Drinks, 酒, 静岡県, 農業, Fujinomiya City, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, sake, Sake Brewery, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Shizuoka Sake, Tourism

Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Fujinishiki Brewery-Izu Yama Yama Nama Honjozo

November 4, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

I found this limited edition at the station of Izu Nagaoka along the Izu Hakane Railway Line runnning from Mishima City to Shuzenji.
The same brand is sold all over the Izu Peninsula as a regional private brand.
Izu Yama Yama means the Mountains of Izu!

I actually conducted this tatsing session by the side of an open hot spring bath in our room at the Yoshiharu Sap Resort Hotel!

Rice nilled down to 65%
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Nama/Unpasteurized
Bottled in October 2013

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Transparent
Aroma: Assertive and fruity. Dry almonds
Body: Fluid, slightly sirupy
Taste: Well-rounded fruity attack.
Complex. Lots of nuts, macadamia nuts.
Disappears quickly with fruity nuts, hints of custard and notes of apples and chestnuts.
Drier and drier almonds appear on back of the pl\alate with every sip.
Very easy to drink.
I especially enjoyed it a good hour after dinner as a solid and eminently elegant night cap.

Comments: Very pleasurable sake.
Unpretentious but still elegant and so satisfying.
Will please beginners and veterans, ladies and gentlemen alike.
Best appreciated chilled.
Would make for a beautiful and lighter digestif.
You must try it with cheese!
Will surprise many a person with its ever-changing facets!
Since it is sold in small bottles only, it would make a nice present to be enjoyed after a great meal!

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Shop with Intent by Debbie
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Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
ABRACADABREW, Magical Craftbeer from Japan
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

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静岡県, Japan, Japanese Culture, Mishima City, Photography, Shizuoka, Tourism

“Dismembered Man” by Bruno Maroni in Mishima City!

November 4, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

If you have the chance to visit Mishima City in the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture I would recommend you to visit the Clematis Gardens, the more for it that they offfer a free limousine service from and to Mishima JR Station!

The Gardens include a large museum showing the works of Bruno Maroni but his most remarkable creations are exhibited all year round in the very large park either on the luscious lawns or in front of other buildings!

It is when you look at this statue from other angles that you realize why I called it a “Dismembered Man”!

And from that angle it is difficult to realize what it represents!

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美食, Drinks, 酒, 静岡県, 静岡市, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, sake, Sake Brewery, Shizuoka, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka Sake, Tourism

Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Kumpai Brewery-Kosha No Mori Tokubetsu Honjozo

November 4, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Kosha No Mori is another regular brand that Kumpai produces every year!
Kosha no Mori/木柘の森 means “Japanese Box Forest” as for the tree called Japanese Box!

Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 16 degrees
Bottled in August 2013

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Faint golden hue
Aroma: Dry and fruity. Alcohol. Custard, macadamia nuts, persimmon.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Very dry attack backed up by pleasant alcohol.
Complex.
Very dry fruits. Almonds, custard, with hints of banana and dark chocolate.
Disappears quickly.
Changes little with food except for an accentuated alcohol and a new surge of almonds.
Actually marries well with food, especially izakaya fare.

Overall: A sake obviously conceived to accompany food.
Very dry but fruity and complex making it eminently enjoyable on its own.
A sure value!
Most recommended for BBQ’s!

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“Flying Death” by Bruno Maroni in Mishima City!

November 4, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

I called this particular statue “Flying Death”!

The fear of an approaching end!

Fast flying Death!

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美食, Drinks, 酒, 静岡県, 静岡市, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, sake, Sake Brewery, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Shizuoka Sake, Tourism

Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Kumpai Brewery-Tenryou no Taki Junmai

November 3, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Tenryou no Taki is one of the regular brand names brewed every year by Kumpai Brewery in Shizuoka City.
Tenryou no Taki/天領の瀧 means “Heavens World’s Waterfall”!

Rice: Biyama Nishiki (Shiga Prefecture)
Rice milled down to 55%
Dryness: 0
Alcohol: 15 degrees
Bptt;ed in July 2013

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: Dry and fruity. Discreet, difficult to catch. Faint pears and custard
Body: Fluid
Taste: Well-rounded attack with puissant junmai petillant warming up back of the palate .
Very pleasant alcohol.
Very fruity and slightly sweetish.
Complex and rich.
Custard, macadamia nuts, pears, chestnuts.
Disappears fairly quickly on a very pleasant and smooth note with plenty of nuts.
Changes little with food but for a drier and almost spicy note.
Calls for the next cup in spite of its sweetness by Shizuoka standards.
At its best slightly chilled.
Actually takes on a much drier tone with sweet food.

