Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is a heart warming movie based on the true story of a faithful Japanese Akita dog and his owner. The Hollywood version stars Richard Gere, but the best acting of all would be for the Akita dog Hachi!

I like the feel of the movie, with it’s quaint town and friendly characters. There were a few scenes that could have been omitted, but overall a nice movie that will have you feeling sentimental for this loyal dog soon enough.

Although this American movie came out in 2009, the original Japanese version was made in 1987 titled “Hachiko Monogatari“.

A little history:

“In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo, took in Hachikō as a pet. During his owner’s life, Hachikō greeted him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station.

The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return. The professor died, never returning to the train station where Hachikō was waiting. Every day for the next nine years the golden brown Akita waited at Shibuya station.” - source from Wiki.

To this day, there is even a bronze statue to honor Hachiko at the train station.

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Due to the fear of radiation traveling to the coast of the U.S., some Americans have been buying potassium iodide, considered a defense against radiation poisoning. I am not one of them, instead I am eating more miso soup. I also sprinkle 1 tbs of kelp powder into my meal and it’s especially tasty in spicy noodles.

This small and nice steaming bowl of miso soup is very nutritious, but also high in sodium. So limit your soup to 1 per day. Photo from Virgin Media.

Miso is made by adding a yeast mold (known as “koji”) to soybeans and other ingredients. They are then allowed to ferment from weeks to years. Different types of miso are produced based on how long they are fermented. Once the miso has fermented, the ingredients are ground into a paste similar in texture to butter. If sealed well in a glass jar, miso can also last up to a year in the refrigerator.

According to Dr. Shinichiro Akizuki, director at St. Francis Hospital, Nagasaki (circa 1945), “Miso belongs to the highest class of medicines, those which prevent disease and strengthen the body through continued usage.”

Anna Bond, author of The Miracle of Miso wrote: “Over a 25-year period, the Japanese Cancer Institute tested and tracked 260,000 subjects, dividing them into three groups. Group one ate miso soup daily, group two consumed miso two or three times a week, while group three ate no miso at all. The results were stark: those who had not eaten any miso showed a 50% higher incidence of cancer than those who had eaten miso.”

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It’s been 2 weeks since Japan was struck with 9.0 earthquake and tsunami. But the real danger is that of radiation leaks from the damage done at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Friday (3/25/11) that the situation at a quake-damaged nuclear plant remained very precarious.

So far vegetables being grown in the area and milk has been contaminated. Drinking water as far as Tokyo have been contaminated as well. And now there are trances of radiation being found as far away as Iceland. Some of this radiation is also blowing to our California coastline and into the U.S. So the danger is not just isolated in Japan as radiation can spread to the rest of the world.

In a perfect world where the energy plant isn’t toxic surfers or even a lady walking her dog will be able to observe the disaster without worry.

As for California, we also have 2 ocean side nuclear reactors sitting near seismic faults. And tsunamis are a risk. Should anything happen, how will all the people be evacuated? And this is a state of 37 million people!

I was also wondering how many nuclear plants are there around the world. Luckily I found this map from the Guardian (UK) that gives a great picture of nuclear plants and some that are built around earthquake zones. Larger image here.

Notice how most of Europe and the eastern part of U.S. is dotted with nuclear plants. And I am surprised to find France having the most nuclear reactors. Especially for a country that despise McDonald’s and is proud of their farm fresh outdoor market.

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When I think of art, I usually think of museums with art you can’t touch. Or art that is otherwise hidden in someone’s private collection.

But not this artwork, it’s functional art that serves as a journal too. This journal is also neat that it has a magnetic clasp that keeps it close.

It’s made with beautiful Japanese kimono print. I love the color and the gold accents.  This pattern would also make for a nice blouse.

Here’s more info from Paper Blanks, the makers of these notebooks:

Block Print Reproductions Of Kimono Patterns.

Ukiyo-e (pronounced uu-kee-yo-eh) or “pictures of the floating world” is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings.

The kimono prints for this series were originally woodblock prints created by art publishers who meticulously reproduced enlargements of small details taken from the artwork of the greatest artists of the Edo period (c. 1600-1867), inspiring contemporary garment design trends.”

