Ikebukuro Diary

We know summer is hot but....what a terrible hot summer this year!!
Now I think we can't live without air-con and we also use paper fan(uchiwa) and folding fan(sensu).

Kimono lady and Uchiwa, um, it's looks beautiful :) I want to be like this....

We use Uchiwa sometimes and feel bleeze....
Then, this is a picture....um??!
Have look and focus the person in the middle.....

Tomo holding Sensu making by Japanese 10,000yen!!??

Tomo said, 'I don't want to fanning myself!!' then....Sariko fanning for her.....
oh, dear...!

PS: this is a story made up and Japanese yen Sensu also fake, no worry :p

June is a season for making 'Umeshu' (plum wine) ;)
I make Umeshu in every June, it's easy if you can get ingredients like...

☆Ume (plum)

☆Koorizatou (crystal sugar)
☆Alcohole (over 35%)

And this is the recipe, how to make Umeshu, just try it ;)
http://cyber-career.info/video/34.html

I and friend of mine are making Umeshu and we have battle, titled
'Which one is taste good' !
I gonna win ;)
This is the one I made...

And how about having Umeshu in this rainy days at home with listening raindrops...
don't you think it's nice?

Here you go♪

It's heavy raining today...
Forecasters say that rainy season already began :(
So we will have a lots of rainy days till summer come.
They are playing card game, that's a good idea for days like today ;)

Wondring which one got a win this game??

I heard they saying....'you cheat!' 'you cheat!' each other :p

What do you associate with the month 'June' ?

I always bring up the image of rain.
The rainy season usually starts from early June and lasts until mid-July in Japan.
The rainy season is called " Tsuyu."

I don’t like to get wet and I cannot get used to the humidity.
However, sometimes I like cozy sound of rain and I am attracted to raindrops.

Throw away mobile phone and iPod … I could enjoy myself with the rain because the rain stimulates the senses of touch, hearing, eyesight and smell.

It is getting hotter and hotter.
Colors of the green leaves are getting deeper and deeper.
Summer is just around the corner.

I appreciate 4 seasons. Most of Japan has a temperate climate and the four seasons are very clearly defined in Japan.

SAKURA (cherry blossoms) … Kinuta Park in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo

Chidorigafuchi Park in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Yosakoi MATSURI (summer festival) … Ikebukuro Station in Toshima-ku, Tokyo

HANABI (Fireworks) … Yokohama, Kanagawa

Autumn leaves ... Jingu-Gaien avenue, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Christmas … Omotesando street, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Unusual snow … Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro

No matter when you visit Japan, I am sure you will enjoy the beauty of nature and seasonal events.

By the way, which season do you like best?

28 days to go … Are you ready for 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa?
Japan's national soccer team coach Takeshi Okada announced 23 members for the World Cup last Monday. I'm starting to get excited …

I went to Saitama Stadium 2002 to watch the game of Urawa Red Diamonds vs. Yokohama F. Marinos last Saturday.

More than 50,000 fans gathered and stadium was filled with the RED. Enthusiasm of Urawa Reds fans was more than expected and atmosphere was great.

We are 12th players

The Saitama Studium hosted four matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, including Semi Final game of Brazil vs.Turkey.

Urawa-misono station

Who do you think will win the World Cup?

My favorite … Spain

Today, 9th of May is Mother's day.
And on this day, many people give carnations or something to their mothers.

How about in your country?

As to me, yes, I will do...I will give some flowers or something other.
Otherwise my mother will complain to me :p

It seems we jumped into summer!it's really hot!
I was so jealous to see many people enjoyed having beer at cafe...
Um? their faces looks familiar?

Hey you two! it's not allowed to have beer during work!

But....if I can join you, that's OK...I don't say anything :p

Hey, 'Spring'....please stay still!
Well well, we have beautiful days, nice and warm recently ;)
And it has just started consecutive holiday called 'golden week'.
Usually Japanese go somewhere during this holidays.
But tours price going up to double or more and traffic gets heavy...
So I will stay in Tokyo during this holiday and get out after that! yey ;)

Anyway, this is beautiful season for fresh green, they are shining in the sun.

