Via the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) website:

“Spring 2012 will be a special season as it marks the centennial anniversary of Japan’s Gift of Trees to the U.S. To celebrate this anniversary, we’re giving you and a guest the chance to explore Japan inside and out. Read through all 6 itineraries, pick your favorite, and enter for your chance to win your dream vacation!”

This is my first foray into cooking here in Rio where I integrate Brazilian and Japanese influences.

Ingredients
Broccoli and cauliflower florets
Thin slice of alcatra (rumpsteak)
Olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 handful of sliced shiitake
1 garlic clove, minced
Tablespoon of soy sauce
Tablespoon of brandy
Tablespoon of red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons of French grain mustard
Dash of hot paprika
Hot sauce to taste
Freshly ground mixed pepper (black, white, pink, and green peppercorns) to taste – substitute black pepper if that is all you have
Salt to taste

Instructions
1. Boil broccoli and cauliflower florets in salted water until tender, set aside and keep warm. Reserve some of the water and set aside.

2. Season both sides of the alcatra with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a saucepan and coat generously with olive oil.

4. Sear the steak on both sides. Since the steak is thin, one minute per side is sufficient for medium rare.

5. Remove steak from saucepan and set aside.

6. Using the same pan and oil, add chopped onions, stir and scrape the meat bits to incorporate into the onion and oil mixture. Sauté until the onions wilt and begin to brown.

7. Add the garlic and shiitake and sauté until the mushrooms cook through. Then add the remaining seasonings. Dilute with some of the vegetable cooking water if the mixture gets too dry.

8. Cook the mixture until it reduces to a saucy consistency. If you want to be really fancy, you can whisk in a bit of cold butter, but that is optional.

9. Serve on a plate with the steak, vegetables and sauce on top.

10. Enjoy!

Japanese “hinomaru” red sun flag design with washi (traditional art paper) origami crane pattern. Another tribute to the people of Japan. All royalties will go to the JETAA USA Japan Relief Fund, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

The JET Alumni Association of New York, in partnership with NY de Volunteer, will be holding a fundraiser to benefit Japan on Tuesday, April 5, 2011. The night will include great drink specials, entertainment, and – a highlight of the event – wonderful raffle prizes. （日本語版は下記）

Over 30 generous JET Alumni and local businesses have donated goods and services to the cause, such as: cooking classes, bottles of sake, private dance lessons, handmade jewelry and more!

Please show your support for this cause which is so near and dear to our hearts. All proceeds from this event will go to the JETAA USA Japan Earthquake Relief Fund. During the event we will be collecting messages for Send Hope to Japan from the World to further express our solidarity during this difficult time.

This is an open event and will have a great crowd of JET alumni, members of the local Japanese expat community, and many other New Yorkers wanting to show their support. Feel free to invite your coworkers, neighbors, roommates, and anyone else interested in looking for a way to help!

When: Tuesday, April 5, 6:30-9:30pm

Where: Slate
54 West 21^st Street between 5^th and 6^th Ave
(Nearest subway 1, 2, F, M, N, R, and Path)

• $5 = 1 ticket
• $20 = 5 tickets
• $50 = 15 tickets
• $100 = 35 tickets

Increase your chances of winning! 100% of raffle sales go to the JETAA USA “Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.”

$20 = Standard Admission (entry and 2 raffle tickets)
$25 = Standard Admission + 1 additional raffle ticket
$40 = Standard Admission + 5 additional raffle tickets
$70 = Standard Admission + 15 additional raffle tickets
$120 = Standard Admission + 35 additional raffle tickets

Special Thanks to our Sponsors & Donors:
Japan Society, Hills Learning, Bao Noodle, Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), City Bike Coach, New York Video School, Shockra Studio, Boutique Pink Diamond, Bloomsbury Publishing — more to be listed soon!

Please share this event on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr!

JETプログラム参加経験者の会NY支部会は、この度NY de Volunteer(2003年NYで初めて日本人によって 設立された非営利団体)とパートナーシップを組み、４月５日（火曜日）に東日本大震災支援の為のファンドレイズイベントを行います。当日はドリンクが提供されるだけでなく、エンターテイメント、そして最後には豪華景品があたるくじ（ラッフル）が催されます。それらの景品は多くのJET卒業生達や地元企業のご好意により寄付された、お料理教室のチケット、日本酒、個人ダンスレッスン、手作りジュエリー等盛り沢山です。

I worked with Joey from BareBurger, an organic burger restaurant in Greenwich Village, Murray Hill, and Astoria to create this flyer for their Japan disaster relief fundraiser promotion.  They will be donating 20% of their sales next Tuesday, March 22, to Red Cross efforts in Japan.

