Sapporo Winter Highlights

It's finally spring. I know this because I can go outside without a coat, and there are crocuses blooming. I've woken up from hibernation... and realized that it's been a very long time since my last blog post. So before we get to posting pictures of pretty flowers, here are some of the highlights from the winter.

If you're interested in more winter-related pictures, visit our "winter" web album here.

We went cross country skiing in January with two of our colleagues.

Destination: frozen waterfall!

You can't see them in the picture, but Keith is in fact on skis! I was excited...

Keith survived!

The roads on the way home were a little crazy.

There's lots of snow in Sapporo during the winter. Here's a picture from close to school. This is a park; we have lots of little parks in Sapporo because there needs to be a place to dump the snow. The swing set is almost completely buried...

In February, there are two major snow-related events in our area. One is the world famous Sapporo Snow Festival (雪祭り) and the other is the Otaru Snow Light Path (雪あかりの路), about 40 minutes away by train. We went to the Otaru event first... and I can't remember ever being that cold! (Sometime on the way home in the train, I was finally able to feel my feet again...)

There are a couple of main sections of the town decorated by snow candles, although many shops have simple snow candles outside. We first walked along the canal.

My favorite of the snow candles were the owls.

This display was labeled 希望の丘 (hill of hope).

The next day, we went to the Sapporo Snow Festival! These snow sculptures were really impressive--you can get a bit of the scale by the people standing right in front of the castle. Snow Festival takes place in a major downtown park--and the sculptures are taller than the trees. (Once again, it was very cold!)

We stayed until after dark. Last time (2 years ago), we wimped out and went home early. But it's well worth staying, since the sculptures are lit up at night!

Mr. Walrus was my favorite part of Snow Festival. He was part of a sculpture of different sea animals.

Taj Mahal.

Tsugaru Castle

Now for something completely different. In Japan, there is a tradition of giving homemade chocolate to friends and significant others for Valentine's Day. Only women give chocolate; men reciprocate a month later on White Day. Here's my very first attempt at truffles, which I gave to my friends at school, our teachers, and, of course, Keith.

The green ones are tea flavored, and the others are salt caramel flavored.

It's April; is it Spring yet?

February Newsletter

Seasons

Keith and Celia Olson
Newsletter #16
February 26, 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

Apologies for an overdue update; 申し訳ありません。Three months have come and gone quicker than anticipated. We had a very blessed time over Christmas giving musical gifts and receiving a lot of Japanese pickles in return. Our Dickens caroling trip to the victims in Tohoku was perhaps our highlight, and we also managed to make it into the Hokkaido Newspaper via the Christmas Eve Concert at our church.

Celia welcomed the new year by cooking three days worth of Japanese traditional New Year’s food (おせち), making her famous among the teachers at school. We continue to find that food is one of the most useful tools for friendship and evangelism in Japan.

Starting in the new year, Keith has joined the piano rota at church and plays once a month, and Celia has continued her shamisen (Japanese traditional stringed instrument) lessons.

Our studies are progressing; both of us are now in the intermediate course, and we are hoping to graduate in December of this year. We have begun the process of discussing with our directors where we might go after graduation to minister and continue learning about Japanese language and culture.

It wouldn't be February in Sapporo without Yukimatsuri/Snow Festival!

***

Carolling and Community in Ishinomaki

In our last newsletter, I (Celia) wrote about our most recent experiences in learning to trust God in the midst of weakness, specifically through our efforts to learn Japanese. This continues to be a recurring theme in our lives. While weakness is sometimes painful, the constant awareness of God’s presence and our constant need to rely on him can be incredibly sweet.

I originally wrote much of the following in Japanese as part of a presentation to our church about our relief work in Ishinomaki, (a coastal community near Sendai) in December. To briefly explain our trip, we joined a Christmas carolling group from Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, Washington to visit schools, retirement homes, relief workers, and community outreach locations. The trip was fun, difficult, and rewarding all at the same time.

