Bye Bye Dragon, Hello Year of the Snake

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a lovely holiday season.

I took a rather long (two weeks) vacation this year.  I wanted to step away from my desk/home office and do.....NOTHING.

I am now very confident in my ability to do NOTHING. 

;)

Last year we moved to the South Western part of Japan, closer to my mother and mother-in-law.

The move was time consuming but good since we did a lot of un-cluttering...or shedding...

Speaking of shedding, 2013 is the year of the Snake.

Here's a look at 2 different types of Snake decorations!

Upper left: MIL's entranceway decorations (the snake is that green thing in the lower left hand corner
Lower left: My new Snake decoration
Right: Osechi*

(* for a better look at Osechi, and what it is please see my post from last year here:
http://theartoflivinginjapan.blogspot.jp/2012/01/wow.html)

2013 we will continue to "shed"... living simply-surrounded only by things we like is our goal.
Stocking up on necessities is one thing but hoarding things you do not need duplicates of is another.

My vanity has been cleaned out.  Old/expired things tossed.  Memories on display.

Hooks are awesome, by the way!

Origami boxes come in handy for storing small objects like hair pins.

I think I've got this part of my home under control.  

No buying makeup that is just going to gather dust and expire!

This year, I am going to lighten my load of books and keep my home office organized. 

I've also made a non-work related schedule to manage my goals... no "resolutions" for 2013,  

just  dreams and goals!

I wish you all the best in the year 2013!  May your wishes and dreams come true!

Do or do not, there is no try. -Yoda

Coming out of my closet...literally.

My New Year Resolutions is:

Keep it simple.

There are many reasons why I have chosen to  keep things simple.

Here is one of them:

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

You have probably run away from the computer
and are trying to turn off your browser with a ten foot pole right now.
But wait....

Now, for the really scary part....that is actually an AFTER picture NOT a BEFORE!
We couldn't see the CD shelves AT ALL (nor the floor) the same time last year because there were so many boxes piled up!

...

A lot of people have been commenting in blogland about how we tend to show the pretty, perfect and peachy sides of our lives.

I am
one
of
them.

Or now I can say...was one of them.

That room above is not supposed to be a closet, but it is, and we are changing that.
Finally...been sort of "working on it" for ages.


Thanks to  numerous videos on youtube and websites like flylady, zen habits (and his books) and for inspiration, better homes and gardens I have been able to stay focused.

One of the most helpful were books by Dominique Loreau.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to find anything by her in English (only in Japanese and French) but I did find this lovely blog by someone who has posted about reading her and decluttering: http://l0ve0utl0ud.wordpress.com/tag/dominique-loreau/
I hope the blogger doesn't mind my posting a link....

so here are three steps I have taken so far:

step 1.

I went through my summer wardrobe and threw away everything I hadn't worn!

IT WAS LIBERATING!

Then I went through my winter wardrobe and threw away everything I knew I wouldn't wear this season.

Now, I am only going to buy clothes when something gets old and even then it will have to be in one of these colors:
blue, gray, green or pink.

Why?  Because I use to keep buying shirts in outrageous colors that I could never match with my business suits etc.  (They looked pretty in the shops...)  If everything can be coordinated it makes it easier to pack for business trips etc.

Once I cleaned out my wardrobe I could feel the weight of my belongings lift up, rise...and...
....
fly away
...
Less clutter in your home means less vibes you are constantly getting from your "stuff".
(check zen habits again here: http://zenhabits.net/a-guide-to-creating-a-minimalist-home/)


Miraculously throwing things away started to get easier and easier.
I started to throw away a garbage bag a week just by opening up two or three boxes at a time.

step 2.
They key was to not overdo myself.  But since it was fun, I would clean out a corner of my apartment or 3 or 4 boxes every other week. (I had LOTS of business trips over the weekend last year, so under those conditions I think I did pretty well!  It actually takes only an hour or two once you get in the habit of
LETTING GO.  (You just have to give up playing computer games...or shopping...or couch potato-ing.)

step 3.  

When you notice something... just don't walk by...stop, consider  (if you don't need it, if it is redundant or you had even forgot you owned it) and toss!

If you don't have the heart to throw something away, but you know you don't really need it:

have a clean garbage bag or a cardboard box or even a suitcase you no longer need open, toss stuff in.
The next time you have a garage sale, attend a flea market or charity bazar, you are ready to go!

.....

As you may have noticed from the picture, we have lots of CDs.
So this is what we have been doing:

repackaging CDs. 

