In Japan again! Arriving in Osaka

Ohisashiburine!

I haven't blogged for a long time but now I am in Japan again, so I want to share my experiences here.

This time my friend Kiki and I are in Japan for the Golden Bomber Fan Club Tour and Handshake Event. We managed to get tickets via lottery for the concert on Saturday the 6th!!!

We are very nervous and can't imagine the situation but we are also very happy for this chance to see our favourite members ^____^ 

So we booked the most expensive flight and hotels we ever had because it is now summer vacation in Japan and next are national holidays X.x

This time we flew with Finnair via Helsinki to Osaka. It's a nice route because we flew 2 hours to Helsinki and then just 9 more hours till Osaka^__^ 

But Finnair isn't a very good airline... on European flights you have to pay extra for soft drinks like coke or fanta and you don't even get a snack to eat. On the international flight the service wasn't impressive, the food was bad and the entertainement was also quite boring. 

Though the day started quite good. We arrived at Berlin Tegel airport on perfect time and were quite excited about the flight. But first we had a second at coffee fellows^.^

 

coffee time^^

first stop: Helsinki

Helsinki is very expensive, so we had our most expensive lunch there^^'

But at least we can say we tried Finnish food. Kiki had reindeer pasta while I chose the beetroot risotto. It was very delicious^^

beetroot risotto / reindeer pasta

We arrived in Osaka 30 min before schedule, we passed the passport control in record time but then had to wait unusually long for our luggage^^'

But the border control went also smoothly, so then we could relax. We changed clothes, I could change money (bad exchange rate at the moment >.<), Kiki could smoke before we took the Nankai train to Namba^^

We arrived at our hotel around 11 o'clock, so we had to pass three more hours till we could get to our room X.x

We were so tired...

But couldn't be helped, so first we visited our breakfast café in the underground mall and I was relieved to get my long awaited Matcha Latte^-^

But of course we couldn't spend the whole time there (otherwise we would have fallen asleep) so we went to a drug store nearby because I forgot some hair care. Then we entered the Tokyu Hands because I wanted to buy powder, a letter set and a sd card for my camera (which I also forgot^^;).

gets of the day

I got hopefully a good natural powder which was recommend by the staff (who spoke perfectly English!). It is very light, can be used as foundation or finish and has SPF50, so perfect for me. (price: 4500 Yen + tax)

Because we still had time left we also went over the Shinsaibashi doori to Donki where I hoped to find the sd card and a letter set. I wasn't lucky with the letter set either but I got a sd card and by accident I called Kikis attention for a curling iron because she wanted to have a new one. So great success here, too!

On the Shinsaibashi doori we also found a new Cecil McBee shop^^

Last year I was sad because the great store on the street was closed but this time I am not so into the fashion. I don't like the new collecions... *sigh*

When we finally could enter our room we fell aslepp almost immediately X.x

And slept for six hours >.<

Far too long... so we just get us dinner from the Family Mart/Lawson and now we kill some time with our luggage, watching TV and prepare for tomorrow, the day of the Handshake Event!!!

 

At Tomomi's place Day 5 ~ relaxing shopping day

On Wednesday Tomomi had to work again and the weather was also not so good, so her mother asked if I wanted to accompany her for her daily shopping. Of course I wanted^^

But first we drove to the station to buy me a bus ticket for tomorrow to get to the airport and fetch Kiki. When that was done we drove the hospital because she wanted to buy medicine for grandfather. I was surprised because the hospital was very small and doesn't look very typical. When you enter you have take off your shoes as well. But the waiting area was very comfortable because they had even sofas to sit on. While we were waiting we looked at some food magazines XD

Afterwards we went shopping at 'Chambre'. It is a kind of allround store where you find clothes, accessory, bath care, stationary, kitchenware and so on. There I bought a cute bento box for my collection X3

my new bento box^.^

Then it was time for lunch. Tomomi's mother suggested to have an all-you-can-eat buffet. And it was amazing they really served many dishes. They had Japanese food but also Italian like pizza and spaghetti. I liked the curry and the pumpkin soup very much^.^

But the desserts were also great *_*

And you could also drink as much as you like, so I had my first coke here and could also drink a coffee with the desserts.

my first plate with mango, fried rice, pumpkin, meat ball, chicken roast, potatoes, salad, tamagoyaki, tempura

my dessert collection: pancakes and soft icecream with chocolate sauce, Matcha cake & two cake pieces

The buffet was limited for 90 minutes but that was absolutely sufficent. We were so full...

