Salvation from those embarrassing moments...

Some things are so funny!  One thing I never considered before moving here was the embarrassment of those "revealing" sounds when using a public restroom.  Basically, everyone goes there for the same purpose, so it seems obvious there would be tinkling sounds, etc.  Well, to preserve one's image (and the water supply so people won't flush to mask the sound) there is a very handy invention.  A wall mounted sensor that plays a "flushing" track to cover up any potentially revealing noise that is a natural part of using the bathroom. 

I'm sure the portable version for the image-conscious will be available soon...if it isn't already!  Ecological and convenient....

 

Wave your hand over the hand mark, and it starts.  Also convenient instructions in braille.  The sound will automatically shut off after 25 seconds.  If one's "business" isn't quite finished, just wave your hand again, and the masking noise starts right back up! The maker's suggested retail price starts at about 18,000 yen, but found it at half price on their site on sale (delete the last two digits for approximate US dollar price)(and NO, I didn't buy one).

(Apologize for the blurry pic...the camera click was actually more embarrassing...what would people think!  Will retake soon and leave the door open so people can realize I'm not doing something really weird--just kind of weird!)

Getting Out of My Funk!

Howdy.  Been awhile.  Still trying to think of a catchy phrase for a title, and also of what to post!  What a busy bit it has been.  As I still can't get my mind into the work I need to do tonight, I thought I'd take a breather and post a bit.  So, here are some random bits from the last 10 days or so!

Bit one:  Today, the great-grandmother of one of my students' families passed away.  She was in her 90's, so it wasn't such an unexpected event, but there is much sorrow of course.  My students (2nd, 4th and 6th graders) are handling it with grace, as well dealing with the impact on their daily lives.  The youngest was in tears today as the funeral of her much-loved "hi-baachan" is also on the day of her much-anticipated school excursion.  We sat together and held hands, and she shared what she would miss about her great-grandmother, as well as what she would miss about her event; in both, it was the care and shared experience with a special person.  Among people close to me, this is the third death in ten days.  Death is a part of life, though a hard part.  It's perhaps easier to let go at the end of a long life, but regardless of the length, finding memories to give voice to and lighten grief also affirms life.

Bit two:  On the other side of the spectrum, a friend had a baby today....one week "late," her daughter finally made her grand appearance～heartfelt congratulations!

Bit three: On the much lighter side, and in the category of "when I think about it much, I just have to find it weird," ferrets as pets.  Another baseball-mom shared about life with her pet ferret, and the image of her describing it long, thin body after a bath still has me chuckling (my Maltese looks like a giant rat, adorable, but still ratty so I'm not pointing fingers!). My son is also angling for a new pet, a very tiny mouse-like thing (yes, it probably is a mouse, but having had an invasion of the real thing and occasional alarming sounds almost like scurrying mouse feet, I can't willingly entertain the idea of one as an actual pet!!!!) and I've actually agreed to check into it, and sound out the other (human) residents regarding this!

Son saw this on TV last Monday (another tick in the "why TV is a negative influence on children" column--eeks!  I'm sounding like a hopelessly antiquated something-or-other!).  I'm thinking too much...my dog has just stolen my seat cushion, so now I'll steal it back and steal back to work!

Love Sushi

Golden Week (a series of 4 national holidays with a couple of regular days thrown in between April 29 & May 5) is underway.  My work is on holiday, but the family restaurant is in it's second busiest season of the year.  There isn't much time for anything, so before the holiday started, we took some time to do things we enjoyed.

For son K and I, we hit the batting cages, bookstores (on-line and in-town) and enjoyed a favorite meal.  In a couple of years (months!) it might become more expensive, but kaiten-sushi is one of our top faves for a cheap, delicious, quick meal!  Just up the street is a kaiten-sushi for 100 yen plus tax per plate (with soup and K's desert, we always come in @ about 2000 yen=a little more expensive than the burger joint, but feels much healthier!)

We enjoyed our perpetual favorites of maguro (tuna), hamachi (yellowtail), anago (conger eel), negi-toro (tuna with green onions), tamago (egg) and ebi-abokado(shrimp with avocado).  Well, K doesn't like the anago or ebi so much, and I pass on the tamago, but these plates ALWAYS cross our table.  I have a strong tendency to order the same thing, so decided to try something new.  It was a seasoned pork topping (buta sankaku) that was surprisingly good and tender.  Yum! 

Lots of national holidays, and delicious inexpensive sushi:  two more of my favorite things in Japan!

Here's the partial line-up:

Maguro (tuna) is a little more expensive, so one piece of sushi per plate.  The yellow plates have wasabi on the sushi, and white ones don't.  Of course, there are little packets of wasabi so you can add it if necessary.

The upper plate is anago (conger eel).  Another type of popular eel is unagi, which is usually dipped in a slightly sweet/soy sauce.  I like the lighter flavor of anago for nigiri-sushi.  The lower pictures are sake (salmon) with grated daikon radish and negi (green onions/leeks) and boiled ebi (shrimp) topped with slices of avocado, thinly sliced onions and mayo.

We tried this pork sushi for the first time today-it just melts in your mouth!  I was a little leery, but will definitely have this again.

K's stack with hamachi (yellowtail) on top....hungry boy!

While I enjoyed a final cup of green tea, he finished off his meal with kaki-gori (shaved ice).

Finally, ponderings from the parking lot after having stuffed myself.  I find the prevalence of English in Japan convenient and amusing at times.  But sometimes wonder why a sign restricting entrance would be posted in another language rather than Japanese.

Now, I'm off to prepare for another day at our restaurant=I'll tell you more about that later!