Wabi-Sabi Sole

Finding Beauty with Imperfection

Category: Japan Page 36 of 52

Flowers by Naked

By

On February 13, 2017

In 2017, Flowers, Japan, Sakura, Tokyo

Catchy title, huh? 

I went with a group of spouses to Nihonbashi area of Tokyo to visit an art exhibit known as “Flowers” by Naked 2017. 


As you entered the exhibit hall, the aromatic fragrance immediately removed any stress. The aroma was complemented by calming music both of which helped to establish a majestic and serene atmosphere. 

The journey through the exhibit begin with a story book illustrating the flowers on display. 

The art exhibit included real flowers, flower images, and lighting to bring the flowers to life. 

Some of the flower displays were larger than life! 

To illustrate summer was an over six-foot tall dandelion seed head. 

Frozen flowers of winter. 


As you progressed through the exhibit, you moved through a bamboo tunnel. 

Springtime = Sakura! 

These three ladies were preforming an interpretive dance beneath the Sakura exhibit. 


The Sakura exhibit was enhanced with a light show. The lights brought the blossoms to life and gave me the sensation of watching the blossoms in a gentle breeze. 

A couple close up pictures of the paper Sakura flowers. 

This dress! A Sakura inspired design. Notice the train! 


These images are my favorite. A large illuminated ball representing a full moon hung with the Sakura trees. 

Full moon, Sakura trees and the amazing Sakura dress. 


Coming around the corner, I found the flower science lab! Here you could smell the different fragrances of several flowers. 


There was also a balcony viewing area. It was relaxing to listen to the music, smell the aromatherapy, and watch the light show. 


It was a very unique art experience. One of my Ikebana friends was there as well and we both laughed at how much we are enjoying (and getting excited about) flowers since arriving in Japan. I remarked that I’m becoming so much like my grandmothers. I know both my grandmothers, Bobbee and Mona, would have loved this exhibit! 

Yokohama World Beer Museum 

By

On February 12, 2017

In Dockside Garden, Japan, Yen

After our long run this morning, Dave and I took the train up to Yokohama. We wanted to enjoy a pint and lunch at the World Beer Museum. It is located in the Dockside Garden near the Landmark Tower. At the entry, there is a gigantic beer pyramid display. Very cool. 

We arrived a little bit before 2:00 pm. It wasn’t crowded and by the time we left it was empty. 

We both ordered a beer, of course, and shared a fried cheese and potato appetizer. 



Dave’s Japanese beer was more reasonably priced than my pint of an American IPA. The Pike IPA I ordered was ¥1380 or about $13. It was delicious and worth every yen. The fried cheese was probably the highlight of the meal. 

After our appetizer, we shared an order of nachos and fish and chips. Both were the perfect size for sharing. The nachos were more of a bean dip and tasted pretty good. 


The chips were hot and fresh and tasted much better than the fish. The batter was very sweet and didn’t have the “beer batter” flavor we are accustomed to when eating fish and chips. 

Within the restaurant there was an American bar and an Irish bar. 


These two signs were my favorite. 


Dave and I agreed it was an “ok” lunch spot. We both left wondering when, if ever, the restaurant was crowded. 

It’s Raining Snowballs

By

On February 11, 2017

In Japan

Yet another lifetime first and therefore a Japan first. It rained snowballs today.

 

It was like a hailstorm. Without the storm or hail. More like fluffy hail. So bizarre and adorable. Proving yet again Japan is kawaii! 

​​
A couple more pictures of my pansies to capture the experience. 


The best news though, is that my wedding rings finally are starting to fit again. After my second fall running, my hand was so swollen my wedding rings were very uncomfortable. Four months later, they almost fit comfortably. But seriously , check out the most kawaii snowball!! 


​

This will sound pathetic, but I hope this is the end of winter. First off, we have to run a marathon in two weeks and I don’t want to do that in snow. Secondly, after two years of Chicago fake springs, I’m super excited for bulbs, blossoms and blooms! 

Two Funnies

By

On February 10, 2017

In Japan

Two funny stories from English class with my Japanese grandmothers. 

Number 1

I learned the word “of” is very hard for them to pronounce. The sentence we were working was about Keiko’s husband going to the dentist and having five teeth pulled. I wrote, “My husband went to the dentist and had five of his teeth pulled”. Yasuko wanted me to write, “My husband had his five teeth pulled”. She asked if it was ok because of was hard to say. No, that’s not the same. I laughed. That means he only has five teeth and they were all pulled. I asked if he had more than five. She laughed. Yes, of course. 

Number 2

Water. I pronounce water – “wu-ter”. Last week I realized I needed to be careful and pronounce it wa-ter. They corrected me! Today, Junko and I were discussing our lunch meals. Coincidentally, we both made fried rice. She asked me what I had to drink. I quickly said wu-ter. She laughed and mimicked me. I laughed and said wa-ter and apologized for my accent. Yasuko laughed and said we think your accent it cute. 