Singing in Dickens costumes at a church in Ishinomaki

When we were in Ishinomaki, due to our improved language skills we were able to communicate with the people we met there much better than last summer in Miyako. We came to admire the tsunami survivors even more deeply than before through many conversations and opportunities to work together. In particular, Sumiko and her brother, Tateo left a strong impression.

Together with Sumiko

We met Sumiko and Tateo at “Takidashi,” which literally means emergency rice distribution, but in this particular neighbourhood in Ishinomaki, it has come to mean a time to socialize and eat together. Tateo prepared the coffee, while Sumiko supervised the gaijin (foreigners) assembling the soba noodle soup for lunch. The two of them frequently participate in neighbourhood events, so we had many opportunities to talk to them.

I was surprised when Sumiko said that she was a little bit thankful for the tsunami, since she was able to meet many interesting people as a result. At the time, I thought she was talking about the people who came from outside to help, but now I wonder if she was also talking about her own neighbours. Through common suffering, people came together. They became strong through suffering, beginning with the realization of their own weakness, thus enabling them to receive help from each other and from outside.

Japanese pop culture might explain this phenomenon in terms of bonds between people—when we work together, anything is possible. 頑張って東北! (Do your best, Tohoku!) Around the world, people saw and admired the quiet patience with which the Japanese dealt with the aftermath of the tsunami—indeed, it was worthy of admiration. I am thankful for people like Sumiko and Tateo, who through their own suffering realized their weakness, received help, and now are reaching out to help others.

And yet human bonds will fail, and human strength does not last. People in the disaster areas are tired of the word 頑張って (ganbatte—do your best). My prayer for the people of Ishinomaki, and my ongoing prayer for myself and for all my loved ones, is that we will find true strength in admitting our weakness and depending on God’s unshakeable strength and provision. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30—this passage is a favourite among my friends in Japan). Already some people in Ishinomaki have believed, and many people have started attending church and having conversations about faith with relief workers and local Christians.

(Through a wonderful, Spirit-filled coincidence, our presentation followed a fantastic sermon on Mark 10:46-52. Well, I thought it was fantastic, anyway.)
***

Designation: What Comes Next?

We have started our designation process, in which the OMF regional and field directors discuss with us possible church placements for the remaining years of our first term after we finish language school. Our designation will be an important step to solidify our language, to give us a closer look at how church works in Japan, and also to prepare us for a more independent ministry for our second term. Therefore, as much as we would like to jump right into a full time ministry position (something that immediately comes to mind is relief work in Tohoku), continued education will be the foremost purpose of our designation.

In preparation for this, we have been and will continue to travel to various centers of OMF work and meeting with veteran OMF missionaries. February 3-8, we visited Aomori in northern Honshu, and in March we are planning a visit to Tokyo.

On our trip to Aomori, we saw a famous dog named Wasao. He was upstaged by a couple of cats.

At this stage we have a number of passions, and we’re not entirely sure where God is leading. Our interest in Japanese food and culture and ministering where there are no churches seem to point us in the direction of rural Japan. A more urban setting, however, would seemingly increase the opportunities for Celia’s evangelistic concerts and for a ministry Keith is interested in among recluses (hikikomori).

The OMF council determining our designation will meet in May, so please pray with us to be attentive to God’s leading in the upcoming months as we attempt to discern his will for our future ministry.
***