Download PDF version of the flyer

Designer’s Statement

JETAANY “JET-AH-NEE” – a bold, dynamic, genki brand, embodying the best of Japan, JET, and NYC

The Apple a symbol of New York City as well as the teaching profession

Red like the rising sun in the Japanese hinomaru flag and the indelible ink of an inkan seal

Brush strokes evoke both traditional Japanese painting and urban street art

Download PDF

We are asking JET Program participants past and present, as well as other friends of the program to speak out and petition the Japanese government to reconsider the cuts.  Please sign this petition in support of the grassroots cultural exchange the JET Program has fostered and write directly to the Japanese government explaining the positive impact the Program has made in your life and that of your adopted Japanese community.

For more background on this issue, please refer to “JET Program on the Chopping Block” by Jim Gannon on jetwit.com.

Keynote speech by playwright and JET alum Randall David Cook

From Twitter via @myGengo.

I am taking a pledge suggested by the film and now refraining from visiting aquariums and aquatic mammal shows.  I will also be sure to buy dolphin-safe seafood.  Here are some main points of the film:

• Over 23,000 dolphins are slaughtered in Taiji every year
• When the dolphins are caught, some are sold to aquariums and wildlife shows, while the rest are killed for meat
• Dolphin meat, as well as the meat of other whales, contains dangerous levels of mercury, but the mayor of Taiji has tried to give away the contaminated meat for school lunches
• Sometimes dolphin meat is deliberately mislabeled and sold as “cleaner” whale meat
• Mercury poisoning from eating contaminated seafood could result in symptoms similar to those of Minamata Disease

Towards the end of The Cove, former Flipper-trainer-turned-activist Ric O’Barry walks into an International Whaling Commission conference with a video monitor strapped to his chest playing graphic footage of the Taiji dolphin slaughter, exposing the international delegates to the horrors of whaling.  In another scene, O’Barry stands with the video monitor playing the same slaughter footage in the middle of Shibuya crossing, taking the message directly to the Japanese people.   But how can the filmmakers increase their impact among the Japanese public?

O’Barry’s SafeJapanDolphins.org is accepting donations to help with targeted media campaigns and screenings of the film in Japan, but I don’t think the movie is available in Japan yet.   I would suggest that the filmmakers release footage of the dolphin slaughter (or ideally, the entire film) under a Creative Commons or similar open license, that would allow the film to be freely shared on the internet, allowing people to see it even if it is not playing in their local cinema.  Certainly this would be a way to get around powerful government and business interests in Japan who do not want the film to be seen by the Japanese people.  Imagine of video of the slaugter “went viral” on the internet.  Imagine concerned Japanese people being able to view the footage on their cellphones and sharing the video with their family and friends.  That is when real change will begin.

I realize that documentary filmmaking is not cheap.  Indeed, I do believe that the heroic people who made the film possible should be financially supported for their work.  But we cannot let the complications of copyright stand in the way of promoting an important story and saving the dolphins.  Perhaps the film can be freely released online under a Creative Commons license after the theatrical run is completed, or when a donation threshold is reached.

Some have criticized The Cove’s filmmakers and the dolphin freedom activists for being racist or neo-colonialist against the Japanese.  Indeed, Japan is not the only country that hunts whales.  “White” countries like Iceland and Norway hunt whales too.  I think all countries should be held responsible.  I lived in Japan for three years, I love the country, but I disagree with the dolphin hunt, that hardly makes me a racist (in any case, I’m Asian too).  It is unfortunate though that the film did not give more of a voice to Japanese people opposed to the dolphin hunts.  They do interview a few Japanese people opposed to the slaughter, but these Japanese people are not the main protagonists in the film.

