Fun Festivals and Interesting Foods!

Hello! I am so happy you are back to read another one of my (now timely) updates! February was yet another fun-filled month.

We celebrated Mal's birthday in the beginning of the month. We took a weekend trip to Kanazawa, the largest city in Ishikawa, for a fun celebration. We ate yakiniku and went for karaoke in the evening. We ate different cuts of meat, but it was super fun trying pig intestine. Would you try it? Jillian and I went back to the hotel while Mal and the other party people continued on with the night. Our morning consisted of finding a quaint alleyway with traditional homes, shops, and beautiful handmade ceramic and glass cups, plates, and figurines of the lucky cat (maneki neko) and eating food. Then, we ate hamburgers that were a pretty decent size, but was so delicious that I finished eating everything!

The next weekend, I went to the Giant Oyster festival (かき祭り, Kaki Matsuri) in Anamizu, a town about an hour southwest of Noto, with Suzu ALT's Jillian and Janine. It was my first time grilling giant oysters! Since it was our first time going to the festival, we didn't know that we had to bring our own condiments. Thankfully, the family next to us was kind enough to share some of their cheese with us, which made a big difference. I also got some nori maki mochi, which is seaweed wrapped, soy sauce glazed mochi.

I forgot to take a picture of it so here is a picture from Google and I will add a link to the recipe at the end of the post if you'd like to try making it! We also went to Noto's Giant Buddha of Longevity, which was quite the sight to see. There was a little trail behind the statue that had many, many steps which led to the bay.

One of the Japanese friends I made took me to a burger joint called Anarchy that opened in November and, ironically, we both had risotto. She was excited to show me and when we arrived, I realized I had been there before a few weeks after it opened! We were talking to the shop owner/chef, who is also a massage therapist, that has a spa in the back of the restaurant, which took us by surprise. A burger joint and spa, what an interesting combo!

Lastly, strawberry season is underway in Noto, so they put up a giant strawberry display in the city hall, where Mal took this picture of me with it. Noto, more specifically Matsunami, is known for their Akasaki strawberries, which you can pick yourself! Strawberries should be ready to pick around the end of April.

As always, thank you for being here on this journey with me. I will see you next month!

Norimaki mochi recipe: https://www.thespruceeats.com/norimaki-mochi-rice-cake-2031104