Yosakoi (2)

As previously mentioned there was a festival this weekend! We had a great time, it was our ACR of 2009. For those of you who just said, "wha?!", ACR - known by the rest of the world as ACL, or Austin City Limits Music Festival, has become a tradition we share with our friends. We all pack up for the weekend and head to Austin for three days of rock n' roll, or as we like to also say, "the rock n' roll theme park". This year, for obvious reasons, we did not get to attend this awesome event and even though the void can never be filled, we helped it out a little bit this weekend. Except maybe not since this was a dance festival-not rock n' roll, but they did have a Japanese trio sing during the break at one point.

On to more interesting things. The colors were vivid, the food was awesome looking but kind of odd tasting, there were sweets everywhere, and the dancing; well, the dancing was some of the coolest stuff we have ever seen. Every group started out calm with flowing karate moves of some kind but then, all of a sudden, the music would switch up and boom! you were in a video game or something! The dancing got all intense and there were guys running around with flags and the MC was screaming on the mic. Every group had an MC that pretty much rapped to the music adding quite an exciting element to the performance.

So, it's obvious - we really enjoyed this festival. It was like our own little Sasebo ACR (said like a pirate by the way), sorry if it still doesn't make sense, it's definitely an inside joke thing.

See for yourself:

Yes, a chocolate dipped, sprinkle bannana was consumed, but no, we did not buy one of those awesome masks. Kinda sad about it too.

Yosakoi 2009 (1)

This weekend was the Yosakoi Festival in Sasebo. Dance groups from prefectures all over Japan come to comepete and perform.

What's more amazing? We totally figured how to put video on this thing, finally! So that's exciting.

Here is a taste of the weekend, but there will be more to come!

current happenings

this post is dedicated to erica nanno...


this is totally a Tifa pose...





cats, cats are everywhere. and the city's ballet fountain!

lycee moment

The moment I(jewell) have been waiting for. Ever since my trip to Hong Kong and southern China, I have been storing the taste and memory of the Lycee in a special place in the most cherished part of my brain. The part that remembers things no matter how long ago they happened. Things like the first time I rode the Peter Pan ride at Disney World.

I can't explain my obsession with this fruit. All I can tell you is that it's the perfect amount of sweet with the perfect texture. It also comes with a bit of work, you have to peel each piece, so it makes it even more worth it when you savor the greatness.

At dinner the other night, they had a bowl of prepped-to-peel lycee's, and I ate about 15, and it was as magical as I remember. Of course the outer skin, the pretty part had been removed leaving this rough dark wrinkly and unrecognizable exterior-but I don't judge. It makes all of those times I consumed fake substitutes in the form of sorbet and martini's really worth it.

korean bbq extraveganza

It's been awhile since we have really done anything. This may seem weird, since living in Japan itself could be considered doing something, but what we mean by that is, we haven't been very adventurous lately.

We were supposed to go to Fukuoka City today, a one hour train ride north of the city, but we opted to wait, because after all of the research we decided we want to stay overnight. So, we spent another day relaxing in Sasebo City. We spent the day catching up on our beloved shows like Dexter and The Amazing Race. For dinner we met up with Ayumi, one of Brandon's managers for Korean BBQ.

So, Korean BBQ, let us tell you that it is amazing. It takes the meat factory to a new level. In the Willett family we call the Brazilian BBQ (or churrascaria) the meat factory, because honestly, they walk around with sticks of meat in crazy uniforms like robots giving you everything you need, in the meat sense that is.. Well, at the Korean meat factory you pay about 3,200Y ($35) a person for unlimited meats, veggies, rice, fruit, dessert and booze. Yes, you read right-booze. Well, one of those meats happens to be tongue, we had our first tongue - and it was good. Very chewy, but very good. Not going lie though, the fact that you cook it yourself made it a bit easier, because Jewell the one that's always scared was able to scorch hers as to make it more acceptable. But, after clearing three plates of raw meat (don't worry mom, we had three bowls of veggies!) and cleaning out the restaurants gin bottle, we left with happy hearts and pleased stomachs...once again.

three cuts of beef, chicken, and a nicely presented plate of tongue!

Ayumi cookin' up some deliciousness!

In Japan they have coffee jelly everywhere, like it's going out of style, even Starbucks has a version. So, we took this oppertunity to try it! It wasn't too bad, but it came with a cute little creamer so that made it seem better. Personaly, I have never been a jello fan, but that's what it was. So chances are slim either of us will ever have it again, but we get what the big deal is. . .if you like jello.

