tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69652982012-02-16T06:30:01.499-10:00chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comBlogger4421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-22700343767038972642012-01-31T20:24:00.001-10:002012-02-01T00:57:12.502-10:00

Happy New Year! ...well, this being the last day of January, I suspect it might be kind of wrong for one to say her New Year's greetings. That said, it would be just not right if I didn't say it in my very first entry of the year here, so that's that. I hope you all have made a good start to 2012. New Year's holidays were a very quiet, family affair for us, as we started off with a small

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-60858299908560586912011-12-31T04:56:00.000-10:002011-12-31T06:30:25.576-10:00

It's New Year's eve and we have less than half an hour to go before ringing in 2012 here in Japan. I have waited to write this one post for almost half a year; by July I was so ready for 2011 to be over. It hasn't been an easy year for me. As the Japanese, we suffered a shocking, life-changing event early in the year that has had, and is still having, major impacts on many aspects on our

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-61162973651502492052011-12-24T02:29:00.001-10:002011-12-24T02:38:18.158-10:00

Funny how it snowed every weekend and in the weekends only (almost) this December.... Thursday the 1st of December, the first snow of the season... ...well, just a few flakes. But still. Friday the 2nd of December, woke up to the real snow... ...not really real, maybe, but more real, see. It only lasted for a few hours and was mostly gone before the end of the day, but at least we enjoyed

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-11045842505407059512011-11-30T23:30:00.000-10:002011-12-24T01:51:22.895-10:00

Some of the typical fruits of autumn: apples, persimmons, and quinces... Well, quince. You wouldn't call it a 'typical' fruit, autumnal or otherwise, not in Japan at least. In fact, I suspect many people don't know much about it here, and most have probably never seen it. It is, however, a fairly common fruit here in this part of Nagano where they have been growing quince since the old

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-2284194819286748012011-11-11T06:23:00.001-10:002011-12-01T08:53:36.571-10:00

Making the most of the short season... Autumn in the mountains is short. (In fact, all the seasons seem to be short except for winter, but that's another story.) Autumn also happens to be my favorite time of the year, for its crisp air which is a bliss after the dreadfully hot and humid summer, days of sunshine and blue skies that we can often expect during these months, and of course, the

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-91512639915029836562011-10-31T23:53:00.001-10:002011-11-11T07:06:29.882-10:00

One morning in the last week of October when it was still warm enough to sit outside, if you were in the sunshine - and perhaps with a throw or blanket on the lap. And a hot cup of tea. One of those blissful autumn days. The mountains are changing their colors literally day by day, and while few trees around here have those strikingly bright red and yellow leaves that we often associate

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-74371930221044523172011-10-12T01:05:00.001-10:002011-10-12T01:27:47.064-10:00

no words today- just a few pics from earlier the month, before they're too outdated.. cx

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-46870536636794185402011-09-22T06:17:00.002-10:002011-11-01T04:33:33.527-10:00

After spending the whole summer indulging myself in a bounty of fresh summer fruits, I was still not quite ready for apples. Sure, I saw the season's first apples as early as mid August, but I like them the best in late fall, and usually pass up those early-autumn varieties. And quite frankly, I wasn't done with summer fruits just yet. After all, in just a few months there will be few fresh

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-20084110401924507552011-09-09T19:44:00.003-10:002011-09-09T19:49:32.844-10:00

Temperatures still climb up to near 85F/30C degrees during the day. Cicadas are still loud when the sun is out. But you can feel the breeze slightly cooler and less humid, and the carpets of green rice plants are slowly taking on a shade of gold. September seems to bring along autumn in the air, a little by little, as apples and pears are gradually replacing plums and watermelons at the market

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-70161947029267983892011-08-26T09:55:00.004-10:002011-09-09T20:01:06.192-10:00

I've said it many times before, but I'm saying it again: I don't like summer. I just don't. But here I mean summers in Tokyo, to be more specific. Weeks of 90F/33C temperatures combined with 90% humidity isn't something I can happily have. I dread it, to say the least. But that is the kind of summer that I've had for most of my life, whether I like it or not (of course not). And then,

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-75494617690002977682011-07-31T23:58:00.149-10:002011-08-26T09:49:49.214-10:00

some of the things i did/saw in the month of july... - walked in the thick fog covering the woods outside our cottage at 5am in the morning; - started my summer-long project of making bachelor's jam; - went out for a drive to see the lavender fields in the area (and made lovely lavender honey lemonade - and a few other things); - went to collect some of the purest mountain spring water you

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-32194017770710690752011-07-15T08:26:00.004-10:002011-08-01T01:11:15.982-10:00

I'm not sure how it is already Friday again (actually it's past midnight in Japan, so it's Saturday really), but I had a busy one playing with summer fruits (reads: preparing homemade fruit liqueurs and boozy fruits!). Having been away for a few weeks on a trip means that I had a lot to catch up on where early summer fruits are concerned. Between my time in front of computer and in the kitchen

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-54854479919747934292011-07-11T05:49:00.012-10:002011-07-15T08:46:29.398-10:00

Three of the things that represent tastes of summer... ...okay, maybe not doughnuts. But they all certainly represented what I enjoyed in all the places I visited during my recent two-week trip to Europe. Towards the end of June, I escaped from the increasingly hot and humid Japan and hopped on the plane. My first (real) destination was Poland, where the flowers and fruits were singing