Fresh green is '新緑 'in Japanese, which mean 'New Green'.
How about going to garden or park around Tokyo and enjoy the picnic with 新緑?

Everyday everyday....working and working....no holiday.....no vacation......

Mr.automatic ticket gate, you worked too much...
Please don't be upset and take a good rest...
↓
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-cQqIpQwfg

Finally we got beautiful sunny day! really spring :D
If it's day like this,mother used to try to wake me up early
and said 'hey! air out futons in the sun! '

This is actually hard work but once you did it, you will love to do this ;)
We can sleep with nice and warm futon and then,
I know there is no exist smell of the sun , but you can feel that
untill fall asleep...

Futon means Japanese style bedding and originally we spread bedding
on the tatami for sleep.
'Kake futon' means about duvet and 'shiki futon' means under futon.
Many people prefer to seep in western bedding style now
but this custom won't be change.
Since Japan is high humidity country, this is a good way to dry them out and also
there is a reason to get rid of ticks.

The futon in the sun ;)

Sometimes we can watch funny gameshow in Japanese TV program.
This is the one that I like and I laughed it out loud xD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdqotQtPbMk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3Ir3sRIJo&feature=related

This gameshow came out on TV in your country?

Weather is strange recently :(
We have still cold days like winter here, how can it be a spring?

Today, it raining and cold....
Luckily I got rain shoes and now I don't care about raining!

I used to wear rain shoes when I was elementary student
but I have been forgotten them as I get older.

Now I can step into a puddle! or I do it on purpose ;)

Ah, one more thing, if it's raining, you can borrow the umbrella,
please ask at reception ;)
Don't get wet even if you are from England ;)

We did!
But it was raining and cold... I think it's because of this guy.
He is rain man↓

Again!
Just kidding, Hideki :P

It should be Beautiful if it's sunny.
Some of cherry blossom already blow from the tree.
They are such a fugacious flower. But the pond is full of cherry blossom and
turned to sakura color. It was beautiful.

After we walk down the park and enjoy(?) cherry blossom in such a cold weather,
we went to Iseya, Japanese style izakaya.
This izakaya is very old Japanese style with full of Yakitori (Japanese style BBQ chicken) smell.

↑Mr. T is doing meditation...

Time has come ;)
I have been to Meguro river and enjoyed taking photos for Sakura...
Never bored to be there!.......and specially Meguro river is my favorite place.
You can take a walk 3.8km under the cherry blossoms....don't you think
it's wonderful...:D

I can't find words!.....I just feel happy every year!

And I found tiny flower called 'suzuran' at near my house.
This is lovely too :)

This is like a bell is it? 'ring' ♪

Life is hard.....
I want to run away from here Japan...

Why am I saying like this?
Um, it just because of 'hay fever'.
This is a picture I found.....we can see the ceder pollen carrying in the air.....

Main symptoms are...sneezing(a lots), running nose, itchy eyes and nose, and so on.
Many many Japanese people suffering from hay fever.
And I'm the one of the person who have these terrible symptoms.
I can't focus anything and can't sleep well and sometimes I wake up
in the middle of night with tears...

Does anybody have 'hay fever'?
Then we can share some terrible stories with me...??

Many Many Loves for all of our guest!!

♪Have a Happy Valentine's day♪

Hello, everybody.
It's already Feb and we sometimes feel spring breeze.
Especially, last week was pretty warm that temperature was more than 10℃.
However, it turns 1℃, now
Freeeeezen!!
Raining started at noon and now it changes to icy snow.
Snow is okay but I don't like cold.

Hope it's not going to be heavy snow.
However, according to weathercast, we should ready for it!!???