Taking them out of the hard plastic cases and putting them in slim cases.

It saves a lot of space!

The CD shelves start to look like this:

We are putting them in alphabetical order.

Where there is a little bit if space, I have placed some of the stuff that came out of the boxes...

I know, I know...more stuff...but I am taking things one step at a time.

AND enjoying it!

Although we had to buy lots of plastic CD jackets, don't forget, I have found that the trick is not to buy more stuff to organize your stuff.  

Get rid of what you don't need first, then and only then, find the perfect place for what you have.

If you are like me, and like to collect boxes and bags, you already have lots of storage!

Thank you for reading this not so pretty blog but...

I am still on the path to clarity (mind and material).  

The art of living in Japan (and anywhere else) for me, is to:

Keep it simple.

Hope. Music. More hope.

herb garden 2009

There are reports that Spinach and other leafy vegetables from farms100km away from the power plants have been detected with radiation that exceeds the government regulated limits. This is rather distressing but more details should be released today. Right now some of the latest reports can be found here at the Kyodo English news site:

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/79856.html

I am not one to panic but this does raise my (already raised) interest in nuclear science and the effects of radiation... Some interesting sites I have found so far are:

http://mitnse.com/

MIT students of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering have a blog with information about the nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan.

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/

and then there was this information that I did not know about regarding the reactors in Japan which kinda frightens me as an American as well:

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/idINIndia-55640020110316

...and so, like in my last post...I must think. I am not going to panic or start a demonstration (just yet) but I do hope that this will be a good chance for the human race to admit that Mother Earth is much more stronger than we predict it to be.

Amidst all this radiation "hype" there is still some good news about people being saved from the rubble.
We have reason to stay...hopeful.

news flash

oooh...just heard on the news that the electricity that was cut off has been reinstalled to some of the reactors. They will have to run some more tests to make sure that there are no other damaged parts before they actually start sending electricity.

Hope.

...

One thing is for sure: we have some mighty heroic people (who did not build the reactors...); firefighters.

I have a renewed respect for these people who put their lives on the line to spray water on the Nuclear Power Plants in an effort to cool down the reactors. Their news conference was 100 times better than the TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) conferences because they were speaking in terms that are understandable and they didn't make any excuses or vague comments. They were prepared...not only for the news conference but for the actual event that they might have to help... which it seems, they did!

The spraying of water has resumed again today:http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/79865.html.

...

Hope.

Some people trying to spread hope...

Monkey Majik members are out volunteering: Tokyo Hive

Daniel Kahl, originally from California, is a "talent" here in Japan famous for his fluency in the Yamagata Prefecture dialect.

His website http://daniel.domos.jp/ has a full page of links with all sorts of valuable information.

He has also posted this video on youtube as an appeal to media outside of Japan. This is the first time I have heard him speak in English since he is always using his fluent Japanese (Yamagata dialect) on TV!

I have been staying away from TV much of this time for various reasons...I use to work in radio so that might be one reason.

I find solace in, just sound.

In music.

Music.

Starship's We Built This City On Rock N' Roll was on the radio yesterday, and I couldn't believe how uplifting it was. So to bring things back to a bit of normality on this blog, here is an update on what's new in the music scene here:

Wonder Woman by Amuro Namie featuring Ai and Anna Tsuchiya. All three girls are of "mixed culture"!

The video is flipped (everything is a mirror image) I don't know how that is technically possible, but this might mean that the video will be pulled off youtube sooner or later.

Ai is also featured in a new song by the Bawdies, a group that sounds like...somebody...but I can't quite place my finger on who...
You can hear a snippet of the song at i-tunes here but there is nothing on youtube etc. as it was just released.

Here is a song by The Bawdies that I did find on youtube:

That's it!!! Tom Waits on too much caffeine!?! Maybe...

Another multi-cultured artist:

Maia Hirasawa is a Japanese/Swedish artist. Her official website is here:

http://www.maiahirasawa.com/swe/

Another song on the charts here is by Rake. There is a short snippet of a video on the first page of his website: http://www.rake.jp/

Music.

Also, if you are in the New York area, just FYI...

Sakamoto Ryuichi has a concert scheduled in NYC for April 9th.

Japan Society, New York - CONCERT FOR JAPAN

Hope.

A piece (you many have already seen) about hope by author Ryu Murakami in the Op-page of
The New York Times.

And for me one of the most hopeful sounds in the universe.

Music to my ears!

