Nostalgia

Been really missing Bali these days. Well, not really the real Bali, but more my image of Bali. You know, the trees, flowers, water, birds, and tranquility.

I didn't know how much I missed wearing shorts and sandals until it got hot enough here these days. I had forgotten how it felt like to have the indoor and outdoor temperatures be alike. How I wouldn't shiver when I opened the door, or hold my breath because the wind is slitting my throat.

I forgot how easy it was to keep my skin moist in the summer. Not needing to constantly put thick body butter on only to have it dry out in half a day. I even forgot how my shins looked like because I haven't seen them for six months.

I had forgotten how it feels to not be cold when getting out of the shower and to not frown at the thought of getting my hair wet. I had forgotten how limber my fingers and toes can be when they're warm. And how lovely it is to hear the birds when I wake up.

Summer here, to me, represents life. All things come alive and dances with you until darkness crawls in at midnight. People are out and about, talking, walking, playing, living. Plants thrive and flowers bloom. Then the animals come home, and join this amazing encounter of laughter and love.

People here don't really walk bare foot at all, and I have slowly forgotten how the earth feels like. Only in my dreams while I dream of being a child again do I get to feel the soft support of freshly cut grass. Only in my dreams of Bali do I get to feel the warm embrace of the sun again, beaming through the plumeria trees. Only in my dreams do the bees carry my dreams up to the sky and reach the stars, showering back down like kisses.

I dream of Bali. Perhaps it was Bali in the 70s, or maybe it is all in my imagination. But if I don't stop dreaming, then maybe some day, I will wake up among the flowers and the stars and realize, that I'm finally home.

Sweets, So Many Sweets, and More Japanese Sweets - Japan 2015 4/7

One of my favorite things from Japan is their large variety of cute and delicious sweets. Here are some of the ones we bought on our trip!

Kit Kats
I recently learned that there are over 200 kinds of Kit Kats in Japan. I had already bought a few different flavours when we passed by Japan last time, and I thought surely I would be given tons of opportunity to buy a ton more this time. To my surprise, they were not as common as I thought they would be. I didn't see any unique flavours in convenient stores or super markets, but almost only at souvenir shops.

 I was able to buy 3 flavours of Kit Kats during this trip, they are Wa-Ichigo (Japanese Strawberry), Mount Fuji Strawberry Cheesecake, and Raspberry. On my previous trips, I've bought Red Bean, Strawberry, Sakura Macha (Cherry Green Tea), and Dark Chocolate.

Giant Osaka Castle Cake



Our flight to Osaka was actually the first ever direct flight between Vancouver and Osaka for Air Canada Rouge, and because of that, they had set up a buffet, 2 sushi cupcake carts, and an amazing looking giant Osaka Castle Cake display at our gate. Unfortunately, because we waited until the last 10 minutes before we went to our gate, we did not get a chance to taste any food, nor the Osaka Castle cupcakes. We did, however, managed to grab 2 overly sweet sushi cupcakes before we boarded the plane. Lesson learned!

 

Hello Kitty Tea House in Kyoto

I knew there was a Hello Kitty Pop Up Café in Laforet in Shibuya but that was done a few months ago, so I tried really hard to look for an alternative. To my surprise, more popped out for Korea and Taiwan than for Japan. Finally I was able to find a Hello Kitty Tea House in Kyoto and immediately decided to go.

 

We actually went directly after my Maiko makeover appointment as it is almost right across the street, which is situated between Kiomizu Dera and Gion, near Sannanzaka, right next door to the Ghibli Studio store. The weather was perfectly cloudy and I was exhausted from the photo shoot. We had to wait for about 10 minutes before we were led into the tea house, which wasn't as bad as I thought, given that we went on a holiday.

It was too cute!

Everything had Hello Kitty on it including the napkins and coasters. They even placed giant Hello Kitties on empty seats so guests feel like they're having tea with Kitty herself! I ordered the Hello Kitty Matcha Latte and a Manju, and Keith ordered a delicately decorated Hello Kitty Parfait.

Pablo Cheese Tart

There were always crazy long lines for Pablo in Osaka no matter where we went. They make more than just Cheese Tarts but the Cheese Tarts are what people are lining up for. These Pablo Cheese Tarts are ¥780 each, and comes in 2 styles: "Rare" and "Medium", with the Rare style having a softer inside.

