Category: Amigos

The Pool Day After Work

In one of my efforts to deny the fact that summer is coming to an end, my bff and I went to hang out at a pool the other day after work.
Did you know Keio Plaza hotel has a pool? It’s right down the street from where I work so it’s the perfect spot to cool down during the summer. It’s kind of surreal seeing the skyscrapers rise high above us. It’s also a great place to practice the breaststroke. I’d forgotten how much harder it is to stay afloat in the pool when compared to the ocean. I think we were the only ones swimming laps but it was fun.
Week day pool nights are the best!

The Summer Fireworks

Fireworks, called hanabi in Japanese, are a summer staple here in Japan.
I don’t think there’s ever been a summer without going to a hanabi festival or just fireworks in the park with friends. But fireworks are definitely linked to summer here and I can’t seem to do without it.
This year, I took my beautiful new picnic blanket (you can probably tell from the pictures that I want to show it off! haha!) with me to the hanabi festival in Ichikawa. It’s a city in Chiba prefecture, located along the Edogawa river. We had a little picnic of festival food before the fireworks started. And then we just rolled over and enjoyed the show in the night sky while we oohed and ahhed 😀
Here are some pictures:

My sister with her we-found-a-great-spot smile 😀

I got free uchiwa’s (a hand fan) the night before and decided to redecorate them!
This is how we save seats! The whole riverside on both shores was a sea of picnic sheets.

There were lots of different festival food stalls along the river.

Anzu-ame, a festival favorite, is apricot dipped in sweet syrup.
People start gathering as the time for fireworks comes near.

People also watch the fireworks from boats called Yakatabune.
We had a glorious sunset…you can even see the Skytree in the distance!

My absolute festival favorite is Gyaga-batah, which literally means potato-butter.

The fireworks start off with a bang!

Tons of people were there watching the fireworks!

Something special about each explosion of lights. Aren’t fireworks fabulous?

It was a pretty great night…might have to make this an annual event!
“Bright lights and the big city.
It belongs to us tonight.”
– Cee Lo Green

The Lunch at Panino Vino

This weekend my college friend M was in town!
She currently lives in Australia and is newly engaged! (Whoop whoop!) So you can imagine, we had a lot to talk about. A LOT. We were literally there for hours.
It felt good to talk. I know how we have technology now so we can phone, email and/or skype each other even though we live far away. But still, there’s nothing like an official gabfest face to face, don’t you think?

We had delicious panini and tea while we caught up. I love the bread they use here. So good. We also had dessert, which I didn’t even have time to take a picture of because we scarfed it down so fast 😀
M brought me my absolute favorite Australian omiyage, Tim Tams, but even better, she also gave me one of her drawings!
 I love it. M draws so beautifully. Her drawings are always so sweet and kind, you can really see who she is through her work. I already have this drawing up on my wall and smile every time I see it! x
Happy long weekend everyone! (Also, happy regular weekend for people who aren’t in Japan!)

Panino Vino
Sepia Harajuku Bldg
4-5-12 Jingumae
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
東京都渋谷区神宮前4-5-12
セピア原宿ビル 1F
03-5772-2897
Open: 11:00am-11:00pm

The Weekend with a Lovely Family

I melt every time I see this photo!
Isn’t he adorable? My friends were in town from Kobe this weekend and I loved getting to spend time with the two of them and their gorgeous baby A. He’s grown so much from the last time I saw him! 
So happy that A let me take a picture with him. He’s very shy now. Probably from having everyone ooh and ahh over how sweet he is! The triles of a cute baby, am I right? But he was sweet enough to sit on my lap for me.
Look at his face though! His eyes are quietly saying, what are you making me do, mum! 😀
We went to Din Tai Fung for dinner. I love eating Chinese/Taiwanese food. It’s so good and it looks fabulous all spread out on the table with little plates and tea cups. They were also very child friendly as well. 
After dinner we went back to their hotel, which had a lovely lounge. I got to try a Chocolate Martini for the very first time. Woohoo! It was delicious (and how could it not be…it has chocolate!).
The hotel lobby had this projector showing fireworks and waterfalls on one side of the atrium wall and A was quite fascinated with the little show. I think we all were actually.
We talked for hours, as it always ends up being, and I loved every minute of it. V and D are so much fun to chat with. They really know how to entertain…even when they are the ones visiting! 😀

I had the best weekend catching up with this lovely family and can’t wait to see them all again! x

The Day We Jumped For Joy

This past weekend I was in Miyagi prefecture again with my friends. And if you couldn’t tell from the gif above, it was a fun fun weekend. Posting pictures from the trip real soon but had to share our jump for joy today!

Who knew jumping around in the parking lot would end up being so much fun? We were a little tired but once we started taking these pictures, our energy level spiked. Before we knew it, we were doing crazy jumps over and over again.

