February 2006 Volume 11 Issue 2

JETAABC Newsletter • 1

JETAABC Newsletter

In This Issue:

• 2006 Canada Conference Preview

• How to Get Rid of Mochiko

• Cream Shiratama Zenzai

• ‘Ready, JET, Go!’ & ‘JET Ai’

Volume 11 Number 2 — February 2006

2 • JETAABC Newsletter

Editor’s MessageWell, it’s official: I suck. Welcome to Volume 11, Issue 2. Is this April, 2005, like it should be for the second issue of the year? Uhh... no. Not by a long shot.

I really do want this Newsle�er to be good, full of stuff readers want to read, and stuff browsers like to browse.Pu�ing this newsle�er together is harder than I thought it would be. I enjoy the actual layout, etc., but I dread all the steps leading up to the layout—namely, the collection of material for publication.

I guess I sorta thought articles and photos and jokes and recipes would all kinda just trickle in during the month or so between issues, without much intervention on my part. To an outside observer (like I was before signing on), that’s how it looked like the Newsle�er got finished: people sent stuff in; Editor massages the overabundance of content to fit the pages.

Boy, was I wrong.

Turns out that if nobody’s there to cajole articles and photos and jokes and recipes out of the broader membership, it doesn’t typically happen that those things make their way to newsle�[email protected]. I guess it’s always been that way, but until I was in the position of Head Cajoler (a role I’ll freely admit I thoroughly dislike, because I know I’m not good at it), I don’t think I gave enough thought to just how tough it is to stay in touch with people, and be able to con-vince them to spend their own time, free of charge, whip-ping something up for me to print. It’s a skill that I lack, and the Newsle�er has suffered as a result. I apologize.

So, here’s to next year, and a new Editor with more ambi-tion and ability in the art of persuasion than I! Let me be the first to volunteer to write something—whatever you need (whoever you may be).

As for me, I will be tackling the job of coordinating the 2006 JETAA Canada Conference, which will be held in Vancou-ver this year (see the brief article on the next page). I’ve run the Pre-Departure Seminar before, so I think I should be able to put together a good event. But it will require a lot more than just my effort, so please: help me! I’ll be appre-ciative of any and all assistance you can render.

I’m finishing this up as most of the pages for this issue are pre�y much done, and I can’t help but notice it’s sort of turned into an inadvertent Food and Recipe Issue. That wasn’t intentional! I hope you enjoy it, anyway.

See you March 4 on False Creek,g.

PresidentAngie Oshika

[email protected]

SecretaryJoseph Luk

[email protected]

TreasurerAla Ji

[email protected]

Senior AdvisorMa� Fedoruk

[email protected]

Membership CoordinatorBobby Taylor

[email protected]

Prep Seminar / Social CoordinatorChristine Gergich

[email protected]

Cultural Events CoordinatorErica Moizumi

[email protected]

Career & Personal Development CoordinatorChristiaan Bernard

[email protected]

External Liaison CoordinatorLindsay Marsh

[email protected]

Volunteer Coordinator Linda Takahashi

[email protected]

Newsle�er EditorGreg Joughin

newsle�[email protected]

2005 JETAABC Board of Directors

Next Meeting: The AGM will be held February 10, 2006. The first meeting of the new Board will be set shortly therea�er. All members

are welcome to a�end any of the Board meetings.

On the Cover: “Kura, in Bandai.” Detail from a photo taken by JETAABC member Bobby Taylor while on JET.


Get Involved with JETAABC! There are many things JETAABC does throughout the year to give assistance to new and returning JETs, and to provide fun and value to its members. But nothing can get done without the involvement of you, our membership! Here are some ways you can help out:

1. Write an article for the newsle�er about pre�y much anything. Contact the Newsle�er Editor at newsle�[email protected] for more information.

2. Be a speaker or help with behind the scenes work at the annual Prep Seminar, held in mid-June. Contact the Preparation Seminar Coordinator at [email protected] for more information.

3. Help organize social events throughout the year. Contact the Social Coordinator at [email protected] if you have any ideas, or information about upcoming events.

4. Help organize cultural events throughout the year.

Contact the Cultural Programs Coordinator at [email protected] to help out.

5. Be a part of the Career Seminar, usually held in the early fall. We always need speakers, and people to help coordinate speakers, plus people to help set up and tear down the event location. Contact the Career and Personal Development Coordinator at [email protected] for more information.

