Starbucks Themed Office Cubicle

 

This year Starbucks decided to design their holiday cup with a simple red with no decorations. It blew up on the internet for a short while and was perceived by some to be anti-Christmas or even anti-Christians. As someone who doesn't have strong feelings about Christmas, Starbucks, holiday decorations, or red cups, I didn't understand why this would be something worth getting upset about. Christmas is a happy time, so is the simple act of getting time off; I'm assuming to be able to buy an overpriced cup of creamy goodness is also something to be grateful for, so perhaps, these people were just looking for excuses to spread hate.

Folks at work decided to do a Holiday Cubicle/Office Decorating contest for Christmas so I took the opportunity (and simplicity of the design) to make my cubicle into the controversial cup!

First Place in the 2015 Office Decoration Contest

Thanks to the simplicity in the design, I was able to finish this in about an hour (a little bit here and there over a few days).

• First, I bought red wrapping paper from the dollar store and taped them on the 2 side of my cubicle
• I replicated the special order check boxes and printed each one on a 11" x 8.5" paper
• I then printed the word "Starbucks" on 2 pieces of paper to make it long enough. Initially I wanted to print them on 11" x 17" papers but accidentally printed them on 11" x 8.5"s, which turned out nicely anyway
• Then I printed the Starbucks logo on an 11" x 17" paper and cut it out
• Lastly, I folded some 11" x 17" paper and taped them to the top of my cubicle for the lid portion of the cup

I made the cup because I wanted to support the idea that anyone has the right to be happy. I wanted people to know that you don't have to be Christian to feel good about Christmas, or have decorated coffee cups to spread the Christmas spirit; that being politically correct doesn't mean you're anti-others, and that whoever is lucky enough to afford Starbucks coffee should probably just focus their energy on being grateful.

After the contest, I opened up my cubicle decoration to be drawn on by everyone. Folks started stopping by to look at the things others drew or wrote, and add a little bit of their own. Over the course of 3 days I noticed people started writing holiday blessings more than just doodles, and the cup that sparked so much controversy on the internet eventually became a place where people came together.

Everyone's Holiday Wishes

No matter who we are, what we believe in, or where we live, we are more similar than we are different. Love will always trump hate, and every time we act, no matter how small it is, we have the power to make the world just a little bit better.

Reground, Recenter, and Restart

I haven't posted anything since August because I've been struggling with certain events in my life, and it's not because the events were devastating, but because I wasn't able to remain positive throughout. My mind was so preoccupied with it that I didn't have much to say, and whenever I do feel inspired to express something, it was something negative. I didn't want to give these negative thoughts any permanence, so I waited.
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What happened:

On July 2nd I received a phone call from the management company of my condo asking me if they could go into my unit to check for a water leak. Unit 203, which was 2 floors below mine, reported that water was dripping from their smoke detector and they traced it all the way to up my unit. After some investigation, it was determined that my fridge was the source of the leak, and because the water flowed behind the fridge, my tenants never even saw anything. This started 2 weeks of back and forth communication with the condo management, my insurance, with the condo management's contractors, and my insurance's contractors. Eventually it was determined that my entire floor, where there's tile, needed to be replaced. Having never dealt with this before, I had no idea what to expect, how long they would take, or who would be in charge of what? I had no idea what my responsibilities were, nor did I know any of my rights.

New Tile - Kitchen

My tenants were the best tenants I've ever had, and they have been waiting for a good opportunity to purchase their own home. So with the recent down turn in the Calgary economy and the condo situation, they decided it was time to make the move and gave me notice. Although they had just renewed their lease with us, I was happy for them, and didn't think that it was going to be hard for me to find other renters. I even thought it would make it easier for the tile work to be done.

Looking back, things went smoothly, but when I was in the mist of it, everything felt super painful. I was dealing with a ton of uncertainty, and uncertainty my friend, is my kryptonite.

I reposted the rental ad as soon as the tenants gave notice, but even until today (2 months later), I haven't found anyone yet. Having paid little to no attention to "the market" ever, I never realized how intimate the effects could be. The rental prices were much more competitive this time around, and even after lowering our rent by almost $300/month, we were still getting very few interest.
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To be honest I felt defeated for a long time. I felt like it was my fault. Somehow, despite the fact that I couldn't have ever foresee or control any of the events, I felt that I may have been able to avoid all of this if I had just been smarter, if I was more diligent, or if I had worked harder. I credited every little annoyance and speed bump all to myself, like I was being deliberately punished by the universe (or fate) for somehow screwing everything up.

