vegan italian food in japan?

vegan food is quite easy to come by in japan.  most basic language books have the cheat sheet on how to communicate your dietary desires.  once you open up that door, the possibilities are virtually endless.

a fine establishment in kitakami city, iwate prefecture is la taverna.  the wonderful folks there were very accommodating and thrilled to make a full on vegan meal.  now, this place is not traditional japanese food, but  a lilt on italian dining.  excellent wine selection, fantastic salad, a mushroom pasta dish to keep you up at night with your stomach growling, and a thin crust pizza with house-made tofu-"cheese."  all was absolutely delicious and wonderful.  and then they brought out the dessert...vegan strawberry shortcake--gluten-free, too!  the tofu-creme was a touch of magic.

many thanks to the fine folks at la taverna for a fantastic meal.

and to koji takusari and the takusari family for their wonderful hospitality! an amazing place to share with amazing people.

diplomatic adventures navigating renewable energy in japan

meeting with iwate-ken governor and senior advisors to discuss renewable energy initiatives in northern japan.

getting further detail from industry development director for iwate-ken.  a number of strong take-aways thus far:

• city of morioka –green initiatives
• iwate prefecture –dedication to advancing green technologies
• kowai closed-loop biomass facility–creating energy from organic matter discards
• city of ninohe –green initiatives and solar installations
• iwate hospital –energy efficiency, green roof, and solar initiative
• kashiwadai hydro-electric power station –in-line small hydro facility generating 13,100kw in the three stations, interesting to note: facility on national park land and strong efforts to keep visual impairment of facilities from public eye
• green power kuzumaki –wind farm in kuzumaki, energy self-sufficient town of 8,000 people by renewables
• kashiwadai kougen –biomass energy production for kougen facilities