X-Pat Files

Since long before I got here, 1994, Osso Brasil has been serving up great Brazilian food in Osu. Long a popular spot amongst the foreign population, it is most famous as “that place with the really good rotisserie chicken in Osu.” For about 1500 yen, you get the whole roasted bird; don’t bother asking about half orders; you won’t get one!

You can smell the chicken roasting long before you get to the shop, which is great because you will be good and hungry when you arrive. It comes with a mix of chopped pickled cabbage and peppers that is really spicy and very tasty. Be prepared though, the whole thing is salty, and beer is recommended- mostly by me. They also have salads and bread (cheese bread, meat bread, etc) that are quite tasty, but the chicken is the main draw.
If, like most people, you are not able to finish a whole chicken in one sitting (amateur!) fear not, I have the answer to your problem. 5 ways to use rotisserie chicken at home!



Breakfast
BBQ Chicken and Cheddar Omelet
I realize BBQ for breakfast might sound a bit strange; however, the flavors in this omelet will surely get your day off to the right start. I prefer vinegar-based sauces, but feel free to choose your favorite brand of sauce to use in this recipe. (Prep 10 minutes, Cook 10 minutes, Serves 1)

Lunch
Chicken Salad
Rotisserie cooked chickens make great chicken salads because their meat is moist and tender. Serve on toasted bread for a sandwich, or alongside some sliced tomatoes, a hardboiled egg, and a few dill pickles for a complete lunch. Keeps up to 3 days covered and refrigerated. (Prep 10 minutes, Assembly 5 minutes, Serves 4)

Snack
Rotisserie Chicken Quesadillas
I’ve yet to meet a man who didn’t like quesadillas; yet I’ve met many men who surprisingly don’t know how to make this simple dish at home. I’ve kept it simple with this version, only adding in a few extra spices to ramp up flavor. I find that using the dark meat chicken adds more moisture and flavor. (Prep 5 minutes, Cook 15 minutes, Serves 4)

Soup
Chicken and Orzo Soup
Forget about heating up that stuff in the can. This soup is perfect for a cool winter evening, or even a sick day at home. Purchase a high-quality chicken stock for a more authentic home-made taste. (Prep 20 minutes, Cook 30 minutes, Serves 4)

Dinner
Easy Chicken Divan
This is a step outside the box for me as I’m not typically a casserole kind of guy. Served along with rice and a green salad, this is a great comforting meal that is sure to satisfy the entire family. (Prep 15 minutes, Cook 45 Minutes, Serves 4)

To see the full recipes please see the Art of Manliness Blog!

OSSO BRASIL
Nagoya, Naka ku, Osu 3-41-13
052-262-7706
10:30-21:00
Closed Mondays
Google Map

Higashiyama Zoo

Nagoya’s Higashiyama Zoo and the neighboring Botanical Gardens first opened their gates to visitors in 1937. Located just east of the city center, and extremely popular with Japanese families and couples, the city-owned Higashiyama site is easily accessible by public and private transport.

In common with zoos the world over, this one will not please everyone. The last major renovation was carried out in 1968, and some of the facilities are showing clear signs of age. It will come as no surprise to visitors familiar with Japan’s love of concrete that the predominance of the gray material, along with the small size of many enclosures, singularly fails to conjure up any impression of a ‘natural’ environment.

The other side of the coin, of course, is that the zoo is playing its part in preserving endangered species, and through signage and interactive displays it seeks to educate its visitors about the natural world. The Children’s Zoo is a good example of this. In the Petting Zoo, kids can touch and feed livestock animals such as sheep and goats, and the Bird and Squirrel Forest allows visitors to see indigenous creatures close-up in something approaching a natural setting.

There are plenty of side attractions for those seeking a break from the fauna, such as a monorail that circles the zoo, a lake with pedal boats and the Botanical Gardens. The latter are extensive, and include a rose garden, botanical hall, western garden and even a Gassho-style house (a traditional house with a steep thatched roof).

There are many Japanese maps dotted conveniently around the zoo grounds. English-language maps and information pamphlets are available from the Zoo Education Center near the main gate.

There's plenty of standard Japanese fare available onsite, but it is quite pricey and packing sandwiches or a bento is probably a better idea. Just be sure not to share your food with the animals – they are on special diets.

