As most of the three people reading this may know, I loves me some food. Specifically, I am a kid born in the Chicagoland are. By land I mean as close as physically possible without actually living there, but you Chicagoans get moody when I describe myself as "from Chicago", so "land" it is.
Chicago has one food I'm sure we all know of. Deep. Dish. Pizza.
And I luvvvvv deep dish pizza. If you scroll back the clock on this blog you'll see my last meal in the states was deep dish. Um. Delicious.
But in Japan, deep dish pretty much doesn't exist. So I have to settle for regular, which is fine really, since delicious pizza is still good pizza.
That is, if I could find a good pizza place. It seems like American style pizza is just completely missing from the tastes of Japanese.
The reason, however, is actually fairly straight forward. Although Chicagoans and New Yorkers sure disagree on which of their pizzas is better, you can bet that they agree on one thing: the crust is the most important part. Any American pizza lover will agree to this. Without a delicious, flavorful crust, pizza falls flat. Be it crispy, buttery, soft, thin, thick, whatever your prefference, pizza crust is the maker and breaker in a good pie
And this is the mega issue here in Japan, because the idea of praising the crust, making it just as imporant as the toppings, is nonexistant. Mind you, Japanese attention to quality within ingredients is the best in the world, but here it seems, the majority of pizza crust is more like a textured delivery device for the wonderful (and sometimes odd) toppings.
So my quest to find American style pizza has existed since arriving here.
And I do believe I found something close today in Tokyo.
SHAKEY'S is an American chainthat recently opened up shop in Tokyo. They have stores scattered over the city, and for ¥850 at lunch, or ¥1100 at dinner, you can enjoy an entire pizza buffet. All you can eat.
I entered the hall, payed my 850, picked up a few small slices. As I was lifting them to my plate, I noticed the granules of corn meal on the bottom of the crust.
"Oh shit... This might be legit"
My first slice, double cheese. As I tasted it, my eyes lit up. "This tastes like... Decent American pizza!!"
Indeed Shakey's has managed to make pizza in a way that doesn't totally ruin the crust, it's crispy and flavorful. Though this is by no suggestion the most amazing pizza I've tasted, I have to applaud the effort of this chain.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
New Vlog: My Hotel Room in Tokyo
If the embed isn't working, click the link below to go to the video directly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WwnwERU1dM
Monday, February 22, 2010
Goodbye Nagano, Hello Tokyo!
I just want to write this to thank the Ikegaki family for hosting me as they have in the past. This is without a doubt an amazing family, and I am constantly inspired and impressed by their kindness. In the four years that I've known them they have been everything I could want in a host family, and I cannot express my gratitude enough to them
Plus I mean, I think this photo is a pretty good summary of my time here
Oh yes, the dog eats with us. It is awesome.
And he actually might like me now? Dangggg Mike that is bawlerrrrrr!
So I've had some amazing times here in Nagano much thanks to this wonderful family. vlog coming soon I hope. We attempted to see Mt. fuji, it was an awesome time.
In the meantime! I'm off to the real adventure, as I trek Japan ALONE.
Schedule has been changed greatly since I posted it, next up is Tokyo (which I leave for in like 5 hours) and then Osaka!
In fact the majority of my trip will be in the Kansai area. Schwing!
PUMPED!
Plus I mean, I think this photo is a pretty good summary of my time here
Oh yes, the dog eats with us. It is awesome.
And he actually might like me now? Dangggg Mike that is bawlerrrrrr!
So I've had some amazing times here in Nagano much thanks to this wonderful family. vlog coming soon I hope. We attempted to see Mt. fuji, it was an awesome time.
In the meantime! I'm off to the real adventure, as I trek Japan ALONE.
Schedule has been changed greatly since I posted it, next up is Tokyo (which I leave for in like 5 hours) and then Osaka!
In fact the majority of my trip will be in the Kansai area. Schwing!
PUMPED!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Doll Festival Shtuff
So I like cliche Japanese stuff, sue me.
Today my host mom took me to see some Hinamatsuri dolls that had been assembled nearby.
Apparently I under estimated the sheer number of dolls they would have. Something like thousands.
Yes it is that massive, this is just one room!
Crazy level of detail in these figures. But they're strangely similar
They're set up in a very specific order, and families used to pass them down to married couples. My host mom would have hers if there was still room in the house (oh goodness). People who no longer want theirs apparently give then away, and usually this means giving it to one of these places?
