Rice cooker baking is back! Actually, it never really left–I just haven’t been posting about it. My new favorite recipe is definitely rosemary bread, which I got from Adventures in (Post) Gradland, who actually based it on the recipe she originally got from me. (Funny how that works.)

Last year, I shared with you a little about my balcony herb garden, which survived the winter and has been flourishing with the return of spring. Well, it turns out that rosemary is fantastically easy to grow–and also really tasty! My little above went absolutely crazy over the winter, leaving him looking a little like a hippie in need of a haircut. As a result, I was “forced” to combine my love of gardening with my new-found love for rice cooker baking!

Here’s the recipe:

Rosemary Bread (adapted from Adventures in (Post) Gradland and A Modern Girl)

Serving size: Makes 1 small loaf in a 3-cup rice cooker

• 2.5 cups flour (I use パン専用強力粉)
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 1.5 teaspoons sugar (plus a pinch for the yeast)
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoons butter (softened)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup milk (roughly, add until dough reaches the right texture)
• 1/4 cup water (for the yeast)
• 2-3 tablespoon dried rosemary (depending on your taste)

Directions

1. Put the yeast into a bowl with a a pinch of sugar and 1/4 cup warm water. Mix gently together and let sit for 10 minutes until it has thickened and bubbles have appeared. Be careful with the water temperature–if it’s too hot, you’ll kill the yeast, and if it’s too cold, nothing will happen. The water should be warm to the touch but not scalding. I typically microwave the water for 20 seconds.
2. Mix together the flour, salt, rosemary, and sugar in a separate bowl (not the rice cooker bowl) and mix to combine. Then add the yeast mixture, olive oil, and butter. Add the milk as you mix gently with a spoon, stopping when all of the dry ingredients stick together and the dough starts to have the right texture. When you can’t mix anymore, use your hands to knead and shape it into a ball.
3. Put the ball of dough in the rice cooker bowl with the machine set to warm (保温)–make sure not to turn the machine on, or else you’ll prematurely bake your bread! Cover the bowl with a paper towel or close the rice cooker lid. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
4. When the dough has risen, remove it from the rice cooker with oven mitts and tip it out onto a dry surface. Punch it down and knead it again, forming it into a ball as you did the first time. Put it  back in the rice cooker on warm and cover with a towel. Let rise until doubled in size once again (about another hour, although it may be less).
5. Turn the rice cooker on. You can just use the normal setting for plain white rice, or if you have a rice cooker with a “cake” (ケーキ) course, you can use that, too. Either way, the machine should cook the bread for about 40 minutes before the time goes off.
6. After the timer sounds, remove the bread from the pan by flipping it upside down onto a cutting board (again, mind the hot pan). Replace the bread in the rice cooker, upside down, and cook for another 20-40 minutes, depending on your rice cooker.
7. Remove and let cool slightly before enjoying! The bread is delicious when served fresh and hot.

So delicious!!!

Related Posts:

• Rice Cooker Baking Experiment #2: Banana Bread
• Rice Cooker Baking Experiment #1: Cheesy Jalapeno Bread
• Traditional Kaiseki Cuisine at a Japanese Ryokan
• Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum

I started this a while ago as a follow-up to my previous post on the results of my 2012 Reading Challenge. I wanted to jump on the bandwagon and participate in the 2012 End of Year Book Survey hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner. Thanks to Bloggiesta, I follow a number of fabulous book bloggers, and although I’m (obviously) not a book blogger myself, I find that it’s sometimes useful to reflect on my reading a bit more through these kinds of exercises.

Best In Books 2012

1. Best book you read in 2012 (sub-categories allowed)?

Best “Real” Literature: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
I really enjoyed this book and devoured it in just a couple of days. Mitchell’s novel is a set of six nested stories ranging in time period from the mid-1800s to a post-apocalyptic world far in the future. A notary in the South Pacific, a musical wunderkind, a young journalist, an elderly publisher, an artificial life form with human-like intelligence and a village goatherd are somehow (maybe) connected over space and time. And the most impressive thing is that this novel, despite all of its complexity and use of clever literary devices, is minimally pretentious; Mitchell is a good enough storyteller to really make you care about each set of characters, even when you feel like you don’t really know what’s going on. Content triumphs over artifice. I highly recommend this book to everyone. But don’t despair if you feel like it start off slow or if you’re totally confused–I’m pretty sure that’s par for the course.

Best Fantasy: The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern
I loved this book. The story of two illusionists bound in a game that they themselves don’t really understand, it’s is a really addictive read; I was hooked from the very beginning and ended up devouring the whole thing in one day. The plot, the characters, the imagery, the pace–everything added up to a book that I just couldn’t put down. So what made this book so great? First of all, the description was amazing, but in a way that only enhanced the story itself. Second, the characters felt surprisingly human for a fantasy novel of relatively short length. Third, I enjoyed the way that the story unfolded in general, the way that the protagonists themselves were kept in the dark for a long while. So yes, this book was definitely hyped a lot, but it’s a really great read. In some ways, it reminded me of a less cerebral Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which I also loved. Very fun.