ROFLMAO :-)'

One reason why I think social medias are cool and one reason why I think they sometimes are not…

Hello!

Here in Japan we have started a three day weekend.  Monday is the spring equinox.  

I like my job but I am very happy that I do not have to go to the office on Monday. I am sure my friends up north are feeling the same way, but more intensely because of the power cuts and aftershocks they are still experiencing. 

Me? I’m just laaaaazyyy.

AND I got a few bottles of strawberry liquor to taste.

strawberry sake, strawberry liquor, strawberry wine all made from strawberries from the Kyushu island

Yes, I know, strawberries AGAIN.

(FYI, there are strawberry blogs out there!

http://www.strawberry-recipes.com/strawberry-recipes-blog.html

http://growing-strawberries.blogspot.com/

and this blog I found thanks to the Tattered Cover:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/?s=strawberries&submit=

had the greatest recipes for strawberries and other “stuff” too.)

So this is why I think blogs are cool….you find great people to “talk” with, great things to read, information you are looking for and with things like facebook, sometimes you even find long lost relatives!

Blogs, Facebook and twitter (and in Japan, Mixi) have become a place for many people here to connect with friends and family... especially during these devastating times.

The internet has helped to bring people together.  We have been able to change lives, be changed and learn about things we would otherwise be oblivious about.

I think this has given journalists a hard time these days… It’s harder for them because, unlike before, we might actually “know” someone from the area they are reporting from.

Now…we can see…right through them…sometimes. 

For example,

20 or 30 years ago, if you saw on the news that hundreds of Tokyoites were wearing masks because they were afraid of radiation, you might have believed them.  Gee, I might have believed them too!

Now, thanks to tons of great blogs (see my blog roll on the left) and well in this case…

me

we know a bit more about Japan(or at least we can find out if some things are leaning towards suspicious). 

Therefore, you would know that Tokyoites are wearing their masks, like many other people around Japan this time of year, because they have HAY FEVER. (Here is a post from a Japanese blogger in Tokyo about hay fever in Japan: http://www.hellotokyo.jp/2011/02/20/hay-fever-in-japan/.

As I do not want to reinvent the wheel, here is a wiki that someone has made to collect some of the most blatant mistakes in the news covering the Quake and Tsunami in Japan.

http://jpquake.wikispaces.com/Journalist+Wall+of+Shame

Apart from this I would also like to add that although there are many people at the airport trying to flee Japan, please keep in mind that it is SPRING VACATION and since schools are out till April, lots of people have been scheduling holidays overseas ANYWAY.  So that is probably why many people are having a hard time getting tickets out of here too… ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/anxious-foreigners-flee-japan/2011/03/15/ABrlvnW_story.html).

A friend of mine is going back to the UK this weekend to see his family…he had this planned BEFORE the earthquake…

Although I respect peoples' decisions to leave Japan right now (especially if you are not fluent in the language, have small children or if you are ill etc.) there are some people who are choosing to stay: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-im-not-fleeing-japan/2011/03/16/ABQsdhk_story.html

(Thank you K for the link!)

Like any type of information we get, I think it is important to learn how to process the information.  I mean, really think about what you are reading or hearing… I mean REALLY.  Just stop to think…sometimes…it helps. 

I know, I am preaching to the choir now……but now for the one reason why I don’t like the internet:

(eeek! I am about to tread on very thin ice…)

I found wacky comments about how Japan is not a religious country thus this tragedy was brought upon them (?!).  There are tons of stuff out there that wouldn’t have been “published” for everyone to see, hear or read if it weren’t so darn easy to use the internet…

I know I know I know I know I know I know ...

We are entitled to our own opinions and beliefs and in some parts of the world we actually have freedom of “speech”.

I just hope empathy will prevail. And you know what? 

I think it will. 

Look what I found...

SMILE!

I'm here now and my use of a mouse...

I don't have a proper mouse with me and even if I did, I doubt I could do this map justice...but just to give you an idea of how far away I am from the devastation etc.

The blue circle is where I am now...sort of...

The yellow circle shows where I usually am...and the red circle inaccurately shows where the earthquakes, largest tsunamis and the fragile nuclear reactors are.

I was in the yellow circle when the earthquake hit - a tremor with the intensity of 3 on the seismic scale.  We were that far away from the red circle area (that had a magnitude of 9.0) and to think we still felt it is mind boggling.

Now (as I type this) I am seeing on the news that Shizuoka (the prefecture in the middle of the red and yellow circles) just had a tremor with the intensity of 6 on the seismic scale.  At least no fear of a tsunami...

