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!

Fukuoka Trip: Day 3

On our last day in Fukuoka, I went window-shopping while Chad had a dip in an onsen, or hot spring. The main focus of the day was going to be the Hakata Gion Matsuri (festival), but we had a few hours to blow before it started. When we met up again, we were trying to think of what else to do. Then we looked at our Hakata map and spotted the Fukuoka Asahi Beer Factory! Ah-hah! We'd go on their free beer tour like we'd done in Nagoya! Woot!

We made friends with another couple on the tour

Needless to say, by the time the festival did start, we were feeling pretty good. We took the train from the beer factory to Gion and headed up the stairs to see crowds lined up for the festival. And my, my, what a festival it was!


From July 1st to 15th, hundreds of men and boys get together to race while carrying giant shrines. Wearing loose shirts, loin cloths and boots, they practice racing daily until the final, biggest race on the last day.

As the men raced by, many of them stopped to bow at the temple before continuing on

Everyone was (understandably) tired after their 5 kilometer race. On the final day, the men are supposed to run it in about 30 minutes while holding the 1-ton floats with as much grace as possible. Phew!

After the festival finished, Chad and I headed off for our anniversary dinner at a garlic-themed restaurant. We tried to make up for our breath by going for dessert at a taiyaki place. Unlike most taiyaki we've tried, this taiyaki was made with mochi, or rice cake, and it had chocolate inside! Served piping hot, the texture and flavor was wonderful.


Feeling full and sleepy, we were ready to pick up our stuff from our hotel and ride that horrible night bus back to Kobe.

What a wonderful trip to celebrate 3 wonderful years married~!

Now we're trapped inside, waiting for a typhoon to blow over and dreaming of those sunny days!

Tokyo: Day Two

We lugged ourselves out of bed for day two of Tokyo--tired, but excited--and headed straight to Asakusa. We decided to wait for breakfast, but by the time we arrived in Asakusa it was nearly lunch time. There was a nice restaurant where Chad ate omuraisu, which is similar to how is sounds: an omelet with rice inside. I had a lovely obentou.

Next, we headed down the crowded streets to Asakusa Temple, one of the oldest temples in Tokyo.

Seeing the temple was well worth having to wade through the crowd. Pictures below include the gate to the shrine, Chad wafting away evil spirits with incense smoke, a pagoda, and some of the decorative work found inside the temple.

This was painted on the ceiling in the temple:

The gate to the shrine is called the "Thunder Gate," and it is guarded by the god of wind on the right, and the god of thunder on the left.

Before leaving Asakusa, we made two very important stops. First:

Taiyaki glory.

And second:

Afternoon Sangrias.

From Asakusa, we decided to leave Tokyo and go to Yokohama, Japan's second largest city. When we arrived, Chad was taken over by excitement and suddenly became part of Dragon Ball Z.

Then he got to use a big boy rocking chair!

Yokohama is famous for being one of the first ports in Japan to be opened to foreign trade, but it's also famous for its China town. You can bet that as soon as Chad recovered from his fireball throwing and rocking chair fun we headed toward the luring streets of Japan's largest China town.

Discovering Yokohama China Town

After an expensive dinner in the China Town (yeah, what? I thought Chinese food was cheap!), we went back to Shinjuku. Night had fallen, but we weren't finished yet!

Above you can see what happens when you enter a SMAP izakaya, and below you can see Shinjuku's awesome night lights and the side of a Tokyo cab.

Almost time for bed, but not without one final question:

Day Three coming soon!

Yokkaichi Fireworks

During the summer it's guaranteed that every day--somewhere in Japan--there is going to be hanabi, or a firework show. In August alone, there are over 200 firework shows, and John, Joel, Chad, our friend Takahiro and I went to the Yokkaichi show.

Before finding a place to sit, we stopped at one of the food stalls for taiyaki. These fish-shaped sweets are made with pancake-like batter and filled with sweet bean paste or other delicious fillings. We tried custard. Yum!

We had a great view from Yokkaichi Port. The area was packed!

Not only do the Japanese celebrate summer with fireworks much more frequently than Americans, but with firework shows of a much greater caliber. When I tell my students that 4th of July fireworks generally last about 20-25 minutes, they all gasp, "Ehhhhhhhhhhh?" Japanese hanabi typically last at least an hour and a half. And although our pictures can't possibly do the Yokkaichi firework show justice, within five minutes of it's start, the show was better than a full 20 minute show back home. The fireworks were just great.

The Grand Finale:

One downside to seeing such amazing fireworks was trying to get home! The street was jam-packed with people.

You can't see too well in this picture, but many people were wearing jinbe (a kind of summer pajama) or yukata (summer kimono). Traditional clothing such as these are often worn to firework shows.

We had a great time, and can't wait for fireworks next summer!