The word "undeserving" crept up so many times it left me suffocated and unable to see anything clearly. The negative self talk I once thought I've tamed unleashed full force for months; it was an all out war, and I was left barely breathing.

It felt like my fault, and I was buried deep underneath a mountain of self loathing.

It wasn't until I saw how much of a collateral damage Keith was, and how hard he tried to remain positive for the both of us that I got enough energy to snap out of it, and even then, it took me a few tries. These 3 months I had been living almost completely reactively, and my head was so full I couldn't give any thought more than a few seconds' attention. I knew I was stressed and I was trying very hard to reduce the stress, but I had never tried to think about my problems differently, and so it never worked.

Reground

Eckhart Tolle once said that "you can't argue with what is, if you do, you suffer", and that was exactly what I was doing. Reflecting on my thoughts, what represented it most closely was some sort of "not giving up". I hadn't given up on the possibility that maybe if I had done my due diligence my condo could've not had a water leak; that if I was a better landlord that maybe my tenants wouldn't have given notice; that if I hadn't agreed to the early termination of our lease then I wouldn't be stuck with an empty condo; and that if I had chosen a better condo or insurance company that maybe the process would've been a lot faster or smoother, or maybe the said condo wouldn't have leaked at all. I clung on to these thoughts as if I could alter reality even after everything had happened, and so the first shift that occurred in my mind was to simply come to terms with what "is", allowing that to sink in, and for the "could've, would've, should've" voices to fade.

I stopped fighting with reality soon after this concept was clear in my head. The voices shifted and all that's left was a reasonable level of hope. Hoping that construction would go smoothly, hoping that my condo fees wouldn't go up too much, or hoping that I would find new tenants soon. With Keith's help, I was also able to distance myself from all of it while he helped handle some of the coordination giving myself and my problems some space, and that helped a lot too.

Recenter

Once I stepped out of my tunnel vision, it felt like I was finally in touch with reality. I reminded myself of the big picture, which admittedly I forget often, and that was the people (& dog) around me, all of our health, safety, and security. As long as we have each other, I already have more than what a lot of other people could ever ask for. I also remembered that many people lost their jobs these days, even people who are quite close to us. Knowing that we still have our jobs and better job security than the majority of our friends reminded me of how fortunate we actually are. Yes, of course it sucks that my condo hasn't rented yet, but the people that could have afforded my condo may now be out of a job, and that is a much bigger problem that I don't have to deal with. I'm not saying we should compare ourselves to other people either, but when I lose focus and sweat incessantly on the small things, understanding where I stand compared to others really help me recenter myself.

I then listened to a few of Thich Nhat Hanh's talks and was reminded of how many other things I could enjoy in life, and felt silly when I realized how big I blew my problems up to be. Although breath, trees, fresh air, and walks haven't been on my mind at all, once I remembered how I can take a walk whenever I want to and breathe amazing crisp clean air, they immediately made me feel infinitely better. For the first time in 3 months I thought: "what could be better than this?", and I remembered that my life was better. I still have a condo!

Restart

The construction is now done, and we are still arranging showings with potential tenants. I still have to coordinate payment with the condo management company and probably every little thing that will arise from it, but we are ok. We have 2 homes for the time being, fulfilling jobs, and family that loves us. We are healthy, energetic, so life really hasn't changed much since all these things happened. I feel like my restart button was pressed, and I finally have space in my head now that all the mental noise is gone.

Shibazakura Festival @ Mount Fuji - Japan 2015 7/7

We missed the Sakura season, which I didn't mind as we're not big on huge crowds. In addition, I saw one of the most amazing pictures of Mount Fuji on one of the news letters that I subscribe to, which turned out to be the Shibazakura Festival, and we were going to be right on time for it.

Keith had expressed that one of the things he'd like to see was Mount Fuji. Upon further clarification, what he meant was to go somewhere close (and far) enough to see Mount Fuji, instead of going to Mount Fuji or to climb it, and the Shibazakura Festival would be perfect.