6. Join the JETAABC Dragon Boat program. We are always looking for new members, whether you want to paddle, steer or just assist in training or managing. Contact Jane Leung or Hiromi Mikasa at [email protected].

7. Be a member of the Board of Directors. Plan now to go to the AGM in January 2007 to run for a position!

If you have any questions regarding these or other volunteering opportunities, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at [email protected].

2006 JETAA Canada Conference

Each year, CLAIR and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-host a conference for delegates from all seven Canadian chapters of the JET Alumni Association (JETAA). The last couple of conferences have been held in Eastern Canada, but in 2006 the Canada conference will be held in Vancouver. This is a big event on the national JETAA calendar, and it gives the host chapter a chance to shine—and to make the acquaintance of JETAA members and officials from across the country.

As a two-time JETAABC delegate to prior Canada Conferences, Greg Joughin will be the coordinator for the conference in Vancouver. Greg’s experience a�ending this event in the past should be invaluable in making the 2006 a great event for all involved. However, this conference can’t be arranged by one person alone.

Like the Prep Seminar that JETAABC holds every June, the Canada Conference will require the efforts of lots of volunteers. Unlike the Prep Seminar, however, there are almost no speakers required—the delegates a�ending the Conference will take care of that! What is needed, though, are volunteers to help out with several areas of logistics and planning, as well as people to take care of hospitality and the smooth running of two days of meetings.

Delegates to the Conference typically fly in on Friday, are put up in a hotel near the meeting venue, a�end meetings all day Saturday and half the day on Sunday, and depart for home on Sunday a�ernoon. To maximize the time spent on discussion, breakfast and lunch are provided. In the evenings, receptions and dinners are usually the norm. All of these things will need to be arranged and executed by JETAABC this year. This represents a not-insignificant amount of planning to be done and people to be handled!

If you would like to participate in the planning or running of the event, please let us know. Even if you have no experience whatsoever, don’t worry; volunteer anyway. You’ll get to meet fellow BC alumni while the conference is being planned, meet delegates and officials during the conference, and spend some CLAIR and MOFA money allocated to host this event! To get involved, contact Greg at [email protected]


クリーム

Ingredients:

• azuki (red beans; 400g)• shiratama-ko (shiratama powder)• sugar (400g)• water (about 65mL)• ice cream (to taste!)

Only the red beans and shiratama-ko are items that need to be tracked down at a store specializing in Japanese foods. There are two kinds of red beans: ‘red beans’ and ‘small red beans’. You want ‘red beans’. The ‘Grand Maple’ brand shown here was purchased at T&T, although any brand will do. There are also several brands of shiratama-ko; again, pre� y much any brand will do fi ne (the brand shown is Yamashiroya, purchased in Japan). Just be glad you can get it here!

measure out one of only two ingredients you’re going to need to measure accurately: the sugar. Weigh out as much sugar as you have beans (hint: it’s wri� en on the bean

Let’s Get Cooking! 1. Before you cook them, you’ll want to wash the beans. Nothing too fancy; you just want to get rid of any dust or other junk. 2. Prior to fi ring up the stove,

白玉

21

C r e a mS hir ata m a

Zenzai

Let’s Make...

ぜんざいCream shiratama zenzai is a tasty Japanese-style des-

sert, featuring a red bean paste (zenzai—although I still don’t know the diff erence between this and anko) and mochi-style sweet dumplings (shirata-

ma), served with ice cream. Not that many places outside of Japan seem to make this delicious treat,

so it’s up to us to make it ourselves!


package; Grand Maple brand is 400g). 3. Put the beans in a pot, and cover them with water. Be generous. 4. Bring the beans to a boil. Not too crazy, just a nice simmer. 5. Keep the beans simmering for about 2-3 minutes. Then add some cold water to drop the temperature to just scalding hot, and let them boil again for a couple of minutes. 6. Drain off the water. This is the fi rst of two times you’ll drain the beans

during cooking. Pour the drained beans back into the pot, and add more water, as in Step 3. Repeat Steps 4 through 6 again. 7. The fi nal time (i.e. the third time), add the water, boil, and let simmer (or a bit less than simmer) for about 60-70 minutes. Keep the beans covered with water as they cook. When the beans can be squished, drain them for the last time. 8. The scary part: adding sugar. I didn’t realize