Prayer Points

• We give thanks for the time we had carolling with the Westminster team from Seattle in Tohoku. Please pray for the new church that started in Ishinomaki last summer; most of the congregation do not yet believe. Please also pray for our hosts there, Andy and Lorna Gilbert, as they continue to follow up with connections they made during our concerts.
• We are thankful that we’ve been able to solidify our vacation plans, and we are looking forward to going to Hawaii with Celia’s parents in March.  Please pray that we can work well before the vacation so we can truly relax when we get there and not feel guilty.
• We were glad to have had the opportunity to go to Aomori and to meet the Ghents and Elliots, veteran missionaries with more than 20 years of experience. We learned much about their ministry and about the advantages of staying long term in one area, as well as many of the challenges facing rural church planters in Japan. Please pray for Christians in rural areas to be more active in sharing their faith, and for seekers to stand firm against pressure from family and neighbours to abandon their faith.
• Please pray for our designation process.
• Please pray for our musical efforts: Keith is hoping to join a choir, and Celia is looking for excuses to practice her instruments. (Have we mentioned that it is difficult to find balance with all the things we need to do here?)

***

Engrish of the month

This is a delicious chou à la crème. In the US, we would probably call it a cream puff. Translated into Japanese, it becomes シュークリーム. Transliterated back into Romaji (the Latin alphabet), it sounds like “shoe cream.” That in itself is funny, but here’s what is written on the bag: “Recently I’ve become very healthy. My hopes have begun to swell. Dreams have increased one by one.” By hopes I mean hips. And by dreams I mean pounds...
***

Thank you for your prayers and support. Also thanks to everyone who emailed us a picture; it is comforting to see pictures from home as a reminder of everyone who has helped us to Japan.

Love in Christ, Keith and Celia

Christmas... a bit late...

I've been intending for a long time to post about our Christmas festivities. Isn't that just the story of my life. Since it's been almost 2 months now, this will be relatively brief.

We spent much of December occupied with Christmas caroling in Ishinomaki.When we got back to Sapporo, the marathon began... baking, visiting, rehearsing, church all weekend, more visiting...

On Christmas Eve Eve (December 23) we headed over to our church (quite a trek--it takes an hour to get there) for rehearsal. We prepared music for Christmas Eve with 2 other church members--Makiko, who plays flute, and Yoko, who plays piano. Both are fantastic musicians, so it was fun to work with them. After rehearsal, we had temakizushi (a style of sushi which is commonly eaten at home) and went to a nearby onsen!

We had something similar to a Lessons and Carols service at church on Christmas Eve--クリスマス・イブ　キャンドルイブニング (Christmas Eve Candle Evening). We alternated music with passages of scripture. Some of the songs were performed by Makiko, Yoko, Keith and me, and some songs everyone sang together. Yoneya-sensei (senior pastor) preached a short message.

Takahashi-sensei read the Christmas story

Performing a Bach flute sonata

Yoneya sensei preaches the Christmas Eve sermon

Singing Silent Night with penlights

Makiko is on the left, and Yoko is on the right.

(And surprise, our picture was in the Hokkaido newspaper... Keith was glad he didn't find out until afterwards...)

Christmas was a Sunday, so we were back at church for the service and party afterwards. The potluck was amazing. Then various groups from the church provided entertainment for everyone. And there was Bingo. It felt like everyone was tired from all the work to put together the Christmas Eve service (we were), so it was nice to relax and have fun together.

For fun, here are some stats.

Christmas potlucks: 4
Consecutive days spent at church: 3
Cups of coffee consumed: 15, at least
Number of times "Silent Night" was played/sung: 1205945 (that's how it felt, anyway)
KFC roast chickens consumed: 0
Christmas cakes consumed: 0 (maybe next year)
Loaves of cardamom bread given as gifts: 11
Pickles received from recipients of cardamom bread: 4 types
Bottles of tea consumed on the train to and from church: 6
People at our Christmas Eve service: about 70 (we usually have about 45 on Sunday mornings)
Electronic devices belonging to Keith which are now played with by church children every Sunday: 2

Result: the assistant pastor's daughters now love Keith (and his electronic toys).

For example, here is a conversation I had with daughter #2 a few weeks ago:
    Me: みちるちゃん、お早う！ (Good morning, Michiru!)
    Michiru: キースは？ (Where's Keith?)
    Me: おい！　ちゃんとあいさつして！ (Hey, where's my greeting?)

