Furoshiki and Other Omiyage

When we went to Japan in April, I knew I'd be seeing a fair few friends that I would need to have omiyage for. Omiyage is like a souvenir or gift that you give someone. Japan is big on this kind of gift exchange etiquette. I knew I'd have to transport them in our luggage so I didn't want anything breakable, and I also wanted something more meaningful than Tim-tams (delicious though they are). 

So I turned to sewing. I bought some lovely Jocelyn Proust fabric from Spotlight (native Australian flowers are her thing) and some other Australian themed prints. Then I cut them up and sewed the hems to make furoshiki. 

Furoshiki is a term that refers to cloth that you can wrap things up in. They come in all sorts of sizes and the most common use for them is for Japanese lunch boxes. I used one every day at school when I was in Japan, and I also had a comparatively enormous one to wrap and carry all my kimono gear to my tea ceremony classes. 

I thought some Australian furoshiki would be a nice omiyage. 

I also made (for my homestay brother's girls) this little dress up dress. It had been a while since I'd made one (2018 and 2016), but the design is so great it went together fine. I wanted to use up as much of this fabric from my stash as I could, so I added the ruffle on the skirt. 

The little girl was very pleased with her dress, and I was happy to see that fabric finally used up - it was leftover from when my mum made me a dress from it when I was 11 or 12! The last thing I popped in was a headband from the plethora I made in January, which had turned out way too small for my girls. 

Funny story about the furoshiki, I had made them, I'd given them and I'd talked about them. Then, on our last night in Kyoto, I was at a shop asking the store person if she had some when I came to realise, I was using completely the wrong word. Some how, my mixed up dyslexic brain had thought they were called fukuroshi, instead of furoshiki. The shop person very kindly gave me a history lesson on where the word came from so I'll never forget again.

Headbands

It feels like I made these headbands a life time ago now, since it was January and we are suddenly in May, but here we are and I thought I'd document them anyway. 

I was honestly trying to make headbands for the girls to wear at school (the blue checked fabric) from an old school dress they were no longer wearing, but thought I'd mess around with other scrap fabrics I had on hand as well to tweak the sizing and style. 

Rachel liked the style with the bow on the front, while Sophie preferred it to be flat. I used a couple of free headband tutorials from the internet, but ended up redrawing and lengthening them, so they kind of feel like mine now. 

And even though I did make all of these (and more actually!) the girls have subsequently lost a number of them and neither of them have bothered to wear them to school this term either. 

I try, you know, I try.

Japan 2024: Part 4

Part of me can not believe it took four whole posts to cover this trip, since whenever people ask my answers are very brief, but here we are. If you have missed Part 1 (Osaka), Part 2 (Tokyo) or Part 3 (Kinugawa Onsen), there are all the relevant links for catching up.  

Now on the train back to Tokyo from Kinugawa Onsen and then on the shinkansen to Kyoto. The girls spent the first hour of the train travel sewing the cute key chain kits that my homestay family had given them. They were pretty straightforward (even though the instructions were in Japanese). Rachel was sitting next to Steve, but with all her sewing experience, didn't need my help anyway, and Sophie gave it a solid go. 

When we arrived in Tokyo, we got off at Nijubashimae Station, which Google Maps told us was a one min walk to Tokyo station where we had to get our Shinkansen. Unfortunately, we took the wrong exit underground, and with no signal in the tunnels, ended up walking south instead of east, and found ourselves at Yurakuchou Station instead. We had allowed for 40 mins from getting into Tokyo to when the shinkansen was due to depart, but that one minute walk had turned out to be more like ten and now we were at a completely wrong station. 

Luckily, we recognised the JR signs and without hesitation, jumped straight on the frequently running Yamanote Line train back to Tokyo Station. Whew. Even with that crisis averted, we still needed to navigate the busy, crowded (even at 11 am on a weekday!), huge Tokyo Station to get to the right platform. I was also acutely aware that we needed to get lunches, or we would be on the train for two and a half hours with almost no food. 

Once we found the platform, I ducked off to grab some ekiben (station lunches) and Steve took the girls to wait for the train. He figured if it came and I wasn't there, he would just get on with the girls and the stuff and I'd catch the next one. Good plan that we didn't have to enact because I did the fastest decision making on which of the 40 different bento to purchase for us that I've ever done and raced back up to the platform to join them with minutes to spare. 

