Foreign places II

It's December and yet the weather and the temperature in Japan has been warmer than years past. It seems strange but then again going out won't be as difficult when it isn't that cold.

I received a package from my mother the otherday which included a new battery for my laptop, dried persimmon and lip balm.
The new battery has provided new life to my practically ancient laptop (at least in an electronic sense) and now it's mobile and actually like a laptop. The dried persimmon- why send it from the States when it's available in Japan you may wonder- was grown by a family friend and my mother helped them peel and dry them. She was then thoughtful to send me some delicious, local dried fruit. Lastly, the lip balm is my favorite but like the laptop battery they won't ship abroad so i can to get my mother to re-ship them to me. This lip balm is amazing. It isn't easy to find and most of the lip balm I find here contain petroleum which apparently makes chapped lips worse and is also part of the addictive quality that leads many to think they need lip balm. It contains shea butter and smells like vanilla I swear it works miraculously as I've had chapped lips in the morning and applied it throughout the day and had smooth lips by the evening.

Anyway, I wanted to post more pictures from my trip. Spain, more of the Netherlands (I went through A'dam twice) and Turkey.


San Antonio, Ibiza

One of many beautiful coves

Adorable



La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona


Casa Botllo

Unbelievably delicious paella in Barcelona


Foggy A'dam

Vondelpark


Wonderful canals of Amsterdam


Tasty fries

A little reminder of home


Sunset canal



Blue Mosque, Istanbul


beautiful interior


Aya Sofya, Istanbul



one of the fish boats


Looking from the European side to the Asian side


Famous mackerel sandwiches by the Bosphorous


Arches in the Grand Bazaar


Textiles in Kapali Carsi (Grand Bazaar)


Turkish sweets



Spice Market

What sort of adventures have you been up to?

Foreign places

Good morning! It's another gorgeous day here in Kobe. The weather yesterday was absolutely perfect. It was about 15 degrees Celsius/60 degrees Farenheit. It's the kind of weather that only requires a scarf and possibly a light cardigan or sweater. Can you believe it's already December?!! This year has gone by too quickly.

Recently I haven't been as busy as I'd like. If I haven't mentioned it before I teach conversational English part-time and have recently started a friend's business in Japan. They make and sell jewelry in Bangkok and London and had aspirations of expanding their business to Japan. I'm passionate about fashion and love their jewelry so I'm trying it out. I won't lie, it's been a bumpy beginning. Unlike a posh market like that of Notting Hill, Japan's flea markets are filled with second-hand things that are inexpensive (Clothes for under 500 yen/$6 per piece and so on) but proves to be difficult competition to the new and antique jewelry that I sell. It's okay though because it's all a learning experience and each path I try, whether it succeeds or not, will teach me something important.

The main reason I wrote today was to upload pictures from the trip I took last month. Azerbaijan, Turkey, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Turkey. What was originally only a two country trip ended up being six. Slightly chaotic but more so enjoyable and exhilarating. I feel so grateful to have visited some new places and even see new things in places I'd already been. I'm having issues with my computer-lack of space- and therefore I can only post pictures from the first half of my trip. Here they are:

Old City in Baku

Beautiful detail for the entrance of Shirvanshah's Palace

Shirvanshah's Palace

Shirvanshah's Palace

Baku and Caspian Sea

Another view


Streets of Amsterdam

Yohji Yamamoto Spring 2011

Breakfast and coffee at the bakery
Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur

Colorful chairs in Montmarte

Eiffel Tower

Up close


Dinner that included mussels in the Latin Quartier



As soon as I upload the rest of my trip onto my computer I'll post the pictures. The many people, different kinds of food and the contrasting environments. It was truly a wonderful trip.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day (or night)!

Lazy days and Fashion

The weather, except for yesterday, has been absolutely amazing. Granted, I haven't been out much but this is mostly due to the fact that I enjoy relaxing and spending time in my apartment with its numerous plants, and the glorious amount of light through its many windows. Another reason is that something about fall makes me lazy which really shouldn't happen as that should be done more in the winter when this coastal city gets a bit nippy.

