by Ben Mirin, CIR
Special thanks is due to Hideyo Sasaki for her invaluable translations during this interview and the ones that followed.
Continue reading “Tsunami Evacuations in Hakodate, Japan (Part 1)”
Tsunamis Flood Hakodate: The Immediate Aftermath (more live video)
By Ben Mirin, CIR
It has been roughly 35 hours since Japan suffered from a magnitude 8.9 earthquake, the largest in the country’s recorded geological history. Looking at the fault lines, it seems as if things are not over yet.
Indeed, as I write this I can feel recurring tremors in my apartment building in Nanae. My door is open, my gas is turned off, my shelves are bare, and in a horrible transgression against Japanese etiquette…I’m wearing outside shoes indoors.
After a night of driving through Hakodate’s back roads with a tsunami at my back, I returned to the front lines this afternoon to provide an eyewitness account of the damage and ongoing cleanup efforts underway in the city’s waterfront district.
Continue reading “Tsunamis Flood Hakodate: The Immediate Aftermath (more live video)”
Tsunamis Flood Hakodate
By Ben Mirin, CIR
A few minutes after this was shot, a second tsunami flooded onto Route 5 in Hakodate. Leaving the city, which has water on both sides, became nearly impossible.
As I write this, I’m sitting hunched beneath my desk as more tremors continue to shake Nanae. I can only wonder how significant these tremors are further south.
http://qik.com/video/38314777
Live Video on ConcordNanae.org
By Ben Mirin, CIR
Dear followers of ConcordNanae.org,
I wanted to call your attention to the live video feed on our website. This feed uses a cellphone application called Qik, which allows me to upload a video in real time from anywhere in Japan. The Qik video player here on the homepage will display the latest live video from this stream, but you can see more clips on our YouTube Channel or at http://qik.com/benmirin.
More up-to-date news is also available through our Twitter feeds. Follow me, @benmirin, or the website, @Concordnanae.
I’m publishing this information now because Japan is currently struggling in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake that struck less than an hour ago. Nanae only experienced a magnitude 4 earthquake, but northeastern Honshu suffered one that registered 7.9 on the Richter scale. Tsunamis are currently overtaking dozens of towns in and around the city of Sendai, but more news is always on the way. I will be using my Qik channel to post more updates.
Here is my first live video about the earthquake:
http://qik.com/video/38313466
Stay tuned for more updates through the various channels on ConcordNanae.org.
Continue reading “Live Video on ConcordNanae.org”
A Visit to Ohnakayama Common
By Ben Mirin, CIR
Camera Operator: Emi Kimura
Last week I made a special visit to Ohnakayama Common, Nanae’s beloved community center. I wanted to learn more about this important gathering place and its role in Nanae daily life, and to provide prospective visitors from Concord and beyond with an inside look at the rich variety of activities it can offer.
The clubs featured in this video are Ball-Tennis and Choir, respectively. The Common is also host to many clubs dedicated to traditional Japanese arts, including flower arrangement (Ikebana), tea ceremony, and Japanese martial arts. Finally, it is the site for the majority of the eikaiwa (pronounced “Ay kai wah,” meaning English conversation) classes that I teach every week.
What about the BIG Stuff? (Japanese Trash Disposal Part 2)
By Ben Mirin, CIR
Camera operator: Emi Kimura
Thanks for your feedback (via various channels) on last week’s video about Japanese methods for recycling and trash disposal. Here is a response to some of the questions I received.
Continue reading “What about the BIG Stuff? (Japanese Trash Disposal Part 2)”
Learning to Cook Japanese Food: Shabu-shabu (Part 2)
by Ben Mirin, CIR
There are countless recipes for Shabu-shabu from throughout Japan. Like Sukiyaki, Oden, and other iconic Nabemono dishes, it is so popular that many prefectures proudly offer their own variations. I have yet to learn of a specific Shabu-shabu recipe from Nanae’s Kameda Prefecture, so this one is taken from Hiroko Urakami’s cookbook, “Japanese Family-Style Recipes.”
Continue reading “Learning to Cook Japanese Food: Shabu-shabu (Part 2)”
Learning to Cook Japanese Food: Shabu-shabu
by Ben Mirin, CIR
Part 1: Visiting the local grocery store. Part 2 is coming soon!
Continue reading “Learning to Cook Japanese Food: Shabu-shabu”
Snow Outside the Nanae Town Office (Yakuba)
By Ben Mirin, CIR
Continue reading “Snow Outside the Nanae Town Office (Yakuba)”
Christmas in Hakodate
By Ben Mirin, CIR
Happy Holidays from ConcordNanae.org!
The following video showcases one of the many performances at the center of Hakodate Christmas Fantasy, a holiday festival that draws crowds from around Hokkaido for a full month of public events and spectacles. The stage shown here is set in front of the city’s tremendous Christmas tree, which was transplanted from Hakodate’s Canadian sister city, Halifax.
After braving whipping winter winds to watch these performances, I would recommend that any visitor to Hakodate Christmas Fantasy head straight for the nearest Ramen shop. These restaurants will likely be less crowded than places like the Hakodate Beer Hall, where I chose to eat my meal. The food (and beer) was delicious, but if you’re not content waiting up to 1 hour for your table then roadside Ramen is the way to go (most places will have some form of indoor seating, whether in the shop or in a retrofitted truck trailer).