November 2015 – Kaori Square Feet

December Link Love　

The holidays are here! Whoop whoop!

I am welcoming December with open arms this year, bring on the Christmas songs and merry gatherings! And by merry gatherings, I mean bonenkai, of course. Just kidding, I am actually cutting back on all the bonenkai this season and going to only a selected few. Makes the few more special, don’t you think?

December is like a blur every year. My head is already filled with a long list of things I need to do. I’m sure yours is, too. But this year I’m going to take deliberate time to enjoy this season with family and friends and to just soak it all in. Or in other words, what cookie monster said.

I hope you’re all staying warm and enjoying the holidays! xx

——————————————————-Link Love——————————————————-

– Embrace winter like a Norwegian.

– A 2015 update of Ironic (has it truly been 20 years since Jagged Little Pill?).

– I never get tired of this smart kid and his tiger.

– Screw finding your passion.

– Ah this postage stamp is too delicious!

– This happens to me sometimes.

– “How will we change the world if the lady cats are always in dresses?“

– China from above is fascinating.

– Climb every mountain and get these pins!

– Interesting look into Japan.

The Turkey-less Thanksgiving Dinner

Happy Thanksgiving (to those who celebrate Thanksgiving)!!!

This is definitely one of those holidays that will probably never come into Japan, despite this country’s love for importing holidays, such as Halloween and Easter. For one, Japan never had any Native Americans that taught the pilgrims, that never came to Japan, how to grow corn and sat down together for a meal after a good harvest season. But more importantly, it’s almost impossible to roast a whole turkey in Japan’s tiny microwave ovens.

But I’v always loved this holiday from my childhood days growing up in Michigan and since my sister was heading over to my place for the weekend, I invited the girls over for an early Thanksgiving dinner, sans the turkey.

I was up and early, running back and forth to the supermarket, cooking and baking my butt off. It’s always fun putting a dinner together for family and friends, I get pretty excited about things like this. At the same time, I often get in over my head with ideas too difficult to execute by myself. This year though, I was surprisingly level headed throughout the whole process and had a great time in the kitchen, even though it was just me, my oven and reruns of Sherlock in the back ground.

The menu consisted of apple cranberry walnut salad, pumpkin soup, blooming onion bread, mashed potatoes, broccoli and macaroni casserole, green bean avocado fried rice, spinach balls, and bread stuffing. For dessert, there was pumpkin pie and apple pie, which I baked the day before.

When everyone came over, they helped set the table and then (after a quick photo session of the food, hehe) we all dug in! It was all SO GOOD!

I’ve learned that get-togethers like this are not really about the food. I mean, it kind of is…but it’s not. We could have had conbini bentos and it still would have tasted good, although not as Thanksgiving-y. For me, what makes the difference is that we were all enjoying this meal together. I personally miss my family the most around the holidays, so it was nice to have a full house (because my apartment is tiny, you know?) filled with chatter and laughter over dinner. The fact that we were all there enjoying the meal together is definitely what made it delicious!

I hope you’re enjoying time with friends and family this holiday season, too! x

Here are some photos:

Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? What is your favorite dish? x

The Picnic and Chrysanthemums at Shinjuku Gyoen

Slow weekends are the best.

My best friend and I walked to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden again one weekend. We found a good spot to settle and had a brunch picnic. What is it about eating outside that makes everything taste so good?

We also stopped by the chrysanthemum festival. I’d never seen so many different types of chrysanthemum and was very impressed with the dome shaped chrysanthemum art. Did you know that it is all just one chrysanthemum plant? There are over 550 flowers and each one is placed in a specific position over the course of a year as they grow. Pretty amazing.

The sun was shining from between the clouds and it was a really great morning. Then suddenly the clouds started getting heavier and we had just enough time to see the chrysanthemum festival before the sky opened and it began to rain.

We headed home, patting ourselves on the back for our perfect timing.

Here are some photos:

The Mount Takao Hike

What do you do when your head is ready to explode?

Why, you go to the mountains, of course! Or anywhere quiet really. The lake, the woods…snuggle with a book on a rainy day. But we were headed for the hills, aka Mount Takao, on this particular day and that suited me fine.

