夏ばて - Summer Lethargy

Summer in Japan is hot and humid.  Summer in Okinawa is hot and humid starting in May.  I have been combating the intense combination of these 2 elements the best a little Canada-jin can, but this past weekend I have been having suffering with the symptoms of Natsu-bate or Summer Fatigue.  Leaving me feeling tired & fatigued, no appetite, digestive problems, trouble sleeping, and dizziness.  

Some say that the causes of natsu-bate are:

1. dehydration and lack of minerals (vitamin B)

2. decreased digestive function and nutritional deficiency due to heat

3. Irregular temperatures inside and outside of air-conditioned rooms

other reasons may be stress, sharp climate change (rainy season, the start of summer)

This basically outlines EVERYTHING happening in my life right now......I will do my best to combat this "blahness" by eating lots of Goya, Pork, Cold Noodles, Soba  and drinking lots of water and tea.  

Here are some other strategies to combat the heat.


Okinawa currently sitting at a heat index of 37 degrees celsius at 6:33pm.......

Okinawa, JP (Airport)

Updated: 24 min 40 sec ago

84 °F / 29 °C Overcast Humidity: 89% Dew Point: 81 °F / 27 °C Wind: 7 mph / 11 km/h / 3.1 m/sfrom the SSW Pressure: 29.83 in / 1010 hPa(Falling) Heat Index: 98 °F / 37 °C Visibility: 6.2 miles / 10.0 kilometers UV: 0 out of 16 Clouds: Scattered Clouds 1800 ft /548 m Mostly Cloudy 2500 ft /762 m Overcast 3200 ft / 975 m (Above Ground Level) Elevation: 148 ft / 45 m

A Wonderful Saturday

I am tempted to say that the excessively long Rainy Season this year is finally OVER!  Maybe...I hope...we  will see.  Regardless, A and I woke up on Saturday morning to a beautiful blue sky sporting great marshmallow puffy clouds.  We both (amazingly) had the day off and nothing that we "had" to do, so we decided to make a day for us and go wherever the ocean breeze blew us.

We had stayed in Ginowan on Friday night at A's parents house so we opted for lunch in Chatan.  Lately, if I choose the place to eat, we end up eating Okinawa Soba :) :) :)  Yummmmmm.  I decided to let A pick the place this time, so we went to Jai Thai.  Good choice!

The lunch sets were reasonably priced (950 yen ?)  and came with a Thai soup that was actually quite flavourful and filled with lots of chicken and veggies.

A, had the Basil Chicken Stir Fry with a Fried Egg and Rice.  There were 2 little red spicy chili's on the menu next to this dish, so I knew it would be too much for me to handle.  I tried a bit though and the taste was great!  Just spicy!

I had the Green Curry. Which was a very very good and spicy, but not tooo toooo spicy.  It was very fresh and just the right size.

After lunch, we headed down to Haebaru.  Once we were home we were contemplating whether we should go to the beach or not.  A, suggested we drive down to Ou Island to visit our Stray Cat friends.  Yes, we are those Crazy Cat people............ We also wanted to pick up some of the famous Ou Island Tempura for dinner.  

The Ou Island Cats were few and far between.  I reckon they were in the bushes taking an afternoon cat nap.  We saw a few, they were all looking pretty skinny and nasty after the long rainy season.  We fed the few we found and headed off to find some Ou Island delicacies.  

On our way to the Tempura and Sashimi shops, we drove past what looked like a fish hatchery or something.  It had a sign outside advertising "うみぶどう" or "Sea-Grapes".  I really love these little things, so we stopped and went in to investigate.  Inside was a "Sea-Grape" FARM!  Hundreds of Ocean baths of Sea-Grapes at all different stages of development.  We asked for one package.  While the Sea-Grape farmer was packing up our goods, he provided us with a little taster that we dipped into Shiso Ponzu.  Yumm!  Talk about freshness!

Just when I thought the day couldn't get any better.  As we were driving from the Sea-Grape farm to the Sashimi shop, we came across a gungle of Drying Squid, flies and all!

It was super cool and super smelly and kinda gross to see the number of flies that were swarming on these Squidlies.  Across the street was the Sashimi shop, selling their daily catch.  We got the "variety pack" and were rewarded with a サビス Tuna Filet.  For dinner we had Sea-Grapes, Tempura, Sashimi, Sashimi Salad, and Yuzu Tofu.  Nice Day !!!! :)

Hope Everyone had a great weekend! and a special shout out to Daddy-o for Father's Day!  We will have to celebrate together in August! 

Things I Will Miss

[抹茶　- Green Tea Pon de Ring]

I am really looking forward to moving back to Canada this August.  But I am definitely going to be missing some things about my life in Okinawa.  One thing in particular is Mister Donuts - Green Tea Confectionaries. They are these wonderfully chewy bites of heaven.  I have no idea what they are made of but I THINK they might be made with rice flour?!  Correct me if I am wrong, please.   

[Tofu with かつおぶし and ゆずぽんず]

I did not really eat Tofu while living in Canada.  Tofu is very popular, fresh, cheap, and delicious in Okinawa/Japan. So I have really started to appreciate Tofu for the greatness that it offers.  I never thought I would EVER say this BUT I will miss Tofu. Especially a chunk of Tofu with bonito flakes and yuzu ponzu.  

World Cup 2010 - South Africa! Represent!

The 2010 Soccer/Football/Footie World Cup is ON!  South Africa is hosting this time around.  They are the first African Nation to host the World Cup and they are doing a great job.  Love the Vuvuzela!  Sound of the bees! BZZZZZZZZZZZZ!  The Games are on from June 11th until July 11th.  There are 32 countries participating within 8 different groupings. 

It is a great time and a good excuse to indulge my night owl tendencies and stay up late watching soccer!  YAY!  Tonight I am watching the match between Serbia and Ghana.  So far it is 0-0.  I am rooting for Ghana, the Black Stars!

Hiyashi Chuka

お久しぶりですね！！！　Long Time No See ! ! !  I apologise for my absence BUT the past few months have been crazy crazy busy!!!!!  I have been swamped with online University classes from the U of C.  As well, the Canadian Invasion was awesome but Jam Packed with adventures, my Sister and her Boyfriend (now fiance) came to visit for a few weeks and 2 days after they left my Sickly Parents arrived in Okinawa after their Asian Adventure and stayed for 3 weeks.  The visits were really great and after everyone left I was quite lonely, missing my family and expecting more of them to walk in the door at any minute.  I recovered by burying myself in my studies and preparing for our move to Canada.  Which I won't talk about right now....... I would rather talk about food.  Yes, yumm, food.  It's been getting hot again, so all I want to eat is salad and ice cream.  So I made this delicious cold noodle salad called "Hiyashi Chuka"  Beneath all the delicious veggies are cold Ramen Noodles.  Add whatever veggies float your boat but the most common are: cucumber, tomato, sprouts. I splurged and added goya and mizuna.  For protein this dish has lean chicken breast, sliced ham, and a cold half boiled egg.  To top it off you can add your favourite dressing, oil & vinegar, lemon soy, or my favourite, sesame vinegar (ごまたれ).  It was as delicious as it looks.  Give it a try this summer on a hot day (for lunch or dinner) and you won't regret it!  

Hopefully I won't be absent for too long...... I will try my best to give a blog shout out once in a while!  xo J Kat