Sakura Everywhere 🌸

I found this post in my drafts folder and can't believe I forgot to post it...last year!!! Sakura season is very important here in Japan. Stores are decorated and festive the way we decorate for Halloween or Christmas. They're incorporated in food and drink and below are some examples of what I bought last year. I also included a picture of cookies I made.

Kit Kat Purse

My husband had a work trip to Hong Kong and came home with a KitKat purse for me! I haven't used it yet...haven't quite found the right occasion, but I'm thinking about it for this weekend. :) 

Japanese Sake Kit Kats

日本酒キットカット went on sale today! I searched locally and Yokohama before going up to Tokyo to find them. Nine mini packs came in the sake shaped box I got and three in the normal Kit Kat packaging. These contain .8% alcohol. The sake smell is stronger than the taste in my opinion. Good, not my favorite and with a strong aftertaste. I felt it in my throat too. Bottoms up!

Sublime Gold KitKats - Yup, Gold

Organized very well but I wouldn't expect anything less.

I love KitKats…discovering the plethora of flavors here in Japan has been so much fun for me. When we lived here from 2008-2010 I had quite the collection and was happy to come back and continue hunting for them. They haven’t released one or two flavors each month like they used to, but it’s still exciting to find the new ones.

Wonder if this would work in my living room?

Last month I read an article about gold KitKats coming out at the end of December. They were to release 500 hand done gold leaf covered chocolate bars throughout the country. I didn’t know details, couldn’t find specifics and patiently waited. That day came….today.

I woke up early with one of my daughters and we hopped on an early morning train up to Tokyo. I had a plan, sort of. I knew the station and the store, but didn’t know exactly where to go after that. I read signs and double checked the station map to figure it out. We arrived around 9 am and got in line; the store opened at 10. I knew this store had 80 on hand and once gone, they’d be gone forever…until showing up on eBay for far more than ¥2016 ($16ish USD) retail price. It's a nod to the new year. There was a very long standby line of at least 50 people by the time we got up to the counter at 10:10 am. 

We got our tickets guaranteeing one per until noon. We stayed in line because nothing else, except for convenience stores in the station, were open. The hour went by quickly between people watching, playing Words with Friends and emailing my husband pictures of us. The gentleman above let my daughter hold the sign for a hilarious photo too!

I didn’t think we’d be lucky enough to get one, never mind two, but had to at least try. Glad we did...and will be taking a nap this afternoon :) 

Strawberry Adult Sweetness Kit Kats

That's right...another adult Kit Kat. They're white chocolate. Adult or not, I loved these. And good thing...they're a bag of 12 minis!

I Want One

We were shopping at Homes last month and came across two walls of the wonderful Japanese toilet seats. This was the closest he's come to taking me seriously about buying one so I'm [a tiny bit] optimistic. I wrote about my weird obsession with fancy Japanese toilets in 2009 and you can read that post here.

On a side note, Homes is a cross between Target, JCPenney, Home Depot/Lowes, Marshalls and Petco.

Mini Message Pack Kit Kats

The Japanese pronouce Kit Kat as "kitto kattso" and it literally translates into "you will surely win." They’ve become popular to give to students at entrance exam time and that’s a huge campaign here; they're like a good luck charm. There is a marketing genius behind Nestle’s Kit Kats, no doubt about it!

They can be sent directly through the mail and even have "Kit Kat Mail" at post offices. We were running errands and stopped in to the Yokosuka Post Office last month. Right at the counter was a box and on it a space to write an address. No need to wrap or package them up, they're ready to go as you see to the right. 

I have only seen the large box at the post office, but the box I got, the Mini Exam Message Pack, has a spot to address and mail. On the back is a student with a singer, May J. It reads, "Dear Students (or examinees), everyone is supporting you." 

There are three mini sets per box and they each had a different message engraved into the chocolate. Each individual package has a spot on the back to write a note or message to the recipient. There are 15 different messages in all, but when I went back to the store the next day they were gone. 

Baked Cheesecake Kit Kats

You read that right...bakeable Kit Kats! They're Bake 'n Tasty Mini Kit Kats to be exact. A kind stranger translated the package for me when I bought them. Last year they came out with bakeable custard pudding Kit Kats and I was sad to miss them. Fast forward to last Monday and I found the boxes with three mini packages at a convenience store for less than ¥150. I bought two boxes so we'd be able to taste test them "raw" and after they were in the oven.

We don't have a toaster oven so I put them on a foil-lined cookie sheet and under the broiler for a few minutes. They darkened fairly quickly so keep a close eye on them. There are instructions on the back...they don't do me much good, even with Google Translate, so I stood in front of the oven with my daughters diligently watching.

We let them cool for a minute or two, I snapped a picture and they were scarfed down! My younger daughter preferred them before they went into the oven and my older daughter and I loved them after. Not only did they taste like cheesecake, the texture was spot-on. The cookie inside wasn't crunchy...they were perfect! We'll be buying more if I can find them again...I looked in five or six stores (including grocery stores) before finding them.

I found the commercial for them on YouTube. If you subscribe to Pass the Chopsticks and receive it in your email you may need to visit this post directly in order to view the video.

Sakura Scented & Washlet Toilet Paper

We love the toilets in Japan. The Toto Washlet is something I've wanted since I first sat on one here in 2008. There's nothing like sitting on a heated toilet seat on a cold day or in the middle of the night. The first time I had that weird feeling that someone had just gotten up leaving the seat warm. I wrote about toilets when we lived here in 2009; click here to read it. 

While out and about last week I came across these packages of TP. The blue one on the left has double absorption and is specifically made to use with washlets. The pink one is seasonal with sakura (cherry blossoms), has the flower print and is even scented! We found blueberry scented TP before, but never sakura. 