On the Shinkansen and zooming out of Tokyo, we managed one brief last look at Mt Fuji before we all settled in for the ride. I was a little mixed feelings to be heading to Kyoto, since on one hand, I knew it would be beautiful and fun, but on the other, it signalled the last stop on our trip. 

Luckily, we had some really delicious lunches to eat. 

We did a bit of sharing around, since I just grabbed four different ones with lots of variety in each. It was fun to eat and chat as we zoomed along. 

Into Kyoto, we initially came out of the station on the wrong side and there was a bit of tracking back and forth to figure out how to get where we needed to be, but eventually we managed it. I think to people in Australia, especially Brisbane, coming out of the wrong side of a train station is nothing to worry about. Stations have two sides, you go out and notice, so you just go back and you are fine. 

In Japan, it's a whole different ball game. Stations have so many different exits, lots of underground connecting tunnels and often department stores connecting things together on different levels and in different places just to add to the confusion. Suffice to say, we were happy to finally drop our bags at our accomodation and have a break from lugging them around. 

We thought we might go out again that afternoon, since we got into Kyoto before 3, but Sophie was really not feeling it. Steve and I have learnt from past experiences and decided the wisest course was to settle in and enjoy some down time. We unpacked all the snacks, turned on the kotatsu (heated table with a huge blanket over it to tuck your feet under) and put on a movie. 

After this, we put on some layers and wandered out into Kyoto to find some dinner. I think we had another food-court style dinner that night - It might have even started with crepes. Steve got a tasting paddle of some beers to try and we just had bits and pieces of food that we could nibble and share (think gyoza and karaage), though I think Rachel had something healthy and sensible. 

We also ended up checking out Kyoto Tower, right on dusk when the lights were coming on. Since we hadn't been able to do that in Tokyo, it felt nice to do here.

Rachel was very proud of being taller than the tower in the info graphic picture. 

The next day was bright and sunny and a warm over-twenty degree day, so the girls and I rejoiced and put on shorts for the first time. Honestly, to be out of jeans felt so good. Convenience store breakfast and a short bus ride to Nijo-jo was our first stop of the day. We were there right on opening time and the lines were already forming. 

I really love this castle (which I consider to be more like a palace in that it's more flat and for people having meetings than being a defensible structure, but whatever). Everything about it is so well maintained and informative. Really shows off the splendid and lavish art work that the people in power had, not to mention the magical floors. 

We wandered around inside, but the girls were quite fidgitity, so once the main building was over, we stuck to touring the gardens outside. Even more cherry blossoms to see and just generally beautiful flowers out everywhere in Kyoto now. 

The day was warming up (so thankful for the shorts!) and we caught another bus to Kinkaju-ji. This shine was something Steve and I took a bus to when we were on our honeymoon, but since we were poor just-out-of-university students with not a lot of funds, we ended up taking a photo with the sign and not paying the entrance fee to go in. Not this time!

Kinkaku-ji was pretty busy by the time we got there. I think we could have stayed longer looking at the gardens, but the crowd just surges you along, and you feel the pressure of other people wanting to see things too, so you just keep moving. 

The funniest thing here was the girls and Steve spotting the golden cockerel on top of Kinkaku-ji and declaring it looked like a Golden Chocobo from Final Fantasy. They had lots of fun with that. We also saw koi (carp fish) in the pond here and at Nijo-jo, even spotting a golden coloured one. 

Our last stop for the day would be out to Arashiyama. Since Steve and I had been in Kyoto for our honeymoon, we wanted to make sure this time we saw something new, and Arashiyama was it. The bus out there was on the longer side. Busses in Kyoto are generally the way to go, rather than the train system, but they are super crowded now. Every bus we went on we had to push into and most of the time stand awkwardly close to other people. 

We generally didn't mind it, but it is a thing.

I had grabbed us some bento from a little shop right near the bus stop for the Arashiyama bus before we got on, so when we got off right next to the river with the cherry blossom trees, it was perfect to have a picnic there. I was a little worried the girls would fall in the water and our day would be over, but no such crisis happened. They were happy to be out and free and enjoying the sunny weather. 