We left home at 7:30 in the morning on a Friday, squeezed ourselves into the crowded rush hour subway to Shin Osaka station, and headed on over. This was a 3 hour trip with 1 transfer at Shizuoka, then another hour and 15 minute bus ride from Shin Fuji station to the festival site.

The country air was fresh and crisp, and much cooler than in the city. As we walked on to the festival grounds 800,000 blooming shibazakura flowers spread through the entire valley. It was a pretty phenomenal sight to see them gathered all in one place, strategically placed to contrast the various shades of pink, accented with the lovely white.

Although it was a Friday (and no longer a holiday), there were still a lot of people, tourists mostly. We saw approximately 20 tour buses on the way in, and could only imagine how much more crowded it would've been like on the weekend or a holiday.

We wanted to take our time and enjoy the country air, and stayed for a good 4-5 hours. The clouds covered the tip of Mount Fuji so we weren't able to get a clear shot of it behind all the beautiful flowers. But it didn't really matter, we just went on walking around checking out the booths and scenery. However, beside the mini Mount Fuji made out of flowers stood someone who looked like a professional photographer. He had his camera all set up, but as the view wasn't perfect due to the clouds, he stood without taking any pictures. In fact, during the 4-5 hours we were there, we didn't see him take one picture, yet he stood patiently waiting for the perfect shot, 'tis the life of a professional photographer I guess.

There were many many food stands and gift stores with beautifully wrapped cookies and other sweets, which we bought a handful of. We also tried the foot spa (¥200 per person), where we sat and enjoyed the scenery while we waited for our bus.

As we took the 5:00pm bus back to Shin Fuji, the clouds parted and we saw the most amazing view of Mount Fuji all day. It looked as if it was floating in the sky, with a tiny droplet of cloud on the very top. Seeing it in person made me realize that this is truly an amazing mountain. Although I've probably seen Mount Fuji over a dozen times on tv, magazines, and all over the internet, nothing compares to the real thing (which is the case with most things I've experienced in life).

Sitting on the bus, that drove around about 1/4 of Mount Fuji, I started to realize just how big and majestic it is. The sides of the hill, curves ever so slightly, stretches smoothly upwards reaching towards the sky. Looking at it made me forget our tiring day, and our long commute still to come.

Your Stereotypical Kyoto Tour - Japan 2015 6/7

Don't get me wrong, Kyoto is an amazing city. With over 2,000 temples and 17 UNESCO heritage sites, there are endless places to visit. As well, because of its abundant amount of tourists, Kyoto is also extremely multilingual. There will be English pamphlets and signage, and most people you will ever need to deal with will speak English too. It is quaint and sophisticated, with elements of nature all around. Whether it's to shop in one of its huge department stores, to walk down a stone paved road behind tea houses, or sample the multitude of beautifully carved out dishes in a Kaiseki, Kyoto will capture the hearts of anyone looking to experience the Japan they see on TV.



But after waves and waves of one stereotypical Japanese looking building after another, and thousands of temples later, Kyoto remains, as beautiful as it is, a very tourist city. The geisha you see on the streets are usually tourists doing photo shoots, and almost all the ladies dressed in kimono that I saw spoke anything but Japanese. Like Kuta, like Bankok, who's culture has slowly been replaced with whatever the tourists wish to see, I wonder if Kyoto has morphed over the years, also, to uphold an image rather than real tradition.

I appreciated the opportunities to visit all the famous places, they make for impressive pictures, and would be the pictures you share to make your friends jealous of you experiencing this degree of exoticism. But I have nothing to present but those imagery. No serendipity with a new friend, no minor adversity we had to overcome, no challenges, and most important of all, no stories to tell. I had absolutely no feelings about Kyoto other than what it's packaged beauty imprinted on my eyes. There were skillful craftsmanship and a sickening amount of matcha products, but the entire time I was there, all I could hear was the voice in my head saying, "what else is there?".

Like attempting to fill a hollow void, I searched but came up empty. I so deeply wanted to feel something, but I couldn't hear a whisper. "Surely the next world renown temple must trigger something" I think to myself, only to end up lacking inspiration till the end. Perhaps it was the bus loads of tourists that made my Kyoto experience authentically non-Japanese, perhaps we simply did not allocate enough time to appreciate its history, or perhaps, I was looking for something that was never there in the first place.