Best Young Adult: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Really fun book. This is the story of Seraphina, a young girl with a terrible secret who becomes a court musician and unwittingly gets drawn into a murder mystery that threatens her kingdom’s fragile 40-year peace between humans and dragons. Hartman’s dragons can take human form; they are profoundly cerebral creatures, disdainful of human emotions and also fascinated by them. Despite the two races coming closer together in some ways, fear and hate persist, and Seraphina finds herself piecing together a band of unlikely allies to try to protect the peace from the hidden enemies who would destroy it. Along the way, she struggles to come to terms with her past and her identity. I thought Hartman managed to create a really fun twist on dragon lore in this book. It’s a joy to read along and to discover her world as Seraphina discovers it. The relationships in the book are well developed, particularly for a YA novel. I would recommend this book to fans of young adult fantasy or those looking for a light fantasy read with a strong female protagonist. I can’t wait for the sequel to come out in 2013!

2. Book you were excited about & thought you were going to love more but didn’t?

 The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry
I just didn’t think that this book lived up to the hype in the end. Set in an elegant bourgeois apartment building in France, concierge Renée lives a double life. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the low-brow concierge, but she is actually a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. Another tenant, an uncommonly bright young girl named Paloma, has decided to end her life on her thirteenth birthday unless she finds something worth living for. Both hide their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them, only opening up when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives and gains their trust. For me, the story fell apart in the pacing and in the formation of relationships between characters; much of the novel is devoted to bits of intellectual commentary on apartment tenants and French society, which meant that the ending fell a bit flat for me, leaving me wondering why I should care about the fates of the characters. Also, I found the simplistic juxtaposition of France and Japan to be rather overstated (predictably). An interesting read, but not as good as I thought it would be.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
Based on my reaction to The Catcher in the Rye, I really thought I was going to hate this book. I only included it in my reading challenge because it was on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die; however, I was pleasantly surprised! In the first part of the book, we meet Franny, a college girl rendezvousing with her boyfriend for a weekend together; she unexpectedly ends up experiencing the beginnings of a nervous breakdown. In the second half, we meet Franny’s brother Zooey and learn much more about their formative years growing up in the unique Glass family. Although very little actually happens in this book, I enjoyed the characters and the dialogue. I found it witty and intelligent and … well, surprisingly uncontrived given the subject matter. I tend to be wary of overly quirky sets of potentially pretentious characters like those in the Glass family, but Salinger somehow managed to win me over.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012? / 5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

The answer to these two questions is the same, so I’ll just combine them:

The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde
The first book in the Thursday Next series, The Eyre Affair, introduces us to an alternate 1985, “…somewhere in the could-have-been, where Wales is a Soviet republic, where dodos are available in home-cloning kits, the Crimean war is 131 years old and the ending of Jane Eyre is less than satisfactory…”  In this world, books and art have become such a force that people change their names to that of their favorite poets and riot in the street to protest artistic iconoclasts. Heroine Thursday Next finds herself quite literally drawn into the plot of Jane Eyre as she tries to unravel the mystery of characters that seem to be disappearing from their books, murdered by a mysterious villain. If you are a book lover, you will feel like a kid in a candy store in Fforde’s world; he manages to drop endless literary references left and right and seem enthusiastic instead of pretentious, which is no small achievement. It also helps that Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books ever, though I hear that reading it is not a prerequisite for enjoying this book.

The James Potter series by G. Norman Lippert
I recently stumbled upon James Potter and the Hall of Elders’ Crossing, a truly impressive piece of Harry Potter fan fiction, through Goodreads. Lippert picks up where Rowling left off, following the exploits of Harry’s eldest son James at his first year at Hogwarts (and yes, with the implication that subsequent books would follow his progress through the wizarding school). James finds himself struggling to establish an identity for himself in the shadow of his famous father (now Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic). He makes two new Muggle-born friends, Ralph and Zane, and together they begin to uncover a plot to stir up conflict between wizards and Muggles and to resurrect one of the greatest wizards of all times. At the same time, the Hogwarts faculty is joined by three visiting wizards from the US, including the famous Benjamin Franklin. Once things get going, the story gets really interesting–and big mysteries are left unresolved for future installments to tackle.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

I read my first novels by Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and Jasper Fforde this year, so while they’re certainly not “new” authors, they were new to me. I really enjoyed discovering their work and plan to read the associated sequels and series to American Gods, The Gunslinger, and The Eyre Affair at some point. In terms of truly new authors, I also really enjoyed Rachel Hartman‘s debut work, Seraphina, which came out just this year.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

