Japan | kimberly ah

Aug 01 2016

adventures, Japan 2016, My Love Affair with Tokyo

Machida Squirrel Garden

Before we left for Japan, I read about this squirrel park outside of Tokyo. It was a park and a petting zoo all wrapped in one and Naoto was confident that we could get there easily, though he wondered what the appeal was. “Squirrels are rodents. Who would want to pet one?” I insisted it would be a fun adventure. I wanted to feed a squirrel and have one hop on my shoulder. The first part of the park was similar to an American petting zoo. Guinea pigs, rabbits, turtles, and squirrels were in cages and you could feed them and pet them. It was very laid back and lots of parents and children were roaming about. I fed some rabbits who were quite greedy, stealing lettuce from each other and almost eating my finger along with the carrot stubs! And I petted the hedgehogs and marveled at the slow moving turtles. When we walked through the gate through to the squirrel part, I was instantly bombarded with squirrels. If you stand still, they will run up your leg hoping you will have food! I was uneasily walking around when this guy ran up to me and stopped and begged…shudder.

Before I had a chance to tell him that I was a coward, Naoto ditched me and bought some food so I could feed the squirrels. I enjoyed watching him get up close and personal with those crazy beasts, but I was too chicken to be a squirrel feeder!

The rest of the park is an enclosed area where the squirrels can roam freely. We walked through and saw squirrels sunning themselves and napping. It also felt a bit like the Pied Piper of Hamelin because groups of squirrels would follow us around, hoping to be fed!

There was also an old tortoise in the squirrel area. He was more my speed.

Machida Risu Park, Machida Squirrel Garden

Even though I was a big scaredy cat, I’m so glad we went! It was a perfect spring day and a good excuse to be outside.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the workers at the park are adults with special needs. They earn money by selling and taking tickets, handing out the food, working in the gift shop, and they benefit from the profits of the park. I think it’s an additional bonus to the park, and the customer service is top notch, following the strong Japanese custom of hospitality.

Tagged adventures, I *heart* Japan, Japan

Jun 10 2016

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adventures, gardening, Japan 2016, My Love Affair with Tokyo, Office Supplies

Itoya & Cafe Stylo

On our first full day in Japan, we went to Itoya, one of my favorite shops in the ritzy Ginza district of Tokyo. (I’ve blogged about Itoya a little bit before, here and here.) Itoya has been building a new store since 2011 or 2012, so for the past few years, we’ve been visiting the temporary location. On this trip, I was most looking forward to seeing their shiny new store. The new twelve floor building is very sleek and it sits between Tiffany’s and Bvlgari (just to give you an idea of what kind of neighborhood we are talking about.) The lower floors are all devoted to retail space selling stationery, pens, paper, craft supplies, and high-end travel and home goods. On the seventh floor, there is a “paper bar” filled with hundreds of papers that you can use for personalized stationery, business cards, or wedding invitations. (I didn’t take any pictures inside the store, but you can see part of the wall of paper at the bottom of this page.) What I’ve always loved about Itoya is that you can find very expensive things there, you can also find plenty of special gifts at reasonable prices. And they’ve always had a huge selection, especially of the things I love: origami paper, stamps, stationery, pens…I used to spend hours in the store narrowing down my choices. The new Itoya, though, is much more pared down. They still sell amazing things, but they just don’t carry the same wide-ranging selection that they used to. Truthfully, I hardly bought anything during my visit. And we didn’t stay all day like I thought we would. It was kind of a bummer at first, but honestly, I had more money to spend at the other stationery shops all over Tokyo. (There was no shortage of things to buy!) It was just an unexpected change. But, one really cool thing about New Itoya is that they have a full-service restaurant, Cafe Stylo, on the top floor. (The old cafe had a very limited snack menu.) And in Cafe Stylo, they serve Itoya-grown lettuce grown in a hydroponic farm on the twelfth floor! We visited the farm and got a peek at the lettuces growing at various stages. Naoto had the Smoked Salmon Sandwich, which he loved. Because I wanted to try the Itoya lettuces, I ordered the “Cobber Salad” (Cobb salad). It was crisp and fresh and delicious! And we both enjoyed Campari cocktails with our lunch. I highly recommend checking out the restaurant if you go! It’s the perfect spot to write postcards and enjoy your new stationery!