Why We Love Osaka - Japan 2015 5/7

We've asked almost everyone we know who's been to Japan what they feel about Osaka, and the result was a land slide of "it's only so so" or "I didn't particularly like it", or even "I don't remember anything about it". Everyone remembered the Kyotos and the Tokyos, but Osaka, the "second largest metropolitan area" with "19 million inhabitants" didn't really make an impression on our friends.

I was determined to make the best out of our Osaka experience and surely, with it's irresistible charm and easy going culture, we ended up loving that city!

We decided to make Osaka our home base during our 17 days in Japan. From the first night we spent in the amazing City Plaza to the rest of our days in our cozy apartment, we fully immersed ourselves into the life we had there, and Osaka returned the favor by always providing us with the warm embrace when we returned at the end of the night.

Dotonbori
Dotonbori is the most popular tourist and shopping area in Osaka. Though the Osaka station and surrounding areas also has plenty of shopping, Namba (where Dotonbori is) felt a lot more like the real "downtown" of Osaka.

We caught the Golden Week when we arrived and decided to challenge ourselves by heading into Dotonbori at 8:00 pm on a Saturday night. The crowds were packed full of locals and tourists alike, and at times, it was even difficult to take steps wider than a few inches apart. The lights were bright and the atmosphere was lively, and we were on the hunt for our first dinner.


Osaka Museum of Traditional Housing & Living
This little museum is fun and interactive. Although there isn't a lot of square footage, the exhibit area is really well made, and the ¥200 kimono rental is simply too worth it to miss out.

Due to our jet lag, we woke up super early, and got to the museum 10 minutes before they opened. There were already a line of about 10 people there, and as soon as the museum opened, people rushed to line up at the kimono rental store in the exhibit hall. We actually hadn't planned to rent a kimono there that day, but seeing that so many people went, we couldn't help but check it out as well.

I was number 20 by the time we paid the fee for the kimono rental, and by the time I got the tabi socks, the line exploded and extended all the way out the store. I got dressed within the next 15 minutes, and we strolled around the museum with me wearing a kimono. Little did we know that the exhibit area was basically the museum, and the kimono totally made our day. I highly recommend renting the kimono; in fact, I would probably go just for that.

Midnight in Paris - Hokaku @ Osaka Station Underground Walk
It was our second day in Osaka, and we decided to head to the Osaka station and area after the museum. Not knowing what to expect or which direction to head towards, we ended up walking aimlessly for an hour not really hitting any cool shops or restaurants. Tired and discouraged, we wondered if we should head back to Namba, at which exact moment, we saw a long line in front of a unique looking restaurant (or bar?).

The restaurant was in the underground walkway surrounded by other mediocre looking shops. It had menu items written all over the front window glass, and a few menus hanging on the door. Looking in, you see only a large oval shaped bar with server and bar tenders in the middle, and patrons sitting all around. It was lunch time on a Sunday and these folks were drinking all sorts of wine and champagne. Yes, wine and champagne, and not the stereo typical business choice of beer or sake. Mesmerized by this sight we joined the line, feeling like we'd stepped into a different time like in Midnight in Paris.

Namba Walk, Loft & Daiso
During our time in Osaka, we visited Namba many times, and although there were tons of great food and shops, the crowds made it really hard to fully enjoy Dotonbori. Namba walk, on the other hand, was always pleasant and connects us to stores in all directions.

2 stations from our station was the Nipponbashi station. This station connects to the Namba station via Namba walk, and is the station to get off if you want to go to the Kuromon market. We usually get off at this station and walk over to Namba. There are plenty of clothing stores, shoe stores, and lots of diners and dessert places.

We looked for Daiso to purchase some household supplies and souvenirs. We also saw a video on Youtube of Loft and wanted to check that out as well. Both these stores are at the South end of the area (closer to Namba Park), which is accessible directly through Namba walk.

Egg Herb Plants

Loft was actually a lot more expensive than we thought, closer to the Muji price range. There were so many cute things though. I bought some matcha snacks from there and one the the most beautiful note pads I've ever seen. I also saw these cute "egg plants" where the soil and seeds are put in an egg, all you have to do is crack the egg and water it for the plant to grow.

Daiso was as fun as usual, but had a much stronger "dollar store" scent to it than the one in Vancouver.

BONUS: MUJI
The building where Loft resides is also home to a 4 story Muji. I've seen Muji in Taiwan before but have never seen any Muji this big. It not only has your usual hosuehold items but also a lot of food products and even a cafe.

