Oktoberfest and Tsukimi

The wind has blown a warm yellow moon up over the sea; a bulbous moon, which sprouts in the soiled indigo sky, and spills bright winking petals of light on the quivering black water.

-Sylvia Plath

It was time for one of our favorite little celebrations of the year: Oktoberfest. We started the night with some German beer.

Then it was time to dig into the main course!

Apples with caramel apple dip, French bread, German Sausage Kettle, cheddar cheese and summer squash with onion, garlic, tomato and cheese. Yum!

Beer, apples and caramel apple dip

Close-up of the summer squash dish

Chad and Yasu, digging in.

Never realized until that moment that French bread actually makes Chad's eyes roll.

After eating way too much (and adding more German beer and wine to the festivities), we decided it was time to check out the moon. A less well-known celebration in Japan, Tsukimi, or moon-viewing, takes place in the fall to honor the autumn moon. I think this is a really sweet tradition, and falls in line with the cliche about stopping to smell the roses. We should stop and recognize the beauty of the moon every night, and Tsukimi is a nice reminder. And to top it off, part of the tradition includes drinking sake and eating mochi (rice cakes)!

We had some white mochi with a light sugary powder and anko (sweet red bean paste) inside.

This year, the night for Tsukimi fell on September 22nd, but at that time we were on a plane headed to Thailand. I had wanted to celebrate so badly that I checked the moon calendar to find out when the next full moon would be. Turned out it was the same night we had chosen for Oktoberfest, and despite the clouds, we got a great view.

By the way, you might know a tricky little cat (who doesn't know me anymore!) named Tsuki. Please remind him to be nice to us when we visit Michigan next month. We've got tickets to go home for two weeks!

What? It's Already November?

~

October flew by, and for the most part it was an uneventful month here in Yokkaichi. Some things of note:

• I auditioned for a job as a wedding singer, and I got the job! I am officially starting in December, and currently have three weddings lined up that month. Now to find a dress to perform in...

• We bought tickets for home! We're coming to visit from late December to early January. Can't wait to see everyone ♥

• We've been working for another branch of our main company and got to do a couple Halloween parties. I love Halloween and was feeling pretty homesick because Japan doesn't really celebrate it to the extent Westerners do (though it is growing more and more popular year by year). These parties really helped fill my Halloween withdrawals--I got to see loads of kids dressed up, play Halloween games with them, listen to spooky music and do "trick-or-treating" with them.

• We've been trying to make or find fall treats that we take for granted back home. I decided to have a go at making homemade caramel apples, but the Japanese caramel was SO sweet! Not to mention I thought I'd try and make them fancy by adding crushed M&Ms (and got lazy and just stuck them on instead of crushing them). Despite my slight disappointment at how they turned out, I was pretty amused by the look on the face of our friend from New Zealand when he saw what I made for dessert. Apparently they don't eat caramel apples in New Zealand, and he was totally taken aback. He told us he'd like to see us "try that" on our friend from Australia!

• Lastly, we tried to have an Oktoberfest party, which basically consisted of Chad, our friend Yasu and me. Though it wasn't really Oktoberfest at all, we figured the Japanese take things from other cultures and make them their own, so why shouldn't we? When in Rome -- or Japan -- right? Below is a picture of our feast:

Apples, homemade caramel apple dip, French bread, Kenchin Jiru (Japanese Stew), pumpkin bread, Brazilian sausages, Gouda cheese, wine and beer.

This is an up-close shot of the Kenchin Jiru. It has pork, potatoes, daikon, carrot, mushrooms, green onions, several seasonings and sauces. So good!

That's all for now. We'll try and be better about November updates than we were last month! Take care!