good-ness

oh. being back in canada is good. i met my nephew for the first time. and he is a bundle of energy. and is just too adorable. look at him. family and friends is what life is all about. it's been over 2 years since i've been back. so the reunions have been great. whoohoo. and there are many more to come. 

weekend goodness 102.

i know this is a tad late. last weekend's update. it was my last weekend in japan. h-kun and i spent a few days in tokyo before i flew out.

one day we stumbled upon mina perhonen. it was in the same neighbourhood as our hotel. such a wonderful coincidence. it was full of so many lovely things. i really wish i could have justified buying something. next time.

 

we did a lot of relaxing. and very little picture taking. having no plans is sometimes really nice. especially in tokyo. it was the perfect last weekend with h-kun. man. i miss him.

goodbye, japan.

i can't believe it. it's midnight. my bags are all packed. the alarm is set. h-kun and i will head to tokyo in less than eight hours. and spend the weekend there relaxing. and then i will fly out on monday evening. i spent the afternoon with his sister. and grandma. looking through old family photos. i love this photo of h-kun when he was three years old. at formal ceremony. adorable. i can't believe that i have to say good bye to him so soon. and won't see him again until the fall. boo hoo. 

but. there are a lot of good things waiting for me in canada. like less-than-a-week-old niece. and that teething nephew i have never met either. and the rest of my family. and friends. and so much more. woo hoo.  

and i'll finish the my japan alphabet series from canada. i just ran out of time. 

my japan. [r].

[r] renkon

renkon. lotus root. a vegetable i never ate in canada. but will start when i go back. if i can find it. unfortunately my favorite way to eat it is the least healthiest. renkon chips. with a little salt. nice and crispy. dang it. luckily i don't make that at home so i don't eat the often. but i will still miss them. 

my japan. [q].

[q] uniqlo

okay. i know this is a stretch. using uniqlo for the letter q. but it's just not in the japanese alphabet. and this was the only thing i could come up with. 

oh, i love uniqlo. japanese folks pronounce it yu-ni-ku-ro. it's the japanese version of gap. it has all the basics. plus a some stylish extras. at good prices. and okay quality. 

my favorite thing at uniqlo are the t-shirts from the UT project. "a limited-edition collection of t-shirts designed by renowned artists, designers, photographers and musicians". i have a growing collection of them. because i stop by uniqlo often. 

these two t-shirts are from the kids' collection. the top one is designed by keith haring. one of the famous pop artist from the '80s. and the second one is designed by utako yamada. who illustrates her packaging and signs for her famous tea shop called karel capek. 

and they are both super cute. and both for you. the t-shirts are both for kids who are 110cm tall.  this is my last japanese giveaway before i leave. one week from today. so if you know a little person. and would like to give them a uniqlo t-shirt. just leave me a comment. and i will be in touch with you. after h-kun will choose two random numbers on wednesday night. japanese time. 

** the lucky winners of the t-shirts are creature of habit. and sooz. i will email you for your addresses.**

my japan. [p].

[p] pan-ya

the bread shops over here. are quite good. and a bit overwhelming at first. all these perfect looking little pastries. for good prices. nicely lined up on the shelves. just waiting for me to put them on my tray. dang it. i will miss them. pan-ya. but that is a totally okay thing. 

[p] piazza pizza

this is the non-japanese restaurant that i will miss the most. that we will miss the most. it's a small italian restaurant within walking distance of our place. the perfect size. the perfect ambiance. a one man show. and he lived in italy forever. and makes his own pasta. that is the best in the world. wow. we usually visit on a weekly basis. because it's that good. and we can't get enough. 

weekend goodness 101.

relaxing 101 started this weekend. we finished up the moving on friday. phew. phew. phew. and are all settled at h-kun's folks' place for the next week. 

i've been wanting to make these forever. peanut butter crispy bars. that smitten kitchen gal knows what she's doing. seriously. 

time was spent saying goodbye to good friends. three different sets. over vietnamese lunch. over coffee. and tonight over air hockey. nothing wrong with a little game center fun to take the sadness away.  

but. the best part of the weekend. by far. was talking to my little sister this morning. hours after she gave birth to my new little niece. welcome, baby joelle. whoohoo. i will meet you very soon. xo. 

weekend goodness 100.

100 posts. 100 weekend goodness posts. that feels like a lot. and i have two more weekends left in japan. 101 will be spent in mie. h-kun's home prefecture. 102 will be spent in tokyo. and then 103 will be spent back home in canada. crazy. i haven't been home in over two years. and am definitely looking forward to seeing all those folks. and enjoying weekends with them. 

remember a few weekends back. when i had kuro goma (black sesame) ice cream. well. i haven't stopped thinking about it since then. and i was talking to a friend about it recently. and she told me how she makes it. so simple. well. we had dinner at our neighbours this weekend. and i thought this was my perfect chance. to make some kuro goma ice cream. 

simple. for sure. just let your ice cream sit out for a bit. until it gets a little soft. stir in some of that black sesame paste. put it back into the ice cream container. and back in the freezer. i am in love with grey ice cream. it's so creamy. almost like a light peanut butter taste. wow. i am so glad that ice cream is sold in such small containers here. it's more of a treat. opposed to an indulgence.i hope that makes sense. next on the list is matcha ice cream. i think that will have to wait until next weekend though. yep. 

my japan. [o].

[o] obachan

 

there is something about obachan (little old japanese ladies). that i love. and h-kun's obaachan (grandma) is no exception. look at her. eighty seven years old and still going strong. and full of so many stories. and traditional ways. and her eyes light up when we unexpectedly stop by to say hello. i will miss her. sweet obaachan.

[o] okashi

 

snacks. oh, i love japanese okashi. one of the most traditional snacks is senbei. rice crackers. they come in all shapes, sizes. and flavours. a new favorite of mine is ume senbei. oishii. but that's not the only snack i love. i could make a very long list. chocolate mushrooms. the little panda cookies. garbo. pretz. in many flavors. those muji almond cookies. a little pocky. the little strawberry chocolates. oishii. okay. i'll stop now. before i convince myself to go and buy some more. dang it.

my japan. [n].

[n] nagoya

my japanese hometown. for the last four year. nagoya. and i will miss it. it's big. but not too big. it's fairly quiet. and clean. some may call it boring. but i like it. and everything is so familiar to me now. yet i am still discovering new places and things. and i love its location. on the east coast between osaka/kyoto and tokyo. so it's easy enough to take day trips to both places. thanks to the happy shinkansen. 

[n] natto

oh, natto.  how i love you. but it was not always that way. it took time. and perseverance. but i got there. natto is fermented soy beans. all nice and sticky. you usually add a bit of sauce and mustard to it. (and some people add a raw egg. but. no thanks.) and stir. stir. stir. it's perfect when eaten with rice. and, yes. it is stinky. but so dang good. and they have made new non-stinky natto for those of you with an extra sensitive nose. h-kun plans to make it when he gets to canada. and i am super excited.  

h-kun chose two numbers. and the gals who get the muji goods are emily (#15) and jenn (#27). i'll send you an email soon. and thanks to all of you for sharing what you would miss. i loved reading about everything. from the general to the very detailed things. and it was quite comforting. in a way. thank you.