The Season of Sakura Spam

The season is finally here!!!

The season that makes me leave for work extra early
because I take tons of pictures on my way.
The season that we wait for all year to come
and we make hanami plans according to the hanami forecast
and then it gets warm super early and everyone is hustling to reschedule.

So prepare to be spammed.
Sakura spammed.

The Banana and Raisin Oatmeal

Starting off the morning with yummy oatmeal.
It’s still chilly enough in the mornings for oatmeal, right?
(actually I just need to use up my massive stock of oats.)
Banana and Raisin Oatmeal
(two servings)
Ingredients:
1 cup  oats
1/2 cup  raisins
1  chopped banana
1/2 tsp  ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp  ground nutmeg
2 cups  water
Directions:
1.
Boil water in a pan.
2.
Add oats, raisins, and bananas.
Stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg.
3.
Lower the heat and
stir occasionally for 2-3 minutes.
Ready to eat!
*I love raisins so I always add a lot more.
(also because I need to finish my 1kg bag of raisins)

*Add 1/2 tsp of brown sugar for a sweeter oatmeal
*I like to top it off with yogurt…yum!

The Vernal Equinox Day

Today is the Vernal Equinox holiday in Japan.
We call it Shun-bun no hi (春分の日).
As most of our holidays are on Mondays
(thank you for the three-day weekends, Mr. Koizumi!)
it’s rare that we have a holiday on Wednesday.
But it’s just the break I needed.
According to our Public Holiday Law this holiday is a day
“to admire nature and cherish living things.”
I think I’m going to do just that and spend the day outside!
Also, I was inspired by these pretty watercolor nails
and tried them out on mine the other day.
Seemed perfect for spring.
Happy Vernal Equinox to you!
(via A Cup of Jo)

The Sadaharu Aoki Chocorons

I know, I’ve been posting about chocolate way too often.
But our White Day was just last week
and I found myself with this amazing box of chocoron.
I had to share the pictures!
In case you didn’t know (like me)
Chocoron is a macaron covered in chocolate…YUM!!!

Also, they are apparently famous.
(I am so bad at remembering brand names)
These cute polk-a-dotted pieces of deliciousness
were created by the ever popular pâtissier Sadaharu Aoki.
Do you know him?
He is a pâtissier from Tokyo
currently based in Paris.
In 2007 he became a member of Relais Desserts.
He even won the Pudlo Paris award in 2011.
(which I believe means that he was the Pâtissier of the Year)
He has stores in Paris, Tokyo, and Taipei.
And he was one of the most popular pâtissier
for this year’s White Day in Japan.
I am ashamed to say that I did not know about him
until I googled him after devouring his delicious chocorons.
So good. So so good.
But I’m pretty sure if you eat more than two at once
you will pass out from too much of this chocolate goodness.
(yes, I could not stop at one and ate two…I am not superwoman!)
This box of chocorons had six flavors:
Green Tea, Chocolate, Citrus, Framboise, Cassis, and Coffee.
My favorites were Citrus and Coffee.
And Framboise, too.
Don’t they look delicious?

A big thank you to my coworkers
who waited in line for an hour and a half to
get us girls in our department this gift for White Day!

The White Day Gifts

Oh my goodness, you guys.
I got so many White Day gifts again this year.
Yummy chocolate.
Yummy candy.
It’s like they want me to gain weight.
But I’m too happy with these delicious gifts to care!
White Day is a holiday that started in Japan.
It’s a day to return the favor for the gifts
you received on Valentine’s Day.
And as women give to the men on Valentine’s Day in Japan
White Day is usually when the women receive gifts from the men.
This tradition is said to have come from the Japanese way
of always returning the favor when you receive a gift.
This actually used to drive me crazy.
Like when I sent my friend a gift when she had her baby
she sent me back a small hand towel gift.
Or when we gift money at the wedding reception
and we receive a bag of thank-you-for-coming gifts in return.
It never made sense to me.
Why do we give you a gift to celebrate
if you’re going to give something back to us?
Why not just a thank you note?
Now I feel like I have to give you something else
in return for the gift you gifted me for my gift to you.
(see? all these gifts get super confusing!)
But I’ve learned that we Japanese do this
because we have a strong sense of community.
(thus giving leads to receiving)
Also heard that we Japanese dislike being in debt to others.
(thus receiving leads to giving)
And through all these cultural characteristics of Japan
White Day came to be a holiday to return Valentine’s Day gifts in 1978.
And that is why I get boxes of delicious gifts
in return for my Valentine’s Day cookies on White Day!
Quite the holiday, huh?

The Green Striped Flats

Are you wearing green?
I wore my green striped flats today.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day and there were parades to celebrate
in various parts of Japan, including Tokyo, today!
You might wonder why in the world we celebrate
St. Patrick’s Day in Japan.
Well, besides the fact that Japan loves Irish beer,
the Irish have made many contributions to Japan in the past.
I learned from the Irish Embassy website that the first record of
an Irish person setting foot in Japan was way back in 1704.
Also, in 1906 an Irish reverend, who was teaching at Keio Univesity,
brought the sport hockey into Japan by teaching his students how to play.
The Japanese university hockey league currently has
24 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams.
And did you know that the first version of our national anthem
was composed by an Irish bandmaster who trained brass bands by soldiers?
It’s not the national anthem we sing now
but still, that is a pretty big deal.
Oh, and we can’t forget the talented Irish architect
who designed the street plan for Ginza after the fire of 1872.
No wonder the streets of Ginza were so modern!
I really had no idea Japan and Ireland has so many connections.
I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland
to explore their rolling hills and beautiful scenery.
But learning about our history
makes me want to visit even more now!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!

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!

The Lunch Break at the Park

It got so much warmer outside all of a sudden!
No chills when stepping out of the house.
No more winter stockings.
(PS: I was so happy I actually threw them all out!)
(PPS: I may regret it later but it felt good!)
So so wonderful.
Gorgeous days like this call out to me.
I feel the need to go outside and bask under the sunlight.
So…I did!!!
I made a mad dash to Shinjuku Gyoen
during my lunch break one day.
It was GREAT!!!
I love the calm and beauty of this place.
So relaxing under the sun.
You can bet once I got there
I was dragging my feet going back to the office.

Oh and the pink plum blossoms were still in bloom!
They smell really sweet.
Did you know?
I took so much time taking pictures
and sniffing all the blossoms
that I had to make another mad dash across the grass.
Running barefoot felt AMAZING!
Seriously.
Best lunch break ever.