December 2013 – Kaori Square Feet

The Holiday Weekend in Yokohama

Aren’t these the cutest Christmas reindeers (aka poodles) you’ve ever seen?

While many other countries may have a day off to celebrate Christmas on the 25th, here in Japan it is not an official holiday. So a lot of people get together over the weekend or on the 23rd, which actually is an official holiday here (it’s our Emperor’s birthday!).

I ended up in Yokohama this weekend with my Japanese friends, who currently live in South Korea, and their Chinese-Malay friends, currently visiting Japan from Malaysia. We went by Chinatown and had lunch at Bawarou, a Taiwanese restaurant that actually had vegetarian options. It was really good and the owner was quite the character.

After learning how to count from one to ten in Chinese, Korean, and Malay (this is what happens when everyone speaks a different language), we took a walk down the pier. Yokohama has so much history, it’s really interesting learning about how the port opened and evolved. Also, the view is pretty amazing, too.

Our Malaysian friends wanted to try ice skating so we stopped by the Red Brick Warehouse, which we call Aka-renga. Every winter they have a popular outdoor skating rink in their event space. It’s very crowded so it’s not the place to practice your triple axels, but skating with friends is always fun. Especially when it’s someone’s first time on ice. The girls had previous experience so they were very good but their dad had never ice skated before. He was like bambi on the ice! Teehee!

We had tons of fun and I’m glad we got to spend our holiday weekend together. And even though I’ll be working on Christmas day, I’ll still be in a festive mood for sure! (Especially since everyone on the other side of my emails will be on holiday and I won’t have that much to do anyways ;D)

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas from Japan! x

The Christmas Apple and Cranberry Chutney

One of the greatest things about this holiday season is the food.

I was beyond excited when my friend V, who is an amazing artist in the kitchen, brought me this homemade Christmas apple and cranberry chutney!!!

Have you ever tried chutney before?

I hadn’t heard of it before but I looked it up and the internet said that it goes well with cheddar cheese. I’ve been making chutney grilled cheddar cheese sandwiches ever since with everything from regular bread, brown bread, and even raisin whole wheat bread. So so good. (If I ate meat, I’d put the chutney on that, too!)

So it’s really no surprise that this lovely bin of chutney did not last until Christmas day. I made my last sandwich today. So sad that my chutney season is over but so grateful to V for letting me experience the joy of chutney in the first place. Thank you, V! x

The Christmas Tree at Kitte

For a country that doesn’t technically celebrate Christmas in the religious sense, we really do have a lot of Christmas trees displayed all over Tokyo.

Not that I’m complaining. I love Christmas trees. I’ve seen quite a few different Christmas trees this season (like this) but I think I have finally found my favorite!

The one that had me oohing and ahhing is this Christmas tree covered in snow. It’s the one currently on display at KITTE Marunouchi, a new retail facility that opened this March.

It doesn’t have any illumination lights or decorations on it, it’s just a tree covered in snow but I think the simplicity of it all is what pulls me. I love it. This Christmas tree is one of the tallest indoor trees in Japan, standing a whopping 14.5 meters high inside the atrium. It was designed by Makoto Tanijiri, a Japanese architect, and will be on display here until December 25th.

KITTE is definitely one of my favorite retail facilities in Tokyo. The selection of stores is great and the outdoor roof has a fantastic view of Tokyo station, which was also renovated recently. It also has photos of the old Tokyo Central Post building displayed in various parts of the facility, which I also love. I’m glad they were able to preserve a part of the building exterior, which was originally designed by Tetsuro Yoshida and completed in 1933. Lots of history there.

So if you’re in the area this weekend and looking for something to do, stop by to ooh and ahh over this lovely tree, go (window) shopping, and/or gaze out across Tokyo station from the roof! You’ll love doing at least one, if not all, of the above. x

The Birthday Sleepover

This weekend was my sister’s birthday!

My sister came over to my place for the weekend and my bbf also came over so we could celebrate with nabe at home. I always say this but this is the ultimate healthy and delicious meal to have with friends and family in the wintertime. So so good.

And what is a birthday celebration without cake?

