Air of September ― 2012/09/01
I hope summer has finally gone, autumn has come to this town, and I can be a bit more active.
Redback Spider ― 2012/09/03
Picture from Fukuoka Prefecture Web Site (http://www.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp/c02/gokegumo.html)
Redback spiders are not an indigenous species in Japan. Their first appearance in Fukuoka was recorded in 2007. Since then, they have been seen or caught mainly in eastern seaside area of the city. And today, an elderly lady was bitten by a redback spider hidden in her shoe. (See http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120904p2a00m0na005000c.html for more details) Although it is not always deadly poisonous, the bite of redback spiders can cause serious symptom, or even death, if you are old or very young.
Apart from its poison, Fukuoka has problems with the redback spider:
1. The serum against the spider poison stocked in Fukuoka city has passed its use-before date on 10 August, this year.
2. The spiders have been found mainly in an artificial island, another deficit project by the city hall, where the city hall is trying hard to get people and businesses to move in, and where the public hospital for children with serious illness is going to move in. Actually, the lady bitten by the spider was a resident of a care home on the island. I don’t understand why vulnerable people (and innocent healthy people having no ties with the project) have to live in or visit a place where such poisonous insects can be found.
Maybe I’m worrying too much about the small spiders, but if I were you, I wouldn’t go to the island called “Island City” (http://island-city.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/english/english_index.html),
even if the city hall tries to promote it with nice and eco-friendly-looking
parks and attracting events. It is meaningless to be bitten by a spider while
you are in a foreign country. Unless you wish to get an unusual travel story—“Hey,
look! In Japan, I was bitten by a spider from Australia!” – actually sounds
incredible, but is it worth your pain and risk (the spider bite could cause
skin gangrene)?
Pet Cafe ― 2012/09/06
The other day I went to a peculiar café where there are a dog and two cats as a kind of entertainment,
and you can take your own four-legged friends (subject to strict terms
and conditions) as well, which are quite rare in Japan.
The system is much simpler than that in conventional (?) cat cafés. You don’t have to pay the “cat fee”. Just pop in and have your tea/coffer/light meals, and the well-trained dog will entertain you by touching your knee with its paw, or stretch itself at your feet, without trying to steal what’s on your table.
Meanwhile the cats are much less keen on their
business compared to their dog colleague, but they seem to understand their raison
d’etre. They never, ever run away from you, or make a fuss even if you touch
them or eat something cats generally like. They just sleep—which is their way
of entertaining human beings.
I had a Locomoco rice bowl (JPY850, a mini hamburger steak, a soft-boiled egg, and plenty of iceberg lettuce on a handful of cooked rice)
and lunch coffee (JPY 350, or JPY 450 if you order only coffee). As the café is run by a daughter of a local butcher, the ingredients for the meal were fine and fresh, but the portion size was rather disappointing, to be honest with you. Probably I could have eaten two more bowls if my wallet had allowed. Of course there were lighter menu, such as cake, ice cream, or just beverages, in which case your cost could be less than JPY1,000.
Although the café owner told me that her café was intended to provide a relaxing feeling with the animals (an amateur animal therapy?), how could I relax in the venue; children, who are naturally excited by the animals, were accepted, new customers were coming one after another into the café where there are only 4 small tables, and I was asked to share a table with a total stranger in the middle of a meal? The owner recommends making a reservation beforehand. I am sorry, it is not a very realistic idea to make a reservation for a cup of coffee.
Sense of Comraderie ― 2012/09/07
Tasting Sweetpotatoes ― 2012/09/15
Today I went to a local farmers’ market for the first time since I stopped smoking in the end of June.
While I was suffering air-headedness, seasons steadily moved from summer to autumn. There was no watermelon, but huge heaps of sweet potatoes. My husband happily threw three bags of them, suggesting we try different farmers’ potatoes to decide which one we should pile up for winter (he seemed to forget what happed to the pumpkins which were supposed to last until autumn).
After returning home, I started my experiment.
Method
1. Three bags of sweet potatoes produced by different farmers were taken into my kitchen, and numbered.
¯ Potato 0 was JPY220/ a bag containing two potatoes with least scratches on the skin and well-balanced proportion (in my opinion
¯ Potato 1 was JPY 200 / a bag containing two longer potatoes, compared to the potato 0, with somewhat twisted shape. The skin was scarless.
¯ Potato 2 was JPY 150 /a bag containing 4 potatoes with scarred and partly darkened skin and uneven shape.
2. A representative potato was randomly selected from each bag.
3. To indicate the number of the group to which each potato came from, small scratches were made on the skin of the potatoes.
4. The potatoes were baked in oven for 45 minutes oven on the “automatic potato-baking” mode (the Setsuden period ended last week).
5. For tasting, the small pieces were cut from each potato.
Results:
Each potato tasted equally delicious and the texture was similarly fluffy, not soggy at all.
However, the potato 0 (the 220-yen potato) had clearer colour inside, which made the potato looked more appetising than others. Meanwhile, when tasted with its skin, the potato 2 (the 150-yen ones) still had a little amount of soil in which it was grown, which made the texture unpleasant, though can be solved by thorough washing.
Discussion
The taste of each potato tested didn’t taste different as their price tags might suggest. The appearance, both the outside and the inside when cooked, seems to have influenced the pricing (Japanese ethos: Appearance Is EVERYTHING seems to have been applied). Also the evenness of the shape, which can influence the easiness of peeling and sandy grittiness when eaten with the skin, may have impact on the price.
However, the method may have a room for review and further improvement: for example, each potato can be baked individually, not at once, so that they can be cooked at an exactly same condition with others, without being influenced by their position in the oven.
Conclusion
Anyway, it's a high time to enjoy sweet potatoes produced in this area.
Conveniently Located ― 2012/09/17
Today's Cat ― 2012/09/21
Schoolwear ― 2012/09/24
If you are a cosplayer specialised in schoolwear, or just looking for durable garments, this shop may be worth visiting.
This schoolwear shop sometimes sells its products (probably dead inventory?) at ridiculously low prices.
I think schoolwear can make a good everyday clothes —they are made to last, very functional, with a variety of size (as long as I know, up to 6L –140cm around the waist), and easy to maintain—what else do you want for clothing ?
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