It is not certain if all of these quakes are related...

I am trying to count my blessings and focus on my duties as a daughter, wife and consultant.  I haven't been meditating again so I think it is time for me to sit down straighten my back, lift my head and take a deep breath....or two...or three.

Peach Blossom that my mom has in a vase...

I pray that wherever you are, that you are safe.  Let's not forget to smile and let's continue to hope for the best. 

For English updates on Japan the Kyodo news service is pretty reliable:
http://english.kyodonews.jp/

...

New Zealand is still trying to recover from an earthquake and there is Haiti  that still needs help...Indonesia, Iran, China...Papua New Guinea...this is all just so hard to wrap my head around.

I am thinking the Red Cross or/and Doctors Without Borders.



I'm OK

One of the largest earthquakes in recent Japanese history has shaken the country in the north eastern regions.  I live in the center of Japan and am currently staying at my mom's place in the south western part of Japan.

I have heard from a few of my colleagues in Tokyo but not the whole team so I am still worried.  However, I just thought I would post to let my friends and family know that I am ok.

Tsunami warnings have been issued in almost all parts of the archipelago and other parts of Asia.

Will try to post something again later as soon as I find out more about what should be posted here...

all the best,
Tulsa

time

Gosh...I don't know where to start...

I got this receipt from a taxi I took on the first of February that says it is the year 2023...!

My husband and I celebrated our 10th anniversary a few weeks ago.

Time flies...

(do you see the blimp?)

At the end of March I will have been at work on my new job for a year and a half...and that feels like 10 years on some days and 10 months on others...go figure...

This July I will have been in Japan for 26 years. In April I will turn 40.

I deserve to have gold in my tea!

Now, if that doesn't make you want to come visit Japan, I don't know what will!

:-)

Tonight my husband is out watching the Eagles in concert and I just went to see a "chick flick".

Which after I watched (as much as I love chick flicks) THIS ONE became much more than that to me.

Morning Glory not only had some of my most favorite actors (Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Jeff Goldblum), it reminded me a tiny bit of..

me.

Change TV to radio and make the leading lady (Rachel Adams) shorter (and give her a uni-brow and overbite) and you have an enthusiastic me in my twenties trying to make a morning radio show with cooking tips and global news and music. We had our adventures on the show and there was never a dull moment be it a good one or bad.

By the way Harrison Ford was amazing...I really wanted to punch the guy...heehee.

SO, 3 things are running through my head right now.

1. Why didn't I write a romantic comedy that would become a Hollywood movie?

2. What story can I write now?

3. WHAT ON EARTH am I doing with my life?

gosh that is pathetic... scratch 3 and replace it with:

Am I having a pre-midlife crisis or is this a full blown midlife crisis?

NOT that I want to work at a (Japanese) TV station...

TV here is .... weird...

(Yes, that is a picture of a TV show with adults wearing costumes as they are talking about food...)

And there already is an American who is dominating TV here and packaging it off to the States (or so I think) so "my idea" of bridging the two countries with entertainment is already taken (Dave Spector is "the guy" by the way. He is more knowledgable about Japan than most Japanese are, and there are rumors that he is actually Japanese but has just dyed his hair. He is actually from Illinois. Oooh, I have just found his twitter account... (in Japanese though) http://twitter.com/#!/dave_spector.

Wow, totally went in a different direction there...

I just think I MAY have lost my way a bit. Am I loosing control of my life as I get swarmed with "stuff" to do on weekends and late at night ?

That can't be the real problem because I used to do that when I worked in radio and it did not bug me ONE bit.

Not even a tiny little bit.

Now it does. But what bugs me even more is that it bugs me. I hate not feeling GREAT about WORKING 24-7.

I am very good at tuning in with the "universe" and having things brought to me. But for the last two years I have stopped asking. Just did not have time to ask or even ponder what it is I want.

I have friends who have helped me soooo much to get back on track but SOMETHING just isn't "clicking".

I feel like this cat, waiting in front of a store that sells lots of porcelain cats...

waiting...for something...waiting...

Waiting and "going with the flow" has really done me good these past 40 years but me thinks me is ready for a change.

It's time to start walkin' down that Yellow Brick Road!

Exploring more of this fascinating country and bringing it to life inside me so that I can weave the next chick flick or whatever it is that will make me: h a p p y.

I hope you are happy. If you think you are not then join me on my journey!

A smile will take you a mile!

