秋 a.k.a. Autumn

Temperatures have begun to drop slowly over the last week or so. Some days it's warmer than other but once it gets dark it is all pretty much the same. My mother was visiting from Hawaii from mid-October to mid-November and during that time we went out and about and ate some delicious food and traveled up to Tokyo and also Nagano. Rather than me going on about the experiences I thought that pictures would be more appealing. So here you go, Japanese food and pictures of fall foliage on various occasions:)

Soba in Nagano
Beautiful Nagano
'Kaisen-don' or Seafood bowl with sakura ebi (shrimp) which is famous in a this town in Shizuoka Prefecture

Kamo River, Kyoto
Nanzenji Temple, Kyoto
Ginkakuji, Kyoto



Fall foliage in Kobe
View of Kobe
Monument near Venus bridge which is a place where couples place locks and throw away the key as a symbol of everlasting love

Past years' locks melted to make this

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.