Damn Tantrums!

These days Iki has been throwing his tantrums for like the 8 hours out of 12 hours a day!! I am trying hard to keep my patience level to the highest right now. He wakes up at midnight every day and crying for like half an hour. I don't know what he wants, and I ended up sleeping on the floor in his room. I don't have good sleeping quality lately and my back is killing me now. I don't want to sleep there actually, I just can't help not to fall asleep after he screamed at 4 o'clock in the morning.



He is a nice boy outside the house, e.g during visits to his grandparents house or at his swimming school, but once we arrive home he would change into this little monster who cries very loud while shouting "NO NO NO". What I hate the most was when he took of all his clothes and continued crying nearby the big window, the coldest part in the living room.



Today he got a bit cold. He sneezed a lot and got a little runny nose. It ruined his mood the whole day. I tried, really really tried my best today not to blow up. Being angry doesn't solve the problem, he would just cry even louder. I just can't understand what he wanted and what was in his mind. This morning, for example, he had a very strange menu combination. Tempe and strawberry, must be eaten together in sandwich style. EUGH (>.<).



He didn't want to play by himself too, and I was not allowed to do any house chores. He hung on my leg and pulled me out of the kitchen. At last I took some of my kitchen utensils and asked him to separate the spoons, chopsticks and forks. It made him busy for like 15 minutes when I could wash the dishes and boiled some beans for his snack. But then he got bored with the game and spread all the spoons, forks and chopsticks all over the living room. When I told him to stop doing that, the tantrum started again (#_#).



And tonight he wanted to have dinner in darkness. He insisted to turn off all the lights! Of course we couldn't see well. He spilled his tea onto the chair and all over the floor, and spread his food on the table. Again after some words came out of my mouth, he started screaming again. I got terrible headache and had to take painkiller.


angry Iki

Finally it was time for brushing his teeth, the last thing to do before going to bed. But it took forever and he didn't want me to give final cleaning on his teeth. When I gave up and told him to sleep instead, he got angry again and wanted to finish his teeth brushing, WITHOUT opening his mouth to let me do my thing there. It was just too much, I lost my patience and burst into tears. I was so tired emotionally. Tired of listening to his cries, tired to control my patience, tired to control my mouth and my hands (of not doing something harmful), and tired of being with him ONLY for the whole day (Hiro had to come back home very late these days due to his job). Iki was surprised to see me crying. He finished his brushing thing quickly, went to bed and fell asleep in a minute while hugging me. Then I couldn't stop crying for another hour, but I felt better afterwards. And now I feel even better after rambling here :p.

Hhhh......how would he be tomorrow....?!

Sapporo: Food Paradise

I love this city. I had Japan's most delicious food there. All the food we had there was satisfying. If you ask me why would I go back to Sapporo beside it's Snow Festival, then it must be the food!!
It has the best farm and dairy products: sweet corn, potato, milk, cheese, butter.
It has the freshest seafood I've ever had in Japan
It also has the best grilled lamb
It has addictive sweets and snacks
And It has one of the most delicious Ramen I've ever had

So let's follow my culinary journey during our last trip to Sapporo (^__^)

Hokkaido's specialty: Kani or King Crab. The meat was so tender and sweet and really really fresh!



Kegani. This smaller hairy crab is somewhat tastier than the King Crab. It just needed more effort to take the meat out of the shells :p. The best part was eating the "Kani Miso": the crab's stomach parts inside the main shells.



Sashimi. God!!! These sashimi were heaven!! They were really really fresh and tasty and soft and tender and delicious and I got multiple food orgasm eating them. There were hotate (scallops), maguro (tuna), sanma (only VERY fresh one could be eaten raw, otherwise it's poisonous), kujira (whale - hmm didn't really fond of it, too hard for me), aji, shrimps, and abalone. Boy my mouth is watering again now. Do I have to go to Sapporo again to eat them or does the famous Tsukiji market in Tokyo offer at least the same freshness level?! :p



Ika no sashimi. Alive Squid. Poor animal. It was still alive when cut into thin slices. The tentakels were still moving when served on our table. The sliced squid were still transparent, showed that it was really sliced when it's still alive. This kind of squid is Hakodate's specialty.



And I got honor to eat the head area!!!! I couldn't believe I ate them (>.<). I must be under beer and Sake's influence :))



Hotate Corn Ramen. We had ramen at Susukino area for lunch. Sapporo's specialty is miso ramen, and because I love hotate (scallop), I chose this ramen. For me it was Japan's second best ramen after Kyushu's Tonkotsu ramen



On the last night we had grilled lamb in Jenghis Kahn style for dinner at the famous Sapporo Bier Garten, former factory of the famous Sapporo Beer



It was an all you can eat style restaurant. Very famous and full of foreigner. The restaurant was highly recommended by Hiro's friend who lives in Sapporo so I believe that local people are also fond of it. The meat came together with a plate full of vegetables. This grilling style reminded me of the similar ones we usually had in Korea. The meat was tender and juicy, and the dipping sauce was a perfect match. This was my early birthday celebration :p



I ordered Hokkaido boiled potato dressed with Hokkaido butter as a side dish. Hmmmphhhh.....it was really really delicious!!!



