I came across another Yojijukugo today which I could totally relate to, unflattering as it is.
無芸大食　むげいたいしょく　　　　　　　　　
Let’s break it down:
無 = not existing (negation)
芸 = arts, skills, talents
大 = big
食 = meal/eat

Literal translation is: no talents, big eater/meals
Someone whose only talent is eating, essentially an unaccomplished person.
To have no special talent besides the ability to eat a lot. Which, mind you, is not necessarily one would ordinarily be proud of.

And so I did what I do best, and ate some more.
Another dinner with workmates/friends. The occasion was a friends housewarming.
Fresh spring rolls, and tomato and cabbage bake, and thai curry which was so delicious. Finished off nicely with homemade cheesecake and ice-cream.

今日の用事熟語

Youjijukugos are four kanji compounds to form an idiomatic expression.
Here’s one for today, after last night’s big drinking episode.

酔生夢死　　すいせいむし　

Let’s break it down:
酔　= drunk
製 = live/life
夢　= dream
死 = die

Live drunk and die dreaming. To drink your life away, idle one’s life away.

And now for today’s Word of the day:
解毒する　- げどくする　(’dissolve’ + ‘poison’) = to detox.

Yes, let’s dissolve the poison. 水をいっぱい飲むぞ。

Last Friday night, we went into K-town for dinner and drinks with the usual work crew.
It was back to Nami chan’s again. My first time there was just a couple of weeks ago, but the food was so good, we went back again.
Traditional izakaya, but absolutely everything on the menu is great. We ordered kara age, ramen salad, roast beef, yakitori, sashimi, nasi goreng, and hokke. Hokke is a real popular Hokkaido fish which has become a weekly staple now.

This place also has the most hilarious English menu translation ever. Check out these gems!!!!

I’ve been eating way too much lately - izakayas, dinner parties, and the like.

Monday night had a dinner party with work mates, personally cooked by a professional, young local Chef, Montoya, which by the way is a really cool Japanese name.
He served up a pasta dish with clams and capers, garden salad, chicken salad, pork and potatoes. All washed down with a few glasses of red and white.

Good times, good times.

Went for a long stroll on the weekend for about 5km around the countryside and stopped for lunch at Soga. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere but it was surprisingly busy.
I had a most satisfying lunch. The menu was pretty extensive and I finally settled on ishiyaki bibimba and handmade gyoza.
The food was really good. So good, that I will think be back there again.
The gyozas were really plump and very juicy on the inside.
The bibimba was great, although I don’t know how one could ruin a bibimba anyway - one of my favourite Korean foods.

The walk back was topped off with a soft serve ice cream - from the local Cheese factory store. Needless to stay it was Camembert cheese flavoured ice cream. It was actually really nice. It wasn’t too cheesy or overpowering. Dairy intake accomplished.

I was in dire need of a new laptop and have made the new Macbook Pro the laptop of choice.
It has taken me over a year to get mentally used to the idea of having a Mac, and now I have finally made the move.
So begins the lifelong journey towards navigating my way through the Mac OS.

I’ve been a little slack on the food blogging lately.
I am still slowly attempting to eat at every food venue in the area.
I am definitely over halfway, with just a handful to go.

After a big night of trivia hosting, drinking, and karaoking on Saturday night, I stayed indoors all day like a hermit without leaving the house.
On Sunday I ventured outside and walked to Izumikyo for some sobering soba.

I always attempt to order something on the menu that I can’t or don’t make at home myself so I opted for the tempura soba. I have decided that I am not a huge fan of tempura. It is really oily and gives me a headache. Nevertheless the soba was yummy as was the view from the outdoor deck onto the river and autumn leaves.

Over this last summer I’ve been getting fit and exercising a lot with hiking, swimming and running.
I competed in a swim race earlier on the summer, but August and September are prime running season in Japan with various fun runs and marathons around the country.

I participated in the local fun run last month - the Niseko Marathon festival with the longest distance being a half-marathon.
I opted for the 3.5km fun run. I could have registered for a longer distance, but the week before this fun run, I entered a 10km, so just went for the 3.5km this time. Mind you I cycled 10km to get to the running festival venue, and then after doing the run, cycled back up and down hills another 10km home on a mountain bike.

The local area, as I’ve mentioned before centres around potatoes. Unlike the local Kutchan Potato Festival where I didn’t see a single spud, there were potatoes galore at this event. Every competitor was given a plastic bag to fill up with as many potatoes as one can take.
Ended up with a few kilos of potatoes to take home. Awesome. What other country in the world would you rock up to a running event and get free potatoes.

It was an easy run, only 3.5km. I did it in under 21 minutes which wasn’t too shabby. I think I placed 18th in the 3.5km Open Category.

After the run, there were other festivities to enjoy such as bingo and the Jagaimo Bamba which was basically a race of 5 people.
In the ladies event, four women had to carry on a sled 60kg of potatoes plus one team member. Fastest back to the start line won.
I joined a team of other ladies, and we came first! Luck us, got to take home more free food - this time cobs of corn, juice, and cash!

The day was quite a work out. Cycling back home was no easy feat, this time with about 5 kilos of potatoes, 5 cobs of corn on my back, plus all the other freebies we got for entering the run such as towel, drinks etc.

The last of my physical challenges for the season.

鳥瞰図 = ちょうかんず = bird’s eye view

Over a month ago, I got the chance to go up in a helicopter, something I had never thought I would ever get the opportunity to do.

It was a nice clear summer’s day and we went up above the clouds and got to witness all the greenery below - lots of vegie and rice fields.
Also flew in and got up close and personal with the crater atop Mount Youtei.

2009 is a lucky year in Japan where one can experience and enjoy Silver Week. The next Silver Week won’t happen until 2015, so everyone is clearly making the most of it.

Golden Week occurs every year in May, but every so often, usually at least once in a decade, there is a Silver Week which falls in September.

Silver Week is a consecutive 5 day holiday (other than Golden Week). Luckily this year, the 3-day public holiday is tagged to a weekend, so everyone in Japan gets to enjoy 5 days off.

There were a lot more people out and about, traveling, and definitely a lot more traffic on the roads. It’s a popular time for relaxation, sightseeing and drinking. I think the sales of alcoholic beverages will definitely increase this week.

I guess there is a silver lining to every cloud.