I'm not sure, she said this all in Japanese and I don't feel like wikipedia-ing it.
This place was kind of like a "doll" museum though, they even had some old ones from America!
Anyways, that is all. Doll festival begins on March 3rd, but this place will be around showing off stuff till around April. Wowzerz dolls.
Today my host mom took me to see some Hinamatsuri dolls that had been assembled nearby.
Apparently I under estimated the sheer number of dolls they would have. Something like thousands.
Yes it is that massive, this is just one room!
Crazy level of detail in these figures. But they're strangely similar
They're set up in a very specific order, and families used to pass them down to married couples. My host mom would have hers if there was still room in the house (oh goodness). People who no longer want theirs apparently give then away, and usually this means giving it to one of these places?
I'm not sure, she said this all in Japanese and I don't feel like wikipedia-ing it.
This place was kind of like a "doll" museum though, they even had some old ones from America!
Chip and Dale??
Anyways, that is all. Doll festival begins on March 3rd, but this place will be around showing off stuff till around April. Wowzerz dolls.
Friday, February 19, 2010
This dog hates me
I'm sorry, blog overload I know. 2 in a day is a little grotesque. This'll be quick though I swear!
I'm currently staying at my host family's house. The Ikegaki family has been nothing but the best to me, cooking, taking me to amazing sights, even doing my laundry.
There's just onnnneeee issue.
His name is Ron (like "Oh", not "ah"). Ron-chan. This dog legit hates my guts. Barks whenever I get near.
But he's so CUTE! I would totally want a Shiba-inu, but I feel like this is some higher power's way of telling me it's not meant to be. Like if dogs liked me I'd most definitely like then back.
Oh well, maybe he'll grow on me for the few days I'm here?
HOPE
I'm currently staying at my host family's house. The Ikegaki family has been nothing but the best to me, cooking, taking me to amazing sights, even doing my laundry.
There's just onnnneeee issue.
His name is Ron (like "Oh", not "ah"). Ron-chan. This dog legit hates my guts. Barks whenever I get near.
But he's so CUTE! I would totally want a Shiba-inu, but I feel like this is some higher power's way of telling me it's not meant to be. Like if dogs liked me I'd most definitely like then back.
Oh well, maybe he'll grow on me for the few days I'm here?
HOPE
New blogging baby woo woo!
So the adventure has begun. As of this writing I am in Nagano, Japan. There's just one issue.
Computer access. Y'know, such things are hard to get here when Internet is so rare. Although I'm staying with a host family, they only have one computer and no wifi, so even the remote chance to use it is close to nothing.
Furthermore, most places have little to zero Internet, as I've stated many times I'm sure.
Though I decided to bring my laptop with me on this 4 week travel fiesta, it's usability has drasticly dropped. We all love the Internet amirite?
So how in the world am I writing this blog without a computer?
All I can say is, iPhone apps kick major major butt.
In fact I'm kind of shocked with myself for not purchasing this app sooner. I want to blog on a far more frequent basis, but posting at a computer takes time and editing, so I completely unintentionally prevented myself from being more frequent in logging my life here.
Well that should all change now! Yesssss win!
Today I went to Zenkouji, the legendary temple of Nagano. It's massive, but ironicly enough, the thing I remember most isn't just the temple (which I've seen three times and it is QUITE remarkable), but one of the shops towards the enterance that sells miso ice cream.
Yes, miso flavored soft ice cream.
It was gooooood. Creamy, sweet, kinda tangy, buttery, weird.
Take a note from the Japanese eccentric tastes my chef friends!
I'm lookin' at you Vince and Glenn!
Computer access. Y'know, such things are hard to get here when Internet is so rare. Although I'm staying with a host family, they only have one computer and no wifi, so even the remote chance to use it is close to nothing.
Furthermore, most places have little to zero Internet, as I've stated many times I'm sure.
Though I decided to bring my laptop with me on this 4 week travel fiesta, it's usability has drasticly dropped. We all love the Internet amirite?
So how in the world am I writing this blog without a computer?
All I can say is, iPhone apps kick major major butt.
In fact I'm kind of shocked with myself for not purchasing this app sooner. I want to blog on a far more frequent basis, but posting at a computer takes time and editing, so I completely unintentionally prevented myself from being more frequent in logging my life here.
