Taiyaki

A few weeks ago, Chad and I were wandering around near HAT Kobe, and we found a cheap taiyaki shop in a supermarket. For just 50 yen, you can get a custard or sweet bean paste-filled pastry of deliciousness.




Lucky for us, it's about a thirty or forty minute walk to get there, so it's never an immediate temptation. Although I would go pretty far for taiyaki. Because I love it.

November Challenge:
1. Still drinking insane amounts of water (like...nearly 5 liters just at work today), but it's mostly because I'm still sick.
2. Walked today, although only for about 20 minutes so that I could pick up potatoes for a craft at school. And celery. For an experiment.
3. No gym today because I can't go more than 10 minutes without blowing my nose and I feel like crap.
4. As for sweets...does hot cocoa count? Do...Mento's count? Because. I may have had some mentos earlier...and some hot cocoa. *cough, cough*
5. I'm thankful for:

*Parties! I had fun at a ladies night at Outback Steakhouse on Saturday, even though they ambushed me with a birthday song and ice cream (though I wasn't complaining!). Looking forward to upcoming birthday and Thanksgiving parties.

*So many great (and free!) resources online for teaching. I've been able to gather so many ideas to keep my classroom activities interesting and challenging!

*Upcoming Christmas break. I can't wait to spend time with family in Michigan for a few weeks.

*Sweet deals. I picked up a pair of cute boots, brand new, for 690 yen! Weeeeee!

*The knowledge that one day, I won't have this cold anymore. Right? Right? Please?

*Sleep! Speaking of which...good night!

Day by Day

I've been a bad girl. At least, when it comes to updating my blog as planned. Truth be told, I tried to update it, but our computer freezes so often and loads so slowly that it takes a lot more patience to make a simple post than I possess. We've been talking about getting a new computer as a Christmas present to each other. Or as a We-Can't-Take-It-Anymore present. In any event, I'm having luck with the computer this morning, so here I am!

Speaking of Christmas in the previous paragraph, Japan is ready. Little bits of Christmas spirit and decorations can be found everywhere, and I love that I can feel the magic and joy of the season, even a world away from Michigan.

Walking along the other day, I saw this Coca-Cola truck. I was surprised to see that the truck was not only decked out in holiday design and lighting, but that even the driver was wearing a Santa costume! Can you imagine being a truck driver and being told you have to wear a costume during your deliveries? I mean, would that actually fly in America?



Japan is just as talented as America when it comes to Christmas marketing, if not more. Each year, Japanese families and friends order detailed Christmas cakes far in advance to eat on Christmas day, generally spending at least 3000 yen on one cake. The cakes come in all styles, even with characters like Pokemon on them if the consumer so desires.

There are loads of other holiday treats and goods, such as the plastic snack-filled character Christmas boots, Pokemon goody bags, Meiji Chocolate Ginger Bread Houses, and Christmas-themed snack bags above. And like America, there are many sales. Though Japan doesn't have Black Friday, it does have a special sale for New Years in which people drop around $100 on grab bags full of "good" deals on clothes or other items. Not a sale we'll be taking part in, though we will be doing some Christmas shopping for our upcoming trip home soon!

November Challenge Update:
1. Been drinking ridiculous amounts of water...because I'm still sick.
2. Went for a walk 2 out of the 4 days that I couldn't post here. Work has been busy, so I haven't had much of a chance, but I know I need to keep trying to make it a priority!
3. Went to the gym Thursday, and had a great time at zumba! Usually the Thursday night class is beyond challenging, but last week I could keep up! It felt really good.
4. No buying or eating sweets while alone (though I've definitely been getting my fix!)
5. Been thankful everyday for so much! Some examples are:

* Touches of Christmas all around, like lights and music and decorations
* Every morning, when my train passes a woman on a bicycle with her baby in a riding basket. They are always waiting near the tracks for the train to pass by, and the woman takes her baby's arm to make him wave at the train. It always makes me smile!
*Good books! Right now I'm listening to "The Night Circus" on audio, and it's wonderful! Addicting to the point that it's actually difficult to force myself to turn it off when I get to work in the morning!
*Costco! Access to oatmeal and peanut butter is not something I take lightly (and neither does my weight haha).
*Havarti! I am lucky enough to have some in my fridge at this very moment!
*Days off. I love my job--so much so that Chad often tells me to stop talking about it. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate days off! Relaxing and working on art, journaling, blogging, going to the gym or spending time with Chad. Definitely all things that I appreciate!

So... is it really only Monday?