Tagged adventures, food, garden, gardening, I *heart* Japan, Japan, office supplies, shopping

Jun 09 2016

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Japan Does It Better

Japan Does It Better 24: Gari Gari Kun

garigarikun kiwi I do love a good Bomb Pop in the summer. Three distinct tasty flavors, the creamy consistency (only the Original Bomb Pop. Accept no imposters!)…a perfect summer treat. But, my love for the Bomb Pop has been eclipsed since I was introduced to Japan’s favorite popscicle, the GariGarikun. Naoto brought a box of original ramune flavor GariGarikun pops home from Mitsuwa last summer and I fell in love. On the outside, they look like regular ice pops, but once you bite into one, you see that the “regular” ice pop part is just a shell holding tiny slushie-like ice crystals on the inside. They are so tasty and so fun to eat! On our first night in Japan, we got to our hotel after 10PM and I was exhausted. But Naoto went downstairs to Lawson’s conbini (convenience store) and got himself a beer and brought me a Sicilian Lemon GariGarikun. I had no idea there were special and limited flavors of the treat so I was super-excited to try it. Sooooo tart and lemony!! I slept well after that midnight snack and the next day, I started my mission to pop into every conbini to check their supply of GariGarikun to see what other flavors I could try. (Doesn’t traveling with me sound like fun?!) garigarikun lychee So I tried lychee……and acerola, which is like a cherry, but somehow more delicious. I tried Shiroi Sour, which is like Calpico, a Japanese soft drink.

And, pictured at the top, I also tried kiwi. I can’t tell you which one was the best because I loved each and every one at the moment I was eating it. They were all really refreshing, not too sweet, and packed with flavor.

Recently the makers of GariGarikun increased the price from ¥60 to ¥70 (~ $0.54 to $0.63). It’s the first price increase for the frozen treat in twenty-five years and also the second reason the GariGarikun is a JDIB. Where in the US can you find a summer treat at a convenience store for sixty-three cents??!! But even better, the company made a commercial apologizing for the unfortunate price increase. Can you imagine? (If you want to read more about this, go here.) You can (hopefully) watch the commercial below to see the sincerity in the apology. Oh Japan…you’re the best.

And GariGarikun, a summer treat where Japan Does It Better!

Tagged adventures, food, I *heart* Japan, Japan

Apr 06 2016

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adventures, Japan 2015, Kyoto

Kyoto Part 3: Our Anniversary Lunch

Would it be weird to start blogging about my 2015 trip again? Maybe? I’m going to write anyway. I’ve been going through my pictures and reminiscing about all of the fun we had last spring and I realized that I’ve never really closed the book on that trip. I have a few last things to mention about Kyoto and some new editions of Spending the Yen.

We were in Kyoto for our anniversary last year and Hisae (my sister-in-law) took us out to lunch at Yuzu-ya, a restaurant and ryokan near the Yasaka Shrine. At street level, it looks like a black storefront (pictured above) but once you go through the doorway, you see that you walk up a rocky stairway to get up to the restaurant. Once you’re there, you forget that there’s a busy street below. It’s surrounded by lush greenery and trees and feels so removed and peaceful. ambiance, Yuzuya Ryokan, Kyoto, Japan There is traditional seating near the windows where you can appreciate the trees and fountains outside. We sat at a regular table, but we still had amazing views. The meal was very traditional, using locally-sourced ingredients and lots of yuzu, hence the name Yuzu-ya. (Yuzu is a Japanese citrus, in case you don’t remember me talking about it before.) Our first course was an appetizer of traditional Kyoto-fare. As you can see, it was presented beautifully on a tray of tiny plates adorned with leaves. Each bite was so different in taste and texture but it all worked together perfectly. Next, we had smelt grilled alongside bamboo leaves on a tiny table-top grill. (It was looking at me.) On the side was a yuzu sauce. I picked off as much meat as I could, but Naoto finished it off for me. (He ate every last bit, including the eye and the bones!)

