odds & ends

Random photos...look how HUGE this yolk is? Must've been LL (what we call XL) sized!

Saw this cloud on a walk, it reminded me of a spaceship.

How are these 4 shih-tzu? (At least I think they are shih-tzu)

When I first passed by there was also another dog outside of the gate, so they were barking away.

When I passed by again, it seemed they couldn't care less.

A "sprinkling" of clouds at Suigetsu Park.

I have a kind of weird habit when it comes to eating instant noodles.

Not that I eat them all the time, but when I do, the noodles have to be on the firm side and I always throw out the soup.

(This was a tantanmen, nice and spicy! Lots of sesame seeds.)

A popular Japanese boy band, SMAP, came out with a sports drink through Asahi Beverages to kick-off their new album tour.

It was good, kind of citrusy....only 98 yen (about US$.98) at the market.

I try not to buy lunch from the convenience store because they use lots of preservatives in their foods.

Usually sandwiches in Japan, no matter whether you get them at a bakery or convenience store will have 3 main types, egg salad, tuna or ham.

And you can find combinations of the 3 types, like ham and egg, tuna and ham, which they tend to call "mixed sandwiches".

Anyway, on a recent visit to the convenience store, this sandwich jumped out at me because it was different...teriyaki chicken and egg...literally an oyako (parent-child) sandwich!

This was good...sweet teriyaki chicken paired with egg salad ....250 yen (about US$2.50)

Out on the lanai, goya (bittermelon) is looking good.

I replanted 2 times since March because the weird weather killed my first 2 tries.

I am amazed at this plant. It has these thin "feelers" that "reach" out for things to climb on.

This year I bought plastic netting at the 100 yen store, in hopes that this year I will be able to harvest some bittermelon. Last year, I had little ones but nothing got big enough to eat.

My chili pepper plant revived.

I kept it indoors during Autumn and Winter, which is probably why it revived.

I hope this year I'll be able to get some chilies from it.

Bell pepper, looking kind of small, but I'm hoping this time around I'll be able to harvest something from this too.

Senjaku's rock salt candy. Our family friend, D, who I mentioned a couple days ago, raved about this rock salt candy.

He said that it reminded him of those candies we have in Hawaii with the li hing mui (preserved plum) in it. Yup, sweet and salty, these are good.

McVitie's lemon biscuits...even though half the biscuit is chocolate, you can't really taste it. These are nice and lemony...105 yen (about US$1.05)

Meiji semi-sweet almonds have a crunchy nib wafer coating...210 yen (about US$2.10)

These purple sweet potato Kit Kat were a gift from our family friend, D.

Most "brand name" candies have special editions for different areas in Japan, which you usually can only buy when visiting that particular area OR at food fairs at department stores.

These special edition items usually represent the area's famous/popular food item.

This Kit Kat is a special edition for Okinawa and Kyushu.

Though I'm not a fan of white chocolate, these really did taste like purple sweet potato.

I recently saw this light fixture made by art students near the Hankyu station...made from cotton swabs!

I have been checking out this Mini from the train. I finally walked down to take its picture.

Sorry this post is so long...Satoshi is letting me "go on vacation" for the rest of summer, he'll visit with MIL towards the end of my stay.

I hope to meet up with friends and spend time with family while I'm there.

Maybe try some new foodie places and reconnect with some old favorites...next post from HAWAII! (Praying for tradewinds there!)