Sachiko in Osaka

Ami in a dress. "MINNA~KONNICHIWA :) " (Hello everyone!) Stir fry Tofu and vegetables. This is what I made for the dinner. Here is the recipe; Tofu,Onion,carrot,paprika,ginger,sesami seed oil, solt,soy sauce. 1. Drain the Tofu well. 2.Put the sesame seed oil in the frying pan. 3. You crush the tofu(or cut it in small pieces with knife) as you put it in the frying pan and stir fry the tofu. 4.Put sliced onion, carrot and paprika. Add little grazed ginger. 5.Season with some salt and soy sauce. 6. Sprinkle some leek on the top.

Grapes are in season in Japan. My friend sent me lots of grapes as her husband side of family are farmers . Here is Ami trying to grab grapes off the table. Side dish for the dinner tonight. Tofu with Tomato and mushroom sauce. I seasoned with Soy sauce , balsamico and olive oil. Main dish. Stair fry Veggie and Kurumafu . Kurumafu is the traditional type of wheat gluten. I often use substitute for meat.

We went to home furnishing store IKEA in Osaka. IKEA is a Swedish company but very very successful in Japan and their business is growing so fast. This is my first visit to the store as it opened in Osaka recently and I was quite surprised to see so many people are shopping there.... We were lucky to get a parking space smoothly. We had a light dinner there but there wasn't much choice for vegetarians, so we just ate some salad,steamed veggie and bread. I enjoyed the atmosphere there.

Bento (lunch box) for my husband. Little red chopsticks in a white case on the left. Brown rice with lots of toppings; seaweed, Umeboshi , sesame seeds, and so on. Sweet potato Croquette Enoki mushrooms Carrots Lettuce veggie corned beef with sweet corn Ami this morning :)

The breakfast may served in the room at some Ryokan but there was a breakfast room at where we stayed. They served a very good traditional Japanese breakfast. The vegetables in Kyoto known as " Kyoyasai " are very popular among Japanese people . They had a table where we can help ourselves for all the veggies with three kinds of homemade dressings. Here are some fans of Ami:)

We got up real early like 5:00AM to go for a walk to Chionin Temple before our breakfast. Chion'in Temple (知恩院) is the headquarters of the Jodo Shu (Pure Land Sect) founded by Honen(1133-1212), who proclaimed that sentient beings are reborn in Amida Buddha's Western Paradise (Pure Land) by reciting the nembutsu Amida Buddha's name. The vast compounds of Chion-in include the site where Hōnen settled to disseminate his teachings and the site where he died. It was little tough for my hubby to crimb all those stairs with Ami in sling. The original temple was built in 1234 by Hōnen's disciple, Genchi (1183-1238) in memory of his master and was named Chion-in. Numerous buildings in the complex were burnt down in 1633, but were entirely rebuilt by the third Tokugawa Shogun Iemitsu (1604-51) with the palatial structures that stand today.

We were able to find many "Ikebana" the flower arrangemets in Ryokan (Japanese traditional type of Hotel) which was very nice. Japanese flower arrangement "Ikebana" is a creative expression with certain rules of construction. All the materials are with life may it be branches, leaves, grasses, and flowers. The beauty of each arrangement is the result from its color combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the meaning behind the total form of the arrangement.

Today's me and Ami. We are in the middle of Obon holiday. We normaly get about 3 days off around 15 th . Obon is a Japanese custom to honor the departed (deceased) spirits of our ancestors. This Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. Anywhere you go there are many traffic and people! We just stayed in local and went to " Kaiten Sushi " for a lunch. Kaiten - zushi is a sushi restaurant where the plates with the sushi are placed on a rotating conveyor belt that winds through the restaurant and moves past every table and counter seat. Customers simply pick their selections from a steady stream of fresh sushi moving along the conveyor belt. Vegetarian friendly!! There are sushi with vegetables and Natto beans. The final bill is calculated based on the number and type of ...

