Greetings, True Believers! As promised, this blog is being put together at a faster rate. Even though I have projects, interviews, papers, tests, and trips to attend to, I have found a way to get to my blog on time for everyone to be updated with my adventures.
Today's entry will be about my time with sushi and a place in Tokyo called Akihabara. I signed up for both of these trips/workshops early on in the year. I originally wanted to take a course on how to cook Japanese cuisine, but when that filled up, the only other option was to take a course on how to make sushi. It was a wise choice.
I went with a group of about 15 students to a sushi workshop within Tokyo. We arrived there to a well established and pleasant sushi restaurant. For those who do not know, sushi is a delicacy dating back centuries, in which individuals eat their fish raw. It is usually seen as a small roll like object, with fish, rice, and seaweed making it up. Sushi bars and restaurants can be found everywhere in Japan, no matter where you look. You can order big plates of sushi or small orders; it is the original fast food of human history.
When we arrived, we were greeted by a cook/sensei, who has been preparing sushi for the last twenty-two years of his life. We put on aprons, as to not get anything on our clothes. Before us was a plate of about a few food items, two plates, a silver bowl containing water, and a bowl of rice. The food items we were given was a thin slice of shrimp, yellow tail, salmon, salmon eggs, and one cucumber.
To begin, we put our hands in the bowl of water. In order to get the sushi to be just right, your hands to be at a perfect level of wetness. If your hands are too wet, the rice will not stick together; if your hands are too wet, the rice will stick to your hands. Our sensei also described the process of cutting the food first to be a key ingredient to the taste of the food. There are thousands of different knives made in Japan to give sushi a unique taste. After the samurai were no longer allowed to operate in Japan, many of them used their swords to cut up fish and make sushi. Their swords became legend for sushi chefs and this tradition has since continued, only with smaller knives and not swords. These knives are decorated with designs and made in different sizes. The knife that our sensei showed us cost him $900 dollars, with some knives fetching as high as $3000. Yikes.
The first sushi I made was a shrimp sushi. Suffice to say, it did not turn out the way I wanted it to because the rice stuck to my hands. As I put my hands back in the water, the water went from clear to murky with all the rice I had to clean off. The sushi itself was pretty small and I was slightly disappointed.
I was able to get the hang of it and my other sushi creations came out much better. What keeps the sushi together is just a dab of wasabi on the food and the rice. If you want your sushi to have some punch to it, put a lot of wasabi on to make it spicy. I opted not to do that and I could barely taste the wasabi upon eating other sushi. I made yellow tail and salmon sushi, along with salmon egg sushi. My creations came out much better and it was a treat to create them.
The longest sushi to create was the cucumber sushi. Sensei gave us a long, thin slice of seaweed and a small, wooden blanket. We put the seaweed on the blanket and cover it with rice. We did not cover the entire piece of seaweed, but enough so that the cucumber could fit inside later on. We put the cucumber in the middle of the rice and below it, put a thin line of wasabi, so that everything stuck together. With everything now together, we took the wooden blanket and rolled it up with the materials inside. This was to create a greater cohesiveness with all the materials and so that it would not come apart. Once it was rolled up, we had to cut it up into four smaller slices, or else it would seem were eating a sushi taco. Sensei gave us the option of having him cut it with his expensive knife or allow us to cut it ourselves. I decided I could cut it and it turned out pretty well. Here is the finished results of all my sushi.
As the session ended, we were allowed to eat our creations, along with some sushi our sensei had made for us. The sushi was delicious and I cannot wait to get back home to the states and make it myself again. The sushi our senesi had given us was a little strong with wasabi and I drank it down quickly with tea, the first tea I have ever drank. The biggest surprise was how delightful the salmon eggs were. I really did not like how they looked, but once I tried it, actually found it pretty good. I came up with an analogy for eating salmon eggs: when you bit into it, the Kool-Aid man punched his way through your mouth. "Oh Yea!" I had a great time at the sushi workshop and I am excited of trying to make sushi on my own, with family and friends, when I return to the states. (Before I started this blog entry, I went to a sushi bar for dinner. I ordered a lot of sushi and it was spectacular.)
The next day, I traveled with a group to Akihabara, the biggest electronic district in all of Japan. The location is famous for its electeronics, dating back to the end of World War II, but became famous for its model, video games, and otaku as the years progressed. I will get to the details of the tour as we progress because this tour was the most heavily history oriented tour I have taken yet.
Our tour guide was named John Hathaway, a man who specializes on the otaku culture of Japan. What is an otaku you may ask? An otaku is a hardcore fan, who dress up as their favorite fantasy character, as part of their lifestyle. We were greeted to a man outside the train station who looked like a famous anime character named Goku from Dragon Ball Z. Dragon Ball is one of the longest running and famous anime to ever come out of Japan, with Goku being a symbol of the Japanese culture. Mr. Hathaway has spent many years in Japan, studying culture, and written books and lectures about the subject.
The tour was all over Akihabara, in between buildings, up long flights of stairs, places that would seemingly lead to nowhere, but brought us to a unique aspect of the district. We traveled first to the radio district of Akihabara, which was right next to the exit of the train station. He explained to the group that the area became famous for radios and other electronics after the end of World War II. People would bring their radios to this area after the war to sell them off because they did not serve a purpose or for other reasons. Soon, more and more people started coming to the area to trade in their electronics or work on parts. Akihabara became a revival hub for Tokyo after the war and to honor the area, a shrine was built in the radio district. However, the radio district was taken down and renovated, but in the process the shrine was moved. A small shrine is located in a upstairs building housing electronics, with the shrine moved elsewhere in the city.