In a nutshell, that was our Christmas. A good time was had by all.

Relief Work in Ishinomaki: Some Random Observations

This is a long one. Do yourself a favour: make a cup of tea (if you want delicious, nutritious Japanese green tea, you can find my brewing instructions here) and curl up on the comfortable chair with a blanket. Ready? Okay, let’s go.

I thought about putting together some sort of exhaustive post or posts about our time in Ishinomaki doing relief work. On further reflection, I decided not to do that. If you’re interested, I've provided links to our team leader’s daily blog entries and our online photo album at the end of this post. (Please do have a look, since I've only put a few pictures here.) Here I’ve picked a few topics of particular interest to me and reflected on them.

To summarize briefly, Keith and I joined a team from Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, Washington to sing Christmas carols (wearing Dickens costumes!) in Ishinomaki, which is a couple of hours away from Sendai. Keith and I got connected with Westminster through TalkTime (informal conversation time for international students and professionals) and Alpha ministries. We spent December 7-18 in Sendai, Ishinomaki, and Chiba singing in a wide variety of contexts, ranging from churches to coffee houses to schools and nursing homes.

Caroling at a yochien (kindergarten), wearing our 変な洋服 (weird Western clothes)

We were excited to join the team, led by Mark Ramquist, who together with his wife, Sylvia (our mentor at Westminster), served with Asian Access in Japan for many years. One of the team members, Mika, is a songwriter and performer living in Sendai, and we have many mutual friends. I discovered when I met Bev that we had had an hour long conversation in the parking lot at Westminster a year before. Rachel, I discovered, is a huge fan of our friend’s novels. Cheri has a great sense of humor—that weird American sort of humor that I had been missing. 5 out of the 7 members had some level of Japanese, which was very helpful. Personally I think it was a great team, and we sounded darn good, too!

The team at Matsushima: Mark, Mika, Bev, Cheri, Rachel, me, Keith

Our goal for the trip was to glorify God, to encourage the people of Ishinomaki, and to allow the long-termers to do their work better. It was encouraging to me to hear at the end of each day about things which went on while we were singing. Andy and Lorna had great conversations and deepened friendships with local people. More cooperation happened between the various organizations in Ishinomaki. Doors were opened for future groups of this kind to go to some of the same places (schools, nursing homes, etc) as we had been.

People seemed to enjoy the songs. Sometimes we invited participation (complete with hats!) during the familiar songs. Invariably when we sang “Silent Night” people would sing along… and they would cry. It’s not at all a sad song, but they would cry, even men. I guess they needed to cry, but usually there is no opportunity. Through our singing, we gave the listeners a culturally-appropriate opportunity to express some of the sorrow which had been bottled up for so long.

Personally, the theme of the trip for me was “church.” What does “church” mean in the areas affected by the March 11 disaster? What does “church” mean in Tohoko? What does it mean to “be the church” in Japan?

We saw a number of models of church functioning alongside each other in Ishinomaki. First, we visited a church—building, worship service, pastor, sermon, etc. We sang 30 minutes of carols as part of the service. I have never seen a Japanese church so packed—and this one was only a few months old. There were people in the 2 main rooms of the house in which the church meets, people filling the storage room, and people looking in the windows. When we finished singing, we had to wait outside for the end of the service, since there was nowhere for us to sit.

This is after church. You might be able to get the general idea, but this doesn't do justice to just how crowded it was. The pastor, Suzuki-sensei, is in the foreground on the right.

I think many people came for our mini-concert. Or maybe they just came because they wanted to come to church. I don’t know. What I do know is that both in Miyako and Ishinomaki, people told us that they were thankful that the Christians were there, helping in ways that the government really couldn’t help.

