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eG Foodblog: torakris - Pocky and the geisha

torakris

By torakris
in Food Traditions & Culture

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torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

If you don't mind, a bit more about rice -- the rice you buy in Japan, is it Japanese-grown?  Is there a price difference between Japanese and non-Japanese-grown rice of the same variety?

When you buy rice in the U.S. to bring back, do you have a favorite brand?

I have never seen non-Japan grown Jaapnese style rice in a store, ever. It is imported but from what I know it all goes to sake production. Thus we have no option but the high priced Japan grown rice. Even foreign rices like jasmine and basmati are difficult to find and I have never found a source for American long grain.

As for buying rice in the US, I usually buy what ever is a decent price... I don7t want to spend all of my money on food... :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Kim WB

Kim WB

Posted
Posted (edited)

So, its pretty apparent from your blog that life inJapan is very differnt,..from school cycles to food to clothes dryers...do you ever imagine your life in the US? With a high powered dryer, cheaper food, higher pay? Your children are extraordinary looking, and your life seems rich and full..but is there a certain amount of wonder at how it could be different? Not regrets, just curiosity?

I mean, I read your blog, and think about how traditional my life is...

Edited by Kim WB (log)
torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Kristin, do you and your husband get much of a chance to go out on your own for dinner or whatnot? Is babysitting a common thing?

Babysitting is not common here, once couple have kids they no longer go out as couples. My husband and I have been out together about 5 times in 10 years of marriage.... :sad:

When we visit the US it is great because we go everywhere wih out the kids, however my husband can't always travel with us. He didn't make the trip last year and he can't come this summer either. So with the money I saved from not bringing him I will be taking a solo trip to Boston and NYC. :raz:

Now that Hide is in school, we plan on doing more lunches together, the only problem is he only has one hour and he is in his construction outfit sso it sort of limits the places we can go to...

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
So, its pretty apparent from your blog that life inJapan is very differnt,..from school cycles to food to clothes dryers...do you ever imagine your life in the US? With a high powered dryer, cheaper food, higher pay?  Your children are extraordinary looking, and your life seems rich and full..but is there a certain amount of wonder at how it could be different?  Not regrets, just curiosity?

I mean, I read your blog, and think about how traditional my life is...

People ask me all the time if I ever think about going back to the US, but honestly I don't want to raise my kids there. It is a great place to visit but I really love Japan. My husband on the other hand would move to the US in a second if I agreed....

Though it is starting to change, today's Japan is very similar to the US I was growing up in the late 70's. my kids can wander around the neighborhood with their friends and I don't worry, last night they didn't even come home until after 7:00pm. There is also a wonderful community spririt, especially in the area where I live. Everyone is there to look out for each other and lend a helping hand.

I have almost no stress here, taking kids into restaurants here is fine, if they are a bit noisy or start walking around no one bats an eye, if my daughter hits another kid in the sandbox the mothers just laugh, we apologize and it is forgotten. I can go to the supermarket and leave my kid in the candy aisle the entire 10 minutes it takes me to do the rest of my shopping and know there are going to be 10 other kids with him and he will be fine.

I couldn't imagine raising my kids elsewhere....

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Today is Hide's first day back at preschool. The preschool's here are divided into 3 years ; a 3 year old class, a 4 year old class and 5 year old class., then they go on to elementary school. You can enter at any year but it most common to do 2 to 3 years. Hide was in the 3 year old class last year and is now in the middle class. The school day runs from 9:00 to 2:00. I take him at about 8:30, the school is only a two minute walk from our house. Today is an early day and I will pick him up at 11:30 (in about 30 minutes).

This is the first time I have had the house to myself in weeks. :biggrin: I had a meeting at the elementary school this morning for our Kodomo Kai (children's community group) where we learned how to use the copy machines...

I decided to forgo cleaning the house today and am drinking a matcha (green tea) au lait, iced of course and listening to my Ally McBeal CD....

gallery_6134_1053_12034.jpg

I love this drink, it is a powder that you mix with a bit of hot water to dissolve and then you add cold water and ice.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Tepee

Tepee

Posted
Posted

Really loving your blog....

From your kids with stunningly good looks

The matcha Kit-Kat

Pockys

The love you have for Japan

Your lunch boxes

Fascinating.

BTW, with our plentiful natural resource of sunlight, it's quite difficult to find dryers in Malaysia. When we lived in an apartment many years ago, we had to hunt high and low for one. Finally got a Japanese one! Along the way, it died, and we can't get it repaired because there just aren't any spare parts for it here. :angry:

To me, the Japanese people stand out in terms of neatness. I'm ever so amazed at how they dress (so immaculate and tidy) and the food is presented in such a precise and exquisite way. :wub:

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

Tepee

Tepee

Posted
Posted

Gosh, these clothes are more colorful than anything I have in my wardrobe!! I'm thinking only someone in the entertainment industry would wear something like this. :raz:

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Construction?  :biggrin:

you got it!

Those colorful men with the funky pants are construction workers.

My husband prefers navy and gray but pinks and purples are very popular.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

tejon

tejon

Posted
Posted

So now I have to ask....why the funky pants?

Bringing it back around to food, do most of the construction workers take boxed lunches to work? Fast food is such a common lunch for workers of all stripes here in the US, but I'd bet things are a bit different there.