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-43161444455181555692011-06-10T10:58:00.000-10:002011-06-10T10:58:30.266-10:00

a cup of first-flash green tea from yame, fukuoka prefecture, and some fresh local strawberries to accompany me as i sit down and open a (cook)book or two that arrived a few days earlier, thinking about my next trip. this is how i would like to spend this entire weekend. in reality, there won't be much time that i can spend this way, between work and other errands to do. but i still like to

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-392226692366269442011-05-27T12:08:00.001-10:002011-06-10T10:50:01.899-10:00

Ready for lunch bites, guys? Last weekend on a very hot day I found myself out in the countryside some miles away from central Tokyo. Someone I know grows his own rice - organically, I might add - in a small paddy field he borrows there, and it was one of his many weekend visits to the field. And it one of the most important, even, as it was to plant seedlings. He'd often go to work in

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-3869974642830071222011-05-12T12:04:00.000-10:002011-05-27T12:07:09.475-10:00

Right. It's already midway through May and I'm still talking about cherry blossoms, you wondered? Especially when I started babbling about it in early March? I know, I know. But now hear me out: the thing is, I've ended up trying a whole lot of sakura sweets (and a bit of savories, too) since March, perhaps even more than I did last spring, and it seems a bit of shame if I didn't write about

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-87275716977700490272011-05-11T06:47:00.000-10:002011-05-13T10:29:01.849-10:00

It started simple enough; the most traditional Japanese confectionery using cherry blossoms is, hands down, sakura-mochi. But as I avoid pretty much everything with anko (sweet adzuki bean paste), those anko-filled sakura mochi has never appealed to me. That said, I don't mind ichigo daifuku, or daifuku mochi filled with a strawberry and anko. Perhaps that's because the use of a strawberry

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-60889149784356049272011-04-28T08:00:00.006-10:002011-05-27T12:06:39.810-10:00

It seems like alfresco eating/drinking weather has finally arrived in this part of Japan. We have had some 20C/70F degrees days this week, and though it got a little windy and thunderstormy for some time, we have been enjoying the sunny spells and the mountain scenery that starts glowing with bright spring colors. As it happens, we are heading into a big holiday week known as Golden Week

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-68680704882539212952011-04-25T04:30:00.001-10:002011-04-28T07:54:26.599-10:00

The month of April seems to have gone in a haze between my day job, news and current stories on TV and the Internet, lots of sakura sweets, and a short trip to Kyoto. And now back in this mountainous part of Nagano which is located north to Tokyo and at a higher altitude, cherry blossoms have finally started to come into full bloom, a few weeks later than they did in Tokyo or Kyoto. It was

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-57231417570498034602011-03-24T17:19:00.002-10:002011-04-11T04:17:42.899-10:00

Is spring around your corner yet? Having never stayed in this mountainous countryside that is Nagano this time of the year, I have little idea as to when it should start feeling like spring here. The day is getting longer and the sunlight is becoming warmer, yes, but the wind is still bitterly cold and our fireplace is thus rarely out of fire. I think we had several warm days over the past

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-90167765273363221462011-03-16T21:00:00.015-10:002011-03-24T17:22:14.694-10:00

First of all, let me THANK YOU ALL for all the thoughts, sympathy, and love that you have sent our way as we face the disasters that have been hitting us hard here in Japan, particularly the north and east parts of the country. Your words, prayers and helping hands have touched to my core as we struggle to get through a tide of problems as more are mounting up. And THANK YOU also for your

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-57256588561515327632011-03-12T07:10:00.007-10:002011-03-16T21:27:19.494-10:00

I was going to write about how I baked cakes and made desserts using yuzu, after I'd turned a good lot of them into marmalade. It took me days to write the post (I'm a slow writer...) and I had nearly finished it. Then... I couldn't. I was not able to bring myself to publish a post about how I baked this or that. Not after seeing all that was happening, and still is happening, here in Japan.

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-37171774753020053762011-02-28T23:57:00.683-10:002011-03-12T07:15:12.812-10:00

Winter is the time for many varieties of citrus fruits to come around, but nothing makes me appreciate this more than the abundant availability of yuzu does. Citrus like lemon, orange, and grapefruit may be seen throughout the year (partly because they are almost always imported from a far land), but yuzu isn't; it is not impossible to find it in the middle of the summer if you search for it

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-26114479997808789142011-02-15T11:46:00.002-10:002011-03-02T00:06:49.309-10:00

Aah, another St. Valentine's Day came and went quietly but quickly, like any ordinary Monday does. I hope you all spent a lovely time. As you may or may not know, St. Valentine's Day in Japan is all about chocolate. Period. It may often involve something romantic, but not always. But I have already gone on about how it is like, so I won't repeat it here. But I couldn't help but repeat one

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-2233524610870325882011-01-31T21:56:00.004-10:002011-02-15T12:05:32.996-10:00

This past weekend, I had vaguely fancied a champagne brunch for Sunday. Waking up to a stack of pancakes and a flute of mimosa would have been really nice, I dreamed. But in reality, I had to work on Sunday, at least in the morning - and couldn't really afford to get tipsy straight out of the bed. So I got up, had a quick bite of what I had around, and got to work without further ado. And

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-3546658916889572812011-01-20T04:58:00.007-10:002011-01-31T22:25:15.880-10:00

