Dunedin - In search of chowder

Today was my full day living in New Zealand. It's a lot further away from Australia and farther below Tasmania than I imagined. It was was my first day wearing a puffer jacket. It was my first day lunching on chowder.

The lucky chowder was the one made by Plato down on Dunedin's wharf. Its residents included local Little-neck clams, swollen Green-Lipped mussels, fish, and a few other crustaceans. The local Riesling made it perfect.

Other putative observations of Dunedin. A strong representation of red-heads. Excellent cheese and coffee. Incredible wines in the supermarket.  Clear air with a slight whiff of open fires late in the day. People dressed in defiance of the cold. Excellent clouds. Sudden late afternoon darkness. Peaceful habour.

Tomorrow's forecast: A balmy 13C

...what we have now will never be that way again!

  Nick said "What we once thought we had we didn't, and what we have now will never be that way again".
 AM

In recent times, every morning when I wake to the sun beaming directly into my eyes, I get the feeling that I'm not making the most of my last days in Japan. The psychological warfare being prosecuted on me (and everyone else) by the electioneering cars with loudspeakers isn't exactly encouraging me to leave the house either. I've most spent my days trying to erase every last skerrick of my life in Japan from my flat. My last memories of Japan may, in the future, big triggered by the fumes of toxic cleaning products. My main feeling is of a universe collapsing (see right). My work at ECC disappeared in a puff of nothing and one by one I visit places for the last time. Yesterday it was Life supermarket, tonight it will be a shitty yakitori joint, tomorrow it will be Umeda, on Wednesday it will be Japan. Gone.


PM

Many of my final afternoons and nights have been spent saying or thinking goodbye to people, many of whom I know I will never see again. These people are friends, students, teachers, workmates acquaintances, shop keepers, restaurant workers, familiar faces on the train and people whom I've only just met. I'm very sad about this.  I feel like I'm also saying goodbye to trains that run on time, amazing customer service incredibly safe streets, expert cooks in every eatery, public restraint, riding bikes without a helmet, same-day delivery from Amazon, edible sushi, huge amounts of free time, excellent beers, outstanding supermarkets and a very cushy job. Australia can learn a lot from Japan. But I'm also saying goodbye to earthquakes, being illiterate, incredibly conservative people, naked racism, typhoons, salary-men vomiting into rubbish bins, nuclear power, backward treatment of women, terrible Italian food, ridiculous unpaid overtime, and outrageously-priced pizzas. No loss. I can only hope that Melbourne puts on an amazing show for me. The most important thing though, is that Rosie is there and I'm here - so I'm ready to go!

The Art of the Japanese Barbecue

AM
Least: At about 9:15am, I woke to find that I was horrifically dehydrated and that my bag was yet to be unpacked. The plane ride, combined with too much kushikatsu left me with a tired aching head and a parched throat. The unquenchable thirst lasted over an hour and came back to haunt me in the pm part of the day.

Most: By about 11:00am, I began thinking about whether my brief trip home had affected my view of Japan. I'm not exactly sure what the change has been, but it feels like I've been reading a book and had a chance to flip between two chapters. The Australia visit has refreshed my reference point to Japan and may make it even more interesting. I feel refreshed and ready for another stint in this oddity of a land.

PM

Least: Not too long after 12:20am, Rosie and I crawled into the familiar heat of Osaka and went searching for the massive Ooizumi Koen nearish to Nakamozu. We ended up strolling down this road with no shade and a Queenslandish sun roasting our brains. We arrived at the park to meet a decaying water feature (above) and waited to meet with Rosie's Japanese colleagues. We finally met them after a sweet 30mins in the sun. By then our beer was beginning to get warm.

Most: Thankfully, by 1:30pm, our picnic-mates were setting the Japanese barbecue into motion. Charcoal was set smoldering, flammable gels were lit and fans waved to bully the fire into life. The food then was grilled like clockwork. Various meats, vegetables were seared and potatoes wrapped in Disney foil were roasted. The carefully chosen dipping sauces tipped the preferred barbecue nation status to the Japanese. Although the usual flames and manly hotplate scraping were absent, the end result gave amazing variety compared to the often meagre offerings found in Australia. And to think the Japanese look up to Australia as a high ranking barbecue culture.

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Saturday 15 August 2009

AM

Least: At about 10:00am while driving down the Monash Freeway, it became obvious that this part of the journey would be the least interesting event of anyone's day. The roadworks, bogan ute-drivers and incoherent line markings all mount to a painful experience. A Ducati was left on the side of the road awaiting it's master's return. Probably a drink-rider from the night before.