At Radio Kaikan, the building itself covered the whole spectrum of Japanese pop culture. It was here where the new culture thrives and thousands of visitors come everyday to purchase new items. These items range from anime (Japanese animation), manga (Japanese comics), model kits, dolls, video games, and other electronics. The building itself was about seven stories, with a plaque at the top of the building. The otaku took it upon themselves to have one put there for all the effort they put into cultivating the culture and the city for a new age. For a long time, the otaku were looked down upon, but now are the culture basis for everything pop in Japan. In the building, hundreds of models or toys were on display or to be bought. Some fans will go hardcore with their kits with the most detailed replicas I have ever seen. Giant robot kits are all the rage, since the success of a popular anime in the 1970s, called Mobile Suit Gundam. Trains are actually quite popular in Japan, as well as a new phenomenon in which otaku dress up girl figures with robotic weaponary. The term for a cute girl is called moi, in which the person finds the girl to be adorable, cute, and would want to protect her. I saw two things that made me want to come to
Japan, including Godzilla and Evangelion figures.
We traveled throughout Akihabara, with Mr. Hathaway explaining many interesting aspects of the district. We crossed a street and in the distance was a bridge that looked out of place. He explained that the bridge is one of the oldest parts of the districts, having survived the war and to have originated when the samurai walked the streets. The samurai and other traders would pass under the bridge which really separated Akihabara from the rest of Tokyo. Today, it stills stands, and while the streets have changed, the samurai once walked on the path we were on that day.
Recent cultural troubles have plagued the otaku of Akihabara. Because of some of the weirdness the otaku are known for, the Japanese government and police have tried to stop recent activity, including many long lasting traditions. Some of the otaku are known for being lonely and depressed, settling in their fantasy world, where they are accepted. Some otaku feel kicked out of society and have struck back in violent ways. Last year, down the same street we were walking, an otaku pulled up in a car, got out, and shot and killed eighteen people including himself. This led to the government becoming involved and cracking down all otaku activity, like dressing up. Mr. Hathaway displayed sadness at addressing the park in which many otaku would come and display their costumes. They are no longer allowed to by the police because it might foster bad behavior. Some of the otaku are pursued by otaku bullies, people who specifically target the otaku with harassment and beatings. There are armed otaku, in which they carry around swords for protection. Stores could be found everywhere selling swords and the police have tried to stop this recent activity to no avail. I'm getting a sword soon, sorry Mom.
Akihabara is wildly famous for its maid cafes, women who dress up as maids and serve you. It is a huge part of the Japanese culture, in the anime, shows, and everything else. There are maid barber shops, dermatologists, and a maid cafe to simulate being on a train ride. The maids will purposefully mess up, to make it seem like they are cute and innocent. Otaku dress up their cars and bikes to be maid centric, too. I tried to take pictures of maids outside of the cafes because they advertise for their cafes. The maids do not allow themselves to be captured on film because if you want a photo, go to the cafe and pay for one. We went to a maid cafe and were asked to order cold drinks to see what would happen. I ordered a soda and a maid came over to me, stirred the soda, and put it to my lips. It was a very surreal moment for me in Japanese culture. Mr. Hathaway and another professor talked about the stagnant Japanese culture. The video game industry of Japan is not doing too well, nor is the anime industry. It is the same formula for everything, with little innovation. This led to a long table discussion as we waited for another interesting maid moment.
Mr. Hathaway and a maid participated in a game of drink the most ridiculous thing ever. The maid brought out ingredients that were to be put into a cup and drank by the loser of four rock-paper-scissor matches. Some of these ingredients included mustard, seaweed, chocolate, and other delicious... yea, not so much. Mr. Hathaway won two of the bouts and put in his ingredients, while the maid won the last two. Mr. Hathaway still had to drink it because he lost two to our amazement. Just when we thought the fun was over, the maid said something to Mr. Hathaway and then SLAPPED him. Slapped him very hard. It came out of nowhere and surprised us all. It was part of the game and our tour guide had a big red mark on his face for another hour.
We saw many other interesting aspects of Akihabara. We saw an area where the otaku show off their tricked out cars, the park where the otaku used to congregate, and the shrine that was relocated from the radio district. It was in between two buildings and to get to it, we had to turn sideways and proceed down a dark opening. Supposedly, because the sacred shrine was moved, the two buildings are known to bring bad luck to anyone who owns or rents them.
The last place Mr. Hathaway took us was an anime center. It had a lot of anime memorabilia, figures, and a recording studio where you could record your own lines to your favorite anime. The day itself was full of memorable moments and a great tour guide. Thank you, Mr. Hathaway.
Well, that is all for now, True Believers. As promised, the next entry will be out much sooner, by tomorrow at the most. There are only five weeks left, but more adventures still await. Before I finished this entry, I talked with my parents about my trip to China. I am still figuring out everything with my Mom, but it looks like I will be heading to Beijing after Finals. I applied for my Chinese Visa and it will be done in one week. I can't wait for more adventures and my ability to update everyone. Until next time, True Believers, here are some more photos for everyone.
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in awhile, you might just miss it"
- John Lennon
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