Well that should all change now! Yesssss win!
Today I went to Zenkouji, the legendary temple of Nagano. It's massive, but ironicly enough, the thing I remember most isn't just the temple (which I've seen three times and it is QUITE remarkable), but one of the shops towards the enterance that sells miso ice cream.
Yes, miso flavored soft ice cream.
It was gooooood. Creamy, sweet, kinda tangy, buttery, weird.
Take a note from the Japanese eccentric tastes my chef friends!
I'm lookin' at you Vince and Glenn!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
It's a "Whale" of a Time!
I have seen the mountain top.
And it is a glorious deep red flesh that permiates the soul. Whale meat.
Well not really... it's kind of "meh".
Actually, to be honest I wasn't even initially planning on making a blog about this food. I do too much food stuff as is I bet, and honestly, there wasn't much to report.
But what about the ethics of whaling? The taste? Is it worth it? Isn't it toxic?
So let's discuss.
Why is the idea of eating whale so perposterous to the majority of American consumers? It really IS just hard to say that whale consumption is "bad" or "wrong" for me (Yes, I am covering both right/wrong and good/bad here, I'm not an ethics phd people!). I'll list out the points I'm sure to come across in this stance. I'll try to cover them as best I can.
For those who don't want to read this extremely lengthy paper, skip to the bottom
1. Whales are cuuuuute, how can you eat those things?? / Animal death is cruel!
- I really don't feel like covering this one, but I suppose I have to. If you don't like animals dying, that's fine. But I love cow and chicken and pig and fish; I don't plan on stopping myself from eating their deliciousness. We are always cruel to animals in their death, because our conception of killing is cruel. If that is what you think, by all means believe it, but to me, the death of an animal is normal. It happens all the time.
(Yes this is the naturalistic fallacy)
The point I'm trying to make is that this claim is not an ethical claim but a claim of personal preference disguised as one. It's like if I hate cargo shorts and so I tell everyone not to wear them, this doesn't make the cargo shorts wearing act wrong: it's just a preference. Untill there is some actual proof that cruelty against animals is wrong (good luck with that), this claim has no weight in the debate of whale consumption.
I'm so sure I'm going to get flack for this stance.
Anyways.
2. Whale is highly toxic.
- I'd like to bring a study in to cover this one briefly.
http://luna.pos.to/whale/jwa_v22_freeman.html
I'll just quote:
"...two distinguished University of California cancer experts, Dr. Bruce Ames and Dr. Lois Gold, observe that a cup of coffee contains over one thousand chemicals, of which more than half of those tested cause cancer in laboratory animals."
In short, while mercury contamination in whales is certainly a possibility, the amount of whale consumed as well as the frequency of consumption also comes into play. Conversely, people drink coffee substantially in America, but the lack of bans on coffee suggests a sort of hypocrisy if we argue that whale consumption is bad. Why ban one before the other when the other is possibly more dangerous? What about tobacco? Alcohol? There are plenty other far more consumed products that do harm to us in very empirically tested ways; a bit of whale is certainly not comparible.
In fact that study up there suggests that the toxic nature of whales itself is debatable.
NEXT.
3. Whales are an important part of the aquatic environment, killing whales hurts the cycle.
- I really hate to pull out the "we do worse stuff" claim again, but this is an environmental claim. We dump insane amounts of toxic waste into the ocean, deforest huge masses of land each day, and you mean to tell me that killing whales has a higher priority in being banned?
Furthermore, in some instances, whale killing is done on ACCIDENT by shipping crews. The WWF even admits this!
"In fact, ship strikes are to blame for 90 percent of Northern right whale deaths for which the cause is known"
http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/cetaceans/threats/shipping/
So I just can't take this claim seriously either. Why is a full ban necessary? What about restrictions that allow sustainability instead? I have no problem with the idea of conserving the environment, but this does not require a full on ban. This claim is merely suggesting over farming should be stopped, which I can agree with. Saying that over farming is bad does not mean consumption is also bad.
This is turning into a paper of a blog, so I'll just say this.
I don't see what the big fuss is all about. Just some environmental/animal rights shenanigans.
And yet, if you must know, despite my clear adamant defense of whale consumption, I doubt I'm gonna eat it any time soon.