Then we had porridge with rice and fish and egg and chives, again cooked table-side and finished with a squeeze of yuzu.

It was incredible. dessert, mochi, Yuzuya Ryokan, Kyoto, Japan

The dessert course was green tea and a brown sugar mochi. A simple but delicious way to end the meal.

Tagged a, adventures, food, I *heart* Japan, Japan

Mar 07 2016

7 Comments

adventures, In My Mailbox, snail mail, Zines

Happy Hauntings with Parcel Ghost

Parcel Ghost at the Japan Post museum Do you know Parcel Ghost? He is a former postal worker who is now a ghost, kindly haunting the world, sharing his travels and postal expertise with children and adults alike. Parcel Ghost, zines, cinderella stamps Parcel Ghost (with the help of Marissa) has published three zines, stickers, artistamps, a postcard, and a button. Quite accomplished for a ghost, no? His first zine, Parcel Ghost’s Guide to Post is a great primer for making mail art, buying stamps, pen pals, and thinking outside the box when sending mail. (Like, sending a pigeon!) Parcel Ghost visits a post office in Tokyo I’ve been a Parcel Ghost fan for quite awhile, reading his zines and using his stickers on my mail. (Santa often leaves zines and Parcel Ghost treats in my stocking each year.) And, I was honored to travel for a spell with Parcel Ghost in Japan two years ago! We visited the Japan Post Museum together, Naoto helped him buy some postage stamps, and I took him to my favorite place in Japan, Mister Donut! Parcel Ghost visits Mister Donut in Tokyo (He really liked the strawberry donut.)

You can send Parcel Ghost a postcard from your own travels (address here on his blog) and you can see more of Parcel Ghost’s adventures on his Instagram (@parcelghost).

And, because I have two copies (I got one for Christmas on its own, and another the following year in a little Parcel Ghost pack), I thought I’d do a little giveaway of Parcel Ghost’s Guide to Post. To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite thing about mail. I’ll close the comments on Sunday night around 7PM and I’ll draw a name…out of a hat, old-school style. I’ll announce the winner on Monday, right here on this post. Open to U.S. and international readers alike. Happy haunting!

The usual disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. 🙂
Update! Sorry for the delay. I let Presley pick the winner and she wasn’t in the mood yesterday. I put all the names on my kitchen island and the first one she knocked down was the winner. She LOVES knocking things off tables. I figured I’d make use of her skills.

Amy!!! Send me your address please and I’ll mail the zine out this week. (Adamihasegawa@gmail.com)

Tagged adventures, crafts, Japan, mail art, snail mail

Feb 16 2016

4 Comments

adventures, coffee talk

Coffee Talk: Sawada Coffee

Naoto and I loved experiencing Japanese coffee culture during our last trip to Japan and now, we can enjoy a bit of it here in Chicago! Sawada Coffee opened in the West Loop and we went to try it out a few weekends ago. Sawada Coffee, CHicago, pourover coffee Hiroshi Sawada is an award-winning Japanese barista and latte artist who owns a shop, Steamer Coffee Co, in Tokyo. This is Sawada’s first coffee shop outside of Japan. (You can read a little bit about it here. The relationship between Sawada and the Chicago hospitality group who opened the shop in Chicago started with letter writing!) The place feels very “hipster,” but there are some very Japanese aspects, too. The coffee presentation is lovely, the service is impeccable, and the atmosphere is very industrial and modern. The coffee shop is connected to Green Street Meats, so there’s a lot of restaurant and bar action just steps below the coffee shop in this big open space. Sawada serves the typical range of coffee drinks, but also has some one-of-a-kind offerings, including alcoholic coffee and tea drinks. Sawada Cold Brew Naoto ordered the Sawada Style Cold Brew, an iced coffee mixed with Japanese shochu. It came in a pot and was poured into a glass sitting in a box, similar to the way sake is sometimes served in Japan. (I was stifling a tiny laugh as our server earnestly explained the sake overflow tradition to Naoto.) Sawada style cold brew, Benedictine Chai I had a Benedictine Chai Steamer, a chai latte with Benedictine liqueur added. Both were amazing. Naoto drinking a Sawada Cold Brew We found a seat at the windows, in spite of the place being crazy busy. Naoto stood and texted while I wrote out a few Sawada postcards. (I love places that have free postcards!) Sawada Coffee, matcha latte I couldn’t resist trying a matcha latte, too…it was the perfect mix of strong matcha with a tiny bit of sweetness. Sawada Cold Brew We can’t wait to go back again soon…for the coffee and the postcards.

