Mia Pizza - Kumamoto

If there is one thing that Kumamoto isn’t short of, it’s great places to eat. Tonight, we checked out a local pizza place that is located dangerously close to our home. Mia Pizza is based in a road-side trailer near Route 3 of Kumamoto (address: 6-11 Minamitsuboimachi, Chuo Ward, Kumamoto.) From the road it doesn’t look like much, but as you approach, you can see the seating area behind that beckons you into its cosy folds. Made from plastic walled gazebos, the seating area is decked in outdoor benches, thick blankets and a kerosene heater that makes the 10-seater grotto a comfortable diner.

Trained in Italy, the owner produces pizzas of a professional, authentic standard – just like a real Italian pizzeria; expect perhaps that these delectable concoctions are smothered in twice as much cheese as you get in Italy. There are nine set options to choose from, as well as lunchtime sandwich options and side orders. Sasha picked the number one recommended flavour – Porcini. The topping was so buttery it was like a Cream of Mushroom tinned soup had been poured on top of it. The mushrooms were more than mere slices – thick, meaty wedges adorned the pizza, nestled in a bed of delicately puckering cheese.

For me, the second favourite of recommended dishes – Shrimp and Tomato-Basil. Delicious. Sizable prawns surrounded by a generous helping of cherry tomatoes (which I’ve been missing from my frequent diet as quality tomatoes are fairly pricey here.) Lashings of basil leaves swimming in the oily cheese, which lay more than 5mm thick on the pizza. Of the dough, I can say nothing but praise – the base was as thin as a proper Italian pizza should be, but ballooning and spongy round the outside, with the underside of the pizza made even more yummy with the slight charring from the oven (or am I the only one who likes my pizza a little bit burnt underneath? Love it.)

What a treat! We’ve been looking forward to our pizza outing for weeks now. Price wise, we both had the medium size (1,400 Yen per pizza) and in my opinion the size was more than sufficient. A smaller size is available for 800 Yen and a large size (feeding 2-3 people – or one very hungry Celia) for 2,000 Yen. Other flavours available – Bismarck, Margarita, Shrimp and Avocado, 4 Cheeses, Piccante, Pepperoni, and finally, Yuzu and Chicken (which is the next on my hit-list.) Can’t wait for our next visit to Mia Pizza! If you want to visit their Facebook page… https://www.facebook.com/mia.pizza.jp

Kumamoto Castle

Konbanwa (good evening) from me in Kumamoto, where I’ve had a busy day off work filled with cleaning, cooking, visiting the market, etc. It’s gone 8 in the evening, and I’ve finally sat down to start the main task of the day – blogging. A woman’s work is never done, so they say.

On our last day off, we visited the Kumamoto Castle. This landmark is what Kumamoto is best known for, and it’s a popular tourist spot for both Japanese and foreign visitors. Anyone who visits Kumamoto heads straight for the castle – it’s a large attraction and we can even see it from our kitchen window. With our ‘Welcome to Kumamoto’ pack when we registered as residents here, there was a booklet of local sites with free or discounted rates, so we didn’t need to pay the 500 Yen entrance fee (less than £3 so a bargain at any rate.)

In 1467 the Ideta clan established fortifications in the area, and by 1588 what stood on the grounds was the earliest incarnation of Kumamoto Castle. In the early 1600’s the castle was greatly expanded, and was transformed to include 49 turrets, 18 turret gates and 29 smaller gates. Six different clans have controlled the castle since 1467. The castle is well known for its signature curved stone walls, known as musha-gaeshi, as well as wooden overhangs, which were designed to prevent attackers from penetrating the castle. The rocks are dark in colour which adds to the overall environment of the place - Kumamoto castle is big, black and imposing.

During the Seinan Rebellion of 1877, the main tower and main part of the castle were destroyed in a fire, the cause of which remains unknown. The main tower was rebuilt in 1960, and in 1998 there were extensive restoration works done on the castle, reinforcing the keep with concrete. The Iidamaru Five-Storied Tower was rebuilt in 2005, and in 2008 the Honmaru Goten Palace O-Hiroma Main Hall was rebuilt too.

We entered through the Akazuno Gate, which faces north-east. It’s believed in Japan that evil spirts come from the north-east, and so traditionally this door was kept shut to stop the evil spirits getting in (but we got in anyway, haha!) First impression inside the castle grounds was of the wide pathways and edges of green space everywhere. It’s certainly not a cramped abode! The entrance was up a small hill, and on a grassy patch there were some trees overlooking the city below. Many of the trees were thick with moss and grass which was growing out of the branches, and the grass on the ground was paved with moss too, giving a very ethereal and magical feel to the place.

There are 13 of the original buildings in the castle grounds that survived the fire, and the first we saw was the Hira Turret of the castle. In the turrets is where they would store weapons and military supplies, and they were used as stations for soldiers during time of unrest. We walked through the cherry blossom garden where the blossoms are just coming into flower. It’s still a few weeks until the traditional time for cherry blossoms, but the few that were scattered around the castle added some colour to the stony fort.

The original castle had six turrets that were five stories tall, and the replica of the Iidamaru turret was an interesting part of our visit. We had to remove our shoes inside the structure, and everywhere there were signs not to touch the walls. It looked like they had been made using traditional methods – the wooden beams were hand carved, and the walls looked ready to crumble at your touch. The turret windows opened out over the castle moat, with slanted walls as each floor shrunk in size. It was beautifully constructed and a highlight of the visit.