I mean it tastes ALRIGHT. Too expensive in my opinion. I could buy a huge salmon steak for that price. (or 8 nigiri pieces at toppi kaiten zushi, delish!)
And it is a glorious deep red flesh that permiates the soul. Whale meat.
Well not really... it's kind of "meh".
Actually, to be honest I wasn't even initially planning on making a blog about this food. I do too much food stuff as is I bet, and honestly, there wasn't much to report.
But what about the ethics of whaling? The taste? Is it worth it? Isn't it toxic?
So let's discuss.
Delightfully Deep Color eh? All for about 4 bucks.
I'm not really sure where to begin on this one. I think for starters I'll just summarize the taste; I'm sure some people are curious, and I am a connoisseur of this stuff after all. The best way I could explain it (and in retrospect it makes sense) is if someone took the flavor of beef, that deep, iron like, somewhat metalic, bold and rich flavor, and mixed it with the texture of a soft raw fish, like tuna. It's surprisingly lean tasting, again, tuna comes to mind on the mouth feel, but I couldn't help feeling like on the nose especially, this steak thing was wafting up.
Though to be fair, the taste was somewhat masked by the small dollop of grated ginger on each piece. But that's what I felt it was like. Steak + tuna = whale.
It makes sense because mammals have blood, and aquatic animals have softer flesh. When you don't have to fight gravity, your muscles don't need to do as much work.
I'm pretty sure that's true. I read it somewhere.
Anyways!
Why is the idea of eating whale so perposterous to the majority of American consumers? It really IS just hard to say that whale consumption is "bad" or "wrong" for me (Yes, I am covering both right/wrong and good/bad here, I'm not an ethics phd people!). I'll list out the points I'm sure to come across in this stance. I'll try to cover them as best I can.
For those who don't want to read this extremely lengthy paper, skip to the bottom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Whales are cuuuuute, how can you eat those things?? / Animal death is cruel!
- I really don't feel like covering this one, but I suppose I have to. If you don't like animals dying, that's fine. But I love cow and chicken and pig and fish; I don't plan on stopping myself from eating their deliciousness. We are always cruel to animals in their death, because our conception of killing is cruel. If that is what you think, by all means believe it, but to me, the death of an animal is normal. It happens all the time.
(Yes this is the naturalistic fallacy)
The point I'm trying to make is that this claim is not an ethical claim but a claim of personal preference disguised as one. It's like if I hate cargo shorts and so I tell everyone not to wear them, this doesn't make the cargo shorts wearing act wrong: it's just a preference. Untill there is some actual proof that cruelty against animals is wrong (good luck with that), this claim has no weight in the debate of whale consumption.
I'm so sure I'm going to get flack for this stance.
Anyways.
2. Whale is highly toxic.
- I'd like to bring a study in to cover this one briefly.
http://luna.pos.to/whale/jwa_v22_freeman.html
I'll just quote:
"...two distinguished University of California cancer experts, Dr. Bruce Ames and Dr. Lois Gold, observe that a cup of coffee contains over one thousand chemicals, of which more than half of those tested cause cancer in laboratory animals."
In short, while mercury contamination in whales is certainly a possibility, the amount of whale consumed as well as the frequency of consumption also comes into play. Conversely, people drink coffee substantially in America, but the lack of bans on coffee suggests a sort of hypocrisy if we argue that whale consumption is bad. Why ban one before the other when the other is possibly more dangerous? What about tobacco? Alcohol? There are plenty other far more consumed products that do harm to us in very empirically tested ways; a bit of whale is certainly not comparible.
In fact that study up there suggests that the toxic nature of whales itself is debatable.
NEXT.
3. Whales are an important part of the aquatic environment, killing whales hurts the cycle.
- I really hate to pull out the "we do worse stuff" claim again, but this is an environmental claim. We dump insane amounts of toxic waste into the ocean, deforest huge masses of land each day, and you mean to tell me that killing whales has a higher priority in being banned?
Furthermore, in some instances, whale killing is done on ACCIDENT by shipping crews. The WWF even admits this!
"In fact, ship strikes are to blame for 90 percent of Northern right whale deaths for which the cause is known"
http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/cetaceans/threats/shipping/
So I just can't take this claim seriously either. Why is a full ban necessary? What about restrictions that allow sustainability instead? I have no problem with the idea of conserving the environment, but this does not require a full on ban. This claim is merely suggesting over farming should be stopped, which I can agree with. Saying that over farming is bad does not mean consumption is also bad.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is turning into a paper of a blog, so I'll just say this.