Tagged adventures, cocktails, coffee, food, Japan, snail mail

Jan 13 2016

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crafty adventures, holidays, Office Supplies, snail mail

2016 New Year’s Postcards

After buying Japanese New Year cards (nengajo) for the past two years, I decided to try making my own for 2016. They were pretty simple…so simple that I made a stack of fifty! So far, I’ve sent out about half of those. I started with some A2 Paper Bag flat cards as my base. Last summer, I picked up a traditional nengajo stamp at a (yet-to-be-blogged-about) stamp shop in Kyoto and I was happy to get to use it for these cards. I embossed the Japanese characters and then added my Greetings from Illinois, LWA member, and a giant 2016 in blue, red, and gold inks. I added a quick message to each card. On the front side, I added a strip of Japanese patterned washi tape and a label. It feels good to start off the year with good mail momentum!

Tagged celebrations, crafts, diy, holidays, Japan, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Jan 07 2016

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Christmas, holidays, homemaking

Donabe for Christmas

Our Christmas Day centered around the contents of that box. I gave Naoto a donabe, Japanese hot pot, for Christmas, sending him over the moon with excitement. Donabe are used for table top cooking of Japanese meals, particularly shabu-shabu. We’ve been talking about buying our own donabe and making shabu-shabu at home forever. We casually looked at them while we were in Japan, but it just isn’t practical to carry around a big, breakable pot when you are traveling by train and subway. So, I did what any American would do…I bought one on Amazon. This one, as a matter of fact. It is made in Japan, Naoto’s favorite color and available on Prime. (I was shopping somewhat last-minute. Also, not an affiliate link.) We made our annual visit to Mitsuwa on Christmas afternoon to pick up the table top burner and ingredients for shabu-shabu. We bought (clockwise, pictured above) cabbage, scallion, tofu, shirataki (yam noodle), enoki mushroom, and carrots. The carrots were supposed to be cut like flowers, but Naoto is still working on his skills. (But I do find that those little carrot pinwheels very charming!) And we bought a pound of the very thinly sliced beef. On Christmas night, we made a cocktail, lit some candles, and fired up the little stove. Naoto seasoned the water with some seaweed. When the water was bubbling, he took out the seaweed and we were ready to cook! It only took a couple of swishes and the beef was cooked to perfection. And the best part…the ponzu dipping sauce! The citrusy sauce is the perfect complement to the beef! I want to put it on evvvvverything!

We borrowed Japanese Hot Pots and Donabe from the library so we can learn how to expand our donabe cooking beyond shabu-shabu. And tomorrow night, we are hosting a mini shabu-shabu party for Naoto’s birthday. I’m excited to try a few recipes at the dining room table this winter!

Tagged Christmas, food, holidays, home, Japan

Sep 22 2015

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adventures, Japan 2015, Kyoto