We crossed the main bridge over the river, stopping to play Pooh Sticks on the way. Notice Sophie has no hat anymore? We have no idea where she lost it, but it was truely gone. 

Over the bridge, we went straight to the Arashiyama Monkey Park, since we figured that would be the most fun for the girls. I was a little worried for animal cruelty (I don't love pretty much any kind of zoo), but it turns out the monkeys were just free range. Hooray! What we didn't know was that they were free range on top of a literal mountain. After we paid our entrance fee, we went in past a sign that said the monkeys were a "20 minute walk up". Little did we know just how up that walk would be. 

The walk up had signs to inform people about the monkeys and their behaviours. Lots of warnings about their aggressive nature, which caused Sophie some worry. It was very steep, but that did mean that the crowds thinned as people's various levels of fitness changed the walk up paces. 

When we did get to the top, it was worth it. It was really cool to see the monkeys just roaming around the trees and on the ground doing their thing. Rachel loved it, Sophie was cautious. I thought the impressive view of Kyoto was well worth it for sure. Japan really has lots of cities that are flat and surrounded by mountains. 

You couldn't feed the monkeys outside, but you could go into a safe room and feed them from inside while they came to the outside caged windows. It was a bit the opposite of a a zoo, since we were the trapped ones. Rachel paid the 50 Yen to get a pack of peanuts to feed them. 

The forest on the mountain was really different to the one we had been in at Nikko just two days ago too. Loads of maple trees here! It would be really beautiful on Autumn. 

I was trying to get a photo in front of this red Torii gate to show my students at school when the girls jumped in to photo bomb me. 

We went down the mountain and out into Arashiyama for a wander around. Our first stop was this "Kimono Village" which was a bunch of posts with beautiful Japanese fabric patterns inside them. Cherry blossoms there too, and this cool dragon fountain. 

We wandered around trying to make sure we had any final souvenirs that we needed for home. I was wanting to buy all the snacks including the eight different varieties of some triangular pastry they had on offer but managed to restrain myself. We caught a bus back to our house and had some down time for the afternoon, including the girls having a go at a Japanese bath (kind of like a mini onsen). 

We wandered out for dinner and this time went to the top floor of a department store near Kyoto Station. We were supposed to have dinner with one of our church missionary partners who is living in Kyoto, but she was feeling sick and had to cancel. Instead, we wandered around until I convinced everyone to try the omu-raisu (omelette and rice) restaurant. 

Rachel enjoyed her kids meal - basic omu-raisu with little sausages cut like octopus, while Steve tried a omu-raisu with a hamburger patty and a gravy sauce. I had a basic omu-raisu and I can not remember what we convinced Sophie to try. Part of me remembers they had some pasta on the menu, but I could be wrong. 

Since we were in the department store (and on the top level) we had to go down a few to get back out again, and went past a book store when I got to buy a few things for school, Sophie picked up a Pokemon  hiragana book and Rachel got a DIY cow diorama kit. 

The next day was our last full day in Kyoto, but we opted to take a train out to Nara for the day. Again, it was something that Steve and I hadn't done, and I thought that the girls would get a kick out of the deer. 

The girls did love the deer. They roam around the parklands/national forest type area that is filled with lots of temples and other nature things. You can buy rice cake things to feed them (which of course we did) but they are other-wise free range. 

It was pretty hilarious to see them just cruising down the streets like they own the place. 

There were again, signs about animal behaviour and reminders that wild deer can be dangerous. They certainly were somewhat pushy about getting food if they thought you had it - Steve had to hold the rice cakes on top of his head so they were out of range. The girls loved being able to run around and explore the area, including this cool natural creek spot. 

It was a really bright day again so when we walked past a souvenir shop with hats on the walls, I decided it was time to get the girls some. They were pretty delighted and super cute. 

We didn't bother paying the money to go into Todai-ji (the big buddha temple) since the girls were happier roaming around outside and we'd seen a fair few temples at this point anyway. I would have liked to do more of the nature walks, but we were only there for a day, so it was a but of a stretch with the time we had. 