Most: Not long after 11:30am, Rosie and I arrived at a Coburg address for an incredible brunch with family that included baked cinnamon scrolls, onion pastries, croissants, watermelon, juice and baked eggs. What an amazing send off meal for our too brief trip to Melbourne and surrounds. Ceridwen is an excellent chef, mum and sister! Awesome.

PM

Least: At about 3:45pm, the sight of a providore style food shop one street back from the decreasingly interesting Brunswick Street, boringly reinforced what has been obvious for years. The richer Fitzroy becomes the less interesting it seems to be. It's all so comfortable and predictable that it's barely of interest to notice it. Black leather jackets appear to cover most of the stinking offenders - but the 80s still reign.

Most: By 7:00pm, I had the distinct feeling that our surprise attack on Melbourne was beginning to wind down. The most interesting think to strike me during my return was to what extent I noticed how rough Melbourne seems to be. I'm sure that it hasn't changed, but my perception of the inner city must've moved. The sheer numbers of dodgy characters wheeling around the streets was amazing. As long as my eyes met the ground, I felt safe. The most striking moment was the sight of a Japanese visitor buying junk at a souvenir shop recoiling in horror as an old crone scraped the sputum from her chin. The glittering city at its best.

The Traveller and the Attendant

Thursday 13 August 2009

AM

Least: By 10:20am, I was marvelling once again about the longness and straightness of the Hume Freeway. The land on either side is so flat and lacking in changing features that it often feels like the car is on some kind of treadmill. The McDonalds at Glenrowen was slow as usual. Also as usual was the over made-up bottle blonde chugging on a Muggacino. Amazingly, I saw her in the PM in an incredibly uninteresting shopping mall in Melbourne.

Most: Sometime close to 8:00am, I was being driven through on of the highest roads in Australia. Mt Hotham was covered in wet, dirty snow and cloaked by very thick cloud. Despite the incredible views of Mt Feathertop and Mt Buffalo being obscured, it is this part of the five hour drive from Omeo to Melbourne that makes it bearable. It is incredible to think of the contrast between this remote area and the vast sprawl of Melbourne.

PM

Least: At about 2:20pm, I overheard a woman at Oakleigh Station ask the attendant "Does the next train stop at Southern Cross station?" The attendant groaned back "I don't know". This brief is not in the least bit interesting because it probably happens every day. The customer is too lazy to look at the schedule and the attendant is bored witless by his job. It is also uninteresting to tut tut and compare Melbourne's and Osaka's public transport system so I will end here.

Most: Not too long after 6:30opm, I sat with friends and family at an excellent Italian 'straunt in Brunswick. The company and La Bussola delivered the goods. I had been thinking about this particular pizza and veal scallopini for a number of months. The veal was tender and the pizza outstanding. Well worth the long journey from Japan. It is surprising that not more people escape Japan simply to obtain acceptable Italian food. Pizza and pasta in Japan is often very strange and inexplicably covered in corn kernels. Something should be done.

Skis. Rain. Lamb.

AM

Least: By 11:15am, my enfeebled quadriceps were screaming at the top of their voice against any further skiing. My snap decision to ski over snowboarding turned out to be a foolish one. I hadn't been skiing since about 1990 and have been largely inactive since the turn of the century. Keeping up with several school students proved to be difficult. The basic skills were there, but the strength and desire to try hard were not. Skiing in the rain was far less interesting than I had imagined. The coffee cost $4.70.

Most: As early as 10:30am it became obvious that my largely intermittent trips to the slopes had left large gaps in my awareness of snowboarding culture. When I had begun snowboarding at the end of the 1980s, I was the target of both keen interest and vitriol from skiers. Since those heady days, snowboards have become ever more symmetrical, probably shorter and relatively less expensive. The swarms of boarders now pass by unnoticed, unless the bogans aboard are causing a ruckus with snowboards or dangerous accidents. I even saw multiple offenders carrying large balls of snow onto the lift to use as ammo against their chums. How times and my levels of tolerance have changed. Helmets are ubiquitous.

PM

Least: Close to 2:00pm, the rain had really started to fall on Mt Hotham, on me, and onto the snow. The snow conditions were worsening with each new millilitre of drizzle that fell. My clothing's defences held up valiantly, but were steadily eroded by a series of wet chairlift seats and leaks around the neck area. By 2:50pm, I retreated into a steamy ski hire centre. The 'Buster Bacon' hotdog I bought at 'The Kennel' cost a sweet $6:50.

Most: Close to 7:00pm I achieved my primary goal for my trip to Australia. I was able to eat heartily from a leg of lamb roasted in an oven. Inexplicably, the Japanese haven't taken to eating lamb on a grand scale. Perhaps it's the strong delicious aroma and taste that deters them. The lamb was expertly cooked and arrived on the table with a generous cluster of roasted vegetables. It is amazing how smells and flavours trigger strong memories. Already it feels like I'd never left for Japan, although the reports of quakes and storms quickly pique the interest. I'll miss the lamb more than ever upon my return to the Far East.