Kyoto Part 3: Golden Pavilion + Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Our last day in Kyoto was a perfect weather day–clear blue skies, gentle breeze, perfect temperatures… We had spent the previous day hitting all of the shops in the city, so we decided that our last day should be spent enjoying nature. A trip to Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavillion and Sagano Bamboo Grove was the perfect way to pass the day. This area of Kyoto was a bit farther away from most of the other things we did in Kyoto, almost an hour on bus and train. The Golden Pavilion is a Zen Buddhist Temple founded in 1397, though the structure was rebuilt in 1955 after the original was burned down by an arsonist in 1950. The top two floors are adorned with gold leaf and my pictures do not do justice to the building’s golden brilliance, especially in the sun. It is one of the most popular things to see in Kyoto and trust me…it was selfie stick mayhem when we visited. As you walk to the viewing area (you can’t go inside the pavilion and can only see it from across the water), the area is pretty calm, but the viewing area is a crazy frenzy of picture taking and shoving and chatter in every language imaginable. You have to be super-patient and a little aggressive to get a good shot. Naoto and I were feeling very zen and didn’t want to fight the crowds so we decided to take a selfie on one of the paths leading away from the pavilion. This was the best picture we could take without a selfie stick…you can barely see the pavilion beyond Naoto’s shoulder. We spent a little bit of time in the area surrounding the pavilion, enjoying the tiny waterfalls and the extremely blue skies. Before we moved on to the bamboo forest, we enjoyed some green tea soft serve (Naoto got golden sprinkles on his) to cool off and get ready for another walk. train to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest To get to the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, you have to take a charming, old-fashioned train. Once you get off, there are tons of little souvenir and snack shops in the station area before you venture out to the forest. It’s very bustling and touristy, but retains some of the charm of old Japan. The bamboo forest was heavenly. The first time I went in December of 2008, I don’t remember it feeling so relaxing. But the tall bamboo blocked out the sun and provided a little respite in the warm afternoon. Arashima Bamboo Grove, Kyoto, Japan It was neat to see the new bamboo poking through the ground.

And because there was a gentle breeze, we were lulled into relaxation by the sounds of the bamboo swaying in the wind. The video above will give you a little taste of the sounds (until the railroad crossing gates interrupt our zen moment at the end!) After the bamboo forest, we walked around the little shops and ended up going to Tenryuji Temple to walk around the surrounding gardens. There was a small zen garden, but we mostly enjoyed the stroll up the hill through all of the flowers and the views of the treetops.

It really was the perfect way to end our trip to Kyoto. After this we hopped back on a shinkansen and went back to Tokyo. But I’m not finished blogging about Kyoto! I still need to share a couple of great shops and restaurants we visited! Soon! The weather has been so nice around here lately that it’s hard to be inside blogging when I could be outside enjoying the last days of summer!

Tagged adventures, garden, I *heart* Japan, Japan

Sep 09 2015

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adventures, Japan 2015, Kyoto, Naoberly's Noodle Tour

Naoberly’s Noodle Tour: Owariya

We stumbled upon Owariya while we were craft shopping in Kyoto. It was such a lucky find! Owariya has been around since 1465 when it opened as a confectionary shop in Kyoto. There are a few shops around town, but we went to the honten, the original shop. Downstairs, there’s a counter where they still sell their sweets and upstairs there are several simple dining rooms. We started our meal with a beautiful tempura appetizer. Owariya noodles I ordered the Seiro Regular, a simple cold buckwheat noodle dish. It came with a tray of noodles, broth, thinly sliced leeks, and wasabi. I mixed the broth, scallions, and wasabi in the bowl and then dipped the noodles. It was simple and perfectly refreshing on a warm day. So delicious! Naoto ordered the Hourai Soba, a deluxe cold noodle dish. There was a stacking container of five levels of noodles, broth, and a tray of toppings: tempura shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, omelet, seaweed, sesame seeds, wasabi, daikon, and leeks. As he ate each tray of noodles, he added whichever toppings he wanted, so each level was like eating a slightly different dish. (The top picture shows our server explaining about each ingredient.) It was really fun to watch but it seemed like so much food, especially for Japan! And his meal came with a pot of tea made with the water they used to cook the buckwheat noodles–nothing goes to waste in the restaurant! At the end of our meal, they brought out a tray of desserts. All of the desserts in Owariya are made with buckwheat flour. I wasn’t expecting to like them as much as I did. The first thing we tried was the soba rice cake. It was light and had a lightly sweet flavor. Inside was red bean paste. Then we had Soba-Ita. They were about the size of a stick of gum with a nice, crunchy texture and a great toasty flavor. I liked these so much that we bought two boxes to bring home!

I know I say this about all of my meals in Japan, but this really was one of the best. I guess when you eat at a restaurant that’s been perfecting their soba for 550 years, you know it’s going to be good!

Tagged adventures, food, I *heart* Japan, Japan