tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60756259126380874812016-10-25T21:29:16.272-04:00I like my failures. They make me who I am.Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.comBlogger269125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-81222238175780879682014-08-05T05:15:00.003-04:002014-08-05T05:15:34.486-04:00

It's that special time of year, y'all. August 5th, the Bakefails Blog-iversary. And this year, the bronze year, the 5th year, I have a very special surprise: I'm discontinuing this blog and starting a new one from scratch. I started this one so long ago, before I knew anything about blogging or baking, and I'd like to think I've learned a few things in the last four years. My personal mantras

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-15161959988943570512014-07-26T03:47:00.001-04:002014-07-26T03:49:56.926-04:00

Just popping out of my summer shell to say hello before I get swept back up into the oppressive heat.  It was this time a year ago that I boarded the plane in Atlanta for Tokyo. A year ago tomorrow, I landed in Tokyo and tried my hardest to stay awake until bed time. A year ago Monday, I started my first day of my first post-college job, dressed awkwardly in a suit that I thought looked good

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-70853045030826680752014-06-29T05:57:00.000-04:002014-06-29T05:57:37.892-04:00

Well, that depends on who you are...but not likely. Why did I run away, you ask? Because I love Tokyo. What did I do? I walked. I walked some more. I think I walked 500 miles. I got home a week ago and I can still feel it in my legs. I just wanted to see the city again. I did so many tourist-y things when I lived here, and could only think of so many that I would be interested in doing

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-44632255437546658772014-06-03T07:50:00.002-04:002014-06-03T07:50:30.729-04:00

Hey yo. The travel bug has bitten me again, but this time I'm all burned out :/ I'm gonna need a long break before I travel again... I ran off to Kobe this past weekend. Semi-spur-of-the-moment-but-actually-planned-in-advance. As soon as I got back from Tohoku last month, I was itching to run off again, so that week I booked a hostel and bus tickets for Kobe.  I took a bus from the mall near

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-86024646604476494442014-05-11T07:00:00.002-04:002014-05-11T07:35:00.956-04:00

It was recently Golden Week here, a series of holidays in early May that either pop up like pimples throughout the week, or cluster together to form one long weekend. This year, the holidays were split between two weeks, so in order to have a long break, I had to take paid vacation. The second weekend of Golden Week, fortunately, was a 4-day weekend, so I took one extra day and scooted on out of

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-5319586735193013172014-05-10T21:13:00.001-04:002014-05-10T21:13:34.246-04:00

After running about in Osaka and Hiroshima, we were ready to come back home. I mean...my home (away from home.) We spent the second week of our trip in my city, just in time to catch the cherry blossoms before they pass away.  I took my parents to as many of my favorite restaurants as possible, making sure to take them to an izakaya, my favorite udon place, my favorite

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-11617566893313657792014-05-08T05:14:00.002-04:002014-05-08T05:14:27.887-04:00

Naturally, the most important thing to see in Hiroshima is the Peace Memorial Park. The first time I saw it, during my study abroad program, I felt weird being here, considering the history. Of course what happened was awful and uncalled for, but many, if not most, countries do awful things, and this time around, I felt less awkward and more, I guess...sobered...? It's less a monument of one

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-88722310383876760772014-04-24T06:57:00.002-04:002014-04-24T06:57:50.034-04:00

One thing I think everyone needs to do when they visit Hiroshima is take a day trip (or half-day trip) out to Miyajima (宮島.) This was my 3rd time on the island, and it's still just as beautiful as the first time!  The name means "shrine island," because the island itself is the shrine. There's a gate in the water, which you can see from the ferry on the way in. During low tide, you can walk

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-9359005158095635172014-04-13T04:26:00.001-04:002014-04-13T04:40:29.856-04:00

Read part 1 and part 2! Our next big adventure was the Umeda Sky Building, a skyscraper in Osaka City from which you can see the entire city. It's like Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree, but I thought it was nicer inside. We went up a little before sunset, took our typical "look at the city photos," and found a cafe inside where we watched the sun set over the canal.  There was a shrine

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-31092540194495231422014-04-08T07:28:00.000-04:002014-04-08T07:28:19.343-04:00

Read part 1 here Day 2 of Real Osaka Exploring! We made plans to visit a friend, Matt, from my study abroad program, who moved to Osaka prefecture to teach English around the same time I did. My parents and I got up early, at the crack of late morning, and went back to Dotonbori to explore more before meeting Matt. Dotonbori was pretty cool at night, but even better during the

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-16712972534429464132014-04-06T04:25:00.002-04:002014-04-06T04:25:34.354-04:00

Looking at my blog, I realize I haven't posted anything in over a month, and wow how time flies :/  I hermitted a lot in March to save up for my 2-week vacation with my parents, so I never got around to blogging. But to make up for it, I'll be releasing a slew of posts through this week from our trip. Hopefully, they'll keep you entertained until Golden Week, when I'll be travelling north

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-44252216361061565802014-02-22T02:59:00.001-05:002014-02-22T02:59:31.695-05:00

Read about #1 - 9, #10 - 20, and #21 - 36 Woah-oh, I'm halfway there! I just barely made it to the halfway point last weekend, and the "I don't know if I can go on" moments are becoming more and more frequent...but whatever. I'll just chug along and see where I end up. It helps in terms of finding udon to eat that I started eating meat again over a month ago. I doesn't help that I'm not very

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-29614007125015309592014-02-12T06:16:00.000-05:002014-02-12T06:16:42.759-05:00

This past weekend was one of the biggest festivals in the country: the Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki Matsuri), in Hokkaido. The first time my family planned to come to Japan, 5 years ago, we thought about coming in the winter and going to the festival. Unfortunately, the festival is in February, not really a great time to take a long vacation. So we did the opposite, and visited in July

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-28527644739368338102014-01-19T04:49:00.001-05:002014-01-26T08:35:51.933-05:00

I'm not sick anymore!  But since finally getting out of bed two weeks ago, I haven't done anything of interest. I figured I should post an update because it's been...a while.  My computer broke on my way back to my apartment from North Carolina (I put it in my checked bag...) I had to buy a new one, and I saw this as my opportunity to finally experience a MacBook. I found one for $1,200.