Overall women living in cities in Japan, especially in Kobe, dress up daily. Not just put together an outfit that matches or suits them but they go all out with makeup, heels, tights, accessories etc... This fact has proved to be a double-edged sword for me since I, being born and raised in Hawaii, adore tank tops, shorts/jeans and flip flops aka 'slippahs' and resort to a more simplistic style with a few accessories.But since my time in college was spent in upstate New York where winter temperatures shouldn't even be mentioned, forced me to layer and bundle up always I gained a bit of experience with cold weather wear. Oddly enough, I prefer the cold to hot (especially humid).

However, since living in Japan I have had to deal with bundling up and dressing up. Women here, no matter what time of year, have what seems to be an innate ability to layer in such a beautiful way I can't seem to pull it off like they-maybe being half Japanese gives me only half the ability or sense haha. The one thing that is strange is that people here are both "samugari" and "atsugari"; meaning they are both weak to the cold and to the heat. Generally those around me seem more weak to the cold but winter temps here in Kansai don't even compare to those in upstate New York but people dress up and yes, wear far too much clothes in my opinion for temperatures in the teens and 20s celsius( 50s& 60s Farenheit). I constantly tell myself to toughen up and remember the blistering cold in upstate NY in comparison so that I won't become "samugari". What's annoying is that in the summer you wear little clothes and when you go in stores the AC is freezing and then in the winter you have on a down jacket (or similar) and you go inside and it's far to warm so you end up having to taking extra time to take off and then put on your coat etc...

I started writing not knowing what would come out but I like where this is going. The seasons continuously excite me being born and raised in Hawaii where there's only about two reasons: rainy and not rainy.

So yes, autumn, my favorite season requires me to seek the fall foliage but I get lazy with dressing all cute and layered as seen in magazines or women here but it doesn't look like much will change since my basic style is still simple and comfortable. I will put in the extra effort when I go out but sometimes I don't see the point. I LOVE fashion and really desire to experiment with contrasting styles but like my exercise routine, or lack thereof, I can't seem to continue it beyond a few days.

Will post pictures from my trip next:)

Autumn has arrived

Finally?! My gosh it's almost Thanksgiving. Due to the unbearably hot summer and other various climate causes, the fall foliage didn't begin till this month. Compared to past years when it began in October. Fall is my favorite season and therefore I am enthused. I recently visited Kyoto where viewing the fall colors is quite popular but was a bit disappointed as the leaves had barely started to change or were a less colorful brown.

I returned safely from my vacation about a month ago. My mother arrived on the same day and stayed with me for a month which is why a) I've been traveling a bit domestically and b) why I didn't seem to manage fitting in any blog updates. Sorry:(

My trip to Europe and Asia was amazing. The most autumn-like weather was in Amsterdam which I completely adored. Cute houses, throngs of bicyclists and natural supermarkets. But each city had its splendor so therefore its hard to compare or pick my favorite. Baku was completely new to me but being in Central Asia by the Caspian Sea. The people were friendly and I found it quite easy to adjust. Paris was as lovely as I remember, if not more. I wasn't in Barcelona for as long as I would have liked but what I did see and eat was simply wonderful. Ibiza was refreshing after being in so many cities and the ocean was beautiful. Istanbul was exhilarating with its history and culture. I feel so fortunate to have been able to travel to so many amazing places and meet such great people.

My computer is still the same old so I cannot yet include pictures due to the lack of space and slow speed at which the process will all take. As soon as I can I'll post many pictures.

Bon Voyage

Due to my seriously slow computer (It's an iBook G4 going on it's fifth year!) I haven't been able to promptly upload and post photos and therefore anything I took this summer and wanted to post will have to wait till after I get back from my vacation.

What vacation you ask? I leave tonight for Azerbaijan where I'll stay for 6 days then travel via Istanbul to Amsterdam where I take a train to Paris, stay two nights, fly to Ibiza via Barcelona and stay two nights, come back through Barcelona for a night and then head to Amsterdam again before going to Istanbul. What was going to be just Azerbaijan and Turkey turned into a whirlwind of a trip but I'm very excited. Finally done packing so I'm not as stressed. Just have to get ready (shower, dinner etc...). Then I'll take the airport bus and hop on a fairly long flight to Istanbul.