Coming out of the area, we ended up taking a few back streets by chance and luckily walking past a second hand kimono place (which was literally set up in someone's driveway). I got another obi (so pretty!) and yukata and, at long last, a bolt of kimono fabric! I kind of couldn't believe I'd managed to get one after all. Could have easily stayed longer sorting through the kimono, but in the end, Steve and the girls are only really patient with me looking at kimono for so long (well, mostly the girls, Steve is a very patient guy). 

We walked up and down the main street of Nara getting last min souvenirs (like tatami shoes for the girls) and looking at all the cute deer things you could buy. We had lunch at a family restaurant near the station. Must have been Steve's first time at a Saizeriya actually. I was keen for a doria (like a potato bake, but made with rice), while Sophie got a pizza and Rachel had spaghetti. We also had some pancetta and mozzarella and a green salad. The girls enjoyed the self serve, free refill, soft drinks. 

We took the train back to Kyoto, and while we got on one headed in the right direction, we weren't 100% sure it would actually stop at our subway station in Kyoto, so we popped off at an obscure station to change. Might have delayed us five minutes or so, but it really didn't matter, and when the train came, it was super empty which was just hilarious, after all the packed out public transport we had been on in the last two weeks. 

I got off the train at Kyoto Station and came home via a shop that I'd seen some kendama for a good price to get a set for school. Steve and the girls went via the convenience store to grab some dinner options. Back to our lovely little Kyoto house for one final time, the girls chilled, but I got a head start on re-packing everything we had for the next day. Then, we got the girls set up with their dinner and Steve and I went out for the night. 

We took the train to check out Nishiki Markets together. Unfortunately, we missed the main street that we had been aiming for, but did wander up and down the other market streets instead. We had some okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage pancake) and just enjoyed strolling around the Kyoto streets on a Saturday night together. We bought two sets of cute Japanese tea cups to bring home. 

This was the hanging fabric in front of the door of where we stayed in Kyoto. We had splurged a bit here and had a little Japanese house. Downstairs was kitchen, living and bathroom, and upstairs was two bedrooms. floor space was about the same as our entry/study for all of this, so very small. The stairs up were pretty standard for Japan, but really steep for Australian standards and Sophie fell a couple of times on them. 

The next day was our last day. Our flight out of Osaka was 9:45, so we needed to be at the air port after 6, which put us on a bus out of Kyoto by 4:30. We left our accomodation about 10 and carted all the heavy heavy luggage back to the station where we put it in coin lockers for the day. After sorting out our bus tickets, we set about filling our day looking around Kyoto Station. 

We started with a coffee for Steve at Mister Donuts (thanks, you beautiful people) and then went up all the escalators to the viewing platforms and the skywalk. 

Lots to look around at, especially on the otherside where there is a rooftop garden space, but unfortunately the day was quite bright and it was already midday, so we didn't spend too long there. Instead we went back inside to the department store and found a fancy restaurant to have our last lunch at. 

Steve got some wagyu and we shared a bunch of yakitori (chicken skewers) as well. Then I took us down to the basement levels of the department store, which have various lunch box shops and a grocery store with fun things to look at. The girls were intrigued by the boxes of fresh flowers you could buy for cooking/eating and they loved pretty much everything in the lunch box shop section. 

Sophie found some plain cucumber sushi and Rachel got a couple of squares of salmon nigiri to snack on. 

We used the last of our cash money and what was left on our train cards to buy up as many snacks from the 7/11 as we could and then we were on the bus and beginning the long journey home. 

The bus ride was fairly good, though a Korean family had their little (18mth old? 2yo?) get bus sick and throw up everywhere. I felt so sorry for them, hearing her crying and them trying to help her feel better. I must have been emotional leaving Japan, but I was feeling it. 

At Kansai airport, Steve returned the wifi we'd rented for the trip, while I got this last photo of the girls and Naruto, and then we joined the line to check in. It was a long line and there were only three desks open for check in. After that, we decided to do dinner before braving the security line so we had our last Japanese ramen together. 

Security was painfully slow, and easily took an hour of waiting to get through. Then it was straight through the other side, onto the shuttle bus to the boarding gate and then straight onto the plane. They'd already started boarding when we got there. Painfully though, we were delayed at least a half hour before we left because the check in and security lines had been so long and people were still being put through. 

