kaseiro

A neat thing about living in Tokyo is that we are rather close to Yokohama.

Yokohama has one of the largest Chinatown areas in Japan.

Since the Moon Festival was coming up, I picked up this almond cookie and mooncake (geppei) for us to try.

Bummer that the cookie was dry and kind of sand-like...definitely not like the type of almond cookies my mom used to make, which were more shortbread like.

The mooncake was filled with a chestnut filling.

I enjoyed this more.

We've been to Yokohama in the past (pre-blog) and hope to get back to reconnect soon.

Kaseiro
Takashimaya Tamagawa B1
Setagaya, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3709.3111

p.s. THAT was the scariest typhoon ever...I think it passed right in front of our building! The glass doors were shaking so hard from the wind and rain, I thought they were going to shatter.

Luckily, we didn't lose power, there are many other that did.

It's supposed to hit 30C-something today (86F-something) eep! Thanks to those who checked up on us.

the past couple of days

Satoshi went back to work today, so I have some time to post.

On New Years Eve day, we had toshikoshi soba for lunch.

Although we had more soba than soup...

Then for New Years Eve dinner we had all sorts of nibbles.

New Years Day morning.. we had ozoni with mochi in it, some sekihan (reddish rice with azuki beans), and o-toso (which is just a little sip of sake to ward off illnesses and to start the new year).

We went to several of the shrines that we normally do for Hatsumode (first prayers of the New Year).

While standing in line to get to the prayer area of a shrine, we saw this huge tai (sea bream), just hanging in front of an izakaya (Japanese pub).

Huge, yeah?!

I was surprised no cats had attacked it...

Dinner was o-sechi, the foods that are normally eaten during this holiday...I've written about this previously,here.

I'm super thankful for pre-made stuff and not having to do these foods from scratch.

On the 2nd, we braved the crowds of the department store to pick up some bento.

Luckily, we knew what we wanted to get, so we were in and out of there rather quickly...it was super nuts!

We brought the bento and went to visit MIL.

This year is the Year of the Dog.

I noticed this origami dog on MIL's calendar, so we cut it out and folded it into the dog.

We saw the Super Moon as we walked home from the train station.

And then last night, we were craving some meat, so we had some steak with mango chutney and other nibbles.

With all the eating I did, I definitely need to get some walking in...

Hopefully you all had a great holiday season.

funky

Last night we had some funky clouds, but could still see the Harvest Moon...kinda.

Hope it was clear on your side of the world.

chushu-no-meigetsu

Last night was chushu no meigetsu. This is what they call they call a full moon in the middle of an autumnal month.

Awhile back, I wrote a detailed post about jugoya, and while researching for this post, it seems that it means the same thing as chushu-no-meigetsu...the harvest moon.

We once visited Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto while they were celebrating the Harvest Moon which I wrote about here.

　Don't forget to eat some tsukimi dango while gazing at the moon.

Enjoy!

jugoya

Monday night was jugoya, which is literally "the 15th night".

I've written about this before here.

The moon was beautiful but the humidity was still awful.

I'm definitely wishing for some cooler weather.

no meteors

Were you able to see some of those meteors from that Perseid meteor shower?

No meteors to be seen over here...mainly because there was a nearly full moon lighting up the skies.

Oh, well, made for a great photo, even if it was blurry.

wolf moon

Were you able to check out the Wolf Moon?

I'm glad I was able to see it, it was fabulous!

When if first rose, there was this yellowish coloring to it.

Would've been perfect during Halloween, no?!

Then later in the evening it was bright and white.

Sorry my photos are blurry.

Have a good week!

stollen and chai

Recently for breakfast, we had stollen and chai. (I actually hadn't known about stollen until coming to Japan.)

Now, it is a signal to me that Christmas is coming.

At Epinard, a local sweet shop in Minoo, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were selling stollen....240 yen (about US$2.40) for their mini size.

It was my first time trying their stollen, which had lots of fruit and nuts in it. I bought 2 mini sized pieces and cut each into 3 for our breakfast...delicious!

A little on the sweet side with the powdered sugar on the outside, kind of like a cookie, it was perfect with some unsweetened chai.

Is there something special you eat/drink during this time of year?

Epinard
6-6-8 Minoo
Phone: 072.724.2248
Closed: Wednesdays

Yesterday, a couple of elementary school boys pointed out this huge full moon as I was on my walk (actually they were chatting amongst themselves and I overheard them).

Since I didn't have my camera with me, I took a photo of the moon as soon as I got back, just after sunset.

If you feed them...

minoo2008 (51)
Originally uploaded by katnhwi

Starting next April, the city of Minoo will impose a fine of 10,000 yen (about US$100) for feeding the monkeys in Minoo Park.

Apparently with these feedings, their body rhythms have changed and have increased the amount of births. You might think that an increase in births is not a bad thing, but apparently it is, because the increase seems to have tripled the amount of monkeys within a couple of years.

The increase in monkeys has also increased the amount of attacks on people eating in the park and damages to crops nearby.

There are many other areas in Japan with wild monkeys and similar problems, but Minoo is the first city to place a fine on feeding them.

So, if you feed them (especially in Minoo), be prepared to pay.

p.s. The harvest moon was more spectacular on Sunday night...

jugoya

Yesterday in the shopping arcade there was a long line for these cute dango (dumplings/cakes). They are called tsukimidango (moon watching cakes). The dumplings are tear drop shaped and covered with an (sweet bean paste)--the green one is yomogi (mugwort).

Jugoya, literally the 15th night, marks the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (which is usually mid or late September for our calendar). In China, it is called the Moon Festival and is celebrated with their famous moon cakes.

In Japan, the elite would gather beneath the full moon to write poems and drink sake, while farmers would pray to the moon to ensure good crops.

During this time, you can see many flower arrangements using susuki (pampas grass) and hagi (bush clover). In some homes, the susuki along with dumplings and vegetables are offered to the moon to pray for a good harvest. It is also thought that praying or making wishes upon the full moon at this time would help to make them come true.

I know what I'm wishing for...What did you wish for? (well, don't tell me, otherwise it won't come true!)