Kuromon Market & Supermarkets (Kohyo & Life)
I thought I would be spending every afternoon in the Kuromon market trying out different foods and buying unique groceries each day. The reality was closer to the opposite of that. We went to Kuromon only 3 times during our stay; each time, by the time we got there, we had already gone through an entire exhausting day. Tired and starving, we rushed to get what we need and headed home right away.

We mainly visited this one meat store and a general grocery store, but we soon realized that the supermarkets close to our home were just as good, and for certain items, even better.

There was a Kohyo 2 blocks East from where we lived and a Life about 15 minutes North. The little Kohyo served just about everything we needed, from cooked dishes, salads, meat, fish, fresh produce to other household items and frozen foods. It was convenient and really helped us out during the few days we were too tired to venture any further.

Life was just pure bliss. It had 2 floors and is about 5-6 times the size of the Kohyo we usually went to. We were only able to make it out to Life once though, and probably because we bought as many things as we could carry, we didn't need to go back a second time. The first floor had mostly fresh produce and groceries type items, and the 2nd floor had snacks, alcohol, clothing and other household supplies.


Osaka Castle
It was during our "restful" day that we went to Osaka Castle -- a day we really want to just take it easy, but had it turn out to be one of the most tiring days ever. It was only a 15 minute walk from us and the weather was perfect. Osaka Castle was right next to the NHK building and the Osaka Castle Park was huge! There was a mote that was at least 50 metres wide and the walls were 4-5 floors tall. The park around it was filled with active folks, jogging, biking, or getting ready for baseball practice. The atmosphere was unbeatably relaxing. There are multiple buildings on the the Castle grounds, and one of them happened to be hosting a kids' Karate competition that we had the opportunity to observe for a little while.

Being the Golden Week, there were music performances in front of the castle and a super long line of people waiting to get in. We walked around a bit, sat and ate some snacks, thoroughly enjoyed our visit and headed out to Nara.

Tokyu Hands @ Shinsaibashi
Tokyu Hands is my absolute favorite place during the entire trip. It is an 8 stories stationary/craft store. Looking through rows and rows of pens and note pads, it was 5 hours of pure heaven. Tokyu Hands was just North of the Shinsaibashi stations and we had decided to walk over from our apartment.

It was a hot sunny day, and we were glad to get out of the sun. Tokyu Hands was quiet, calm, and we were happy taking our time. We started on the top floor where all the pens were. I probably spent half and hour just on the pens alone. Then we went through the note book section, then stickers, note pads, dairies, and also a huge selection of Gatcha balls where we played like kids.

Den Den Town
Much smaller than I had originally thought. We walked around for about an hour and mainly went into one store. We bought some Nano Blocks as gifts and also a Totoro miniature model for ourselves.

Family Mart & 7-Eleven
In addition to the markets, we got most of our food from convenient stores. If you've ever been to Japan, Taiwan, or Korea, you'll know that the convenient stores there are amazing and contains almost everything you need on a day-to-day basis.

Left to Right: Oyako Don, Rice Balls, Baumkuchen Cake, Pudding, Coffee, Veggie Juice, and Milk

There was a Family Mart right across the street from us, which became our favorite store even though 7-11 was a lot more "famous". Our favorite was the Mapo Tofu and Shiumai that we got almost everyday. Other favorites are drinks, 7-11 waffles, ice cream, and boxed lunches.

Keith was super stoked about rice balls at first but soon got sick of them and stopped eating them all together. Unfortunately, rice balls (or triangles) were still the most convenient foods we could get on the road, so Keith suffered from a rice overdose until we found stores that sold salads and other types of dishes.

Our stay in Osaka was comfortable and easy. Despite the massive population, the street in front of our apartment would always be clear and quiet. No matter how far we traveled during the day, I'd always know that I'm almost there as soon as I step out of Sakaisuji Hommachi station and breathe the crisp clean air, all too surreal for a city as large as this one; and I'd pick up my pace, as I know that home is waiting, and I can finally rest my tired feet.

Nostalgia

Been really missing Bali these days. Well, not really the real Bali, but more my image of Bali. You know, the trees, flowers, water, birds, and tranquility.