It is interesting to note that while whale hunting has been part of Japanese culture for hundreds of years, it was the Americans who occupied Japan after WWII who encouraged the resumption of whale hunting as a cheap source of protein to feed the war-torn country.  But today, Japan is a rich country and they don’t need to eat whale meat for protein any more.  In fact, most Japanese people do not eat whale meat, and do not consider dolphin to be food.  When filmmakers showed people on the streets of Tokyo and Osaka footage of the dolphin slaughter, they were surprised and horrified.  Hopefully, the film will be available in Japan soon to raise greater awareness.

Go see the movie and take action!

Links

• The Cove Official Site
• SaveJapanDolphins.org – Take Action
• TakePart.com/TheCove
• CNN – Dolphin slaughter brings charges from both sides
• YouTube – Dolphin Swim Programs & SLAUGHTER Linked!!!!
• YouTube – Dolphin Slaughter in Japan
• Petition – Help Save Japan’s Dolphins
• NY Magazine – The Cove’s Richard O’Barry on Secret Dolphin Slaughter — and Flipper’s Suicide
• NY Times – The Cove: From Flipper’s Trainer to Dolphin Defender
• CS Monitor – Review: ‘The Cove’
• Roger Ebert’s review of ‘The Cove’
• 日本でのイルカ保護にご協力ください
• Whale Love (日本語)

This week in Intro to Computational Media @ ITP, we learned how to add text into a Processing sketch.  I used my Sakura (cherry blossom) sketch from week 3 as a departure point and added the Japanese characters for sakura さくら into the new version of the sketch (above). I wanted to create a kind of “digital calligraphy” that explored the relationship between words and abstract shapes and set everything in motion. I also made an autumn leaves (koyo) sketch with the Japanese characters for koyo 紅葉 and an autumn color story.  To make things more visually appealing, I increased the size of the triangles and added some transparency to the background to create a more stylized sense of the passage of time in the animation and to create an illusion of three-dimensional depth.

There was a slight problem in getting the sketches to execute correctly though.  Although Processing is able to deal with Unicode-8 character sets, I was unable to get the Japanese characters to display correctly in the calligraphy font that I wanted.  The Japanese characters were showing, but in a default san-serif font and not the font that I created and specified in Processing.  I realized that I had to import the full character set and not just the default characters that Processing turns into bitmaps when you create a font.  However, when I checked “all characters” in the Create Font menu and clicked on “Create”, my computer froze up, probably because Japanese fonts have literally thousands of different characters, unlike the 26 letters and handful of punctuation marks we have in English.  Since I was only using 3 different characters in the Sakura sketch and 2 different characters in the Koyo sketch, I thought I that I might try creating SVG files in Adobe Illustrator for each character and then importing the Candy SVG library into my Processing sketches, which would then allow me to import the Japanese characters as vectors instead of bitmapped fonts.  Also, I only had to load the characters that I needed, and not the entire character set of the font.  As you can see from the screenshots, this approach worked!  I got the Japanese chracters to display in the calligraphy font instead of the default Processing font which didn’t work in the context of the sketches.

Click on the screenshots above and below to play with the sketches.  Drag the mouse around the frame and hold down any key on the keyboard to scatter cherry blossoms petals/autumn leaves.

Izakaya Oni
141 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003, US

A mediocre Japanese gastropub (izakaya) in the East Village. Located behind Ramen Setagaya in the space formerly occupied by Pasta/Sushi Wafu and Oriental Spoon before that.

Kris and I went last night (4 June 2008) after the Forum on Participation and Politics Online at NYU Law School. We walked by the crowded izakayas on St. Mark’s Place, including the ever-popular Yakitori Taisho and Kenka. We were starving and didn’t want to wait, so we kept walking eastwards. We stumbled upon Oni and decided to give it a try despite the fact that it was nearly empty.

We had the daikon & kani (fake crab) salad, which was passable, but a little bit of a tacky guilty pleasure. We also had an order of hokke (grilled salted atka mackerel) and fried oysters. The oysters were gigantic, but not in a good way – a little too much breading and a bit burnt. The hokke was ok too, but really, it’s pretty hard to mess up, since the fish usually comes already salt cured and frozen in a vacuum pack. All you need to do is defrost and “grill” in the toaster oven. Luckily, we had $2.50 Kirin draft beers to wash everything down. We would have had 2 beers each, but settled with one, because the waitresses were so remarkably inattentive, walking right by us several times without checking on us, despite the fact that there were only 2 other people in the restaurant at the time.

