4-15-2011

Mochi dango are a constant experiment for me.  There's a dango shop in Kamakura that has seasonal flavors as well as some unusual regulars.  From the top are sakura paste, honey-lemon paste and sakura matarashi.  Unfortunately, the weather caused them to turn before I could eat them. *sad face*

4-12-2011

The obsession with cute continues. The panda buns were so popular in Yokohama Chinatown that pig buns now exist.

They're more delicious than the panda ones too. Mmmm...

4-11-2011

My cooking school for new ovens, and as such my bread seems to be getting darker. This one is Pain au Lait, which uses milk instead of water. It's a very sticky dough and I'm not sure it was worth all the extra work...tasted much like the other breads...

4-10-2011

In Kamakura there are many sweet potato-flavored items to be had.  This seasonal manjuu had a sakura exterior with sweet potato paste, called yōkan, inside.

4-9-2011

I'm a sucker for bright pink cherry blossoms.  These were found in Kamakura in the garden near the Daibutsu (Big Buddha statue).  We decided to stop there for lunch and to admire the pretty pink.

3-30-2011

These little cubbies all have golden figures in them.  Each is labeled with a number.  After doing some research, I still don't know what these are.  What I can say is they're usually inside the "no photo" area of the temple, but I found this one awaiting installation (or perhaps awaiting disposal) behind the temple so it was fair game.  Pretty cool.

3-29-2011

Walking back to the station, I stumbled upon these. At first I thought they may have blown over from the flower shop, but it's obvious these blooms were put here on purpose for people to enjoy. it makes sense to do if they fell off the plants anyway, and my friend and I certainly enjoyed them.

3-27-2011

There appears to be a dragon attacking this pillar.

Found at Ma Zhu Miao in Yokohama Chinatown..

3-16-2011

Yes, I seem to find dragons everywhere. These were along the sidebar of a staircase in front of a Chinese temple.

3-15-2011

This is the highlight of my spring. Sakura cream frappuccinos are delicious and only found outside of the US. No matter how hard I try I cannot buy the sakura flavoring they use.

3-14-2011

Why is it that the Chinese gates in Japan are infinitely more colorful than the Japanese ones? Where Japanese beauty is typified by its simplicity, Chinese beauty seems to favor lavish decorations and colors. I'm still unsure which I prefer.

1-15-2011

I've always been a sucker for woodwork, and the details found at temples often really impress me.  Looking at the shape and cleanness of some of these pieces is pretty impressive considering their age.

This was found over the hand-washing fountain at the Kamakura Daibutsu.

1-11-2011

Normally shark fins are served shredded in shark fin soup in Chinese cuisine, but in Japan it's often served whole to show off that it's a shark fin.

1-9-2011

This appears to be a representation of Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, from the story "Journey to the West" from classical Chinese literature. Found painted on the side of a building in Yokohama Chinatown.

1-6-2011

Every area of Japan is "famous" for something, and the Japanese pride themselves in knowing what every area is known for.  Perhaps it's how geography is taught.

Kamakura is known for the Daibutsu, the beach and purple sweet potatoes, but this ice cream is perhaps my favorite thing that comes from there.  It's a twist of purple sweet potato (beni-imo) and matcha, and is called Hydrangea-flavored ice cream.  Of course, Kamakura is also known for the hydrangeas that bloom in the spring.

12-27-2010

Yokohama Chinatown has many attractions.  The ones that seem to catch on the best in Japan are those that lean toward the cute.

This パンダマン (panda bun) is filled with pork and is a classic Chinese food turned Japanese snack.  In convenience stores steamed buns filled with curry, pizza sauce and cheese, or taco meat, cheese and seasoning can be bought for about ￥120.  Of course, the typical and convenience store varieties aren't adorned with sad panda faces.

12-23-2010

Kanteibyo is one of the more famous places in Yokohama Chinatown. What most people probably don't notice are the lovely steps leading up to the temple.  If you look carefully you can see the glowing red lanterns hanging from the temple behind the iron lace gates.

Despite being cold and closed, Chinatown never seems to disappoint.

8-21-2010

In a moment of super-awesomeness my Nikon was left at home and the bag I carried was not my usual one so the Tamagawa fireworks photos I have were all taken with my phone.  Well then.  Not too bad for a 3MP camera.

7-19-2010

Today was Marine Day (海の日) so everyone went to the beach.  I really wanted to try the balloon thing--I hear it's called orbing--but didn't want to pay the 800 yen to get stuffed into a sticky ball.  But it's like a giant hamster ball and I love the webcomic xkcd so I thought I'd post a tribute.  Thankfully no naked children ran into this photo.

Just a typical day at the beach.

6-13-2010

Another one "from the files" to make up for my malfunction this weekend.

The same day I went to Kamakura I went to Yokohama's Chinatown.  It's the largest Chinatown in the world aside from China itself.  This is one of the more famous temples there.  Chinatown is pretty after dark.