The Nun by Denis Diderot
I’m not sure if it was out of my comfort zone or not, but The Nun was definitely different from most of the other books I read in 2012.  Diderot took a practical joke as the inspiration for this novel, which is the seemingly true story of a young girl forced by her parents to enter a convent and take holy orders. Diderot uses this young nun’s letters–pleas for help from a would-be benefactor–as a means to criticize the convent system and what he regards as the four great dangers of convent life: “madness, the paralyzing effect of a powerful saintly personality, sadistic cruelty, and frebrile sexuality.” The work has some interesting things to say about women’s place in society and the dangers of cloistered society. And there are some sexy bits as well–I can totally imagine what a sensation this book must have caused in the late 1700s.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

I was actually fortunate to read a number of “unputdownable” books in 2012, but most captivating page-turners were probably The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Steig Larsson. I read the first book in the trilogy, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, in 2011, and while I definitely couldn’t put it down, it was just a bit too intense for me in terms of the sexual violence and virulent misogyny that permeate the book. I was happy to discover that the two books above retained the suspenseful aspects while toning down the serial murder bits. In these installments of the trilogy, crusading journalist and magazine publisher Mikael Blomkvist has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society. On the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander—the troubled genius hacker who came to Blomkvist’s aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all. Great reads for fans of crime lit and mystery.

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
I actually hardly ever re-read books, but if I were to do so, I think I’d probably give Cloud Atlas another go. As mentioned above, I really enjoyed this book the first time around, but the initial experience was fairly disorienting–wonderfully so, in fact. Half of the fun was just trying to figure out what was going on with the shifting settings and characters. I think a second read would be a really different experience–and probably a really rewarding one in that I might be able to draw together more of the themes and connections between the six separate narratives.

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10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern
For whatever reason, my reading list this year was full of lackluster book covers (not that I really noticed, since I read most of these books on my Kindle, but still). One of the exceptions was this striking black, white, and red design for The Night Circus.

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11. Most memorable character in 2012?

Wemmick from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
What a difficult question! Over the course of my reading challenge, I encountered so many memorable characters. I think one of the most interesting was Wemmick, Jaggers’s clerk and Pip’s friend. Wemmick lives a double life. At work,  he is hard, cynical, sarcastic, and obsessed with “portable property,” but at his home in Walworth, he is jovial, wry, and a tender caretaker of his “Aged Parent,” whom he endearingly refers to as his “Aged P.”

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12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

Atonement by Ian McEwan
I read a lot of wonderful writing in 2012, but the novel that most struck me with its prose was probably Ian McEwan’s Atonement. This was my first McEwan novel, so I’m not sure if this persists through all his works, but there were so many passages that were just so lovely and evocative–I felt like I could really see the events unfolding before my eyes. On a hot summer day in 1935, 13-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives—together with her precocious literary gifts—brings about a crime that will change all their lives. The novel follows that crime’s repercussions through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century. I thought Atonement really lived up to all the hype–definitely recommended to those who love a good tragedy.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?

It’s a little difficult to say what book had the greatest “impact” on me because I feel like that can mean a great variety of things. I will say that two of the more thought-provoking books I read were Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Both books made me think about life and how things don’t always work out in the long run. It’s a simple point, but it’s one that I think all people struggle with because we all sort of hope that it’ll all be ok in the end. Whether it’s the disappointment of Pip’s “great expectations” or Egan’s none-too-subtle point that “time is a goon,” I think both of these books have something to say about what “it” all means–without giving us a straight answer, of course.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited until 2012 to finally read?

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I read this classic children’s tale for the first time in 2012. It is the story of a young boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behavior through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth, where he meets a young pilot, and the two form a friendship that the pilot will never forget. I suspect that reading this book would have been a totally different experience as a child. As an adult, it reads as an amazingly poignant tale about relationships and the meaning of life that is actually pretty challenging to the ruts that many “adults” can find themselves in. Most powerful for me were the lessons about the value of relationships, not only in spite of inevitable loss but actually because of it.

15. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2012?

“So throughout life, our worst weaknesses and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of the people whom we most despise.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

“As many truths as men. Occasionally, I glimpse a truer Truth, hiding in imperfect simulacrums of itself, but as I approach, it bestirs itself & moves deeper into the thorny swamp of dissent.”
― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

16. Shortest & longest books you read in 2012?

Longest: Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens (817 pages)

Shortest: The Nose by Nikolai Gogol or A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift (both are roughly 30 pages long)

17. Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody

James Potter and the Hall of Elders’ Crossing by G. Norman Lippert
I talk about the plot of this book above in my answer to question #4. Since no one I know in real life has read this series yet, I have no one to speculate with. So, please go read this series now!