We still don't have snowing but really cold days here Tokyo.
Ah...I want to be a bear then I can sleep till spring to come :p

But we have 'Kotatsu' and 'Nabe' to get through this cold days!
Do you know them??

'Kotatsu' is a low table attached heater inside and covering with a blanket.
It's so comfortable and I often slept in the Kotatsu :)

And one more thing, we can't forget about 'Nabe' ;)
'Nabe' is a Japanese Hot Pot and we have a lots of kind variety of that.

We going to put lots of vegetables and pork or beef, seafood, chicken, anything okay!

This picture which I found in internet, this is 'Kimuchi Nabe'!
It mainly cooked with Korean pickles called 'Kimuchi', and I love it.:D

It's so easy to cook and healthy and also too tasty...!!
It just good and let's have a 'Nabe party' ;)

Sometimes, Sariko make a good suggestion to me.
Oneday, she said 'How about going to cafe and have a baked apple,
Hon-chan(←my name)??'
Then I just said, 'Why not?'
Somehow...I think I used this word in somewhere....but it doesn't matter :p
http://sakura-hotel-ikebukuro.com/blog/2009/05/why_not_1.html

Finally we got baked apple!!

Actually, she already had idea which cafe we going to in particular
but their homepage said they finished baked apple,
just the day before we planned to go.
We were very very shocked it and searched a lots and lots with google.
We just typed like "baked apple Tokyo" or just "baked apple".
It was tough work.
But finally, we found the cafe where served baked apple with ice cream.

This is exactly what we wanted!
So we enjoyed it really :D

Additionally, I got latte with rabbit, how cute ;)

Sakura Cafe is also decolated for holiday season.

↑
Sakura cafe prepare variety of hot drink and waiting you.

↑Branket is also waiting you to keep you warm☆

↑window decolation.

Recentlly here the sky has been beautiful and clear .
Summer has gone and it's autumn now.
Near my house I saw lovely cosmoses blooming and a few dragonflys flying .
And I guess some people can notice sweet smells in the air.
This smell of orange osmanthussmells let us feel the beginning of autumn.
I like to feel four seasons like this ;)
My house is located in suburb, so I have more chance to see flowers and insects than those who live in central Tokyo.

And autumn is good season to do something and called 'autum for sport'and 'autum for reading'
and ?......' autum for appetite' for me :p
Because we can have a lots of tasty foods especialy in this season.
Also, we can see the beautiful moon in autum....you look up the sky, just try it ;)

My french hasn't improved yet...!
Anyway, I had the great time with some frech people at Sakuratei!

I met some people from France last year and some of them returned to Japan this year !
And we went to Sakuratei two years in a row!

↓Okonomiyaki ! Somebody wrote a message with mayonnaise on it!

Especially to Chloe, thank you for giving me 'Rasberry Jam' which your father made...
That's wonderful ;) I want to know the recipe!
And chocolate!
I remember that 'Kinder chocolate' is made in Germany!
It sounds a little bit funny that a French lady gave me a German chocolate,, ne ;)

Beautiful Yakitori (skewered grilled chicken) and unbeautiful Yoshikazu :p

Yakitori was perfect! so yummy!
Now I know there is a Yakitori restaurant just near our hotel.
We can let you know where it is, if you would like ;)

Let's dig in!!

One day Sariko told me that why don't we go to Izakaya(Japanese style bar)
because there is a nice Izakaya which serves really big roast fish
called 'HOKKE'.(sorry we can't find their English name)
It's one of popular dishes at Izakaya because of tasty.
I really like fish meals so I said 'why not☆'

On the menu, we can choose 'half size' or 'whole' and can you guess which we decided?
Of course...'whole.....why not!!'

Chef and staff were surprized and asked that we can eat all up surely??
We said just........'why not!'
And?.........................1 hour later....
↓↓↓
↓↓
↓

This is a 'HOKKE' by the way.
Thank you 'HOKKE' san, you are very tasty....;)