Life with hubby: Hubby’s birthday and Rajikon model cars

Hubby’s birthday was on 12th March. Although hubby and I are not into celebrating birthdays or anniversaries in a grand way, we usually have some simple funny celebrations to create happy memories for us. On 11th March, I went to a convenience store near our home and bought several pieces of raw-chocolate cake slices, custard-cream filled Taiyaki, mini chocolate eclairs, chocolate-banana crepes, and milk-vanilla pudding. We live in a village and it is very difficult to find shops selling fancy candles, so every year I end up using candles from our ‘emergency earthquake kit’.

Birthday guy

I arranged the cakes and other desserts as well as candles on two plates. I lit the candles and was all set by 11.55 pm. Hubby was fast asleep but I woke him up exactly at 00.00 hour on 12th March and wished him a very happy birthday. He was nice enough not to grumble as he usually gets irritated when woken up from sleep. He blew all the candles out and we ate all the sweets.

A plate arranged with a cake slice, Taiyaki, mini eclairs, crepe, and pudding. Another plate arranged with lit candles.

Enlarged photo of the plate arranged with all the desserts and sweets

Hubby very sleepy but kind enough to wake up at midnight

Hubby blowing out the candles

Hubby too sleepy so it took some efforts to blow out all the candles

Hubby having custard

This year 12th March was a weekend holiday. Hubby wished to have a lot of meat for lunch. So we went to a restaurant named Steak Gusto located in Akita City. It is a casual family-style restaurant that specializes in beef items. The menu mostly consists of beef dishes like steak and Japanese hamburger steak, though a few dishes of fish, chicken, and seafood are also available. Hubby ordered a main dish consisting of cut up beef steak. I ordered a main dish consisting of a combination of beef steak and hamburger steak. The meat was very good and juicy and the sauces were flavorful. Along with the main dish, the restaurant offers an all-you-can eat buffet style salad and side-dish bar that includes fresh salad fare, Japanese curry, freshly baked breads, white rice, soups, and fruits. All-you-can-drink beverages from a self-serve counter are also available at a reasonable additional cost. We ordered beverages too. Along with the main dish, we had a lot of salad, fruits, rice, bread, and cold drinks. We loved the food and overate. The food was really delicious. Afterwards we saw a Hollywood movie at a theater in Akita City. We also did some shopping in the city itself and got a beautiful view of snow covered Mount Taihei from the car parking area of the shop. We had a nice relaxed day.

Hubby’s lunch of cut up beef steak

My lunch of beef steak and hamburger steak

Salad and a side dish

Hubby having lunch

Hubby drinking a beverage

Hubby clicking photo of Mount Taihei from the car parking area of a shop

Beautiful snow covered Mount Taihei

Enlarged view of Mount Taihei

On 13th March, I made two special dishes named Sekihan and Daifuku for hubby. He likes these two dishes very much and had them through out the day whenever he was hungry. Sekihan is a traditional Japanese dish consisting of glutinous rice boiled with azuki beans. Azuki beans give a reddish color to the rice. Sekihan is usually served during special celebratory occasions because of its red color which is symbolic of happiness in Japan. So Sekihan was a perfect dish to make for hubby’s birthday and he ate it with Gomashio condiment. Another dish I cooked was Daifuku which is a confection made of small round glutinous rice cake called Mochi that is commonly stuffed with Anko, a sweetened paste of Azuki beans. Daifuku is usually served during ceremonial occasions and is supposed to bring good luck. So Daifuku was also a perfect dish to make for hubby’s birthday and I made many pieces with stuffing of Anko paste wrapped around whole strawberry. Hubby had all the Daifuku pieces within a day. I was very happy that hubby liked the taste of both the dishes.

Sekihan topped with Gomashio condiment

Daifuku with stuffing of Anko paste wrapped around whole strawberry

This year I bought three Rajikon model cars as birthday present for hubby. In fact I had been planning to present hubby with Rajikon cars for many years but somehow just never got around to it until now. Rajikon is the Japanese word for radio-controlled (or RC) model vehicles that are steerable with the use of radio control. Many types of model vehicles have RC systems installed in them, like scaled cars, boats, planes, helicopters, and railway locomotives. RC Rajikon cars are the most popular ones amongst all these, and are battery or fuel-powered model cars or trucks that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter or remote. Rajikon cars are powered by various sources. Electric models are powered by small powerful electric motors and batteries while fuel-powered models use nitro engines or gasoline engines. There are two types of Rajikon cars, namely toy-grade and hobby-grade. Toy-grade Rajikon cars are manufactured with a focus on design and have a single electronic circuit board integrated into the design of the vehicle. Toy-grade cars are mostly electric models. Hobby-grade Rajikon cars have separate electronic components that are individually replaceable (in case of any failure). Although most hobby-grade cars are sold as kits and assembled by the hobbyists, nowadays ready-to-run models have become very popular. Hobby-grade cars are electric as well as fuel-powered models. Since childhood hubby likes Rajikon model cars and had owned one many decades ago. Rajikon cars are very popular amongst all age group men in Japan. Many children and adults adore such model cars and trucks. So this year for hubby’s birthday I decided to present him a few Rajikon cars. I bought the toy-grade models as hobby-grade models are difficult to find in Akita prefecture. I should have searched more, but I feel that the toy-grade models are safer and need less maintenance.