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18. Favorite Relationships From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

• Seraphina and Fruit Bat (Seraphina) : A girl and the mute boy in her semi-imaginary mental world who turns out to be real
• Franny and Zooey (Franny and Zooey): Overly intellectual, neurotic siblings who still understand and care deeply for one another
• Enzo and Denny (The Art of Racing in the Rain): A dog and his master, closer than the latter will ever know
• Shadow and Laura (American Gods): A man and his unfaithful wife turned zombie protectress

19. Favorite book you read in 2012 from an author you read previously

The Son of Neptune and The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan take the prize on this one! I was a big fan of Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians pentalogy, and I am both surprised and delighted at how well his Heroes of Olympus series is living up to and even exceeding my expectations for the characters. I tend to be really loyal to the original characters in a series; I hate it when subsequent books go on to focus on their descendants or on side characters. But in this case, Riordan builds on his original world and characters in such a way that I’ve only found the latest books to flesh out and deepen what we’ve learned and experienced in the previous installments. I can’t wait for The House of Hades to come out in October 2013!

20. Best book you read that you read based solely on a recommendation from somebody else:

Going Bovine by Libba Bray
I really liked this book, which I read based on a review by Twitter friend @mittenstrings (an English professor in real life). This book is about Cameron, an angsty high school kid who discovers that he has mad cow disease. As Cameron’s health declines, he embarks upon the adventure of a lifetime–or his lifetime, rather. Accompanied by a punk angel, a hypochondriac dwarf, and a Norse god disguised as a yard gnome, Cameron follows a random set of clues toward the mysterious Dr. X who may hold the cure to his disease. This is a tremendously creative book. I was really impressed with the way that it blended light-hearted fantasy with such a dark premise. I imagine that that it would be an amazing read for young adults–it’s also great for adults looking for a fun but substantive novel.

Looking Ahead…

1. One book you didn’t get to in 2012 but will be your number 1 priority in 2013?

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (I read it in February 2013. And it was awesome.)
Official Blurb: “The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo. A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled. As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector. A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s—1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.”

2. Book you are most anticipating for 2013?

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
Official Blurb: “At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape? They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.”

3. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging in 2013?

It’s going to be a busy year for me, so I’ll settle for being able to read another 50 books!

Related Posts:

• My 2012 Reading Challenge: The Results!
• My 2011 50 Book Challenge: The Results!

Today’s post is a flashback to my trip to China in the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake. We spent most of our time in Beijing, but we did manage to make one trip to Xī’ān, home of the famous terracotta warriors buried with Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. Another less famous emperor has a tomb nearby, however, and based on Lonely Planet’s assessment of it as “easily Xī’ān’s most underrated highlight,” we decided to book a private taxi to take us to the tomb of Emperor Jingdi (also referred to as the Han Jing Mausoleum, Liu Qi Mausoleum or Yangling Mausoleum) through the local tourist agency. We had to do this, since the tomb isn’t accessible via public transportation, but the booking process was remarkably easy, especially considering that neither of us spoke Chinese.

Image courtesy of learnchinesehistory.com

A Han-dynasty emperor, Jingdi (188–141 BC) was a complicated man. Due to the Taoist influence of his mother Empress Dou, Jingdi continued his father Emperor Wen‘s policy of wúwéi (nonaction or noninterference) and did much to improve the life of his subjects: he lowered taxes greatly, used diplomacy to cut back on unnecessary military expeditions and even reduced criminal punishments. However, he was also criticized for general ungratefulness, including his harsh treatment of his wide and of the general who helped him to win the Rebellion of the Seven States. Anyway, the contents of his tomb are fairly fascinating; they reveal a lot more about daily life than about martial conquest, which is quite a contrast to the Terracotta Army.

The museum was quite impressive.  The tomb was still being excavated, so the museum was essentially a set of glass walkways designed to give visitors the optimal view of the 21 narrow pits inside. The glass floors allow you to walk on top of the ongoing excavations and really get a good look at the relics. Upon entering, we were instructed to put plastic bags over our shoes so as to avoid scratching the floor.

The pits were really fascinating. They believe that over 50,000 terracotta figurines were buried here, but they are really different from the terracotta warriors that we’ve all come to know so well. These figurines were much smaller than the latter, and they included eunuchs, servants, domesticated animals and even female cavalry on horseback. Of course, their ornate garments and even their movable arms had long since decayed, so many of the pits contained only the remains of the slender wooden bodies, which made them look disturbingly like mass graves.

An exhibit in another part of the museum gave examples of what these figurines might have looked like originally in their colorful silk robes:

They also had reconstructions of a few of the more dramatic pieces, such as the procession below:

In all, there are believed to be 81 burial pits here. I’ve just shared photos of a few to give you an idea of the variety. As we walked through the glass-encased passageways, the museum was eerily quiet. It was also kept incredibly dark, presumably to protect the relics (which explains the slightly fuzzy quality of some of these photographs). When we first arrive, we were among perhaps only a dozen other visitors–again, a stark contrast to the crowds at the complex surrounding the Terracotta Warriors. It was a really dramatic experience.