Another model of church we saw was the community outreach model—events ranging from coffee houses and concerts to visits to nursing homes and schools to “takidashi” (literally “emergency food distribution,” but in this particular community, “takidashi” has become a chance for the neighbourhood to come together for coffee, bingo, and a communal meal). While the “traditional” model of church is helpful for teaching the Bible and worshipping together, smaller gatherings give opportunities for relief workers to develop personal connections with and care for local people. These smaller gatherings also give opportunities for the local people to participate and take ownership as well.

Takidashi: gathering point for the community

At “takidashi,” we met Sumiko and her brother, Tateo. They and a few others came early to help set up tents and tables and chairs. Tateo’s particular role is to make coffee—quite a process with no electricity or running water. Sumiko supervised all us gaijin (foreigners) who were assembling the Soba noodle soup for lunch.

Andy with Tateo making coffee

Lunch prep with Sumiko

So what does church look like in Tohoku? I don’t really have too many answers except to say that I’m expecting to see something completely unexpected, and I don’t think I’ll be the only one to re-evaluate what “church” means in Japan.

This was a very different sort of trip from our last one—to start with, we were part of a short term team with a specific task, and Ishinomaki is not much like Miyako at all—much larger and closer to a major city. In addition, now it is winter and another 4 months of progress has been made following the disaster last March. There are some similarities between the types of ministries and relief work going on in Miyako and Ishinomaki, but each place has a unique flavor. Generally, it’s a bit hard to compare our two experiences.

I think now that the weather has gotten colder (and no one is on school holidays), not as many teams are coming, which is perhaps both a challenge and a blessing. When we were in Miyako over the summer, the long-term workers were constantly trying to figure out what to do with teams, some of which had no one who spoke Japanese. Now it would appear that serious efforts have been made to foster cooperation between the various relief work groups in the area and to form strategies for the next months and years. Although some things are more organized, our host, Lorna, complained that the only constant in her life right now was the fact that the ferry to Hokkaido goes by at the same time every night. ;) The work in Ishinomaki is constantly evolving and changing, as is the work in Miyako, I’m sure. Exciting to be sure, but challenging, heart-wrenching, and disorienting at times.

Let’s close with a few prayer points.

• Please pray for our hosts, Andy and Lorna Gilbert, for health, energy, and an extra helping of God’s love to overflow onto everyone they meet. Please pray for them to find suitable housing in Ishinomaki—right now their commute is 1 ½ hours each way.
• Please pray for wisdom and good cooperation among all the groups working in Ishinomaki--Mika at Ochakko House (coffee house), Virginia at Hope House (community space and coffee house), Chad and Jennifer who were our contacts for school and nursing home visits, and Suzuki-sensei at Koganehama church. Most of these people are tired and worn out. Pray for encouragement and strength for each of them.
• Last night we attended a charity concert and heard a report from someone who has been working in Miyako. She reported that churches in the disaster area are overflowing with non-Christians and new believers. This is a great problem to have… but there are not many people to teach and care for them. Please pray for strength and maturity for all the church members, since caring for one another is what all of us are called to do, not just the pastor or leader.
• If you watched Keith’s video in the previous post (Japanese only—sorry), you can see a diagram he draws. This illustrates the pattern of disaster recovery. When people recover from the initial “valley”—that is, their physical needs have been met, they begin to come to terms with all that they have lost—family, friends, homes, possessions, community. This is when they reach a deeper “valley” about 6-8 months after a disaster. We’re a little past that now, but please pray that as people recover and climb out of the “valley,” they would not do so in their own strength, but in the strength that comes from God.
• Please continue to pray for unity among the churches in Japan. There’s much to be thankful for as we’ve seen unprecedented cooperation in relief efforts. Please pray that such cooperation continues and spreads outside of the disaster area.