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there was so much sugar added to the azuki to make zenzai! All the sugar can go in at once. 9. Mix the sugar into the beans. You’re trying to make a nice, lumpy bean paste, so don’t worry that you’re smashing up some beans. Make sure you get all the sugar dissolved. At this point, you can move on to making shiratama, or you could put the zenzai away for a few days. 10. To make shiratama, pour about

125mL (half a cup) of shiratama-ko into a mixing bowl. 11. Li� le by li� le, add about 65-70mL of water. That’s a 2:1 ratio of shiratama-ko to water. Unlike nicely-lumpy zenzai, you’re trying to make very smooth, mochi-type dumplings, so do a good job mixing in the water. 12. Spend some more time mixing! Knead the shiratama ‘dough’ to make it smooth, so� and a li� le springy—just like your earlobe. 13. Take a

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bit of the mixture, and roll it into a ball about half the size of a Timbit. When it’s smooth on the outside, fl a� en it a bit. 14. Because of your kneading back in Step 12, the raw shiratama shouldn’t stick to your plate too much. Make up about 8-10 shiratama—a small saucepan’s worth. 15. Bring a small saucepan of water to a simmering boil, and add the raw shiratama. 16. The shiratama will originally sink to the

bo� om, but as they cook, they will start to fl oat. This makes it easy to know when they’re done! 17. When the fl oating shiratama have cooked for another 15 to 30, remove them from the boiling water, directly into a bowl of cold water. You can cook up the rest of the shiratama in the same boil-ing water. 18. Cool and rinse the shiratama under cold water for half a minute or so. 19. When you’re ready to eat your

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dessert, spoon out about half a bowl of warm zenzai per person. You can re-heat pre-made zenzai in the microwave. 20. Add several cold shiratama to the zenzai. Four per person seems about right. 21. Watch out for thieves who wish to sample your zenzai creation before it’s fi nished!

The fi nishing touch is a dollop of vanilla ice cream. You いただきま～す！

21could also add matcha powder to your ice cream, or, for a summer variation, add kaki-gohri (shaved ice) to the bowl.

In any case, you want to get eating quickly, because the warm zenzai will start to melt the ice cream and/or ice!

Infuse Tea Tasting, Take IIby Erica Moizumi

On Saturday, September 10, twenty-two JETAABC mem-bers, their friends and family gathered for a night of tea tasting at INFUZE Tea House. The white décor and simple furnishings created a relaxing atmosphere. Adorning the walls were works by local artists. Sophie Ryan, who is the events coordinator at INFUZE, gave a presentation explain-ing the complexity of preparing a perfect pot of tea. Water temperature, quality of tea leaves and fl avourings were just a few factors that aff ected a perfect brew.

Participants sampled fi ve varieties of tea: oolong, black, green, herbal and infused black. The fi rst sample was A Li Shan Green Oolong, a pale amber tea with a delicate taste. It helped to refresh our palates. In contrast our next tea, Darjeeling, had a more robust fl avour and stronger aroma. For our third sample some of the more eager participants had the opportunity to make Matcha. It was like drink-ing a “healthier” version of a shot of caff eine. Matcha is the oldest type of Japanese green tea and has the highest concentration of antioxidants, vitamins and chlorophyll. Nowadays it can be found in chocolates, energy bars and even shampoo.

My personal favourite was our fourth sample: the South African Rooibos, which was fl avoured with a hint of Madagascan vanilla bean. Rooibos is an herbal tea where the leaves are traditionally pounded to enhance the natu-ral sweetness. Therefore, not only was it caff eine free but moreover sugar free. The last sample was Maple Milk Tea, an infused black. A blend of black tea leaves were com-

bined with steamed milk and a dash of pure maple syrup was added for sweetness.

To wrap up the evening we had one prize to give away. The lucky winner received a $25 gi� certifi cate for his next visit to INFUZE. Overall, it was a pleasant evening that will hopefully become an annual event. If you are in the neigh-bourhood and need a place to escape drop by their two locations:

INFUZE West Cordova870 West Cordova Street

Phone: 604-689-3188

INFUZE Denman1114 Denman StreetPhone: 604-689-3177


101 Uses for Mochiko by Linda Takahashi

I spent this past summer as a volunteer seabird biologist on a remote island that is part of the US National Wildlife Refuge in Hawaii. Sounds exotic, I guess, but this place was really remote and desolate. We got most of our food sent to us via ship. Sometimes we were able to make special requests. Someone last year must have asked for sweet rice fl our—perhaps a box or two would do. However, somehow we ended up with almost 30 boxes of Mochiko brand sweet rice fl our. Now, I myself love mochi with anko—or more specifi cally, strawberry daifuku. However, no one else seemed to know what to do with this odd type of rice fl our. As a person of Japanese descent, I made it my mission to fi nd creative ways to make it edible for everyone.