Would you believe me if I told you that strawberries are almost at their peak right about now in Tokyo and many other parts of Japan? Well, they are - and come to think of it, I have already mentioned it before, about five years ago. This winter, I saw my first strawberries at the store in mid November. So here we are, almost in the middle of the strawberry season, and I'd treat myself to an

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-86816196791898218582011-01-03T09:13:00.005-10:002011-01-20T05:28:21.376-10:00

What, am I the only one who is still saying it? But being Japanese, we wish each other a happy new year roughly until the middle of January (upon seeing each other for the first time in the year, anyway), so here goes: Happy New Year & Best Wishes for 2011! I hope you've all had a good start to the new year. As for me, I've had a few restful days for the most part, and spent a lot of time

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-88944477600440412532010-12-30T09:17:00.002-10:002011-01-01T16:36:21.733-10:00

So last Sunday went like this: 10 a.m.: Breakfast - a couple of slices of stollen(-ish bread) I'd baked for Christmas, using the bread machine. Not the greatest piece you can ever find, but fine enough. 3 p.m.: Late lunch - or early dinner? Dutch oven rice with seafood and chorizo, salad with smoked salmon, octopus and mushrooms with garlic-parsley butter, rye & walnut bread, and

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-85907697013242002902010-12-22T08:56:00.009-10:002011-01-01T16:32:19.929-10:00

As a young kid, I used to read quite a lot. I loved our biweekly trips to a local library to stock up on something new as well as my old favorites. From children's stories to classic novels re-written for younger readers, I'd devour books of all sorts, but on reflection, I seemed to have been spending a lot of my reading time in books that had some descriptions of food. Yes, I was always a

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-43661746393585976102010-12-13T10:15:00.002-10:002011-01-01T16:28:54.729-10:00

Well Hello December, I thought you'd just arrived and now you're already half gone? I have no idea how that happened, but here we are, left with just about ten days until Christmas and a little over two weeks before the end of 2010. As far as this December goes, it started while I was sick in bed with a nasty cold, but things picked up soon and I even gate-crashed made it to a Christmas

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-10843857993867634262010-11-30T17:44:00.004-10:002010-11-30T18:40:31.769-10:00

Dear Friends, Is it just me or am I turning this little food blog of mine into Letters from an Apple Orchard or what?  Apologies for the absence of other topics (or regular posting in general), but as I have kept saying that our fuji apples were almost ready for picking, I thought I'd write about it (or at least bits of it) now that we have actually picked (most of) them. We started off on a

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-80521360245851939442010-11-05T19:49:00.003-10:002011-01-01T09:30:43.798-10:00

It feels as if autumn never really came this year. It did, yes, but ever so fleetingly; until the end of September it was still quite warm, and it got suddenly cold at the end of October. And now I'm back in Nagano, up in a mountainous area about half a mile above sea level, it now feels like winter rather than autumn, especially with the freezing mornings and evenings. We had cold rain

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-41324903955269330162010-10-29T19:50:00.002-10:002010-11-05T19:30:27.328-10:00

Got lots of apples? Make some juice! If you are lucky enough to have bowlfuls (or large basketfuls like I do) of fresh apples that need to be used, making juice is a great way to make the best of them. Freshly pressed apple juice is nothing like the sort that you pour out of a carton or bottle bought from a store, or at a farmer's market, even. If you have a juicer at hand, it's a

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-76329042709744731572010-09-30T05:00:00.006-10:002010-09-30T05:11:22.227-10:00

I've been back in Tokyo for some time now. I have places to go to and things to do, and yet the weather hasn't been cooperating very much. For the first few days after I arrived, the summer heat and humidity was still quite intense. Then we had a typhoon, which finally brought along a cooler air - and more rain. It's been really wet and dark for the past few days, and a lot of my plans for

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-62503659585057641182010-09-23T08:24:00.003-10:002010-09-23T18:49:21.788-10:00

'Tis the day to honor the moon... The 15th day of the 8th lunar month is known as the day for Mid-Autumn Festival, and in Japan it is basically the day to appreciate the full (or near-full) moon, and eat some dango or rice dumplings. While the moon itself may or may not make an appearance on this particular day depending on the weather, folks still like to enjoy dango to, well, observe a good

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-90884618136608204672010-09-13T10:18:00.004-10:002010-09-14T04:00:53.254-10:00

If I was to describe my summer this year in one word, it would be "fruits". Fresh fruits, of course (though that makes two words), and a lot of them (five words now?). Most of them, if not all, were grown locally here in Nagano, a beautiful, mountainous area in the heart of Japan. June came with rhubarb and gooseberries. Then I spent the month of July busying myself with making the most

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-51929547769541164492010-08-30T07:48:00.001-10:002010-08-30T18:27:26.230-10:00

The end of August always brings me a hope for the end of summer. Not so fast, as if it heard my inner voice, the heat would linger still longer, usually well into mid September. And yet, though I am all for the summer to be over as soon as possible, there are things that I do miss about it: summer vegetables and fruits. At my mother's family in Nagano where I have been staying for this

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-33436451945454039112010-08-16T05:37:00.003-10:002010-08-16T13:44:26.488-10:00