Because the weather was getting nice again, she drove with me through the area and we watched the beautiful rice fields. Nara prefecture is really wonderful^.^

But so we were back home in the afternoon and there was nothing much to do. I took a little nap till dinner and waited for Tomomi while watching a volleyball game on TV again.

But such a relaxing day was very nice for a change. I like how they live there and it's sad that I have to leave tomorrow T^T

Japanese Garden & Japantown San Francisco

The next day atfer the boot trip we visited the Golden Gate Park where also is a Japanese Garden situated. The entrance fee was 8 $ but we decided to enter. The weather was sunny and the air fresh so it was the perfect weather for a garden walk. And the Japanese garden was really beautiful! Very green with a nice little choice of flower in between and a lake in the middle where some kois were at home. We found also a buddha statue made of stone and passes through some orange tori gates and ended up a small pagoda in the heart of the garden. We enjoyed the view and the calm atmosphere and took a break in the warming sun.

tea house in the garden

gate & pagoda in the middle of the garden

Lau and I sitting on a strange bridge X3

Before leaving we also strolled through the souvenir shop which sold typical Japanese things.

We also entered the restrooms... which were in bad conditions we had to recognize surprisingly, It seems they weren't cleaned regularly what was kind of embrassing because you pay an entrance fee for the garden which is otherwise well taken care of.

We strolled through the Golden Gate Park back to the bus station which should take us back downtown where we wanted to visit Japantown again to enjoy this place while we expected it to be empty. And it was! Almost nobody was there^^; that was quite chilling *lol*

After the walk in the parks we were pretty hungry and we longed for some sweets for lunch. Lau looked forward to try out Tapioka Milk Tea with cotton candy because she saw many people walking around with it on the day of the festival but was too lazy to get in line that day because it was just too crowded. But today nobody was there and Lau was very happy with her choice^^
I longed for a Japanese crepe like the ones you get in Harajuku X3 And the choice was awesome! They even make crepe with Matcha pastry *_* so I got a Matcha crepe with Matcha icecream, strawberries, cream and choco chips X3 They even made up a sweet face on the wrapped crepe that was so cute^.^

my matcha crepe X3

the crepe shop

We were totally happy afterwards! And before we started our 'shopping tour' then we entered the Pikapika Land again to take some purikura before having some bags to carry around. Of course it was empty, too, and we used the Lumi-3-machine again. We really like the shots it takes^^

First searched the shop 'MaruQ', Lau wanted to take a look around there because it sells Japanese Gyaru brands like Liz Lisa. It was situated in a complex building next to the West Mall on the 1st floor. It was nice and of course empty XD So Lau took her time and tried some things on. She also bought a Liz Lisa top and chatted a lot with the staff member. (I don't like the brands they had there so I was just sitting on the sofa watching Lau shopping XD)

me and the pink Liz Lisa pillow^^;

On the 2nd floor was also a lolita shop but not interesting for us. The Café on the ground floor looked also pretty cute but we were still so full from our sweet lunch that we didn't take a break there.

sweet Café

We also visited the Daiso again in the East Mall to get some final things and then we had another round Purikura *lol*
This time we tried an older machine but the pictures were not so good and the choice of decoration was bad, too U.U
Exhausted from strolling around the whole day we chose a traditional Japanese restaurant for dinner. The speciality was ramen, udon and donburi, so just perfect for us^^
Lau chose Tempura Udon while I had Unagi Don (eel on rice) *_* we were totally happy, it was just perfect *o*

traditional restaurant 'Mifune' / my dinner^^

This was the end of a perfect day and also of our visit to San Francisco. The next day we took the bus back to L.A.
Bye bye!

Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco

Hello again!

This time my friend Lau and I have been to San Francisco/California. On two weekends in April they are celebrating a Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown. So we took the chance and visited the festival on Sunday. The weather was very sunny and hot but it was so much fun!

Festival Stage

We checked the timetable before and we arrived just in time to see the Taiko performance of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo. I love Taiko and the group did pretty well. But we couldn't take a seat in front of the stage because there was no shadowy place and in the sun it was too hot, so we watched it from the shadows of the shopping mall.

Stage Plaza from our view

Afterwards we strolled around some booths near the plaza and there was a 'Pocky' Car where they distributed free packages of a new pocky flavour. That was cool and of course we got in line to get one package each^o^

Festival Street

Then we entered the East Mall of the Japan Shopping Center to cool down a bit. Inside were a big Daiso store located where must items cost $1.50. Lau got some more lashes while I found Matcha Iced Tea and Matcha Pan *lol* and also a package of instant sauce for making Mabo Tofu *_* I'm really excited to try it out!

Japan Center East Mall

Inside the mall were also some restaurants and other little shops but we decided to view more of the festival. In the north part of Japantown were also booths which sold different kinds of handicrafts. But everything looked kind of Americanized. But I was happy to get a cute Star Wars T-Shirt with a Darth Vader Chibi on it^o^

And Lau was happy to get a bowl of Kakigori so we took a break there and had a little lunch (I ate my Matcha pan which was quite delicious^^).

my Matcha gets & the free pocky

Time to do more shopping. So we entered the West Shpping Mall which is the bigger one. We got the impression of being in Harajuku and then in Kyoto Station. Everything was really Japanese, it felt like home XD

Japan Center West Mall

Unfortunately everything was really crowded but we managed to enter some interesting shops like some fashion boutiques – Shibuya SF – or the great Japanese bookstore. Of course we also went to the Purikura Center 'Pika Pika Land'. There you go to the staff, choose a machine and they start it per key for you. We tried out the Lumi-3 machine which did really great pictures^.^

Boutique 'Shibuya' & Pikapika Land

Then we strolled around on the 1^st floor where more traditional shops were located. There was also a replica of a Japanese castle which is really a beautiful decoration^^

decoration of the Mall's basement

Outside again we went down the festival street next to the West Mall. There were the booth of different organization and groups located like the one of the Taiko group. At the end was another little stage where they played music and the opposite were stands with food and many tables and banks to enjoy your meal.

Festival stage

We spend much time on the festival but around 6 pm it was closing. So Lau and I bought us a little snack at the Japanese supermarket for dinner and went back home.

Avocado Maki

We walked pretty much today and the hot weather was really exhausting. But we had so much fun and Japantown in San Francisco is really great. We are sure to come back again during the next days^_^v

Visit Harry Potter [Exhibition] in Cologne & [Café] Relax in Duesseldorf

On the last weekend in February my friend Kirschu visited me because we wanted to go to the Harry Potter Exhibition in Cologne together. Sunday was the last of the Exhibition and it was sold out for day tickets. We had already bought online tickets for entrance at 12 pm.

Before entering the exhibition the visitors could be photographed and later buy the picture with a background of your choice as a souvenir. Of course Kirschu and I posed for a photo - also with wands given by the staff X3

we in front of the different backrounds (collage made by Kirschu)

The Exhibition started with - what else - the Speaking Hat. Kirschu was one to try it one and she was lucky because she was put in Ravenclaw, the house she wanted XD

Afterwards we entered a room with alle the English movie avertisements and a little trailer was shown before entering platform 9 3/4. Passing the train we entered the Exhibition hall. Different locations and costumes were presented with information given in German next to them. I liked the Quidditch stuff and you could even try throwing the Quidditch balls through the rings, that was fun *lol*

The Dark Forest was really creapy so we were glad to enter the Great Hall^^

playing Quidditch

Weasley's sweets

It was no big Exhibition but well made and presented, we liked the stuff and I think we made photos of everything XD