Overall: Elegant and “kind” sake, typical of Kumpai brewery.
Extremely pleasant, especially chilled.
Beautiful on its own, although it marries lovingly with any food, even spicy.
Could be either enjoyed as a magnificent chilled aperitif or digestif!
Pefect with cheese!

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“The Three Ages of Man” by Bruno Maroni in Mishima City!

November 3, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Back view.

I call this work “The Tree Ages of Man” although I heard that Bruno Maroni called it “Infinity”.

The Man himself seems apprehensive or sad?

He is apparently looking at his past…..

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Italian Gastronomy: Lunch at Cafe Akko in Mishima City!

November 3, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Service: Shy but friendly and attentive
Equipment & Facilities: Extremely clean overall. Beautiful washroom.
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Slow and healthy Italian gastronomy created mostly with local products!

The people in Mishima City are very lucky as they are surrounded with fielads and gardens that supply them with fresh (many organic) vegetables (and meat) all year round!
Cafe Akko is one of the many great little places in town that offer very healthy, reasonable and slow food.

It has been conceived in an unusual all length and narrowness to take advatntage of whatever space available. And it is so clean!

Lunch is particularly interesting as you can choose from no less than 7 set lunches. although you may choose a single item from the carte if available for lunch!

Dragon who planned to share hers and especially my order, chose a single item: “Kimagure salad/Chef’s salad of the Day”!

Enormous as you can see from the other side!
So many vegetables and pieces of fine meat, practically all local!
A full meal by itself, I can assure you!

As for me I chose (and shared!) the seafood lasagna lunch set!

Apart of a complimentary coffee it is served with home-made focaccia,

potage,

And a cute salad!

An artistic and so tasty lasagna!

The lasagna was prepare as a large round one before being cut into quarters.
Each quarter is then baked upon order and serve with a tasty but light tomato sauce.

It is also brought to you with grated parmesan cheese and home-made basil paste.
The lasagna itself is not only so tasty but a lot lighter than expected!

Cute little home-made biscuits served with coffee!

Cafe Akko!
Can’t wait to come back to Mishima City!

CAFE AKKO
411-0036, Mishima City, Ichi ban Cho, 17-49, BT Bldg., 1F
Tel.: 055-943-5598
Opening Hours: 11:00~22:00
Closed on Sundays, national Holidays and Wednesday evenings (except when fully reserved or for events)

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Scarab by Bernard Buffet in Mishima City!

November 2, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

If you visit Mishima City in the Eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture you ought to visit The Clematis Garden and the Bernard Buffet Museum in one single trip as they are very near each other.
You will be surprised at the amount of art on show!

It was brought to japan all the way to Mishima as it had been created in 1975 some time before Bernard Buffet came to establish himself in Mishima City!

You will see this enormous scarab statue by Bernard Buffet who also painted the same on a big canvas on show inside the Museum (no pictures allowed there unfortunately but definitely worth a grand visit!

In full flight through a rainbow?

A bit frightening through this angle, though!

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Mount Fuji World Heritage on Izu Hakone Railway Line Train!

November 2, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

For the railway and train buffs!

The other day as I was going to board my train to Izu Nagaoka on the local private Izu Hakone railway Line in Mishima Station I noticed a new sign at the front:
“富士山文化遺産登録”: “Mount Fuji World Cutrl Heritage Registration”!

The last stop of this particular line is “修善寺”/”Shuzenji”.
Apart of the evident attraction to railway buffs I definitely recommend you ride this line which will show you so much of Izu Peninsula!

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Daidogei Street Performers Festival in Shizuoka City 2013 (November 1st~4th) 2

November 2, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Lucie Brouillard, face painting artist from Quebec!

The weather today being markedly cooler than yesterday encouraged me to have a look at what happening in downtown Shizuoka City during the second day of the 2013 version of Daidogei Street performers Festival!
Bear in mind that I’m only interested in the “side shows”, leaving the main show with the professional guests in Sumpu Park to other geeks!

I was supposed to meet friends of Shizuoka JR Station who never turned up but I was lucky enough to take a pic of this Japanese acrobat couple’s last gig!

A mime/clown from Chile!

The marching was still here!

Another bunch of clowns!

The ostriches were still there, too!

Lucie Brouillard, my favorite side show artist at work!

This mother actually requested a penguin to dhow her kid!

Pixie mother and daughter!

Nail painting!
For adults!

More nail painting!
For kids!

Young male bodies….

A great way to entice customers!

Who are the real kids?

Face drawings apparently done by art students!

