muji

MUJI is a popular clothing, interior, knick-knack store all over Japan (and in some countries abroad).

I use the MUJI app, called MUJI passport, to keep track of shopping points.

You can also check-in to MUJI stores (once a day) and get 10 points (equivalent to 10 yen) per check-in as long as you are no farther than 600 meters (0.3 miles) away.

For the year, as your shopping points and check-ins accumulate they give you shopping coupon when you reach a certain amount, the higher the amount of points, the higher the amount of the shopping coupon.

When we take long train rides, I check-in at various MUJI shops when we stop at a station that has a MUJI shop nearby, if I remember to...

Recently they changed the type of check-in stamps we receive.

The stamps before were kind of boring, if I remember correctly, just a round circle that said "MUJI check-in".

Now, the stamps are fun...representing the areas that the shops are located.

For example, Osaka's stamp is of Tsutenkaku (the tower that is a landmark of Osaka and kinda looks like the Eiffel Tower).

Since MUJI also has shops abroad, I hope to be able to collect some check-in stamps, (if and) when we travel international.

sakura walk

Yesterday on the way to the market, I got a photo of this weeping cherry.

The blossoms should be in full bloom by the end of the week (so says the weather dude).

Since most of my favorite spots around our neighborhood haven't started blooming yet, I will try to check them out again next week.

Did you ever wonder how the weather people determine when the trees will start blooming?

Apparently each area has a designated tree, when that tree has 5 or 6 flowers that have bloomed, the weather people then announce that the cherry blossom season has started for that area.

Then about a week later, temperatures and weather permitting, the flowers should be in full bloom.

Interesting, yeah?!

expiry dates

I recently learned something new about the expiry dates on eggs...

The date that is on the carton or directly on the egg is the date that you need to eat the egg if you are going to be eating them raw.

Many people eat raw eggs here as T.K.G. (tamago kake gohan) --putting a raw egg onto hot rice. And also when eating sukiyaki, they dip their meat/veggies into a raw scrambled egg.

If you will be cooking the eggs they apparently can be used after the expiry date.

Cool, yeah?!

sakura walks

It's that time of year to take my walks around our area to check out the sakura (cherry blossoms).

Yesterday, it was quite overcast as I was walking to the market.

Most trees have their blossoms up high, but these just happened to be at "my eye level".

As I walked back from the market, I went to check out a weeping cherry...I think it was about 50% in bloom.

Today, I stopped at Suigetsu Park, but there weren't many trees in bloom yet. So I went "next door" to Sonpachiyakujin, and they had a weeping cherry almost in full bloom.

After lunch, I got to face time with family (love technology!) it's Easter for them and my brother is also celebrating his birthday.

The temps are supposed to pick up this week and the cherry blossoms should be in full bloom by the weekend.

Hope you have a nice week.

gebacken & tofukuji

FIL's meinichi (date of death) is coming up and Satoshi happened to have the day off in exchange for having had to work this past Sunday...so we went to visit the family grave.

The thing about us visiting Kyoto is that we like to go early...real early because there are just too many tourists running around.

Roads get congested with buses and taxis...not too fun.

We left our house really early and headed to a little bakery that I spotted on our last visit to the area...Gebacken.

This shop apparently makes all sorts of German inspired baked items..and they've been in business since 1961...

We shared this shio-pan (salt bread, left in the photo) there is butter in the center and it is topped with some salt and poppy seeds, the outside gets really crisp...delicious.

The niku miso pan was so oily...around the bread was a spring roll wrapper (which made it super oily) after it was fried...meh! the inside reminded me of a baked manapua (char siu bao).

The curry pan with soft boiled egg was super good (but oily).

I think as long as you stay away from their fried breads you're safe...

On the 2nd floor, their cafe area was a smokers paradise, unfortunately for us, we gasped when we opened the door to go inside.

To eat upstairs, you need to buy a drink bar pass...270 yen per person. It allows you to sit in the smoky room to eat and you can use their coffee machine which you can choose different types of coffees, not the best coffees but it was all you can drink...

Dunno that we would go back to eat here, but definitely would for take-out.

As we headed back to the train station we spotted these o-bo-san (buddhist priests) disembarking from the city bus.

Gotta love that!

We also went to spend some time with MIL and had lunch together.

The cold snap is definitely back and I think cherry blossom season has started, hope to get out and about to enjoy it in the next week.

Have a nice weekend.

Gebacken
23-9 Sennyuji-monzen-cho
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 075.541.3433
Hours: 7:00-19:00

re-connect

I made a small batch of coffee azuki gelatin yesterday, it's been a couple of years since the last time I made this.

I had a small amount of anko (sweet bean paste) that needed using up.

Some cherry trees have started blooming.

We've been having nice temps but are heading for a cold snap tomorrow.

How is the weather where you are?

yesterday

Yesterday, was the holiday observance of the Vernal Equinox (first day of Spring).

Satoshi and I ran some errands and then had lunch at a rather large shopping mall.

Dessert was ice cream from Baskin Robbins or 31 (sa-tee-one) as they are called here in Japan.

Satoshi and I shared these two scoops...sakura and oreo matcha.

The wind was icy yesterday but it was nice to be out and about.