Like I said before, Mount Takao is a very popular spot, which I’ve managed to avoid all these years. I mean, if a mountain offers a beer garden at the top, you know it’s going to be packed with people. I don’t even know if a mountain with a railway is even a real mountain (it is, I checked…but still).

But that being said, it’s a very convenient mountain from the city, especially Shinjuku. Just one train ride on the Keio Line and you’re there at the foot of the mountain within an hour, and only 390 yen! And because Mount Takao only stands at 599 meters, it’s a very easy hike for people of all ages. Not to mention the lift and railway that easily takes you straight to the top.

So for some, it’s worth the crowd.

My best friend and I went on a week day, and the crowd of people getting off at the station mostly headed towards the railway, so we nearly had the trail all to ourselves! My first time there and it was exactly what I needed to relax both mind and soul.

I admit, there’s a lot of concrete on this mountain. But the cool mountain air and warm sunny rays felt wonderful. The hike wasn’t difficult at all. I just enjoyed being surrounded by nature and seeing the views as we got closer to the peak.

We took Trail 1 and Trail 3, so by the time we reached the peak I were starving. Good thing for us, we packed a lunch! But I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture. Oh well. You’ll just have to believe me when I say it was delicious, especially with that mountain air. I did remember to take a picture of our tumbler, that held hot water for coffee, and mikan. Yum!

The peak was getting quite crowded when we finished eating. And even though the kindergarten kids were adorable, we decided to escape into the quietness of the mountain.

We made our way down the mountain on Trail 6, which was a bit more wet than our hike up, due to the water running along (and sometimes on) the path. There are certain places you can stop and sit, to look out across the mountain or just to chat. We were definitely slower hiking back down but then again it’s not every day you get to discuss life with your best friend on a mountain, so you can bet we took full advantage of that. It was great 🙂

So my advice? Go on a week day and you may have the hiking trails all to yourself! x

Here are some photos:

At Shinjuku Station, ready to get away from the crowds of people.

Mount Takao is part of the Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park.

My love of moss is eternal.

Nature’s gradations are the best.

There were several different bridges along the trail.

Breathing in the greenery.

So many lush views, like this.

Aren’t the shades of blue gorgeous?

Our lunch break at the peak!

All the while, this huge spider was sitting right above us…eek!

These kids were just too cute!

Our path down from the peak began like this.

It was pretty wet in some places.

Shades of fall beginning to appear!

Taking in the mountain air by the a river.

Have you ever hiked Mount Takao?

The Takao 599 Museum

Last month, I was lucky to get a day off of work on a beautifully sunny day.

So my best friend and I decided to head for the mountains. Or THE mountain, in this case. What I mean by that is, we were headed for probably the most popular mountain in Tokyo…Mount Takao!

I heard there are crowds of people climbing it on the weekends, so we went on a weekday. It’s close (only an hour by train from Shinjuku), it’s convenient (you can hike or take the rail/lift), and it has multiple trails to choose from so I can understand its popularity.

It also offers a beautiful museum at the foot of the mountain, Takao 599 Museum.

The museum just opened this summer. The displays are full of beautiful creatures and plants that you can find on Mount Takao. I also learned fun facts, such as Mount Takao is one of the top three insect habitats in Japan. So it’s a treasure trove of critters (which we soon found was true).

There’s also a nature wall which exhibit taxidermy animals and birds. I was surprised to learn that there were so many animals living in Mount Takao. We were also lucky and got to see the projection mapping on the nature wall. It was very cleverly made, you’ll definitely want to see how all the animals play into it 🙂

Personally, I was drawn to the insect display. Growing up next to the woods, I used to be fascinated by the lives of various critters. They really are beautiful, the more closely you look.

One of the great things about this museum is that it has a lawn. That’s right, grass humans can actually enjoy (if you live in Tokyo, you’ll know it’s a rare thing)! We stopped by to just sit and stretch for a bit after our hike back down the mountain. It felt amazing. There’s also a cafe inside the museum, which sounds perfect for the chilly days.

All in all, I think this is a great place to stop by for anyone visiting Mount Takao, especially if it’s your first time!

Here are some photos:

It’s only 390 yen from Shinjuku on the Keio Line.