We tried both the Rare and Medium styles (of course) and also tried their Golden Brulee Cheese Pudding. These magical creamy goodies are not nearly as sweet as cheese cakes in Canada, and we both really loved that fact.

Fuji Shibazakura Limited Edition Cookies

We got these from the Shibazakura Festival near Mount Fuji. They are cherry flavoured cookies with cherry blossom and white chocolate coating. They are pretty delicious, and tastes kind of like shortbread. 

Strong Macha Cake Sandwich
Keith wasn't a big fan of these because it actually has quite a strong matcha taste and he's still getting used to the flavour (it literally says "strong matcha" on the cover). I, on the other hand, absolutely loved them. They are little round cakes with cream in the middle, all matcha flavoured. Maybe because I don't really like my cakes too sweet, I literally ate these all day!

Shizuoka Specialty Steamed Cake - Strawberry Flavour
These little fluffy balls of heaven are a Shizuoka specialty. They come in many flavours but we only got a small box of strawberry ones on our way to Mount Fuji. Big mistake, as they were phenomenal! These are steamed strawberry cakes with custard in the centre. They kind of look like a small muffin (with out the muffin top) and just melts in your mouth. They are Keiths favorite and totally justified.

Hiroshima / Miyajima Specialty Iron Pressed Cakes - Variety Filling
Nearly all the vendors sold these on Miyajima Island. They are iron pressed cakes, shaped in a maple leaf, that come in a variety of flavours. We bought a package that included custard, chocolate, lemon, and chestnut flavours.

Grocery Store Sweets
Before we came back to Canada we visited the grocery store "Life" and bought about a million things to try or bring back. These were some of the snacks/sweets we bought.

Starting from the top left corner are cake rolls dipped in a matcha white chocolate kind of coating. Then in the top centre are avocado cream cheese bite size tortilla chips. The green package on the right contains small pieces of Baumkuchen, a layered log cake that is usually extremely amazing but for some reason this brand doesn't last long at all and completely dried up by the time we got back to Canada.

In the very centre is a Kobe specialty pudding cake, it is extremely moist and soft and tastes a bit caramelly. The package to the left is dried squid (salty), which is something I ate on a regular basis when I was in Taiwan. It came also be seen at the bottom right corner. The last 2, starting on the bottom left, are Japanese style pineapple and peach flavoured macaroons, and konnyaku jelly.

We also bought my favorite waffles of all time, the 7-11 brand Belgian waffles, as well as some Hokkaido cheese cakes that were just a bit to moist and bland for me.

Our Beverage Run at the local Super(-market)

The same night we went to "Life" we also bought a variety of drinks that were just too special to ignore.

Starting from the left, is an extremely thick and the most delicious mango and peach cocktail I've ever had. Then a cola flavoured alcoholic drink. Third from the left is a Calpis soda alcoholic drink, followed by the Belgium Hoegaarden beer. Then, it is a jar of organic apple jam, which I have yet to try, and a big cup of pudding (my favorite)! Lastly, we bought a carton of Hokkaido milk, which we compared with another cheaper branch, and even did a blind taste test on (I liked the cheaper brand better).

Speaking of milk, Keith and I are both lactose intolerant. In Canada, even if we add Lactaid we still sometimes get upset stomachs. But in Japan, not only do they have the creamiest and milkiest milk in the whole world, our stomachs handle them completely fine. I definitely recommend trying Japanese milk when you go to Japan. Though it may be an unusual choice to local specialty to try, it will be totally worth it (oh, also ice cream).

Hanging out at home after dinner going through some of these snacks were some of my greatest memories from this trip, because, not only is chilling out in an air conditioned room after a long sweaty day eating snacks in bed one of the greatest joys in the world, I had the most amazing company as well. #livingthedream!

My Maiko Makeover Adventure in Kyoto - Japan 2015 3/7

There are a few things tourists typically do in Kyoto besides temples and shopping -- rent a kimono to walk around in for the day, tea ceremonies, or a Geisha/Maiko makeover.

With all the places we had planned to see every day, I wasn't confident I would be able to walk around all day in a kimono and those wooden sandals while wearing tabi socks. The next logical replacement of a similar experience, I thought, would then be to do the Geisha/Maiko makeover in a makeover studio.

A Maiko is an apprentice Geisha, who's usually younger, and from what I've seen, wears brighter colour and prettier clothes. In the studio I've chosen -- Studio Shiki, you can choose to be either a Geisha or a Maiko, and the majority of the guests choosing to be Maikos.