I didn't know how much I missed wearing shorts and sandals until it got hot enough here these days. I had forgotten how it felt like to have the indoor and outdoor temperatures be alike. How I wouldn't shiver when I opened the door, or hold my breath because the wind is slitting my throat.

I forgot how easy it was to keep my skin moist in the summer. Not needing to constantly put thick body butter on only to have it dry out in half a day. I even forgot how my shins looked like because I haven't seen them for six months.

I had forgotten how it feels to not be cold when getting out of the shower and to not frown at the thought of getting my hair wet. I had forgotten how limber my fingers and toes can be when they're warm. And how lovely it is to hear the birds when I wake up.

Summer here, to me, represents life. All things come alive and dances with you until darkness crawls in at midnight. People are out and about, talking, walking, playing, living. Plants thrive and flowers bloom. Then the animals come home, and join this amazing encounter of laughter and love.

People here don't really walk bare foot at all, and I have slowly forgotten how the earth feels like. Only in my dreams while I dream of being a child again do I get to feel the soft support of freshly cut grass. Only in my dreams of Bali do I get to feel the warm embrace of the sun again, beaming through the plumeria trees. Only in my dreams do the bees carry my dreams up to the sky and reach the stars, showering back down like kisses.

I dream of Bali. Perhaps it was Bali in the 70s, or maybe it is all in my imagination. But if I don't stop dreaming, then maybe some day, I will wake up among the flowers and the stars and realize, that I'm finally home.

Sweets, So Many Sweets, and More Japanese Sweets - Japan 2015 4/7

One of my favorite things from Japan is their large variety of cute and delicious sweets. Here are some of the ones we bought on our trip!

Kit Kats
I recently learned that there are over 200 kinds of Kit Kats in Japan. I had already bought a few different flavours when we passed by Japan last time, and I thought surely I would be given tons of opportunity to buy a ton more this time. To my surprise, they were not as common as I thought they would be. I didn't see any unique flavours in convenient stores or super markets, but almost only at souvenir shops.

 I was able to buy 3 flavours of Kit Kats during this trip, they are Wa-Ichigo (Japanese Strawberry), Mount Fuji Strawberry Cheesecake, and Raspberry. On my previous trips, I've bought Red Bean, Strawberry, Sakura Macha (Cherry Green Tea), and Dark Chocolate.

Giant Osaka Castle Cake



Our flight to Osaka was actually the first ever direct flight between Vancouver and Osaka for Air Canada Rouge, and because of that, they had set up a buffet, 2 sushi cupcake carts, and an amazing looking giant Osaka Castle Cake display at our gate. Unfortunately, because we waited until the last 10 minutes before we went to our gate, we did not get a chance to taste any food, nor the Osaka Castle cupcakes. We did, however, managed to grab 2 overly sweet sushi cupcakes before we boarded the plane. Lesson learned!

 

Hello Kitty Tea House in Kyoto

I knew there was a Hello Kitty Pop Up Café in Laforet in Shibuya but that was done a few months ago, so I tried really hard to look for an alternative. To my surprise, more popped out for Korea and Taiwan than for Japan. Finally I was able to find a Hello Kitty Tea House in Kyoto and immediately decided to go.

 

We actually went directly after my Maiko makeover appointment as it is almost right across the street, which is situated between Kiomizu Dera and Gion, near Sannanzaka, right next door to the Ghibli Studio store. The weather was perfectly cloudy and I was exhausted from the photo shoot. We had to wait for about 10 minutes before we were led into the tea house, which wasn't as bad as I thought, given that we went on a holiday.

It was too cute!

Everything had Hello Kitty on it including the napkins and coasters. They even placed giant Hello Kitties on empty seats so guests feel like they're having tea with Kitty herself! I ordered the Hello Kitty Matcha Latte and a Manju, and Keith ordered a delicately decorated Hello Kitty Parfait.

Pablo Cheese Tart

There were always crazy long lines for Pablo in Osaka no matter where we went. They make more than just Cheese Tarts but the Cheese Tarts are what people are lining up for. These Pablo Cheese Tarts are ¥780 each, and comes in 2 styles: "Rare" and "Medium", with the Rare style having a softer inside.

We tried both the Rare and Medium styles (of course) and also tried their Golden Brulee Cheese Pudding. These magical creamy goodies are not nearly as sweet as cheese cakes in Canada, and we both really loved that fact.

