Precious Moments: Reflecting on 2014

As 2014 draws to an ending, I thought I would take time to reflect on this amazing year. Not many people have the opportunity to have a steady job while living in Japan, giving them a variety of opportunities to travel and learn more about the culture. I've had moments where I was homesick or stressed out, but I'm grateful for being able to teach at the schools that I'm at and to have such amazing friends and family who always support me. Here are some of my most memorable moments from 2014 :)

1. Experiencing my first New Years in Japan.

2. Cooking my own osechi ryori for the first time.

3. Wandering around handicraft and flea markets in Kyoto.

4. Watching my 3nensei students graduate from JHS.

5. Experiencing my first stay at a ryokan, and eating kaiseki ryori and Kyoto yuba tofu while in Kyoto with my 3nensei teachers.

6. Traveling to Miyajima Island while in Hiroshima.

7. Witnessing the beautiful sakura season in Arashiyama and Osaka

8. Growing closer with my elementary and junior high school students and teachers :)

9. Battling the summer heat with an abundance of kakigori

10. Visiting home for three weeks and spending quality time with my family.

11. Nonstop festivities at a local bon odori

12. Finally traveling to Korea with some friends and going to Hongdae, Gyeongbokkung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, Hyewa Mural Villlage, and eating so many different yummy foods.

13. Traveling more independently.

14. Sports day at my elementary and junior high school.

15. Going to one of the main matsuris in Kyoto: the Jidai Matsuri.

16. Having the opportunity to travel as much as I do.

17. Spending a good half of my day at the garden in Himeji.

18. Keeping in touch with family and friends via skype, email and hand-written letters :)

19. Being able to carry on a simple conversation with Japanese people while traveling.

20. Solo day trips to Kyoto for the autumn foliage at Nanzenji, Eikando, Tetsugaku no Michi, Kinkakuji, Ryoanji, and Arashiyama.

21. Hanging out with friends more.

22. Being able to skype with my family on Christmas Day.

23. Visiting my aunty in Kanagawa and exploring Tokyo and Yokohama with her.

24. Enjoying the simple things.


Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful and prosperous new year!!! Tomorrow will be a new chapter in your lives--write a memorable one! :)

Toji Flea Market: Something for Everyone

Ever since coming to Japan, I've had a great interest in handicraft and flea markets because of the wide range of things that you can see and buy. Kyoto is known for its many markets and the Toji Flea Market, or Kobo-san, is a famous and popular one with locals and tourists alike. Held on the 21st of every month, this flea market transforms the spacious and quiet temple grounds at Toji Temple into a lively and bustling area. Hundreds of vendors pitch up their tents or lay out their tarps along with their goods and merchandise. You can find a huge variety at this market: antiques, pottery, food, old and new clothing, kimono, sculptures, plants, shoes, even old currency and stamps! Because this flea market in December was the last one for the year, even more vendors and people came! I got there before 8:00 in the morning and people were already leaving with their purchases! The easiest way to get there is to catch the Kintetsu Line to Toji station and then walk about five minutes to the temple :) (or you can follow the crowds as well!). I stayed there for about five hours and even after that, I still hadn't seen everything! 

Some vendors laid out their merchandise on tarps and it was amazing to see what they sold

Others sold most of their things from their trucks. So many beautiful fabric patterns!

This vendor had quite a variety of tsuba, or sword guards and I immediately walked over to see because my dad was interested in acquiring another one :)

They were a bit too pricey though....

If you can't afford to buy traditional Japanese osechi for New Years (and they are quite expensive!), you can buy one of these miniature sized ones for only 800 yen (and they won't ever go bad ^^). The ones at Daimaru and Sogo were about 80,000 yen ($800) for the real thing...

Numerous stalls with wooden goods and I got to chat with the owner at one of them ^^ This vendor handmade every single one of his products!

Not only goods, but food as well! 

Bought this as my very late breakfast/early lunch for 600 yen. It can probably feed two people so it's a must :)

And this yummy snack while walking around

Gorgeous hair pieces...

And records!!! So many~ and I had to take a picture of these Christmas classics!

These reminded me of my grandpa because he used to smoke his pipe in his study while reading a good book :)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Golden Dew Cafe

I've taken quite a liking to the various cafes in Kobe because of their charm, food and atmosphere. There was a lot of time to kill before the Kobe Luminarie started, so I decided to try out a cafe that I hadn't been to before. Golden Dew Cafe is just one street before the Daimaru in Sannomiya and the menu prices are pretty reasonable, but the main draw for me was the second floor window seats that allow you to have a nice view of the downtown area.

I really wanted to sit on one of these tables, but it probably wouldn't have been a good idea..

Christmas tree decorated for the holidays :) 

Window seat! I ended up moving seats to one that wasn't being hit directly by the sun. 

Their pineapple soda which was pretty good. I accidentally ordered it (not a fan of soda), but ended up liking my drink :)

Shrimp curry with kabocha, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and bell peppers. Japanese curry usually isn't spicy at all (despite their various levels of spiciness), but this curry had a nice kick to it. My lunch set came with  small cup of soup, a drink and a mango pudding dessert :) All for about 1,300 yen or so. 

This cafe is also known for their desserts so be sure to stop by if you're passing by! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ^^

The Season of Giving

Merry Christmas, everyone!! Just some photos to share. One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is wrapping presents and seeing them underneath the tree so today's post will be just some wrapped gifts ^^ I hope you all have glorious living room messes with wrapping paper and bows everywhere :)

Christmas wrapping paper in Japan is absolutely adorable!! 

Just about to start making goodie bags for my JHS teachers :) Each bag had:

Two pouches of hot cocoa 

Two packages of arare

One of these brown sugar snacks

And another pack of arare :D

No candy sleighs this year because I couldn't find any large candy canes so these will have to do!

The holidays can always be a difficult time for those who aren't with their loved ones and while I won't be spending Christmas with my family again this year, I was still able to skype with them for a few hours which is probably one of the best gifts for me :) I hope you all have a happy and wonderful Christmas with your family and friends! 

Europe in Japan: Christmas Market

Christmas is quickly approaching so I really wanted to share these pictures with you all :) When I went to Osaka to hang out with friend from college, we stumbled upon this cute Christmas market right outside of Umeda Sky Building. I've never been to a Christmas market before and while this is definitely not like the ones in Europe, I still thought it was a fun way to get everyone excited for Christmas :)

Roasting turkeys/chickens for all to see =]

One of the many vendors who were selling Christmas goods :)

Mini train-ride for the kiddies!

If I were in the Hansel and Gretel story, this is the house I would go to :D You could smell the sweet aroma of candied nuts and cookies before you even saw the shop! 

Inside the magical gingerbread house...

So tempted to buy the candles just for their color! 

If you thought the gingerbread house looked nice before, then you'll think it looked absolutely amazing with the Christmas lights on!

I don't drink, but I was impressed with the all the German wine that was being sold!

Adorable and festive decorations and ornaments

Really wanted to go on the merry-go-round, but the only people in line were elementary children...

Thank you so much for reading! I hope this put you in a festive mood! Maybe someday I'll be able to experience a Christmas market in Europe....Have a wonderful week!