On 5th March, hubby and I went to a toy store named Toys “R” Us located in Akita city and bought two Rajikon cars. Hubby was very happy to see rows and rows of Rajikon cars and was a bit confused as to which one to buy. I also tried to help him by searching for some interesting looking Rajikon car. While I was busy searching, hubby gave me a scare by suddenly standing in front of me in a scary incredible hulk green giant mask. It was very funny. Anyway, after about an hour of searching, hubby finally decided to buy two Rajikon model cars. One of them is a silver colored BMW i8. This Rajikon model car is 33 centimeters long and is scaled down to 1/14 of the size of the original car. It looks so perfect and a very high quality miniature version of the original car. The doors of this Rajikon car are scissor doors and open upwards and outwards. The other Rajikon car he bought is a silver colored Porsche 918 Spyder. This Rajikon model car is 19.2 centimeters long and is scaled down to 1/24 of the size of the original car. This car looks so cute and has a very high quality finish. After returning home, hubby appreciated both the Rajikon cars so much. He looked so happy. These model cars probably reminded him of childhood days.

Hubby looking at the package of BMW i8 Rajikon model car in the shop

Who is the guy behind the scary mask?

Hubby appreciating BMW i8 Rajikon model car at home

BMW i8 Rajikon car has scissor doors

Hubby appreciating Porsche 918 Spyder Rajikon model car

On the afternoon of 6th March, we went to a nearby car parking lot of a local university and played with the two Rajikon model cars for quite some time. It was a weekend holiday and the car parking lot was completely empty, so we had a lot of space to operate the Rajikon cars with remote controllers. Hubby mostly played with BMW Rajikon car and I played with Porsche Rajikon car. Of course we exchanged the cars a few times and enjoyed driving them. Hubby created an imaginary circuit in the parking lot and drove his Rajikon car along the route. Since it was the first time for me, I randomly played with the buttons of the remote controller in my hands and just enjoyed the activity. After some time I got the grasp of driving such model cars though it is still very difficult to maintain the chosen route. We also competed and raced our cars with each other. We had a very exciting evening operating and driving the Rajikon cars. We clicked a few photos of us playing and driving the model cars for the sake of memory. In addition, I have compiled a video of hubby playing with BMW Rajikon car. By the time we finished playing, it was getting dark. We were so busy playing that we hardly noticed our surroundings. Only when we were about to leave the car parking lot, we saw the beautiful snow covered Mount Chokai right in front of us.

Hubby is standing at the car parking lot and appreciating BMW i8 Rajikon model car. The remote controller of the Rajikon car is clearly seen in this photo.

Hubby playing with BMW Rajikon car

And he continues playing and driving the car

Concentrating on playing

I am playing with Porsche 918 Spyder Rajikon car

I am playing with BMW Rajikon car

A compiled video of hubby playing with BMW Rajikon car

Snow covered Mount Chokai

On the evening of 6th March, after playing with the Rajikon model cars, we drove up to Yamada Denki electronics products shop located in Akita City. We bought yet another Rajikon model car at this shop. It is a giant scale silver colored Lamborghini Veneno. This Rajikon car is 49 centimeters long and is scaled down to 1/10 of the size of the original car. It looks majestic and has an extremely high quality perfect finish. After returning home, hubby appreciated his new Lamborghini Veneno Rajikon car so much. Afterwards he admired all the three Rajikon model cars and compared them for their sizes, quality, and pros and cons. While taking photos of all the three Rajikon cars together, hubby used an apple as a reference to compare the relative sizes. Hubby was an extremely happy man holding all the Rajikon cars together in his hands.

Hubby appreciating Lamborghini Veneno Rajikon model car at home

Happy guy holding all the three Rajikon cars together in his hands

Comparison of the sizes and shapes of the three Rajikon cars along with an apple as a reference

Hubby holding the three Rajikon cars, one at a time, and appreciating them

On the morning of 12th March, we again went to the nearby car parking lot of a local university and played with all the three Rajikon model cars for some time. It was yet another weekend holiday and the car parking lot was almost empty, so we had a lot of space to operate the Rajikon cars with remote controllers. Hubby mostly played with Lamborghini Veneno Rajikon car and I played with BMW as well as Porsche Rajikon cars. We exchanged the cars a few times and immensely enjoyed operating and driving all the Rajikon cars. We clicked a few photos of us playing and driving the model cars for the sake of memory. In addition, I have compiled a video of hubby playing with Lamborghini Rajikon car.