I was positively surprised and even after being in the Exhibition in London we must say that is was worth the visit^^

In the afternoon we returned to Duesseldorf and visit the Japanese Café Bar Relax on the Immermannstaße. It was perfect time for coffee so we enjoyed a coffee speciality and a Japanese Honey Toast. Kirschu chose the Toast with vanilla ice cream, Banana and chocolate sauce and I tried the Matcha Toast with Azuki beans and Honey, it was just great *_*

Honey Toasts^o^

We chatted so long that we also stayed there for a little dinner. Kirschu wanted to try the pumpkin korokke so badly *lol* and I took the chance to try the takoyaki^.^

dinner

Both was really delicous! At last we also had a cocktail as a finish. Kirschu took the cocktail of the day: Vodka Tropical (Vodka with citrus and mince) and I couldn't resist and tasted the Matcha Milk with Vodka. It didn't taste much like alcohol but I love Matcha Milk^o^

our cocktails

It was the perfect end for a really wonderful day. And I must say that I totally like the Café Relax! It's always great to be there and it always reminds me of some Cafés in Osaka X3

Matcha ^o^

I love Matcha sweets! And now that I am living in Düsseldorf, I can buy great sweets and buns in the backeries and supermarkets in the city^o^

I love the soft Matcha pan from the Taka Backery!

That inspired me to try out a Matcha chocolate spread. I took a recipe for white chocolate spread and replaced some of the White chocolate with pieces of Matcha chocolate which I still had at home.

So I melted 200 g of chocolate (white & Matcha) while stiring and added a bit of butter. When everything is creamy, take it of the stove and let it cool down a bit. In the meantime stir 200g of cream cheese till it becomes smooth (maybe add a bit of milk to get it more creamy).

Add the chocolate mix to the cream and stir everything again till it become a homogenous, creamy mixture.

After a few hours in the fridge it is ready for a taste^o^

The spread is really refreshing though the Matcha taste could have been stronger (so a 1:1 ratio of the chocolate would have been better, I had 2:1 white:Matcha). But it was totally great on the Matcha pan:

Matcha spread on Matcha bread (nice rhyme *lol*)

But it is also very tasty on other buns and bread^^

And a nice change to my other backery plans. My next idea is a Matcha Chiffon Cake... Let's see!

At Tomomi's Day 1 ~ Sakurai, Asuka & some cooking

I had a real good first night at my friend's Tomomi's house.

my room ~ my bed

my room ~ low table and kind of altar

Tomomi woke me up shortly past 9 am, her mother had already breakfast ready O.o

She served us Japanese breakfast because I said to Tomomi I would like to try. I was truly overwhelmed by everything!!! (so I haven't taken many photos yet^^;)

After breakfast Tomomi took me around by her car. Sakurai is a nice little city (okay it has around 60.000 citizens) in the middle of Nara prefecture. But first we stopped by an electic devices shop because I had forgot my adapter >.< By this chance I could also buy new batteries for my camera. Unfortunately I forgot to change money at the airport, so I had no Yen with me *drop* But Tomomi was so kind and bought these things for me 8>.<8

Afterwards she took me to a Wagashi shop *_* (wagashi are japanese sweets)
It was a paradise!!! I would love to taste everything XD
I ended up taking a strawberry cake, a Matcha Buttercake, two Matcha madleines, an Azuki Cake, two different kinds of Matcha mochi and two dorayaki filled with strawberry and cream with me^.^´But then came the big surprise: Tomomi said she'd like to give me all of these as a present O.o I tried to refuse but what should I do... I was so happy T^T
But also the staff members were really nice. While we were waiting for the sweets to get packed up by the staff, we should sit down and got a little cup of tea and an anko mochi^.^ Tomomi also asked the stuff for me if I can take some pictures. Usually it isn't allowed but they made an exeption for me \^-^/ (certainly because I bought so much and they don't have many foreign costumers^^;)
I was so lucky!!!

