The Tattly Tattoos

I’m so excited!!!
Look what I found in Harajuku!!!
I’ve had a crush on these Tattly tattoos for a while now.
They are slightly dorky
and so super duper cute!!!
Don’t you think?
Here are a few of my favorites:
Coffee

Friendship Bracelet (Blue) / Camera 1

Just Focus

Carrot / Soft Serve

Paper Planes
PS: I found some you can buy in Japan domestically online here.
But Tattly also does international delivery
so you can just buy it directly on their website.

The Whiff of Spring

Today it was so warm outside.
Definitely did not need my jacket.
But actually it shouldn’t have come as a surprise
because the first day of spring in Japan is February 4th.
We call the day Risshun (立春).
And seeing as it’s just around the corner
I guess it makes sense that it was warm today.
Actually, until the Meiji era
Risshun was considered to be start of the new year.
Which is understandable because that’s when nature comes alive.
I spent early afternoon
on a rooftop patio in Harajuku.
The sun felt SO GOOD.
I always feel deprived of sunlight in the winter
because I go to work in the morning and
by the time I leave the office it’s already dark outside.
It’s so depressing.
Have you heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder?
I swear I get it during the winter.
But today I had a few hours under the sun
writing letters and sending emails.
And I loved every minute of this gorgeous day!!!

The Night of Gyoza

Gyoza is so yummy!
And I decided to make some the other night
because they are so easy to make.
Gyoza Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups ground meat
2 cups chopped cabbage
1 cup chopped chives
1/4 cup chopped Japanese leek*
1/4 chopped green shiso*
1 tbs chopped ginger
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs katakuriko (potato starch)
(can be subsituted with corn starch)
1 tsp dashi-no-moto powder
(can be substituted with chicken broth)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
50 gyoza wraps
Directions:
1.
Add everything in a big bowl.
Mix very well.
2.
Place a spoonful of filling on the gyoza wrap.
Swipe water around the outer edges with your finger
so it will stick when you fold the gyoza.
(you can learn to do the fold here.)
3.
Turn the heat on medium.
Pour some oil (1-2 tbs) on the frying pan
and place the gyoza in a circle inside.
Fry for a few minutes until the bottom is light brown.
4.
Pour some water into the frying pan
(to about 1/4 of the gyoza)
place the lid on top and turn up the heat to high.
5.
Take the lid off after 3-5 minutes
(once the water has mostly vaporized)
add a little more oil to the frying pan
and move it in a circular motion
(so the oil spreads evenly)
until all the water has vaporized.
6.
Turn the heat off and
immediately place a plate over the frying pan
and flip them both over so the gyoza is now on the plate.
7.
Eat with any kind of sauce you like.
And of course rice.
Enjoy!
*The Japanese leek and shiso are optional.
If you want, you can also add chopped garlic.

*I used vegetarian soy meat
(which is why they are in a can)
but you can use whatever minced meat you like.
Not even sure but I think a lot of people use pork.
*I like to eat gyoza with Ponzu.
Just add lemon/lime to soy sauce
and that’s pretty much the same thing.

The Birds-Eye View

Katrin Korfmann takes the most amazing photographs.
She takes multiple photos from a birds-eye view
and merges them together to make one image.
On her website it says:
Various instants in time are being linked
as if they took place at the same moment,
offering a spatial experience of the progression of time.
There’s something about a birds-eye view that I love.
I always wonder what everyone is thinking
or what they are talking about .
Or in the case of the person laying on the ground
in the very last photo that is being run over by the bulls
…if the person is still alive.
One can only hope.
Waiting for Julia

Running with the Bulls

The Old Photos: Lake Michigan

(The Associated Press via Daily Mail)
Look at this crazy winter photo of
the North Pier Outer Lighthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan!
Apparently a wind chill advisory
was issued in Michigan this past week.
My family used to live right by Lake Michigan.
In the winter, parts of Lake Michigan would freeze over
and it becomes this massive field of snow and ice.
(I don’t think Lake Michigan has ever completely frozen over.)
This is us exploring out on Lake Michigan.
I remember being excited and a little freaked out
about walking out above the deep water.
Don’t you love our retro snowsuits?

The Sapporo Snow Festival

(photo by nyarumera)
The 64th Sapporo Snow Festival
will be held from February 5th to 11th this year.
Have you every been?
The Japan Ground Self Defense Force starts working on
these huge snow sculptures in January.
(you can see the progress here.)
I haven’t seen the snow festival since junior high
when I lived in Sapporo with my family.
I think I need to plan another trip up north
to go see these snow sculptures one day soon.
Aren’t the details amazing?
(photo by nyarumera)