I searched for recipes on the Internet and in various cookbooks. I came across some quite good and not so good ones. It is pre� y surprising just how many recipes there are for using up dozens of boxes of mochiko! There are recipes for snacks, main dishes, and desserts. Here are some reviews of recipes that my colleagues and I tried, and the ready-to-use recipe for the best non-mochi use of mochiko. (Also note that mochiko is a gluten-free alternative to wheat!)

Rice Flour PancakesFound in: Joy of Cooking (1997)Rating: ��Comments: Taste almost like regular pancakes, with a bit of the texture as-sociated with mochi.

Coconut Mochi (aka Hawaiian Mochi aka Chichi Dango)Found on Internet site: h� p://www.hawaii.edu/recipes/dessert/cocmochi.htmlRating: ��Comments: This dessert makes me wish I could claim I was Nikkei-Hawai-ian or Japanese-Hawaiian. Note: bu� er the pan very liberally, otherwise you’ll be spending more time cleaning the pan than enjoying the dessert…

Rice Flour CookiesFound on Internet site: h� p://wawa.essortment.com/cookiesrecipes_rtvl.htmRating: ��Comments: Extremely crumbly and somewhat gri� y. The batch I baked was palatable only because it contained chocolate chips. I wasn’t a big fan but other people seemed to like them…

Rice Flour Muffi nsFound on internet site: h� p://www.thenewhomemaker.com/ricefl ourmuffi nsRating: ��Comments: Like regular muffi ns only be� er because of the texture. It reminds me of my somewhat expensive addiction to brown rice muffi ns at Choices Market I once had.

Peanut Bu� er and Chocolate MochiFound on internet site: h� p://www.recipegoldmine.com/worldjapan/japan5.htmlRating: ��Comments: This recipe is like your traditional sweetened mochi with red-bean paste in the middle. However the centre contains peanut bu� er and chocolate. What could be be� er?

And, my number one choice:

Chocolate MochiFound on Internet site: h� p://www.hawaii.edu/recipes/dessert/chocmochi.htmlRating: ��Comments: Tastes like a Japanese version of the traditional chocolate fudge brownie. Excellent! (See the recipe, above.)

And the winner is...

CHOCOLATE MOCHI

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sweet rice fl our (Mochiko)2 cups white sugar1 tbsp. baking soda1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips2 cans evaporated milk (2 -12 oz.)½ cup melted margarine2 tsp. vanilla extract2 beaten eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F 2. Sift dry ingredients; sweet rice fl our, sugar and baking soda into a large bowl.3. Melt margarine and chocolate chips together.4. Combine the chocolate mixture with evapo-rated milk, vanilla extract and eggs in another large bowl.5. Mix well and stir in dry ingredients until it becomes a smooth batter.6. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan.7. Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes.8. Cool and then serve.

Let’s enjoy chocolate mochi together with everyone!


Almost Dragon Boat Time Again...

The JETAABC-powered dragon boat teams, “Ready, JET, Go!” and “JET Ai” will be taking to the water once again this year, in their quest for fitness, friendship, and fun. And hardware: Last year’s teams did very well, with RJG leaping into the Rec A classification from Rec D in only

their second year at the Alcan Dragonboat Festival, and JET Ai doing nearly as well in their first year as RJG did in theirs. The highlight of the season was probably RJG’s season-ending race meet in Kelowna, where they placed

first in their final race and took home the blue ribbon in the Silver Division ‘B’ Final.

The practice season for both teams will start on Saturday, March 4, at 8:20 am at DragonZone, which is located at the

southeast end of False Creek, near Science World. A large part of the reason our teams do well is our coaching, and we’re lucky to have Kevin Thien back for a third year with our teams. With strong, dedicated coaching and management from Kevin, Jane, and Hiromi, we’re in good shape to continue to do well in 2006!

One target Ready, JET, Go! is aiming for is to a�end an overseas race in 2007. One of the candidate races is Yokohama, which Vancouver’s sister city in Japan. So sponsorship and fundraising for the teams will be ramping up over the year. During the season, there will be several events which the teams hope you will come out and support.

