100 Torii Gates, Amazingly Peaceful Spot

Although most Americans in the area know this place as 100 Torii Gates, the official name is Takayama Inari Shrine.  It is on the west coast of Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan.  We were extremely lucky on the day we went.  The weather was perfect and the place was empty.  In this case empty was perfect because it was so quiet that we were able to just enjoy the nature and tranquility.  As you can see below we took tons of pictures.

Here is the entrance as we were driving up.  This is a huge torii gate welcoming us.  If you aren't familiar with torii gates these are traditional for Shinto shrines and a common symbol of Japan.

Once inside the parking area we found this horse statue.  Behind it is the large torii gate entrance.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of the sign.  And of course we did not take any pets home with us!  We left everything in it's proper place.

To enter the shrine you must first ascend a decent flight of stairs.

Here is the main shrine area.  The property is very large but this was the shrine at the top and was the largest we saw.

Then we climbed down the stairs on the other side and found ourselves in the most peaceful spot on earth.  With no one else around and the sound of the frogs and other creatures, I can honestly say this was the most peaceful spot I have ever come across.  It was like stepping into another word.

Hard to see, but I am out there on the bridge.

I bet you can see me much better now.

You can see why we call this place 100 Torii Gates.

Lots of lily pads.  Of course where there are lily pads there are also tons of frogs!

Tons of torii gates!

This was a peaceful path and fun to walk along.

This was the view at the far end of the torii gates.

Can you spot the torii gates in the distance?

Here I am with Ryan.

Here I am hanging out as we made our way back to the starting point.

One more of me.  I was walking slowly because I didn't want to leave!

Frogs all over the place!

Told you there were frogs!

Having a little fun with the camera before we headed out.  Hey, we had the place to ourselves so we might as well have a little fun!

After the shrine we went to a nearby mall where I spotted a bagel shop which made for a great lunch. We don't have any place that makes bagels near us...except when I make them at home.  I love that they call the asiago cheese bagel a volcano bagel.

On the way home later that night we went into Aomori and found a new Italian restaurant.  It was pretty good.  Interesting concept.  It had a salad bar and some other buffet items and then you could order pizza or pasta.  And from what we gathered from the broken English conversation was that with our pasta we could also have pizza.  So I think it was all you can eat buffet with one pizza and one pasta per person.  Either way just the pasta was enough!  It was a good end to a perfect day.

QUESTIONS:  Where is your most peaceful spot?  Have you ever been to a Shinto shrine?  When was the last time you had a public place to yourself?

Not Much Cooking

Actually, there is probably more cooking in my kitchen than in my actual life!

True story, I have just been very busy with working and school that I have not had much time to blog or even taken many pictures.  But I did realize that it has been over a week now since my last post, so I figured I might as well just post these few pictures I have collected since my return from Australia.  Trust me though, it's pretty boring!

First, I actually do have something that may impress you.  Edamame bagel!  Yes, you read that right.  The Japanese not only made a bagel, but they put edamame inside.  Guess what?  Amazing!  Absolutely.  Now, next time I am passing through Haneda airport, I know what I am stocking up on.  Yes, again, you read that right.  I found edamame bagels in the Japanese airport.

When I was in Australia I shipped home a box filled with all the things I picked up from the conference.  As always, lots of samples.

Has anyone heard of or tried this apple before?  Cripps Pink?  All I know is that it came from New Zealand (love how I travelled from that area all the way back to Japan and then bought this apple) and it tastes wonderful.  I was definitely a fan.

Next is something that may impress you, too.  This is the pottery I painted before I went to Australia.  When I came back it was fired and ready for me to pick up.  I love it!  These are sushi plates with chopstick rests and a soy sauce container.

This next picture probably has you drooling already.  This is the chocolate PB tofu pie that I made for an auction.  I had donated it and the lucky winner got to enjoy this with her family.

I guess I should have something filled with vegetables to follow the very decadent dessert.  This is a pretty salad I made for dinner one night.  I love all the colors.

On my salad I used this salad dressing.  Sadly, I wasn't really a fan.  I had a coupon, and I am glad I tried it, but I probably won't get it again.