Night Zoo

For two six nights in early August (5-7 and 12-14), Higashiyama Zoo will be open until 8:30, past the usual closing time of around 5pm. Highly recommended for families and anyone else who has ever wondered what a zoo looks like at night.

If that's not enough of a draw, they have plenty of attractions to keep everyone entertained:

• Animal Talk Relay
You get to hear fun stories about the animals from their breeding staff.

• Botanical Talk
Botanical garden staff show off fascinating plant life including plants that bloom in the evening such as Santa Cruz Water lilies and Moonflowers.

• Massive Wall Painting Project - A gift to the future
This project is part of Civic Participation Programs. A huge mural will be completed and presented on August 6th. Don't miss it!

• Food Stall Village
Based on the theme of "local production for local consumption", there are many delicious shops gathering in this stall village.

• Light Art with Mino Washi (Japanese paper)
In collaboration with the tourist association of Mino city, about 90 pieces of light art are displayed on the 550-m long historic street.
Enjoy this beautiful night zoo and feel the sophisticated Japanese atmosphere.

• Charity bracelets
Glow stick bracelets will be sold with the aim of supporting reconstruction up in Tohoku.

• Flower Stage Show
Masters of illusion and magic Primavera and Sweet Lily will be performing on the stage.

• Uchiwa (Japanese paper fan)
Each day, the first 1200 people to arrive will get original "Night Zoo and Garden" paper fan.

Admission fees:
¥500 Adults, Junior high school and under free.
¥100 Over 65 years old Nagoya citizen

Advance tickets are available from Circle K.

If you have ever wondered about what is going on in the foreign community of Nagoya that does NOT teach English or work in a bar, there is a free publication that will keep you up to date on the latest happenings in that community. Brought to you by the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) Chubu Chapter, this electronic newsletter provides English and Japanese language based chamber event reports, monthly schedules, and special reports related to business and community topics in the greater Nagoya metropolitan area.

If you are interested in learning more about what goes on in Nagoya’s foreign business community, this would be a good website to keep an eye on! The report is available monthly, and is published by Elitus Design.

If you are interested in current events and live in the Nagoya area this may be the event for you! Everyone's favorite peddler of fiction, non-fiction, and community events, Mondo Books in Osu will host the Nagoya Current Affairs Discussion Group on Sunday July 24th, 2011 from 1400-1600. There is no set discussion topic, and so will likely range from current news, Japanese politics, living in Japan, or to basically whatever you want to talk about and can interest other people in.

Participation is free, but attendees are, as always, encouraged to feed their minds by buying ten books. Ok, one will do, but why limit your own growth?

For more information, contact Emanuele at casnagoya2010@yahoo.co.uk

Or see the Mondo Books Website

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Where to Find Safe Food in Japan
Taken from “Terrie’s Take,” written by Terrie Lloyd



On July 4th we wrote a piece joining the dots on radiation concentrations in places around Tokyo where there should not be any. It seemed to us that radioactive nuclides, like non-radioactive heavy metals, appear to be able to be concentrated under certain circumstances and therefore even though the atmosphere registers as clean, perhaps we should still be worried about our food supply.

That article generated a lot of response, especially from readers with children, wondering what they could do to limit possible exposure to contamination. Normally we don't stick to a subject like this -- we like to move our focus around a bit. However, barely ten days after our Take, it emerged in the Japanese press that in fact cattle from Fukushima which tested clean on the outside were found to have 2,300 becquerels per kilo (2,300 bq/kg) of Cesium-137, about five times the legal limit, when slaughtered. What's worse, over one ton of the meat found its way into the food supply, being sold all over the country.
Since then a number of other disturbing "finds" have arisen in the press, indicating that not only were there some very ill-informed decisions made by authorities as to what to do with animal products (meat, milk, fish) in the period immediately after the explosions at the Fukushima plant, but that there still seems to be some sleight-of-hand going on for government food health statistics.

The latest thing to catch our attention, which we appreciate receiving from the well-informed folks at www.safecast.org, is the news that contaminated milk from Fukushima has been mixed with product at factories located as far north as Tohoku. So if you thought you were buying from a safe producing area, the milk authorities have had different ideas.