At one point in the museum, you descend some stairs and get to actually walk alongside a couple of the pits, to take a look at the figurines and ceramic pots at eye-level. I particularly enjoyed the animals, like the sheep pictured in the first photo above and the goats and pigs depicted below:

To give you an idea of the atmosphere of the place, I took a video of my walk through this final level. It gives you an idea of how dark it was in the museum, although it sounds like a group of students on a tour came in, which made it much noisier than it had been previously. Anyway, it was really interesting to experience history by walking through someone’s tomb:

Around the outside of the museum, they had built a structure to house the remains of the old gates guarding the tomb (you can see a model reconstructing the entire complex in the second photo above). The new structure protects the ruins from further erosion and allows visitors to walk around the old walls from a variety of angles.

The upper levels also house a number of relics and models of what the complex used to look like:

On the way out, our guide told us that the inconspicuous mound below is actually the final resting place of the emperor himself:

I was really happy that we took the time to visit this lesser known Xī’ān attraction. It only took an afternoon, it was affordable, and I learned a lot about a really unique historical site. It was a truly memorable experience. If you’re building time to see the Terracotta Warriors into your China itinerary, you might consider saving a half-day to see the Tomb of Emperor Jingdi. I certainly don’t regret it!

Related Posts:

• The Temple of Heaven
• Inside the Forbidden City
• Post-Industrial Art: Beijing’s 798 Art District
• Banpo: A 6,000-Year-Old Chinese Neolithic Village
• Muslim Quarter, Xi’an
• Pigging Out on Peking Duck
• China Eats: Yángròu Pàomó in Xi’an
• A Short Introduction to Chinese Silk Making

During my time in the US a few weeks ago, I took a road trip from Berkeley down to sunny Los Angeles to attend the annual meeting of the  Western Political Science Association (WPSA). WPSA is one several political science professional association in the US (along with APSA, MPSA, SPSA, etc.), each of which has a conference every year. This year’s WPSA meeting was held at the Loews Hollywood Hotel, right next to some of LA’s most iconic attractions.

This year’s overall conference theme was “The Empire Strikes Back,” which, despite the fact that themes are never really closely adhered to, produced a number of funny paper titles. Anyway, I was lucky enough to be able to stay with some friends just down the road, but we had plenty of time to explore the sights after attending the conference during the day.

Although I’d been to LA before, I’d never really done a lot of the super touristy things in Hollywood–nor had I ever laid eyes on the iconic Hollywood sign, which was clearly visible from the conference hotel. It really looks just like it does in the movies!

The ostentation of the area immediately around the Loews Hotel was pretty amazing–it was like what I imagine Las Vegas looks like. It was a bit funny to be having an academic conference amid such decor. But we made it work. Here’s part of my department’s graduate student contingent enjoying the WPSA poolside reception (apparently, we’re bad at mingling with others):

Anyway, there always seemed to be something going on over on Hollywood Boulevard, which made for some interesting milling around.

There was some kind of movie premiere happening at one point. Also, there was a seemingly never-ending supply of people dressed up like famous movie characters–Spiderman, Captain Jack, Batman and the Joker (who we later saw getting drinks together, amusingly)… The basic deal seemed to be that you paid to have your photo taken with them, which seemed to be working out pretty well as a business model. I didn’t pay to have my photo taken, but I managed to snap this one of Spiderman working his mojo with a random stranger:

The TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Mann’s Chinese Theatre) was on the same block as our conference venue, the famous site of three Academy Awards ceremonies and the premieres of movies such as  The King of Kings and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. 

The theater is probably best known for its courtyard, which contains a number of concrete blocks bearing the signatures, footprints, and handprints of popular movie stars.

The Chinese Theatre is right along the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, which consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed stars embedded in the sidewalks of 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street (thanks, Wikipedia!). The stars are permanent public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, musicians, directors, producers, musical and theatrical groups, fictional characters, and others.

My friend and I are avid fans of jazz, so we felt the need to get our picture with famous pianist and band leader Duke Ellington. And I had to get my picture with the Simpsons’ star above, of course.

We also tried to explore some of the local restaurants, though our time was somewhat limited. One real find was a place called Grub, where I had literally the best french toast of my life (aptly named the “friggin’ amazing french toast). It took me a few minutes to realize that my “toast” was actually three croissants which had been dipped and fried. So, I basically ate all of the calories. But it was amazing.

And of course, no California road trip is complete without a trip to In-N-Out Burger, a branch of which is conveniently located approximately halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles in Kettleman City. All in all, it was a really great trip, a good mix of work and play. I can’t wait to go back again!

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One of the best things about being a graduate student is that you don’t have to spend 8 to 5 in a stuffy office. You can work anywhere you want, pretty much anytime, which means that some of us spend a lot of time in coffee shops. Over the past few months, I’ve made an effort to get around to some of Tokyo’s many cafes, so I thought I’d share some of my recent adventures with you. I’ve coupled my love of cafes with my love of Instagram–all of the photos below were taken with my iPhone, so pardon the quality. Enjoy!