Scones for breakfast, for every day of the week... It all started with a couple of jars of home-made jams that I had around. Not really a jam person, I don't consume jams of any kind too much, and I was pondering over possible ways to use them. Then one of the things that occurred to me was scones; not by smearing the halves of baked scones with jam, but rather filling the dough with it and

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-63845567574905031942010-08-09T05:36:00.001-10:002010-08-09T05:40:18.651-10:00

the king of summer fruits, getting ready to be ready (for us to eat)... one of the perks of living/staying in the mountainous countryside is an easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables in abundance at small cost, if any. this time of the year, shelves of local produce shops would be loaded with fresh crops shipped and tagged by their respective growers themselves. my mother and her

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-22304468423382531742010-08-03T05:15:00.001-10:002010-08-03T05:20:31.267-10:00

when i was a kid, our summer vacation would normally be from late july (sometime around 23ht, 25th) to the end of august. i'd always thought of august the month of summer. although i have now long left school and the summery weather in fact starts in the middle of july and the heat linger until late september, the first days of august still make me feel that the summer really has arrived, in

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-45767252800653001732010-07-30T07:09:00.005-10:002010-07-30T08:17:49.411-10:00

A few summers ago, I decided to pick up a basket of fresh apricots at the store in hope of turning them into something enjoyable, and that, by doing so, I would somehow come to enjoy the fruit. I did reasonably well, I think, at least in the dessert making part. Whether it was good enough for me to really start liking apricots, well, that was another story. As I confessed back then, apricots

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-29127517459126162872010-06-30T08:55:00.004-10:002010-07-01T04:51:22.371-10:00

About a month ago from now, we left Kyoto after spending three months in the magnificent old capital of Japan. While it was not meant to be a real 'vacation' for us, three months were far too short for me to really settle in a new place; from the beginning it was always meant to be a short-term stay, and that made me realize that I would always be more of a visitor than a resident. Essentially

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-62192173820228357342010-06-22T06:55:00.004-10:002010-06-22T07:22:24.280-10:00

This year's crop of strawberries from a tiny corner of the vegetable patches at my mother's in Nagano; irregular in size and shape, but aren't they so adorable? In Tokyo, "new season" strawberries these days hit the store shelves at the end of November. Yes, you read it right: November. They seem to arrive earlier and earlier every year, and now they are "at their peak" in late December to

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-32286337173130980482010-06-17T07:50:00.002-10:002010-06-17T17:17:53.265-10:00

yes it's that time of the year again; the month-long monsoon has officially arrived. well, so they say - every year they (the national meteorological agency? not sure really...) "declare" the start of the rainy season, and they did so a few days ago for tokyo and most other areas of the country. then we've had this wonderfully sunny and dry weather (with occasional showers, admittedly, but

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-17626168571750783552010-05-30T07:25:00.001-10:002010-05-30T07:25:26.897-10:00

pouring refreshing cups of cold brew green tea with some sweets for the folks who were busy at work out in the orchard up in the mountains... we took the shinkansen super express train up to nagano to join my family for the weekend. at the heart of a big time apple growing region, the mountainous towns and villages were all covered in leafy apple trees - and looking over them from the top

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-60886529259030460242010-05-24T06:00:00.001-10:002010-05-24T06:20:35.792-10:00

waking up to a dark, rainy morning isn't the best way to start a week, but things seemed to look slightly sunnier with a cup of freshly-brewed tea with fresh chamomile... and a glass full of fresh chamomile flowers alongside. i'm not really crazy about chamomile tea made with dried flowers. but if it's from fresh chamomile, it's another story - the sweet, soothing, refreshing smell of the

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-40430765945146280762010-05-07T09:38:00.001-10:002010-05-09T15:27:32.821-10:00

boy, what a week, what a week. we've just had (or in a way, are still in the middle of) what is called golden week in japan, and this year we had a five-day "weekend" from last saturday to wednesday. that's when everyone travels and everywhere gets busy, and it's normally when i stay in to avoid the crowd. but this year, being in kyoto has made me far more active than normal, and i found

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-76999210740768940132010-04-23T06:46:00.012-10:002010-04-28T12:38:38.809-10:00

It is hard for me to admit the fact that the cherry blossoms are mostly, basically gone here in Kyoto. For one thing, it's sad not being able to see the blossoms any more (what, are you saying you STILL haven't had enough???, I can hear somebody saying), but another thing is: gosh, is it already the end of April?? Where has the month gone??? Well, the answer is this: it's gone while I was

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-53724904781635058372010-04-03T17:56:00.004-10:002010-04-03T18:45:03.582-10:00

Ouch! Is it Easter already? Really?? (And who bit my ear off??) Sure, we don't really do Easter in Japan like we do Christmas, and it's not overly surprising if you didn't remember it was Easter. But for this year specially, it really did slip out of my mind as I was (and still am) completely absorbed in sakura, or cherry blossoms - and with all these beautiful blossoms in bloom here and

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-27418915026363327192010-03-24T05:13:00.005-10:002010-03-24T06:41:47.430-10:00

The rain continues to pour down on us here in Kyoto, but there have been some beautiful springy days every few days. The most recent of such a day was this past Monday (which happened to be a national holiday), and I decided to take advantage of the short-lived sunshine to catch views of the first sakura, or cherry blossoms, in (nearly) full bloom... I headed to Kyoto Gyoen, or Kyoto