This milk mixing revelation, so far unsubstantiated, comes from a Prof. Takeda in his blog,

http://takedanet.com/2011/07/post_088c.html

but it appears to be backed up by a Sankei newspaper article revealing that the authorities stopped monitoring Cesium levels at individual milk producers in April, and instead started monitoring cooling stations where the output comes from many farmers, including those from safe areas. Naturally the numbers were evened out and those farms with "hot" output were no longer obvious as they got diluted with less-contaminated product. Thus it was that on April 26 the ban on the sale of milk from Fukushima was lifted.

If you want to see which brands have been engaging in this dubious practice, go here
Sorry, many of the links from here on are in Japanese only:

http://www.teppeinomori.com/201105/20110521001.htm

OK, so we have the authorities trying to keep the dairy business in Fukushima going through what we think is a quite unethical practice. We suppose that in a twisted logic sort of way, their rationale of diluting dirty product with clean makes sense, since it keeps radiation numbers below the limits. But would you drink it if you knew this?

Our take on what to buy, what to avoid:

1. Leaf and Root Vegetables
The advice we've had so far is to generally avoid any vegetables from Fukushima and possibly northern parts of Ibaraki. If you can't do this, and often vegetables are not labeled as to their source anyway, then you'll be wanting to eat veges that grow deeper in the ground (Cesium tends to stick to the top 5cm surface layer) or better still, eat hydroponically grown veges for a while. There is a plentiful supply of hydroponic Romaine lettuce, sprouts, rucola, sunny lettuce, and other veges.

2. Rice
More concerning in a couple of months’ time will be new harvest rice. It seems that rice planting was given the go ahead in Fukushima after what appears to have been faulty soil testing procedures. The government cut-off for soil samples is 5,000 bq/kg of Cesium-134/137, and the Fukushima government was getting 4,000bq/kg in their samples. However, they were taking samples 5-15cm deep, while Cesium sticks to the surface. Apparently a rice farmer took a sample from the top 5cm of his land rather than below that depth and had it independently tested. He found it was contaminated to the tune of 35,000 bq/kg!!!
Documented here.

http://ameblo.jp/noukanomuko/entry-10926646707.html

Incompetence? Purposeful manipulation of the tests? Hard to say, but our advice about rice is clear. We would stock pile with last year's crop, before the new Fukushima product makes its way into the food system. Rice keeps forever in the fridge anyway, so we advise buying some month's supply and let the media do the sleuthing of whether or not the new season's product is safe or not.

3. Mushrooms
We would stay away from mushrooms that come from Fukushima and any neighboring prefectures to the West and North -- since this is where the wind patterns blew some of the Cesium-137 from the explosions. Mushrooms with gills, such as shiitake, are apparently very efficient at absorbing nuclides due to their not having roots and stems. Wild mushrooms near Chernobyl are still showing up with contamination 25 years after the event.

4. Fruits
The best thing about summer is peaches, and fall the apples -- two kings of Japanese fruit growing industry. Our guess is that only a small quantity of these fruits are grown in Fukushima and surrounds, and considering the volume you'd be eating they pose a low risk. However, berries of all types grown outdoors in and around Fukushima-ken should probably be avoided -- these are another source of contamination from Chernobyl experience.

5. Proteins
Probably the biggest concern is about milk. As mentioned, it has come out that the milk authorities have been mixing Fukushima-sourced product with clean milk from other areas, presumably so as to dilute it. We ONLY buy milk that expressly says it comes from Hokkaido right there on the packet. Our rationale is that it would constitute false advertising if they were to mix it with product from somewhere else.

Fukushima is a major producer of eggs and pork, which we would avoid for the time being, unless they're labeled as being from somewhere else, or are imported product. What to do with beef is less clear, despite the scandal over mixing contaminated product, because public awareness will probably keep supplier shenanigans to a minimum from now on. However, thanks to the fact that Japan imports so much of its food anyway, as one consumer said on TV recently, "If it's Aussie beef, I'll eat it." Yup, you have plenty of alternatives. Try Costco if you want foreign food.

No one seems to know what to do about fish. Personally, we'd stay away from fish that obviously comes from the area, Sanma (Pacific Saury), etc. Instead, it's not that hard to stick to imported salmon, colder water fish such as Hokke (Mackerel) which comes from the Sea of Okhotsk, shrimp, and other varieties that are unlikely to be locally sourced.