Fab Cafe, Shibuya
One of my favorite new coffee haunts is Shibuya’s Fab Cafe, which opened up last year–if I still lived in Shibuya, I think I’d be here every day. Fab has a wonderful, artsy atmosphere, much of which revolves around its laser-cutting machine, which inspires customers to come in with their own creations and also gives form to creativity by the staff. The laser cutter goes through paper, felt, acrylic, wood and just about any material, so there’s a huge variety of projects possible, as long as you bring in your Adobe Illustrator vector file. For White Day, they were also custom-printing designs on some very tasty-looking macaron sets. Even if you’re just here to grab a cup of coffee and a bagel sandwich, there’s something energizing about being around people who are creating things. The seating is comfortable, with outlets aplenty and free, fast wifi. And for being in Shibuya, it’s generally not that crowded or noisy, which can be a welcome change from the cafes closer to Hachiko Crossing. It’s probably the best all-around cafe for work that I’ve come across in Tokyo.

Mojo Coffee, Kagurazaka
Mojo Coffee is my other new favorite. A branch of a popular New Zealand coffee chain, it also opened up just last year. The space is cute with good light, the coffee is delicious, and they have a yummy selection of freshly baked sweets, delivered daily by a fellow who lives in the neighborhood, in addition to savory treats like panini. I have to confess that the rotating selection of baked goods is part of what keeps me coming back; I’ve had amazing Guinness chocolate cake, scrumptious banana cake with cream cheese frosting, and even some believable sausage rolls. It’s easy to get burned out on the light, airy, Japanese-style cakes that are so common in Tokyo, and the eats at Mojo feel dense and hearty in just the right way. I also love that the selection is slightly different every day. Mojo roasts its own coffee in the roastery downstairs, and you can buy it onsite. They even have a decaf roast, which can be rare at Tokyo coffee shops. Beer and wine is also available. The cafe is pretty small, but it rarely seems to be crowded, so it’s a great place to sit for a long chat with a friend or a few hours with a book. No wifi though.

Rue Favart, Ebisu
A multiple-story cafe and restaurant just across from the Maison Franco-Japonaise, Rue Favart is a full-service restaurant and fantastic cafe. I ordered a steak lunch set that came with a soup, drink and desert for around 1,000 yen. The pastries are particularly scrumptious. I recommend sitting on the third floor (pictured above). The staff don’t seem to mind people camping out with work or a friend, particularly during the day (it gets busier at dinnertime). Free wifi is available.

Streamer Coffee Company, Shibuya
Streamer bills itself as a “Seattle-style” coffee company, and it definitely feels that way (I presume to be able to judge, having lived in Seattle for five years and spent my fair share of time in its many awesome coffee shops). Streamer is probably best known for its latte art; owner Hiroshi Sawada is a past winner of Seattle’s Millrock Latte Art Championship. But not all of the baristas are similarly skilled, so your latte art quality may vary considerably. It seems like they may be trying to discourage people from camping out here, so be aware. Aside from some Clif Bars on sale, there generally isn’t much food available. Although they used to have wifi, that’s no longer the case (beware old reviews!). And they require ever person to buy a cup of coffee or item. But, if you’re looking for a coffee shop with a US feel, this is a good option.

カフェ・タピロス (Cafe Tapirosu), Roppongi
This classy cafe is quite close to Roppongi Hills. They have a great selection of coffee and even do a scone set, which was really yummy. The service was superb. The waiter seemed to be the proprietor himself, and he had the cutest bow tie. It’s a cute place, but it also doesn’t seem to be overly crowded, so you could settle down with a book or laptop for a while. There seems to be wifi available, though I didn’t try it. If it doesn’t work, or if you’d prefer a more casual atmosphere, check out Cafe Frangipani just down the street (described below).

Suzu Cafe Udagawa, Shibuya
Another cute little Shibuya cafe, Suzu actually has two locations about a block apart from one another, which caused me some consternation when trying to meet a friend. The Jinnan location is much more of a restaurant, while the Udagawa site has more of a cafe feel. Great natural light and not overly crowded during the day. The menu has a pretty good selection of food and drink, so you can either eat a full meal or just grab a snack with coffee. No wifi or outlets though.

Brooklyn Parlor, Shinjuku
I love the atmosphere in Brooklyn Parlor–there’s something really fun about being surrounded by books, and even though this is a basement floor establishment, they really make it seem spacious and inviting. They operate full restaurant and bar, and it tends to get pretty busy on weekends and weekday evenings, so it may not be the best place to really camp out for long periods of time. But there’s plenty to choose from in terms of cafe fare, and there’s free wifi.

Cafe Frangipani, Roppongi
A quirky little haunt in Roppongi, Cafe Frangipani’s main attraction is probably the VW bus it houses–and yes, you can actually sit in it and eat/drink. This is definitely a place where you can camp out with a laptop and enjoy the free wi-fi without any waiters bothering you. Very casual and bohemian atmosphere. If you’re looking for something a little classier, check out カフェ・タピロス (described above)–it’s just down the street.