Fuji Shibazakura Limited Edition Cookies

We got these from the Shibazakura Festival near Mount Fuji. They are cherry flavoured cookies with cherry blossom and white chocolate coating. They are pretty delicious, and tastes kind of like shortbread. 

Strong Macha Cake Sandwich
Keith wasn't a big fan of these because it actually has quite a strong matcha taste and he's still getting used to the flavour (it literally says "strong matcha" on the cover). I, on the other hand, absolutely loved them. They are little round cakes with cream in the middle, all matcha flavoured. Maybe because I don't really like my cakes too sweet, I literally ate these all day!

Shizuoka Specialty Steamed Cake - Strawberry Flavour
These little fluffy balls of heaven are a Shizuoka specialty. They come in many flavours but we only got a small box of strawberry ones on our way to Mount Fuji. Big mistake, as they were phenomenal! These are steamed strawberry cakes with custard in the centre. They kind of look like a small muffin (with out the muffin top) and just melts in your mouth. They are Keiths favorite and totally justified.

Hiroshima / Miyajima Specialty Iron Pressed Cakes - Variety Filling
Nearly all the vendors sold these on Miyajima Island. They are iron pressed cakes, shaped in a maple leaf, that come in a variety of flavours. We bought a package that included custard, chocolate, lemon, and chestnut flavours.

Grocery Store Sweets
Before we came back to Canada we visited the grocery store "Life" and bought about a million things to try or bring back. These were some of the snacks/sweets we bought.

Starting from the top left corner are cake rolls dipped in a matcha white chocolate kind of coating. Then in the top centre are avocado cream cheese bite size tortilla chips. The green package on the right contains small pieces of Baumkuchen, a layered log cake that is usually extremely amazing but for some reason this brand doesn't last long at all and completely dried up by the time we got back to Canada.

In the very centre is a Kobe specialty pudding cake, it is extremely moist and soft and tastes a bit caramelly. The package to the left is dried squid (salty), which is something I ate on a regular basis when I was in Taiwan. It came also be seen at the bottom right corner. The last 2, starting on the bottom left, are Japanese style pineapple and peach flavoured macaroons, and konnyaku jelly.

We also bought my favorite waffles of all time, the 7-11 brand Belgian waffles, as well as some Hokkaido cheese cakes that were just a bit to moist and bland for me.

Our Beverage Run at the local Super(-market)

The same night we went to "Life" we also bought a variety of drinks that were just too special to ignore.

Starting from the left, is an extremely thick and the most delicious mango and peach cocktail I've ever had. Then a cola flavoured alcoholic drink. Third from the left is a Calpis soda alcoholic drink, followed by the Belgium Hoegaarden beer. Then, it is a jar of organic apple jam, which I have yet to try, and a big cup of pudding (my favorite)! Lastly, we bought a carton of Hokkaido milk, which we compared with another cheaper branch, and even did a blind taste test on (I liked the cheaper brand better).

Speaking of milk, Keith and I are both lactose intolerant. In Canada, even if we add Lactaid we still sometimes get upset stomachs. But in Japan, not only do they have the creamiest and milkiest milk in the whole world, our stomachs handle them completely fine. I definitely recommend trying Japanese milk when you go to Japan. Though it may be an unusual choice to local specialty to try, it will be totally worth it (oh, also ice cream).

Hanging out at home after dinner going through some of these snacks were some of my greatest memories from this trip, because, not only is chilling out in an air conditioned room after a long sweaty day eating snacks in bed one of the greatest joys in the world, I had the most amazing company as well. #livingthedream!

My Maiko Makeover Adventure in Kyoto - Japan 2015 3/7

There are a few things tourists typically do in Kyoto besides temples and shopping -- rent a kimono to walk around in for the day, tea ceremonies, or a Geisha/Maiko makeover.

With all the places we had planned to see every day, I wasn't confident I would be able to walk around all day in a kimono and those wooden sandals while wearing tabi socks. The next logical replacement of a similar experience, I thought, would then be to do the Geisha/Maiko makeover in a makeover studio.

A Maiko is an apprentice Geisha, who's usually younger, and from what I've seen, wears brighter colour and prettier clothes. In the studio I've chosen -- Studio Shiki, you can choose to be either a Geisha or a Maiko, and the majority of the guests choosing to be Maikos.

I wanted to be a Maiko as well.

