March On

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It’s March now. Prepare ye the way for the lacy white sakura blooms, the windy yet sunny park barbecues, the ume wine-making ingredient displays in the supermarkets, and the elimination of stinky oden stew from the convenience stores. It’s a-comin’: my third and final spring in Japan. This is the spring that I will see the sakura in Kyoto when they are in their full splendor, not in their final gasps of death. This is the spring I will finally visit an outdoor onsen. This is the spring I will see the Doll Festival. This is the spring I will finally see the peach blossoms. Lots of things to do in the next 4 and a half weeks, and the preceding list doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Other plans:

  • Finish off my repertoire of Favorite Japanese Recipes by learning to make tempura and how to roll makisushi properly, so that the rolls look like sushi, not squashed bullseyes.
  • Make the most of working only part-time, i.e, get out of the house.
  • Blog every day, because I know I’ll be sorry if I don’t.

The sun is bright, the breeze is cool and I no longer need a sweater underneath my coat. I’m slightly sick today after spending 2 hours in a smoke-filled izakaya last night but don’t intend to let that get in the way of taking a walk and heading to Sean’s friend’s bar for his “Back by Popular Demand” California-style sushi night. The chef is a fellow karate master who spent 6 years in New York City working in a sushi restaurant. I hope he doesn’t mind answering a few of my questions.

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