Japan for Christmas (2011)

Post date: Oct 03, 2016 7:45:8 AM

For my second field season, I decided to stop and do Christmas with my mother in Tokyo.

This trip to Japan though, my best friend Jen and her wife Tara were living there! Many adventures ensued. We tried Shabu Shabu. It’s similar to Korean BBQ in that you are expected to cook your own food. But it’s different in that the name “shabu shabu” is the japanese word for how they think things sound when dropped into the broth that is the center of the cooking table.

One of the things I love about Japan is that style is everywhere. Like on manholes.

My mother has long had an obsession with Christmas lights. And although Christmas in Japan is slightly different than the US, the Japanese like lights in the non-holiday season. They also LOVE Christmas lights. It was a match made in Tokyo.

Before Christmas we decided to get out of town. I have always wanted to ski Japan, and this was my first (although not my last) chance. Mom had to work, so Jen and Tara and I got train tickets and took to the mountains!

We went to Nozawa Onsen, a small town in the Nagano region.

I was the only skier, but I often ski alone. And it was worth it. The powder was luscious, the views epic and the skiing delightful. This isn’t even close to what the best the Japan has to offer and it was amazing. Finish the day off with a big bowl of soba noodles, fresh made, and wash it down with some sake. Then sit in the onsen and relax the day away.

My mother brought a car, so on the way back we were able to stop and look at the famous snow monkeys! They have an onsen set up, and when the owners realized that the local monkeys couldn’t get enough of the warm water, they opened it up to the public to come hang out with the monkeys.

In addition to monkeys we also saw a castle! Matsumoto castle to be exact, which was appropriately fearsome. The Japanese were basically constantly at war with one another for centuries. There are tons of these fortified castles lying all over the place.

And finally my mom and I fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams, the Tsukiji fish market. Every morning, sushi chefs from around Japan come to Tokyo to bid on the best cut of tuna (auctioned off every morning), and collect other delicacies.

You need to get there early, and afterwards you can dive into sushi breakfast. It’s approximately 20 feet away from the fish market, and is as fresh as sushi gets. Most of the things on this place were alive 30 minutes before it was served to me. Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The famed tuna.

There are signs in multiple languages saying to watch out for the carts. They are not fucking around. The market is not for tourists, it’s a working location and these carts will not stop for dumb foreigners walking around. They will run you down to make an example for the other stupid foreigners.