Our New Computer Desk

We were invited to a furniture auction hosted by the Marine Officer's Wives Club where various Japanese antique and furniture vendors were brought in to sell their wares. There were many smaller items sold in a silent auction and the larger items were auctioned off live. We were meaning to buy a computer desk for our office room at home - so we had our eye out for what was available at the auction. We were out bid during the silent auction on a desk we really liked - but alas it all worked out because we were able to get this very unique piece during the live auction!

This computer desk was refurbished and converted In Japan from an over 100 year old cabinet that originally came from China. The chair has three small drawers on the back of it and rolls out to unveil the keyboard. It even came with a certificate of authenticity. We also got the shaggy carpet to put under the desk at the auction.

Sushi-making Class

The Marine and Family Team Building group put on a Sushi-making class last week that Kirk and I were able to go to together since it was over her lunch break. They showed us how to make three different types of sushi:

• Korean roll (toasted nori seaweed paper on outside with tuna and siracha chilli sauce)
• California roll (rice on outside of the seaweed paper with artificial crab, avocado, cucumber, and mayonnaise topped with sesame seeds)
• Chirasi Sushi (aka "Garnished Sushi" in which you put egg, shrimp, cucumber and mushrooms in a pot with sushi rice and mix it together - basically I call it "Lazy Man's Sushi").

Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the table where they had all the ingredients spread out, but here are some pictures of the final product, or what was left of it after I ate most of the rolls I made

Joel's plate.

Kirk's plate.

Here are some more Sushi facts that we learned through the class:

Garnished Sushi (Chirasi sushi):  Various raw fish on top of sushi rice
Nigiri Sushi: Vinegar-ed rice covered with a raw or cooked topping
Sushi Roll (Maki zushi): Rolled in a bamboo mat called a "Makisu"

Sushi Pockets (Inari zushi): Sushi rice in deep-fried tofu pockets
Hand-rolled Sushi (Temaki-zushi): A temaki is rolled by hand

O-toro=Tuna belly
Maguro=Tuna
Hirame=Halibut
Hamachi=Yellowtail
Suzuki=Sea bass
Sake=Salmon
Ika=Squid
Ikura=Salmon roe
Tamago=Omelette
Tako=Octopus
Wasabi=Spicy Japanese horseradish
Gari=vinegar-ed ginger

Itadakimasu=I receive this meal with thanks
Gochisosamadesita= Thank you very much for the delicious food

Two Restaurants in Iwakuni (Primavera & G.Labo)

So we can finally cross off our list two of Iwakuni's most popular restaurants: Primavera and G.Labo.

We tried out Primavera, a Japanese/Italian fusion restaurant with our friends Ted and Chisato.

An appetizer of eggplant, cheese and tomato sauce

A delicious corn chowder (you can actually buy this soup in cans in most vending machines - it's really cool because the Japanese vending machines have hot rows and chilled rows all in the same unit!)

I ordered a smoked salmon panini with olives and Italian dressing

Kirk ordered a chicken and eggplant entree. The sauce was to die for (she actually dipped her finger in it for a taste a couple times, so rude!). The one thing Kirk doesn't like though is that they leave all the fat on the chicken (we rarely see chicken breast options at restaurants). We do like dark meat, but it can be difficult to eat sometimes due to all the fat.

Kirk got Primavera's specialty cappuccino, which featured the barista's artistic abilities! She didn't want to drink it because it was "so cute".

We tested out the G.Labo Restaurant with Nick and Neda, and Christy and Sergio, which is located on the "Yellow Brick Road" in downtown Iwakuni.

The best thing about G.Labo is their garlic bread! Each couple ordered one loaf and we scarfed them all down quickly. Sergio and I discovered the best part is actually the crispy garlic butt on the bottom that no one thinks to eat - yum!

Kirk got a chicken appetizer dish with chipotle mayo on a fried pasta bed. She wanted me to add, "Look at all that icky fat!"

I got the Duck and Mushroom pasta - with a garlic oil dressing.

A satisfied group after a great meal!

Strawberry Picking and Winery Trip

Back in January we went on the Strawberry Picking and Winery trip, which consisted of going to a farm in Hiroshima Prefecture that had strawberries growing in a greenhouse and also to a local winery a few minutes down the road. While we were at the strawberry farm it was All-You-Can-Eat strawberries, and they also gave us a great dipping sauce - so needless to say that we filled up on strawberries! The winery had a BBQ restaurant where we had an assortment of seafood and meats to grill at our table for lunch. Afterwards, we sampled their six different types of wines, but ended up not buying wine from the gift shop but instead got some really good tomato salad dressing. Enjoy the pictures...