6. Bread and Processed Soy Products
Most of Japan's cereals are imported, particularly flour (wheat), so we think these products are safe. Soy on the other hand may wind up being a "mixed bag" (like milk?). Right now about 2/3 of Japan's soybeans come from abroad, primarily the USA and South America, but of the remaining 1/3, 25% comes from Tohoku. We don't know how much comes from Fukushima to the south, but our guess from agriculture production figures, is that it's not much.

7. Local Organic and Traceable Sources
If you are particularly concerned about source of produce, then consider shopping online. If you use Radish Boya,

(http://www.radishbo-ya.co.jp)

an organic food supplier which is extremely popular and well priced, they state where the food comes from. Lots of Ibaraki-ken sourced product, though, so we're not sure how good this is. Other prefectures where they appear to have contract farms producing in large volume are in Chiba and Gunma -- both of which had less exposure to the fall-out from the explosions. Radish Boya also tests its food for radiation and generally to date they have been reliable with food safety awareness -- their brand would be destroyed overnight if they weren't.

8. Kyushu sourcing
If you are really concerned, then you could consider sourcing from Kyushu and other further locations. Here are some links to such sites. Again all in Japanese.

http://www.green-grace.co.jp/
http://vegetaberus.com/?tid=1&mode=f7
http://www.k-vf.com/

Lastly, we wish to keep things in perspective. At the levels Cesium is being detected in our food in and around Tokyo (versus right next to the Fukushima plant), the situation appears to still be safe for adults. As an indication, the US government says that if 100,000 people were continuously exposed to a layer of soil with an initial average concentration of 1 pCi/g (by our calculations, about 37bq/kg) of Cesium-137, then 6 individuals would be predicted to die of cancer that could be related to the exposure. This compares to about 20,000 people who would die from other types of cancer (US average). The Japanese limit for food is 300 bq/kg, and in eating such food, you would be excreting most Cesium-137 nuclides within 30 days.

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Is Our Food Really Radiation Safe?
Taken from “Terrie’s Take,” written by Terrie Lloyd



Our breakfast most mornings, including this morning, is muesli, soy milk, yoghurt, and fruit -- followed by an apple and carrot juice chaser. But after today, we might be changing menus. You see, yoghurt = milk, fruit = berries, and carrots = root vegetables. All of these foods are considered greater-than-average sources of long-term radiation contamination, and all are under scrutiny in growing areas outside the Fukushima exclusion area.

Why are we worried about food? It's been a series of things really. The first incident was when it was discovered in April that sludge pits from sewerage treatment plants in Tokyo were responsible for generating high levels of radioactive (Cesium) ash from their incinerators. The reading at one plant (Koto ward) was 170,000 becquerels/kg, well over normal, and the ash from that particular plant was recycled into construction materials such as cement.

Authorities were quick to say that the sludge processed was found in March, and that by April the radiation readings at the same plant had dropped to about 5%-10% of the March levels. OK, that's all well and good, but:

1. While air readings of radiation levels showed no majorly abnormal levels of radiation in Tokyo post-explosion, how did such high levels of radiation turn up in Tokyo sewerage?

2. Worse still, how much radiation was re-distributed into the atmosphere while they were busy cooking the sludge into cement filler?

The best explanation by authorities for the sludge radiation readings was that by virtue of the sewerage "cooking" process, radioactive nucleides, however sparsely dispersed and relatively safe as a result, would be concentrated once the food tissue holding them was consumed by humans and that waste accumulated. OK, so does that mean that those radioactive particles, no matter how few, traveled through the digestive systems of Tokyo residents?
If so, that means lots of people including, 10m kids, had the possibility of DNA damage as it happened. Further, what about the fact that some of this stuff was pumped back up into the atmosphere for a second time in a more concentrated release, and what effect has that had?

Actually, the sludge pit furor didn't last long, because the media had so many other Fukushima stories to to be distracted by. However, in late May a second incident occurred that further concerned us. It emerged that about a quarter of the green tea crop in Shizuoka (the prefecture produces 20% of all Japan's green tea) -- which is on the other side of Tokyo from the power plant -- was also contaminated and much of it will be destroyed. Given that the radioactive plume from the March power plant explosions was not supposed to have reached so far away in such concentrations, how has the radiation shown up in in the tea plantation?

