Hi. I’m Hannah.
There I was, all cozied up in my cardboard blueberry box, flying to Morocco, finishing off my inflight drink of warm milk with whiskey when the news came in… Chad had gotten on a flight to Tokyo! WHAT?!!! How did that happen?! We were really looking forward to Morocco!! The Mother of Cats had just made her favorite quinoa dish (Quinoa and Pistachio Salad with Moroccan Pesto) and had settled down to chomp some while getting all her knitting supplies organized for the next clue drop of the Sharon Air MKAL, and … no Casablanca? Nope. The plane made a sharp left turn and pointed its nose towards Tokyo.
Oh. We are kind of excited about Tokyo! The Mother of Cats has been there before and she used to live in Yokohama, Japan. We weren’t in Tokyo long as we had to grab the bullet train heading south to Fukuoka, Japan. Sharon ate 4 bento boxes on the way, but mostly we knitted and drank tea on the trip as we had stuffed ourselves on katsudon (which the Mother of Cats just loves!) before we got on the train and the Mother of Cats was sort of regretting the decision… hey, I told her to not order a second bowl, but does she listen to me? Anyway, Sharon ended up recovering from the chase in a hot spring, and that Fungus Boi Worm was there too, but he got away somehow, and we were left in southern Japan to knit, relax, and have fun with Chad’s AMEX card.
Here’s a closeup of the new section of knitting.
So that is what’s going on with the Sharon Air MKAL. I’m so happy that I had cardboard class for that long flight, but I’m a little concerned about what is going to happen to my blanket if we need to fly out tomorrow in another class. Please, Sharon, no litter class for me and my blanket, okay?!
This is Hannah, signing off.
Notes from the Mother of Cats:
- One of the hugely serendipitous events of my life was being sent to live in Yokohama as a young bride in the early 1970s by the US Navy. Why? More than 50 years before my own grandmother had arrived there as a young bride herself. My mom was born in Yokohama, and her first language was Japanese. How crazy was that?
- My mom, by the way, was Swedish-American, and her mother could speak Swedish.
- I still miss the Katsudon that I ate there.
- Many members of the MKAL posted pictures of fabulous bento boxes that could be eaten on the bullet train. I’ve eaten bento boxes, but never came to love them, because… katsudon!!
Yarn, Books & Roses 
Having followed your link, Marilyn, I haven’t stopped drooling over katsudon since. Horrible woman ! It looks good enough to live on indefinitely .. swoon ..
All you need to survive in Japan food-wise is to be able to walk into a food joint and gasp out… katsudon! Actually, they often have replicas of the meals posted in a window at the front of the restaurant; all you need to be able to do is recognize it and then point. I know!! Unlike Bento box, this stuff is piping hot, too!!
I might even be able to eat in a Japanese restaurant, now that I know about k.a.t.s.u.d.o.n. !! 🙂
I just watched the video. In Yokohama the whisked egg was poured into the hot rice and then the sauce, onions, and katsu were put on top. It was all hot and steamy, and the egg cooked right into the rice. It was really easy to eat with chopsticks. 🙂
SHUT UP, Marilyn !!!!!!
Did I mention that I have a rice cooker and sushi (sticky rice) in the cupboard?
Ah, but sushi is NOT my thing. In fact, Japanese food per se I tend to avoid – except when horrible people write truly tempting things about delightful delicious dishes like [gasp !] katsudon ..
I’m a huge fan of tempura!
Well, yes, I give you tempura. And also shabu shabu ?
I didn’t know shabu shabu, but after looking it up I’m on board!
What a flexible pair of women we are !! [grin]
I don’t eat meat but I’m sure my husband would enjoy katsudon. You’ve lived quite a life! I feel there’s a book in you we’d like to read! The highlight of my week, when I was working in London Monday to Thursday for 18 months, was stopping at Yo! at the airport and enjoying Japanese food. I don’t like raw fish but loved their salmon teriyaki bao buns, yasai rolls and chocolate mochi balls. Nom nom nom 🤤
I often think that there is a book in me somewhere, too. My mother and her mother had remarkable lives and I’m just following along in the path they cut for me. Salmon teriyaki bao buns!!!! OH, that sounds so good!! One of our favorite meals for gilling is sesame ginger salmon… I have been known to pull of chunks to eat while it is still on the grill!!
Thank you, Marilyn, for the extra detail for Hannah’s story – making sense of the Japanese association.
🙂
Mmmm, katsudon. Yummy! We have some good Japanese restaurants in my area, but I’m sure they don’t compare to the ones in Japan itself. The shawl is looking great!
Thanks. You’re probably right about the restaurants as the ones that I went to were almost street food level, but soooo good!
How cool to get to relive that wonderful time through this shawl knitting adventure 🙂 We definitely need to know more about you and your adventures!