This pantomime is a regular feature year after year and is getting more and more attention from onlookers and the media!

A frightening centipede from South Korea!
I heard that they also performed in my own hometown’s Street Performers Festival in Chalon Sur Saone, France last July, which is also visited every year by Masaaki Koga, the chief organizer of this Festival in Shizuoka City!

The kid didn’t care a fig!

To be continued…………

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Butterfly by Bernard Buffet in Mishima City!

November 2, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

You will this enormous butterfly statue by Bernard Buffet who also painted the same on a big canvas on show inside the Museum (no pictures allowed there unfortunately but definitely worth a grand visit!

As far as photography is concerned there loads of possibilities!

A side view will make it a hard guess!

Another possibility at an angle from the back!

Can you guess what the next picture of an insect statue might be?

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Daidogei Street Performers Festival in Shizuoka City 2013 (November 1st~4th) 1

November 1, 2013 dragonlife 2 Comments

Masaaki Koga, the Man who made it all possible!

The 2013 version of the Shizuoka Daidogei has finally kicked off in bright sunshine and I took the opportunity to take a few pictures as the long week-end will be a real tussle!

A small marching band?

Like the years before faint painting was one of the most popular events right from the beginning!

True colors?

A pixie?

An elf?

A loving couple!

Even the models were highLy concentrated!

Photographer being photographed!

Hey! What’s this?

Giant ostrich!

Beware the fowl!

Plenty of clowns of all ages everywhere!

Ready for the picture?

masaaki Koga and his troops/troupes looking forward to meeting you tomorrow again!

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レシピ, 猪肉, 美食, 野菜, 静岡県, 静岡市, 観光, 魚, 鹿肉, 農業, Fish, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Restaurants, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism, Venison, Wild boar

French & Italian Gastronomy: Seminar by Wasabi No Kai in Shizuoka City!

November 1, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Asabi No Kai or Wasabi Meetup is a non-profit association of chefs, producers and gastronomes based mainly in Central Shizuoka Prefecture.
The basic purpose of this Meetup is to promote the products and gastronomy of Shizuoka Prefecture as well as visiting producers and make their products better known and to promote Shizuoka Gastronomy in general to the public.
A regular event is held on the last Tuesday of every month.

On October 29th, most members met at Il Castagno Italian Restaurant in Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City for a seminar to share cooking techniques and ideas.

The seminar had started at 11:00 a.m. and due to work I could join only an hour later and missed a fes demonstrations including the above wild boar tagliatelle,wild boar sauteed and amago trout soup!

An attentive auditoire composed of some of the most famous chefs in central Shizuoka Prefecture, be they specializing in French, Italian, Sapnish and even Chinese gastronomies!

Chef Kakiyama of Al Forte Restaurant!

Wild Boar Belly Confit!

The wild boar had been confit to soften its fat and had been pasted with a mixture of cheese, breadcrumbs, mustard.
Served with sauteed fresh shiitake mushrooms and cress, with a persimmon sauce!

Chef Onoda of Caravin!

Amagi Shamo quenelles!

The quenelles (as of the fish or meat dumplings prepared in Lyon, France) had been made with various parts of Amagi Shamo Chicken bred at Horie Poultry Farm in Amagi, Izu Peninsula. The soup had been made with fresh shiitake mushrooms from Amagi!

Ballotine of foie gars and Amagi Shamo chicken breast served home-made pain d’epices (Dijon-style ginger bread).

Beautiful design! Ballotine made with foie gras and chicken is difficult because of the different texture!

Amagi Shamo Chicken beats lacquered with steamed pilaf!

seasoned with finely shredded fresh wasabi root!

Chef Sugimoto of Tetsuya Sugimoto Restaurant!

Amago trout, marinated between “knse” sheets and aromatic herbes over minced satoimo/taro root and gobo/burdock!

Includes olive oil, white wine vinegar, orange olive oil, and salted water jelly!

Amagi Amago trout pre-cooked (5 minutes) and maronated, sauce tapioca, salt, olive oil, sesame seeds, breadcrumbs, salt seaweed/shio konbu, shirasu/whiting!

Sudach1 lemon mousse, with sauce made of sesame oil, salt, balsamic vinegar. Wasabi zuke sorbet. Tomatoes marinated in salt, white wine vinegar and olive oil!

Sauce similar to a home-made mayonnaise. Fresh herbs include dill, lsauteed ucolla roots, taragon!

Chef Sugimoto holding “Komotake” also called “Makomo” or “Hanagatsumi”/”Manchurian Wild Rice” stems, a great vegetable only started to be actively grown in Shizuoka Prefecture!