I've survived my first of many stints at the Iguchi farm here in Niigata, Japan. We've been given a pass for work in the morning by Chieko's very accommodating father, and we're off to Tokyo shortly after noon. So that means my work here is done.
I'm a little worse for the wear, mostly in the sense that my shoulders seem 100% ranked on from the repetitive motion of picking up a watermelon and then putting them back down a few seconds later. I've also sustained some promising bruises on my upper legs from leaning into the watermelon box; they should be turning pretty colors in the next few days. But it's a small price to pay for the experience of getting up at 5 a.m. every day and busting my ass for 7 hours without pay.
In all seriousness, I've really enjoyed my time here. While I've grown a little weary, it isn't so much because of the work, but for the fact that I'm just ready to go home, to my own bed, my own apartment, my own food, my own guitars. Otherwise it's been great here. This is by far the longest stretch of time I've spent living amongst my in laws, so it's been a nice bit of bonding (I think) for us (me, at least). And as I've harped on, this is such a beautiful place to be, even if the majority of it is spent with my back to the sun.
I eluded to the healthy country food I've been subsisting on in my last post, and I thought I'd give you a visual image to go along with it. Here was our lunch today, and it's pretty typical of what we've been eating day to day.
You've got a big hunk of tofu, some miso soup, rice, pickled veggies, some kind of seaweed based, sponge type thing, a bit of fruit, fresh edamame (soy beans), natto (fermented soy beans), and some salad. As unappetizing as this meal may look to some of you, I assure you that it's not that bad, though it does take a bit of getting used to. The bonus is that it's got virtually zero fat, 100% natural ingredients, and a hell of a lot of protein (thanks soy product!!).
And just so you know that it's not all tofu and water here in Japan, as I write this we've just finished a dinner of tempura (fried veggies), karage (fried chicken), and lots of beer and wine.
Don't expect a whole lot of action around these parts for the next week. We'll be in Tokyo until Wednesday, at which point my friend Sean and I will make our way back to Kanazawa for a few days of life without women, and all the hetero fun that goes along with that. I don't see myself being very productive in general during that time, let alone dealing with this blog. So have a nice week, and I'll be back in a while.
4 comments:
Guts, eh? That's sweet, sounds like a good time. That food looks awesome, I would chow it up? What does natto taste like? I am going to go next door tomorrow and try to get a nice lunch like that, maybe a sushi roll too.
i thought you'd like that picture...natto on it's own doesn't have much taste, but it comes with a little package of soy sauce and spicey mustard that you stir into it, so that's mostly what you taste...
is that a tv remote on the table? just like home, eh? you didn't mention the cobwebbiness of the natto.
xo
yes, it's a tv remote..we eat them in japan...and i didn't mention the cobwebbiness of natto because he asked me what it tastes like, not what it looks or feels like, and i don't think natto tastes like cobwebs, but it may, i will never know what cobwebs taste like..
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