It would appear that winter is finally upon us in Sumita. Over the weekend, we had over 15cm of snow fall around us. The first major snow of the season always puts me into the mood for the holiday season. Conan and I decided to celebrate by heading outside for a walk. I guess walking in the snow isn’t something done in Sumita very much, as several people from their windows asked whether Conan was warm enough, and to be sure that he didn’t catch a cold. This, despite the five layers of clothing he had on, including his MEC (http://www.mec.ca/) snowsuit. Conan had a great time, and had some nice, rosy cheeks to prove the point.

Yesterday, we headed to Morioka city to spend some electronics store coupons. When we bought our fridge in the summer, we managed to get a really great price, plus in-store credit for $200. As it had to be used by the end of the year, we decided to head back to the store and upgrade to a new rice cooker. Having lived here a while, and eaten my fair share of rice, I can attest to the fact that there IS a difference between good and high quality rice and rice cookers. The latest top-of-the-line model available this year cooks rice in fifteen minutes at 130 C, using convection heating costs $600. : 0
Rice is a serious business in Japan, be it companies, restaurants or in the home. And superior-tasting rice complements a meal so much.

Here’s a tip for those of you who might use a rice cooker back home (or for those who still use a pot on the stove). Make sure you rinse off your rice several times under cold water before cooking it. It removes some of the starch and makes the rice taste better.