Fruit without flower

Yesterday, I got some fresh figs that my mother bought at a local farmers’ market.

Though it seemed possible to peel the fruits by hand, I used a knife not to deform them too much. They were so soft. In Japanese, figs are called “ichijiku”. It is sometimes written as 無花果 that means a fruit without flower. I wondered where this mysterious name came from and checked some websites. Then I learned that fig trees never have flowers that look like flowers. To my surprise, the flowers are the grain-like things in the red parts of the fruits! They looked delicious.

The taste is difficult to explain. They had a gentle sweetness, but their soft texture and a grainy texture in the red part were more impressive. I remembered that dried figs in some bread also had the same grainy texture though they were much sweeter and very different from fresh ones.

I’m not sure if I like fresh figs or not because I'm more used to eat dried ones. I have had an image that figs are good for beauty. According to some websites, they are called “fruits for eternal youth.” They have polyphenols to make the skin beautiful and potassium to prevent swelling. They also improve intestinal condition. As its season continues to October, I may have more opportunities to eat them.

Growing avocado in water

Today I visited my parents’ house, and my mother showed me some pictures she had took recently. One of them was a picture of avocado on the windowsill in the kitchen. At the beginning of this year, she started water cultivation with the seed of an avocado that she had eaten.

On the windowsill, there were two avocado seed. This one is older and cracked. It was put in a coffee cup from a convenience store.

In addition to the cup, a garbage draining tool was used to support the seed. My mother said it had taken a long time to sprout. When she gave up and was about to discard the seed, she noticed that the roots had come out first.

Now it has also three leaves.

The stem is quite long. It is about 32 cm from the seed to the top of the stem.

The other seed on the windowsill hasn’t sprouted yet though water cultivation was started on July 5.

I wondered how in the world she had thought of cultivating avocado as I had never imagined that it could grow in Japan. Most avocados sold in Japan are imported from Mexico. My mother said that it was her acupuncture therapist who had told her about it. I also wondered if it was necessary to plant it in soil when it would further grow. How tall will it be?

According to some websites, there are some places in Japan where farmers cultivate avocados. Among them, Matsuyama in Ehime prefecture aims to be No.1 in avocado cultivation in Japan. Their avocados were first released in the market in the city of Matsuyama in 2016. I have never seen avocados from Matsuyama or any other places in Japan, but I would like to buy their fruits if they become available in ordinary supermarkets here. Domestic avocados are said to have a richer taste as they can stay longer on trees compared with imported ones.

Treasures in Silk Road Museum

Yesterday, after visiting Toyooka Baien, we continued to walk to Silk Road Museum, another highlight of the walking event. It is a unique museum established by the founder of a logistics company Hamanakonpou Co., Ltd. Though it is rather unknown to the public, I had been looking forward to visiting there. In 1980’s, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) broadcasted a TV documentary series “The Silk Road” with fascinating synthesizer music composed by Kitaro (喜多郎). Especially, the melody of “Theme of Silk Road” was so imaginative and impressive that many people, including me, still remember it today.

The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes between Chang’an (present Xi'an) in China and Rome where caravans traveled. This is the gate of the museum, with an image of a camel in front of it. The building itself is also very rare and worth seeing. It was the house of a wealthy farmer and originally built in the Edo Period without using any nail.

The items from the Silk Road were displayed on the second floor. The first exhibit was a statue of Maitreya from Ghandara, Pakistan, A.D. 3C. It was just in front of the end of the stairs. As soon as I saw it, I automatically put my hands together and bowed though I’m not very religious. The statue was so vivid.

There was also a head of Buddha from Ghandara, Pakistan, A.D. 3 - 4 C. His expression was the mildest I’ve ever seen.

This is a part of a Persian carpet from Iran, A.D. 8 – 10C (Sassanian Empire), and there are only several pieces of similar old cloth in the world today. It was amazing that colors of the wool were preserved very well. According to the museum staff, this piece is bigger than the one in Shosoin (treasure repository in the ancient capital Nara) and is exhibited only in winter when the air is dry.

It was also interesting to hear about the history about precious things. This is a part of a corridor floor of a palace found near Istanbul, Turkey (A.D. 4 – 5C). It is mosaic made of small pieces of stones of various colors. I found some exotic animals on it. The museum staff explained that rich people boasted their wide knowledge by using animals in foreign countries as motifs.

As he talked, he touched the mosaic and let me do it, too. To my surprise, you can touch exhibits (not in the cases) freely in this museum! I came back to my favorite statue of Maitreya and touched his left hand.

The exhibition continues to the other rooms.

As this museum was once a wealthy farmhouse, you can see a beautiful garden and a big storehouse from the corridor.

These are roman glass from the eastern Mediterranean Sea, around the beginning of the first century.

From A.D. 7 to 9C, many Japanese envoys were sent to Chang’an, which was the capital of Tang Dynasty and the starting point of the Silk Road, to learn the advanced governmental system and culture of China. The museum has Tang Sancai pottery,

as well as painted terracotta made during this dynasty.