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-6442848361984419422010-03-15T06:26:00.004-10:002010-03-15T06:30:25.697-10:00

a peek at some of my breakfasts these days... sakura steamer (cherry blossom-flavored steamed milk) and a blueberry scone at starbucks; home-baked apple and raisin bread pudding (based toughly on this recipe) and tea; a cranberry bagel from "our" bakery (about a minute's walk from our place) and homemade yuzu marmalade from sigrid; and toasted brioche from the said bakery and homemade

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-62324665047129871832010-03-08T16:23:00.003-10:002010-03-08T21:01:22.480-10:00

- late lunch in the mid afternoon at café bibliotic hello! *** we arrived in kyoto on a sunny and warm friday, then spent the weekend busy running errands in the cold rains. so i was grateful for the sunshine and blue sky in the monday morning. and even though the glorious weather was fairly short-lived, my day got only better as i caught up with my fellow (temporary) kyotoite for a

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-16783909780610149182010-03-03T05:38:00.002-10:002010-03-04T07:49:54.422-10:00

It is hinamatsuri, or Girls' Day today. It's the time for families with girls to put out a set of ohina-sama (hina dolls) and place hina-arare (sugar-coated popped rice) and hishimochi (rhombus-shaped, tri-color layered mochi) in front of them, and make chirashi-zushi and drink amazake. Well, only I didn't. I thought/hoped about cooking/baking something traditional or something inspired by

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-65816678712579037782010-02-28T05:37:00.002-10:002010-02-28T06:22:16.617-10:00

Nabe, or hot pots, may be a regular player on the dinner table during the cold winter months in Japan, but we do a lot of soups, too - often hearty, filling sort with a lot of good things crammed in. Other than being hearty and warming, there is something really comforting about soups - but perhaps you don't need me to tell you this. Here are a few soups that I've been eating for the past

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-76439041744335059492010-02-16T04:59:00.075-10:002010-02-16T17:50:31.445-10:00

What day is it today? How do you call it? Fat Tuesday? Mardi Gras? Shrove Tuesday? To me, it's Pancake Day. In many parts of the world people may be eating some sort of pancakes today. Japan is not included here, but I'd personally like to join the celebration by following this food tradition; you may call it just an excuse for me to eat pancakes, and you'd probably be right. But

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-61280176038553754942010-02-14T04:54:00.001-10:002010-02-14T04:59:21.395-10:00

late breakfast with toasted brioche with chocolate & strawberry-mint confiture from el ceibo; tea break with a selection of green tea chocolate: matcha and hojicha truffles and hojicha thins from nakamura tokichi honten, plus white chocolate ganache and matcha-yuzu ganache, a special collaboration by kyoto's nakamura tokichi and belgian marc ducobu. hope you are all having a lovely weekend -

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-71539669531906544932010-02-11T07:39:00.017-10:002010-02-14T22:04:32.081-10:00

Japanese winter comes with nabe. Or is it the other way around? Sometime at the end of November or so, depending on where you live in Japan, you'd start hearing people speak of it, seeing signs at restaurants advertising it, and most likely thinking about it yourself as the cold wind forces you to hunch your shoulders and hurry your steps to home or wherever you are heading for. The magic

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-35630089262577850672010-02-04T06:31:00.001-10:002010-02-04T15:01:01.833-10:00

We had a pretty dry month for January, and finally had a bit of snow on the very first day of February. It was a wet snow that turned into rain pretty quick and the whole thing disappeared all too soon, but there was still enough snow to cover the roofs and grounds for a while - and for me to get outside and play around with snow and this little guy. You can see the resulting short photo

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-34963993957844628642010-01-24T09:06:00.004-10:002010-01-24T18:19:35.928-10:00

a late night treat... ...et voilà! This is a Cuillère chocolatée, or 'chocolate spoon', from France; I got four of these, all different flavors (there were 20 in total) at Salon du Chocolat in Paris last October. This one is dark chocolate with a small dropper filled with Génépy, which I didn't know what it is except it is some sort of liquor (which it is). Before making my cup of

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-70354170140170657622010-01-19T11:48:00.002-10:002010-02-11T08:58:58.224-10:00

There are any number of things I love about winter. Well, Tokyo winter that is; I have limited experience elsewhere, but wherever I go I have enjoyed it in general, be it in a dark and dull London, a snowy and gorgeous Colorado, or even an windy and bone-chilling Chicago. Admitted, I've never been in an extreme winter weather, and let's face it, when you're visiting somewhere, you tend to

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-83196656458172508442010-01-06T07:49:00.001-10:002010-01-06T07:50:08.057-10:00

I nearly forgot that I haven't come out here and send you my New Year's wishes and already seven days have past in 2010! So here goes: Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful time over the holidays and are doing fine with all this "back to normal" thing - I know I'm not! Well, a little by little... For this year I didn't have a food extravaganza or anything (New Year's is THE time

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-52181095037814769202009-12-31T04:52:00.002-10:002009-12-31T06:02:20.085-10:00

I think it is almost always the case, but it feels a long time ago yet only a short while ago, both at the same time, since I came back from my latest trip. Before you know it it's almost a month since I got home, and I can hardly remember what I've been doing for these past few weeks. Well I do, actually; I've been buried in my own work that I had been doing very little while I was on my

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-41308070326135568362009-12-24T16:36:00.008-10:002009-12-31T02:40:18.980-10:00