...

I think the receipt the taxi driver gave me with the year 2023 comes from the traditional Japanese calendar.

It is currently the 23rd year of the Heisei era. Thus 23.

But it still is a mistake...

...or is it?

Where have I been?

Hi! Long time no see!

Where have I been?

Last month I was in Langkawi, Malaysia!

There were monkeys...

and of course a beautiful beach...which I did not get to swim in...

but I did get to stay in a very nice hotel in the middle of a rain forest...

and I did get to enjoy a night on the town with colleagues...

where there was food from around the world...

and after Malaysia I came back to Japan and visited the zoo.

Something I have not done in a long time.

This guy reminds me of someone...

compare the facial expressions with the monkey at the top of this blog post...is it just me or does this dude look bored?

These two were kinda sweet...

The busiest time of the year for people in my industry has arrived... I was really worn out last week but am feeling much better now. Autumn in Japan is my favorite time of the year.

The scent of fragrant olive blossoms, the cool and light breeze, autumn leaves...

My little spring day.

These flowers were blooming at the foot of a tree in front of the office... What are they?

Spring at last! So, I decided to go see the cherry blossoms!

I went to a place called Sakura Shuku Gawa in Hyogo Prefecture. There were a bunch of people eating rice balls, drinking beer and playing cards under the blooming cherry trees.

I picked a tree, spread out a plastic sheet to sit on, opened up a bottle of spring water and some snacks and started to read with the sounds of laughing children and quite a few tipsy adults as BGM.

I wanted to read a book that would fit with my surroundings...so I chose:

Those are not my hands, by the way.

I took more pictures of the cherry blossoms. Today I have only posted the ones I took from my i-phone because I have misplaced my camera cord thingy... argh.

Tomorrow I am off to Tokyo for meetings. Will be spending half my day in a hotel room getting ready for the meeting and doing an online crash course on how to use PowerPoint.

I also need to get my picture taken somewhere because I have forgotten (yet again) to renew my passport. Yikes!

Happy Easter, happy spring and happy reading!

hiding from a magical flying carpet of desert

I have just returned from 3 days in Tokyo. I visited clients with a senior colleague to learn more of "the ropes". Then we had some meetings... Then I stayed an extra night so that I could see a friend who lives in Tokyo. I had lots of fun and did a whole lot of learning but it does feel good to be home!

However, terribly strong winds kept me from having a deep sleep last night.

Those howling winds did not come empty handed. They brought along the Gobi Desert.
o_0
What I thought was fog and clouds turned out to be a trillion specks of sand.

I didn't take pictures but you can see a news clip about the yellow sand we had today( click HERE).
The sand has made cars and windows dirty and it has given me a sore throat too!

The dust that covers Japan and Korea (and of course the sandstorms in Mongolia and China) have been growing in proportion these past few years.

Today's blanket carpet of yellow sand was extra harsh....

If you are thinking "well it's just sand!" then please know that it is not only messy but it is also unhealthy.

If you have hay fever, then a spell of a runny nose and watery eyes is "normal". The real danger is in the toxins that attach themselves to the sand as they "fly" over China's industrial zones... of course Japan has industrial zones too, but the chemicals found in the sand are said to be quite toxic and have matched with the chemicals China has been founds to use.... thus the sore throat?

this is a picture I took in Kitakyushu, Japan (2010 March)

So...I have had to hang my wash "out to dry" in the house instead of outside as it is usually done.

socks and shawls

Since I did not want to go outside and get wrapped up in a veil of sand, I decide to clean my room...which ended up being a mini treasure hunt instead.

I found out that I must be liking the colors blue and green since that seems to be my latest buying trend:

blue wrapping paper, green envelopes, blue and green tape, blue bird clothes pin, a blue silver button and
in the very back...a four-leaf-clover tin box

Even a book that I have been meaning to read has a beautiful blue on the cover...

Marie Mutsuki Mockett.

I have not been deliberately looking for authors with an "Asian background"... but one book has led to another...

bought this one by Jamie Ford last week

which led to this one

The Asian American Superhero Anthology "Secret Identities"

which led to this one...

a graphic biography of the mathematician/philosopher Bertrand Russell

Oh dear...the top layer of things on my desk are what I bought last week....what will I find if I dig any deeper?

It's huge and it's yellow....what is it?

Long time no speak... I have been in Tokyo again and am finally back. I am still learning the ropes of my new job as a sales consultant for a textbook publisher. it is so far great fun to talk with a lot of "educated" people and I am learning lots.


