Some members of
our group getting ready...Most of the first week in July consisted of six hours a day in the classroom learning "survival Japanese." I already knew a few words which made things a bit easier, but it was still very difficult to focus on Japanese for six hours a day. The teachers were great though, which helped a lot. The week was broken up by two events: the mochitsuki party and the cultural evening. Mochi is the Japanese name for rice which has been pounded into a gelatinous mass and then eaten. The pounding takes place at the mochitsuki party, which gives Americans a chance to destroy Japanese mochi-pounding equipment. ;-)
Some members of
our group getting ready...
The
mochi-pounding instructor...
This is how it's
done...
Watching the
pounding...
Robert Day in
action...
Mark Martin in
action...
Dan Hartmann in
action...
Mario Joa-Ng in
action...
A'gota Fejes
shows the guys how to do it...
The end
product...
Mochi is found everywhere in Japan, especially in tourist areas. There the mochi is filled with soybean paste, packaged in nicely wrapped boxes, and is purchased as omiyage. Omiyage means "gift" or "present" in Japanese and can be used to refer to any kind of gift. However, it is a Japanese custom for anyone who travels to another part of Japan to bring back food gifts to the office or laboratory. Mochi is one of the most common gifts and is actually very tasty.