I am finally back in Germany after a two-day-long trip home, so I wanted to post a few more Japan highlights before we are on to the next country . . . which will be Belgium, this weekend. Coachie is sending me there in the hopes that I will find my run legs in my T2 bag this time! I will do the ITU Long Distance Series (double-Olympic distance) race this Sunday. I am looking forward to another crack at a smashfest, and also to seeing a new country.
Monday I got to spend some quality time with my homestay mom, Yasuka. She is so cool, and I feel like I learned a lot about Japanese history and culture from her in just five days. First, she made me an awesome, healthy morning-after breakfast: miso soup, fresh fruit, rice with soybeans, and my first non-canned coffee in days. I thought I might have trouble finding my kind of food in Japan, but it might almost be vegetarian heaven!
Not because of this, however. 
That would be whale meat. Yasuka told me that two generations ago, it was served in school lunches. However, now because of massive restrictions on whaling, whale meat is a delicacy. This little package costs about $21 USD.
Luke, Amanda and I had gone on a coffee mission during my first morning in Goto, only to conclude that a nice, hot, takeaway coffee in a sippy cup wasn’t an option. Desperate times call for desperate measures, however, and thus I quickly became accustomed to cold coffee in a can. There was no shortage of this stuff; the local convenience store had literally dozens of different canned varieties, and canned coffee populated at least half the space in the vending machines which appeared on nearly every street corner.
However, one of the many things Yasuka taught me on Monday was the finer points of coffee-in-a-can. In the machine above, the top row and half of the middle are all coffee…Note, however, that some have blue buttons below them, while some have red. Well, Yasuka informed me that blue means “cold,” and red means “hot.” That in fact is a hot can of coffee in my hand!
Silly Americans….and they sure dress funny, too!
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You are not seriously wearing your flip flops with your compressions…are you! LOL!
Want a seriously good coffee…do you know how to make cold press (you can find good recipies online). Once your cold press is done, pour it over ice, add some vanilla flavoring and 1/2 & 1/2. It should look very milky when you’re done. I like to add just enough vanilla to give it flavor. Dunn Brothers (here in Minnesota) calls it Vanilla Iced Nirvana! YUM!!!
Good luck in Belgium…hope you find your legs.
I never thought to send a comment in your blog but I’ve been coming here for the last 6 months to see what Hillary is up to. I find it so inspiring to see someone with so much passion and determination to be a success and go after their goals and have such a penchant for life and for others. I’ve recently been hit hard over the last year by the economy and times have been tough but I know I’m not equal to the adversities that I’m facing. I too am a triathlete and I try use my success in the sport so that I may continue to grow stronger and more determined and so that I may inspire my children and others. Your blog is almost like my daily coffee because I find it truly exciting and inspirational to follow your travels and success and to see your determination to live life to the fullest. Cheers! Good luck and have fun!
The last pic cracks me up, sily american alright, classic picture with the sandles on. Good luck in Eurpoe this week.
Actually, it is very common and traditional for Japanese women to wear socks with sandals … in their komonos. I know, you were just trying to fit in
Rockin’ the compression socks! Nice! Glad you found some coffee…even if it did come in a can!