Cottage cheese and fruit, anyone?  This is one of my favorite snacks.  Really anything with kiwi is a favorite of mine.

Then comes this delicious pasta dish I made.  Whole wheat rotini (from nuts.com), shrimp with garlic and olive oil, and some tomatoes.  Yum!

I always enjoy a nice breakfast for dinner.  These are egg "tacos" with eggplant and a little cheese.

Last up is something that was made for me as a gift.  From my next door neighbor.  It was super sweet of her to think of me and share her baked goods.  I do love banana bread, so it was very welcome in my home.

Lots more exciting things coming up, but for now...boring!

QUESTIONS:  How are things for you? Boring or Exciting?  Do you ever bake for your neighbors?  What kind of dressing do you use on your salad?

Valentine's Day Dinner and Tofu on a Stick

I have just a few pictures left from Sapporo, before I show you what we had for Valentine's Day.

First, here is my last breakfast from the hotel in Sapporo.  We really liked the salmon for breakfast idea, so I made sure to get some on the last day.

'

Before we boarded the boat home we found a soda machine and thought this was so crazy that it needed to be bought.  Do you have this flavor in the US?  We had never seen this before, so we definitely bought it to investigate.  Ryan actually drank it and as best as I can remember, he said it was good.

My last picture is this cheese cup that we bought at the convenience store by the hotel as part of our lunch on the boat.  It was good!

Alright, on to Valentine's Day.  I guess you could say we celebrated with a trip to Sapporo, but there was still the actual day, and of course we decided to do something.  So, what did we do?  I picked up ingredients for dinner, we cooked together, and then watched a movie.  It was a work night and the restaurant on base didn't have reservations at a good time, so we decided a quiet night in would be perfect.

It was a Tuesday, so I headed to the grocery store in town that has 100 yen specials on Tuesdays.  Curious what 100 yen equals these days?  It's about $1.32.  This specific grocery store has produce specials on Tuesdays and you can get small bundles of various items for 100 yen, and then they have some other items on sale too.  It's a good day to go there.

Obviously Ryan and I are on a salmon kick, so I picked out some salmon.  This package cost 358 yen, which is about $4.71.  Not bad at all.

Then I grabbed some miso.  I have no idea what kind of miso I bought, but I know it was in the miso aisle, so I picked one that wasn't too expensive.  

I decided to marinate my fish in soy sauce (the less sodium one, but still packs it in) with the miso.

Check out what else I bought at the store.  I picked out some string beans and potatoes.  Each of these packages was 100 yen.  That's a pretty good deal.

We also decided the apple wine was a good drink to enjoy with our meal.

I also bough some strawberries, which is another reason why apple wine sounded good.

So we had some wine, strawberries, and chocolates all ready to go for dessert.

But before we could get to dessert, we had to actually cook dinner.  I started on the fish, while Ryan worked on the veggies.

I thought the grill pan would be perfect for cooking the salmon.  I was right!

Here ya have it!  It was so, so good.  Very simple.  I am definitely doing this again.

Now, just as promised, tofu on a stick.  Hey, it's on my Japan Bucket List, so when we went to the market where I first saw it for sale, I made sure to give it a try.  Ryan was more than happy to take pictures if it meant he didn't have to give it a try. 

This is garlic miso glazed tofu...on a stick!

Here goes nothing.

Taking a bite.

Still smiling!  It was pretty good, but just way too much tofu for me at one time without anything else to go with it.  It wasn't too expensive, so I think I would try it again in the future.

The last thing I want to share is this crazy spread we found.  It came in many varieties, but went with something that looked like chocolate and PB, or we thought perhaps something like nutella.

It came in a little packet like this.  You can see in the picture how this works.  You bend it in the middle and squeeze, and the spread comes out the middle.

The two kinds are on two sides, so I think chocolate and then PB (although I can't read Japanese, but that is what it seems like).

To balance it out a little bit I ate it on a whole wheat bagel (at least I got 7 grams of fiber in the process).  Yummy!

QUESTIONS:  What did you do for Valentine's Day?  What is your favorite bagel topping?