yesterday

Yesterday, we had one of those krazy rain storms.

It brought hail, krazy winds and lots of rain at once in parts of Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures.

We heard a lot of thunder and saw some lightning and also heard many running to get out of the rain.

This was the sunset afterwards...

And the faintest but wide rainbow seen from the other side of our apartment.

Today is the start of yet another state of emergency...it is again only "on request" nothing mandatory.

This one is supposed to last until August 22, the end of the Olympics.

During this state of emergency, there are "events" like O-bon, summer vacation and various holidays...

Many shops that mainly serve alcohol (bars, izakaya, karaoke) are asked not to operate and will be "compensated".

These shops are very upset because they still have not been compensated for other states of emergencies.

All shops and restaurants are asked to close at 20:00.

Convenience stores are exempt from this rule, so you know where the people drinking on the street are getting their alcohol from...

Over the past week, there has been so much damage in Kyushu from rains and other prefectures in Honshu.

On top of that, Tokyo's rainy season isn't even over and we've gone straight into blazing and humidity, our temps yesterday was 33C (91F)!

A little over 2 weeks until the Olympics...I still feel Japan should not be holding this.

Have a good (safe) week.

this and that

Reconnected with this recipe.

I omitted the ginger and it was still delicious.

Finally made the haupia using the mix that friend Val had given me...instead of putting it into an 8 x 8 pan, I put it into my yogurt/pudding jars.

I still have the bread pudding mix to try...hope to do that soon.

Yumetouka...another variety from Yamanashi Prefecture, this could have been a little more ripe.

It was firm like a nectarine and a little sour near the seed.

Ichi maru hachi's imagawayaki.

They sell all sorts of matcha based drinks as well as these matcha based imagawayaki.

I purchased the one filled with tsubuan (chunky sweet bean paste) for Satoshi and I.

They also have cream fillings too.

I tried to crisp up the outside in the toaster, but should have toasted it longer.

I'm glad we tried this.

Tried the Plant Based Whopper with Avocado...

It was pretty good, though you could tell it wasn't beef.

I wish they made this in the whopper junior size...

The krazy things you see in the window of a dentist's office....I like the creativity of using "teeth" as lamps..

So…Tokyo’s daily case numbers hit 900 on Wednesday…pretty much what science said would happen.

The prime minister is putting us back on "prohibition"…which he feels is taking "preventive measures"...what?!

Bars, karaoke and restaurants will not be able to serve alcohol.

I think they need to stop selling alcohol after 20:00 at convenience stores too to prevent people from drinking on the streets, but what do I know?!

No spectators will be able to view the games in person, BUT staff, Olympic VIP and athlete entourages will be able to view the games in the stadiums...boo!

I don't think doing this will stop the foot traffic during the day or night... 

Between rain bursts, we've been lucky to get out for a bit to buy food and necessities.

The weather dude says that our rainy season is almost over, which means wet and humid will turn to blazing and humid.

We called our doctor's office and are waiting for them to call us with our vaccine appointment...hopefully it will be soon.

 Hope you are doing well....have a safe weekend.

tokyo people

Really liked this woman's bag!

Udon delivery guy...

How's this guy working in front of our building...

Since we are nearby a daycare center, we often see them walking around the neighborhood

Yesterday was so humid and hot after the rain stopped....the skies looked like it was foggy but it was probably steam…blah!

vege & spice's all spice granola

Tried a new granola recipe from this book..."Vege & Spice"

It is similar to the granola recipe that I normally use except that it adds coconut oil, coconut and all spice.

All spice granola : adapted from "Vege & Spice"

1/2 cup oatmeal

handful nuts

handful pumpkin seeds

3 pinches of sweetened coconut

1 tablespoons coconut oil

1.5 tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon all spice (powder)

Chop nuts

In a bowl add the oatmeal, pumpkin seeds and coconut

Add the nuts

Heat the oil until it liquifies and mix with the dry ingredients

Add the maple syrup and mix well

Add the all spice and mix well.

Heat the oven to 160C (325F), bake for about 25 minutes

Cool and keep in air tight container

NOTES: this was delicious, I will use this recipe a couple more times so I can use more of the coconut oil I have in my fridge

 

maybe add cacao nibs, which I like to use whenever I make granola.

The original recipe adds raisins which you can add, I didn't because it tends to get hard when baked.

songbird bakery

A new bakery, Songbird Bakery, opened up on July 1st.

Since it has been raining, we finally got to check them out on Sunday.

We tried their baguette, cinnamon cube, curry pan and chocolatne.

Everything was delicious!

I really liked the baguette, which (i think) was a sourdough base.

It was yeasty and crusty...delicous.

The cinnamon cube was brioche based with just the right amount of cinnamon. 

And the glaze was sweet but not overly sweet.

The curry pan's curry filling was spicy but not too spicy.

I also liked that this was baked and not fried like most curry pan is.

The chocolatne was super chocolatey…love!

Most of their breads are what the Japanese call the "hard" type, where it has a crusty outside.

We look forward to trying their other items.

We'll be back!

Songbird Bakery

1-2-12 Nishi Kamata

Ota, Tokyo

Hours: 10:30-18:00

check Instagram for days off

we are so bored

It's been rainy.

We've been mostly staying indoors, though we do run to the market and convenience store.

Overall though, we've been quite bored.

I noticed this the other day...

A hanger "hanging" on the edge of the roof of the apartment building across the street from us.

Not sure who we should tell this to or how long it has been there.

Hoping no one gets hurt if that hanger falls.

With all the rain, over the weekend there was a huge landslide in Izu, Shizuoka.

If you saw the footage on the news, it was pretty scary!

Sending prayers to the families of the missing. 

Have a good week.

this and that

Kasugai peaches...these were grown in Yamanashi prefecture.

So juicy and sweet!

Tokyo people...decided to put commentary with the pics…loved this guy's red shoes and printed shirt.

Meals on wheels...

A group was sketching at the botanical garden...and there was this furry one begging for food.

Another meals on wheels

Semi-good news!

We received our vaccination tickets yesterday...hopefully we can get appointments smoothly, there is talk that there are not enough vaccines…demand is greater than supply, so they are stopping reservations in some areas…

You should know that the only English was on the outside of the envelope and all the paperwork is in Japanese..boo!

On June 30th, Starbucks came out with 47 different frappuccinos for each prefecture to celebrate their 25th anniversary in Japan.

Tokyo's frappuccino is a caramel frappuccino with coffee jelly (gelatin)...682 yen (plus tax) tall size only

Not overly sweet, it has also been awhile since we have had anything from Starbucks.

Bummer you can only drink the frappuccino of your prefecture, it would have been fun to try some of  the others.

Tokyo's case numbers have gone up, Wednesday's number was over 700.

As of July 1st, many foreign teams have started to come to Japan…

Satoshi had signed up to work at the Olympics, I’m relieved he could not be scheduled.

Can you believe that the Prime Minister is keeping his decision a secret as to whether the Olympics will have  spectators or not?! 

It will depend on the outcome of the election this weekend?! gah! hoping everyone will vote the Prime Minister’s party out.

It is rainy season so the weather has been rainy, sometimes humid, sometimes cool.

Hope you are doing well, have a safe weekend.