It is a very fun, rewarding and humbling experience teaching English. Mostly fun. I have learned everyone loves to laugh. It’s an international language that knows no boundaries or borders. 

Happy Friday! Kanpie! 

Yokohama Strawberry Festival 

By

On February 8, 2017

In 2017, Japan, Strawberry, Yokohama

The Yokohama Strawberry Festival is open daily from 11:00 – 18:00 from 2/3/17 – 2/12/17. Dina and I decided to check it out on a weekday hoping we would avoid most of the crowds. The Festival was being held in the area of the Red Brick Warehouse.

Upon arriving at the event, there was a perfectly placed strawberry for a photo opportunity.


Of course, we needed to pose for our picture wearing the cute strawberry hat props!


There was also a strawberry bouncy house for littles. Kawaii!


The Festival had ample strawberry treats. Along with several long lines.


There were also strawberry souvenirs. T-shirts, bracelets and helmet!?!


Some of the items were way over priced. 8 strawberries for ¥2000 ($20). Or the picture in the middle, 5 strawberries for ¥3000 ($30)!! The strawberry on the bottom left is ¥800 ($8)!! Wow!


Check out the spread this group of ladies purchased!


Dina and I started with strawberry wine.


And we purchased a few items to take home. So many delicious choices!

The bunnies looked so cute. I was tempted to buy one. Fortunately, the sales clerk spoke very good English and suggested we try the strawberry cake with the triangles. She said it was much better!

So, I picked out the one on the left as per her suggestion.

Cannoli or taco?


I might have over purchased for our desserts tonight.

Or maybe, we skip dinner and eat strawberry desserts!  Yummmmmm

Daikon Salad

By

On February 7, 2017

In Daikon Salad, Edamame, Japan

Dave’s favorite Japanese salad is Daikon Salad. Daikon is a very large white/pale green radish. The salad also has Mizuna, a type of lettuce. Here are the main ingredients for the salad. Notice everything is in Japanese. I had tremendous patience at the Japanese grocery store today while I translated everything with Google Translate. 


The Daikon is the white thing on the left. I was able to purchase half of one. I used my Veggitti to slice the Daikon. Then I soaked it in ice water to remove the bitterness and make it crisp. The recipe I found told me to do this and last week during our Sushi lesson, Miki did the same. 


I washed the mizuna and cut the stems into bit size pieces. 


Also included in the salad is bonito flakes (dried fish flakes), nori pieces (seaweed), and salmon roe. 


The recipe to make my own dressing includes rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce and salted plums. 

And then I found this while I was working my way through the oils at the Japanese grocery store. It has a Daikon on the label. I thought it might be the dressing already made!! 


With our Daikon salad we are also having miso soup. Put one packet of miso paste and one packet of garnish in the bowl and add boiling water. So, easy. Check out my super cute Mt. Fuji bowls. 


With a side of steamed edamame. 


A complete Japanese meal. I must give myself kudos for taking the time (a long time) to work through Google Translate to find the correct oils and vegetables at the Yorkmart (Japanese grocery store). It was a task I found very intimidating a few months ago. Now going to the Yorkmart is like going to the Food (Dog) Lion or to Harris Teeter (the Teet). I’ll know I have completely acclimated when I have a nickname for the Yorkmart-O (when said by a local). 

One last picture of our prepared Japanese style meal. 


Dave and I agreed this was a good first attempt for making the daikon salad. The nori strips I bought were really salty. Next time, I will share a pack between the two salads. Also, Dave mentioned the Daikon didn’t have quite the crunch. More research is required to figure out how to get it crunchier. All in all, no one left the table hungry and we didn’t have to order a corn covered pizza! 

Sogo Yokohama

By

On February 6, 2017

In Google Map, Hello Kitty, Japan, Shopping, Sogo Yokohama, Tokyo Marathon, Train, Travel

I went on a shopping trip today to the department store, Sogo, in Yokohama. My mission was to visit the Sanrio store for a Hello Kitty t-shirt to wear during the Tokyo Marathon. 

I didn’t find one. Turns out the Sanrio stores only stock kids stuff. However, I did find a whole new feature of Google Maps. 

Google Maps will show you the stores on each floor of a mall. Check out the first picture. It shows the B2 level or the second floor of the basement. It is at this level where you come out of the train station. The highlighted level on the side corresponds with the map layout. 


Next B1. 


As you scroll up the floor on the left side, the layout changes to match. Pretty amazing. Skipping ahead, level 2 & 3. 


When I first saw level 7, I got a little excited. It says LOFT. This was not the LOFT from the US. It was a cute store with a lot of Japan souvenirs. Just not cute clothes. 