I don't see what the big fuss is all about. Just some environmental/animal rights shenanigans.
And yet, if you must know, despite my clear adamant defense of whale consumption, I doubt I'm gonna eat it any time soon.
I mean it tastes ALRIGHT. Too expensive in my opinion. I could buy a huge salmon steak for that price. (or 8 nigiri pieces at toppi kaiten zushi, delish!)
Sunday, February 7, 2010
New Vlog: Snow Festival
You guys know the drill! Do it upppp.
If the embed is messed up, click the link below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rs3mvLCXg4
If the embed is messed up, click the link below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rs3mvLCXg4
Saturday, February 6, 2010
End of Semester
Man... those finals were rough.
So the first semester of Hokkaido adventure time has ended. And thus begins my amazingly obscene long spring break. Just under 2 months really...
What is Mike planning to do in such a long time?
TRAVEL YOU FOOLS. TRAVEL.
I have been blessed with a scholarship this year, which, when combined with my hilariously minuscule dormitory costs (about 100 USD per month, utilities included), has allowed me a rather ample amount of funding for adventure. Aside from the HD camera I bought, I haven't really spent any money on anything besides food and train tickets. No clothes, no weird trinkets, nothing.
So... with money in hand, I figure now, with all the immense freetime I have on spring break, I can regain my tourist role in society, and see more of this gloriously unique country.
Here I will be announcing my VERY TENTATIVE schedule for the spring break vacation.
Feb 18th-22nd, Nagano. My host family is amazing!!!!
Feb 23rd - 28th, Other Honshu adventures. Osaka, maybe Koyasan, Nara, etc.
March 1st-8th: Okinawa. Beaching it UP
March 9th - 14th: Back to Honshu for more adventure, A brief stay in Nagoya is in the works?
March 15-17: Tokyo. Gotta love Tokyo
March 18th: Fly back to Sapporo
Yes, I am going to Okinawa. I am PUMPED.
Along the way I plan on doing TONS of media content. I've been avoiding video editing because it just takes so long! HD is a lot of data to transfer to a video editing program, and each video, shockingly, takes a good 3-4 hours to fully complete. So obviously... I'm making these videos as a labor of love.
Cause I love you guys!
And of course, I'm really looking to well document what I've done here.
Speaking of video blogs... get ready for a new one soon!
Can I get some feedback on those please? FORREAL! Ideas?
Man I am not used to this freetime...
Up up and awayyyyy.
So the first semester of Hokkaido adventure time has ended. And thus begins my amazingly obscene long spring break. Just under 2 months really...
What is Mike planning to do in such a long time?
TRAVEL YOU FOOLS. TRAVEL.
I have been blessed with a scholarship this year, which, when combined with my hilariously minuscule dormitory costs (about 100 USD per month, utilities included), has allowed me a rather ample amount of funding for adventure. Aside from the HD camera I bought, I haven't really spent any money on anything besides food and train tickets. No clothes, no weird trinkets, nothing.
So... with money in hand, I figure now, with all the immense freetime I have on spring break, I can regain my tourist role in society, and see more of this gloriously unique country.
Here I will be announcing my VERY TENTATIVE schedule for the spring break vacation.
Feb 18th-22nd, Nagano. My host family is amazing!!!!
Feb 23rd - 28th, Other Honshu adventures. Osaka, maybe Koyasan, Nara, etc.
March 1st-8th: Okinawa. Beaching it UP
March 9th - 14th: Back to Honshu for more adventure, A brief stay in Nagoya is in the works?
March 15-17: Tokyo. Gotta love Tokyo
March 18th: Fly back to Sapporo
Yes, I am going to Okinawa. I am PUMPED.
Along the way I plan on doing TONS of media content. I've been avoiding video editing because it just takes so long! HD is a lot of data to transfer to a video editing program, and each video, shockingly, takes a good 3-4 hours to fully complete. So obviously... I'm making these videos as a labor of love.
Cause I love you guys!
And of course, I'm really looking to well document what I've done here.
Speaking of video blogs... get ready for a new one soon!
Can I get some feedback on those please? FORREAL! Ideas?
Man I am not used to this freetime...
Up up and awayyyyy.
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