At the foot of the castle we sat for a while and watched the people in traditional dress pose for photographs with tourists. The men were dressed as samurai and had weapons to go with their armour. Later there was a short display in front of the castle – more of a dance routine than an example of sword-play, but the Japanese visitors seemed to like it.

Inside the main keep of Kumamoto Castle it was a six story climb to the top, but with several of the floors set out like a museum to display old artefacts, documents and photographs of the castle. From the top, even though it was a foggy day, we had a good view of Kumamoto city. It’s easy to forget that Kumamoto is a city rather than a town. The area we live in is so personal and quaint, and even in the centre of the city, you can find your way around quite easily. But Kumamoto spreads for miles, housing almost a million people. From the top of the castle, you can see the mist-covered hills on the horizon, and all the hundreds and thousands of buildings in-between.

So that’s our visit to Kumamoto Castle! When I have people come to visit, this will be the first place in my city I recommend they visit, and with my ‘Welcome to Kumamoto’ pass I’ll certainly be going again! I’d like to go when all the blossoms are out to see them flood the trees with colour, and with the castle being less than a 20 minute walk from my house, I could even squeeze in a visit before work one day! That’s all from me – sayonara. Oh, and to finish off – in tribute to pancake day – a pancake in the shape of Kumamoto Castle, with some shakily drawn Hiragana underneath spelling out Kumamoto: くまもと

Kon'nichiwa from Kumamoto

Kon'nichiwa from Kumamoto – what a busy bee I’ve been! Time has simply flown by and, just like that, I haven’t blogged in the last two months. Crazy! So what have I been up to? Well, late December and most of January were taken up in a whirlwind of travel. During a five week period, I took 10 flights. TEN flights! I can tell you honestly that I hope I won’t be airborne again for at least six months’ time! So what did this manic travel include? Well, over the Christmas period we left Tokyo for a 5 day trip to Kumamoto in Kyushu (the Southern island of Japan) in order for Sasha to meet his future employees and for us to go apartment hunting. This we duly did, and found a lovely apartment ready for us to move into in January. Then back to Tokyo (flights 1 and 2).

We had a few days in Tokyo to pack everything up, clean our teeny tiny little room, and bid farewell to the bustling metropolis that is the capital of Nippon. Overall impression of Tokyo? Well, as far as big cities go, it wasn’t too bad. True, I was not a fan of the subway system (nor with having a daily relationship with it!) or the crowds of people, sky scrapers and flashing neon lights. But there were some areas that were pleasant enough, and for the most part Tokyo was clean, its inhabitants friendly, and my overall experience – none too bad.

I flew back to London via Beijing (flights 3 and 4) and after a few days in another capital city, went on to Guernsey (flight 5). A week at home, then back to the UK (flight 6), a whistle-stop day trip to Bath for some last-chance catching up with friends before my return to the orient. We flew from London to Fukuoka airport, via Shanghai (flights 7 and 8) on January 10th. We arrived to Fukuoka late in the evening and spent the night there at a nearby hotel, and the next day got the bus to Kumamoto, our new home. Arriving too late to move in that day, we spent another night in a hotel (the Green Rich Hotel near Sasha’s work where we had stayed in December).

The next day, a mad flurry of activity as we moved into the new apartment (COMPLETELY bare of furniture) and had to go to Nitori (basically the Japanese Ikea) and buy some essential – like a futon, so we actually had somewhere to sleep that night! Feeling like we were finally settling in, we’d been in Kumamoto for less than a week when I was jet-setting again, for a two week training course in Tokyo (flights 9 and 10). Golly, golly gosh – what a busy month. So as you can tell, I’m now extremely pleased to be back in Kumamoto and just getting on with life!

Furniture wise, the place is starting to look a bit more padded out. Aside from the futon (which we have on the floor without a frame, and while it’s firm we find it rather comfortable) we also as of this week have a dining table to go with our four chairs (all second hand). No microwave or oven yet but we have a double ring gas stove with mini grill, a small fridge-freezer and a giant rice cooker that could have a jolly good go at feeding the five thousand. I’ve been putting my amateur DIY skills to use by utilizing all the cardboard boxes we acquired in moving by making furniture out of cardboard. We have a shoe rack, two bedside tables, and today I finished a small bookcase. All I need to do now is figure out how to make a sofa out of cardboard…

Last week, after getting back from my training session, I started work and am pleased to be getting into a routine. I’m working at a private language school similar to the one I worked at in China. I’ll be working from 1 – 9 on weekdays and 10 – 6 on weekends, teaching 50 minute English classes to kids aged 4 – 14, with no more than 6 kids per class. It’s a brand new school, with the opening ceremony this weekend. So at the moment – no students, no classes, no demos, just lots and lots of prep time! Over the past few days I’ve made hundreds of flashcards (without a guillotine so I have grooves and bruises on my hands from excessive use of scissors) and decorated the classrooms. I’m the only native teacher, and there are just two part-time Japanese teachers at the school. It’s small and personal, and the school owner is friendly and very accommodating. I think I’m going to enjoy my work a lot, and of course, a fifteen minute walk to work is roughly a million times better than spending 2 hours of my day on the subway in Tokyo!

That’s all for now – just a brief one to let you know that I haven’t disappeared; I’ve just been super busy and very much without the internet. But fingers crossed we’ll be sorting out Wifi in the next few days, and then I can blog to my heart’s content! Toodle pip for now – sayonara!