It was our first time in Kyoto on one misty morning. We climbed up the stone paved road and turned left by one of the oldest temples.Everything was too beautiful and picturesque.

I had chosen Studio Shiki for my maiko makeover experience. I compared a few different companies, some looked really high end (and so were the prices), and some seemed less so. Studio Shiki was at the middle with a very established business process, 2 branches, and a well organized English web site. They have a year long campaign going on and most of their plans were 50% off because of that. The cheapest plan was the Studio Plan, which was the one that I chose. It consists of 6 studio photos and 10 minutes of free time to take your own photos. Other plans allow you to either take photos in a Japanese room, the court yard, or an outdoor plan that is much longer and allows you to walk around while a photographer follows you around.

As we approached our destination, we saw the sign to the studio followed by a wide and beautiful entry way. Through the traditional Japanese wooden doors was a small reception area. The studio opens at 9 and we got there around 9:40 even though our appointment was for 10. I read a ton of reviews about this place and people said it fills up really quick and they schedule up to 20 people per hour during weekends and holidays. There were 3 more people before us waiting in the reception area when we got there, but 2 more arrived soon after we did. We waited for about 15 minute, then I was given a basket, a key, and was told to head on up stairs to get started. Keith, being my trusted camera man, had to wait downstairs until I got all dressed up.

The studio is 3 stories high. Behind the reception desk is a huge wall of shoe closets, you get a locker key with a number, and a clip with the same number. You clip the clip onto your shoes, and head up to the 3rd floor. On the 3rd floor, there is another huge row of small lockers where you can put your clothes. They give you a pair of tabi socks and a funky geisha robe that has 2 v-necks, one in the front and one in the back. There is also a row of sinks, some hair dryers, and tons of products by the sinks for you to wash your makeup off afterwards.

After you get changed, you go to the 2nd floor, where the assembly line starts. There's a tiny waiting room area where an employee verifies your file and your plan. You are then led into a room with 6 makeup seats and mirrors. There is also a row of benches by the wall behind those makeup seats where you sit and wait for your turn. There are about 8 staff working on everyone and running around. Minutes after I sat down, one of the ladies came to take my makeup off. She then put some glue like paste on my face and shoulders. Another 5 minutes later, I was shown to a makeup chair where another lady put the white paint on my face and neck. After she did the preliminary painting, another lady came over to do the finer details of the makeup. She padded down the white paint to even it out, then worked on the rest of my makeup. All the ladies were friendly and extremely professional. they seemed to be really skilled at what they do and were persistent in making things perfect.

I was then led to a huge closet where hundreds of beautiful kimonos were displayed. I was told to pick out my favorite, but there were so many I was having a hard time. I also wanted something with more patterns and didn't really see any of them. I hesitantly asked this one lady if she could recommend something. She asked me which colour I wanted, I told her pink, and she soon picked out one that she said was very popular. And it was perfect. Not only was it the right shade of pink I wanted, it had lots of beautiful patterns on it. I immediately said yes to that.

They bring your selected kimono into the kimono dressing room while you get a wig fitting. You wait back in the makeup room in one of those benches in the back, then you're called into the wig room, where there is once again a huge closet with wigs in them. There are 2 options for wigs, one is a full wig, which basically sit on your head like a helmet, and the other, a half wig, where they incorporate your own hair into it. The half wig took a lot longer and was ¥2,100 extra, so I went with the full wig.

I was led into the kimono dressing room where 4 staff members are helping guests get dressed. I waited about 2 minutes before it was my turn. There were a lot of ropes, padding, and even a huge piece of plastic plate that has to go under the kimono, by the end of it I felt a lot like a Chinese Zongzi. With all those layers it was actually a bit hard to walk down the stairs, but it's show time!

I had picked out an extra photo in the Japanese room so I was led there first, Keith was brought over as I did the Japanese room shot (the photo at the very top of this post).

I was then led into a studio that was completely white. It had all sorts of professional lighting and a kick ass looking professional camera. I was given props and coached on how to pose and where to look. We took a total of about 9 pictures and was led back into the Japanese room, where we were given 10 minutes to take our own pictures. Keith and I actually had rehearsed which poses we wanted and got swiftly to work.

This experience was quite amazing. It was quick and painless, and all the staff are really nice. Definitely recommend it if you have a couple hours to spare the next time you're in Kyoto.