February Sum Up

February had a lot of events, so it involved me eating different Japanese foods according to the day.

First was 節分 (setsubun).


It was my first experience with setsubun, and it was amusing, but the best part of setsubun is the (insert a drum roll here)

Ehoumaki

Previous to setsubun, I had an intense craving for American-style fake Japanese sushi, and all of those cravings were fulfilled when I bought two giant ehoumakis.



The one on the left was absolutely amazing. There was avocado, shrimp, pickled onions, shiso leaves and--of course, rice and nori. There was also a thin crepe wrapped around the entire roll. The ehoumaki on the right was a fairly typical with seafood.

The way you eat ehoumaki is pretty funny (and fun??). You aren't supposed to cut the ehoumaki and eat the entire roll in one go. While you're eating it, you're also supposed to eat the ehoumaki facing the lucky direction of the year (this year was south east).

So despite how delicious the ehoumaki was, I was trying not to choke while laughing at how ridiculous I probably looked, eating this giant sushi roll while facing my closet.

The next big event was Marumi's birthday party--which coincided with the Chinese New Year's "Common Man's birthday."

The party was super fun and I got to eat giant burgers and cake--like a real American party! The food was delicious and I got to wear birthday gear too, like it was my own birthday.









Next up was the mochitsuki, in which I got to pound and eat some mochi, see a shishimai dance.



I also found out I have terrible aim as I chipped the mochitsuki pounding bowl quite a few times..........

The mochi was also really delicious, and it really reminded me of the times back in Michigan, when I went to the annual mochitsuki hosted by the Center for Japanese Studies.

To end this fairly short post, here's a photo dump of some food :)

An Expat's Christmas in Japan

I think one of the sure signs of the holiday seasons rolling around is Christmas Lights.

Christmas in Japan is a bit of a novelty. It's less about the Christian undertones and more about pretty lights and spending time with your significant other.

I fulfilled the first part about pretty lights by going with my usual group to Tokyo Dome. I was pushing for Shiodome because that was rumored to have some of the best lights, but the group decided for Tokyo Dome in the end.

I'm not sure if it was Tokyo Dome, but the lights were mediocre in person but came out rather nicely in photos. Talk about deceptive, haha.

Tokyo Dome also had a tunnel of lights. It was pretty and you would think that being surrounded by lights would provide you with the best photo opp ever, but the lights, being colored, made my photos sometimes look washed out and instagramed.

I wish I had a few more hours to sit there and experiment, but oh well :| Guess I'll just have to wait till next Christmas!

I also stumbled across a lights display in Shinjuku, which I felt were much more festive and impressive. I think that was because there was less space between the lights so it didn't feel like we had to walk a couple meters before actually spotting another display.

All in all, I think Japan does a better job at making Christmas lights, but for some reason they still felt so...Japanese. The subtleties in design and the way things are set up made me think that this was much better than things I had seen in the States, but still so cute.

The holiday season is also party season! And, more so than presents and enjoying the company of friends, food comes first!

The big food highlight of this month involved Marumi. So basically, I've come to the conclusion that where Marumi様 is involved, there will be good food.

The event was a Lion's Club end of the year dinner, which was hosted at Disney Resort Hotel.

I've been wanting to go to Disneyland for ages, especially since I can take one train straight there without transferring, so I was pretty excited for this dinner.

The decor inside of the hotel was beautiful. The attention to detail to the lighting and the Disney princess' theme was everywhere.

Japan also has a particular obsession with Alice in Wonderland. There are so many spin off stories and themes in any given situation that it's given that there was a Wonderland-themed garden at the hotel.

The party had delicious foods, and I almost felt like I was in a Disney movie by being served with the cutlery they used.

Andddd, to wrap up, here are more pictures of food!

Next up is New Years!! Till next time!