The Relief of Birds

AM

Least: I woke this morning at about 7:30am to discover my ears ringing. The extreme lack of noise outside meant that the faint squeal from the inner reaches of my ears became the loudest sound in the room. The noise of big cities seems to hide and cause all kinds of ringing . The noise of industrial society need industrially loud music to drown it out. Five days a week I shut out the sound of the rails and endless announcements by listening to various variations of rock n roll. Maybe we could measure how close a town is to death by the ringing in ones ears?

Most: By 8:00ish am, some noise had crept into the backyard and relieved the ringing. The birds were browsing the grass for seeds or hapless insects in their daily struggle. Through the window, I could hear and see magpies, fairy wrens, crows, currawongs, satin bower birds (above) and the usual flying mice. As usual the magpies were busy bullying the other aviators out of anything of value. I've always been suspicious of magpies since they pecked blood out of my head when I was three. The crows here don't speak Japanese.

PM

Least: By almost 3:00pm, I had been the victim of several attacks of regional advertising. Universally terrible sound, lighting, acting and scripts set Gippsland television advertising apart from all others. A particularly appalling example repeatedly offended my senses today. During the ad for Bairnsdale Motel, we are given a demonstration to show that the rooms have enough room to literally 'swing a cat'. You are welcome to stay there for business or pleasure. It is not actually in Bairnsdale.

Most: Just after 12:00pm, I walked through the bush to to the old gold mining areas that boosted Omeo to former grandeur. I trundled past numerous examples of the environmental destruction of the past 140 odd years. Deeply eroded gullies, piles of river stones, weeds, decrepit fruit trees, a burnt-out pine plantation, ancient rubbish, dangerous shafts and tunnels make this well trodden track interesting. As kids we used to explore the old mines for hours with string and candles. It is amazing that the local environment is still reeling from the gold rush - but at least it made growing up in this town interesting.

The Crazy Train That Was Late

AM

Least: According to my ticket, I bought my ticket fro the 10:35am train to Drouin at 10:27am. I rushed to Flinders Street in a taxi in the fear that I'd miss my date with platform 10. I needn't of worried, nor did I need to spend $20 on a taxi, for the train was half an hour late. At 10:40am, a crackling announcement assaulted the platform with the news that the train would be delayed by 15 minutes. Wishful thinking. The train was loud and slow and the cars were arranged in no particular order. There were three car Bs. I couldn't find seat number 65.

Most: At about 8:30am, I was delighting in sitting down to a deliciously western breakfast in the company of my sister, her husband and my niece. It was amazing to see how my niece had changed from the days-old baby into the laughing near-toddler of this morning. I left the house in Coburg on a family-high with the hope of catching a quick train into town.

PM

Least: At about 1:30ish pm, I began the too-long drive to Omeo. The terrain is so familiar that until the mountains it it pretty far from interesting. The dreary towns that interrupt the trip seem to get drearier each year. Unlike Japan, though, there are gaps in the ordinariness filled with over grazed paddocks. At least I didn't get car sick.

Most: At about 5:00pm, I disembarked onto the gravel of a driveway in Omeo. The temperature was about 7 degrees and especially relieving considering the 30 degree 90% humidity of Osaka-town. The hills surrounding the town are incredibly dry and sparse. With little else to do, splitting wood for the the fire was particularly satisfying.

Sunny Tezukayama

AM

Least: I was up at five-ish this morning helping an ill Rosie when I succumbed to the temptation to begin reading the Readers' Comments in the various News Limited papers. As always global warming brought out all of the paranoid types and their boring explanations of why climate change is a sham. As Scott of New Zealand wrote at 4:08pm "This is embarrassing for Australia".

Most: At about 6:25am I left the Sanshou Mansion to visit a nearby drinks machine. The morning was warm and crystal clear with a view of the surrounding moutains. The sky was blue with a sprinkle of high cloud - beautiful.

PM

Least: At 2.16pm I discovered that my ICOCA card had suffered from some internal catastrophe rendering it useless. Instead of spending my commute smugly sailing through the stiles, I could be found standing at machines fumbling for change and buying paper tickets. There is also 750yen hidden somewhere on that card.

Most: At about 12:35pm while shopping at the overpriced but good Kohyo supermarket I couldn't help but notice the nice little range of whale products that have appeared this week. Various bacons, blubbers and a delicious looking fillet basked quietly in the sashimi section. It wasn't that expensive either.