceremonial clapping for good luck in the future that is done on special occasions. Also, I am apparently the first international intern that my department has ever had, so that is one reason I am told that everyone was excited about my coming to Toshiba. 

Week Three Surprise

On Thursday the manager of my group presented me a gift on behalf of the department I work in.  They gave me my very own hancou.  A hancou is a personalized stamp that has your family name on it and is used as your official signature, rather than just signing your name with a pen.  You use red ink to stamp your name with the hancou on a document when it needs to be certified with your official signature.  I was so surprised and delighted when they gave me this hancou, I feel like it is a very special gesture and it is without a doubt the most perfect gift I could have received from the people I work with.

The people I work with are so incredible.  In the first couple days of working several people outside of my group approached me to introduce themselves and welcome me to the company.  They even began inviting me to lunch, to get coffee, etc.  I cannot imagine feeling more welcomed than I have been by these people and by this company.  Many people here have gone above and beyond to make sure that I am safe, having fun, learning, and enjoying my time in Japan.  

京都- Three Days in Kyoto

This past weekend I spent in the big and beautiful city of Kyoto. In preparation for my trip many people at Toshiba gave me recommendations on places I could go, and helped in any way they could to prepare me for traveling there.  Even people that were still complete strangers to me have provided me with recommendations on places to go, and even made maps, and found resources in both Japanese and English to help me get around easily.  The lady that is supervising me even went with me to buy my tickets for the しんかんせん (bullet train) to make sure that I had no trouble getting the right tickets.  

One of my friends at Toshiba grew up in Kyoto, and after she found out that I was traveling there alone she called her mom and they planned for me to meet her so I would have some company over the weekend.  

My trip started with a ride on the Shinkansen.  It really is a neat experience to ride the bullet train, it feels like you are flying except that you have a way better view outside your window!

                                                                 ふじさま- Mt. Fuji

I stayed in a small ryokan, which is a traditional Japanese style inn, owned and operated by a single family.  It was very simple, but I had a 5 tatami mat room, with a floor futon, so it was exactly the traditional experience I was looking for.  

                 The view from my room towards the lobby- where all the guest's shoes are lined up.

One of my favorite places to see was 金閣寺, the Golden temple.  

As I was leaving I was approached by a Japanese man who asked if I could help his students practice their English conversation skills.  Of course, I was happy to oblige.  It was a group of junior high boys who took turn asking me about 4 questions total.  I was very impressed by their great pronunciation.

That day I also went to Ryonanji temple which holds the famous zen rock garden.  When I decided to head back to the ryokan for the night I got on a city and bus and met a young couple from the Netherlands and a French guy, they had just met the day before in their hostel.  We had a great conversation on the way back to Kyoto station about Japan, our other travels, etc.  

The next day I went to Kiyomizudera, which is the most famous temple in all of Japan.  After going there it is easy to see why, is it すごい大きい！ It has so many buildings and a path that winds through the forest,  There are so many different views where the tops of buildings peep out of the trees. 

Next stop, Yasaka Jinja.  Perhaps one of the most beautiful places I have been so far.  It has a gorgeous park behind that is full of nature and has some exquisite scenes. 

Later that day I met my friend's mom!  She was so sweet and kind to me and we are pretty much on the same level with our foreign language skills so with the English and Japanese we had between us we were able to talk to each other and enjoy our evening.  We went to the Arashiyama area of Kyoto which is very pretty, to walk down the Bamboo Path and along the big bridge where we ate gelato.  For dinner we went to her favorite okonomiyaki place (which is coincidentally her favorite food also!)

My last day in Kyoto I visited Nijo Castle, Kyoto Imperial Park, and went to Kyoto Tower.  Nijo Castle is so huge and it is awesome how they have it set up where you can walk through the palace and see all the different rooms.  One thing I think is really neat is the "Nightingale Floor," the floor was built so that it squeaks when anyone walks on it as a way to detect intruders.  

The main palace inside Nijo Castle

The second Palace within Nijo Castle

Moat around the castle

A view from Kyoto Tower, this city is huge.

Well that was a crash course update on my first three weeks in Japan, more to come soon!