Had a really nice weekend that was super relaxing! After Saturday school, Chad and I headed home to make up a picnic for dinner. Then we left for Nunobiki Waterfalls to enjoy the scenery and eat! The video below isn't that great, but I can promise you it's due to my lack of talent rather than the wine I was drinking.

As for today, we woke up exhausted--Chad went to Yokohama on Sunday to see the Aussie Rules Grand Championship, and though I canceled last minute, I found lots of things that I needed to get done at home! And then today...Phew! Let's just say I'm glad it's almost over. And I'm thankful the rest of the night will be spent with Chad, which I am very pleased about after the long lonely day yesterday.

November Challenge:
1 & 2. Went for walks and to the gym over the weekend (also did the Shred!); walked today as well.
3. Drank 2 1/2 liters of water just at work.
4. No buying or eating sweets while alone.
5. I'm thankful for weekend picnics, to live so close to awesome waterfalls, for Chad (today and everyday! I love him so much!!), for health insurance (went back to the doctor because my body hates me and I've got yet another cough!), and for my sister Sarah, who's hopefully having a happy birthday today!

I was kind of grumpy, but taking the time to think about how well I'm doing on my little challenge, as well as forcing myself to realize how many things I have to be thankful for, has really made me feel better. To be honest, when I get started listing things for which I'm grateful, it's often hard to stop! Hopefully tomorrow I can keep a more positive mindset throughout the day!

Lucky (Pocky) Day

It's 11/11/11! Which means we're supposed to be having a lucky day! Whether that's true for you or not, what is definitely true today is that it's Pocky Day--an annual celebration in Japan started because 11/11 looks like four of the snack sticks put together. It hasn't really gained too much popularity, but I never need an excuse to eat a few!

Japan has many Pocky and Pretz flavors. Above you can see the salad flavor in the green box, the roast flavor in the two red boxes, the super butter flavor in the yellow box, and the tomato flavor in the bag. I sometimes eat the salad or tomato ones and pretend they're healthy.

And then there are the Pocky sticks that I sometimes eat without pretending anything. Except perhaps maybe that I'm not too addicted to sugar? Wait...have I ever been able to pretend that? Let's face it, I like sugar, and I like Pocky.

Top: White Chocolate and Chocolate Twist Pocky; Chocolate Pocky
Middle: Two types of Chocolate Pocky; Salty Chocolate Pocky
Bottom: Hello Kitty Strawberry Pocky, Thomas the Tank Engine Chocolate Pocky, more strawberry Pocky and Panda Cookies and Cream Pocky

You can probably notice that there is about a hundred yen difference to get the sweet ones. It doesn't. stop. anyone. This includes Chad, who bought some for us to eat with a glass of wine (because we're classy).

November Challenge Update:
1. Water=2 liters
2. No walk because I was battling against computers in preparation for Saturday school.
3. Went to the gym (that's 3 times this week!) and cycled for a while. Not too hard core, but I'm still sick so I'll take it.
4. No buying or eating sweets while alone (I've been eating pocky with Chad, I promise!)
5. And I'm thankful for the following:

1. Strangers who smile at me warmly.
2. My coworkers who encouraged me today when I worried about the staff performance I'm teaching, or when I was frustrated with computer/Saturday school issues.
3. My kids at school who I love and who bring me so much joy every day.
4. Meeting random people who do kind things. Like a guy on the train today who claimed to have lived in Dearborn Michigan for several years while playing for the Red Wings. After briefly talking about Michigan, my weakening Japanese skills and what we're both doing here, he gave me a beer from a case he and his Japanese coworker had brought back after making a deal in Germany earlier this week. As I got off at my stop, he proceeded to shake my hand and then give me a hug (to which I responded out loud in surprise with, "Oh! Okay...?"). His coworker only shook my hand, which was much less awkward for me. Chad and I have yet to try the beer, but that--in combination with his warm wishes for me to have a nice weekend-- was really nice!

Red Romance

Tried a new beer the other day that was similar to a Framboise. Add a punch of raspberry and it'd actually be pretty darn good, but at 105 yen it was still definitely drinkable! Plus it has a snazzy name.

November Challenge Update:

Yesterday=bad.

I mean, not that bad. But I was really busy at work, and then super tired and sick-feeling at night (I think my bronchitis is back for round two!), so I didn't go for a walk. And I was also lazy about drinking water. And I didn't go to the gym. But I didn't eat or buy sweets when alone, and I was thankful! Very very thankful!