Cinnabon / Seattle’s Best Coffee, Roppongi
This place is like a little slice of the US. Cinnabon reentered the Japanese market after leaving in 2009. Its new location in Roppongi is shared with Seattle’s Best Coffee (which I find interesting, since SBC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Starbucks). When it first opened, it was rumored to be a two-hour wait for a bun of cinnamony, buttery, sugary goodness, but things have since calmed down. There was no wait when I visited in March. Also, though the main level of the shop seems to be pretty small, there is a second floor with plentiful seating, including counters with electrical outlets.

Do you have a favorite coffee shop in Tokyo? Tell me about it in the comments! I’m always look for new haunts, particularly if the coffee/food is good, or if it’s a good place to work.

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Hello, faithful readers! Can you believe it’s already almost the end of April? Where does the time go? Things have been busy for me. I’ve been trying to focus on work, which means I have a lot of blogging to catch up on! I thought I’d start off  by recounting a (semi-)recent trip to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the third largest stock exchange in the world. The TSE does tours in both Japanese and English, but it’s one of those things that I’d just never gotten around to seeing in Tokyo. So, I decided to take advantage of a trip organized by the Sangenjaya International Meetup and see what all the fuss was about!

The Tokyo Stock Exchange dates back to 1978, but it wasn’t founded in its present form until 1949. At the end of 2011, there were 2,290 domestic companies listed on the TSE; while this is only a fraction of the over one million incorporated companies in Japan, many of these listed companies are forerunners of their industry. They account for more then 20 percent of the country’s total sales and more than a third of its operating profit.

This is the Stock Exchange mascot, “Mister Share.” Cute, eh? No Japanese attraction is complete without a cartoon character of some kind. The tour started off, like almost all Japanese tours, with an educational video telling us the basics about how stocks work. Very easy to understand.

I imagine that when many of you think of a stock exchange, you think of masses of traders shouting to one another on a crowded trading floor, which is what the Tokyo Stock Exchange used to look like:

Photo courtesy of Corbis Images

However, that simply isn’t the case these days. The stock trading floor was closed on April 30, 1999 “in an effort to accelerate the speed and reduce the cost of transactions by member securities companies, and seek further efficiency in the Tokyo market.” At the site of the stock trading floor, “TSE arrows” was opened on May 9, 2000 as a new symbol of the Tokyo market. Instead of a lively trading floor, the heart of the Tokyo Stock Exchange is a futuristic-looking glass cylinder called Market Center. It’s a striking piece of design:

Stock prices spin digitally atop the glass walls, showing you the latest market information. On the floor below, a small group of TSE staff carry out market supervision tasks. They do real-time monitoring during trading hours, checking for sudden increases in order volume and sudden price fluctuations. They also take care of post-fact compliance. But it’s a pretty tame thing to watch. Most of the computer in the Market Center weren’t staffed, and others were manned by people calmly clicking at computer screens. It’s probably for the best–chaos in a stock exchange tends to suggest rather undesirable economic times. But it was eerily quiet, almost like looking at an exhibit in a museum.

After the tour was over, we took some time to wander around the Tokyo Stock Exchange museum, which was full of interesting information (mostly in Japanese) and historical materials. I particularly liked some of the old advertisements, such as this 1925 poster for Reconstruction Savings Bonds:

They also had a lot of stock share certificates on display, some of which were quite old. I think my favorite may have been this one for Sanrio:

All in all, it was a nice trip. I probably wouldn’t recommend it to the casual tourist, but if you’re interested in economics and if you’ve seen most of the major attractions in Tokyo, it’s fun, quick little excursion that can be easily arranged in advance. It might also be a nice little educational tour to take children on, provided that they’re old enough to grasp the basic concepts. Check it out, if you happen to be free on weekday afternoons!

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Some of you may remember me posting about my 2012 reading challenge a while ago, but for those of you who may be new to A Modern Girl, for the last couple of years, I have tried to recapture my love of reading by taking on a yearly goal of 50 books. While I just barely made my goal in 2011, I am proud to announce that I actually exceeded it in 2012, reading a total of 62 books. This year, I also took on a couple of “sub-challenges.” The first was the The 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Challenge (hosted at Pub Writes), which I wanted to tackle at the “Silver Medal” level (16-20 books from the master list). The second was The Stephen King Project reading challenge, in which I planned to participate at the extremely modest “A King Novice” level (1 book). I managed to complete both sub-challenges and to have a lot of fun along the way!

Below is the complete list of my 62 books for 2012, listed in the order read. In case any of you are looking for some new books to read, the items in bold are recommended based on the accompanying rating out of five stars:

* didn’t really like it
** it was ok
*** liked it
**** really liked it
***** it was amazing

If you’re a Goodreads member, feel free to add me as a friend to check out my full reviews. Happy reading!

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Happy New Year, everyone! It’s hard to believe that 2013 is already upon us, isn’t it? The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared one of their fun little annual reports for this blog, so I thought I’d share some of the information:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 35,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 8 Film Festivals.