Note: Thank you R.E. for the gift!

M coaches kid’s soccer and one of his students gave us these treats from Japan. I just had to take a photo of them because the packaging is too cute.

The wrapper is very artistic.  It reminds me of pretty gift wrapping paper.  So it definitely feels like a treat to eat them.  

These little green tea candies also came in a cute package. There’s even a green ribbon to match the green candies.  They are hard candies that taste like green tea butterscotch.

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This is one of the first few bounty harvested from my mom’s garden.

We’ve always refer to them as Japanese pumpkins. The correct name is Kabocha squash, and it’s a type of winter squash.

The Kabocha squash took only four months to start producing. The seeds came from the squash she purchased at the market. I am always surprised to find that seeds from market produce can grow just as nicely in the garden.

My mom thinks they are one of the most easy to grow pumpkins. She just loves growing pumpkins and has three varieties in her garden.

One of which is almost white in color and grew by accident. But then it became a favorite for it’s taste. Her pumpkin varieties are known to be very creamy, nutty, and sweet. And the Kabocha fits right into the list.

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If there was a way to farm or garden without having to weed, prune, water, use fertilizer or pestides would we do it? The answer would seem to be 100% YES! But unfortunately it’s not something we are used to hearing or think is remotely possible.

Welcome to the world of permaculture. It is defined as “permanent agriculture”- where the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. Or simply stated as farming along with Mother Nature alone.

Masanobu Fukuoka (February 2, 1913 – August 16, 2008) is a pioneer in the world of permaculture. He has written numerous books on the subject, starting with The One-Straw Revolution.

Abundant Rice field growing in Japan. Photo by Kjeld Duits. Duits has written a great article about Fukuoka: Farmer- Philosopher.

Here is a little more info about Fukuoka:

“At age 25, he began to doubt the wisdom of modern agricultural science. He eventually quit his job as a research scientist, and returned to his family’s farm on the island of Shikoku in Southern Japan to grow organic mikans. From that point on he devoted his life to developing a unique small scale organic farming system that does not require weeding, pesticide or fertilizer applications, or tilling.”

He is also considered to be a philosopher as well. Definitely someone I wished I had heard about sooner.

Bill Mollison is another pioneer of permaculture. Declared as “Ecologist of the Century” in Australia. Here is some info I’ve found about him from an interview with Seeds of Change.

“Permaculture is nothing less than a “sustainable earth-care system” capable of providing our food, energy, shelter, and other needs while conserving the world’s resources.”

He advocates local food production and regional self reliance.

Another amazing farmer to note in the world of permaculture is Sepp Holzer of Austria. Holzer’s farm high up in the Austrian mountains is a very unlikely place to be farming. But he’s been doing it successfully for the past few decades.

His farm includes forest gardens, terraces, and ponds. There are fruit orchards, including fruits you can’t imagine would grow in such high altitudes. There are also many garden variety vegetables that could feed a whole village. Holzer’s method of gardening is to throw seeds everywhere and just let them grow. Holzer believes the plants are beneficial to each other as well as the soil. It’s a really interesting concept that still amazes me.

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Clematis are some of the most beautiful climbing vines. The name clematis comes from the Greek word “klema” meaning “climbing”. There are over 400 varieties of clematis in the world.

Clematis are natural climbers, so it’s best to grow them along fences, trellis, arbors, or even with a nearby shrub.

In the botany world, the colorful flowers are actually not petals, but sepals of the plant. In other plants, sepals are normally green and much smaller then the petals.

This one is called “John Paul II”.  The buds are very pretty, they look almost like lily blossom.  And the white flowers (sepal) look like fabric.

And this is the “Ariake” clematis from Japan. Such a delicate looking flower.

This down facing clematis is “Blue Boy”.  Also another delicate variety found growing in Japan.  It looks like a pretty parasol.  The buds are also very pretty.

This is the “Dr. Rupel” found growing in Argentina. It is another one of my favorite clematis. The pink ribbon like strips almost look like they’ve been painted in by someone. This one is similar to the “Nelly Moser” variety that is also very popular.

