Would you eat a turtle’s hand?

Or at least that’s the name this specimen goes by in Japanese.

Kame-no-te (亀の手), meaning turtle’s hand, a crustacean known in English as goose barnacle, is at it’s best season at the moment.

This load (right side of pic) was harvested from the sea of Japan (Matsue isn’t far from the coast), along with some sea-snail (Sazae) and were brought to the city hall here by a chap who knows a chap here~

A lucky get for those who aren’t squeamish as it’s considered to be a bit of a gourmet speciality, unfortunately I couldn’t stop imagining a poor ickle turtle havin it’s hand (paw?foot?) cut off, especially on seeing the pink-flesh part of them >_<

The sea-snail I can’t bring myself to try either….there’s just something a bit, eeewww bout em~

This is hardly regular food anywhere right?

If you like ‘trying new things’, I recommend Matsue’s seafood!

Matsue Wildlife~

This little fella was hanging around a drinking fountain beside the lake.

He didn’t seem to be having much luck with turning on the tap though,

So it wasn’t long before he was on his way ~

Kisuki: Yamata-no-Orochi’s home-sweet-home♪

And also home to Kisuki Milk ♪

The legend of Yamata-no-Orochi tells the tale of the god Susano-o‘s triumph over the eight headed serpent, Yamata-no-Orochi.

Click here for full text of legend and more!!!

According to Japanese mythology, this eight-headed serpent is said to have lived in the Kisuki area of Unnan (town & municipality), Shimane pref.

His eight heads are also said to have been buried  to have been buried in the Unnan area, where the supposed site is marked by 8 cedars on the grounds of Hii shrine.

But… while the world of myths, legends, and eight headed serpents is really interesting,

there’s something else pretty outstanding from Kisuki that I reckon I nearly have to share!

…their dairy produce!!!

For those living in Japan, if you’re used to good milk (and shur where else’d ye get milk as good as Ireland with that fine grass ), you might find it can be hit and miss in the supermarkets when it comes to picking up the right carton.

I can say in all honesty (and no I’m not gettin any gratuities for dis!), Kisuki milk is the bomb ^^

They do proper pasteurised (65degress C for 30mins rather than higher temps for 2mins used for most other ESL/UHT milks etc) and also non-homogenised pasteurised. You end up payin a couple extra ten yen coins for it, but sometimes quality matters!

Along with their milk, something I’ve also come across lately is their yoghurt drink. Pure. Heaven!haha

Kisuki yoghurt *grape flavoured pictured. Apple also available…hmmm that’d be nice tomorrow ~-~ far from Matsue, of course there’s Kisuki produce a-plenty here.

Located close to Matsue, Kisuki produce can be easily found here.

I also spotted a small carton in a kinokuniya store in Tokyo. It might not be in every supermarket in the bigger cities though~ …cos we like to keep the best for ourselves

Lafcadio Hearn: A Pioneer in ALT-ing!

I wont go into all the finer details of Hearn’s life as an English teacher in this post (a lot more research required on my part before I open that can a worms).

However, what I will do is share what I know about one location that is fairly important on the grand scale of his life as an English teacher in Japan

This is the Shimane Prefectural Common Middle School  in Matsue. It was the first school he was assigned to as an English teacher when he moved to Matsue in the summer of 1890 (his pal Basil Hall Chamberlain helped set up this job for him).

Due to changes in the Japanese education down through the years (especially during Meiji) the Common Middle School no longer exists and is now a local high-school, Kita-ko (松江市北高校学校).

In the place of the school where Hearn made his first steps into the world of English teaching in Japan, now stands the police prefectural headquarters.

The former site of the Shimane middle school is marked with a sign. Just one example of how the footsteps and life of Lafcadio Hearn are remembered here in Matsue.

After the dust had settled from the eclipse, this sight went by more or less unnoticed

On Monday mornin crowds gathered outside to watch the annular eclipse,

a rare sighting and one that caused much of a stir.

But yesterday evening (23/05/12 18:00ish) another strange sight graced the skies… no, not a U.F.O (or…a very well disguised one ??!)

Can you make out the dragon as he swims across the air of blue?

With oblivious houses below, with oblivious people carrying out their day-to-day tasks,

I couldn’t help but feel just dat little bit lucky to see this!haha

But then again, this is after all the year of the Dragon, and shur wasn’t I only born in the year of the dragon meself and all ^^ so maybe I’m just a tad biased ~

Dutch Residence in Matsue!

Of all the places eh!? Matsue, not known for its relationship with the Dutch, has an interesting story to tell about a building that was for many years known as the ‘Dutch House‘(click for map).

This building known once as the “oranda-yashiki”(「オランダ屋敷」), or Dutch Residence/Mansion,  is said to be the first example of western architecture here in the Sanin Region when construction was completed in 1871 (4th year of Meiji).

Originally built to serve as a temple school, ‘Omachi School’ (苧町学校), it is quite extraordinary that it has remained intact in its original form to this day, as buildings of this style have  almost all been reconstructed on or after 100 years since construction.

Following on from its days as a school, it was later used as premises for “Tano Obstetrics & Gynecology Clinic”(田野産婦人科医院) when although not in keeping with the original design, glass windows and iron runners from Britain were installed, and are still intact today.

As can be seen in the pictures, the consecutive arch windows have a rather wide curve, however, the plaster walls (25cm thick) are said to have been red ochre originally. The builder who had a keen interest in western style architecture, went about the construction based on observances alone.

This building  was at the fore of western architecture in the Sanin Region as a first of its kind in the locality. The locals fondly referred to it as the “Dutch House” (オランダ屋敷)

One of this clinic’s more outstanding milestones was the birth of author and doctor Takashi Nagai (永井隆) who wrote “The Bells of Nagasaki” (長崎の鐘) . During the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Nagai lost his wife and was seriously injured himself. It was during the period of disorder following the bomb that  he wrote the well know book (also:film adaptation) The Bells of Nagasaki from his sickbed. Not only was Nagai born in this building, he also learned medicine from the head doctor at the clinic, Toshisada Tano (田野 俊貞), and went on to continue his profession in Nagasaki. The room where he was born continues to be carefully preserved to this day.

The building currently serves as a domestic residence.

Related articles

• Marks on Matsue’s Landscape ~ (madeinmatsue.wordpress.com)
• Matsue and its bridges … (madeinmatsue.wordpress.com)
• Matsue Castle Light-up (*∘*) (madeinmatsue.wordpress.com)