Benjamin Martin's Blog: More Things Writing, page 38

Rice in Japan

With rice being a staple of the Japanese diet for hundreds of years, to the point where it was the basis of currency in the Tokugawa era, there is a lot of importance and variety to rice in Japan. For much of Japan’s history rice was grown by peasants for the use of upper classes. Though they grew it, they lived on lesser grains and grasses and it became a food they might only eat on special occasions or festivals.

Easy Okonomiyaki Recipe

Ingredients 1/3 Cabbage (shredded) 1/2 Carrot 3/4 Onion 1 Piman (small green pepper) 3 cups flour (same as for tempura, cake, or cookies) 1 can beer or equivalent water and 1tsp baking soda 3 large eggs 2 packets hondashi (traditional Japanese seasoning) Salt, Pepper, Garlic Olive Oil Optional: Meat (bacon, pork, or sausage), other vegetables, okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, katsuobushi (bonito flakes) Recipe Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake found throughout Japan. Like many dishes here, the in...

Once more on Marriage and TV

If you follow this blog you might have seen my original post on dating in Japan and my experience with the TV show Motemote99 (now Omiai99) or the post on getting married in Japan. From that you probably know that the lady I met on the show and I got married in February, and that the camera crews came along for the ride. Last week the popular Tuesday night show Motemote99 returned as Omiai99. The four-hour special focused on the

A School Closing in Japan

What is the importance of a school? To small communities like the ones in rural Japan a school can be the very heart. In a land where the PTA has a far more visual and important role, the school acts as a focal point for community events and networking among parents, local government, and even the large population of elderly people not comprising many rural areas in Japan. The past two weeks marked a transition in Japan, with the financial

2014 Kume Island Sugar Ride

Every year Kume Island hosts a large group of cycling enthusiasts from around Japan and the world. The Sugar Ride cycling event is a non-competitive ride around scenic Kume Island. It is a great way for cyclists to meet others and enjoy a ride together. All the courses have various stops for rest and refreshment. This year there were three options for participants, including 45, 90, and 130km. The longest “Challenge Course” included three rings around the island and gives

Automatic Driving Cars in Japan

We’re not talking about a new transmission, instead, think Knight Rider. On Kume Island, Denso Co. in partnership with NEC is developing a car that can drive automatically. This project is one of several as the town works to turn itself from agricultural outlyer to a fully renewable clean energy smart island. With a population declining by around 100 people per year, such initiatives are essential for dealing with a growing elderly population and creating new jobs so that young

8 Winds Garden Restaurant

During my mother’s visit to Okinawa we spent a few days on the Okinawa mainland where a friend of mine showed us some of the local sites. One of those sights was on the cliffs of Nanjo city in the south-east of the island. High above the ocean sits a set of rustic buildings and an amazing view. The place our guides suggested for lunch was the Eight Winds Garden (八風畑) Restaurant and Kokuto factory. Built around the black sugar

Kumejima Kumiodori

If you keep up with my Facebook page’s daily photos you might have seen the post below a few weeks ago from the Ancient Tales of Yomitan Village production that the Kume Island Board of Education brought to Kume Island to entertain and inform. Post by Benjamin Martin. That production started off a lot of discussions with the Tao Factory writers and producers and in just a short time they began working on a new production based on Kume Island’s

So You Want to Get Married in Japan

So no posts for two weeks. Trust me, there were good reasons. Reason one was that my mother made her first international trip and came to visit. If you saw the TV show I was on you will have seen that my brothers and I gave her the tickets for her 65th birthday. Ona related note… You’ll be able to see more about what happened on TBS’s Motemote 99 show in a few weeks. Make sure you’re following on twitter

Aoshima Shrine

On the last day of my trip to Miyazaki Prefecture in January I traveled to Aoshima Shrine with my fiancée and her family. The shrine is located in the middle of the forest on a small island connected to the mainland by a bridge. The day we attended was a large festival where attendees braved the cold seawater for good luck this year. We arrived in the afternoon so we missed the crowds. Next to the island is an interesting