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.

A Share From My Instagram

It's cherry blossom season and even the vending machines are festive! I saw this at a rest area near #Kofu in #Yamanashi. 🌸 #Japan #vendingmachine #sakura #桜 #cherryblossom

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American Cherry Burger with Sakura soda at ROOFTOPS in Kamakura. They've got a beautiful view of Kamakura Station and I can't wait to go back! #Kamakura #japan #sakura #桜 #cheeseburger #cherryburger #チーズバーガー @rooftops_kamakura

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Orange Coca Cola is available this week! Two distinctive flavors, orange and Coke but an orange after taste. They compliment each other and I liked it! 🍊 #コカコーラ #cocacola #orangecocacola #orangecoke #japan #japanloverme

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#Soba and #tempura for lunch in #Kamakura today! #Japan #鎌倉

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A snack of Mitarashi Dango in Tokyo last weekend. It's rice balls covered in a sweet and salty sauce...almost like soy sauce but thicker. #みたらし #Japan #snackfood

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via IFTTT

R2-D2 & Madeleines

Three plain and three chocolate from Ginza Cozy Corner. Oishii desu, they're delicious!

Star Wars Pastries at Ginza Cozy Corner

Cookies need to dry, the weather is perfect and a chain bakery, Ginza Cozy Corner, has a promotion with "Star Wars" going on until December 21st. I ventured out and found one up in Yokohama. This particular store didn't have everything pictured on their website, but I was happy to find what I did. I'll post more pictures soon...I did buy something. :)

I'm sitting on a train heading home and wanted to share this. Thank you, Blogger for iOS!

ETA more pictures at 2 pm JST.

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!

Kit Kat Sandwich at First Kitchen

Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat....sandwich?!

First Kitchen is a fast food chain in Japan. Today was my first time in one and I would compare it to a Burger King in the U.S.

Not only do we have a plethora of Kit Kat flavors, but now we have a Kit Kat sandwich! The details can be found at First Kitchen's website.

This became available on Thursday but between school field trips, homework, making cookies and rain I wasn't able to make it out until today.

You can see the size of the sandwich with my hand in the first photo. I think it's comparable to the size of a Thomas' English Muffin. The bun was spongy and a little sweet...almost like a steamed pork bun. The description says it has whipped cream but it was more like Cool Whip to me. Not very sweet and not much flavor (for an American palette). The orange peel was great...it looked (albeit larger) and tasted like the orange peel Starbucks used with its Orange White Mocha in January. The Kit Kat was Kit Kat Café which is made for dipping in hot drinks. It seemed to be more crunchy than others I've had. I bought one from the display in front of the register and will have it tomorrow morning with a cup of coffee.

It was good and once my daughters taste it they'll try to convince me to pack this "sandwich" in their school lunches instead of the usual turkey or PB&J.

Apple Pie with Carrot Easter Kit Kats

That's not a typo, they really are apple pie with carrot flavor. I didn't taste much carrot and wonder if they added the flavor since rabbits are synonymous with carrots.

There aren't many Japanese Christians, but what I noticed when we lived here from 2008-2010 and again this time around, the commercialization of holidays is becoming the norm. Check out this post or this one, both about Santa Claus and Christmas from December 2008. This is the first time Nestle has connected Kit Kats with Easter.

In a recent post about Japanese Kit Kats I talked about them being popular and marketed to students. These continue to do so. I asked a man on the train platform to translate the packaging for me. According to the kind gentlemen who spoke excellent English, Nestle is saying Easter is an ii sutaato or "great start." April also happens to be the start of the school year in Japan, so they're playing that up.

There are 13 different designs in all and 12 minis in each bag. One in every 30 has the "Lucky Easter" design. We only opened three, but the first was that one. Lucky me?!

I thought they were very good and sweet. I didn't taste much carrot though; probably for the best. One of my daughters didn't like them and the other wouldn't try. They reminded me of the Nagano Apple Kit Kats I got on our trip to see the Nagano Snow Monkeys. You can click here to see that post.

I hope your spring is off to an ii sutaato!