I am VERY busy during weekdays and I sometimes will have to work on the weekends as well, but it is fairly peaceful compared to what I have done in the past...


...I am literally crying because I am happy to have TWO DAYS OFF IN A ROW. Which sounds normal but it wasn't for a long time and so I actually feel....well....blessed.


AMEN.


Anyway, on my last day off I went to Osaka's "Aqua Metrpolis Osaka 2009"... it goes on till the 12th of October and I think this is the first year that the city has "celebrated" the waterways.
They are trying to clean up the rivers and make them more popular again.


(There are several rivers in the city that used to be major waterways for distribution but highways and trucks have basically taken over.
The City has a nice website in English over here if you are interested in learning more...)


ANYWAY,
My husband and I went to see what was going on at the festival...which turned out to be much smaller than I had imagined BUT ...it was still rather interesting.


For example, what do you think this is?

Wow...how did you know?!

Yep...it just as well could be one of the world's largest...

say hello to the yellow rubber ducky...

floating in the river that runs through the Nakanoshima Park

It is 9.5 meteres tall (the size of a three story house?)

The duck was designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hoffman.

You can find out more about the rubber duck (and him) by clicking here.

There were also windmills made out of recycled plastic bottles...

Do you see the rubber ducky in the back there?

(The rubber ducky is now in a different part of Osaka...Suminoe-ku)

...

There was also a sand castle....

A Japanese style sand castle.

There was a lot more to enjoy, but since this is getting rather long, I will leave the rest for my next post...

Thank you for patiently waiting for my post...I have heard of some troubles with posting comments...I think the problem is fixed now but if you still have problems with comments could you please let me know by e-mailing me? Click here for the e-mail...no spam please ;-)

I hope you have a great weekend! I know I will!

The rice is growing, making the heads of the rice stalks get heavier...they are bowing in the autumn wind....in Kyoto.

an old tower at the Toji Shrine in Kyoto...I am now going to be traveling to Kyoto quite often for work... yeah!

But I will be headed for the mountains in Kobe tomorrow with friends!

I'll let you know how everything is when I get back...Japan is having several days of holidays in a row so I am enjoying some time resting after a very eventful week at work!

I love...

I love my phone. I know you are not supposed to say you love "things" because it makes you sound materialistic...how can a love for family and friends be compared to a "thing"...!

...but I still love my phone...a lot more than my previous one... AND I love Blogger because it has become soooo easy to post AND add a picture...from my phone.

Why is this such a big deal?

Because I will be going to Tokyo and other parts of Japan in September..which means I will be away from my computer. But I am greedy now. I want to read my favorite blogs and update my own blog while I'm on the road...and now I can!

I am doing the hokey pokey now...

Now, that "peach sweet" I posted (from my i-phone!) looks like this when split in half:

The outside is a crust (made from flour and sugar) and the inside is a chestnut paste with peach flavoring.

This was a gift from one of my bosses who traveled to Okayama, a prefecture in south western Japan that is famous for their gloriously delicious peaches.

Hey, I also love peaches.

Oh, and I love you too!

My trip to Hakata. + More tomatoes!?

Hi! I am back and feeling great!

I tried getting on the internet with my new phone but the area surrounding my mother's place did not have wi-fi so it has been a week since I have been able to peek at some of my favorite blogs!

The rice paddies are green and looking nice where she lives.

In a couple of weeks the stalks will grow taller, turn brown and start to bow with heavy heads of rice grains.



While I was in Hakata I found more interesting tomato sweets!

Tomato yogurt... it tasted like... cold tomato soup... but more creamy and sweet.

This is white chocolate with tomatoes in it! When you munch on it is rather crispy, kind of like when you eat a kit-kat.
At first the aroma of white chocolate fills your mouth...
but when you swallow there is a light tang and you get a whiff of tomatoes.

...

It was hot in Hakata but I had some errands to run, and one of them took me to my alma mater.
It is a Christian school and I remember attending chapel once a week to hear the pipe organ...which I forgot to check out while I was there....

I did stop to see what was on the bulletin board:

Since my errand had to do with my "new beginning" ( a new job in September) the above bit of scripture seemed directed at me...

I can just see the trees "clap their hands"!

When I got back to Osaka, the trees had a few yellow leaves and the clouds looked farther away than they were before...an autumn sky!

There are a few errands for me to run before my magical merry Monday off is over.
Next week my Monday will be spent in Tokyo! I am so excited!