I found this folding fan(S ensu ) shop in Kyoto. It is common thing for Japanese to carry a fun in our bag in summer, even for some men. These are my fans. I got these from my mother and I love them as they are kind of modern design so it goes well with casual wear like Jeans and Tshirts .

We stayed in Ryokan (Japanese traditional hotel with tatami mat) and had dinner in the room. The presentation of each dish was very beautiful. Here is Ami going..Yummy!!! The waitress just fell in love with Ami. We were able to see Chionin Temple trough the window. She was so happy to see Ami every time she comes to our room to serve food :)

These are Japanese traditional sweets for tea ceremony . They are made out of sweetened Azuki beans paste. Each sweets is made seasonal design like seasonal flowers or events. Maccha kuzumochi with ice cream on top Maccha is Japanese green tea, we use it for a flavor a lot. Soy milk pudding and sweet azuki beans.

There is the fish market for tourist called " ToreTore Ichiba " in Shirahama . "Tore" means catch in Japanese and " Ichiba " means market. They have wide variety of seafood, veggies , fruits and sweets for souvenir or to eat there as they have a huge restaurant. We usually go there for a breakfast!! ToreTore Ichiba official web sight.Only in Japanese...... http://www.toretore.com/tore/

I born and raised in the prefecture called Wakayama Japan where is about 2 hours drive from where we live now. Wakayama has mountains and the beach, famous for oranges. My home town is near Shirahama which is very touristic place with hot spring, sea food and the sandy beach. I am sure you will like it. This is tourist page for Shirahama in English! http://www.nanki-shirahama.com/eng/index.html This is first time Ami experience the sea.

This is my friend Aki and Ami's friend Shion. Aki and I met at the hospital when we deliver our baby. Shion born 2 days after Ami, now their good friends and Ami was very happy to see her!

You may only see us wearing Kimono on special occasions like wedding, parties, new years and so on today, however if you visit Kyoto you are likely to find ladies in Kimono more easily because there are many Geisha and Maiko . Apprentice Geisha are called M aiko . This lady is Maiko who are traditional, female Japanese entertainers. Their skills include performing various Japanese arts, such as classical music and dance. She is dressed in the more of casual kimono in day time. I assume she will dress up more at night. If you want to dress up like Maiko and experience the culture there are many service available in Kyoto. http://www.kyoto-maiko.com/English/index.html

I just came back from the Kyoto Trip. We stayed there for one night. It was my birthday treat from my husband, I love Kyoto and I had a great time there. My birthday was 6 th of August. This is Minamiza , the Kabuki(Japanese drama) theater which is one of the land mark in Kyoto. I will put more pics and write about Kyoto trip time to time. Their official web sight.(only in Japanese) http://www.shochiku.co.jp/play/minamiza/index.html Tokyo theatre has English sight. http://www.shochiku.co.jp/play/kabukiza/theater/index.html

Me and my mother went to the Chinese tea house in Kitahama , Osaka. My mother with a hat on the picture looking at the menu of so many variety of Chinese tea. The Chinese tea set is so cute. The tea with little Chinese sweets. They also sell tea leafs, tea pots, cups,bowls, small sake cups and so on. My mother bought me some tea leafs, bowls and a small sake cup.(I don't drink sake....) Their official web sight, but only in Japanese. http://www.hinopharm.co.jp/tozentei.htm

I went for a lunch at my friend's organic restaurant with a good friend of mine Kinai today. This restaurant is located in Tenmabashi , Osaka and the staff speaks English very well. http://www.cafeprana.com/cafe/macrobiotics/lunch/ Left: My friend Kinai Right: My friend Ayumi the owner of the restaurant. Ayumi has two dogs at her restaurant Ku and Vivian. We used to study macrobiotic cooking together at the cooking school. All the food on the menu are vegetarian. Very simple but tasty. Ami saw a dog this close for first time. I thought I might get scared and cry but she actually enjoyed playing with Ku .