1. I was (and am) thankful for pinterest, where I can keep track of teaching tools, projects and inspirations, and recipes (like this hearty soup we had with the leftover ciabatta bread from this paprika chicken ciabatta recipe (which we had with a side of Chad's guacamole!)! Yum, yum!).

2. Milk tea! In Japan, it doesn't really taste like tea because it is so sweet and milky, but it does taste like delicious. Especially when it's cold outside!

3. My lovely iPhone. Chad accidentally spilled tea on it, but it survived. And I'm so glad. Because I access pinterest on my phone. And I read the news on there, and I listen to smarty-pants podcasts on there (like the Splendid Table, the Jillian Michaels Show, or This American Life!). And I basically have put part of my soul in it because I am obsessed.

As for today, I drank my water, went for my walk, went to the gym (zumba!), and didn't eat or buy sweets while alone. I'm thankful for pretty Christmas decorations going up everywhere (I can't wait to go home to visit!) and long skype conversations with family (thank you technology! and thank you Ariel for chatting with me!). More tomorrow, which will be Friday! Woo hoo!

Walks

I had the chance to take a walk around my school today and see some beautiful fall scenery:

I was surprised to come across this tree while walking through a park.

I am grateful for the opportunity to take walks in a country full of interesting things everywhere I look. I feel fortunate to experience solitary walks like the one I took today, walks with Chad, and walks with friends. Last month, I was lucky to have the opportunity to go for a 10 kilometer walk that supported breast cancer awareness.

It was called the Pink Ribbon Smile walk, and the 10K route went around some really neat parts of Kobe. We got the chance to see cool areas in Kobe, watch some neat festivals going on that day as we passed by, have good conversation, and support a cause we all believed in. I'm definitely hoping to participate again next year!

My friends Fumiko, Rachael and I before the walk

To mark the start of the walk, there was an explosion of confetti that fell all over the crowd!

There were plenty of cute things to look at in the starting area.

Here we are with Yasu after finishing! Phew!

I am thankful I could have such a meaningful walk while living in Japan.

November Challenge Update:
1. Went for a 38 minute walk
2. Day off from the gym, but going tomorrow
3. Drank 1 and 3/4 liters of water at school, and drank more at home.
4. No buying or eating sweets while alone
5. Recorded today's thankful thought!

Be back for more tomorrow!

November Challenge

As is the case for many Americans, when November rolls around, so do thoughts of thankfulness. (Wait! I just said rolls! Rolls and turkey and pies and mashed potatoes and, and, and!)

...Anyway...

So I've been thinking about thankfulness (and food), and I've also been thinking how much I need to make little changes in the every day so that a big change can take place in my life. It's cliche, I know, but I need to be more mindful of my blessings each and every day. Also, I need to be more mindful of what I'm putting into my body and how I'm treating it and myself. I realize that I don't need to (nor do I want to!) go into my personal history of body/mind issues here for you to get the general idea, but I do want to make it clear that I often get these grand ideas of how I'm going to be a better person, and I inevitably never meet the standards I've set for myself. I'm aware that failure brings growth and learning, and I'm aware that --to quote Michael Jordan-- "You have to expect great things of yourself before you can achieve them." In this case, I'd like to expect just a few little things of myself, in hopes that they can spark bigger things! I'm getting rid of unmeetable standards and expecting to achieve just a little something. So here are a few of the little somethings I'm going to challenge myself with, from this day in November, until the end of the month (and who knows? Maybe even longer! But let's not get too ambitious here...):

1. Go for at least a 35 minute walk every day Monday through Friday.
2. Use my stupidly expensive gym membership 3-5 times a week, even if that only means walking fast for 20 minutes and then stretching.
3. Drink at least two 1 liter bottles of water during a workday, and then more later.
4. Don't ever, ever buy or eat sweets when I'm alone.
5. Write down one thing every day that I'm thankful for, and post it here with other challenge updates Monday through Friday.

I used to be amazing at going to the gym, but I need to get back into it regularly after having bronchitis, and I need to get back into working out better (without pushing myself too hard and then wanting to give up). I don't want to buy sweets or eat them when I'm alone because although I often do buy them when I'm hungry, I also have a lot of other hidden attachments (like I am sad or I had a long day or I ate really healthy and a little treat should be okay, etc.). This doesn't mean I can't have sweets, because let's face it--that's ridiculous. But it means I can't eat them when I'm alone, I can't buy them when I'm alone, and I'm going to be more accountable to myself. I want to be healthy, and to enjoy it. I want to stop gaining and losing 4-10 pounds every week and a half to two weeks. I want to set a healthier lifestyle for myself now so that it will be easier to set a good example when I have kids later. And I want to pay attention to things I'm thankful for because mindfulness goes hand in hand with being healthy, and because challenging myself to record such things here will force me to take the time to blog, which I love but never do because I make up reasons I'm too busy.

