takashimaya futakotamagawa

near my dentist is Takashimaya Futakotamagawa

I've always seen people sitting here

I recently learned that there is Wi-Fi here, so it is convenient when waiting to someone

or for your dentist appointment...ha! 

in the corridor that links the south building to the main building they always have flowers and often have contests to win the flowers that they have on display

I thought these begonias were interesting!

unusual too!

and I saw this guy carrying his furry one in this teeny carrier!

The chihuahua was barking quite a bit, I think it was mad that its carrier was too small!

so fun to people watch...

p.s. it is still raining in Japan.

Chiba had flooding again and many other parts of Japan too

I know Hawaii has a hurricane coming...stay safe everyone!

nuts vessel

Nuts Vessel is a treat that we received from friend Hiromi, when we saw them last month

It is made by Sagamiya, we've tried some of their products in the past

I got a little worried when I read on the box that the caramel won't melt even in the heat of summer!

And there is also a warning inside about being careful with your knife when cutting it

So, I broke it by hand

It turned out that the caramel isn't too thick and not the type to stick to your teeth and I love all the nuts!

still, we should be careful eating this, don't want another reason to go to the dentist

I'm glad we got to try this, thank you Hiromi!

ps I went to the dentist yesterday.

He did some gum surgery that involved a laser.

Anyway, I appreciate everyone sending me good mojo. I'm on the mend and will go back next Monday to check to see how it is healing

fishwife

Not sure when I started liking canned fish but I know growing up I did not

Anyway, tried the canned sardines by Fishwife, that I bought when I was in Hawaii

it had a smoky flavor even if it doesn't note it on the package

couldn't make out the preserved lemon

but we enjoyed it on pasta

dunno if I would get this again but I'm glad we tried this

this and that

finally gave up these plastic slippers...I had bought them when we went to Okinawa (pre-blog) in 2004?!

I had been using them in the shower because I don't want to catch Satoshi's athlete's foot...the strap on the right broke first and the one of the left broke recently

I am using my MUJI slippers in the shower now...

thought this was a unique way to grow plants...no pot, just hang them in a sturdy plastic bag

remember this building? (photo from April) well, they tore it down while I was in Hawaii

and were trying to take apart the gate/arch area in August

They are already starting to build something on the land...I hope it won't be a high rise

not sure if there is a law or just a rule, but construction sites must give workers breaks during the day to hydrate

most times, you see the workers sitting in the shade.

this was the first time I saw a rental "room"

when you are walking and hear a "click" "click" sound...then see this on the bottom of your slipper

these type of 3D stickers are all the rage here...

drinking antibiotics...had blister thingy on the roof of my mouth near a tooth

went to the dentist and he took out the blood...luckily no pus!

will go back on monday, hoping it will heal and no need to do any more work in that area...good mojo please!

Busu no Kobu...is the name of a sweet in Kuji, Iwate from Sawagiku

I thought it was a unusual name..."busu" in Japanese means "ugly" and "kobu" in Japanese means "lump"

The name comes from Ainu language and refers to an area in Kuji that the Ainu used to live...so "busu" means "bushi (warrior)" and "kobu" means "to gather"

These were like pie crust manju, the one on the left was filled with sweet bean paste and the one on the right also had black sesame seeds

I'm glad we tried them.

Was able to get a package of my favorite ume from Fukumitsuya...the price went up, up, up!

Wanted to try this tomato dressing, but after seeing it in a store, I couldn't remember which store

I like this okonomiyaki sauce by Oliver sauce, but cannot find it in the supermarket I originally bought it from

And the Hiroshima antenna shop only sells the teeny package of furikake, so I wanted the bigger size

Instead of paying shipping fees for all three, I ordered them from Yodobashi camera and went to pick them up!

It was fast too, I ordered it and the next day I was able to pick them up!

Was happy I could use points from my Yodobashi card too, so it was 350 yen off!

even if the weather is still super warm, the Autumn type foods are out and about

marron (chestnut) custard pie!

I have these "socks" on our bench legs so they won't make noise and bother the people below

The only problem is the "socks" are loose, so they fall off whenever we move the bench

I bought these velcro straps to help keep the "socks" up, let's see how long it will take “someone” to notice...he still hasn't noticed the door knobs

More rain forecast! so much flooding all over Japan due to bands of rain that just hover over areas for hours! days!

oh and our flu season has started early!