The only English on the pink package reads, "Elleair is made with the finest quality and ultimate softness to bring comfort back into your life." Between this awesome TP and the heated seat, I'm pretty comfortable! 

Royal Doritos at Family Mart

I was out and about yesterday exploring and came across these Doritos. Wasabi & beef and shrimp & mayo. Which would you prefer to try? Both of these are limited editions, so get 'em when you see 'em! 

Green Tea Latte Oreos & More Fun Finds

Matcha is green tea

Last week I had to run to the ¥100 (100 yen) store to get a shoshinsha (new driver) magnet for my car. More on that in a future post. While there I got side tracked and had an hour to burn before picking the girls up from school, so naturally I grabbed a basket!

I love the ¥100 store...they're all over and I always found the neatest things there. I've written about them before and you can read it here. It can be compared to Dollar Tree or Family Dollar. Most things are about a buck, but some cost more.

I bought the strawberry sandwich at Lawson (like a 7-11) on my walk back to the base and it was surprisingly good. The crust had already been cut off the bread and in the sandwich was custard, strawberries and whipped cream. Like the orange white mocha at Starbucks, the combination sounds odd but it works. I washed it down with the salt & fruit drink. That was sweet, lychee flavored and had a salty aftertaste.

I loved the Hello Kitty clips to use for hanging the Hello Kitty window valance or curtains. My favorite find had to be the socks for the chair legs. I may end up getting a set for our kitchen table...I bet they'll stay on better than the adhesive pads I've got on them now. Are you in a swinging happy mood or bright whether it's fine or rainy? If so let me know and I'll send you the stationary to match your mood! Hello Kitty is everywhere here in Japan. She even has her own line of beverages...I didn't buy them, but considered getting the cocktail flavors. Be sure to LOOK and not miss the chocolate :)

    

It's Buu Buu, Not Oink Oink!

In Japan pigs don't say "Oink," they say "Buu!" It sounds like "boo" and then "u" which rhymes with to. The Hiragana says "Buu" on each foot.

I emailed my friend Mayumi and asked her about it and here's what she had to say:
Those letters are Hiragana. 『ぶ』 ( Bu ) and 『う』 ( U ). 『ぶう』 is the "sound" we would say
if we wanted to put a word explaining about pigs. Your other three toes have a pig on each, so, I guess they put the word.

I bought these toe socks in the Shibuya Ward of Tokyo and they've become a big hit with the girls. Every time I wear them they don't stop with the "This Little Piggy" nursery rhyme.

This little piggy went to the market,
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef, This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy cried "Wee! Wee! Wee!" all the way home.

My friend Laurel teaches English to Japanese kids at a school nearby. She said they play this out once a week and the kids get excited yelling "Buta!" Buta is the Japanese word for pig, and that's how they ask her to do it. Instead of a piggy buying roast beef, in her version it buys pizza. At the end she'll chase them around during the "Wee! Wee! Wee!" part and they climb under the tables trying to hide from her!

Azuki Pepsi - It's Red and We Love It!

We've had a few different flavors of Pepsi released since we've been here, and the most recent flavor, Azuki, came out on Tuesday. Click here to see my post about those; Blue Hawaii, White Yogurt and Shiso.

I got a bottle at 7-11 down the street from our house for ¥125 (about $1.40 with the exchange rate) but didn't try it until Wednesday morning. I liked it a lot and Sydney did too, so once Keanna was off to school she and I headed out into town to buy some more. I wanted to get a couple of bottles for Bob too, since it won't be available by the time he comes home. It's actually written in Kanji that it's limited edition.

It's sweet and yummy and I have another bottle chilling in the fridge right now. The after taste was mostly like regular Pepsi, but there was still a little sweetness to it. Azuki is a red bean, and I've always seen it in a paste form inside breads. But I've seen it in one other form, Kit Kats! Almost a year ago there was a Kit Kat flavor that involved azuki beans; click here to see my post about it. According to Wikipedia, In East Asian cuisine the azuki bean is commonly eaten sweetened. In particular, it is often boiled with sugar, resulting in red bean paste (an), a very common ingredient in all of these cuisines; it is also common to add flavoring to the bean paste, such as chestnut.

At 3F, the store Sydney and I went to on Wednesday, I asked the clerk (and in Japanese, go me!) if she liked it. She answered (in Japanese and I understood!) that she likes it better in bread and that it was so-so in the Pepsi. After we walked out and tried it we walked back in and Sydney said, "Oishii desu," (it's delicious) and I told her (in Japanese) that I preferred it in the Pepsi over the bread. She chuckled, commended Sydney on her Japanese and even clapped, I bought a couple more bottles, the three of us bowed and we were on our way.

Have I mentioned how much I love living in this country?!

Things that Remind Me I Live in Japan

Here's a sampling of pictures I've taken over the last couple of months...it's the little things like these that make me smile, laugh, and sometimes wonder "What the heck are they thinking?!"

I prefer plain cheese pizza and I'm willing to try new things, but asparagus and pepper? We've all seen the info-mercials for ProActiv, but look at this ProActiv vending machine! It still doesn't beat my favorite Liquor Shop vending machine. Click here to see that!















Decisions, decisions....tuna pizza, German trio or Wafu pizza?












It's not just a big bowl of ramen, it's UFO BIG! Do you think men can/will eat this SHEs yogurt?












That's a jar of baby food...rice, fish and seaweed. Did you notice the ages it's appropriate for? 0-100. I don't like Oreos, but look, it's a banana Oreo bar!












This sign was hanging in the train. Who knew McDonalds sold hot dogs? And this is a sign we always see after leaving a construction zone. We've been here for 15 1/2 months and I still love the bowing! It's on signs everywhere and I always smile whenever I see it.