Feels Like Spring in Japan

Spring is just around the corner here in Japan. At least that’s what the stores and shops are telling me! Spring themed products are all over the place. Starbucks Japan has now filled its shelves with Sakura themed cups, tumblers, snacks and drinks and many shops are getting ready for Hina Matsuri 雛祭り (Girl’s Day) and Kodomo no Hi (Children’s/Boy’s Day).

Another telltale sign of the approach of a warmer time is the appearance of “ume” or plum blossoms on the trees. In just a few more weeks the “sakura” or cherry blossoms will start to appear and that is always a great time to start the spring party!
Of course, spring is a time of change everywhere. It is a time for new things and a time for the world to be refreshed. I’m looking forward to the warmer weather and celebrating my first “Hanami” or cherry blossom party with my son.

I thought I’d show you wonderful folks some fun pictures from today, a beautiful day in and around Kobe. It was great day to be in Japan.


Hina Matsuri 雛祭り (Girl's Day) in Japan is just around the corner. Families buy beautiful and expensive displays of dolls to celebrate having a daughter.


Plum blossoms in a local park.


More great plum blossoms in a local park.


A very creative and silly student of mine wrote this on the white board at lunch today. I liked it! I'm a home room teacher from Monday to Friday, but I have a part time ESL job on Saturdays. It's a lot of fun teaching these kids!


I saw a unicycle locked up outside of my apartment today and just thought it an odd sight. I never saw children driving unicycles growing up in Canada. I see it all the time here in Japan. It's like an entire generation with dreams of someday going to clown school!


I was at Toys R' Us this afternoon buying some fun toys for my little son when I saw the display for Hinamatsuri dolls. Check out a little video I made with my iPhone about it:



I also wanted to share a new Japan oriented site with you folks. A friend and fellow Starbucks fan has created a blog dedicated to all things “Starbucks in Japan.” Check it out here. It is a new site and your comments and encouragement will keep a good thing going!

Hanami 花見 "Cherry Blossom Viewing"

Spring is not just in the air; it has officially arrived. For the past two weekends, people in this part of Japan have been celebrating spring’s arrival by having picnics and parties in local parks. Japanese people enjoy picnics at any point in the year (maybe not Winter), but the most anticipated season is cherry blossom or hanami season. In Japan, cheery blossoms are know as “sakura” 桜 and the act of going out to look at the cherry blossoms and potentially picnic or party in their midst is referred to as “hanami” 花見．

Last year was my first opportunity to enjoy Hanami in Japan. I went to several parties and family outings during the few weeks of the cherry blossom season. I was able to enjoy the revelry and more “hard core” drinking around Osaka Castle Park and then the following weekend, spend quiet time having wonderful picnics with my in-laws and wife in different part of the Kansai area.


These are some pictures I snapped of some cherry cheers close to my apartment.





I assume that this weekend may be one of the last weekends for Hanami in this part of Japan. Already, lots of the cherry blossoms have begun to fall off the trees. Next year it will be such a great experience to enjoy this very Japanese tradition with my wife and new little one!

Japanese lunch boxes 弁当

I'm pretty sure this past weekend will be the last Hanami for me. I'm now working 6 days a week and up to my eyeballs in work since the new school year just began. I cannot blog or You Tube as much as I normally do, but I still try to squeeze in a bit of "geek" time when I can!

Yesterday I went to the Mukogawa with my wife. It is one of the last weekends (if not THE last) with intact cherry blossoms. We had a great picnic. We bought obentos (lunchboxes) at Hanshin Department in Kobe. These ones were true "gourmet" lunch boxes, unlike the ones you can normally get at a convenience store!



This is what my wife's lunch looked like. It was heavy on the seafood.


Here was mine. It was a "gourmet" tonkatsu or breaded pork cutlet.


The inside of the pork cutlet (very lean white meat) had asparagus and cheese. It was AMAZING! The shop we got it from was KYK in Hanshin Department Store.



Just thought this Coke Zero ad interesting. "Wild Health!" This is Okinawan j-pop singer Namie Amuro and she is indeed impressive!



