Food Glorious Food!

Seriously why has it taken me so long to do this post. Unfortunately, not all the food I love is featured here but needed to show a few things. I will be honest and say that I have packed on a few pounds since I have been here; actually, every time I have lived abroad I have gained weight and I think that is because of being a vegetarian and compensating with carbs. Being a vegetarian can be hard, think about it if you aren’t eating meat what are you eating when you travel? In the states I have the lovely Whole Foods (or Whole Paycheck as my dad calls it) but I always have difficulty outside of my comfort zone. Now this is where I could get extremely frustrated because my pants just don’t fit but I recently read something in a magazine that put it all in perspective (parphrased) “Instead of worrying about those last 5 pounds think about all the fun you had and the great food you ate to gain those 5 pounds.”

In Kyoto - I had some fantastic pees that were in this crunchy dough and some fantabolous dried fruit, seriously dried kiwi and strawberries!

OMG the fruit in Japan is HUGE! This asian pear was the size of my head, their peaches are the same way. The really cool thing is that they are sold with a foam protector.

On my last day of work in Sasebo Kaori bought me this awesome mini cake (even had its own ice pack with it!)

When I was in Korea Ryan and Holly introduced me to Tom n Toms Coffee, it is a Korean chain and o.......m...........g.............. this might be better than Starbucks! I know blasphemy but they have these pretzels that are made to order and the one below was sweet potatoe and cheese - I am salivating just thinking about it!

One nite when we were going back to the hotel Ryan, Holly, and I decided to stop and get a snack. Well I saw this ice cream that was "Sweet Corn" and I just couldn't say no because I was so intrigued. It tasted just like frozen sweet corn but honestly, I could not decided if I loved it or hated it and Holly was the same way. We both kept taking a bite and going hmmmmmmmmmmm not sure let me try it again!

Golden Beauty

Part of the tour that we went on went to the Golden Pavilion, also known as Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple) and Rokuon-ji (Deer Garden Temple). Honestly, it was amazing and breath taking, I don't think my pictures do it justice.

I looked quickly through my posts to see if I told this story but I couldn't find it so I figured I would tell it again. As my friends can attest, I tell stories over and over so why make the blog any different. :) On the local train on my way to Kyoto there was an empty seat next to me and two girls, probably in their early 20's, were standing right there and they did paper, rock, scissors to see who would get the empty seat. I have a very strong feeling that the loser is the one who got the seat! O well ;)










Some Pictures of the Grounds:

Tour Time.........

When we were in Kyoto we decided to make the most of our time and do a tour. However, this was a last minute decision and you can't make tour reservations on Sundays?!?! So we chanced it and showed up at one of the hotel pickups and was able to get on.......O thank you! We went to Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji Temple(Golden Pavilion), and Kyoto Imperial Palace. The funny thing about this tour is that I noticed there was a female marine on this tour that was on my wine and cheese tour throught I wakuni. I definitely freaked her out when I asked her if she was stationed in Iwakuni. Hey, what can I say? I don't remember names but I always remember faces (or in this case tatoos)!!!


Our Tour Guide:



Nijo Castle: is a flatland castle located in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens.








Kyoto Imperial Palace: is an imperial palace of Japan, though the Emperor of Japan is not in residence. The Emperor has resided at the Tokyo Imperial Palace since 1869 (Meiji Restoration) and ordered the preservation of the Kyōto Imperial Palace in 1877.













Random Picture of me in Kyoto:





A Really Good Beatles Tribute Group on a Street Corner

Hidden Gems!

We stumbled upon the parade after we walked out of Yasaka Shrine; however, that was after we stumbled upon some great things at the Yasaka shring, which we stumbled upon after just getting off the bus because we thought we were getting lost! We stumbled upon some music and some ladies making paper flowers.

Crash Course of Japanese Arts

One of the areas in Kyoto is Gion, which is also known as the Geisha district. One of the things that I saw in Gion which made me shudder and want to shake a tourist and tell them that they are embarrassment to America was when they went running and screaming after a taxi that had a geisha in it. About 4 minutes after they did this then about 6 of their friends followed doing the same thing, seriously people stop embarrassing my country.

Also in Gion is Gion Corner; Gion Corner has a 50 minute show that is an introduction to foreigners of the arts in Japan. It was a great Cliff Notes version/ crash course of Japanese arts. I highly recommend it. You saw:

Chado: a tea ceremony, remember the first tea ceremony I saw all those weeks ago in Tokyo!


Koto: A Japanese Harp. The Koto shares a common ancestor with the modern Chinese guzheng. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. They are 71 in in width, and made from kiri wood. They consist of 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges along the width of the instrument. Players can adjust the string pitches by moving these bridges before playing, and use three finger picks (on thumb, index finger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings.



Kado: Flower Arrangment.



Kyomai: Kyoto Style Dance. There are two styles of dance in Japan: Odori and Mai. Odori originated in the Edo period and grew out of Kabuki drama and is more oriented toward male sentiments. Mai originated in the western part of Japan and is traditionally performed in Japanese rooms instead of on the stage. It was influenced by the Noh Drama. A variation of the Mai style of Japanese dance is the Kyomai or Kyoto Style Dance. Kyomai developed in the 17th century Tokugawa cultural period. It is heavily influenced by the elegance and sophistication of the manners often associated with the Imperial Court in Kyoto.





Gagku: Court Music. It is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:(1) Native Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, called kuniburi no utamai. (2) A Goguryeo and Manchurian form, called komagaku (named for Koma, one of the Three Kingdoms). (3) Togaku: a Chinese and South Asia form (specifically Tang Dynasty).





Kyogen: Traditional Comic Play. There really isn't that many props in a Kyogen play. The one we watched was about a master who ties up his servants so they wouldn't drink his alcohol when he was out in town but don't worry they got it anyway!!




Bunraku: Puppet Play. It is a very interesting thing to watch but hard to describe so here is more info.