Given the ghosts of 2 failed restaurants that haunt this hidden-away-behind Ramen Setagaya space, I am giving Izakaya Oni 3 or 4 months before it goes bust.

More photos on Flickr
Thanks to Monica, JETAANY Social Chair, for the organizing the event and for taking photos!

I recorded the Career Forum presentations and panel discussion.  Visit JETAANY.org to read more and to download the MP3s.

Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Place

Torin Boyd/Polaris, for The New York Times

Though street crime is relatively low in Japan, quirky camouflage designs like this vending-machine dress are being offered to an increasingly anxious public to hide from would-be assailants.

Published: October 20, 2007

TOKYO, Oct. 19 — On a narrow Tokyo street, near a beef bowl restaurant and a pachinko parlor, Aya Tsukioka demonstrated new clothing designs that she hopes will ease Japan’s growing fears of crime.

Read the full New York Times article here.

Above: Me and Takae from the Japan National Tourist Organization in NY

Last Friday, I joined members of JETAANY and the new 2007 JET Programme participants departing from New York City for a reception at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence, a Louis XV-style townhouse (with elements of japonisme, of course) in the tony Upper East Side. I felt like Marie-Antoinette at Versailles as I munched on Beard Papa cream puffs.

Good luck in Japan to all the departing JET participants. Gambatte ne!

Above: Me and Monica, Social chair of JETAANY.

See all of my photos of the event on Flickr. And Carol’s photos here.

The background music is an instrumental piece by Hepnova. The inspiration for the piece came from my travels in the Nordic countries. In the piece, I attempt to evoke the awesome powers of nature, as well as the fragile balance of the polar regions.

When my family was in New York last week, we dined at Morimoto NYC. Everyone had the Omakase Dinner (Chef’s tasting menu). Here’s what we had and my comments:

Course #1: Toro (Tuna Belly) Tartare

The toro was delightfully fresh and rich tasting. I loved the little rice cracker balls. They added a nice crunchy textural contrast, and wish there was more of them.

Course #2: Kampachi Sashimi with Shiitake

The flavor profile of this dish tasted a bit Chinese to me, like the Cantonese steamed fish finished with hot oil on the top. The fish was great, but the sauce and mushrooms were a bit overpowering for the delicate fish. By the way, “Shiitake mushroom” is redundant because “take” means “mushroom” in Japanese.

Course #3: Microgreen salad, salmon, cranberry beans, asparagus, yogurt mousse and matcha (green tea) dressing

This dish is a winner. It’s visually interesting, with wonderful color contrasts and effective positive use of negative space (small modular elements on an enormous plate). It also perfectly captures the essence of the season and of this time of year – very important in Japanese traditional cuisine.

Course #4: Kumamoto oysters steamed with foie gras, uni (sea urchin), and teriyaki glaze

Oysters, foie gras, and sea urchin together in one dish is like trying way too hard to be luxury and ending up tacky and nouveau riche. In any case, the teriyaki glaze pretty much covered up the taste of the ingredients anyway. Although presenting the oysters on rock salt mixed with whole spices (cardamom, cloves, peppercorns) was innovative and added to the olfactory interest, this dish just seems like a waste of potentially fabulous ingredients.

Course #5: Sushi: Chuu-Toro, Tai, Mirugai, Kohada, Amaebi

Fresh ingredients well executed. You can’t mess with tradition here. This one gets an “A”. “A+”s don’t come easy around here

Course #6: Intermezzo – “Matcha” (Powdered green tea used in tea ceremony) and Coconut Macaroon

This course sounds great conceptually, but failed in execution and ended up gimmicky. The waiters came around with bamboo whisks and performed a mini tea ceremony by whisking the the powdered green tea together with hot water. The green tea was not nearly strong enough to stand up to the super-sweet lingering taste of the coconutty macaroons. The macaroons at Bouley Bakery are much better. The green tea used in a real tea ceremony is supposed to be very thick and bitter to contrast with the sweet. No need to skimp on matcha powder when people are paying over a hundred bucks for an omakase dinner!

Course #7: Garam Masala Encrusted Lobster with Lemon Foam

Finally, the Iron Chef hits a home run! I wanted to lick and suck every crevice of that lobster carcass clean. Clearly pushing the boundaries of “Japanese cuisine” here, but very New York with the interethnic borrowing of the garam masala to produce something new. In any case, it works and that’s why he’s still an Iron Chef.