Warmest wishes from the cold but sunny and gorgeous mountain country Nagano - hope you are having a wonderful time. It's already Christmas Day here in Japan. I haven't been able to do much for this Christmas, but if I tell you the truth, I've already have my Christmas present for this year - the wonderful few days in a festive Copenhagen in early December. But I wanted to do at least

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-61561223758304927282009-12-20T18:26:00.007-10:002009-12-22T01:25:19.718-10:00

I didn't mean to neglect this little place for so long, but I think I've just done it - again. It's been more than a month - or rather like two! - since my last post around here, and a lot has happened between then and now. If you happen to have seen me on twitter recently, you might know I was on my travels in Europe from late October to the beginning of December. It was an incredible trip

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-87699333655109869672009-10-24T05:23:00.003-10:002009-10-24T06:06:24.607-10:00

I suggested that this is going to be a 'chocolate blog' this month, and I probably haven't been keeping up to it so far, apart from the long overdue Salon du Chocolat Tokyo post. But I certainly have filled my time with chocolate of various kinds at different parts of the world - mostly France and Italy for the past week. So here is a quick look back of the week that was, chocolatewise - more

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-88712142124670764872009-10-21T16:55:00.002-10:002009-10-21T17:20:58.080-10:00

With the summer heat gone for good (well, until next year) and the autumn chill sets in, it seems only fitting that October is the month to celebrate chocolate as we gradually head into colder months. This reminded me of a series of blog posts that I had started back in January this year and never got to complete before the summer heat and humidity arrived to melt away both chocolate and my

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-91823436050282728942009-10-05T05:05:00.003-10:002009-10-05T06:37:32.122-10:00

There are several things that really tell me that autumn is truly, definitely, absolutely here. A newly crisp and dry air is one of them that are most welcome, of course. The day that gets shorter day by day is another, albeit not so welcome. You can't miss, either, that the store shelves are now dominated by such fruits as figs and nashi (Asian pears), and more and more of pears and apples,

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-35784450872333521742009-09-29T19:42:00.007-10:002009-09-29T23:19:21.801-10:00

Another month came and almost ended, and so did the season of figs, a most beautiful, seductive fruit you find this time of the year. They are found all around the world and can come in a number of different cultivars, but the one that is most prevalent at stores in Tokyo is a brown-skinned and white-and-pink-fleshed kind that I believe may be closest to the one called Brown Turkey in the US,

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-67304661856997235482009-09-09T15:05:00.007-10:002009-09-10T21:19:09.986-10:00

I had a fairly easy summer on the workfront, and as the heat and humidity gradually wanes, everything now seems to be back to normal - not that I had a real summer holiday, but it feels kind of like it.My being a freelancer, a weekend doesn't necessarily equal to days off. It's often quite an opposite, for lots of clients would throw some work in right at the end of a workweek and expect to

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-12968940718561540362009-09-04T11:20:00.001-10:002009-09-04T11:20:35.481-10:00

Unlike last summer, this summer has proved to have been a relatively mild one. Much like last summer, though, I have turned into a fierce ice cream maker (and eater, obviously), churning up a whole lot of ice cream and sorbet like a machine. While I was keenly making sorbets last year, this year I have been all about fruit-based, honey-sweetened ice creams and sorbets. I started with melon,

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-32219711488628776042009-08-29T15:28:00.018-10:002009-08-30T16:50:30.840-10:00

Before I say anything about this summer, let me make my stance clear: I hate summer. Period. Well, hot and humid Tokyo summer, that is. Which you might already know, if you know me or you have read any of my past posts written during summer - I've been ranting about it in pretty much all summer and every summer. But I just wanted to make it crystal clear here. I. Hate. Summer.Now,

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-18124383175381819412009-08-16T02:41:00.006-10:002009-08-16T21:04:56.894-10:00

I think it's fair to say that I'm not a big soda drinker. Admitted, I love bubbly when it comes to choosing alcoholic beverage, and when ordering water at a restaurant, I usually go for a sparkling rather than a still. I definitely love some fizz in my drinks, but sodas are not a staple in my household, and it's rarely an option when I'm shopping for something nice and cold to drink. (Except

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-18499813737457200262009-08-06T16:49:00.002-10:002009-08-06T17:05:38.829-10:00

Starting with a handsome, sweet watermelon, you can:Cut and simply eat it;... Then juice it and drink it chilled;... Then sweeten it with a bit of honey and freeze it into granita;... Then churn it into smooth sorbet; and... Then add some cream and churn it again into ice cream. ... Or you can always go for some vodka or bubbly to (literally) wash down large pieces of watermelon. Watermelon,

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-32458408030546213552009-07-31T16:53:00.001-10:002009-08-01T19:25:42.018-10:00

Summer always seems to come out of the blue. In my eyes, anyway. I had of course realized that the temperatures and the humidity had been inching up over the past month or two. I had also remembered that our monsoon season would invariably be followed by a summer. And I had even known that it would usually hit us sometime in mid July. All of this, however, did't mean I was well prepared for

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-4736399453591924352009-07-22T11:13:00.005-10:002009-07-31T17:00:45.909-10:00

Now that the summer is all around us and my freezer is being filled up with ice cream, I thought I'd first do a post about frozen treats I made last summer (because I made A LOT!). As I put together photos and text, I'm giving you a little something to work on - here is a glimpse of some of the ice creams and sorbets I made last year. Guess what flavors they are? Each of them either has a