The girls were so super tired by this stage and when they finally dimmed the lights for taxi and take off (at 10:20pm) I was hugely relieved. Unfortunately, they turned everything back on and did a full trolley service half an hour later. Rachel was convinced to go to sleep on my leg, but poor Sophie had the worst time of it. Luckily Steve had a spare seat next to him, so she shifted over and was able to get a few hours there. We were all quite sleep deprived come 5am, but at least we'd had something. 

Then suddenly we could see Australia. We ate the last of our melon pan, the chocolate chip bread sticks and the croissants and got ready to get off. 

Happy to be back in Australia, and even though we were quite tired, it was smiles all around as we waited for my parents to come pick us up. Travel done! I honestly felt so great about our trip. When we were leaving Munich back in 2017, I could not wait to get home, but this time, I honestly feel like I could have easily done another two weeks. 

We all had Monday off work, I washed all the clothes and unpacked the suitcases. We made sure to sit down and watch the two Bluey episodes that had aired when we were overseas. Steve and Sophie napped. I did a grocery list and shopped (very basic!) and we had pies for dinner. Good Australian pies. With chips. 

So glad we were able to visit Japan and make all these great memories, thanks for reading along if you are still here. Can't wait to plan the next trip back again. 

Japan 2024: Part 3

Back again for some more thrilling tales of our Japan travels for 2024! If you missed Part 1 and Part 2, there are the links for you to do some catching up. I was going to wrap it up here, but I did a quick word count check on the previous two parts, and that second was quite lengthy. Part 3 was turning out to be the same if not worse, so there will be a Part 4. 

Thanks for reading along if you are still here! 

And now, leaving Tokyo. 

It was Tuesday morning and officially Day 10 of the trip when we packed up and left Tokyo. We were headed north to the mountains for a couple of days staying at Kinugawa-onsen. We followed the directions from Google Maps about which trains to take, and ended up on a more expensive reserved seat express train. We didn't mind the extra price though, since the seats were much more comfortable than a regular train would have been, especially with all our luggage. There was space to hang our jackets on and blinds for the windows, and tray tables so we could read or colour. 

When we arrived in Kinugawa-onsen though, the weather was pretty terrible. It had been raining when we left Tokyo, but up in the mountains it was raining and freezing. I was very thankful for my new and much thicker Uniqlo jacket and also that I'd packed everyone's raincoats. We had another ten minute walk to from the station to our accomodation, and the wind blowing the rain in our faces for the whole walk was very unwelcoming. 

We arrived before lunch, so dropped our bags off and then had to wander around in the cold looking for somewhere to eat. Thankfully we found a delicious restaurant and Steve had the best beer of the trip, delivered to him with the smallest glass ever. 

The wind and rain was really making me re-think everything we had planned for our time in the mountains, but as we ate our lunch and talked things over, we just came to the realisation that we would make the most of it. Even if tomorrow was nothing but staying in and enjoying playing the card games we had packed, that would be ok. 

The rain died down after lunch so we wandered around the town some more and looked at all the souvenirs. Steve found this box of "Strawberries, impregnated with chocolate" that he immediately bought. 

We went into the tourist place to ask about a few things we had been keen to do. River boat cruise - not open until the following week. Edo Wonderland - closed on a Wednesday. Things were not looking good for us! Thankfully the information person was super helpful at suggesting lots of other things we could do instead. So with ideas in hand, we followed her advice for the afternoon and wandered down to the suspension bridge over the river. 

The girls had loads of fun finding these oni, which translates as demons in English, though I'm not sure that really captures what they are. There were lots of cherry blossoms on the main street (which was actually named sakura-chou (Cherry Blossom Street), that we of course took photos with. 

We went back to our accomodation by four to properly check in and went to our room. One thing I'd been looking forward to here was going to the onsen and since the day was so cold and rainy, the girls were very keen too. Steve and I were still trying to sort out bags and unpack slightly and they were already getting their things ready to go. 

I wasn't sure how they would take the onsen, but I'd explained how it all worked, and I was there with them, so it went fine. Great actually! I had been worried they would find the water too hot, but they both loved soaking and chatting. The place we stayed had an inside and outside onsen, and even though the weather was still very rubbish, the outside one was still nice to sit in. 

For dinner we wandered back into town and found a ramen place to eat at. Simple but warm and filling on this cold and rainy day. 

