this and that

Pretty lilies that we saw on the way to the temple for MIL's 100 day service.

"Juicy" inarizushi by Shigezo.

It was my first time trying this...super cheap at 208 yen for 7 inarizushi.

It was juicy (lots of sauce)...but I would've preferred a little more "stuff" like carrots or even sesame seeds instead of just sushi rice inside.

New (to me) baggage processors at Haneda airport for JAL.

After you scan your ticket, it prints out your baggage tag, YOU put the tag on your bag yourself and bring the bag to these conveyor belts.

The bag gets scanned and weighed and off it goes...

NOTE: do not listen to the check-in staff who told us to put our tag on a part of our bag that couldn't get scanned...boo!

Sumomo, a type of  plum...these were so sour..blah!

On top of that they were wrapped so tight that a lot were bruised…boo!

Shijo area, Kyoto on Saturday morning...usually this area is packed with people.

I think the time of day plus state of emergency resulted in the scarce amount of people.

FYI: There were more people when we got closer to the Kawaramachi area

Gotta love free wifi on the Shinkansen!

Been enjoying the gardenia in everyone's yards.

This seed bread from PAUL.

So soft and lots and lots of seeds!

They had actually filled it with soy filet "tuna" and sold it as a sandwich.

I also saw that they sell the bread separately too.

I'll be back to buy more of this bread!

This house had a cool net to catch all of their falling ume (apricots) from their tree.

Super tender yakitori (grilled chicken) bento that I found at Benny Supermarket...only 480 yen (plus tax).

Tokyo's numbers were steady at 400 cases a day, yesterday it upticked to 500!

It seems the main branch of government will end the state of emergency on schedule on June 20th, "because everyone is getting tired"...WT?!

They are opening up just so that the Olympics can take place.

So…get ready for the case numbers to "do its thing".

I feel so bad for the medical people because they are working tirelessly.

The main branch of government still says they can cancel this Olympics at any moment if they see fit (ha!) but I think Japan is on a vehicle with "no brakes" just so they can let this Olympics take place.

Most eateries have not been able to serve alcohol during this state of emergency, which has hurt the beverage industry as well. 

Starting on the 21st, if these establishments pass jumping through hoops, they can serve alcohol until 19:00! which literally means nothing.

This main branch of government is just trying to look like “the good guy” because they will hold an election later this year 

I'm trying to keep zen and hoping you all have a safe weekend.

Take care!

marugame seimen

Back in April when we went to Kyoto, we tried Marugame Seimen's udon bento.

For the bento toppings you can choose from 2 items, 3 items,  or their special bentos which have toppings like tori ten (fried chicken) or shrimp tempura.

It also comes with some kinpira & tamagoyaki.

The udon is bukkake (pour over) style, so the sauce comes in a little bag.

I tried the 2 item in April and it was delicious.

The bento came with some kakiage and chikuwa tempura.

Their summer bentos have daikon oroshi (grated radish).

This particular bento had tori ten (fried chicken) and a ponzu sauce.

Everything is packed after you order, so the fried items were still crisp when we got home...(actually MIL's is only 5 minutes away walking, so maybe it is a biased opinion...)

We don't have a Marugame Seimen nearby where we live in Tokyo, so this has been a nice change of pace for us when we are in Kyoto.

Marugame Seimen

Vivre Kitaoji, 1F

Kita, Kyoto

Hours: 10:00-20:00

Closed when Vivre is

some (more) things I brought back from kyoto

Some things I brought back from Kyoto...

Since I have sort of a collection of these girl's day dolls...I brought back MIL's stash...these looked really old and are actually clay bells.

These are laquered wood and I think I have the same ones but bigger...

This is a karakuri (move/slide) box, if you move/slide parts of the box it will unlock.

If I’m not mistaken people used to hide valuables in boxes like these.

Satoshi says there is a coin inside...love the top of the box.

This is the bottom of the box and the sides.

If you have the same box, please tell me how to unlock it...Satoshi says he has never been able to open this one.

yoshinoya

Nearby to MIL's is Yoshinoya, a tiny shop that has been in business since 1926.

They make all sorts of wagashi (Japanese sweets).

I tried their matcha jelly...matcha gelatin cubes, sweet bean paste, shiratama (similar to mochi balls) & mandarin oranges.

This also came with some kuromitsu (molasses),  but I didn't use it.

I enjoyed this especially since it was so hot and humid.

Satoshi had their kuzu sakura.

Sweet bean paste wrapped with sakura flavored kuzu mochi and a salted sakura leaf.

He said he enjoyed this.

I'm glad we tried this place, I have a feeling we tried them before but I never wrote about them.

We'll be back whenever we are in Kyoto.

Yoshinoya

54 Koyama Higashino-cho

Kita, Kyoto

Phone: 075.414.1901

Open daily 9:00-18:00

100 day service

Just like when FIL passed away, there was a 100 day service.

I don't think there is a specific meaning for this service except that it marks 100 days since the person has passed away.

This past weekend, we went to Kyoto for MIL's 100 day service.

Like April's 49 day service, we flew in and was able to see Mount Fuji...bummer the window we were seated at was kind of "dirty".

Ugh, turbulence after this was taken...

On the day of the service, BIL was feeling under the weather, so he didn't attend.

We had lunch afterwards with SIL, niece & nephew then went to BIL's to see the butsudan (family altar) which was moved from MIL's to BIL's last month.

It's been sad going to Kyoto these days, especially for Satoshi who is trying to purge things at MIL's....

We started rainy season today in Tokyo....hope this 100 day service was a safe gathering, hope BIL is feeling better and hope you all have a nice week.

this and that

We've been snacking on these banana chips that I found at Mart Iijima...there are 3 types in one container...

plain which is slightly sweet, kokuto (brown/black sugar) which has a caramel taste & shio (salt).
  

They use coconut oil to make these, I’ll get more next time I go to Mart Iijima

7-eleven's namachoco mochi (ganache covered with a thin chocolate mochi)...so ono!

The best part is they aren’t too big, maybe like an inch wide?! 

I had this with iced coffee but think it might be nice with wine too.

Kitchen Sumikko's shogayaki (pork ginger)...3 pieces of pork, hijiki, tsukemono & rice...950 yen (tax included)

The pork could have been more tender but I was surprised at how hefty this bento was.

Since we are still in a state of emergency until June 20, this shop has been closed since the end of April.

We were glad to see they were back serving lunch at the start of June.

Super tall lilies, I didn’t know they could grow so tall.

Part of the hikidemono (gift from wedding) we received, a box of baum kuchen. 

There were 8 with flavors like kokuto (black/brown sugar), satsumaimo (sweet potato), kinako (soy bean powder), cinnamon and chestnut.

There was also some Japanese black tea that was made in Nagasaki.

And there was a catalog for us to order something, which we plan to order some rice.

As for the Olympics, they are still debating with 43 days to go.

The government says they have evidence it can be a safe event...though they still haven’t shown anyone their “evidence”.

The medical people still say it is too dangerous to hold this event...there is data to show we’ll need to go into another “state of emergency” if the Olympics is held.

I still say that they should cancel it because the risk is too high.

Tokyo & Osaka have opened large vaccination centers to vaccinate some of the surrounding prefectures.

Trouble is the elderly are leery to travel all the way to Tokyo/Osaka just to get vaccinated.

Looks like it will be the end of summer before we get our vaccines.

The temperature this week has hit krazy highs for June....talk about melty!

Hope you are all doing well.

Have a safe weekend.

this cat

I told you about this cat how it always looks mad.

Well, I was lucky to get a photo of him...

He's smiling...really.

It's blazing here these days...hope you are doing well.