futon

It’s been 3 years but we are giving up those heavy futons that we got from MIL's

Part of the reason is that "someone" says it is "too heavy" to take out and put back into the closet every day

And another reason is that "someone" says his back hurts from sleeping on it

So instead we got these foldable mattresses which are super light

BUT they are a little bigger/wider, so you need to maneuver it as you put it into the closet

I was surprised when they were delivered because the boxes were super big!

I like that it also has a "bag" that it can be put into if you need to take it somewhere

We've made an appointment for our ward to pick up our old ones

I still need to get the seals for us to pay for them to pick them up and to get rid of the futons

And eventually we will get rid of the bulky down futons too

As a replacement, we bought sleeping bags

These are good because they are light and unzip so you can use them like blankets.

With all the earthquakes and natural disasters recently, I felt having sleeping bags we would be good to have if we had to go into a shelter instead of lugging the bulky futons

Anyway, we'll be testing out our sleeping bags this winter before we throw out the bulky down futons

this and that

enjoyed this movie recently "the lunchbox" 

I have been wanting to watch it and luckily found it on you tube

enjoyed this one too..."east side sushi" which I also have been wanting to see and also found it on you tube
 

tried the frozen blueberries from 7-eleven...they are more on the tart side so not too good to eat with pancakes, probably better in smoothies or in muffins...

we ate the pasta sauce we received from the family fair...this was ono!

I added broccoli that I had frozen

This sauce is on the saltier side so we cannot have this too often

krazy lady is at it again...she often comes across to cut our plants because she "thinks" all our leaves come over to her side and fills up her drains...

poor plants

With all the rain lately, it has affected the price of leafy veggies

1/4 of a hakusai (chinese cabbage) was 258 yen plus tax! I used the 1/4 to make millefeuille nabe (hot pot) last night

I made this hot pot lazy style without the consomme cube and kim chee, this version was without maitake too...

We ate it with daikon oroshi and dashi shoyu.

Typhoon 31 (In-Fa) has formed and is making its way toward Okinawa...it's been gloomy with the clouds 

We've gone from Autumn straight into Winter...though the temps are supposed to go up over the weekend

Have a safe weekend!

toothpick

do you use the toothpick that usually comes with wooden chopsticks?

apparently, not everyone does
 

so, recently, they have been making these "packets" without the toothpick

if you usually use the toothpick, you'll have to start bringing your own

ikedayama bread & coffee

I had an errand to run and also checked out another location for Ikedayama Bread & Coffee

This one is located near the JR Gotanda Station 

I got their saucisson and cinnamon roll

Loved the sausage, it was super flavorful with a snap

I would've preferred the sauerkraut to be "loose" and not stuck onto the sausage with cheese but I still enjoyed this

The cinnamon roll was a disappointment, I think it might have been overbaked

This shop seems to be a lot smaller than the one in Jiyugaoka and the one in Higashi Gotanda

I'll probably make the walk to the Higashi Gotanda shop in the future.

Ikedayama Bread & Coffee

1-2-10 Nishigotanda, Circles Gotanda 1F

Shinagawa, Tokyo

Open daily: 8:00-19:00

swicy

a television show here said that the food trend this year is “swicy”...sweet + spicy = swicy

I saw this at one of the supermarkets that I go to and bought one to try
 

I don't think I've ever tried Buldak, but have heard it is really spicy

This version comes with the spicy sauce packet and a sweet sprinkle packet

there are sugar crystals as well as brownish ones

even if this was level 1, it was too spicy for me...mouth.on.fire

should’ve added an egg, still I'm glad I tried it

penguin bakery

Been wanting to try Penguin Bakery for some time now.

They are originally from Hokkaido, and have franchises all over Japan

Earlier this year when they first opened in Motomachi, the lines were kinda krazy, so it was nice to just be able to "walk in" purchase things and "walk out"

I got their root vegetable curry pan, corn bread and cookie melon pan

The root vegetable curry pan was so ono! filled with lots of veggies and curry

The curry wasn't super spicy which was also nice

The corn bread was filled to the gills with corn! love!

Least favorite was the cookie style melon pan...there were crystal sugar pieces here and there to give a "crunch" but it was not even "cookie like"

Anyway, I wished they had more savory items.

I'm glad I tried this bakery, not sure I would go back though

Penguin Bakery

1-13 Ishikawa-cho

Naka ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa

Open daily: 10:00-19:00

gacha gacha no mori ribasuku

After lunch at Codie's, I walked to Yamashita Park to see the roses

so many furry people out and about

 

I wasn't too sure if I was early for rose season or if "this was it", still, it was nice to see

kochia

unusual colored coleus

found an interesting objet...zangiri, which commemorates the birthplace of Western style barbering in Japan during the late 19th century

caught these two talking story

found the statue of the girl with red shoes

blog friend, Kirk, also posted about the girl with red shoes in San Diego, which is Yokohama's sister city

Nearby is the Industry and Trade Center

And in the basement is the Gacha Gacha no Mori Ribasuku, which I learned about from social media

not sure what ribasuku stands for…

Entrance fee is 10 yen (or more) this money is given to charities

This shop is tiny but they let you see the toys from the gacha gacha machines, so you can buy the one you actually want at the price that the gacha machines sell them for

since BFF likes otters, I found one for her...300 yen (tax included)

I'm glad I checked this place out and it was a nice walk after eating such a big lunch

Gacha Gacha no Mori Ribasuku

2 Yamashitacho, Industry & Trade CenterB1

Naka ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa

Open daily: 11:00-17:00