お誕生日おめでとうございます！ to me

o.m.g I'm 23. I just turned 23 years of age. Geez.

Now, before you start to roll your eyes and quietly mutter under your breath that 23 is "sooo young" and yada, yada, yada, just know that I already know this, I know it ALL. And I shouldn't be complaining about my age at such a young age, but whatever, this is my blog and I'll complain about the sky being blue if I feel like it.

First off, it's not that I'm complaining about getting old but more that I actually FEEL older. If you can actually believe it. I feel older than 23. Is that normal? Or am I just a freak? I don't feel 23, I feel older, a lot older. But this could be attributed to the realization that I've grown A LOT in the past year. I think I was just starting to come to terms with all of my responsibilities (job, bills, uh, life). I felt like I was settling into my life here in Japan, being on my own, living by myself, all for the first time, ever. And now, it's just hit me that there's a long road ahead. A long (expletive) road ahead, filled with ups, downs, curves, side streets, round-abouts, you get the point. And seeing the '23rd' smacked between the 'Happy' and the 'Birthday!' was just a reminder that even though I feel like I've grown, matured, and started to settle into my own skin, there's still a lot to learn.

But yeah, anyway, I'm happy to be alive and healthy so happy birthday to me (and everyone else born on 4-24)!

All that I ever ask for on my birthday (my bf will disagree) is to be surrounded by good people and delicious food. I did just that for this birthday. Take a look!

(Note: I like to celebrate my birthday over the course of three days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'm greedy like that)

Friday night lasagna, forgot the name of the restaurant.

Sam Choy's Loco Moco

Four Cheese Pizza (w/ a maple sauce) from Fridge in Daimyo.

My fave! Katsu Curry from CoCo

Beautiful strawberry shortcake bday cake.

Fukuoka Now Party- "High in the Sky"

Imagine all the gaijin (foreigners) in Fukuoka packed into a pretty amazing double-decker penthouse, over looking the Hakata Bay. Keep in mind that there are endless amounts of liquor, an 18 year old beat boxer named Daichi, and an oddly placed chocolate fountain. Yes, this was the Fukuoka Now "High in the Sky" party.

Don't get me wrong, it was good. It was rrreal good.

Dazaifu Sakura

Second trip to Dazaifu Tenmangu. We were lucky enough to catch the end of Sakura season. The cherry blossoms were perfect!

東京 2.0

Oh, Tokyo, I'm happy that we are finally friends.

Roppongi Hills Digital Clock

The girls came to visit Japan in the middle of March. We hit up all the usual spots, Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Ginza, Roppongi, is that all? I'm happy to announce that I have given Tokyo another chance and it has definitely proved itself to be worthy of my time and affection.

I won't go on and on about what I great time everyone had, it's implied, it's Tokyo dude.

Kanpai!

Shibuya at night.

Hachiko at noon. Damn this intersection.

Tokyo Tower

Typical Day @ Kencho-Hipstamatic Style

A lil peek into a typical day @ the Kencho office.

Hopping on the train

.

Saying hello to

all the bosses.

Getting money ready for lunch.

Lunch time!

Man this place

is messy.

Smoke break? Nah, no thanks.

Snack time!

Bathroom time!

That about sums it up.

Just Another Sunday in Tenjin

Ice coffee, curry and rice with a fried egg, and a strawberry mousse dessert. YUM!

Apple Store Fashion Show (?)

The Apple Store in Tenjin just so happened to be having a fashion show while we popped in to fix something. The models were matching the iPods they were modeling. It was weird, in a good way.

Nagasaki Lantern Festival

My first visit to Nagasaki Prefecture (known for its 99 islands + the opening scenes of 'The Last Samurai' were filmed there) was a short 1/2 day trip filled with some Chinese food, MOS Burger, and of course, thousands of lanterns.

If you're ever in the area, don't forget to try a yummy pork bun!

