7th August, 2010 - Well, after all that shopping earlier in the day, we were well primed for a quick dinner before heading out for the night. Okaasan had made a fairly typical meal for us - simple but delicious. We had a chicken meatball soup... (above).
Some tempura beans from T-chan's auntie's garden... very fresh and delicious way of eating them.
And we also had some baked Hokke, a fish (related to mackerel) that you'll find up to the north of Japan... and especially Hokkaido. This is often written as Hoke in english, and shouldn't be confused with Hoki which is a more common fish (especially around Australia and New Zealand). The fish itself is quite nice, a firm white fish meat that is very nice no matter how you cook it.
After having eaten dinner, T-chan and I went out... and I have to admit, we don't get much of a chance to do that enough these days. The outing of choice? To go see a movie ("Inception" - don't forget this was last year) down at the Sapporo Cinema Frontier at the JR Tower, Sapporo Station. Going to the cinema isn't cheap in Japan... the normal price is 1800yen per adult (about 22.50AUD) - or down to 1000yen for children. It used to be that going to the cinema was cheap in Australia, but those days are gone. We often pay about 18AUD these days here...no wonder the cinema is struggling these days.
Now in Australia we tend to have one cheap day per week (here it's "tight-arse tuesday")... but things are a little more complicated in Japan:
- First day of the month
- Menzudei (wednesday special for males only)
- Ladies Day (thursday special - you guessed it, for femails only)
- Late screenings (after 8pm)
- Mornings during the week
- Over 50s - 1000yen
Very complicated indeed... and whilst we caught the 8:30 session (ok, we're tight), and even though it was a Saturday night there really weren't that many people there. Still, we enjoyed our date out, and we enjoyed Inception. Not quite as cerebral as I was lead to believe, but still a good movie with plenty of action with the Kubrik-esque style. As for the movie-going experience, it was quite enjoyable, and JR Tower's a convenient place to watch a movie. Strange to go to Japan to watch a Hollywood movie.
On the way home the weather took a turn for the worse. Summer time in Japan is synonymous with rain, and whilst less so in Hokkaido it was still pretty bad. We thought we could out-walk it from the subway line... alas with only one umbrella (which T-chan had except for this photo when we got back home), we were always going to struggle. I can't remember the last time I got this wet.... actually, this is most probably why I don't (as a habit) enter wet t-shirt competitions. Good taste and possibly local laws prevent it. Or at least should.
Next time we'll definitely taxi it back!
Ooh, that chicken soup is looking really good (I've kind of got a cold right now..).
ReplyDeleteAlso, your theatre had a Men's Day? Wow. I was always envious of the Ladies' Days, but didn't know of anywhere to go for a cheap day for myself.
Definitely a good dish with a cold.... even if it was a summer dish.
ReplyDeleteAs for the men's day... it's a good idea, but I wonder how the whole thing works for couples? Does the woman choose the movie on the male-special-night, and vice versa?
Sometimes the simple things in life are best and the chicken meatball soups looks so much like a good comfort food. We used to visit the cinema in Japan for the late night special (after 8pm) only 1000 yen each which is not too bad compared to Australia.
ReplyDeleteJapan Australia
Yeah - 1000yen starts sounding pretty cheap... and a good night out. I don't understand why the cinema is so poorly attended in Japan (from what I've seen). I know their film industry is in a complete rut at the moment. Shame... I'm still waiting for Dororo 2 to be made, but I think I can kiss that sequel good bye!
ReplyDeleteThis tenpura is done with pod?
ReplyDeleteThis fish seems to be very good! *__* Appreciate it!
Speaking about cinema, do you like anime? I like too much of animes of various genres! japaneses drawing very good! have moments I read mangas and like too much! this good to spending the time :)
Yeah - pod and bean are all eaten.... not sure what the bean type was (can find out, but my wife's autie's veg).
ReplyDeleteAs for anime - I quite like, but mostly into Studio Ghibli and Satoshi Kon's movies (though sadly he's passed away). There's so many genre's as you said. And so much to like.
It always surprises me to see how universal manga and anime can be.
Thanks for popping in and leaving a message.
Sorry for you to be that wet!
ReplyDeleteSapporo is one of the places I would like to live in when I get a better position.
Kofu, where I live, is OK, but not my favorite.
My wife Katya has finally established her life in Japan here and wants to stay. Very understandable.
Well, we will stay in Kofu for a couple of more years at least.
I think that it's important when coming to a new country, like Katya, to establish roots somewhere. It's a big move.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I highly recommend Sapporo to live, but... you have to enjoy snowy winters (and all that brings with it) and not mind that it's a long way to Tokyo.