2-14-2011

Happy Valentine's Day, all! Today I'm lacking my voice and took a day off from work, which is rather annoying following a 3-day weekend.

Anyway, despite being off work I was unable to cancel my cooking class and ended up going anyway. These montblancs were fun to make, although it seems they have a lot more rum in them than I expected. Maybe I'm a little weird for not wanting to use all of the rum given to me for the recipe.

2-13-2011

In Japan on Valentine's Day, women give men chocolate. Typically it's expensive or handmade, depending on what kind of message the giver wants to send. In Japanese offices women usually pool together to give all of the men chocolates. Then on March 14th (White Day), the men are supposed to reciprocate. It's expected that the gifts returned should have a greater value than the initial gifts.

For romantic couples, gifts are given only if he reciprocates, and jewelry and other gifts can be returned. In offices it's similar to Valentine's Day but from the men.

Honestly it's confusing and strange, but the lack of romance involved can provide some insight into how Japanese observations of international holidays develop...

2-12-2011

In preparation for Valentine's Day at my office, here's a pile of origami hearts wearing dress shirts and ties. Not sure if the guys will like them, but hopefully it will show that I made my gifts by hand. If I'm lucky they'll get it...

2-11-2011

This gate isn't necessarily notable, but I did think it was pretty.  The small details make living in such tiny quarters tolerable, I think.

2-10-2011

 

No matter what time of year it is here it seems you can find ripe fruit.  It's a big difference from Michigan, which has an harsh winter season when little grows.

2-9-2011

Finding flags from other countries all over fashion isn't uncommon in Japan. It's not too often you find cars with them though. I wonder if this car belongs to someone Japanese or English.

2-8-2011

The kids at the kindergarten I teach for are making their own dolls for the Doll Festival next month. With any luck I'll be able to get photos of the finished products too.

EDIT: Indeed, I got a photo!