Futon to Full-Size! Upgrade

My neighbor, Kim, had the best idea for us to get beds, REAL beds! We both had been sleeping on a futon for a while and were getting sick of it! If you have never slept on a futon bed, just imagine a thick comforter right, smack dab on the ground. Yes, almost like camping. It's a tradition Japanese bed and at the beginning I didn't have a problem with it. But, after awhile the futon mattress started to flatten out to a point where it felt like I was sleeping directly on the floor. Not to mention that during the summers you have to hang your futon outdoors, most likely on the railing of your balcony. Futons are too big to wash, but due to the amount of sweat it collects from your body during the summer you have to hang them out to 'dry' or else they'll start to grow mold. The mold will then spread to your tatami mats and well, it ain't pretty. Then during the winters since the futon is on the floor, it's extremely cold. Bleh....
Obviously, a real bed sounded very tempting so, 50000 yen ($500) later it was done and a new full-size bed was en-route to my jutaku in Nishijin.
We had to wait a few weeks for the mattressed to get delivered and when the deliverymen FINALLY arrived they told us our staircase was too narrow to get the beds up and that they would have to come back in a few MORE weeks, with more men, to pull the beds up our balcony. It was a long, gruesome wait but the beds finally made it into our apartments and boy, they were definitely worth the wait!

Futon.

Delivery men trying hard to pull the beds up. Yes, that's rope they're using! LOL

End result, my lovely, extremely comfortable bed!

DONUTS!

Don't get me wrong, Mister Donut is great, and their 100 yen specials make them even better, but Japan definitely lacks in the donut department. If you're looking for a big, mouth-watering, melt in your mouth, glazed donut, you're not going to find it in Japan. At least no where near Fukuoka.
BUUUUT now that Southern Maid Donuts opened in Nishijin, there's salvation at last! They make fresh, BIG donuts that don't lack in their taste or their appearance. Sure, they're a bit overpriced, but what isn't in Japan? They're delicious and that's all that matters. Take a look for yourself!

Coming of Age Day 成人の日 Seijin no hi

This day celebrates all young adults who turn or are turning 20 years of age during the year. 20 is considered the year when children become adults. They are allowed to drink, vote, and smoke. haha
Coming of Age Day or Seijin no hi ('seijin' meaning adult or to come of age, and 'hi' meaning day) comes every year on the second Monday in January. The girls dress in extravagant kimonos while the boys wear suits. Everyone flocks to the nearest shrine, praying for their futures, while picking their omikuji (a sheet of paper that tells them what their fortune for the year will be).

My omikuji.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine by one of my JTEs in Kurume. She helped me to read my fortune, which advised me to always ask questions because I get lost a lot when I travel. It also predicted a new love interest....hmm....

Brrrrr it's cold!!

TIME FOR SOME NABE!

Winter in Fukuoka doesn't get toooo cold since it's located in the southern part of Japan. However, it still experiences snow. Temperatures, for the most part, stay in the 40's.
But after a long day of work and after peeling off your millions of layers of clothing, it's nice to warm up to a nice steaming bowl of nabemono, or nabe for short. Nabe, being the Japanese word pot, and mono being the word for things. It's basically a hot pot, with whatever broth you want, with whatever ingredients you want. Popular broths consist of miso, butter, or kim chee and popular ingredients include any type of meat, and tons and tons of vegetables. Cabbage, bean sprouts, tofu, udon noodles, mushrooms, and green onions are a must.
Not only is nabe super easy to make but its also tasty and healthy (depending on the broth). It makes for a good last minute dinner. Just throw everything into your pot, turn up the heat, wait for everything to soak in the flavor from the broth, and eat! Deeelicious.

There's a Menchanko-Tei very close to my apartment. It specializes in Chanko-nabe, a specific nabe that sumo wrestlers eat, due to its high amount of protein. I ordered a set, Chanko-nabe, gyoza, and a bowl of rice. The nabe includes aburage, which is a fried tofu, and a large piece of mochi. Geez, loading up on carbs with the Chanko, be prepared!

Outside of my jutaku on a snowy day.
Now doesn't looking at this make you want to warm up to a nice hot bowl of nabe???

Christmas in Hawaii

It's always nice to go home for the holidays but things were extra special this year since it was the first time I was returning home after being abroad. I was able to acknowledge and appreciate the Japanese influence I have in my family. Things like the traditional kagami mochi, and kadomatsu, were normally overlooked and unacknowledged. But this year, when I looked at them, I realized how much of the Japanese culture my family embraces. Then it got me thinking about all of the other Japanese traditions we follow that not only stem from the Japanese culture but also from Buddhism. I've forgetten about so many traditions and customs as many of them stopped when my grandma passed away. Things like ozoni, sushi, fresh sashimi, Buddhist shrines, omomori, kanten, nishime, etc. are no where to be found these days. I'm thinking I'll start bringing some stuff back into my family's Christmas traditions, all can't be lost while someone in the family is living in the motherland, rrrright?

Man, I love Christmas. It's unfortunate that Japan doesn't have Christmas trees.

Kagami-mochi with kadomatsu standing nicely in the background.