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-68146058816970660422014-01-02T16:38:00.002-05:002014-01-02T16:38:42.255-05:00

(This, ironically, is the first post of 2014...) I went home for one week for Christmas. I was curious to see how it is being in Japan for New Year's, so I planned to come back to Tak to ring in 2014. After I bought my plane tickets, I did some research on the holiday, and as it turns out, New Year's is a family holiday here. People don't go out like in the States. I guess it's a good thing I

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-31599433853189887252013-12-26T12:21:00.000-05:002013-12-26T12:21:08.808-05:00

'Tis that season again: Cookie Season! In Japan, the big Xmas thing is Xmas cake. In the States, it's Xmas cookies (and also fall/winter pies.) I appreciate the cookies, because I can actually make those. It'll be years before I can successfully make a pie, and I still don't totally trust my cakes. This winter, I'm only home for a week for the holiday, so I haven't had as much time to spend

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-78490967420588338342013-12-14T02:38:00.000-05:002013-12-22T15:54:24.950-05:00

Read about #1 - 9, and #10 - 20 I've lost track of where I should be now with this project...But here is another batch of udon.  I bought myself a book of udon recipes, which includes a section on various types of broths and how to make them from scratch, as well as a recipe to make the noodles themselves from scratch (haha, as if.) I figured I could only find so many udons around this city, so

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-58108458378386894082013-12-10T06:47:00.001-05:002013-12-10T06:47:27.059-05:00

This past Saturday, I got up at 6 am (just like old times!) to go on a bit of a hike.  I hiked 18 kilometers (~12 miles) up and down a mountain. It was part of a pilgrimage experience organized by the international affairs division of my prefecture's government. The Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage (Shikoku 88 Henro, 四国遍路) is a personal journey undertaken by people (much fitter than I am) to see all of

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-59108202305478638642013-11-29T06:40:00.002-05:002013-11-29T06:40:49.109-05:00

("What? Hotpot!") Nabe (鍋) is a pot. It's a lovely pot. A useful pot. A hot pot.  And now is the time of year for hot pots. Their time has come. They're here, they're hot, they're pots.  The temperature plummeted once autumn walked through the door, and has only dropped more since then. I keep my outsides warm with layers of clothes and blasting my heater, and my insides warm with curried

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-48946232752097516912013-11-21T06:50:00.002-05:002013-11-21T06:50:34.322-05:00

I get to feeling like I'm treading water, and still swallowing it, like I'm not making much impact. Stupidly Optimistic Me, while chatting with Sorely Pessimistic Me over a latte, will maintain that if we aren't making an impact, we may have to look at our position in a new way. I figured I'd be doing all manners of interactive lessons and having to put up with all manners of students, from the

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-84461269934397012662013-11-19T07:52:00.000-05:002013-11-19T07:54:45.496-05:00

1. It's taken me a while to realize that they learn here by rote memorization. It must work for something, otherwise it wouldn't still exist as a system of learning. But then things like this happen: at lunch one day, the 8th grader sitting next to me asked "How are you?" When I replied, "Good. How are you," (instead of "I'm fine. How are you?") he turned to his friends to ask them what I had

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-44234995491815709672013-11-10T03:49:00.000-05:002013-11-10T03:49:32.216-05:00

Hiking up Mount Konpira to Kotohira Shrine was the last thing I did in Japan before going home last year. I thought I had reached the top, so I turned around, descended, and left Shikoku, only to discover later that I wasn't even close to the top.  I took the Kotoden Kotohira line from Oota station near my apartment, all the way to the end (about 45 minutes and ~500 yen.) Kotohira is far

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-73573829773554247552013-10-23T08:28:00.001-04:002013-10-23T08:28:26.919-04:00

I'm unfortunately falling behind on my Udon 100 journey. I've been too busy to go out during the week and get some, and I've been so focused on practicing cooking at home. That leaves me trying to catch up on the weekend, and I ended up having udon for two meals in a row last Saturday. I have to admit I almost barfed after second lunch... Read about udons #1 through 9 here.  10. Kakiage udon:

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-26610468483462650542013-10-16T07:17:00.002-04:002013-10-16T07:18:07.558-04:00

I've been trying my hand at baking for almost a month, since I finally purchased my toaster oven (my first EVER toaster oven.) I assumed toaster ovens were the common thing in households here, but apparently people buy small, portable conventional ovens.  I'll be honest, I didn't know conventional ovens could be small and portable. Lesson learned.  But I do love my toaster oven. I named him

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075625912638087481.post-54197059067574521662013-10-14T03:05:00.000-04:002013-10-14T03:05:08.008-04:00

I went up to Hiroshima this past weekend for a sake festival. After about 4 hours of strolling (re: being pushed by crowds) through the sake market, tossing back 8-9 semi-shots of sake from around the country, and working my way through all they had to offer at the Kagawa Prefecture tent, I had to dip out and find my hostel. I'm recently sick, so I didn't last very long, and I ended up just

Nick Powers Maherhttps://plus.google.com/101170451268959340055noreply@blogger.com0