The Okama crater lake at Zao Quasi National Park

We had another motorcycle trip and this time we rode 74 km to the south-west where one of the major tourist sites in Tohoku area called Zao Okama crater lake is located. He told me the day before that it would take 2 hours to get there considering the distance. Being a biker, he was thrilled with the plan. But me? Na-ah. I mean, two hours on a motorcycle? I couldn`t even imagine how that would feel like. But I came to quickly realize that I should take all the opportunities given for us to have some adventures out there while we can. We have the motorcycle, we have time, we have cameras, and we are certainly still blessed with our physical strengths. So, off we rode then!


This is when I wanted to take some pictures of the woods and needed to take a short break after sitting on Booboo for an hour. While waiting for me, he checked the map.

This road led us to a very long and steep zig-zag driving line going up to the mountain. Yup, we were climbing up the mountain with the lil` Booboo. I wish I could take some pictures of the climbing lines, but it was foggy up there and we couldn` clearly see anything except the road itself. I checked the thermometer and it was 15 C, ten degrees lower than in our city.


After our steep zig-zagging ride for like 30 minutes, we finallly got there.
This sign shows us the directions for two different mountains. We started from the right first.

See a small house up there? It is actually a temple. So we climbed up and boy, it might look easy (and I did think it was easy), but the stairs (not visible here) were dead steep I couldn`t speak a word while climbing on them!

On top, finally. The weather changed very quickly here, and very extreme. Like from this...

...to this. In 20 minutes. And the cloud was not above us anymore. It`s beside us. That`s how high we were.

Very earthy colors, don`t you think?

Then we headed to the opposite direction and this time was closer to the lake.

This lake is also called as Five Colors Lake because rumor has it that the color changes five times a day along with the angle of the sun.



I didn`t get to see the five-color thing, but I think that`s because we were there for only a few hours, which was apparently not enough to see the whole changes. After all, I considered my self lucky to get to see this sublime view of emerald-colored crater lake under the not-raining weather.

I thought people can`t get too close to the lake for the safety reason, but it turned out I was wrong. See two veery tiny people standing near the edge of the lake? Hint: seven o`clock.
No, we didn`t go there, of course. First, we wanted to go home before dark considering the dangerous challenging road, and second, I`m (always) a chicken. I was, am, and will always be one.

Done shooting the lake, he hiked down through a steep trail with greenery surrounds us.

When I told him that I can (proudly) call my self a hiker now, he said, a real hiker would start climbing up right from the base of the mountain with his own feet, not on a motorcycle. Oh, laugh all you want, baby. With a trail like this...

...and this?? Oh yes, I`m definitely a hiker.

A dedicated photographer would change his lenses to suit the objects under any circumstances. And it seems like I am never getting near to be one. I was busy breathing in and out I couldn`t bother to change my lens when I intended to go to the macro world. So these are the "macro"est shoots I`ve got with my regular zoom lens. And please don`t ask me what flowers they are. I think I should get a book about flowers and trees.

The weather changed again and this time the fog started to blanket all over the place.

Yes, that`s me, thinking how much calories we burned off here. I`m sorry, but I`m just getting all crazy about calories these days, even on a mountain!

And me again, exhausted on my way up to the "peak". Well, I kind of posed for the photo, but I was really out of breath! I thought I`d find something to see up there, but when we got there, all I could see is another rocky trail going up to a higher land. Oh, maybe next time, when I`m better prepared. With better shoes.

So we hiked down after this lady.

And we stopped by at a ropeway station. Under this kind of weather, I was surprised to see that some people actually still took the rides!

Here is the last flower shot before we left there.

And of course, the souvenir! We got a set of kokeshi, handmade wooden dolls. Cute, right? The dolls are kids wearing Japanese traditional clothing for each season. From left to right is spring, summer, fall (facing upward), and winter. I really should get a better photo of them. Oh, cute cute cute!

Two hours later, we finally got home unbelievably exhausted from the hiking and riding. We were too tired even to sleep that night! But looking back at how we`ve spent our day getting closer to the nature (and the clouds!) really made my day. Our day.
And I seriously need a pair of hiking shoes. And a book for plants` names.

Masu no sushi, a specialty of Toyama

I don`t usually write about store-bought food, but this one is an exception. A huge one. Because I am truly in love with this sushi and I knew it from the very first bite. Last summer, I vividly remember how I was amazed by a pack of sushi my labmate brought from her grandma`s town, Toyama prefecture. It was "masu no sushi" or "masu sushi" and although I`ve honestly thought the fish was salmon, my friend who brought it told me it was trout. 