Note: These beautiful collection of clematis photos are by Tsuyoshi Isojima of Hiroshima, Japan. Of all the varieties of clematis, they are some of my favorites.

I’ve never grown clematis, but found some great tips from gardener Doug Green. And here are some of his useful tips:

- They love to grow in full sun and require good soil. It likes rich organic soil amended with compost. It does not like clay soil and will not do well there.

- When you are ready to plant them, dig a hole that is 2 x 2 feet and 12 inches deep.

- Protect the root by adding organic mulch (not rocks) around the base of the plant. Organic mulch provides good nutrients for the plant.

- Water weekly and water deeply.

Hopefully with these helpful tips I can then learn to grown my own clematis soon. I also like the idea that they bloom for months over the summer time.

Clematis are said to be easy to grow. And once the plant is established, they are easy to care for and plenty of flowers.

And unlike bougainvillea, which are also very pretty, these flowers do not have thorns. Which are good for me, since I’ve had my share of being around thorny plants.

This deep purple beautiful clematis are grown in North Carolina.  Nye Noona took this photo from her sister’s garden. The beauty of the flower and photograph itself just takes my breath away.

This new clematis cultivar is grown in New York. It’s a much lighter purple and growing along an iron fence. I love how the tips of the sepal look like stars. Photo by Bill Bird. He has a great photo gallery of many other cultivars too.

Blooming clematis is such a rare and welcoming sight here in Northern California. So just seeing them in photos is good enough for me.

I finally got to see “Ponyo” last weekend.  The animated film is both written and directed by Miyazaki.

Ready for an adventure?  Check out Ponyo!  Image source.

As with many of Miyazaki’s film, the children are brave and the environment needs to be protected.  In this case it is our ocean.  This is a good reminder for us to think about our planet more.  These days, we hear about how much the ocean is contaminated with mercury and garbage.  There is even an island of garbage floating right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean called “The Garbage Patch“. It’s unbelievable.

As for the story line, I felt it’s aimed more towards younger fans. A bit like “The Little Mermaid”.  But Ponyo is entertaining and brings you to a time of youthful innocence and adventure.

Ponyo is a fish with a human head who wants to become even more human.  A young boy named Sosuke came across Ponyo when she was injured and swept to the coast.  Soon enough, Ponyo turns into a human child.  After a storm, the place is flooded and the adventure begins.  The children then set out to rescue Sosuke’s mom after the flood.  They come across kind local towns people.  They face their fears and overcome danger.

As with many other animated films by Studio Ghibli, the animation is great.  The feelings and expression are portrayed very well by all the characters.  Especially the expressive little Ponyo and the adventurous and clever Sosuke.

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Last weekend, I decided to pick up Costco’s Kirkland brand of green tea.   It was surprisingly very good green tea.  The tasted reminded me of the green tea served at authentic Japanese sushi restaurants.

It turns out the teas are Japanese grown green tea and packed by Ito En.  According to Ito En, out of Japan’s 47 prefectures (provinces), there are only three major tea producing regions.  For a small island nation where space is a premium, growing tea must be something they cherish.

It is definitely good green tea.  Even when steeped for a long time, the green tea never gets bitter. It reminded of the green tea I got from Two Leaves and a Bud, but so much cheaper. Being that it was 100 bags for around $12. They are also available at Amazon for slightly more.

The tea is packed in flat nylon mesh bags. At first thought, maybe this contributed to the taste of better tasting tea.  As the material is suppose to encourage a better infusion. Many “gourmet” packaged tea have been using these nylon tea bags for the past decade.

The downside to the nylon bags is that it’s not biodegradable. And at the rate of 100 bags per customer, that’s a lot of nylon bags being thrown in the landfills.

I also don’t feel so safe (health wise) about exposing the nylon bags to the high temperature of my water.

Due to these reason, I can’t get myself to purchase the teas again.  I would suggest they change to tea bags made from natural fiber.  Even the cornstarch based mesh tea bags are biodegradable, but they are still made with GMO- based material.

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