The next day we had lunch nearby Sapporo tower after scrolled down some statues we haven't seen yet at the Snow Festival. Hiro had this Uni (sea urchin) Gohan. I never liked uni before because I felt some strange smell and taste from it. But Hiro said his uni gohan was really fresh and delicious that I was "seduced" to try a little. I was so surprised that it tasted really good!!! Now I fell in love with uni, but only the very fresh one!



And of course I ordered my favourite ever Ikura gohan



Accompanied with a small plate of pregnant Shisamo fishes



I bought this snack to be brought back to Tokyo. I guess almost everyone visiting Sapporo were bringing back this snack. The famous SHIROI KOIBITO. Thin white chocolate in thin crispy biscuits. We saw everyone at the airport bringing this thing, and when we bought, the man beside us bought 50 packages!!



I also bought the new product from Shiroi Koibito



Hokkaido's butter raisin pie. I love this snack the most!



Dried Hotate (scallop)



And smoked salmon chips



And of course delicious Ikura :p. No photos, they are now safe in a bin inside my refrigerator hehehe

God, I'm drooling....Sapporo is definitely a food paradise!!

Sapporo Snow Festival

At last....at last I could see one of human's most spectacular creations: Sapporo Snow Festival!!!

We stayed at Washington Hotel, located at the neighborhood of Sapporo Station. Very strategic place. The snow festival was just 1 station from Sapporo Station, it was actually within walking distance but we were traveling with Iki and Hiro's parents. So we would pass the walking possibility, if possible :p.

Iki was sleeping and Hiro's parents needed some rest so after checking in, Hiro and I walked to the Odori Park, where the main snow festival was held. We were welcomed by this snow statue: "We want to protect the earth and the future of our children". A huge statue that brought an environmental issue to stop global warming:



There's also a huge statue of Disney's upcoming movie: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I love watching the Taiko performance on stage the next day but everyone walked away quickly. I guess for them it's just an usual thing meanwhile for a foreigner like me it's really "interesting".



Actually within half an hour the lights would be turned on and the view would be even more spectacular, but it was almost dinner time so we didn't have much time to scroll down the park more. But I did take a shot nearby the Sapporo Tower which located at the end of the Odori Park.



On the next day all of us headed to Odori Park right after we had our late breakfast. We visited the Family Land first so that Iki could play there and then won't disturb us after he's satisfied.



These are some of the huge amazing snow statues.



There were lots of smaller ones as well. From animals to temples. From favorite baseball team to favorite cartoon characters. Iki was happy to find "nyanya" or cat he's been looking for:



And got even more excited when he found Thomas Train:



And I got excited when I found cotton candy :))



There were also famous Children TV show: Domo-Kun, and the very famous "Oshiri Kajiri Mushi", an insect who loves to bite butts :p



Almost at the end of the park we could see the huge ice sculptures. Seemed like they brought the whole zoo into the snow festival.



At the last day we got inside Sapporo Tower and I had to hold my breath to see the whole snow festival view from above:



Closer view:



Besides Odori Park, there're two more Snow Festival locations: Susukino site and Satoland. We didn't go to Satoland because it's way too far though there would be lots more playing area for Iki, but we did take a little look at Susukino site. At this area, various ice sculptures were displayed. We went there after sunset so they looked really beautiful under the lights.



Frozen aquarium?! Boy....I felt pity for those underwater animals! Though for Hiro they looked delicious :p



There was even an ice Karaoke room:



And bars!!! Wanted to try but changed our mind when we saw the price :p



This sculpture reminded me of Korea.....oh how I miss Korea!! :p



It was still snowing when we took train to airport, leaving Sapporo. I really love this city. Wish to come back again someday (^___^)

Early birthday presents

I got early birthday gift from papa-chan today. An Ice cream maker, to complete my kitchen gadgets :p. Gee....only Iki and papa-chan eat ice cream during winter :)) :))



It's almost 2:3o in the morning now. Just finished preparing my handbag. Will have another early birthday present, my 5 years dream: Sapporo Snow Festival!


Image taken from Wikipedia

So excuse me for 3 days ahead. We're off to Hokkaido this morning (^___^)

PS: Thank you papa-chan. Have been waiting forward to this trip, and got really excited for the whole month :p

Setsubun

According to Japanese Lunar calendar, February 3 is celebrated as Setsubun or literary means seasonal division: one day before Spring. On that day people across the country throw away roasted beans around the house. Japanese believe that these kind of beans could chase away devils, so that they could start a brand new Spring with all the happiness. No devil, no winter colds. Every house may have different way of doing this based on their family tradition, but generally people will shout "ONI WA SOTO!!!" (Go away, Devil!!!) while trowing away beans to one of family member wearing devil's mask in front of the opened main door ; and then shout "FUKU WA UCHI!!" (Happiness, come inside!) while throwing away beans inside every room in the house. After that each family member must eat the roasted beans as much as his/her age.