In 2012, there were 41 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 295 posts. There were 315 pictures uploaded. That’s about 6 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was December 13th with 2,129 views. The most popular post that day was Welcome to the World of Tsugaru Shamisen.

Most Popular Posts of 2012

1. Traditional Kaiseki Cuisine at a Japanese Ryokan

2. Welcome to the World of Tsugaru Shamisen

3. Things I Like About Japan #1: Kotatsu

4. Things I Like About Japan #6: Small Drinks are Actually Small

5. Goodbye, Lennon: Remembering the John Lennon Museum

My Visitors (That’s You!)

Thanks for making 2012 such a great year at A Modern Girl! Please take a moment to like me on Facebook.

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Beautiful late autumn colors, The University of Tokyo

Cold day, bright tights

Conspicuous criminality

The way we were (circa 1989)

First attempt at homemade hummus

Happy Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by–please take a moment to like me on Facebook!

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Apparently, I’ve had a lot of new visitors lately! It turns out that my recent post on Tsugaru shamisen was featured on the Japanese-language website Searchina:

【米国ブログ】日本の三味線「独特の弦の響きとリズムに感動」

日本に滞在中の米国人女性が、日本文化に関する情報を提供するブログサイト「ａｍｏｄｅｒｎｇｉｒｌ．ｗｏｒｄｐｒｅｓｓ」で、津軽三味線（つがるじゃみせん）について記した。

友人を訪ねて青森を旅行した筆者は、津軽三味線を聴く機会があった。三味線に馴染みのない筆者は、音色に興味を持った。「三本の弦で演奏される三味線はどこかで聴いたことのある音色」で、映画などで日本をイメージする曲で使われている気がするという。筆者にとって三味線は、「異国情緒溢れる音」だと述べる。

三味線に使われる革は、太鼓に似ている印象を持ったようだ。革は音楽のジャンルと弾き手の技量で異なるようで、一般には猫の腹を使用していたが、高価なため稽古用には犬の革を使用すると説明。さらに、糸も伝統的には絹糸を使うが、稽古用には長持ちして安価なナイロンを使用すると補足した。

三味線が最も特徴的なのは、独特の弦の響きとリズムで「西洋音楽に似たビートに心を打たれた」と感想を記した。津軽三味線は青森が発祥で、この地域の大小レストランで演奏がなされている。筆者が夕食を食べた店でも行われたようだ。「驚くほど素晴らしいパフォーマンスだった」と絶賛し、翌日もほかの店で演奏があったが、「なんと、小学生の子供が堂々と三味線を弾きこなしていた」と感動を伝えた。

「地元の店で日本文化の興味深い面を経験できてとてもラッキーだった」と語り、「もし三味線に興味があったら、ユーチューブで聴いてみてほしい」と推薦。日本人にとっては聞き慣れた三味線の音色も、外国人にとっては新鮮に聴こえるようだ。（編集担当：田島波留・山口幸治）

Here’s my very quick and awkward attempt to translate the article for my English-speaking readers–if you look at my original post, you’ll notice some differences in content:

Japanese Shamisen: Moved by the Unique Rhythm and Sound of the Strings

An American woman living in Japan writes about Tsugaru-jamisen in her informational blog about Japanese culture, “amoderngirl.wordpress.”

The author had a chance to hear Tsugaru-jamisen when she traveled to Aomori to visit a friend. Being unfamiliar with the sound of the shamisen, she was interested in its tone. She says that “the tone of the three-stringed shamisen, which you’ve probably heard before,” is used to bring to mind the image of Japan in movies and the like. For her, the shamisen is “the sound of the exotic.”

It seems that she has the impression that the leather used in the shamisen resembles a drum. She explains that the leather is different depending on the genre of music and the ability of the performer; generally, a cat’s stomach is used, but it is expensive, so a dog’s stomach is used for practice. Moreover, the strings were traditionally made of silk, but for practice, it is supplemented with durable and low-cost nylon.

The most characteristic thing about the shamisen is the unique sound of the strings and the rhythm, which she thinks “strike the heart in a beat similar to Western music.” In Aomori, the home of Tsugaru shamisen, performances are held in various local restaurants. It seems that there was even one at the restaurant where the author ate dinner. She praised it as a “performance so terrific I was surprised.” The next day there was another performance at a different shop, and she was impressed at “how an elementary school child could play so confidently.”

“I was very lucky to experience such an interesting aspect of Japanese culture at a local shop,” she says, “If you are interested in shamisen, please listen on YouTube.” It seems that the sound of the shamisen that is so familiar to Japanese people sounds fresh to foreigners.

And there you have it, real-life cultural exchange via the blogoverse! :)

Searchina did a similar article on my post on Traditional Kaiseki Cuisine at a Japanese Ryokan back in November 2011 as well. You can read the Japanese article here:

日本の懐石料理「きめ細かいサービスと味に感動.

As always, thanks for stopping by! The holidays are almost upon us–I hope all of you are warm and happy this winter!

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