This year I went by Giotto, a pastry shop in Odakyu Shinjuku, and chose their citrus fruit cheesecake tart. I should have taken a picture before I stabbed all the candles in it because it was very pretty, but you’ll just have to take my word for it.

It’s become something of a tradition to use the exact number of candles to celebrate my sister’s birthday. Last year’s cake almost ended up being a ball of fire so this year I got three different lengths of candles to diversify the flame. I think it was a good plan, nothing caught on fire. But the candles were a bit too skinny and some of them started doing yoga moves while we were taking pictures! 😀

Don’t you love that my sister claps her hands after blowing out her candles? (She’s a kindergarten teacher…it comes with the occupation. So cute.)

And the cake was delicious!

We spent the night just chatting away. And when I say night, I meant way into the night. We went to sleep around 4:30am…but I think that’s what a sleepover is all about. Especially when you’re celebrating a birthday!

Happy birthday, Yoko! May your year be filled with happiness and joy!!! x

PS: Isn’t it interesting how you congratulate someone’s birthday by saying, “Hope you have a great day!” in English, but you say something like, “Hope you have a wonderful year!” in Japanese? I noticed the difference when someone mentioned it to me. I’d written “素敵な一日でありますように！(Have a wonderful day!)” on a Japanese friend’s facebook page. When I went to see what other people had written, many were wishing her a wonderful year. Now I usually wish Japanese friends a full year of happiness but still stick to a day for my state-side friends (not that I’m wishing them any less of their happiness!). Which do you use often?

The Beauty of Shinjuku Gyoen

The end of the year is always a busy time for me (and everyone else, it seems).

But last Thursday, I woke up tired after another night of nomikai (which was really fun!) and needed some time to myself. So I went to the one place I can always count on to calm me and at the same time fill me with energy…Shinjuku Gyoen.

I was pretty sure all the leaves would have fallen by now and I would just be seeing branches against the blue sky. That would have been enough for me.

Well, I was wrong.

Even though the ginkgo trees had started to loose their yellow leaves by the dozen, the Japanese maple trees had just started to change color everywhere. Spots of orange, red, and purple could be seen throughout the park paths, lit up by the rays of sunlight. And it was beautiful.

This is the one place. The one place I know where I can always come to relax. To hear myself think without the chaos. And always leave feeling refreshed, even if it’s during a short lunch break.

Hope you have a moment to of quiet or calm during this busy season, too! x

The Fleeting Fall Colors in Shinjuku

I ran past the Tokyo Metropolis Government building the other day and had to back track because I spotted this patch of yellow still there. So pretty.

Happy Monday everyone. x

The Miniature Holiday Wreath

Sometimes I like to get creative.

It’s rare (especially when it’s so cold everyday) but I’d been seeing a couple of houses with holiday wreaths on their doors. So when I saw these holly-like plants growing in the garden, I decided to make a miniature wreath from them (inspired by these mini holiday wreaths).

This plant is called Sarcandra glabra, which we call Sen-ryo in Japanese. It’s a plant native to asia and I see them a lot in parks and gardens.

In Japan this plant has been considered a new years good luck plant for centuries. For one, the name Sen-ryo (千両) translates to thousands of ryo (ryo being the currency during the edo period), meaning wealth. The fact that the red berries grew during the new years season also factors in (red was considered a celebratory color). Many Sen-ryo plants are used in flower arrangements during the holiday season in Japan.

So I thought it was the perfect wreath to celebrate christmas slash new years. Now if only I can find a hook of some sort to put on my door so I can actually hang this wreath! 😀 x

The Christmas Tree Lighting

Have you put up your Christmas tree already (if you celebrate Christmas)?

I graduated from a Methodist university and every year they have a Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the Friday before Advent starts, which is usually the last Friday of November. It’s been a tradition since 1977 and all the students from kindergarten to post graduates are invited to attend, as well as parents, faculty, and alumni.

I loved this program when I was at the university. I mean how often do you get to stand in a crowd of Japanese people holding a candle and sing Christmas hymns with the choir outside? This rarely happens in Japan. We aren’t exactly in the land of Christmas caroling (although I’ve done that before, too). So I always embraced this opportunity to feel the Christmas spirit on campus.