On the second floor, there were many other interesting things, and the exhibits are basically changed semi-annually. As for the first floor, the main exhibits are Japanese pottery. Now, they have two special exhibits. One is bridal costume of a granddaughter of Prime Minister Masayoshi Matsukata (1835 - 1924), which consisted of two kimono. This one is embroidered all over by skillful craftsmen with silk threads of the highest quality that are no longer available these days.

The other is a set of hina-dolls for the Doll Festival in March, which a sumo star Chiyonofuji prepared for his daughter. The dolls are all Hakata dolls made from clay.

And beyond these, there was still one remarkable object: a porcelain plate from Jindezhen, China made 100 - 200 years ago. This may be the biggest plate I’ve ever seen. If you look at the picture of kimono again, you can see how big it is. In addition to the size, I was fascinated by the beautiful blue color and design.

Though Silk Road Museum is a small museum in a small town, they have some treasures that are as precious as those in big museums. When I was about to leave, the museum staff said I could take a one bag of golden oranges home. What a generous museum! They were cultivated by Hamanakonpou, the founder's company.

They look like yuzu and are as yellow as lemon, but they are not only sour but also sweet.

Hamanakonpou Silk Road Museum
Address: 888 Kaminobe, Iwata-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture
Tel. 0539-63-5050
Open hours: 9:30 - 17:00
Closed: Mondays, year-end and New Year holidays
Access: 15-minute walk from Kaminobe Station
Admission fees: 900 yen for adults
                          500 yen for junior and senior high school students
                          400 yen for elementary school students
                          Discont for groups with 10 people or more: 700 yen for adults

Fruits in autumn

Yesterday, I found bags of mandarin oranges sold at a reasonable price. They were of the earliest harvested cultivar from Kumamoto Prefecture. Though they were greenish and looked sour, I bought one bag partly because the label bore the charming mascot character “Kumamon”, which was created to promote public relations for Kumamoto Prefecture and used for many of their products.

This is the first mandarin orange I ate this autumn.

Contrary to my expectation, it wasn’t sour. But it wasn’t particularly sweet, either. Since I was used to eating our local mandarin oranges (Mikkabi brand), which are very sweet, the taste of this one felt too light. However, I think it’s just a matter of liking. There are also people who don’t like mandarin oranges (or fruits in general) that are just sweet.

Personally, I like sweet fruits. With the mandarin oranges, I bought some persimmons. They were ripe and delicious as they were.

This time, I also used one for smoothie with banana and soymilk.

Though the ripe banana might have been very sweet, the smoothie became moderately sweet. I found this combination was very good. However, I still thought it better to eat a persimmon as it is because a ripe persimmon really melts in your mouth!

Three varieties of Japanese pears

In Japan, there are several varieties of pears cultivated in different regions. Yesterday I bought three of them as they sold at lower prices than usual. Some Japanese fruits like apples and pears are bigger and more expensive than European ones. I think it more practical to sell smaller fruits at more reasonable prices so that more people can afford to buy them. Anyway, I could get good pears that looked delicious. They are Hosui (豊水) from Tokushima Prefecture, Kosui (幸水) from Nagano Prefecture, and Nijyusseiki (二十世紀) from Tottori Prefecture (from left to right).

The names Hosui and Kosui sound very juicy and delicious as Hosui means “much water” and Kosui “good luck water.” Since I was thirsty, I ate Hosui first.

As I peeled this pear I noticed that I could move the knife very smoothly under the skin compared with the case of an apple or other kinds of pears. As the name implies, it was juicy, but I was more impressed by its softness. It reminded me of a Western pear. It was sweet and a little bit sour.

Next, I tasted Kosui. I found it very juicy and delicious. It was crisp, had fresh sweetness, and wasn’t sour at all. I ate it during the lunch break after walking outside for a while and sweating. I thought it extremely good partly because of this.

The last one is Nijyusseiki, which means the 20th century. I wondered why it has such a strange name. According to some websites, this kind of pears was first discovered in 1888. In 1904, it was named Nijyusseiki so that it would become a representative variety of Japanese pears in the 20th century. At the same time, it was introduced to Tottori Prefecture and became their specialty.

Nijyusseiki was also juicy and had fresh sweetness. Unlike Kosui, it had also some sourness. It was crisp, and the texture felt rougher compared with Hosui and Kosui. I’m not sure but it may be because it was an old variety. I thought this roughness was typical for Japanese pears I had got used to eating since I was little. It felt very familiar.

In addition to these, there seems to be many other varieties of Japanese pears. Some of them are available in late autumn. I like to eat both pears and persimmons in the same season.

Crumpets with grilled banana

When I first saw crumpets in a supermarket Seijo Ishii, I got curious about them. I had never heard about nor seen them before. They seemed to be small pancakes full of holes. According to the label in Japanese on the package, they were made from wheat flour, vinegar, sugar, yeast, salt/swelling agent, which meant that they are vegan. Before I bought them, I checked on the Internet what crumpets are. From some websites in Japanese, I learned that they are traditional English pancakes (some people call them bread) eaten for breakfast or snack with butter or honey.

