Present to the MVP of March, 2012 !

by Regional Policy Division, Local Policy Planning Dpt., SORACHI Sub-prefectural Office
 
Here we happily announce that we will make a present of  the best sake KITA no NISHIKI "ARABASHIRI" brewed up by KOBAYASHI Brewering Company in Kuriyama Town, SORACHI sub-prefectural area to the most valuable person who sent the most contributions of quality with photos to introduce the attractions, cuisine or picturesque sights of Hokkaido to the world.
"ARABASHIRI" was introduced on this blog before as well as the hidden Japanese restaurant "AJIDOKORO" in Kuriyama Town.  This year, only 2,000 bottles are sold.
Please avoid sending political comments and photos with no copyrights of the contributor. The layout on this blog is under the control of the director of our division. Please allow his level of artistic sense. The copyrights of articles and photos will belong to google and our division. Basically almost no censorship should be done and the articles and photos sent by the expats in Hokkaido will be posted on this blog.
   I think most of the expatriates in SORACHI sub-prefectural area know the email address to send the contributions and the mobile phone number for emergency call to be given the help by  KAZU.  If you don't know those contact, please do not hesitate to make a phone call to this number, from Monday to Friday, 8:45 to 17:30.


email address: ikeda.kazuaki@pref.hokkaido.lg.jp
Phone:0126-20-0159
Kazuaki IKEDA
Director, Regional Policy Division, Local Policy Planning Dpt., SORACHI Sub-prefectural Office,
Hokkaido Government

Basically the MVP of the month award should be given to the expatriates in Hokkaido because it is very tough to handle the custom clearance procedure for the staff in our division. That means the expatriates in other part of Japan can be given the award and present according to his/her number and level of contributions.
The MVP of the month will be decided by the director based on the contributions sent by the end of March, 2012 and will be announced by April 9(Mon.) .
Pen name is OK but the nationality should be shown on this blog with the articles and photos. And naturally the person who is offered the MVP of the month award in this blog site talk-hokkaido will be asked the address to send the present.

In April, we will select another kind of freebie for the MVP of the month. But depends on the comments on this blog, we may select "ARABASHIRI" again for the MVP.

We will very looking forward to having many contributions to introduce the best of Hokkaido from you all.

Again, if any questions, please do not hesitate to call our division though most of the staff don't have a good command in English. If you feel difficulty to ask the email address to send a contributions on the phone, please cry out the name of KAZU or IKEDA. The staff will give you the mobile phone number of the director.

It has been decided that the MVP of the year 2012 in this blog will be treated to the special dinner hosted by KAZU in Iwamizawa or the other place of Hokkaido in the convenience of the winner in January of 2013.

Only one present will be delivered to the MVP of the month.

Would you send me contributions to this site, Norm ?
If you do and win the award, I will have to send the present to Ottawa.

Please have a nice weekend !

Events in April, 2012

by Regional Policy Division, Local Policy Planning Dpt., SORACHI Sub-prefectural Office
・April 14(Sat.)-15(Sun.) :KOBAYASHI Sake Brewering Company will hold a sake celler festival and
                                        TANITA Confection Company will make a millet cake festival at
                                        the same time in Kuriyama Town, Sorachi sub-prefectural area, Hokkaido.
                                        Both of two companies are well-founded and will arrange the guided tour in sake
                                       celler and confection factory where the visitors can see the process of making
                                       confections.
                                       Visitors can enjoy tasting various kinds of sake and non-alcohol sweet sake in
                                       KOBAYAHI Brewering Company and millet cakes in TANITA Confection
                                       Company gratis (for free of charge) before purchasing thier products.
                                       Temporary parking area will be set in each area in the town and will be connected
                                       by shuttle buses driven by the municipality of Kuriyama.
                                       The venue of the festival is 10 minutes walk from Kuriyama JR Station.


・April 20(Fri.)-22(Sun.): Orchid Festival 2012 will be held in Akabira City, Sorachi sub-prefectural area,
                                       Hokkaido.
                                       It is the biggest Orchid Festival in Hokkaido where various kinds of orchids will be
                                       collected from all over the island and exhibited in the same venue. Orchids sale,
                                       special seminar for growing orchids and drawing for presenting moth orchid will be
                                       arranged in the gymnasium of the municipality.
・April 28(Sat.)-30(Mon.): YUNI Garden opening festival and cherry blossoms festival will be held in   
                                        YUNI Garden, YUNI Town, Sorachi sub-prefectural area. 
                                        On first come first given basis, 102 visitors will be presented the seeds of flowers.

                                        Of course, the cherry blosoms and other flowers will be waiting for you!






                            
                                     

Events in March, 2012

by Regional Policy Division, Local Policy Planning Dpt., SORACHI Sub-prefectural Office
・March 10(Sat.) : 札幌交響楽団 Sapporo Symphony Orchestra-「札響」
                            will give a concert for the Doll's Festival in Kuriyama Town.
                            Venue: Sports Center in Kuriyama Town
                            Music Director: Mr.Tadaaki ODAKA
                            Tunes: The Marriage of Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
                                       Voices of Spring(Johann Strauß II)
                                       Ungarische Tänze(Johannes Brahms)
                                       Pomp and Cicumstances (Sir Edward William Elgar)
                                        L.v.Beethoven：Symphony No.7 in A- major Op.92(Beethoven)
                            Adults: 2,000 Japanese Yen(advance ticket), 2,500 Japanese Yen(day ticket)
                            High school students and youngers: 500 Japanese Yen(advance ticket)
                                                                                  700 Japanese Yen(day ticket)
・March 18(Sun.): Thanksgiving festival will be held at roadside station in Fukagawa City
                            Various kinds of sweets and culinary delights sourced locally are attractive.