Having lived in Japan for 6.5 years now, you probably can imagine how my life here is surrounded with so many varieties of sushi. But eating sushi brought as a souvenir? Obviously last summer was my first time. And since the masu sushi has impressively wowed me with its presentation and delicacy, this year, I specifically (and politely, of course) asked her if she could bring me that sushi again from her hometown. And she said, no problem. She even asked me which grade I wanted. I didn`t even know they have grades! But I simply asked for the affordable one.

Anyway, she was finally back to the lab, with this delightful box. I was so ecstatic I felt like I had to hug her!

Have you ever seen sushi in a box like this? At a glance, I wouldn`t know it was sushi inside. 

Inside the box, there is a round flat-bottomed wooden container with a lid tightly pressed over it. It`s like a miniature of hangiri, a wooden rice bowl used for preparing sushi rice.

And inside the box there comes the next wrapper, bamboo leaves. Oh, so exciting!

And beneath the leaves, there is a beautiful peachy orange color filling up the whole space. 

The package comes with a set of plastic cutter, chopsticks, and soy sauce. Perfect.

Look at this. A cake. Last year, I seriously thought it was a cake. Covered with fish.

So, a slice for me with wasabi on top. I mean, the first slice. Trust me, you won`t stop with one slice.

Unlike regular sushi where the rice is considerably fluffy, the rice in this masu sushi is really dense and sticky with stronger sweetness, hence the thought of cake, or probably sticky sweet rice cake. You might think that sweet rice with fish won`t do well, but believe me, this one works just wonderful.

And the second slice to come soon.

If you are a sushi lover and in Japan,  I beg you to try this masu sushi. You just have to. But if you are outside Japan, err...what can I say..enjoy the pictures? I`m sorry. Please don`t hate me.

Pan-fried senbei (Japanese rice crackers)

This is another post from me since the banana muffins about using up leftovers at home, and this time I`ve got rice. Since my husband and I are genetically gastronomically designed to be rice eaters, we constantly have leftover rice  at home, which we usually place on top of the freshly cooked batch in the rice cooker, wait for a while to heat it up, and eat it up altogether. The cycle repeats all the time, except for one day when I remembered watching a TV program about making senbei, or Japanese rice crackers, at home with a frying pan. During my first year in Japan, I got the impression that senbei is the national snack of Japan, if there`s such a thing. In fact, I think of senbei as  sort of Japanese potato chips due to its dominance in the non-Western snack corners in the stores.

Regular senbei sold at the stores are usually crunchy, hence the name "crackers" regardless the shapes or tastes. But these pan-fried version give a different texture of senbei with a crispy exterior and mochi-like glutinous interior. I personally don`t see it as cracker. Fried mashed rice, maybe? Oh, let`s just call it senbei, then.

Anyway, this is very easy to make. With simple ingredients too!
You just need cooked rice and grind it until you can`t see the individual grains and it turned into a very, very sticky dough. I`ve tried using steaming hot rice and cold one. Not fridge cold, though, just not hot. Both turned alright for making these senbei.
By the way, I only had like 3 (heaping) tbs of cooked rice when I made these senbei and that gave me 6  pieces of palm-sized senbei.

Before I continue, here is my verdict about the grinding/mashing. Although you can see in the pictures that I ground the rice using mortar and pestle, I recommend you to use a zip-lock storage bag instead. I don`t know if I did it wrong, but the ground rice stuck (like glued stuck!) to the pestle and the mortar and this really made the grinding harder. When I placed the rice in a bag, and mashed it with a pestle from outside the bag, my life turned so much easier. I wish I took the pictures when I did it with a plastic bag, but I`m sure you get the idea just fine.

Alright, after the mashed rice is done, now throw in your favorite ingredients (cheese? meat? sugar?). and mix well. I used seaweed flakes and sesame seeds. My must-have pantry items.



Wet both of your palms with water (I tried oil too, but I love water better) to prevent the dough from sticking, place a portion of the dough on your palm, and shape it into a thin disc. Now this is optional, top the senbei discs with dried shrimps for extra flavor.
Frying time! Put the senbei directly on a heated frying pan with a bit of oil. 

When the bottom browned, flip it over, and brush the browned surface with soy sauce and sesame oil. When the other side got browned too, flip it over again, brush with the sauce too, and you`re done!

If you want, sprinkle some more seaweed flakes on top.
Not bad for leftovers, huh. Other than nibbling on them right away, I also put these senbei in a bowl of hot kimchi nabe. Oh, loved it! Like crazily loved it! And if I have to add rice to any soup, it has to be these senbei, not the regular steamed rice.

Oh, there`s one thing you should know, especially if you`ve never had senbei before. This senbei will tend to stick on your teeth and the wise thing to do is to brush your teeth afterward. But, regardless how often I had senbei stuck in my teeth, I always ended up making them again. That`s how much addictive these guys are.
Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Steamed/cooked rice

Sesame seeds (better if toasted first)

Seaweed flakes
Dried shrimps

Soy sauce

Sesame oil