It's funny how the United States is considered a melting pot and you can find pretty much any food you could ever want. However, why is it that it took us moving to Japan to really venture out and see what the world has to offer? Well, as culturally diverse as we may have thought we were, we were missing out on some really great things!

current happenings

We cut into the melon that Reggie and Manami got us. Surprise! On the inside looks like, tastes likes, and has the texture of a honeydew melon. Sneaky melon, making us think you were a cantaloupe!

apartment sneak peak

This is our home, thus far. We hope you enjoy laughing at these pictures. However it's not funny, it's our home.

Our living room, dining room, closet, computer room, vanity, art & craft's table, yep-it's all here.

The post-graduation kitchen of a Culinary Institute of America alumnus, he can almost hear the horrid screams of current students as the chef's threaten them with this if they don't turn out the perfect hand-whipped Bearnaise.

hehe, it's a little funny.

our minds are back in texas

There are 2 kinds of helicopter rides. There is the one where you are soaring high above the islands of Hawaii, looking down on flowing lava and waterfalls and unremarkable green mountains and trees. Then, there is the other one, the not so fun one. It's usually bright orange, and holds up traffic on a 6 lane highway. Well, my(jewell's mom) had to take a ride in one of those and we are stuck here in Japan while she and my grandma are stuck in a hospital.

I'll spare you the injury details, but it was a car accident and they are both on the mend now thanks to fast medical help and said helicopter ride. But, these are two women who don't like to sit around for awhile. My mom is a runner and my grandma well, she loves to do. She would rather be up helping people. So, recovery will be hard not only because of the rehabilitation's, but due mostly to the fact they can't be themselves to the fullest.

We just keep sending our love, because unfortunately thats all we can do, along with flowers and care packages of course. Which, mom if you are reading this-yes, one is on the way! Brandon and I just want to thank everyone who has helped our family, as well as those who have sent their love and continue to check up on us and mom and nana!

mom and nana are catholic, so this picture is for them.

current happenings

Building our own army to protect us from the typhoon.

crazy winds after crazy foods

Yowza! We are about to experience our first typhoon. Well, actually we are experiencing our first typhoon. As luck might have it, all we will get is the wind end of things and the rain will hit mostly northeast Japan. From the looks of it so far, we aren't getting off too easy. All of the sports equiptment at the track has been removed, the picnic tables have been tied to trees, and for once you don't have to worry about random people walking into you. . .because there is no one really outside. Good thing we got to go out last night.

We went out with our new friends that own the Ron's Burger Shop, you know the place with the line and the 2.7kg Burger. Which, we found out no Japanese person has actually ever eaten alone. Only a crazy American can put away food like that and live to tell about it.

Koichi and Mia, oh, and their awesomely energetic 2 year old son took us to a few places that we didn't even know existed and even if we did, probably wouldn't have gone into. There are some businesses here that don't take in Americans. Not in a bad segregation kind of way, but because they can not speak any English and are the one's big enough to say, "We don't have time for this."

First-you must know that we hopped into their futuristic van (they have 5 kids by the way) in which the little dude didn't get into a car seat. There wasn't even a car seat in the van. . .in fact, he stood up running around with his cute sumo-style ponytail while dad was driving. That was crazy and probably the biggest bit of culture shock we have experienced simultaneously .

We first walked into the restaurant where you sit along a bar in front of flat top stations, just like Benihana-except not like Benihana because it's not a chain restaurant and it's in Japan and the sweet lady who has been working there for 40 years (she told us) welcomed us with a big smile, and spoke in Japanese. Koichi got us started on a Okonomiyaki. Which in the end looks like an omelet. However, here is how is happened.

First, she cut up cabbage, pork, octopus!, green onions, fish cake, and what looked like some form of flour but had a texture similar to potato. You know, something to bind it all together. Next, we watched the ingredients sizzle and brown on each side. If you know Brandon, it should be no surprise that immediately these ingredients were making his mouth water. The next thing she did, was the thing we hoped dearly for from the moment we saw a bucket of eggs on the counter. We smiled big as she cracked one open on the flat top, yes! She took the now omelet looking piece of food and covered the egg. As the egg cooked underneath the patty of for mentioned ingredients, the ends began to brown and all the smells started to converge. She flipped it over revealing a perfectly fried, flattened egg, covered it with teriaki sauce and fish flakes, and viola! Now, just for a moment I would like to say that our old room mate had a container of these fish flakes and from time to time I would open it and sniff, and contemplate WHY?! she would ever want to use them to garnish. We are beginning to figure out why, I suppose. They added an obvious fish flavor yes, but also a bit of crunch and eventually blended in to where we didn't even really notice with all the other flavors going on. Service topped the cake. She handed us a mouth sized spatula contraption and told us with a look in her eyes to be careful. This was the part where we got to eat. Brandon sliced up the okonomiyaki dish with his spatula and and we dug in. I was so nervous, between having never had octopus in any form besides fried, which yes, we did explain to them, and knowing I was eating the fish flakes that always grossed me out. Brandon took to it like a champ though. He is so brave when it comes to food, but even more he is afraid to let a host down. I'm sure I had fear written all over my face, but I did it! Brandon had to tell me to hurry up because Koichi & Mia were almost done, but I did it and the thing that kept me going was the mass amount of cabbage and the fried egg, I love cabbage.

