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August 24, 2009

My trip to Hakata. + More tomatoes!?

Hi! I am back and feeling great!

I tried getting on the internet with my new phone but the area surrounding my mother's place did not have wi-fi so it has been a week since I have been able to peek at some of my favorite blogs!


The rice paddies are green and looking nice where she lives.
In a couple of weeks the stalks will grow taller, turn brown and start to bow with heavy heads of rice grains.



While I was in Hakata I found more interesting tomato sweets!

Tomato yogurt... it tasted like... cold tomato soup... but more creamy and sweet.

This is white chocolate with tomatoes in it! When you munch on it is rather crispy, kind of like when you eat a kit-kat.
At first the aroma of white chocolate fills your mouth...
but when you swallow there is a light tang and you get a whiff of tomatoes.

...

It was hot in Hakata but I had some errands to run, and one of them took me to my alma mater.
It is a Christian school and I remember attending chapel once a week to hear the pipe organ...which I forgot to check out while I was there....

I did stop to see what was on the bulletin board:


Since my errand had to do with my "new beginning" ( a new job in September) the above bit of scripture seemed directed at me...

I can just see the trees "clap their hands"!

When I got back to Osaka, the trees had a few yellow leaves and the clouds looked farther away than they were before...an autumn sky!

There are a few errands for me to run before my magical merry Monday off is over.
Next week my Monday will be spent in Tokyo! I am so excited!

12 comments:

Delwyn said...

Hello Tulsa

It was good to catch up with you again...
Poppy has been with me for 10 days so I am in Japanese mode.

That is a lovely scripture - well spotted eagle eye. Can you read the reference...

I'm not sure about the sweet+tomato flavours...

The job is not far away now. Is it close to home...

Happy days

alaine@éclectique said...

Tulsa, I enjoyed that little trip. Would love to try that white chocolate and tomato!

The scripture I changed a little for my Mother's obit -

Peace and joy came to greet her
The mountains and hills before her
broke forth into singing
And the trees and flowers of the field clapped their hands.

Have a happy week.

I_am_Tulsa said...

Delwyn, I'm sure you had a great time with Poppy!
The office is not far from where I live (by train) but I have been informed that most of time will be spent on the road. I will be visiting lots of schools and hopefully a few bookstores too, to promote some of our "goods". I don't know what area of south western Japan I will be in charge of but I'm hoping I will get to visit my mother more often ;-)

Alaine, all I can say is wow (and what a 'coincidence')!
I love that you chose a joyful bit of scripture for your Mother.
I hope you have a happy week too!

Lori ann said...

Hi Tulsa, I saw that we were visit each other at the same time,only we were in each others blog "homes" and so missed one another! I enjoyed catching up with you, I-Phone? lucky! my kids have them, but i think it is too much phone for me, maybe i'll change my mind...hehe!

one time my husband bought me a lotion that was tomato scented, it sounds awful but it was really lovely. I'd like to try those desserts.

good luck with your new job.
take good care

Zaa said...

I think I would love the tomatoe yogurt..Wonder if I can find it in Kitakyushu... It's amazing how creative they are with their fruits and vegetables...
Thanks for sharing
Roslind

I_am_Tulsa said...

Lori...I love my phhone...lol
tomato scented lotion...now THAT is neat!

Roslind, thank you for turning me on to ATCs...I had no idea there was such a neat new art form. I bought the yogurt in Fukuoka (Tenjin's Daiei) so I'm sure you should be able to find in in Kitakyushu!

Frances said...

Hello Tulsa,

It's great to have this new post from you.

Those tomato-based treats seem pretty intriguing to me. I will see if any of the Japanese food shops around here have them.

Also thank you for the photo of the rice fields. I don't think that I have ever before seen a close-up. I would love to see a similar picture when the rice actually is ready to be harvested.

Best wishes on that new job, and the travels that it will make possible. xo

Tess Kincaid said...

I'm always amazed at the unique combinations of sweets and veggies in Japan.

Love those lush green rice paddies!!

Alexandra said...

Hi,Tulsa!What beautiful photos of the country. I LOVE white chocolate and I LOVE tomatoes. Combining them sounds intriguing. Congrats on your new job!!!!!

Rosaria Williams said...

Tomato yougurt? That's unusual; I must try that one of these days.
Thanks for the lovely pictures.

kristina said...

so many beautiful photos! but that tomato chocolate sounds a little strange, to say the least... ;-)

Jelica said...

I suppose if you can pair tomatos and vodka you might as well pair them with yoghurt (sounds a lot healthier, too). Although I prefer my veggies in a salad :)

Good news about the job, I am really happy for you!