inside the shop

Afterwards we drove to Asuka, a neighbour town of Sakurai. There was a park with nice viewing spots for flowers and over the area. Nara prefecture is full of hills and flowers, like Tomomi said she really lives on a countryside. But this is a Japan I see for the first time, so I was really happy^^

view down the park

Then we returned home again because her mother has called and she wanted to go with us to a special supermarket and go shopping for dinner. I was also invited to help with the cooking^.^

But at home we were able to enjoy a cup of tea together and try some of the wagashi we bought (some must be eaten this day anyway).

my wagashi package X3

matcha tea and rice cakes

This was also the time when I gave Tomomi and her family my presents from Germany^.^
They were all very happy, I was so glad. I bought many chocolate, some things from the christmas markets, German noodles and pottery. Her grandmother especially liked the pottery figures I brought^^ (she collect those things)
Everybody was happy X3

Tomomi sourounded by presents XD

nice place for the snow ball

They even put the presents in front of the family altar to get them blessed. On this occasion they also showed me the altar of the hinamatsuri (girl's festival).

hinamatsuri altar

gifts in front of the family altar

Finally altogether we went shopping for dinner. We drove quite far to get to the supermarket but Tomomi told me her mother liked especially that one because it was big and very cheap.

Back at home we made dinner together. We prepared teriyaki salmon, sashimi, salad and Chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg souflée). We had to cut chicken, shiratake & shrimps, marinate the fish and stir the egg mixture for the Chawanmushi. The fish grilled and the egg mixture (incredients: shrimp, shiratake, chicken and sugar peas) was steamed. The sashimi was placed orderly on little tables. For the salad Tomomis mother also made a real good sesame dressing *_*
It was really interesting to see how so many dishes were made well parallel. Everything just took around one hour to be ready.

well-laid table for Tomomi and me

Unfortunately I didn't take a good picture of the Chawanmushi. But I must say that it didn't tasted so good, so nothing I will cook at home^^;
It was really nice and such a Japanese meal makes you sated for sure!

After this quite relaxing first day I'm looking forward to tomorrow when Tomomi and I want to go to Miyajima and Hiroshima^.^
But I hope the weather forecast will be wrong because it says that it will only rain tomorrow >.<
Wish me luck!

Matcha sweets ♥

At the end of the year I had to try making some sweet things with Matcha because I liked to make them for silvester when my friends from Berlin would be staying at my place. So in preparation for some sweets I started with making Matcha Syrup. With its poison green colour it looks rather like a witches’ brew but this sweet syrup is really useful to create sweets with the taste of Matcha. It’s sugar water in which you sift some Matcha powder. After enough stiring it becomes a homogenous liquid.

Matcha syrup

My first try using the syrup was in a Matcha version of rice pudding. I added a few soup spoons of syrup to the milk and rice mixture and also a bit Matcha powder to strengthen the Matcha taste. It worked really well, it was sweet and you could tasted the Matcha in it, but I would have had to use more powder to intense the colour, so my version didn’t look much like Matcha ^^; (that’s why I haven’t taken a picture)

But my real intention was to make a real Matcha dessert. So first I tried out a Matcha cream. I used regular quark, eggs, Matcha syrup and powder and stired a smooth cream out of it. After a few hours in the fridge it had became a real good Matcha mousse. (and this time I had forgotten to take a picture >.<)

It was really delicious but it wasn’t proper for my idea of a layer dessert. For that it was too soft.

Finally I tried to make a Matcha Tiramisu. I was inspired by this recipe. But because I can’t eat cereals, I replaced the wheat flour with a combination of rice and corn flour (so I had to take the double amount). The Matcha Bisquit came out really good!

The Tiramisu cream was also pretty well and it became stiff enough to hold the bisquit layers. In the end it became more bisquit than cream so it was more like a cake but nevertheless it was really delicious! My friends and I liked it very much ^__^

the sliced Tiramisu in the baking dish

a piece of cake

It doesn't look pretty good (like always -_-) but I think it's okay for the first try.

My next ideas for Matcha sweets coming soon ^.~