I wanted to be a Maiko as well.

It was our first time in Kyoto on one misty morning. We climbed up the stone paved road and turned left by one of the oldest temples.Everything was too beautiful and picturesque.

I had chosen Studio Shiki for my maiko makeover experience. I compared a few different companies, some looked really high end (and so were the prices), and some seemed less so. Studio Shiki was at the middle with a very established business process, 2 branches, and a well organized English web site. They have a year long campaign going on and most of their plans were 50% off because of that. The cheapest plan was the Studio Plan, which was the one that I chose. It consists of 6 studio photos and 10 minutes of free time to take your own photos. Other plans allow you to either take photos in a Japanese room, the court yard, or an outdoor plan that is much longer and allows you to walk around while a photographer follows you around.

As we approached our destination, we saw the sign to the studio followed by a wide and beautiful entry way. Through the traditional Japanese wooden doors was a small reception area. The studio opens at 9 and we got there around 9:40 even though our appointment was for 10. I read a ton of reviews about this place and people said it fills up really quick and they schedule up to 20 people per hour during weekends and holidays. There were 3 more people before us waiting in the reception area when we got there, but 2 more arrived soon after we did. We waited for about 15 minute, then I was given a basket, a key, and was told to head on up stairs to get started. Keith, being my trusted camera man, had to wait downstairs until I got all dressed up.

The studio is 3 stories high. Behind the reception desk is a huge wall of shoe closets, you get a locker key with a number, and a clip with the same number. You clip the clip onto your shoes, and head up to the 3rd floor. On the 3rd floor, there is another huge row of small lockers where you can put your clothes. They give you a pair of tabi socks and a funky geisha robe that has 2 v-necks, one in the front and one in the back. There is also a row of sinks, some hair dryers, and tons of products by the sinks for you to wash your makeup off afterwards.

After you get changed, you go to the 2nd floor, where the assembly line starts. There's a tiny waiting room area where an employee verifies your file and your plan. You are then led into a room with 6 makeup seats and mirrors. There is also a row of benches by the wall behind those makeup seats where you sit and wait for your turn. There are about 8 staff working on everyone and running around. Minutes after I sat down, one of the ladies came to take my makeup off. She then put some glue like paste on my face and shoulders. Another 5 minutes later, I was shown to a makeup chair where another lady put the white paint on my face and neck. After she did the preliminary painting, another lady came over to do the finer details of the makeup. She padded down the white paint to even it out, then worked on the rest of my makeup. All the ladies were friendly and extremely professional. they seemed to be really skilled at what they do and were persistent in making things perfect.

I was then led to a huge closet where hundreds of beautiful kimonos were displayed. I was told to pick out my favorite, but there were so many I was having a hard time. I also wanted something with more patterns and didn't really see any of them. I hesitantly asked this one lady if she could recommend something. She asked me which colour I wanted, I told her pink, and she soon picked out one that she said was very popular. And it was perfect. Not only was it the right shade of pink I wanted, it had lots of beautiful patterns on it. I immediately said yes to that.

They bring your selected kimono into the kimono dressing room while you get a wig fitting. You wait back in the makeup room in one of those benches in the back, then you're called into the wig room, where there is once again a huge closet with wigs in them. There are 2 options for wigs, one is a full wig, which basically sit on your head like a helmet, and the other, a half wig, where they incorporate your own hair into it. The half wig took a lot longer and was ¥2,100 extra, so I went with the full wig.

I was led into the kimono dressing room where 4 staff members are helping guests get dressed. I waited about 2 minutes before it was my turn. There were a lot of ropes, padding, and even a huge piece of plastic plate that has to go under the kimono, by the end of it I felt a lot like a Chinese Zongzi. With all those layers it was actually a bit hard to walk down the stairs, but it's show time!

I had picked out an extra photo in the Japanese room so I was led there first, Keith was brought over as I did the Japanese room shot (the photo at the very top of this post).

I was then led into a studio that was completely white. It had all sorts of professional lighting and a kick ass looking professional camera. I was given props and coached on how to pose and where to look. We took a total of about 9 pictures and was led back into the Japanese room, where we were given 10 minutes to take our own pictures. Keith and I actually had rehearsed which poses we wanted and got swiftly to work.

This experience was quite amazing. It was quick and painless, and all the staff are really nice. Definitely recommend it if you have a couple hours to spare the next time you're in Kyoto.