Finally, on up to level 8 where the Sanrio was located. Lots of cute Hello Kitty toys and clothes for little kids. No t-shirt for me. I think I’m going to have to order from Amazon. 


With 10 levels plus a rooftop, this feature of Google Maps is essential! 

Google Maps proves yet again to be my favorite traveling partner for navigation! 

Honorable Mention

By

On February 5, 2017

In Japan, Pizza

We haven’t had too much luck with finding a good pizza spot in Japan. We have tried several different pizza joints from Yokosuka to Zushi to Yokohama to Tokyo. The one thing in common all of these pizza places had was offering corn as a topping. Yes, corn. Almost as gross as a squid eyeball pizza. Just kidding, that’s not a thing. 

Well, I have good news. This weekend Dave and I tried a new pizza restaurant, called Pizzeria Bar Napoli, on Blue Street (the Main Street in Yokosuka). 

Pizzeria Bar Napoli deserves an honorable mention. Pizzeria Bar Napoli is a small, cute little restaurant with a delicious margarita pizza for only ¥500. There is a small bar downstairs with seating upstairs. Also, they have an outdoor seating area when the weather is a little warmer. 
Here was our meal. Two individual sized pizzas and a salmon Caesar salad to share. Oh, and my beer! 


You can see from the picture, my pizza crust was a little burned. It was still good. Dave’s pizza didn’t have the over cooked crust issue so, I’m willing to give them one more shot to make the brick oven pizza we have been searching for since we moved here. 

Ume or Sakura

By

On February 4, 2017

In 2017, Cherry Blossoms, Japan, Plum Blossoms, Sakura, Shrine, Ume

This time of year is very special in Japan. It is the beginning of Ume and Sakura season. Ume is the Japanese word for Plum Blossoms. Sakura is the Japanese word for Cherry Blossoms. 

As to be expected, there are Ume and Sakura forecast for the different regions in Japan. The Ume trees bloom a little earlier than the Sakura. Right now, the Sakura is expected to be in full bloom in the Tokyo area towards the end of March. Perfect time to plan a visit!! 

My struggle was identifying the difference. Yesterday when we were at the Seto Shrine with Miki, I asked her to help me identify the differences between the Ume and the Sakura. First rule, do not judge by color! 

Here is an Ume blossom. The first thing to notice is the petals are rounded. Also, the flowers occur individually. 


Here is a broader picture. Notice the blossoms are attached to the tree. 


Comparatively, let’s look at the Sakura blossoms. The Sakura petals are not quite as rounded and the blossoms occur in clusters. 


Also, the blossoms are attached to the tree by a short stem. 


The trunk of the tree is also a good indicator. A Sakura tree will have “cracks” in the trunk. 


Armed with this knowledge, you should be able to identify whether the blossoms pictured are Ume or Sakura. Test yourself. The answers are at the end of the post. 

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.


F.


G.

H.


Hopefully, the variety of these blossoms help you to understand why color can’t be used as a determining factor. Here are the answers. 

A. Ume

B. Ume

C. Sakura

D. Ume 

E. Ume

F. Sakura 

G. Sakura

H. Ume

Setsubun

By

On February 2, 2017

In Chu-Hai, Japan, Setsubun, Shrine, Train

Our friend, Miki, invited Dina and me to go with her to the Seto Shrine to experience Setsubun. The Seto Shrine is located near the Kawazana-Hakkei train station (only two stops from our normal station, Jimmuji). Dina and I both forgot our temple books… therefore, we will obviously need to return.

Setsubun is Japan’s bean-throwing ritual that occurs on the lunar calendar’s last day before spring (February 3). The bean-throwing event is called mame maki. The celebration is a means to cleanse the past and bring good fortune for the new year. During the event, roasted soy beans nicknamed fortune beans are thrown from elevated stages while shouting, “Devil out!” “Good fortune in!” As attendees, our goal was to try and catch bags of beans. Once catch, you must eat your age +1.

At this shrine, they throw beans every 15 minutes or so starting at 3pm. We were just arriving so we were towards the back for the first round.

I have to take a minute and give props to our friend Miki. She brought two very tall Americans to this event. Unfortunately, we didn’t have quite the catching skills she was hoping for. Simultaneously, I know we stood out. And she had no problem being there with us. I truly appreciate her friendship.

And here we all are together.

She also wanted to make sure I took a picture of the front of the temple.


And she took one of us!

I did eat my 42 dried seasonless soybeans and Dina ate her respective amount. Miki told us she doesn’t like them and saved them for her husband to eat with a Chu-Hai. Haha! Regardless, I’m hoping for a year with the “devil out” and “good fortune in!”

PS. In English class today, I peeled my tangerine like a local!

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