Rainy season has officially hit this part of Japan. The skies are overcast, and it poured rain yesterday. The winds are strong too, so it looks like it’s going to be difficult to go out to sea.

Bummer.

This is what the harbour looked like less than 48 hours ago:

Somewhat of a departure from my normal “me at work” snapshots…this is me yesterday morning hauling stuff through the mikan trees. Note my new year’s fashion statement:

Many of my friends have heard me rant and rave about how awesome the fruits are in Japan. A few have even had the chance to sample some of the fruits here…and all agree.

One of the reasons for the incredible flavours and quality of the fruits in this country is attention to detail. Many fruits, for instance, are given individual care. By “individual”, I don’t mean “per tree”. I mean “per fruit”.

As an example, this is a short video of me wrapping a “kara” citrus fruit, which matures in April/ May and is apparently so good that the entire crop is reserved in advance, so they’re not readily available in stores.

Each kara is individually wrapped to protect it from birds (who, in this area at least, apparently know enough about citrus fruits to discriminate among varieties), rain, and cold.

I and some friends wrapped all the fruits on two trees before calling it quits for the day. I’ve never had a kara orange, so I guess I’ll have to come back here in April or May to enjoy the fruits of my labour (I know, terrible pun).

To work off some of the calories from indulging in far too many new year treats, I spent most of the afternoon yesterday helping out at a friend’s citrus farm, a place called Suzuki-en (鈴木園).

There are acres and acres of citrus trees, with different varieties in season throughout the year. Mandarin oranges, known in Japan as mikan (蜜柑, ミカン, or みかん), are the main fruit right now.

Since I spend much of my time in tropical climates with white sand and palm trees, it took a while to acclimate to the single-digit ºC temperature and winter wind, but it was certainly refreshing being outside, breathing in the crisp, clean air while I raked up leaves and fallen citrus bits, emptied containers, hauled stuff around, etc.

My body ached a bit last night from the manual labour, but I had so much fun that I’m heading back after I post this to lend a hand again.

Of course, I sampled a few mikans here and there throughout the day, and took some back as natural Vitamin C supplements for the cold winter evening…which is to say…I ate too much again.

Eating (too much) is an integral part of the new year celebration in Japan.

A staple of new year fare here is mochi (お餅), which is basically mashed-up sticky rice.

In times gone by, everyone made their own mochi by steaming and pounding the rice themselves. In our modern, civilised existence, most people just buy mochi pre-prepared.

Store-bought mochi can still be delicious and filling, but it’s even better hand-made, as I learned a few days ago when I had a chance to participate in a mochi-making party (餅つき) for the first time.

Below is a short video:

Making Mochi from Tony Wu on Vimeo.

In case you’re interested, l took all the footage with a Canon EOS 7D.

…time to eat again.

Happy 2010 everyone, from a nice, relaxed getaway in Izu…

I just got back from a quick trip to the Izu Peninsula in Japan. My primary objective was to photograph aggregations of mating bigfin reef squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana).

Despite having horrific weather for most of the days, coming down with a high fever mid-dive and becoming half-delirious, plus dealing with teething problems involving a new camera and housing…I managed to some nice shots.

It’ll take me a few days, but I’ll write more about the amazing and somewhat eerie experience of being surrounded by dozens of large squid (a metre+ in length for the biggest ones) preoccupied with mating and laying eggs.

Here’s a preview:

Incidentally, can anyone clue me in on what the correct term for a “bunch of squid” is? Like…school of fish, herd of elephants, pride of lions, gaggle of geese, etc.