Beer, Sake, Spirits and culinary delicacy in Iwamizawa !

 by Kazu

In front of Iwamizawa JR station, there is a so nice hole-in-the-wall bistro FUMIYA waiting men of the town.

I dropped my mobile phone in this bistro and the owner kindly kept it for me. I visited there for a few times before but after binge drinking I did not recognize how the cuisine was excellent.  

 To show my appreciation to the owner enough,
I threw a small party in the bistro with my wife and her friend. It costed 18,000 Japanese yen and each dish satisfied us so much.

Sushi-grade fresh fish Sashimi was recommended as a starter and black tuna is the most popular in most of the bistro in Hokkaido. Tuna soaked in the special sauce made of soy sauce and broth is topped on the rice or salad.   

In winter,  Japanese fire pot attract people and recharge their batteries.  

 Japanese calamari, fried squid, fried octopas, fried shrimp and grilled seafood catch your heart.

Boiled pork flavoured with soy sauce and honey, chicken and radish pot, grilled fatty pork, chicken saut'e flavoured with fermented soy beans Miso, pork saut'e flavoured with ginger and kimuchi, Korean spicy pickled Chinese cabbage are on the menu.

 The variation of drinks is eminent.

This time, sushi-grade scallop flavoured with the mixture of soy sauce and sesami oil is the starter. 

 Boiled pork flavoured with soy sauce and honey and ????? is my favorite.

Korean spicy pickled Chinese cabbage should be on the table when I do chug-a-lug beer.

 Seaweed with rice vinegar is good to stay fit.

It is the scene of happy dinner after getting my mobile phone.

 Fried shrimps in rice paper are so crispy and the favorite of my wife and her friend.

The dressing of Caesar's salad was so nice and match to each ingredient. 

 I do not know better friends of sushi-grade fresh fish than Japanese sake or spirits.

Sliced sushi-grade octopas with rice vinegar and seaweed is must in Japanese bistro. 

Grilled chitterling was flavoured with fermented soy beans Miso.

Sizzling pot boiled up the riceball and salmon with broth.

 This is the strong and tasty spirit "AWAMORI" distilled in Okinawa, the south-end prefecture of Japan.

Aged AWAMORI is so  strong and tasteful  that it is very difficult to wean ourselves from this spirits. Please be careful when you drink this spirits otherwise head splitting hangover may annoy you.

What are you doing, Spalatin ?

Restaurant JURAKU again!

by Kazu

Sorry for very limited information on this site. But I strongly recommend this restaurant in Bibai City, Sorachi sub-prefectural area.

Please remember the name JURAKU where you can have special creme brulee made from the egg of HOKKAI JIDORI Ⅱ, the mixture of game fowl, Nagoya Cochin and Rhode Island Red. 

 The lamb steak raised with asparagus is excellent.
Dou you remember ?

We found that the pasta is also nice in this restaurant. Today's specialty is the pasta with cream sauce topped with oyster and mushroom.

 Salmon flakes is giving the twist ot the taste.

The pasta with tomato sauce and chittering is also nice today.

The pasta came with seafood sauce.
Of course, the pasta was made from the wheat sourced locally but I am not sure where the seafood is from. I think it's from the west coast of Hokkaido, Rumoi sub-prefectural area.
Please try the restaurant and call me. 

Governor Harumi TAKAHASHI visited the heavy snow area and committed to help.

by Kazu

This is the apartment for the staff of Hokkaido Government. The windows of the first floor should be covered to protect from the ice and block of snow falling from the roof.

The farmers in Sorachi sub-prefectural area is losing the hope and the fact of their damaged greenhouses left them in a daze.
The governor of Hokkaido Harumi Takahashi visited this area, faced the actual situation surrounding the farmers and committed to give a helping hand and money for the farmers.
These greenhouses are 2 meters high but now in the snow. The total damege and the amount of money to save the farmers will be recognized after the snow melted.  

The farmers can not use salt to enhance the melting. They use the carbon to melt the snow.

 In the same pilgrimage, the governor Takahashi visited the warehouse that make the use of snow for eco-friendly air-conditioning in Bibai City. The warehouse contains the rice seeds and polished rice in the same part of itself. It is a kind of experiment to assess the effect of air-conditioning using snow.

 The snow collected from the area of Bibai City is put in the north end of the premises of this warehouse and the cool air from the surface of the snow is delivered by the ventilator to each warehouse of this YUKIGURA KOBO which means "snow warehouse factory"in Japanese. 

Weeping in the snow, we have to make the most of snow in Sorachi sub-prefectural area  for the future of people in this area.

Collapsed with tons of snow !

by Kazu

In Iwamizawa City, some vacant residences and shops collapsed under the weight of the snow. Nobody is in the building but some people fell down from the roof or were hit by the block of snow from the roof and died.
Mr. Suematsu, Vice minister of Cabinet Office took the fact seriously and visited Iwamizawa City and Mikasa City to face the fact. 

Short press fishing has been done after the pilgrimage but it shows the level of the local press and there is no striking question from the press.

The owner or the heir of the building has not been found so far. It is facing the parking area of the restaurant FUJI which provides with very nice pork cutlet. No fear of fire and gas wxplosion so far, but the debris should be taken away as soon as possible for the citizens.

Greenhouses also collapsed and the seedbeds in the greenhouses were damaged.

Each of the greenhouse for rice crop, veggies or fruit is different from each other speaking of the quality of the soil. So it isvery difficult to change the site of the greenhouse and the plan itself.  
Hokkaido Government is discussing the arrangement of actual helping hand or fund inside the door.