So, here you are (aren't you?) supporting me in this so that I stick to it. After a long post, here's a brief recap of today, which isn't too bad considering I just concocted this challenge about an hour ago:

I didn't go for a walk, but I did go to the gym. I drank 1 liter of water at work, and another one at home (almost got that one!). I bought and ate sweets while alone... *coughs with embarrassment* I'm thankful for these cute baby portraits hanging at a shopping center in Japan--especially the last one, which I feel really captures that randomness of this country. These made me smile and kind of laugh.


Be back with more tomorrow!

Halloween and Bronchitis

After a crummy day/week/2 weeks, my knight in collar bone-padding met me at the Hanshin gates with a shu-cream, a smile, and a readiness to help me find a clinic nearby to see what was causing my ongoing ailments. That's right, Chad's got a fractured collar bone, and yet HE was meeting ME with a cheer-me-up present. *He's awesome*

After arriving at the clinic, I found out I have bronchitis, which is a serious bummer. Especially because I was supposed to be doing the Osaka Night Run tonight, and I really wanted to beat my time from last month. When I told the doctor that I was supposed to be running, he looked at me like I was crazy and told me not to exercise for at least a week. Guess I know how Chad feels now...except that instead of trying to watch what I eat since I can't work out, I'd rather drown my sorrows in the shu-cream he bought for me.

And so here I am, crumbs on my lips and typing in between coughs, writing a post I intended to write a few weeks ago. On the bright side, the post is about Halloween fun!

First, I'd like you to take a moment to admire my beautiful nails. This is 100 yen store action at its classiest: orange nail polish + Halloween nail stickers = 200 yen.

Next, I want to show you this:

1. Pumpkin Pudding Kit Kats (which I sadly didn't get to try)
2. Halloween Display (Halloween stuff was out way back in September!!)
3. Random Halloween Singing Thing
4. Super Cute Hat for a Costume

Next comes a place that dangerously awaits me every morning right inside the Hanshin Line gates: The Fresh Bakery.
This bakery has the most delicious mango pastries I've ever tried, as well as some pretty delicious blueberry ones. Walking by a few weeks ago, I couldn't resist trying one of their Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Pies. Chad and I split one and it was really nice! The crust was flaky and buttery, and the inside was filled with cooked-down slices of kabocha (Japanese pumpkin). Subtle sweetness and spice!

Every year, Halloween seems to get more popular in Japan. This makes me very happy as it's one of my favorite holidays, and because it's fun to share the fantasy and magic of Halloween with kids. At school my kids can't get enough!

Speaking of school and Halloween, I've got a big all-day Halloween lesson tomorrow with parents. Better get to sleep! Take care... <3

Nunobiki Waterfalls

After all these months living in Kobe, we only just discovered how to get to the famous waterfalls nearby.


From Shin-Kobe station, you can start the climb up to the waterfalls, making sure to take note of the reminders not to litter:

It won't be long before you reach the lower falls:




As you continue walking up, there are several little shrines tucked into the mountain side.

I had never seen small, painted stones like this before in a shrine.

Only a few minutes more before you reach the next set of falls!

If you climb the stairs next to the falls, you can see a little shrine to your left at the top:

I was really interested in the little coiled snakes here. Not only were there some in the more focal part of the shrine, but off to the side hidden in the rocks as well--almost becoming part of the mountain. I looked up some interesting stories about snakes in traditional Japanese religion and culture (see this link, for example), but I think the one that might explain the snake coils at Nunobiki would be the ones that associate snakes with nature. Snakes are often believed to be in control of water, both granting it and denying it. They are also said to be in control of causing storms. It would make sense for the snakes to be in this little shrine, near the waterfalls. If you've heard any information in this regard, we'd love to hear about it!

The view from the top by the shrine.

On the way down, we were excited to spot a really neat temple. Here are some shots of what we saw:

I love how much was tucked into the trees or the mountain side.

We feel pretty lucky to live next to such an amazing temple and to such beautiful waterfalls. We've promised each other to make it out at least once a week throughout autumn, and we'll definitely post pictures of the changing leaves! Today we're off to hike Mt. Maya with some friends, enjoying the last day of a three-day weekend.