You should try it sometime. You’ll discover a whole new meaning to “Jump for Joy!” 😀

The All American Food

For those of you who do not live in Japan, you probably don’t understand why every one heads to A&W when in Okinawa. That is because we don’t have A&W stores outside of Okinawa, which has a total of 26 stores throughout the island. This island has a lot of influence from all the U.S. bases located here.
Root beer is actually not the most popular drink in Japan. I think half of the people think “Hey this isn’t beer!” and the other half are like “Yuck, this tastes like medicine!” Well, it kind of does taste like medicine. But I love root beer floats. They make the world a better place. As do those curly fries…yum!!!
So this is my sister, our high school friend, and I hanging out at the A&W they have at Naha Airport. It’s funny because we all live in the greater Tokyo area but we ended up catching up in Okinawa 😀
A&W Naha Airport
Naha Airport Bldg 3rd floor
150 Kagamizu
Naha-shi, Okinawa
098-857-1691
Hours: 6:30am-8:00pm

Later we went downtown to Kokusai-dori, which is a major tourist spot in Naha City. I’d actually never been there before because every time we’re in Okinawa, we go straight to my grandma’s place and with so many relatives to see and say hi to, we ended up spending most out time with family and end up missing all the touristy places. Which is totally fine, since that’s what we come here for.
But I have to say, I was curious what Kokusai-dori was all about.
It ended up being just a whole bunch of souvenir shops and restaurants. But it was fun to see everything. Also, they had the scary looking Shiisa statues at the entrance. They are like the koma-inu that guard temples and shrines. Pretty much every house in my grandma’s neighborhood had these shiisa statues. They are usually places at the entrance of the property wall or the driveway to ward off evil.
Don’t you love how fierce they look?

The Ichiran Ramen in Harajuku

With all the gorgeous sakura blossoms
Tokyo looks like spring.
But it doesn’t feel like spring at all.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
It’s okay though because
there’s nothing like ramen on a cold night!
We stopped by Ichiran in Harajuku.
Ichiran is famous for their unique booth seating system.
(if you don’t know, you can read about it here.)
But they also had a teeny tiny room
to seat four people together.
Which is where we were seated.
And where we devoured our delicious ramen.
Fukuoka ramen is typically made of pork broth
(which we call tonkotsu in Japanese)
and uses very thin noodles.
This store allows you to choose
how you want your noodles and soup made.
I ordered noodles on the hard side
and very thick soup.
Oh.So.Good.
I’m not a ramen expert (I love ALL ramen) but
you know when a bowl is really good when conversation stops! ;D
ICHIRAN Harajuku
2nd Floor
6-5-6 Jingumae
Sibuya-ku, Tokyo
03-3407-5911
Open: 11am-11pm

The Hanami in Yoyogi Park

Yes, you heard right.
We braved the hanami crowds
and headed to Yoyogi Park this weekend!
It was a very impromptu hanami
as sakura season came quite early this year.
But I’m glad we got to do it!
Drinks, sandwiches, and snacks…perfect for hanami 😀

Cherry blossoms scattered above our heads
It was a pretty chilly day
and it wasn’t the perfect blue sky.
But we had a grand ole time under the pretty cherry blossoms!
And you know what?
It wasn’t as crowded as I thought!
We were there from around 11am to 3pm but
there was plenty of space around us.
I guess all those rumors that Yoyogi Park
is jam packed during hanami season is a myth?
Maybe I’ll make hanami with friends an annual thing 😀

The Field of Chocolate

If I ever find a a field of chocolate somewhere
I hope it looks exactly like this!

In addition to this
Satoko Kobiyama (Yama Foods) prepared
these pieces of pretty chocolate to display and to eat.
They are covered in dried fruits, nuts, and candied edible flowers.
Nobody combines food with art like she does.

There were so many pieces with different toppings
it was really hard to just choose one.
I was ooh-ing and ahh-ing so much
they gave me two pieces!
Yum!!!
It was a beautiful collaboration of delicious food
and really gorgeous clothes made from handmade Khadi.
(I especially liked this! So pretty!)

The Anniversary Event at Kapital

My friend invited me to an event last weekend.
It was an anniversary event for KORA KAPDA
featuring food coordinator Yama Foods and
the store Duffle with KAPITAL.
Satoko Kobiyama had a fabulous display of drinks and food
for everyone to enjoy through sight and taste. 
Flower drinks: Marigold+Orange Flower, Blue Mallow+Lemon, and  Rose+Hibiscus
Four different types of paste: Basil, Hummus, Beets, and Pumpkin
Everyone was eating crackers and veggies with the paste…yum!
It was kind of like picking veggies from a sesame garden.

I had a lot of fun just taking everything in at this event.
Pretty clothes and accessories on display.
Eating and learning about the food.
And of course, best of all…catching up with friends!
No better way to spend the afternoon!