Even the students who aren’t Christians (and most aren’t) are there to see the Christmas tree light up and you can feel the anticipation in the air throughout the whole program. A representative of each school (kindergarten, elementary, etc.) pushes a button to turn the lights on and each time a portion of the tree lights up, everyone gasps and claps. It’s kind of funny because this happens seven times until the whole tree is lit (we have a lot of schools crammed into this small campus) but sometimes you just can’t help yourself. It really is breathtaking!

This year I had a whim to go and I’m so glad I went. The regular candles had changed to penlight candles (much safer since everyone is holding a paper program) and the president of the university had changed, but the atmosphere of the program was still the same. I loved singing with everyone to Silent Night and Joy to the World. The older man standing next to us actually had a very lovely baritone voice. It was the perfect way to feel the Christmas spirit in a traditional way.

Hope you’re having a wonderful start to the Christmas season, too! x

The Bonenkai Season in Japan

Bonenkai season is upon us here in Japan.

I mentioned before that Bonenkai (忘年会) is the year-end gathering of co-workers and/or friends. If you look in a Japanese dictionary the word Bonenkai means a gathering at the end of the year to forget the troubles of the year. That’s kind of dramatic but I think it’s a way of patting ourselves on the back and saying Otsukaresama for getting through another year. And we do this by eating, drinking, and being merry together.

The tradition of Bonenkai dates back to as early as Kamakura (1185-1333) or Muromachi period (1336-1573), although back then it was more of a quiet gathering of poem readings. It’s during the Edo period (1603-1868) that Bonenkai became popular among the common folk as a time to drink and party together.

Do you know the story of Chushingura (忠臣蔵)? (Ru tells the story beautifully here!) It’s one of my favorite kabuki plays and it a famous story of revenge based on a real story here in Japan.

You might wonder what that has to do with Bonenkai. Well, you know how the 47 ronin invaded the Kira fortress on December 14, 1702. It’s said that the reason they were able to invade and finish the job so swiftly is because everyone was still hungover from the Kira household Bonenkai the night before! Quite the story, right?

I never realized the history of Bonenkai in Japan was so long and even interesting. The tradition has been evolving over the years from large-scale company Bonenkais in the 70s to the private and lavish Bonenkais during the late 80s bubble economy years. Then the small-scale affair with close friends and coworkers after the economic bubble burst, which is kind of how it is now (although not as gloomy as the 90s, I’m sure). Good thing for me because I don’t think I could survive a company Bonenkai in the 70s (when sexual harassment was still not in our vocabulary). I like our small-scale ones with close friends and coworkers 😀

And in keeping with the season, I thought I’d introduce you to a really great traditional Japanese izakaya in Yoyogi. You have to make reservations because they are pretty popular but they have delicious food and even better umeshu! Yum yum!

Have a wonderful Bonenkai season everyone! x

Yoyogian

1-34-5 Yoyogi

Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

東京都渋谷区代々木1-34-5

03-3374-4024

Everyday: 6:00pm-11:00pm

The Wedding Party in Ebisu

Last month my friends E and M had their wedding party in Ebisu!

They had gotten married with close family and friends in Hawai’i the month before and wanted to have a party with their friends in Tokyo. I was asked to help co-plan the wedding party with another friend Y, which I was really excited about. I didn’t learn until later that it would include taking on the role of co-master of ceremonies as well.

After 30+ years, I’ve come to know myself pretty well and one of the things is that I do better behind the scenes. Supporting is my thing, not center stage. I have huge stage fright and because I’m rarely in that position, I freeze up even more when I’m there.

Needless to say, I was slightly concerned about having to talk into the mike. And not only that, but you need to be on top of things, reading the crowd, checking the time, and making sure that the bride and groom are having a great time. (Did I mention I am also a worrier?)

But in the end, it all worked out.

The bride and groom were full of smiles, which is exactly what we wanted. Our plan to surprise them with messages from their parents were also a success. Everything went according to plan and it was great seeing them having a good time celebrating their marriage with all their friends in Tokyo!

Wishing E and M all the joy and happiness of this day and always. x