Course #8: Wagyu with Japanese Sweet Potatoes

Nice, but underwhelming. To be fair, I have always been underwhelmed by Kobe beef/wagyu. So what if the cows get massages and get to drink beer? I would rather not pay the premium for pampered cattle and drink the beer and get the massages myself.

Course #9: Dessert – Red Bean (Azuki) Bean Cake with Apricot Sorbet

The cake was a bit dry, but it provided a great contrast to the sorbet, which tasted lively and fresh. A pleasant finish to a roller-coaster of a meal. Restrained enough as to not make you forget the previous 8 courses.

Last night I sang up a karaoke storm with my peeps from JETAANY.org.

More photos on Flickr!

Sakizuke / 先付け
- Boiled Octopus and Shrimp marinated with Rice Vinegar, Chinese Broccoli (Nanohana) topped with a Kinome Herb (Seasonal)
蛸酢柔らか煮、菜花、木の芽

- Water Shield (Junsai/seasonal), Boiled Abalone (Awabi), Chopped Yam (Tataki Yamaimo) with Vinaigrette Jelly (Sudachi Jure)
ジュン菜、鮑、叩き山芋、酢だちジュレ、黄味酢

- Salmon wrapped with White Kelp (Salmon Shiroita Kombu Maki) Lightly Grilled Fresh Scallop and Asparagus Dressed with Vinegar Miso and Egg York Based Paste (Kimizu)
黄味酢をのせたサーモン白板昆布巻、焼目ホタテ、アスパラガス

- Herring Roe (Kazunoko) wrapped with Vinegar Jelly, Issun Mame (Issun Pea) dressed with Sesame (Goma) Sauce
子持昆布水晶寄せ、一寸豆、胡麻地がけ

Wanmori / 椀盛
- Fish Broth (Wanmori) with Aburame (Greenling/Seasonal) and Homemade Fried Tofu topped with Myoga (Japanese Ginger) and Kinome Herb (Seasonal)
油目葛打ち、厚揚げ豆腐、木の芽

Mukouzuke / 向附
- Belly Part of Fluke (Engawa), Fluke (Hirame), Torigai (A Leaf Shaped Clam), Tuna (Maguro), Squid (Ika), Seaurchi (UniTori) Gai Sashimi (A Leaf Shaped Clam from Japan) with In-house Blended Soy Sauce
エンガワ、平目、鳥賊、鮪、雲丹

Nakazara / 中皿
- Sushi (Fatty Tuna called TORO from Spain with hidden cut with In-house Blended Soy Sauce
トロ或いは穴子のお寿司

Shiizakana / 強肴
- A Pickled Baby Sweetish (Koayu) in Namban Style with Shredded Onion and Lotus Root and Dried Pimento on the top
子鮎南蛮漬け、玉葱、ドライピーマン、蓮根煎り餅

Yakizakana / 焼肴
-Grilled Barracuda (Kamasu) in Yuan Style, Grilled Japanese Eggplant (Nasu-Dengaku) with Blended Miso
カマス幽庵焼きと茄子田楽

Hachi / 鉢
- Monk Fish Liver Paste (Ankimo) over Simmered Daikon Radish with A Potherb Mustard (Mizuna) and Shimeji Mushroom
占地、水菜入り案肝と大根の焚物

*Tomewan / 留椀
-Blended Miso Soup (Akadashi/Seasonal) with Shredded Scallions (Negi) and Japanese Pepper Bud (Sansho) on The Top
赤出仕立、葱、山椒
*Shokuji / お食事
-Benijake Salmon, Ikura and Edamame over rice
紅鮭、いくら、枝豆
*Kounomono / 香の物
- Pickled Cucumber, Eggplant and Daikon Radish
胡瓜、柴葉漬け、大根
*Tomewan, Shokuji and Kounomono are served at the same time.

Mizugashi / 水菓子
-House-Made Mango Juice, Tofu Blanc Mange, Homemade Chocolate and a Mint Leaf on The Top
自家製マンゴージュース、チョコレートとミントをのせた豆腐ブラマンジュ

Rosanjin Website

Review of Rosanjin in The New Yorker

Review of Rosanjin in New York Magazine

We had a bottle of “Gassan no Yuki” (月山の雪) as our saké pairing with the meal.