It was snowing on Setsubun this year. A pretty heavy one in Tokyo. So Iki and papa-chan was busy playing outside until at last Iki felt really cold and agreed to go back home.



And this was our dinner. Tara Nabe. Boiled white fish with various vegetables inside a hotpot. What could be better for such a cold snowy day?! :p



At the end of the day we also did the Setsubun tradition, throwing away beans around the house. Iki got really excited and made the "throwing away" gestures even until he's on bed.
Papa-chan was the Oni or devil this year :p. Oni wa soto!!!!!



Fuku wa Uchi!!!!



And of course Iki didn't want to eat only 2 beans! hahaha (as he's only 2 years old)

Meiji Jingu

Almost all Japanese make the first visit of the year to a Japanese temple for praying. It doesn't matter though when exactly one should visit it, but lots of people prefer to go on the the New Year day or first few days after it.

Today we made the first visit of the to a Japanese temple. Hiro avoided the crowds during New Year period so we thought today was perfect. We chose Meiji Jingu nearby Harajuku station because it's the closest big Japanese temple for us. We were welcomed by huge gate, literary written as the biggest temple gate all over Japan, and must walk for about 1 km to be able to reach the main temple. There were a lot of big trees along the rocky path, gave me a thick "nature" feeling in the middle of busy-and-full-of-skyscrapers-Tokyo.



This is the gate to the main temple:



Before entering the temple we must "clean" ourselves from dirt. Symbolically by washing our hands and rinsing our mouth, but this time we just washed our hands a little.



Little Iki also got his hands cleaned with that very cold water



And then we entered the main temple. At first we threw some coins into the wooden boxes in front of us, clapped our hands twice, and prayed our wish of this year. After I did my part then Hiro gave me a late warn: "YOU MUST TAKE OFF YOUR GLOVES!!". A very nice late information (@_@)!


Iki throwing away coin into the wooden box

After that we bought omikuji or poem drawing for 100 yen. Omikuji in English were available too, considering the large amount of foreigner visiting the temple.

The omikuji we got at Meiji Jingu was composed, in the traditional 31 syllables form, by either the Emperor Meiji or the Empress Shoken. Those imperial poems express ethical admonitions in the Shinto tradition.

This is Iki's picture when taking omikuji for Hiro:



And this is what is written in my omikuji:
Toki osoki tagaiwa aredo tsuranukanu
Koto naki monowa makoto narikeri

means:
Some are fast, some slow,
But one thing never fails
To pierce through the final goal:
It is sincerity

It does have a deep meaning for me :)



It was an unbelievably 6 hours trip! And it was a big mistake to wear high heels :p

ふぐ (Fugu)

Fugu is the Japanese name of blowfish, whose skin and some internal organs are highly toxic to human. Fugu's meat has a very incredible taste, but it could be very poisonous if served incorrectly. Therefore only specially licensed chefs are allowed to prepare and sell Fugu to public. This makes Fugu one of the most celebrated and notorious dishes in Japanese cuisine. The best time to eat Fugu is during winter, when Fugu has lots of fat all over its body. It's when Fugu's price becomes very expensive. (Information taken from Wikipedia)

Last Saturday we had fugu as dinner at Ginza with friends. The homepage of the restaurant is here. Photos and menu could be seen there as well. I had my camera repaired at that time, so I couldn't take any pictures of my own. (_ _!)

The restaurant is not big, run by an old couple, but it gave us a very friendly environment. After we ordered drinks, came squid sashimi and sweet potato meal in small saucers as appetizers. It tasted really really good and we cleaned them up in a second. Then came thin sliced Fugu sashimi as the main food, with ponzu as a dipping sauce (citrus tasted soy sauce). The meat was really tasty and tender, melted in my mouth. Too bad I couldn't eat this much because Iki loved it and didn't allow me to eat much (T_T). And then came spicy deep fried fugu, the only menu I could eat for myself because it's too spicy for Iki hahaha. Again the taste wasn't disappointing. And at last the Obaachan brought a nabe pan with boiled water inside and put it on the gas stove in the middle of our table. Then she brought a big plate of Fugu head, cut in bite sizes with many kinds of vegetables. First of all the fugu was put into the pan and boiled together. After everyone finished eating it, then the vegetables were boiled too. When everything was finished, white rice were put inside the pan and boiled together with the nabe left broth. It's like having fugu and veggies taste porridge. Tasty though a bit too thin for me :p

It was really a satisfying dinner. Typing this made my drooling again, too bad (really really TOO bad), I don't have my own photos :(