Cake Set at Saint Maria

Near Sannomiya station there is a little cafe called Saint Maria. Although the atmosphere leaves something to be desired (it's kind of like a smoky 70's diner, without any of the kind of classiness you might be trying to imagine), the cake set was perfect for a rainy day.


It was only 500 yen for your choice of cake and your choice of specialty drink. We chose the berry cake with a caramel latte.


This week we had Typhoon Roke messing up all kind of plans for sports day at school and draining the sunlight and happy weather. Despite the gloom, it was a nice chance to catch up on busy work, calm down after such a crazy busy summer, and fall into autumn. We've had chances to try and break into a bit of reading and creative endeavors, do lots of exercise, and go on fun little dates like our trip to Saint Maria cafe. Luckily sunshine is in the forecast all weekend, so we can relax in brighter moods!

I Love Takoyaki Parties!

We finally got around to buying a takoyaki maker, and decided it might be fun to make use of it for dinner on a rainy day like today! I've mentioned before that takoyaki means grilled octopus, but when using the machine at home, you can get really creative with what you put inside the batter.

We have the usual toppings here: octopus, cabbage, mayonnaise and takoyaki sauce. But, we've also got ingredients to make some with tuna, corn and cheese. We also thought we'd experiment with jalapenos and cheese to have something similar to jalapeno poppers! Yum!

As you can see below, the first step is to add the batter, overfilling the molds. Then, you can add whatever ingredients you like! As the balls cook, you flip them with a little skewer. Then, once they're finished, you pull them out, add mayonnaise and sauce, and devour!

I made sure to get a shot of Chad filling the machine for the fans of his ongoing shirtless activities.

We're considering making an entire calendar of shirtless Chad shots.

Many Japanese also add dashi (fish flakes) and green onions to their takoyaki, but it's really up to the person ordering/eating/making. Below you can see our jalapeno-yaki--delicious!


We're really into the idea of trying more and more ingredients in the future. Perhaps pizza flavors with bacon, cheese and pizza sauce? Or taco-flavored with beef, taco seasoning, cheese, lettuce, sour cream...? It seems to me Japan is excellent at making strange-sounding foods delicious, so why shouldn't we have a try? I've even heard about sweet versions using pancake mix and syrup. I'm foreseeing blueberry pancake balls, maybe chocolate chip ones dipped in chocolate and with sprinkles... the possibilities are endless!

Yakitori Flavored Doritos and news...

Yakitori, or grilled chicken on a skewer, is a really popular food in Japan. And now, it's also a flavor of Doritos! Chad and I decided to try them, and they really had that yakitori taste! Can't say the taste did much for us with the texture of Doritos, but they were interesting to say the least.

In other news, despite the business of work we've been able to have a lot of fun with recent visitors. Jenna came out in August for a couple weeks for a beer safari, and David came over from Korea for a few days last week. Also, last night I ran a 5K race in Osaka with my coworker. It was raining really hard, so I didn't take any pictures of the castle as I ran by, but it was really cool! We're planning to run another one next month and beat our times.

Tomorrow Chad and I are going with some friends to the Great Sannomiya September Craft Beer Tasting, and Monday we have the day off to relax. Yay for national holidays! Time is flying by fast, and we're filling our days with as many fun activities as possible to make it go even faster before we come home to visit! Less than 3 months!

Yodogawa Fireworks

It's been a while as Jenna was visiting for a couple weeks, but I still really wanted to post about the Yodogawa fireworks we were lucky enough to experience in August.


Our friend Mayu helped me get dressed in my yukata, and we were ready to see the famous show (supposedly shooting off over 30,000 fireworks!) in no time.




When we got to the station, hundreds of people were hustling down the stairs on their way to the fireworks.


We were generously given tickets that included seats at tables on the river, a bento (Japanese lunch box), a green tea and a beer.

Phew! 7000 yen!

Above, you can see some of the tables in front of the river and the view before dark, and below you can see some of us in our fashionable yukata!

Everyone had a lot of fun hanging out and eating bentos before the show.

We were also given these cute fans with pictures of wild boar on them--appropriate enough considering our nightly encounters with boar!

These fireworks are from the beginning of the show.

The pictures above, as well as the following video, were taken toward the start of the show. Needless to say that the beginning of fireworks in Japan are like our grand finales. Especially since I might have said that before?

These fireworks and our seats were amazing! Nothing will ever be able to compare to the great show we saw. We'll just have to hope to experience it again someday!