24 Hours in Obihiro

A city of about 170,000 people, Obihiro is a major city in agricultural South-Central Hokkaido.  Even travelers with limited time and money can enjoy what this city has to offer, so grab some friends, get a local guide, and start exploring!

My only non-horse/food picture of Obihiro.  Oops?

Friday

1. Fast(est) Food | 9 p.m.

Inarizushi

in a conbini bento

would taste as sweet? (Yes.)

2. Hokkaido Hospitality | 10 p.m.

If you are lucky,

crash on a local’s futon

and make a new friend.

Saturday

3. Morning Meetings | 9 a.m.

Winter Survival:

The most important workshop

you’ll ever attend.

We present again

“Hokkaido English Challenge!”

Train your Poké—kids!

4. A Lovely Lunch | Noon

When you go to Obihiro,

There is no question.

A bowl of butadon

Will be the lunch suggestion.

A good time to be only 95% vegetarian

5. Equine Entertainment | 2 p.m.

Not only foreigners

find out about tourist spots

from reading manga.

But only foreigners take pictures with the characters...

"I sneeze/snort in your

general direction,"

says Milky the horse.

One sassy horse

Grumpy old gambler,

nonplussed, explained how to place

one hundred yen bets.

80¢ on Sakanotaihou.  Living on the wild side!

In spectator sports,

none is so slow yet trilling

as draft horse racing.

Go Sakano Go!!!

I won! Winnings cover entrance fee.

¥280 for me!

6. Bag a Bargain | 4 p.m.

Home-Off, the proof that

buying discount goods is an

urban luxury.

7. Enjoy an Enkai | 6:30 p.m.

The Enkai Logic:

Who needs all-you-can-eat when

there’s all-you-can-drink?

On the road | midnight

Fragile snow flakes fall,

White specks against the dark night.

Are these summer tires?

The Week of Intercultural Chaos

Being the only ALT in a village of 800 people means having a lot of free time.  Most days are a struggle to occupy myself for the 3 (or 4 or 5*) class periods when there are no English classes.  However, every once in a blue moon comes a week that is slightly busier and English-ier than usual.  And, once every 15 months or so (aka once in the entire time I’ve been here), these weeks coincide and create (as I’ve dubbed it) The Week of Intercultural** Chaos.

All about the WOIC,

(exhausting week of fun and

job satisfaction).

The primary source of chaos for the week was the presence of two foreigners.  (In Otoineppu!  Who weren’t related to me!)  They were part of an exchange that our senior high school does with another wood crafting school in Sweden.  As the only native English speaker in town, I was asked to translate for them as they enjoyed the Otoineppu experience.  Even with my iffy translation skills, the week was a blast!

Translation Pro-tip:

When interpreting for Swedes,

don’t speak Japanese.

Stressor no. 2 was the junior high English speech contest.  My JTE was in charge and declared me the “boss of the ALTs,” a title I definitely could have done without.  Thankfully, no riots broke out during the group game—playing a variation on Dead Ant with 102 students is always interesting—so I think I pulled it off.  Even better, my wonderful, genki students totally owned the performances.  Seriously, my third year student now has a fan following among junior high schoolers and ALTs alike.

“Oh stand, stand by me”

Last guitar chords still ringing,

the crowd goes wild.

To end the week right, I attended the HAJET Fall Meeting in Obihiro.  Great people, great food, great fun, but maybe not a great idea to travel 12 hours round trip to spend less than 24 hours there.  And our return trip hit a snowstorm.  Gotta love Hokkaido!  In short, it’s 2 (3?!) weeks later and I think I might have just recovered.

Tree planting, dodgebee,

mini-volley, iaido:

Thank god for onsen!

*Take this Monday, for instance.  It may not sound too bad to have 3 kids out sick, but when your school only has 5 students, entire classes are absent!

**For the purposes of this post, “intercultural” applies any event where the attendees (besides me) represent two or more cultures.  I have low standards…

Crazy About Kabocha!

Oh, sweet orange veg!

Kudos to the kabocha,

Soul food of the fall.

A massive 6lb white kabocha, courtesy of my iaido sensei :)

Yesterday was 文化の日 (Culture Day), yet another of the many public holidays we are treated to in the fall.  Otoineppu celebrates with a weekend-long culture festival which culminates in a series of performances and mochi maki on Culture Day.  Last year I braved the festivities and came away with more mochi than I could possible eat.  Yesterday, however, I ended up skipping the enka in favor of a kabocha feast.

How to have a kabocha feast:

1.     Accept an invitation to bake and eat kabocha.

2.     Bake a kabocha.  (Or, more accurately, watch your host bake a kabocha while you copy and translate the recipe.)

3.     While you’re at it, learn how to make kabocha dango.

4.     Feast on baked kabocha soup, kabocha bread, kabocha dango, and other delicious treats.

5.     Take home the leftovers.

6.     Never go hungry again!

Be Prepared! (for deliciousness)

The kabocha is a delicious pumpkin-like vegetable currently in season in Hokkaido.  It is a great bento filler when simmered Japanese-style, but can also easily replace pumpkin or squash in a Western recipe.  The recipe I learned yesterday is definitely a more Western style (no soy sauce in sight!) and results in a kind of creamy pumpkin soup inside a beautiful roasted kabocha.  Yum!

Easy as pie!
(Easier, actually, since pre-made pie crusts and canned pumpkin don't exist in Japan...)

Ingredients:

1 kabocha (or other small pumpkin/squash)

50 grams butter

200 milliliters cream

100 milliliters milk (adjust to fit size of kabocha)

60 grams sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Wash the kabocha and cut out a lid from the top (like a jack-o-lantern, so it won’t fall in!)

Scoop out the seeds.  (Japanese people usually throw them away, but they’re definitely worth cleaning and roasting!)

Pour all the ingredients into the kabocha, then replace the lid and coat the entire kabocha with oil.

Bake at 220 degrees C for 30 minutes.*

Remove the lid (but keep it cooking!) and bake at 230 degrees C for another 10 minutes.

Remove the kabocha from oven, replace the lid, and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

To serve, scoop roasted kabocha flesh from the sides and mix into the creamy sauce for a delicious kabocha soup!

*Cooking times will vary depending on kabocha size