When I ate one as it was, I didn’t think it taste very good. So, it was necessary to toast them and add something after all. Since I had a banana in the refrigerator, I grilled it for about eight minutes (with a slit on the skin) until the skin became black.

Then, I toasted crumpets while cutting the banana in slices. After putting the slices on crumpets, I sprinkled cinnamon on them.

The hot grilled banana was softer and sweeter than raw one. Even before toasted, the crumpets looked like sponge, but they really felt like sponge as I ate them. I liked this interesting texture very much.

The combination with grilled banana was good. I think grilled apple with cinnamon and brown sugar syrup may also go well with crumpets. Maybe I can get some idea on the Internet.

Drive to Cape Irago (3) - Kingdom of melons

In “Drive to Cape Irago (1)”, I introduced one of Michi-no-Eki or rest areas along major roads in Japan. Cape Irago has also have one named Irako Crystal Porto. Like other Michi-no-Eki, it has a shop of local products and a restaurant, but it also serves as a terminal for ferries to Toba in Mie Prefecture. I had taken such ferries twice to go to Ise Jingu, the most prominent shrine in Japan. It takes about one hour to get to Toba. Then you can take a bus to Ise Jingu (about 40 to 50 minutes).

Irako Crystal Porto had many products of melons such as agar jelly candies,

and big melon bread. It has orange cream on top with the flavor of melon. It looked 2-3 times as big as ordinary melon bread sold in supermarkets and bakeries. Though ordinary melon bread also tastes like melon, it doesn’t have cream on top. Maybe this one is richer in taste.

For vegans, there is dried sea lettuce to add in miso soup, ramen, tempura, etc.

From the building, we could see the port.

They had also a corner of products from Okinawa Prefecture. My mother bought one cup of strong liquor called Awamori for my father.

I was more interested in peanuts caramelized with granulated sugar, black sugar, and coarse sugar. They tasted good with slight bitterness of black sugar when I ate them at home.

We found another Okinawan specialty containing black sugar. It was sata andagi, a kind of doughnut which was, according to the package, originally served in a Chinese court. Okinawa seems to have many traditions influenced by China. Before we went to the next destination, we ate sata andagi in the car.

After leaving Irako Crystal Porto, my mother took National Route 259. Soon we came to a place with a big melon in front of the parking lot. It’s New Atsumi Kanko selling melons, juice, etc. I was surprised again at the reasonable prices of the melons. They offered melon picking and all-you-can-eat course as well.

We had fresh 100% melon juice. It was smooth and delicious! My mother said it was better than melon eaten as it was. I agreed with her.

Finally, we went to the last Michi-no-Eki of the day, Tahara Mekkun House.

As this is the last spot, I bought some vegetables. They were sold at surprisingly reasonable prices (also melons). My mother bought packs of eggplants and pears and gave me some of them.

In the corner of processed food, I found very interesting information. It was about Kikujiro Suzuki (1868-1935) who invented agar jelly candy wrapped with wafer paper. He was from this town Tahara.

Tahara Mekkun House was selling soft-serve ice cream made from melon that was appealing. Maybe next time…

Smoothie with peaches

Hamamatsu is one of the sunniest cities in Japan. Last year, it received 2,362.6 hours of sunlight in total. This year, however, we have an extraordinarily long rainy season that started at the end of June and will be end around July 23. According to a local newspaper, the total hours of sunlight in Hamamatsu from June 27 to July 16 is 32.1 hours, which is only 33% of an ordinary year. As I’m not used to such weather, I’ve got tired and really want to see sunshine.

Yesterday, I was in my favorite beauty parlor. At this time of year, they treat their customers a glass of shiso or Japanese basil juice. I got it, too, and found it very refreshing. I felt like making something good by myself to feel better. So, I went to supermarkets today to look for ingredients.

In Japan, some kinds of fruits are too expensive to buy frequently. However, it often happens that overripe fruits are sold at a reduced price. In MayOne in the station building,  I got a pack of four peaches from Yamanashi Prefecture at a good bargain though they looked just normal.

I intended to make smoothie by blending fruits and vegetables. I also prepared a ripen banana, one half of pak choi, and three green shiso leaves.

In addition to these, I had a citrus fruit called “hebesu” from Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu. I had never heard about it before, but it seemed to be used for dressing and cooking.

I peeled the skins of peaches and banana, cut all the ingredients, except for hebesu, into piece to put in the blender. Then I added the juice of hebesu and 200 cc of water and blended all. The smoothie looked like this.

The taste of it was difficult to explain. It had sweetness, sourness, freshness of green vegetables, a little thickness, etc. It was good anyway. The smoothie was about 1 liter. Later, I came to think It would have been better to make agar jelly with a half of smoothie. I has still two peaches, so I can try some other thing.