梅酒 update with some other random pics

Here's what the plum wine looks like after a month of rest in the closet:


You can see that all the rock sugar has dissolved. The plums have lost their vibrant green and look more pickled. They're starting to wrinkle a bit also. For a comparison, just scroll down or look here.

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As long as I got the camera loaded, let's empty it out and see what's there. Hmmm...not much to choose from.

Here's a shot of the police box sign that I see a lot around here but never in Niigata:


I don't know why but the style of the drawing looks French to me. Can someone draw a Japanese-style toilet in the bottom left coner, please?

Next to my city is Takatsuki-shi (高槻市), home of factories and distribution centers. Meiji Seika, makers of the Meiji chocolate bar and カール, has a factory in Takatsuki with a huge mural on the side of one of its buildings:


Oh, and the last box from the US to be opened was the one containing Yuki's Gilbert & George print:


ギルバート&ジョージさん
日本へようこそ

Homemade Umeshu

It's time to make some plum wine (梅酒). Here's what we need:

The plastic bag on the left contains rock sugar. The carton is filled with liqueur.

We live pretty close to Wakayama, which is famous for its fruits -- especially plums, which are used to make plum wine or are pickled into umeboshi. When Yuki spotted bags of plums from Wakayama at the local supermarket, we decided to make umeshu again. The last time we did this was 2001 (maybe 2002?) in Niigata. The results kicked major ass.

The directions we got with the big glass jar told us to put the plums and sugar in the jar in layers:


I don't remember if we did the same thing in Niigata. The directions also said that we can drink it after about a month. But from experience I know the longer you wait, the better it tastes. We kept the jar in Niigata for about two years before we drank all of it. Super tasty!

So, see ya guys next year...