There were sheep wandering around the farm!

The Hirata Farm gift shop and lodge.

Inside the strawberry greenhouse.

Yum!

The BBQ restaurant at the Winery.

A neat display of corks - I think this has inspired Kirk to do something similar with all of our used corks!

Japanese poster showing you what not to do after drinking wine.

The sampling station at the winery.

Geihoku Ski Trip

We went skiing/snowboarding last weekend to the Geihoku Kokusai with the Outdoor Recreation group. What a great day to go snowboarding! There was so much new snow and powder that it made for great conditions to snowboard. Unfortunately, that made it a little more difficult for the fellow skiers. Kirk had a rough day on the slopes, especially since her bindings were being difficult and were letting go of her boots in the middle of a run! Apparently you are supposed to have your skis serviced once in a while - lesson learned :). After a few hours of major struggling to stay in her bindings and finally having to walk down part of a mountain, it was time for her to throw in the towel, but she got to enjoy the comforts of the good food in the lodge.

Our view of the slopes after getting off of the bus.

Jeff and Joel getting ready to go hit the slopes.

The main lift going up to the beginner slope and intermediate slope.

Obama snowboard.

On the lift.

View of the mountain from the lift.

So much snow!

Ignore Jeff's smiling face and look in the background - proof we were actually there!

Comedy Night

This past Thursday evening, our friends convinced us to stay out late and attend a free night of comedy at the club ballroom on base (we're fuddy duddies that like to go to bed early on work nights, so this was definitely out of the norm for us!).

The show featured DL Hughley!!! It was definitely for adults only and the place was PACKED with wild and crazy half drunk Marines! Thankfully I didn't catch any of my clients doing something they weren't supposed to, LOL. Throughout the show, we laughed so very hard and flinched a few times too.... non-PC comments get to me, haha.

Anyhoo, the highlight of the show was when DL stepped down into the audience and interviewed random people. He made fun of their MOS (job) with the military, how they were dressed, how they were acting, talking, etc. It was HILARIOUS. And he stopped at our row... yikes! (Thank you Neda for taking the pics!) :)

DL: So young man, what do you do here?       Joel: I'm a house husband!

 

 

 

 

DL: Oh my, my, my... do you cook and s@#* then?       Joel: Yup!!       Kirk: rolling eyes

DL: So you make the money, what do you do?      Kirk: I'm a ... substance abuse counselor...? (DL had already spoken about how he loves weed, LOL) Um, we should probably talk.

DL:  Well you know, I should probably go to AA because I love alcohol... but I'm not anonymous.      Audience: Bwa ha ha ha ha!!! :-p

 Good times for sure!!!!!

Our New Dinning Room Table

So we wanted to share with you two of our experiences so far that do not involve traveling or eating food. The first story involves our purchase of a Japanese dinning room table (not the low ones where you sit on the floor, but one that is normal sized). We think it fits in perfectly in our traditional Tatami mat room.

We got a great deal on this table and six chairs thanks to our friends Ted Roberts and his wife. They were out furniture browsing when they came across a high-end furniture store that re-sells the old furniture from their customer's homes after they deliver their new furniture. The store was asking 5000 Yen (@ $65) plus 1000 Yen for delivery for the set. To add to the great deal, Ted ended up talking them into giving us free delivery! The table is in great shape and has already served us well over the weekend during our afternoon of board game playing with the Northams. The chairs might be a future project as they could be re-finished to more closely match the table and be re-upholstered as we're not totally in love with the blue-green vinyl.

The next story kind of freaked me out a little bit when it happened, but is an example of excellent customer service that is not all that uncommon here in Japan. Our Auto Insurance was due to expire the end of this year, so back around the first of December I stopped by the AIU office to renew our policy. As I walked in the front door the insurance agent already had my policy folder laid out on the table and greeted me by saying "Hello Mr. Diller, thank you for coming in to re-new your policy with us. Here is how much you need to pay for 9 more months of coverage." The sequence there after included me saying something like "Wow, you're really good", paying the full amount, getting a receipt and walking out the door. It blew my mind that they would look up my license plate # while I was still in the parking lot to keep me from waiting a few extra minutes, but thought that I would share this story with you all to show that a little extra effort does go a long way.