Kathy

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. - Harriet Van Horne

easternsun

easternsun

Posted
Posted

kristin you are an amazing woman on so many levels!

i really enjoy your blogs. the photos of your kids are gorgeous and i am getting some great food ideas from you too. thanks!

i am really glad my husband cant read english as i would have some explaining to do: 40,000 for one month for a family of five :blink: i am in awe.

i will keep reading and hopefully learn how to spend less on food :smile:

i wanted to ask if your kids get meals at school and what do they serve them for lunch? do you have any say in what goes into the school lunches?

"Thy food shall be thy medicine" -Hippocrates

touaregsand

touaregsand

Posted
Posted

If you don't mind, a bit more about rice -- the rice you buy in Japan, is it Japanese-grown?  Is there a price difference between Japanese and non-Japanese-grown rice of the same variety?

When you buy rice in the U.S. to bring back, do you have a favorite brand?

I have never seen non-Japan grown Jaapnese style rice in a store, ever. It is imported but from what I know it all goes to sake production. Thus we have no option but the high priced Japan grown rice. Even foreign rices like jasmine and basmati are difficult to find and I have never found a source for American long grain.

As for buying rice in the US, I usually buy what ever is a decent price... I don7t want to spend all of my money on food... :biggrin:

Interesting. The price for rice. In LA often times the best bargains for rice in a Korean

Market are Japanese brands. Depending on the time of the month (not my time of the month, my husbands bi-monthly paychecks) we buy the cheaper Japanese rice or the more expenise New Crop Korean rice. We can taste the difference. But we've had rice from both countries that taste the same. Rice that is labeled seasonally in both countries taste the same.

What exactly is the price of rice in Japan?

touaregsand

touaregsand

Posted
Posted
So, its pretty apparent from your blog that life inJapan is very differnt,..from school cycles to food to clothes dryers...do you ever imagine your life in the US? With a high powered dryer, cheaper food, higher pay?  Your children are extraordinary looking, and your life seems rich and full..but is there a certain amount of wonder at how it could be different?  Not regrets, just curiosity?

I mean, I read your blog, and think about how traditional my life is...

People ask me all the time if I ever think about going back to the US, but honestly I don't want to raise my kids there. It is a great place to visit but I really love Japan. My husband on the other hand would move to the US in a second if I agreed....

Though it is starting to change, today's Japan is very similar to the US I was growing up in the late 70's. my kids can wander around the neighborhood with their friends and I don't worry, last night they didn't even come home until after 7:00pm. There is also a wonderful community spririt, especially in the area where I live. Everyone is there to look out for each other and lend a helping hand.

I have almost no stress here, taking kids into restaurants here is fine, if they are a bit noisy or start walking around no one bats an eye, if my daughter hits another kid in the sandbox the mothers just laugh, we apologize and it is forgotten. I can go to the supermarket and leave my kid in the candy aisle the entire 10 minutes it takes me to do the rest of my shopping and know there are going to be 10 other kids with him and he will be fine.

I couldn't imagine raising my kids elsewhere....

I know what you mean. My husband and I talk about the same things with different locations.

ludja

ludja

Posted
Posted (edited)

Not sure if this is what your were looking for...

...

What exactly is the price of rice in Japan?

Pardon my ignorance...but is rice very expensive in Japan?  Am just curious because of the statements above.

Yes it is.

A 10kg bag (25lbs) averages $35 to $50 and a "brand name" can be twice that.

My family uses about 15 kg a month so it can get expensive. Last year because of bad weather the prices shot up so that the cheapest (and not good) rice was over $40 per 10kg

.....

Edited by ludja (log)

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

Shiewie

Shiewie

Posted
Posted
Construction?  :biggrin:

How did you guess this? :huh:

Did you cheat? :raz:

Combination of a several things, the outfits look like some jazzed-up uniform (so was thinking along the lines of technicians etc), Kristin mentioned earlier that she and her husband own a construction company and those pants and boots remind me of a funky Phua Chu Kang who is a character in a Singaporean sitcom about the antics of a stereotypical Chinese contractor (bright yellow boots, permed hair and long fingernail on the lil' finger) and his family.

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

What exactly is the price of rice in Japan?

take a look here

the weights and prices are on the right side, to look at other types of rice click on any of the names on the left side. Currently the excahnge rate is about $1 to 108 yen but I just round it off to 100. so if it says 5,000 yen it is about $50.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
So now I have to ask....why the funky pants?

Bringing it back around to food, do most of the construction workers take boxed lunches to work? Fast food is such a common lunch for workers of all stripes here in the US, but I'd bet things are a bit different there.

I ask my husband the same thing about the pants, you would thing their bagginess would be a saftey hazard... This is basically the traditional uniform his grandfather wore something very similar.

Many of the owrkers take lunches, My husband's company works mostly on skyscrapers and other very large buildings, often there is no place around to eat lunch at. Most sites do have a roving bento-ya-san, this is a person who drives around selling bentos (boxed lunches) from the back of his truck. My husband says they are awful though and the price can add up when you work 6 days a week, it is much cheaper to make it.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

touaregsand

touaregsand

Posted
Posted

What exactly is the price of rice in Japan?

take a look here

the weights and prices are on the right side, to look at other types of rice click on any of the names on the left side. Currently the excahnge rate is about $1 to 108 yen but I just round it off to 100. so if it says 5,000 yen it is about $50.

Okay, you're bringing back memories of living in Korea a few years ago. Sometimes a head of napa cabbage would skyrocket to $10.00, I remember paying $6.00 for a single pear, ouch....

Ummmm... my mom would bring us Korean rice that she purchased in the States for a fraction of the price that we would have to pay for the same rice in Korea.

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