Some of these places I've never been too and others, well just Paris, I have so I'm looking forward to every leg of this trip. I'm excited about the food and fall is my favorite season so the fact that I'll be able to spend it in Paris is like a dream since I'm in love with Paris. Weather-wise Amsterdam and Paris will likely be damp and cool and Baku, Istanbul, Ibiza and Barcelona will be fairly warm so packing wasn't the easiest thing but I just kept in mind the most important thing: to pack light.

Will need a serious photo posting session when I return. That is, unless, I figure how to post from my phone which I tried once and sorely failed at :(

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Summer coming to an end... But

I'm sorry I've been so bad at updating this. Summer is coming to an end. For me, at least here in Japan it's a huge relief because this summer has been the hotttest summer in like the last century or so. So basically the hottest EVER! As far as most people are concerned. It was pretty unbearable at times. But slowing the nights are getting cooler and my favorite season is approaching. Yes, the girl born in Hawaii is in love with fall.

Having gone to college in upstate New York I got my first taste of fall. It was amazing. The leaves of the trees on campus would slowly change and the supermarket would be full of many varieties of apples. I never did get to do a corn maze or go apple-picking (laziness on my part probably) but I enjoyed going to morning classes in the crisp weather and see the fashion students, at least the most stylish ones, would wear. Now that I'm living in Japan fall brings a greater variation of foods to the supermarket. Not only apples and pumpkin but also pears, chestnuts, persimmon, mackerel and other fish. The only thing about fall though is that I'm an island girl so it's always hard to let go of wearing slippers/flip flops. I used to wear them and then just wear a jacket to stay warm. My thing was that until there snow collected on the ground, I wouldn't wear shoes--->I feel a little suffocated in closed toed shoes.

But I'll get over that because women in Japan tend to dress nicely all the time and therefore dressing up in the city here is a lot easier than in a small town in Upstate New York. It's nice to unpack those clothes for the colder seasons and get ready. Part of my early fall will be spent on vacation so that'll add a new twist to things. Some places I'll go will be a little warmer than here, such as Istanbul, and others, like Paris, will resemble more of the weather of my falls in New York. I'm excited either way. A few new places and some re-visited such as Paris(visiting Paris in the fall has been a dream of mine). I'm very anxious. There's still lots to do and I need to start packing because as I've mentioned earlier I'll be in different environments and therefore I need to pack smartly as to avoid overpacking.

No pictures again. I haven't taken too many this summer which is sad. But I will post some of what I do have at another time.
Hope everyone has a lovely summer- and hopefully less hot than mine:P Until my next adventure;)

Much too long

Hello! Gosh it's been much too long since my last post. I apologize deeply. It seems that each month just goes by quicker than the last and pretty soon it's two months later and like me you've done no updating:(

So a little update. I no longer live in Osaka. I recently moved to Kobe. Most of my friends life here and life in this city isn't as large but certain just as lively. Kobe residents are known to be a little fancier in their ways (attire is one example) but just as friendly since it is afterall still part of Kansai.

I love my new place! There was a fireworks show by the ocean the other night and I could see almost the whole show from my apartment. It was amazing. Definately beats joining thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people, in an specific area on a humid summer night.

Now that I'm a Kobe resident, my work, or what exists of it-teaching English- must also move so I've been on the lookout for English conversation school that are hiring. Teaching is just one way to make some income while I pursue avenues more dear to my heart; fashion mainly.

I'm planning on making a visit up to Tokyo later this month to see friends and network a bit. I'm pretty excited as it's been several months since I was last there and not even for a whole 24 hours.

Summer brings about a lot more liveliness and fun in Kansai. There are a lot of events-both indoors and outdoors- and things are more light and casual. At least in my opinion.

My move to Kobe was bit hectic. It happened at about the hottest time and was definately a workout/sauna visit. More so it was extremely exhausting and near the end of it all I came down with a cold. I had no energy and needed serious rest to recuperate. It was accomplished with a couple nights of long sleep, the first night being like 12 hours:P

I'll make sure to post some pictures soon of events I've been to etc... Until then:)