Miso mixing, Juicy, soba restaurant, a feast, and an onsen - Fri 11 May

Takki had a fashionable cat lap warmer at breakfast this morning.


First thing, we had the fun of grinding the soaked daizu beans with a suet-mincer. Takki was excited to see the first messy brains of warm beans appear. I had a go at the end, so that I'd had a go.


We mixed the mashed beans into the tub of yeasty rice, along with another lot of cooked white rice, some special deepest-sea salt, and some of the water from the daizu beans to make the miso easier to scoop out when ready.

When it was all mixed, to my surprise I got to do what I'd been wanting to at the bean-squashing stage - throw the mixture. To remove the air from the mixture, it is picked up and balled, then thrown hard into the container it will be stored in before being sealed with cling film and a lid to keep out the nasties during its ageing process.


With Midori's parents staying the night, an impromptu bedroom was created using lovely screens.


As we headed out to morning work, I found Yohei wearing this awesome tshirt, without knowing how cool it was. I explained it's cool to him, and he was well chuffed.


Outside, we removed the low tunnel of plastic sheeting off some crops that were starting to burn, then chopped back the weeds.

We had a delivery of fresh strawberries from a relative, with a novelty dog passenger seat.


We had a trip by car to a soba restaurant. The soup in an earthen jug was a nice serving touch, and little serve after serve of the noodles, chopped short, came out on two-mouthful sized plates. I offered Takki my frothy ground mountain potato, and he offered me his raw egg - it doesn't sit with his macrobiotic diet. At the end of the meal, the owner brought out the water the soba noodles were cooked in, as a health tonic, in teapots. You can drink it straight, or mix it with the sauce from your noodles to make a soup.

Takki managed to fall asleep after the meal, sitting up.


At okaasan's request, I got an impromptu examination from the shop owner for my dodgy right hip. As one symptom, my right knee can't go down as low as my left when I'm sitting cross-legged, and when lying on my back, my right foot doesn't turn out as far as the left; the chiropractor in Melbourne suggested it could be the root of all spinal ills. He instructed me on two counter-stretches. (I had been trying at each cross-legged meal to gradually force down the knee, and would stand up slowly to hobble like an old man for a minute or two.)


Takki asked me about Japanese brands famous in Australia. Cars, Astro Boy, and electronics makers came to mind.

We went to a large overgrown hakusai vegie field and chopped weeds, first pulling out the big hakusai plants, which was a good hard workout. After furrows were dug, we planted seedlings and watered them in. Dozens of upset ladybugs took escape through the air from their desecrated homes. Here's one still walking about.


I had a long relaxed chat in the truck with Takki after getting back from the field work, and I was thrilled when Takki agreed to exchange his "JUICY WANTS YOU" tshirt for one of mine - he chose the plain yellow Crowther House tshirt from highschool, still in perfect nick.

Dinner was a feast for Midori's first birthday proper, and a complete departure from standard eating habits at the farm. There was meat, including thinly sliced near-raw beef, and a big steamer of chirashi sushi (Emily, YUM!). Along with the relative on the right had come that big container of fresh strawberries, and I've never tasted any near as delicious in Australia - I couldn't stop eating them.

During the dinner, I was told that in the mountains near Nara (where deer are sacred buddies with God, btw,) they turn thinly sliced deer into sushi. I was plied with delicious sweet sake, and was a little cheery by the end of the meal.

Takki and I had discussed going to an onsen earlier. We hopped in the truck with some directions, and found our way there, getting there about twenty minutes before closing. They kept the baths open another fifteen minutes past closing for us. The water there pouring into the bath was drinkable, and meant to be good for sore joints and for wounds - a perfect match for my hips and the scratches on my forearms from slashing at weeds.


There was an outdoor hot bath too, and a cold tub that I dared the plunge into. It was shocking, then extremely refreshing. After a very hot steam sauna, I hopped back in again. Because I wasn't overheated, this was my most refreshing onsen experience so far. Takki hadn't braved the cold bath, and took a moment to recuperate before heading out.


Takki suggested we take a minute to enjoy the night air before driving off, and they turned out the lights in the onsen. Even in the dark, there were surprisingly few stars.