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-8703416255848811822009-07-12T13:27:00.012-10:002009-07-14T16:51:33.288-10:00

June, for us in Tokyo, marks the arrival of the month-long monsoon season, which itself is the beginning of the muggy, steaming summer that lasts well into the middle of September. As much as I seriously wish I could sleep through the entire summer in aestivation, I can't help but get excited with all the fruits that come around this time of the year - from cherries and plums, peaches and

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-10363574471869014832009-06-30T17:15:00.011-10:002010-09-13T05:35:06.602-10:00

I think I might have lived on the lychee for the entire weekend. Well almost. Over the past years, fresh lychee nuts are becoming increasingly common at stores in Tokyo, even if they are only around for a short period of time. Almost all fresh lychee nuts sold around here seem to be imported from Taiwan, but this year I found ones from Okinawa, the (mostly) southwesternmost islands of Japan

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-22993249574164753152009-06-16T13:08:00.015-10:002009-06-24T00:18:42.620-10:00

It's already middle of June, and who is still talking about Easter back in early April? Well, I am. Then again, it's not exactly Easter itself that I am going to talk about, but it's more of the food and cooking I enjoyed for the occasion, which happened to be NOT exclusively Easter-specific. So if you could bear with me while I blab a bit about things I had....Back in late March and early

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-12688541161088309132009-06-10T22:43:00.005-10:002009-06-11T17:17:14.164-10:00

Like so many people all over the world, I love chocolate. Any chocolate, really, but I'm more of a dark chocolate kind of girl, most of the time. That doesn't mean, however, I don't pay respect to other kinds with lower content of cacao - or none, even. That is white chocolate, and I am quite frankly puzzled by just how many people don't care for it. Their reasoning for such despise may range

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-36381456034416375572009-05-24T04:43:00.007-10:002009-05-26T21:34:15.361-10:00

Last weekend, I was up to town to get a few things done. It was my first time being in central Tokyo in a while; I don't really go up to town that much these days. As I was walking up Route 246 (otherwise known as Aoyama-dori), I stumbled upon a mobile green grocer along the street, unloading produce from the back of his pickup. In Tokyo and maybe other places in the country, it is not so

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-65279005150808367332009-05-05T21:05:00.014-10:002009-05-07T18:32:58.530-10:00

I've been having a bit of Italian cooking frenzy thanks to the new Italian cookbook (Kodansha, 2009; in Japanese) written and photographed by my incredibly talented friend Taeko. Here's a quick glance into what I had last week...Other things I made but not pictured above include: tagliatelle with vegetable ragu, lemony spaghetti with clams and zucchini, fusilli with eggplant sauce, and

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-59567421539765410352009-04-11T12:24:00.009-10:002009-06-17T06:39:16.017-10:00

still in London, egg huntin' in the garden...My easter weekend started with a family luncheon with friends, where I was invited not only to sit at table but cook in the kitchen, as well. I must say I'm not used to cooking for a group of twelve (even though I did only a portion of the whole meal), and I don't think I'd ever be able to get used to it, but it was still fun to be involved in the

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-70790830794377114012009-03-22T05:18:00.012-10:002009-03-22T10:51:53.917-10:00

...with a cup of tea in the sunshine. Bliss!It was in a gray afternoon that I landed in London a week ago or so, and the weather has since been fantastic; lots of sunshine and the warm air has encouraged trees to bloom everywhere and people to take heavy coats and thick scarves off - with a smile on their face. I have yet to see a drop of rain so far, although they say the weather will turn to

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-66964319435992111212009-02-13T02:15:00.012-10:002010-01-24T09:00:57.196-10:00

So, after spending many years steering clear of the chocolate frenzy around St. Valentine's Day, this year I have finally stepped into this tempting sweet little world of chocolate: Salon du Chocolat in Tokyo. The show was held from Wednesday the 21st to Monday the 26th of January (followed by other locations in Japan), and I opted for the first day of the event - and in the morning.

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-53007028555358834822009-02-10T12:54:00.007-10:002009-02-13T19:36:18.605-10:00

In the mid January every year, when people in Japan would have finally (and rather reluctantly) started getting over the New Year holiday spirit and the afterglow thereof, and perhaps forgotten most, if not all, of the resolutions they made in what seems like a lifetime ago, the whole nation (or just younger populations only, perhaps) are all turning their heads to the next big event that is

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-59525787289224333762009-01-28T18:15:00.005-10:002009-01-28T22:32:55.661-10:00

A bowl of ramen in one of its simplest forms; vermicelli-like extra-thin noodles in soy sauce-based broth, topped with a couple of slices of cured pork and a mound of thinly sliced spring onions. I always have mine with generous shakes of ground black pepper, but it's up to you.A word or two about ramen; you can eat your ramen in any way you like, but if I were to give you just one advice, it

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-32706056507103470242008-12-31T08:26:00.003-10:002008-12-31T08:52:40.828-10:00

... to you all!If 2008 was a good year for you, may 2009 be an even better one. If 2008 was more like something you'd rather forget, well then forget it!! ... and resolve to have a truly wonderful one now that a brand new year is with us. Now it's already 2009 where I am. The year of 2008 for me was a mixed one, with some great moments here and some hard times there. But overall, I was truly