Part of the reason RJG and dragonboating was started in the first place was to allow alumni and

their friends to participate in the sport and give them the opportunity to socialize with each other. If you are interested and willing to commit to a team that trains hard twice a week and wants to keep winning races, please contact Jane Leung by e-mail at [email protected]!

Book-Off Arrives in Vancouverby Ala Ji

Do you remember the big kanji sign that reads “HON”? Was that your first kanji ever learned from shop signs in Japan? Well, this sign has come to town: Book-Off has opened its first store on Hornby near Dunsmuir, downtown (across from the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, conveniently close to Pacific Centre Mall).

With over 800 stores in Japan, Book-Off is one of Japan’s largest used book/CD/Video stores. If your kanji ability has improved beyond “HON”, you may wish to check out Book-Off’s official web site, at h�p://www.bookoff.co.jp.

Book-Off provides an a�ractive alternative to the regular Japanese book distributors in Vancouver. Its books and magazines are at a fraction of the cost of the new items carried in other Japanese bookstores. They have a large collection of used fiction and nonfiction books, comic books, and magazines in Japanese. They also have a small selection of English and

Chinese items. Well worth a leisurely browse of Japanese books, magazines, CDs and DVDs.

At the moment, Book-Off in Vancouver is licensed to buy only used books from the general public; however, they

are hoping to be able to buy your used CDs, videos and DVDs in the near future.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that any of the other nani-nani “-Off” stores—Hard-Off, Hobby-Off, or the new Bunko-Off, for example—are available outside of Japan. But if you want to enjoy an authentic slice of Japan in your own backyard, or if you want to sell your old Japanese books for some money, you really must take a look at this store!

(Please note that this article was not commissioned by Book-Off).

Book-Off Vancouver636 Hornby Street

Vancouver, BC V6C 2G2Phone: 604-605-8887


The Monkey and the Jellyfish by D. Weber (Internet blogger at Japundit.com)

Japanese monkey tales o�en exalt the cleverness and re-sourcefulness of monkeys. One of the most popular stories about monkeys in Japan is the story of the monkey and the jellyfish:

A long, long time ago the great Sea King’s wife was sick and for some reason the only thing that would cure her was a monkey’s liver.

Since monkeys lived on land and fish in the sea, it seemed a hopeless task to procure one. However, one marine crea-ture was the obvious choice for such a quest - the jellyfish. With its strong bones and hard shell, the jellyfish was well-suited to go onto the land and seek out a monkey. The jel-lyfish soon found a curious monkey to whom it impressed with its description of the Sea King’s palace. The jellyfish offered the monkey passage to the wondrous realm of the Sea King upon its hard shell.

The eager monkey agreed and off they went. Along the way, the monkey grew concerned about the nature of their conversation, which seemed revolve around livers—par-ticularly his own. The jellyfish eventually went too far and let slip the purpose of its visit. The monkey was naturally alarmed, as anyone would be if they found themselves in the middle of the ocean on the back of a jellyfish’s shell af-ter discovering that their liver was to be the guest of honor.

But with cleverness being his birthright, the monkey hid his fear and began to lament. He told the jellyfish that in

his haste to go to the Sea King’s palace, he had unfortu-nately le� his liver hanging in a tree, which of course is what all monkeys do when they go climbing. The jellyfish (not being the smartest of sea creatures) believed him, and rushed back to land with his liver-less monkey. When they reached land, the monkey leaped into the trees and instead of monkey liver, the gullible jellyfish received only monkey laughter.

The Sea King was noticeably put out when he heard the quaking jellyfish’s report. He ordered the bones of the jelly-fish to be removed and its shell to be beaten to a pulp. And today the jellyfish and its descendants float about boneless and shell-less while giving monkeys a wide berth.

Asahi’s Beer Pouring Robots by David Ponce (Internet blogger)

Here’s a match made in heaven: beer and robots. For most of the world, it’s a match we are le� to simply dream of (you know, slave bots bringing you a cold one, instead of the usual “Get it yourself!”) If you live in Japan however, you should know that Asahi is running a promotion where they’ll be giving away 5,000 fully stocked refrigerator robots. What do these lovely creatures do?

Well, aside from stocking and cool-ing up to six cans of beer and two mugs, upon the press of a bu�on, the

machine will open up a can, and pour in into the mug with a perfect head every time.

