TRAVELLIVE 04-2016
Istanbul, the first days of spring… I’m warming myself in the sun on a café’s balcony in the Old Town. The sunbeams are as stunning as the fine strands of newly reeled silk. Meanwhile the old oak trees give their morning greeting to the glossy stone road as their red-brown leaves gently fall. The Old Town is still half-asleep, like a lazy girl who’s turned off her alarm after ringing the first time. Sunlight visits each street, dancing happily on passers-by’s shoulders, making the atmosphere more intimate to me – the traveler’s first time here. I feel more amorous in Istanbul. I’m enchanted by everything, from sweet lokum to the light sour ice-cream with ground ice on top, or from the gorgeous domes of hundreds of mosques and palaces to their uniquely designed windows, and from the discreet eyes of Muslim girls to the multitude of boards and posters with the images of Besiktas – the city’s legendary football team. I have fallen in love with Bosphorus Bay since the first time seeing the seagulls hovering in the open sky, creating invisible strings that connect the two continents – Asia and Europe. The clear blue sky is reflected on the deep blue sea, giving me tranquility. I drop my last Lira into the water of the Bosphorus, not to make a wish, but in hopes that they will preserve my memories here. And somehow, the water currents might bring them somewhere else to be found by me again, or might accidentally be stumbled upon by a boy who is playing with sand on a sunny beach. Tomorrow, I will go to Grand Bazzar, buy some postcards, and write something to leave beneath the sun near a mosque before sending them to some friends of mine. I do hope that these postcards, together with the coins, will inspire and attract more visitors to this land. Uhm… will you come there?
Istanbul, the first days of spring…
I’m warming myself in the sun on a café’s balcony in the Old Town. The sunbeams are as stunning as the fine strands of newly reeled silk. Meanwhile the old oak trees give their morning greeting to the glossy stone road as their red-brown leaves gently fall. The Old Town is still half-asleep, like a lazy girl who’s turned off her alarm after ringing the first time. Sunlight visits each street, dancing happily on passers-by’s shoulders, making the atmosphere more intimate to me – the traveler’s first time here.
I feel more amorous in Istanbul. I’m enchanted by everything, from sweet lokum to the light sour ice-cream with ground ice on top, or from the gorgeous domes of hundreds of mosques and palaces to their uniquely designed windows, and from the discreet eyes of Muslim girls to the multitude of boards and posters with the images of Besiktas – the city’s legendary football team.
I have fallen in love with Bosphorus Bay since the first time seeing the seagulls hovering in the open sky, creating invisible strings that connect the two continents – Asia and Europe. The clear blue sky is reflected on the deep blue sea, giving me tranquility. I drop my last Lira into the water of the Bosphorus, not to make a wish, but in hopes that they will preserve my memories here. And somehow, the water currents might bring them somewhere else to be found by me again, or might accidentally be stumbled upon by a boy who is playing with sand on a sunny beach.
Tomorrow, I will go to Grand Bazzar, buy some postcards, and write something to leave beneath the sun near a mosque before sending them to some friends of mine. I do hope that these postcards, together with the coins, will inspire and attract more visitors to this land. Uhm… will you come there?
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BRAVING THE SNOW<br />
IN OUR QUEST FOR<br />
FINE SAKE<br />
Just an hour and half from<br />
Tokyo by train, Yamanashi is<br />
a rustic prefecture with large<br />
fruit gardens, bucolic rice<br />
fields, tranquil streets, and is as<br />
charming as a forest painting.<br />
April is sake harvest time. During<br />
this season, no matter where<br />
you go, you can notice the dry<br />
rounded sheaves hanging in<br />
doorways, an announcement<br />
that they are ready for the fresh<br />
batches of sake.<br />
Most Sake breweries are over<br />
100 years old and passed down<br />
from generation to generation.<br />
The Yamanashi Meijo brewery is<br />
300 years old! To make sake, they<br />
must polish the rice to remove<br />
the bran (the outer protein coat)<br />
to expose the inner starch, the<br />
“soul” of sake. However, it’s not<br />
economical to polish the rice too<br />
much. Therefore, for practical<br />
purposes, only 30% of the outside<br />
coat is removed. Some breweries<br />
remove up to 60% to make<br />
aristocratic-grade sake - daiginjo.<br />
Those who invite you to have a<br />
glass of daiginjo surely appreciate<br />
your company.<br />
If you are more into traditional<br />
breweries, the Yamaki Sake<br />
Brewery might resonate best<br />
with you... The owner is quite<br />
enthusiastic about showing us<br />
around the brewery to witness the<br />
stages of making sake. We even<br />
got a close up look at how they<br />
temper the koji rice. After being<br />
polished, the rice is steamed and<br />
fermented with mold (koji). You<br />
might imagine moldy rice to be<br />
quite foul, but actually the subtle<br />
scent of koji is not unpleasant,<br />
and it gives the rice a slightly<br />
sweet flavor. One must be very<br />
careful when working with koji<br />
because it is very sensitive to the<br />
outside environment. A little<br />
sweat, dust, perfume, or make-up<br />
powder can ruin the wine easily.<br />
Breweries rarely allow visitors to<br />
come near the koji room, not to<br />
mention enter and taste the rice!<br />
After the rice is introduced to the<br />
koji mold, yeast and water are<br />
added to begin the fermentation<br />
process. The more “delicious”<br />
the water is, the better the sake<br />
and the best sakes are fermented<br />
at low temperatures. If you want<br />
to know where great sake is, look<br />
up places near mountains and<br />
springs with the purest water.<br />
Grab your backpack and go to the<br />
snowy places. Chances are, you’ll<br />
find what you’re looking for.<br />
While Yamanashi has the great<br />
water source, Ibaraki is famous<br />
for its high-quality rice. Just 1<br />
hour and 50 minutes from Tokyo<br />
by train, Ibaraki is a must-visit<br />
destination for foodies and flower<br />
lovers alike. If you love sake,<br />
then pay a visit Sudohonke Sake<br />
Brewery - one of the 10 oldest<br />
businesses in Japan with a history<br />
of nearly one thousand years.<br />
This place impresses me with<br />
it quality of sake, especially the<br />
Junmai Ginjo Sake - the sato no<br />
homare or pride of the village.<br />
Sato no homare made from<br />
yamada nishiki (60% removed<br />
bran) has a fresh smell like<br />
licorice and mint.<br />
Those who love sake all know<br />
that sake is “young” wine. It<br />
means no one saves sake but<br />
enjoy its original taste right in<br />
the season. Sake is difficult to<br />
store because of the effects of<br />
temperature, space and smell of<br />
surrounding areas. It’s a surprise<br />
that Sudohonke Sake Brewer has<br />
saved some sake to produce aged<br />
sake. Sake is saved for dozens, or<br />
even hundreds of years. Maybe,<br />
few decades later, we can taste<br />
the very first sips of the aged sake<br />
when returning to Ibaraki.<br />
132<br />
<strong>TRAVELLIVE</strong>
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