Steve's sandbox

Tag: Kyoto

  • Coming Home: Andy Newton, Japan – July 2016

    あいにく、試験が済んで、僕の留学年間が終わっていて、スタッフを包んで、帰国しなければなりません。再来週の翌週に帰国の国際便が予約されました。

    もちろん、友達や家族に会いたいし、パブへ飲みに行きたいし、美味しい食べ物を食べたいですが、実は母国のイギリスにまだ帰りたくないです。日本に住んでいる間、僕の留学年間を楽しく過ごして、日本語レベルをだいぶん上達しました。
    残念ですが、猛勉強のせいで機会をたくさん逃がしてしまいました。たまにはお酒にでも酔ってはじけて日頃の鬱憤晴らしたほうがいいんじゃないと忘れなく。

    日本人の先生や友達や日本での生活に別れをつげたくないです。東京からロンドンまでの国際便は全然楽しみにしていません。ひどいでしょう。新年度のモスクワでの留学年間を楽しむように頑張ります。来週と再来週に、京都と東京に行って、お土産を買って、卒業式に福岡へ帰ります。日本、リベンジします。

    My year in Japan is coming to a close, exams are finishing up and it is time to pack up my things and return home. My flight home is in about three weeks’ time and I’m not looking forward to it at all. Other than seeing my friends and family, eating some good food and going to the pub, I am not looking forward to having to return home.

    I’ve really enjoyed my time here in Japan and feel I have learnt a lot about myself and considerably improved my level of Japanese. I feel there are many opportunities I have unfortunately let slip because of studying too much, and have learnt the lesson of not forgetting to take a break once in a while, grab a beer and remember to live life. At the moment, I don’t feel ready to say goodbye to my Japanese friends and teachers I have met here. Definitely not looking forward to the savage flight home from Tokyo to London, and as I won’t have the excitement-factor I did on the way here, I can tell it’s going to be knackering.

    However, I do feel I have learnt from my mistakes from this year and will try my best to make the most of my second year abroad next year in Moscow.I will spend my last few weeks visiting Kyoto and Tokyo, buying some souvenirs, then return to Fukuoka for my graduation ceremony and the last of my packing.

    Japan, I will see you again.

  • Ramen: Andy Newton, Japan – June 2016

    ラーメンとは、中華麺とスープ、様々な具を組み合わせた麺料、出汁、垂れ、香味油の3要素から成るスープ料理としての側面も大きいです。別名は中華そばおよび支那そば・南京そばなどである。伝統的なラーメントッピングは麺麻や豚肉や支那竹などに含んでいます。

    日本では、明治時代に開国された港に出現した中国人街（南京街）に中華料理店が開店し、大正時代頃から京都での各地に広まっていった。北海道の札幌ではとうもろこしやバターや大蒜から造られるラーメンがあります。

    日本風に仕立てられ独自の発達をし、現在ではカレーライスと並んで「日本人の国民食」と呼ばれるほど人気の食べ物となり、中華人民共和国や中華民国では日式拉麺は日本拉麺と呼ばれている。

    僕の一番好きなラーメンは福岡のとんこつラーメン。いろんなトッピングが含んでいます。住んでいる寮の近いラーメン屋はチャーシュウ、半熟卵、唐辛子味噌、長がぬぎ、胡麻が含んでいます。このラーメンは餃子と生ビールはチョウ美味しい結合です。将来に、また来日するときに、前述の札幌の味噌ラーメンを食べたいと思います。濃いし、濃密だし、カロリーが高いですから、冬に適当です。

    ENGLISH:

    Ramen, simply, is a bowl of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a rich broth with various toppings. There is a very broad range as to what can be classed as Ramen but the main idea is noodles in soup.
    Ramen originates from China and became popular in Japan since around the start of the Taisho Era when Chinese travellers from Nanjing opened up Chinese food markets around Kyoto.

    Over time, ingredients have been altered to better suit individual tastes and have become very popular. Ramen is considered to be the national dish of Japan with each region having their own style. Sapporo, in the North of Japan, has its own variation of ramen called miso-ramen, which is very rich and is usually topped with garlic, butter, sweetcorn and beansprouts. Japanese-style ramen has also gained popularity in China.

    My favourite ramen is Fukuoka’s speciality, tonkotsu-ramen, which includes noodles of medium thickness in a meaty broth. This can come with various toppings of which you can pick and choose. A local place not far from my dormitory does their Hakata ramen with slices of pork, a soft-boiled egg, chilli-miso, spring onion and sesame seeds. The broth is comparatively thicker than other type of ramen as it’s made from boiling pork bones, cartilage and excess fat which gives the broth a notorious white colour; similar to milk. Best ramen I’ve had so far in Japan and goes down a treat with gyoza and draught beer. I plan on trying the abovementioned miso-ramen in Sapporo sometime in the future, I’ve heard the broth is very rich and hearty so more suitable for colder months.