Damn Good Tartare Sauce

I like tartare sauce; I always have. I eat it with fish and seafood, but for the ultimate treat, with steak tartare. Most recipes, including this one, are based on the classic combination of mayonnaise and finely chopped ingredients. My variation is to use the capers whole and coarsely chop everything else. Warning; do not

Autumn Guinomi

In August 2009 I bought a guinomi (ぐい吞； sake cup) in Seto, Aichi made by a local potter named Yamaguchi Masato (山口真人). Masato is the sixth generation of a family of potters. Their pottery is named Western Kiln and is located in Akazu, just outside the town of Seto. The cup, named Summer and shown in

A Ride in the Mountains

Having purchased a book of Kansai (Osaka) region railway maps I decided to plan a trip that would take me to some new and different places. A trip from Nara to Nagoya on the Kansai Main Line (関西本線) appeared to be possible and of sufficient distance to be interesting. I told Naoko of my idea  and