After we finished the okonomiyaki, we moved to another part of Sake Town. Sake Town is what the locals call the area of town with streets full of Japanese Bars, restaurants and street vendors. Entering through a door standing a mere 4 feet tall to make the occasional oompaloompa comfortable we made our last stop for the night. Here we ate what I can only compare to "tapas". I spare you the name because I don't know the proper spelling, but it sounds like "eats-a-ki-ya", which we have had before thanks to Reggie and Manami. We started with a trio of Tofu, Seaweed, & Swordfish Jerky? maybe? ha!. Moved on to a great salad, then chicken wings, and finally the main course which had been brewing during all previous courses. This was a pot of broth with cabbage, green onions, red bell peppers, peanuts, tofu, and a some form of fat from a cow. You can get all kinds of set ups, with flavors like Miso and Curry, and they don't all come with tofu and fat. That is just what happens when Brandon tells someone to order us their favorite thing.

Hope you enjoyed yet another food adventure, it was an evening even Mr. Anthony Bourdain would be proud of! Going to huddle in a corner now to protect myself from these beastly winds!

walkin' around

Today the Willett's went walking around Sasebo. It was a good time, we found all kinds of quintessential Japanese things which made us feel good. Our lives have been confined a bit due to money saving and Brandon's 14 hour work days. So, it was nice to wander around discovering things in our own city we didn't know existed.

Now, we are happily watching TV and drinking Shochu (potato vodka) with our feet up.

address at last

Finally, here it is. . .

Willett
PSC 473 BOX 823
FPO AP 96349-0009

Chalula Sauce much appreciated ;-)

Sasebo Burger #2

We were wandering around trying to find a place to eat dinner last night. Which in it's self was pretty crazy. The fact that we were together that is. Brandon has been working like crazy this week. He is making big changes at the restaurant and we all know that can take time out of any boss's life. We realized that Ron's Burger Shop was finally open, and finally with no line! As fate would have it, there was no one inside at all. We wandered in to be greeted by Ron. I would say "Ron himself", however he was quick to tell us it's not really his name. It's just for kicks. I didn't know Ron was an All-American name, I always thought it was a tad bit more unique. After striking up conversation, we ordered 2 Ron Burger's, one with no mayo of course, and 2 Miller Lites. Yes, he sells Miller Lite, how awesome is that?

The ingredients were the same as the Big Man Sasebo Burger, so we were anxious to see what made Ron's so different that he could attach his name to his Sasebo Burger. Well, for starters he actually cooked the bacon a bit, making it a bit less like a Christmas ham. Then, he used hard boiled egg and toasted the bun. We are now in agreeance the toasted bun really makes the difference in this whole Sasebo Burger experience we are beginning to have. Oh, and this guy, whose real name is Yoichi, has a burger that is 2.7kg. It's a big deal, today there was a news crew covering it on TV. Also, you can get it cut into 8 pieces. You know, just in case your family that is watching you be an idiot gets hungary and wants to join in the fun. All I can think about is the guy on man vs. food, eating a 2.7kg Ron's Sasebo Burger in a shop decorated like a 50's diner with signatures of famous people from Star Wars all over the wall. Oh yea, and Miller Lite.

It was quite a fun experience sitting at the counter talking to "Ron" while we drank our familiar beer. It turns out this guy is obsessed with American things, and actually explained to his girlfriend where Texas was by reminding her of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. That was pretty funny to watch, not the movie but the description. The point is that we really liked them even with all of the broken English and Japanese, we all seemed to be having a great time. So great in fact that we are meeting them Tuesday for dinner. They are going to take us to a real Japanese Steak House. Totally pumped about that considering I don't know if either of us have been to a fake Japanese Steak House. That's right, we just picked up some new friends. Actually, speaking of friends. We are going out with the old Navy dude's tonight. This should make for a very unproductive Monday. Good thing it's Brandon's day off!

sweet treat

No, this post isn't about candy. . .although it very well could be with the insane amount of sweet shops there are here. It's crazy, we will definitely have to show you sometime.

Just wanted to tell everyone how much fun we had when we got a call from this guy last night!

This was when we had to put the ear muffs on as dad described his "Ghost Burger" experience. For those of you that don't know, San Antonio has many claims to fame. The newest and most intense one is the "ghost Burger". It's a burger that has, yes, a Ghost Pepper on it, which if you google you will find out it is like 10,000 peppers on on the heat chart or something like that. The ear muffs were definitely necessary.

Then we bored him to death. . .

Well, that was fun.