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-73958493557202550472008-12-24T07:13:00.000-10:002008-12-24T08:56:55.628-10:00

with much love, c xo

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-55954905248561929452008-12-03T04:56:00.007-10:002008-12-03T14:26:35.483-10:00

Starbucks Bearista Bear Gingerbread Boy and Girl with a "Candle Cake", a light and crumbly gingerbread-like cake filled with cream cheese and apple pie fillings, frosted to resemble a candle with a flame. Got holiday spirit?Last weekend I got back home in Tokyo after what seemed like years, to a stack of packages from friends all over the place. None was intended to be a Christmas present, I

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-27342827361557026682008-10-31T04:45:00.003-10:002008-10-31T04:59:12.623-10:00

......!!!* jack-o-lantern cream puffs (or my failed attempt thereof)Happy Halloween Ya'll! !

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-56597909857123107132008-09-10T15:07:00.005-10:002008-09-12T17:32:25.317-10:00

Just when we all thought the summer was over, it came back - at least during the day when the sun is out.August was gone with the wind (well more like storms, actually), and came September with a blue sky and some lingering heat.We'd had a week of heavy rain and storms, so a sight of a blue sky was a much welcome change, even with the not-so-welcome heat.Just about midday, the outside temperature

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-75855658077579478692008-08-24T07:31:00.010-10:002008-08-24T16:39:00.309-10:00

On a random day early this month when we were blessed with the height of summer heat, I was shopping at a nearby supermarket and strode into the beer aisle. I already had a few things in my mind, but there something caught my eyes. Bearing labels with some pictures of sea on the bottle, they were named Longboard and Big Wave, which instantly evoked an image of Hawaii. To me anyways, and I'd

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-19107724999507494642008-08-13T21:19:00.003-10:002008-08-13T22:47:14.123-10:00

Can't believe it is already mid August. On my last post here a few weeks ago, towards the end of July when we were already weary of the heat, I jokingly mentioned that I should do a post of my trip to Europe back in July before the beginning of the summer ends... and now it is already autumn. Excuse me? Well, in the traditional Japanese calender, the day that falls halfway between the summer

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-35144687231416127902008-07-17T18:48:00.010-10:002010-06-04T06:19:35.863-10:00

...and my memories of my time in Paris and London dry up in the Tokyo heat... And no, it is yet to be summer here, not officially, until the end of a month-long monsoon season is officially announced. Never mind there hasn't been much rain over the past couple of weeks since I got back in Tokyo, with the temperature hardly dropping below 75F degrees. Then again, I refuse to accept that we are

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-42762749982261216152008-07-01T21:00:00.001-10:002008-07-02T06:31:53.436-10:00

Can a Sunday be more English than this, you proclaimed...Sprinting through a proper English country lane with the roof down... although it was quite hot and bright with the sunshine directly upon you...Visiting a quaint, if not totally queer, farm shop/team room for a perfect English afternoon tea, only it really was a morning tea...Admiring English roses in a pretty garden, even if you only see

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-64056003255177709582008-06-07T05:00:00.006-10:002008-06-07T07:42:01.074-10:00

a few of my favorites during my stay up in the mountainous Nagano for the month of May, after the fun camping out:A patch of rice field, filled with water getting ready for plantingLayers and layers of pale yellowish green leaves, just for a short while before turning all into darker greenApple blossoms, among hundreds of other flowers - those are on trees of edible apples, for which Nagano is

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-21892087276075481872008-05-15T02:42:00.006-10:002008-05-16T08:36:12.860-10:00

The first weekend of May, there was definitely summer in the air.It was a four-day weekend for many of us in Japan, and I managed to have the last three days off. I happened to be up in the mountainous Nagano staying with my mom, and some of my relatives were over on a camping trip and invited me to join in, which I did. For me, it must have been the first time to camp out in many years -

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-78172311405687157012008-04-11T03:30:00.004-10:002008-04-13T19:15:56.992-10:00

It's never spring until you've seen cherry blossoms come... and go.Every year as we start seeing the end of the winter, there is one thing for many of us in Japan to fret over: when are the cherry trees blossoming this year? The nation are so obsessed with it, in fact, our meteorogical agency makes pinpoint "forecasts" of the timing for the flowers to blossom, and makes official "announcements"

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-13430847920429496012008-03-21T16:38:00.001-10:002008-03-21T14:00:24.855-10:00

or almost like summer... well, maybe it's just me, having flown into here in North California from the still chilly, mostly gray Pacific Northwest, where I spent about a week or so. I liked there though, and am hoping to post some photos up on flickr sometime soon.Meanwhile, I hope you are enjoying your Easter feast, a warmer air, and/or the arrival of the new season. Happy Easter!* carrot,

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6965298.post-41572309485337223282008-03-03T23:45:00.002-10:002008-03-04T20:02:33.668-10:00

in a spirit of hinamatsuri, or Japanese Girls' Day festival...My March 3rd this year came and went without hinamatsuri dolls put out, or chirashi-zushi eaten. Instead, I opted for something a lot more casual and yet with a festive, girlie, and springlike touch... or so I tried at least.Hinamatsuri Hearts: it really is just a pasta dish that has hamaguri (kind of large clams) and nanohana (

chikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13924490532215891887noreply@blogger.com9