Gyudon (牛丼) is one of my favorite Japanese dishes. Sure it’s cheap Japanese fast food, but I still love it. I tried this bowl in the Los Angeles area as you can’t find Japanese style beef bowls anywhere near my normal neck of the woods in Southern Oregon. It wasn’t quite the same as the many I have consumed in Japan. Maybe it was the styrofoam bowl? Perhaps that was part of it, but something still seemed a bit off in the recipe.

I’m looking forward to consuming the real thing in Japan this summer as well as many bowls of bulgogi (불고기) in Korea.

Posted on April 13th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: food, los angeles, Nikon 35mm f/1.8 lens, nikon d7000. Comments: 2

I had some zaru soba (cold Japanese noodles) the other day at Ashland’s Star Sushi. This is more of a summertime meal, but the sun was out, and I had been walking and felt warm so cold noodles sounded better at that moment. They were good.

Posted on March 26th, 2013 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: food, Nikon 20mm f/2.8 NIKKOR AI-s lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Zaru Soba (笊蕎麦)

Misoya Bistro – Medford, Oregon

I picked up a couple of used, manual Nikon lenses in Medford this morning from a Craigslist ad. I purchased them mainly because I have fun playing with new lenses, and the price was right. The one I used for this photo of my “Japanese” lunch is a Nikon 20mm f/2.8 AI-s lens. It weighs about 25% as much as my 14-24mm and is much smaller. I will take this (or my 24mm prime) along when going on a hike or bike ride instead of my much larger and heavier zooms.

Why did I put Japanese in quotes? Because all of the “Japanese” restaurants (other than 武蔵スシバー Musashi Sushi Bar & Japanese Cuisine in Grants Pass) in Southern Oregon are run by non-Japanese with non-Japanese cooks and with foods that only partly look and taste Japanese.

Posted on March 14th, 2013 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: beer, food, Nikon 20mm f/2.8 NIKKOR AI-s lens, Nikon D600, sushi. Comments: 1

“Will work for food.” If I were to ever go into business as a photographer, that is what I would put on my card. Today, that is exactly what I did. A friend of mine is starting a bakery and wanted some photos of some of her delectable creations. I was more than happy to oblige, and I ended up going home with many of the items I photographed.

What does this have to do with travel or Japan? Not much although my friend is Japanese (born in America).

November 2012 update: Jolene’s Sweets is now open for business.

Posted on October 9th, 2012 under Other. Tags: bokeh, food, nikon d7000, sigma 85mm f/1.4 lens. Comments Off on Food photography

Another photo today that could have been taken in Japan but wasn’t. The place was Toshi’s Ramen in Eugene, Oregon. I may head up I-5 to a Duck’s game soon and will have to stop in for some ramen while I’m there.

Posted on August 25th, 2012 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: food, Oregon, ramen. Comments Off on Toshi’s Ramen