Since we'd gotten to Japan, I'd seen the signs for karaoke places everywhere and had semi-jokingly said to the girls "we should do karaoke!" At first, they were not keen, but as the week had gone by, and they'd asked more questions about what it was like, they were more and more interested. It was now the point that they were actively asking if we could do karaoke before we left. 

So as we left the ramen place, and noticed that next door said karaoke, prompted by the girls we checked it out. It was already 8pm, so we didn't stay, but the people in the karaoke place did say they were open tomorrow (even though it was Wednesday), they had a dinner menu and the kids were fine. The girls were delighted to hear all of these things. 

Wednesday morning dawned bright and beautiful. The rain clouds of yesterday were gone and blue skies awaited us. We all wore so many less layers and I don't think I even packed our rain coats. It was so different to the previous day. 

Our first stop was to a Begonia Farm, thanks to the suggestions from the information lady yesterday. We took a bus there from the main station in Kinugawa-onsen. There was a strawberry farm next door, but we opted not to pick any, since we've done that in Australia. Instead, we paid our entrance to the Begonia Farm and walked on in. 

I had no idea it was a thing, but these begonia were hanging from the roof and flowers were cascading all around. On the sides, were potted plants with flowers as big as Rachel's face. 

This place had been suggested to us because it had a baby animal area where kids could feed, pat and watch small animals, but I'll tell you what, those flowers were impressive too! 

Each one was different in colour, shape or petal type. It was so amazing it was also a little overwhelming. 

After wandering around here, we went through to the animals where the girls nearly died of delight seeing tiny gerbils, chipmunks, guinea pigs and rabbits. 

Steve also got to see an axolotl! 

The girls could have stayed for longer, but we wanted to keep moving, so we caught another bus to a train station. Unfortunately this is where my plans came a little unstuck, because our timing was off and the rural train wasn't due for another hour! Rather than wait around, we opted to call for and pay a somewhat expensive taxi fare to get us into Nikko. 

Nikko is the historic site for a number of temples and shrines. Usually the ones you see on the tourist brochure for Japan. Before we went into the main area, we stopped for lunch. This was the right choice, since having to climb all the stairs in the temple precinct would have been a nightmare with hungry children. 

As it was, we found a Manten chicken place and had the most delicious chicken burgers ever. Again, making Sophie happy with this more western styled meal, but we were all pretty blown away by how great it was. 

We went up into Toshougu and found the Three Monkeys and the Sleeping Cat. 

It was busy, but people were moving through so that was good. The temples are really in the forest, so it was cool to be surrounded by the cool green calm as we wandered around these old buildings. 

After walking around for a bit, we went back down the main street into town to catch a train back to Kinugawa-onsen. Along the way, we saw more cool random things like this fountain. 

And also this picturesque bridge that we couldn't walk over, but took this photo from a bridge just down from it that we could. 

We stopped for some vending machine ice cream for the girls, and some fun Japanese puddings in cute little jars for Steve and I. We got to take the cute jars home too. 

It was still a beautiful day which was so nice, especially given the previous day's weather! Train ride back into Kinugawa-onsen and a last stop at the souvenir stores there before we went back to our accomodation for another trip into the onsen. Aside from the strange Strawberries, Impregnated with Chocolate, the other interesting food item we bought was this cake that looked like it had been cooked on a rotisserie, where a new layer of cake batter was added every now and then. It was a little dry, but still cake-like and sweet. 

That night, the girls lived their karaoke dream! We turned up at the place right about 7, when they opened. Because it was a small town, there weren't private rooms like most karaoke places in Japan, but just one main room with lots of TVs for the lyrics. We were early, since the girls don't do great if they don't get enough sleep, so it was pretty empty, with just a couple of other Japanese guys turning up and humouring us as we sang along. 

The girls wanted to do more karaoke after this experience, which I'm pretty happy about. This was our last night in Kinugawa-onsen, so it was a good way to finish up. Then it was back to sleep on tatami and futon one more time before we left the mountains for Kyoto the next day. 

One final picture before we go of the koi no bori (carp kites) hanging up in the main square next to the train station. See that beautiful blue sky? So lovely! 

See you next time for the final part of our journey down to Kyoto.