Hope everyone will have a safe weekend.

misawa-hachinohe-tokyo

breakfast wasn't as chaotic as dinner but still very crowded

some interesting items at the buffet...

apple curry...different but delicious
 

hiyashi dashi chazuke with shiso pickled chinese yam

sashimi (scallop, squid and amaebi)

okra and chinese yam mixture

ume furikake

(actually you could top your rice with the sashimi or the chazuke items, the rice was super hot, so I didn’t want to put the sashimi directly on the rice, so I added the cold dashi on the rice instead)

cinnamon apple jam with milk bread

different styles of embroidery

fill a sachet with Hiba, a wood native to Japan that has hinokitol, a rare compound only found in Aomori Hiba 

It apparently keeps away the bugs 

loved the Hiba apple container that was in our room too

Nebuta bags at Aomoriya

Aomori kelp and fish are used in their dashi packs

Hotate (scallops) that were raised in Mutsu, are used in these crunchy snacks

Semi dried apples, in different varieties

choco Q suke we tried this back in 2024, nice to reconnect with it in Aomori

Hachinohe Eboshi are festive headdress worn during the Hachinohe Emburi, a winter festival in February. 

This festival is to dance and pray for a bountiful harvest

huge! float for the Hachinohe Sansha Taisai, a festival held from July 31 to August 4

3 shrines, 27 floats and 3 mikoshi parade through the streets of Hachinohe

Yawata Uma are given at celebrations such as weddings

it was definitely cooler in Iwate and Aomori

the transportation is kind of sparse but at least we were able to see and do the things we intended to

I hope you enjoyed this adventure as much as we did

kuji-tanesashi coast-hachinohe-misawa

The breakfast buffet wasn't too exciting...I did eat some things but think the thing I was most excited to try was a different yogurt made by a local company...Ono Yume Yogurt.

From Kuji, we caught the JR train going towards Hachinohe

And got off at Okuki

(Unlike Sanriku Railways, you need to pay every time you get off/on the local JR train)

This was to see the Tanesashi Coast, unfortunately there wasn't much to see from Okuki

So we walked toward JR Tanesashi Kaigan station (because the train wasn’t due for another couple of hours!) but there was no sidewalk, so it was quite scary!

Live and Learn: If you do go to see the coast, get off at Tanesashi Kaigan Station instead!

There are some restaurants and a rest area, so you can also view the coast from here

short video here

Again, the trains are sparse, so luckily there is the Umineko Bus

We caught it from Tanesashi Kaigan to Kabushima Kaihin Park

Satoshi wanted to see the Kabushima Shrine

Walk 3 times around the shrine to receive good luck!

 

find a pokemon manhole

since we had time (like an hour) before the train, we walked about 15 minutes to Same (sah-may)...which means shark in Japanese...which equals this JAWS-like thingy in front of the station...ha!

it was drizzly, a little cold...we were in search of lunch and I found a tiny shop selling gyudon (beef bowls)

The samekko beef (the brand beef of the area) was bland but on the soft side (Satoshi said his was tough)...boo

The fried chicken skin in the corner of the bento was super crispy and ono!

and the beef broth with pieces of horumon (intestine) in it was ono!

The hot broth hit the spot!

Good thing we ate before the train came because the train was packed, so it would’ve been difficult to eat our beef bowls on the train

From Hachinohe, we took a local train to Misawa where the bus for Aomoriya picked us up

Unlike most Hoshino Resort Hotels, this one seemed to be more family oriented, so it was a little more "festive" and it was kinda "chaotic" and there were many, many guests

Because Aomori is known for its Nebuta Festival, there were many Nebuta decorations

Aomori is known for their apples so there was all you can drink apple juice

interesting items at the dinner buffet...tempura apple and tempura garlic

Aomori is also known for their garlic

The steak sauce was a shoyu base and had apple in it it

Pickled apple...reminded me of pickle mango...ono!

Apple compote...delicious!

Another long day, the weather was drizzly but we got to see all that Satoshi had set out to see.

Tanesashi Kaigan Information Center

14-167 Tanakubo, Samemachi

Hachinohe, Aomori

Hours: 9:00-17:00

Mouka no Hoshi

12-1 Shinobucho, Samemachi

Hachinohe, Aomori

Hours: 11:30-14:30 (lunch), 17:00-21:00 (dinner) 

*Mondays & Tuesdays lunch only

Kabushima Shrine

56-2 Same, Samemachi

Hachinohe, Aomori

Hours: 8:30-17:20

Aomoriya by Hoshino Resort Hotels

56 Furumagiyama

Misawa, Aomori