The authorities say that much like the sewerage, this is a case of sparsely distributed radioactive particles being concentrated in the collection and drying process. Whatever the reason, radiation is clearly now contaminating the food chain outside of Fukushima. Thankfully, the public is becoming so sensitized to the possibility of contamination, that occurrences like the tea crop are quickly detected, reported, and being dealt with.

Then, in June a group of concerned parents in Fukushima, who it appears don't trust the government (we wonder why?) sent off urine samples to ACRO, a French independent radiation testing lab, and got them back last week with indications that some of the kids were running higher than normal (but not necessary injurious) levels of Cesium contamination. Authorities were quick again to point out that the kids are contaminated in small amounts and so were probably affected by the original set of March explosions at the plant. But what if the contamination wasn't a one off? What if those kids are being affected by an ongoing situation, such as what they are eating?

Interestingly, ACRO also did testing on Belaurus residents after Chernobyl and found ongoing contamination because of the food system. Indeed, in April this year, Greenpeace issued a statement that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are still eating and being affected by food contaminated by Chernobyl 25 years after the meltdown there. In that report, Greenpeace said that milk, berries, potatoes, and other root vegetables in two regions near the exclusion zone (in Japan, think Fukushima city, 60km from the plant), still show "unacceptably high levels of the radioactive isotope cesium-137". In one village, milk samples had contamination up to 16 x greater than normal levels, a situation blamed on dairy cattle being fed contaminated hay.

The current level of doubt and fear is of course wreaking havoc with consumers of high-value Japanese foods purchased overseas. Japanese apples are particularly popular in Taiwan, with about 17,000 tons shipped last year -- that's 90% of Japan's apple exports. In April, Taiwan banned food imports from five prefectures, including Fukushima, but unfortunately for Aomori apple growers, which isn't in the banned group but by association is still suspect as far as consumers are concerned, the total apple exports to Taiwan in May tumbled to less than one ton, about 0.1% of March's volume. These numbers show that this will be a disastrous year for the fruit export industry and indeed the entire food export sector in general.

This is disturbing stuff, and whether or not there really is a serious problem in our food supply here in Japan, rather than be entertained by politicians and celebrities eating Fukushima tomatoes and other produce, we'd be more comforted by the government making a serious effort to address public fears. What is needed is a major coordinated and trustworthy study (i.e., involving outside agencies) coupled with a comprehensive radiation-related health check program so that the public can be reassured that their food sources are safe.

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The H&R Group works to bring together people in the communities we serve to improve our client's experiences in Japan. Every year we host ski trips, Fuji climbs, attendance at the Nagoya Walkathon, and classes in Japanese cooking and crafts. Follow this link to see our event report for the first half of 2011, and please consider joining us at our next event! They are always fun, and you are always welcome!

Open publication - Free publishing - More events

I betray my roots; I am from the US, therefore, I like Aerosmith! You know where I will be on December 8th! Rocking out!

Aerosmith is heading to Japan to bring some much needed relief to the country.


“Our prayers are with all of our Japanese fans and the people of Japan,” says guitarist Joe Perry. “They can use all of our prayers and whatever help we can give. We can’t wait to be there and play for the people who have supported us for the past 40 years. Our fans know how much we love them and we are eager to return and give them the show of a lifetime, especially after the tragedy they have recently been through.”


The tour dates are as follows:
Nov. 22 – Kanazawa, Japan – Ishikawa Sogo Sports Center
Nov. 25 – Hiroshima, Japan – Hiroshima Green Arena
Nov. 28 – Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Dome
Nov. 30 – Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Dome
Dec. 02 – Fukuoka, Japan – Marine Messe Fukuoka
Dec. 06 – Osaka, Japan – Kyocera Dome Osaka
Dec. 08 – Nagoya, Japan – Aichi-ken Taiikukan (Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium)
Dec. 10 – Sapporo, Japan – Sapporo Dome


“Every time we’ve come to Japan we’ve had a great time,” said bassist Tom Hamilton. “We’ll do our best to bring a show that meets the high expectations of our Japanese fans. Let’s rock!”



Tickets go on sale July 23.

Read more: http://www.aeroforceone.com/index.cfm?pk=viewall&cd=MAE&pid=10784
Read more: http://www.looktothestars.org/news/6565-aerosmith-brings-relief-to-japan#ixzz1ROsevjnq