If you want to know more about our trip, our team leader, Mark Ramquist, put together excellent daily posts on his blog. Please follow these links:

12/8 Thursday: Tokyo, Sendai, and Takayama
12/9 Friday: Ishinomaki - First Concert
12/10 Saturday: Koganehama "Takidashi" and Chakko House
12/11 Sunday: Koganehama Church
12/12 Monday: Sendai Day Off
12/13 Tuesday: Koganehama Ladies Tea and Samaritan's Purse work
12/14: Wednesday: Koganehama Coffee House
12/15 Thursday: Ishinomaki Kids and Old Folks
12/16 Friday: Onagawa Kids and Tomei SP
12/17 Saturday: Sendai, then to Tokyo
12/18 Sunday: Chiba and Tokyo

In addition, we’ve put our favourite pictures up on picasa, and if you can understand Japanese, check out Keith’s end-of-beginner-course speech about our trip. If you're interested in the continuation of the relief project we did over the summer and what our organization is doing in Miyako, here is a short video you can watch. (There are pictures of us from last August!)

It's been a long one, but thanks for reading!

スピーチです！

12月の東北のクリスマス・キャロルの旅

December Christmas caroling trip to Tohoku

This video is all in poorly spoken Japanese and marks the transition in my language study from beginner course to intermediate. I talk about my recent Christmas caroling trip to Tohoku with a team from Seattle, whose goal was to show the love of God and encourage the people there through music and ultimately to help build relationships between locals and local missionaries and pastors. Here`s the text of my speech if you`d like to follow along:

おはようございます。
私はセリアと先月東北のキャロルの旅行きました。それについて、今日、
話したいと思います。
私 たちは１２月７日にJLCの１２：２５の授業が終わって、札幌駅１：１７発の電車にぎりぎり間に合いました。函館と青森で乗り換えて8時間後、仙台に着きました。その夜はほかのキャロルを歌う美香さんという教会員のアパートに泊まりました。美香さんはすごく歌が上手でまた英語か ら日本語に訳してくれました。
次の日にシアトルから来たキャロルを歌う人たちと会いました。皆で私たちのチームは７人でした。歌を練習してから、仙台の近くの 七ヶ浜へ行きました。そこでほかの宣教団体の宣教師のギルバートご夫婦に会って、９日間そこのゲストハウスに泊まりました。ギルバートご夫婦は福岡で１２年間開拓伝道のけいけんもあるし、４月から石巻でボランティアもしているし、それで私はギルバートご夫婦からたくさん習いました。毎日ギルバートご夫婦と七ヶ浜から石巻まで２，３時間かけて、通いました。今ギルバートご夫婦は石巻のアパートを探しているところですが、それは難しいようです。つなみで空いているアパートが少ないですから。　
だいたい私達の伝道はクリスマス・キャロルを歌うことでした。私たちが歌う会場は老人ホームやようちえんや炊き出しの所でした。もちろん私達はキャロルで神様の愛を伝えたかったんですが、一番大事な目的は牧師と宣教師と未信者と絆を作ることでした。その目的をちょっと説明したいと思います。
―　
この図を見てください。
この線は生活のレベルです。幸せ度とか満足度とかを示しています。
もし災害があったら、だいたい人たちはこのパターンを通ります。
最初の谷は速く落ちて大きいショックを受けます。人が死んだり、家や大事な物が壊されたり、これからどうしようかと迷ってしまいます。それで、考える時間がありません。６週間後被災者にとって水と食べ物と避難所は十分です。
次の谷の方が長くて深いです。そのときは考える時間があります。悲しみがたくさんあります。亡くなった家族、仕事がない、まえの地域社会との関係を失った、自分は助かって、どうして隣の人は死んだんだろう、等々。その谷の一番下の部分は６ヶ月から８ヶ 月までです。
ギ ルバートご夫婦の希望はできるだけ被災者に早く会って、いっしょに歩むことでした。そしたら本当の「がんばって」という はげましができるからです。やっと大変な所を乗り越えられます。最後の希望は土台を変えることです。災害のま えの土台はぐうぞうだったかもしれません。お金とか、いい仕事とか。
クリスチャンの証しを聞いて、神様の愛をいただければ、被災者の土台は十字架に変わります。
それが今回のキャロルの旅の目的でした。
では、３．１１から月を計算したら、ここは５月ごろ、ここは１１月から今年の
１月ごろまで。
特に今東北の未信者と宣教師と牧師の絆のために祈ってください。
どうか被災者が「たとい、死の陰の谷を歩くことがあっても、私はわざわいを
恐れません。あなたが私とともにおられますから」と言いますように。
アーメン
以上です。

Osechi

Happy New Year!