To win one, between February and May contestants must collect 36 seals found on specially marked Asahi beers. Of course, you don’t have to drink the beer… but then you’d probably be missing the point.

MisDo Goods Archive

In case you were ever wondering to yourself, “I wonder what stuff Mr. Donut has given away over the years,” there is a site you must check out: h�p://www.misterdonut.jp/museum/1973/index.html. Everything from the “Seĳin no Hi Presento” in January, 1973, to the “Licca-chan Tote” being given away in January, 2006—it’s all here!

Nice to see the English hasn’t go�en any be�er over time, though—here’s a sample from the Licca-chan tote bag ad:


Edible Art by JP (Internet blogger at Japundit.com)

Some moms in Japan must have too much time on their hands. And too much talent to be mere housewives: check out these amazing bento!

(I guess my only comment is that it’s too bad that bento is only running Windows 98...)

More examples of these edible works of art can be found at a (Japanese-only) website:

h�p://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/kasumin_yorosiku.

Dorama! Get your dorama here!

For you former residents of Japan who both a) miss their usual Japanese hour-long drama fix, and b) have a high-speed Internet connection (which I’d imagine is just about everyone these days?), there is very good news: just about every drama you could wish for is available online via BitTorrent, through the comprehensive D-Addicts forum (h�p://www.d-addicts.com/forum).

This forum has it all: torrents, schedules for currently-showing dramas, a Wiki with information about every drama, actor, and actress—and even fan-made English and Chinese subtitles for most Korean and Japanese dramas.

It is even possible to watch a Japanese drama in nearly “real-time,” as new episodes are captured directly from Japanese HDTV, converted to DivX .avi files (compatible with some stand-alone DVD players, like the LG LDA-530), and subtitled within hours of their original airtime in Japan! It’s like having a TiVo si�ing on your desktop...

Of course, something about this isn’t quite legal, but don’t worry: your part (i.e. downloading) is not going to get you in trouble. Enjoy!

Inspector Morimoto Book Series

Inspector Morimoto is an Okayama police detective who, in the words of Timothy Hemion, the British author of the Inspector Morimoto series, “...is so�-spoken with a kind face. He’s never in a hurry, and he’s very organized and methodical in everything that he does. He’s quite content being a police detec-tive, though much of the routine work that he’s involved with doesn’t really inspire him. What he really enjoys are the especially intriguing puzzles that he encounters every now and again, and which form the basis for the stories. He’s at his happiest when he’s in his office, leaning back in his chair with his feet up on his desk and his hands locked behind his head, thinking about a puzzling case and discussing it with Officer Suzuki. In-spector Morimoto enjoys the intellectual process of solving the case just as much as finally being able to bring the crimi-nals to account for their crimes.”

Debuting in 2004 in “Inspector Morimoto and the Two Umbrellas,” the Inspector is now featured in three further titles: “Inspector Morimoto and the Diamond Pendants,” “In-spector Morimoto and the Famous Po�er,” and “Inspector Morimoto and the Sushi Chef.”

Okayama, other parts of Japan, and the train system are featured prominently in the books. Inspector Morimoto

always takes a trip somewhere else. In the first book he visits Osaka, and in the second he visits Hiroshima and Miyajima. The author says, “This gives me the opportu-nity to write a li�le bit about these places. The third story is based around the beautiful Bizen po�ery, so I have the

opportunity to explain quite a lot about the history of po�ery making in the Bizen region. Each book contains a map at the front showing the Okayama region and the positions of the other cities in the story. For his trips outside Okayama city, Inspector Morimoto likes to ride on the trains. Of course, the Shinkansen is discussed a lot in the books, and it o�en plays a significant part in the plot. But, Inspector Morimoto also likes to ride on the ordinary trains along some of the other lines. The slow journey gives him some quiet time to think and contemplate on the status of his investigation, and he enjoys the beautiful rural scenery that the train passes through. This provides me with a good opportunity to describe the Japanese countryside to the readers.”

Asked why he chose Japan as a se�ing for the stories, Hemion says, “Ever since my first visit to Japan as a young mathematics researcher, I’ve always had a great love for the Japanese people and for Japanese culture. I felt that Japan would make an interesting background for west-ern readers, and that it would also lead to a be�er under-standing of Japan and its culture in the rest of the world.”

Documents

February 2006 Volume 11 Issue 2