The new Takao Yamaguchi station, designed by Kengo Kuma.

Love the high ceiling and natural light.

So many animals living on the mountain…even a monkey!

The projection mapping was really beautiful (you can’t really tell from these photos).

Nuts galore.

The cafe and the free-use sitting area.

Next up, photos from Mount Takao 🙂

TAKAO 599 MUSEUM
3-2435 Takao-machi Hachioji-shi, Tokyo JAPAN
東京都八王子市高尾町2435番3
TEL: 042 665 6688
HOURS: April to November 8:00am-5:00pm
December to March 8:00am-4:00pm

The Reunion at D47 Shokudo

I love D47 Shokudo.

When my friend from university mentioned she was going to be in town with her husband (they were here on their honeymoon!), we decided to meet up in our old stomping ground, Shibuya. And for dinner, we settled on this restaurant.

It’s spacious and the menu is full of specialty dishes from all over Japan. D47 Shokudo focuses on utilizing local domestic products, which is always a plus.

It’s been ten years since we all graduated university and for M, who was an exchange student from San Diego, this was her first time coming back to Tokyo. It was interesting hearing about all the differences she noticed from back then. Like how the food portions are getting larger, or the massive amount of travelers.

We had a good laugh over old memories and had a great time getting to know her husband. It was a great way to end a really long week. Yay for mini reunions! 🙂

Here are some photos:

D47 SHOKUDO (d47 食堂)
Hikarie 8th floor, 2-21-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku Tokyo JAPAN
東京都渋谷区渋谷2-21-1 ヒカリエ8階
TEL: 03 6427 2303
HOURS: 11:30am-10:30pm

The Day in Tochigi City

In September, I found myself in Tochigi City for the first time.

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t even know there was a city called Tochigi. More often than not, cities like Nasu and Nikko come to mind when you mention Tochigi prefecture. Even more interesting, although the city is the namesake of the prefecture, it is actually not the capital (it’s Utsunomiya City!).

That being said, Tochigi City is a far cry from a dead beat town, often referred to as “Kanto’s Kurashiki.” (If you don’t know, Kurashiki is a city in Okayama prefecture with a famous historical district) This pretty much means that Tochigi City has many old traditional Japanese buildings, which I can appreciate. I love cities that work to preserve their history.

In early September, several typhoons passed by (or close by) Japan, which resulted in unprecedented rain and lead to heavy flooding in certain areas. Most of the largely affected areas where along Kinu River, which the media focused on. But there were many other areas that were affected by flooding, Tochigi City being one of them.

I have to say, I really appreciate the network of friends I gained when I had an opportunity to volunteer in Miyagi. We all lead very different lives, but one thing is the same…once you start it’s hard to stop. So when my contact at the local social welfare council (they are usually in charge of volunteers for disaster relief) mentioned a lack of volunteers in certain areas, I asked to join in and to my surprise, there were very many familiar faces!

My team was given an assignment to clear out everything from inside a large storage garage, which was filled with old family memorabilia. If you know anything about the older generation in Japan, it’s that they don’t throw anything away. The garage had been sitting in flood water for awhile before it drained away so most boxes were soggy and starting to mold. Our job was to bring everything out and divide the items according to the city’s trash disposal rules.

The older owners were working along side us, too. It’s always so difficult to know what to say or do to not make the experience even more hard than it is for them. I can’t imagine what it’s like for them to have to throw so many things with memories away, so suddenly.

They had already stripped everything from their house and so it was just the garage that was left. We worked on it from 10am to 3pm, with a lunch break in the middle. It was just enough time to call the city to come pick everything up to dispose.

This was my first time seeing a garbage truck come to do private pick-ups. We all helped throw everything in, which was an experience on its own.

By the end of the day, we were pretty filthy but it felt good to be of some help to the owners, who jokingly said they’d see us all next week. I took that to mean they were satisfied with our work 🙂

We drove back to Tokyo after checking out at the local volunteer center. Tochigi City was so close that I was back at home by 8pm, which was much much shorter than our days driving back from Miyagi. Now that I know how lovely the city is, I think I’ll try going back as a visitor one of these days.

And I hope by then, the city will have bounced back from the flooding. x