Here's my most recent You Tube endeavour. I was working on this collaboration video for a few weeks.
A Trip Around the World

Sakura and Weird Japanese Candy

Yesterday was a rainy day here in the Kansai, but a nice one nontheless. I went to Nishinomiya 西宮 and to the Sukugawa (Suku River) to check out the cherry blossoms. This place is so famous amongst Japanese for cherry blossom viewing that the train station is actually called, "Sakura Station" さくら夙川駅. Most of them were out. Most people weren't able to have their Hanami parties, but some rather clever groups had jerry-rigged tarps over their heads and were able to party all afternoon!

Some sakura (cherry blossom pictures):





A few days ago I recieved a surprise package in the mail. I quickly noticed the name "runnyrunny999." I know him from the world of You Tube. He's a fellow v-logger here in Japan. Recently he hit 100 subscribers and had a contest. He was giving away odd and bizarre flavours of "Japan only" Kat Kat bars. I WON!! Thanks runnyrunny999. I he sent me a package of Carmel Corn, some Umeboshi (plum) snacks and the "Yuzu Hot Pepper" Kit Kats. Yuzu is a Chinese citrus fruit. It's a cross between a lemon and a lime.

Yuzu and Hot Pepper Kit Kats.



Here's a video I made last year where I taste tested some different "Japan Only" Kit Kat bars.
Japanese Snack Attack

Hanami 花見 in Osaka and Beef

The weekend has passes, Hanami season in Japan has officially begun and my vacation is grinding to s slow halt. Sunday involved me heading into Osaka and taking part in my first Hanami party. In a nutshell, Hanami is Japanese for "flower viewing." The cherry trees are beginning to blossom and to ring in this seasonal change, people all across Japan throw blue tarps on the ground under the cherry blossoms, fire up their bbq's and get pissed!

On Sunday afternoon, some local Kansai-based video bloggers (including myself) got together at Osaka Castle Park and had a little party.


People doing the "Hanami" thing in Osaka-jo Koen.


More Hanami in Osaka Castle Park.


Here's my Osaka Hanami contribution to You Tube!

Hanami in Osaka 花見





Last night I joined some coworkers for some Yakiniku 焼き肉. Yakiniku is basically Korean-style bbq! It was all you can eat and it was spectacular. I'm pretty sure that this as only the second time I've eaten this type of food in Japan.

Some great beef about to be grilled!



This yakiniku restaurant is located in Amagasaki, close to the JR Amagasaki station.


Yakiniku (焼き肉 or 焼肉), meaning "grilled meat", is a Japanese term which, in its broadest sense, refers to grilled meat dishes.

Today, it commonly refers to a Japanese style of cooking bite-sized meat (usually beef and offal) and vegetables on gridirons or griddles over flame of wood charcoals carbonized by dry distillation (sumibi, 炭火) or gas/electric grill. In North America, China and Taiwan, Yakiniku is also referred to as either "Japanese barbecue" or "Korean barbecue" [1][2] due to its Korean origins.

It is thought to have originated from horumonyaki, a dish of grilled offal, invented by Korean immigrants in the Kansai area after the Second World War.
Wikipedia....read more.

Hanami 花見 and the WORST Pizza ever

Spring is in the air and the cherry blossoms are coming out to play. It's time for people all around Japan to head to their nearest park, spread a blue mat on the ground, fire up their bbq's and get pissed under the cherry trees. This yearly activity is called Hanami 花見 which literally means "cherry blossom viewing"



In this video, Japan's most famous vlogger Tokyocooney explains a little more about what Hanami is.

Life In Tokyo: Vlog #19 Hanami - Cherry Blossom Viewing


Now Tokyocooney organized the first You Tube Hanami party in Japan last year. It was held in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. I was in Canada freezing my ass off when it went down. I won't be able to make it to the second annual You Tube Hanami party which takes place tomorrow in Tokyo. I am not alone though and several other Kansai-based You Tubers can't make it up there either. We've all decided to band together and have our own little Hanami party at Osaka Castle Park tomorrow starting at 1:00pm.


On a food related note, I saw a video about pizza in Korea today that almost made me bust a gut. It was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

If you've ever had the chance to live or visit Japan or Korea, you might notice that they do some very "interesting" things to their pizza. In Korea, when you order a pepperoni pizza, it's common to have it arrive with corn on top! Pizzas often come with mayonnaise, sweet potato and a variety of other "undesirable" toppings. Often the sauce has no spices, and the cheese is rubbery and of VERY poor quality.


I really appreciated this video:
Making Korean Pizza