Genevieve: One of my favorite things about this time of year is the food. In general, I’m not a big fan of cold weather, in fact I kind of hate it. But one thing I do enjoy is sipping hot cups of tea, baking warm treats, and making winter dishes like seafood nabe. Typically, you cook the nabe (hotpot) right at your dining table, using a portable gas burner. I was told that sharing nabe with someone can mean that you want to become their friend or show that you feel comfortable with them to relax, sit back, and nosh. After all, you are basically dipping from the same bowl.

Our friend Takei recently sent us a lovely care package after his visit to us a few weeks ago during my dad’s visit. Many years ago he lived in the States and specialized in making organic miso and homemade mochi. The package was filled with local organic vegetables, homemade umeboshi (pickled plums) and mochi (pounded rice patties) from Gunma ken, where he lives. Takei lives out in the country about an hour by shinkansen from Tokyo where you can still find farmer’s markets. All of the vegetables were so sweet and delicious. Many of them ended up in the seafood nabe pictured above, but I had enough left over to make a vegetable pasta primavera later in the week. I’ve found that I can only eat so much Japanese food in the span of one week—even though I love it!

Photos of wax shops along Kappabashi Dori featuring sushi, beer, pizza, pasta dishes, salads, fake meat, sundaes, bento boxes, etc.

 On our recent trip to Kappabashi dori, a famous wholesale cooking area in Tokyo, I bought the nabe pot you see in the top photo. I have a weakness for Japanese dishes (inherited from my mom), so we spent a lot of time in pottery shops. The one in the photo was so filled with pottery from the floor to the ceiling, that you literally had to hold your purse and jacket against you to make sure you didn’t accidentally create an avalanche of broken dishes. Along with pottery, you can also find stores specializing in those wax models you see on display in front of restaurants here in Japan. I saw a documentary the other night that showed how each model is hand made by a craftsman—hence the steep price (a single glass of beer costs around 5000￥, roughly $50). There are also shops specializing in laquerware, bamboo, knives—just about anything you can think of related to cooking or eating.