TOO MUCH FOOD!!!!

Today, I saw my friends, Mayumi, and Maki;) They are my friends in high school, and we joined the same tennis club:D We are the best friends:) Mayumi works in mental hospital since she graduated from high school, and Maki studys to be a dental hygientist in technical school. We are spending time very hard and tired, but we had a nice time today:D We chatted a lot, shopped, and ATE TOO MUCH FOOD:O!!!
At first, we went to Italian restaurant, to eat pasta!!! We ate Japanese spagetti, and they were so delicious!!! I wanted to try large serving, but we finally ordered regular size.....but it's not a good choice:( Although we ate spagetti, we were still hungry.....and Mayumi said "I wanna eat more!!" So we decided to eat dessert:D
We found a Tailand-style dessert shop and unique juice:P Lots of tapioca are inside. This picture is my friend, Maki who holding tapioca juice:) She is so cute! I ordered coconut milk taste, and Mayumi tropical fruit taste, and Maki ordered matcha taste. My juice is the most delicious:D It was the first time to drink such juice, and we enjoyed them first, but those tastes were verbose, so we felt uncomfortable soon. After we finally finish tapioca juice, Mayumi said "I'm still hungry! I wanna eat ramen*!!"
So Mayumi ordered ramen, (ramen is chinese noodle soup!!) her second dinner... This picture is Mayumi who eating ramen. She is so cute too;) Ramen is "Chinese noodle soup" in English, but I think Chinese noodle and Japanese noodle are big different:O I love Japanese ramen, so you should try it before you die:) When I saw her eat it, I became to be hungry graduately...
So I bought a big pack of takoyaki*! I love takoyaki so much:D!! Takoyakis are burnt cakes like balls that are made from flour, and pieces of boiled outpus are inside:) People eat it with mayonnaise, sweet special sauce, katsuobushi*, (pieces of dried bonito) aonori* (green laver) as they like. It's so sweet and delicious!!!!! I love takoyaki as well as sushi of all Japanese food!!!!!!!!!
But after that, we were still hungry....but I didn't have money so much, so I gave up, but we found pretty clothes and bags there, and we bought them....We couldn't save money:( We ate food too much this night:P
Anyway, I had a wonderful time with them:D!!!! I wanna see them again as soon as possoble. I think that it's the best way and important to see friends if you're tired at daily lives:) I got vigor from them!!!!

*Yakitori*

I love yakitori:D Yakitori is grilled chicken!! I went to yakitori pub with my friends, Yurie, Asami. We chatted for about four hours as eating yakitoris. We had a fun time!!! We also drank. In Japan, 20 years old is leagal to drink and smoke. We don't smoke, but like to drink very much!! I don't know how old is leagal age in other countries. I think that yakitori is so yummy, but unhealthy......but I wanna eat yakitori again as soon as possible!!! It is too yummy. I think maybe you should try it:D

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...Tendon??

Do you know tendon? I know it means "sinew" in English.....but tendon in Japanese is completely different meaning;D Tendon is "bowl of rice with tempura" like right picture:) Tempra is Japanese deep-fried food. Can you imagine that? Most Japanese people like tendon very much and eat it, but never eat sinew:P (Actually, I dont know if it's true...LOL) Tendon in English and tendon in Japanese are so different...If you come to Japan someday, and Japanese person says "Let's eat tendon!", don't make a mistake!! It doesn't mean sinew, he wants to say "delicious Japanese food!":)

Sadoh

There is "Sadoh" in Japan:) I can't say it in English, but it's written "the way of tea" in Japanese. Without Sadoh, you couldn't talk about Japan. Sadoh means that "the sprit of entertaining guests by giving match." In old days, hosts entertain their guests by giving "matcha" like pic. Match is a kind of Japanese tea, and it's very bitter for people who drink it for the first time, but this bitterness is a nice point;) In sadoh, "the sprit of hospitality" is the most important point.
Most of Japanese people drink *otya (means "tea") nowadays, but match is a little special for them becuse there are a lot of *sahoh (means "manners") when drinking match, so many people (even Japanese) feel that it's formal, and they don't drink it in daily lives recently. However, lots of people drink it as hobby.

***When Drinking Match***

Host and guest usually wear *kimono, and they fold their legs under themselves. Host make match for her or his guest in special process. it's so difficult for amateurs to make match well, and they need to practice. Host put the powder of match in teacup and pour hot water in, and mix it quickly with special tools foam it. Meanwhile, guest eats *wagashi. (means "Japanese sweets") It's so sugary because match is bitter, so they can balance their tastes. When finishing to make match, host gives her or his guest match. Host shouldn't hand it directly, and should put it on floor once! Host and guest bow down to each other, and guest says "Otenami haiken itashimasu," (It means " I'll see your skill of making match.") and guest takes it. After turing teacup two and half times, (It's very important point!!) guest can finally drink it. Guest should drink all of it, and she have to make sounds when drinking the last drips. (Making sounds when drinking and eating is very important and necessary in Japanese.) After drink it, guest says "Kekkouna otemaede gozaimashita." (means "Your skill was so good. It was so delicious.") If guests are plural, they sometimes share one teacup. In that case, first guest has to say to second guest "Osakini shitsurei itashimasu." (means "I'm sorry to drink it first.") Ans first person leave some drips of it for second person.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In these ways, when drinking match, there are a huge number of troublesome manners. Today's post is only a part of them, and it's so long way to be a master of sadoh. But It's Japanese tradition, so I think that young peoples don't have to hate sadoh, and leave the culture of sadoh:)
In fact, my grandma is a teacher of sadoh....She knows about match very well, so I'd like to study about it, and to teach it to other countries' people when I go to foreign countries;D
Do you wanna learn it??