I've been meaning to blog about our relief work, and Christmas, and something else that I can't seem to remember right now... but I've been busy with this. By "this" I mean Osechi, the Japanese New Year's feast... as well as a whole bunch of other cooking projects (granola, bbq sauce, etc.) I love vacation! By "vacation" I mean staying at home with nothing in particular that I have to do...

I guess part of my fixation with traditional foods, clothing, and music in Japan is that we don't have much of that in my home country. Everything came from somewhere else. Thus I'm really enjoying learning about traditions here. I also really appreciate the Japanese attentiveness to seasonal foods. Oh, and bento boxes. I love those. Thus making osechi (the mother-of-all-bentos) is a no-brainer for me.

I started working on the contents of our osechi boxes several days in advance. Now we have enough to feed an army. Yesterday (January 31) I completed the contents and arranged everything in the boxes.

Getting started: everything in place to make Osechi! Seasoning ingredients, big pot of dashi, cutting board, utensils, cookbook... and Japanese dictionary!

Updated kitchen picture, about lunch time.

I started with nimono dishes--here are carrot and lotus root flowers. The leftover bits after the decorative cuts became carrot furikake (topping for rice).

Another nimono dish: konnyaku--a glutinous jello-like food made from some kind of yam.

To keep the nimono under the surface of the stewing liquid, I used an otoshibuta (literally "dropped lid").

Datemaki--eggs and fish (tai) blended until smooth (with lots of sugar), then baked and rolled. I thought it failed, but surprisingly it didn't!

Making tea eggs: lightly crack boiled eggs, then stew them with tea and orange peel.

Kinchaku: mochi, ginger, and green onion-stuffed tofu skins, stewed in soy sauce and other good things.

Kitchen update shot, after everything was finished (11 p.m.)

Keith: Can we go to bed yet? (12:18 a.m.)

Almost done arranging everything in the box...

Finished!

Top tier dishes are "festive" and sweet foods: datemaki, kamaboko (the white and pink fish cakes), kuromame (sweet black beans), tatakigobo (burdock root), and kurikinton (mashed sweet potatoes with chestnuts)

Middle tier foods are savory and sour things: salmon, namasu (daikon and carrot pickle salad), and kinchaku

The bottom tier consists of various kinds of nimono.

I'm tired!

The finished box waits in the genkan (entryway) because it's cold there... and because the refrigerator is too full. Next to it is the leftover cooking liquid for nimono. I can reuse it for soups and things like that.

"After" picture: I think I'll deal with the mess in the morning...

On a not-entirely-unrelated note, here is my toshikoshi soba--traditional soba soup for New Year's Eve. We'll get around to ozoni sometime the next few days.

Keith was hungry! (Yet another shot of the messy kitchen with osechi in progress...)

In other food-related news... I got a bunch of new cookbooks! Here's my first meal out of "安い冬のおかず" (Cheap winter dishes):

Kimchi nabe! It fed us for two meals.

There were still leftovers... so we augmented them with a few more vegetables and some egg...

... and made kimchi fried rice! That was our lunch in the middle of all this mess. (Nice wok, eh?)

I also made rolls a couple of days ago. Definitely starting to get used to my oven.

あけましておめでとうございます！ (Happy New Year!)

p.s. We've now been working at the food in the boxes for 2 meals... and it will last for at least one more before we even get to the extras in the fridge... :)