I found this article on CNN.com and thought it was pretty funny:
Wacky Christmas Gifts from Japan (where else?)
Gathering
1 day ago
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Christmas cookies!
Christmas is almost here so that means (of course)...Christmas cookies!
I made some cookies myself the other night and decorated them like my favorite Japanese character, Mameshiba:
And today I went to my friend Ryosuke's house with Aya and we baked a ton of cookies, including peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses and sugar cookies. We got pretty creative with our snowman cookies and I was really impressed with the results:
I made some cookies myself the other night and decorated them like my favorite Japanese character, Mameshiba:
And today I went to my friend Ryosuke's house with Aya and we baked a ton of cookies, including peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses and sugar cookies. We got pretty creative with our snowman cookies and I was really impressed with the results:
So, yeah...I think I have enough to share at work tomorrow...
Monday, December 14, 2009
Purikura!
Purikura is seriously one of Japan's greatest inventions. As an American in Japan, I'm endlessly entertained by it. As a photographer, I'm highly intrigued by it.
Somehow, these intelligent purikura machines make your eyes bigger and skin whiter instantly after taking the photo. It's amazing. I mean, my eyes are big enough and my skin is white enough already, but the technology is amazing. How do they do it?
And of course, besides the technical aspects, it's just good clean fun.
So I searched "purikura" online and found a website that allows you to get somewhat of the purikura experience. Here's a photo of me, Noriko, and Kenichi from Miho's wedding, purikura-ized:
Somehow, these intelligent purikura machines make your eyes bigger and skin whiter instantly after taking the photo. It's amazing. I mean, my eyes are big enough and my skin is white enough already, but the technology is amazing. How do they do it?
And of course, besides the technical aspects, it's just good clean fun.
So I searched "purikura" online and found a website that allows you to get somewhat of the purikura experience. Here's a photo of me, Noriko, and Kenichi from Miho's wedding, purikura-ized:
Try it out! Although, I will warn you...it is addicting.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Christmas lights, please!
If anyone can, I'd love to get some simple white Christmas lights to decorate my apartment with. Aunt Sheila sent me some last year, and they had been faithfully illuminating my apartment until tonight, when half the string burned out. Sad day.
There are Christmas lights here, but they're incredibly expensive and not quite the same style as the ones in the States.
Just a box or two is enough. Thanks!!
There are Christmas lights here, but they're incredibly expensive and not quite the same style as the ones in the States.
Just a box or two is enough. Thanks!!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Kimono Lesson in Fuji.
This morning I went to Fuji to take a kimono lesson with another teacher, Michael, and his co-worker, Yumi. Kimono are a beautiful part of Japanese culture and history, but also very difficult to wear. There are a lot layers and parts. Many young women in Japan don't know how to wear kimono, so there are kimono lessons available in many places.
We arrived at the kimono sensei's home today at about 10 am and got straight to work. One woman did my hair while another helped Michael into his kimono. Then three women helped me put on a beautiful pink kimono. It's amazing how much work and effort goes into wearing a kimono. There's a lot of layers and strings and many hands are needed to wrestle it around the wearer's body.
Having a few people dress you is an interesting experience. Especially in a lesson situation where you just met these people five minutes before they asked you to undress. I think the whole process took about ten minutes, but it was definitely worth the time and slight awkwardness.
After fully kimono-ed, we took part in a traditional tea ceremony, which is always an interesting experience. This was my second tea ceremony. A traditional Japanese tea ceremony is full of little customs and rules, one of the most interesting being that you need to slurp loudly during your last gulp of tea to let the host know you've finished.
After tea, we went to a shrine to take photos.
One of the ladies showed us this kimono that her grandfather wore. It's an old silk men's kimono with his family crest pn the outside and a beautiful painting on the inside.
Before tea.
Me, Michael, kimono ladies and a husband
And a great view of Mt. Fuji.
We arrived at the kimono sensei's home today at about 10 am and got straight to work. One woman did my hair while another helped Michael into his kimono. Then three women helped me put on a beautiful pink kimono. It's amazing how much work and effort goes into wearing a kimono. There's a lot of layers and strings and many hands are needed to wrestle it around the wearer's body.
Having a few people dress you is an interesting experience. Especially in a lesson situation where you just met these people five minutes before they asked you to undress. I think the whole process took about ten minutes, but it was definitely worth the time and slight awkwardness.
After fully kimono-ed, we took part in a traditional tea ceremony, which is always an interesting experience. This was my second tea ceremony. A traditional Japanese tea ceremony is full of little customs and rules, one of the most interesting being that you need to slurp loudly during your last gulp of tea to let the host know you've finished.
After tea, we went to a shrine to take photos.
One of the ladies showed us this kimono that her grandfather wore. It's an old silk men's kimono with his family crest pn the outside and a beautiful painting on the inside. 
Before tea.
Me, Michael, kimono ladies and a husband 
And a great view of Mt. Fuji.Yumi is part of a tour guide business based in Fuji and she's a wonderful guide. So if you're in Japan and want someone to help show you around, look her up! You can see her blog here.
One of my favorite Japanese snacks.
One of the nice things about living in Japan is that it's easy to find healthy snacks. One of my favorites is sweet potatoes that look like this:
I don't know exactly how they're made, and yes, they look gross, but they are really tasty and I don't feel guilty if I eat a lot of them, because, hey - they're sweet potatoes...how bad for me can they be, right?
I don't know exactly how they're made, and yes, they look gross, but they are really tasty and I don't feel guilty if I eat a lot of them, because, hey - they're sweet potatoes...how bad for me can they be, right?
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