Adult Cocoa Kit Kats

No, not "Fifty Shades of Gray" Kit Kats! Not adult as in adult. In one of my recent posts I talked about Kit Kats being marketed for exams and students. Well to balance that out and remind adults they haven't outgrown them, Kit Kat/Nestle Japan has one just for us. The word "cocoa" is on the front of the box and I asked the cashier exactly what it meant...she said it's dark chocolate. I think they tasted like a cup of hot chocolate, but wouldn't consider them dark chocolate compared to what the average American palette is used to.

Momofuku Ando's Google Doodle

Google Japan's Google Doodle

Today would be Momofuku Ando's 105th birthday. Not familiar with the name? I wasn't either until clicking on today's Google Doodle from Google Japan. Mr. Ando invented instant ramen...or as many Americans know it, likely college students, Cup Noodle soup.

There are four animated gifs on Google today but the one above is my favorite. Below are screenshots from my phone. You can read about Mr. Ando and instant ramen here. Itadakimasu!

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.

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! 

Nothing Says "Romance" Like Domino's Pizza

Domino's Pizza in Japan has a special running this week for Valentine's Day. If your significant other doesn't like chocolate...or really likes pizza, check this out. For ¥1300 or about $11 USD, you can get a medium heart-shaped cheese and pepperoni pizza. 

If you order a large pizza for ¥3000 they'll throw in the heart pizza for free. All of the details, including the coupon you've got to use, can be found here. The offer ends Saturday. 

Valentine's Day in Japan is a little different than in the United States. Traditionally women give men a gift on Valentine's Day and in return, on White Day (March 14th), men give a gift to said women. 

Back to the pizza...another option is to get 50% off a pizza worth ¥3000 or more and if you do that, you'll get another coupon for White Day. Oh la la!

The second coupon below is for those dining alone. If you'd like, when the deliveryman shows up with your pizza, he will conduct a "kabe don" or wall pound. Just like what you see in the picture. Romantic? Hmmm....maybe in the movies!

Izakaya Dinner at Kuimonoya

Restaurant entrance

In the military community a hail and farewell is held to say goodbye to one and welcome another and sometimes it’s done for spouses too. Last week a group of wives from Bob’s new command met for dinner at Kuimonoya Wan on Blue Street in Yokosuka for a hail and farewell. It’s on the 7^th floor of a pachinko parlor and The Lockup is in the same lobby. 

Shoe storage

It's an Izakaya restaurant which is quite common here. They're known for food and more so for drinks after work. I suppose they could be compared to a pub in the U.K. 

When we walked in we had to take our shoes off and store them in a locker. The key was a wood block about the size of my iPhone 4s. Since we were shoeless the restaurant provided sandals at the entrance to the ladies room. At that moment I was happy to be wearing socks, and not ugly ones or a pair with holes! I've been to restaurants where shoes had to be removed and others that didn't require it. It was pouring that night and we were still living out of our suitcases, so sneakers or ballet flats were my two options. 

Restroom shoes

I was talking to one of the ladies sitting across from me about Japan, how much we love it (she does too!) and the unique things we missed about it when we left in 2010. She mentioned the mouthwash dispenser mounted on the wall in the restroom. That was a first for me...I don't remember seeing that before. Naturally I snapped a picture of it and the shoes on the floor (with my pretty socks).  

Mouthwash

The food was excellent. We ordered family style and some of us ordered our own dishes. I had sweet potatoes gnocchi and fried soft shell crab. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what was on the plate. The entire crab was there and in tact. We ate everything...shell and all. One of the Japanese ladies with us said the shell is very healthy. I took her word for it as I ate one after the other. 

We were in a private room with sliding doors and a button on the wall to call the wait staff. As we ordered he entered it into something handheld that looked like a cell phone and that sent the order to the kitchen. The 20 or so of us were seated at floor level and our legs were under the table in a sunk-in area.

Fresh squeezed

I stuck with water for the evening but next time will order a sour. It's a Japanese drink of shochu (Japanese vodka), soda (seltzer?) and fruit. Someone sitting across from me ordered a grapefruit one and to my surprise came the drink, a side of grapefruit and a juicer! I think it's a fresh Chuhai to be honest but didn't think to ask. I'm not sure of other fruit options on the menu, but next time I'm there, or at another Izakaya, I'll pay more attention to the beverage menu. 

Their menu was in Japanese and English. I'm anxious to go back to try more dishes!

Sweet potato gnocchi w/ gorgonzola

Oishii (delicious) crab

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 :)