花見

In a blink of an eye, this year’s cherry blossom in Kumamoto has disappeared, almost as fast as it bloomed. There’s something I find so visually compelling during this season, when for around two weeks, the places you know so well suddenly transform into bustling havens of white and blush pink.

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This year the season was a little earlier, and quite frankly stunning. Apologies to my parents who came all the way to Japan last year to catch a pretty mediocre bloom… looks like they’ll just have to come back another time. Days spent chasing the smallest buds around the country last year were replaced with glorious blossoms scattered everywhere throughout spring break.

I’m lucky to work so close to Kumamoto Castle this time of year, meaning I could fully enjoy the sakura on my lunch break. Nothing beats visiting some small food stalls alongside the river, to sit and watch the wind blow the delicate petals around you. 

I took an evening trip to Honmyoji Temple with Kohei too. We watched the sunset, but I also experienced yozakura (night time cherry blossom viewing) for the first time. The sakura was stunning in a completely different way, almost glowing in the moonlight. It’s a shame that this season is so fleeting, but that’s part of the magic.

I did hanami (flower viewing) whenever I could, spending most of my days or afternoons off visiting the castle grounds. Usually complete with a makeshift picnic blanket and lots of alcohol. The castle restoration is showing signs of progress, with 7200 tiles recently replacing the roof, allowing the temporary cover to be removed. 

I think the blooming sakura is somewhat representative of the resilience of Kumamoto and its people.  Although it may be delicate, it brings people together through tough times and keeps coming back. In this year’s case, brighter and more abundant than before.

Kurokawa Onsen

After visiting Oita last year, I’ve become a serious lover of relaxing weekends away in onsen towns. Kurokawa is one of the most famous onsen areas in Kumamoto, and for the past few months, every evening the river has been covered in hundreds of bamboo lanterns. Of course Kohei and I decided to head there for what is now becoming our annual onsen trip.

Despite having a few issues getting there, which is a given since I don’t know the ever changing road closures that well, once we arrived it was like we’d entered a little area of tranquility. Since this event was so popular, the main streets were super busy when we arrived; full of tourists who were only doing a day trip here, as many people do. 

A famous bakery, Patisierre Roku, makes the most beautiful choux creams; the vanilla smell wafted through the air every hour when the buns were cooked, and the queue was ridiculously long but worth it. Another gem we found was Shiratamakko, a small café specialising in traditional desserts; a must visit if you’re a fan of matcha, fluffy mochi in zenzai and super sweet ichigo daifuku. Most of the local stores close earlier, around 8pm, as most people staying in the ryokans overnight have dinner provided. We spent the early evening relaxing in yukata, before being treated to yet another amazing ryokan banquet. 

After dinner, we took our first onsen of the evening in the smaller baths located inside the ryokan. Kohei and I had planned to meet about 40 minutes later, but my god, I’ve never been in water so hot in my life. I instantly looked like a lobster, and so did he when we met in the corridor earlier than expected because we both couldn’t hack it.

After the onsen we got dressed in our yukata again and headed to view the illuminations. They were so beautiful and it was super tranquil. The only thing ruining it was, since it was the last weekend of the illuminations, too many people were ruining the aesthetic with their car headlights and pushing to take photos. This is often a downside to things like this in Japan… too many people end up ruining a beautiful moment, but thankfully Kohei and I managed to find an area a little quieter to enjoy it.

After enjoying some umeshu at a little hole in the wall bar, we headed back to the ryokan. The best thing about Japanese people liking to bathe before bed is that after waiting until later in the evening, Kohei and I managed to get the entire family size onsen to ourselves. Cue Kohei acting like a happy child floating away to his hearts content. Even better, I didn’t (literally) burn my ass off this time.

I’d definitely recommend an onsen getaway to anyone who needs to refresh themselves. The simplicity of the ryokan, and the peaceful locations really give you the opportunity to switch yourself off from the outside world. We’re already planning our next trip and may even make it a bi-yearly tradition from now on. 

During our drive home we also got some beautiful views of the Aso area from the recently reopened Milk Road. It made me realize how there’s still so much to discover even in my own prefecture, prompting another trip idea that will hopefully come to light in the next few months.

Strutting my stuff in Suizenji.

Suizenji Park holds a special place in my heart, so when I was offered the chance to be in a kimono fashion show there, it was an instant yes. Once a year they hold a kimono month, where people can learn how to dress themselves amongst other things. The penultimate event being the fashion show wanted a few foreigners involved, to which I happily obliged.

There were a variety of people there, ranging from adorable little grandma's wearing Kumamon obis (the part wrapped around the waist), to the sweetest 2 year old who had no idea what was happening,  but was happily dragged across stage by her older sister. Of course the bunch of foreigners were a novelty,  and our picture made it into a local newspaper reporting the event.

Despite being petrified that my clumsy self would be my downfall, thankfully I paraded around the stage with no problems and delivered my required speech to an okay-ish level. I do own my own furisode (kimono with long draping sleeves) but I'm saving that for some sort of special occasion. 

It was actually really nice to wear a different pattern to what I own, and we were super lucky to have a few hours to enjoy Suizenji Park wearing our kimono before and after the event.
If nothing else, I got paid about a tenner and gained a new profile picture out of it. A win win situation.

Crafting in the countryside.

Earlier this year I attended a small tea ceremony in the city thanks to Ruth, who asked if I'd like to join a bunch of her teachers. One of the teachers was planning to go crafting a few weeks ago, and graciously passed on the invitation to both Ruth and myself.

So off we went, along with her super adorable son, into the middle of nowhere near Ueki. Both Ruth and I weren't really sure what we'd gotten ourselves into, but upon arriving we realised it was something called "Kraftband".  

From what I gathered, this adorable old lady offered up her time to help fellow oldies in the area. I felt instantly welcomed by everyone, who showed me their projects with glee, and even got origami gifts from other women who popped in just to say hello.  

The lady advised us what we'd be capable of making in a day, especially since we were beginners. Although I had my heart set on making a cute new summer bag to go with my yukatas, that was too high of a skill level and will have to wait until next time. Instead, I settled on a "bin" which is currently serving as the best hair accessory container I could have asked for.

The afternoon was wonderful,  all of us making our own pieces whilst watching the Olympic men's figure skating. Of course, tensions were high when Hanyu performed,  with the awful television reception adding to the squeals of despair from everyone in the room.

I'm looking forward to going crafting there again,  especially since I'm no novice anymore; I frankly think my bin looks fabulous. Let's just hope my new summer bag meets expectations. Pray for yourselves,  you could all be getting something for Christmas.  

Yuki Matsuri

Earlier this month, along with Sheridan, Myra, Simona and Chase, I headed to Sapporo to see the famous snow festival. The highlights of this festival, which takes place in the northernmost prefecture in Japan, are the intricate snow and ice sculptures in abundance within the city. 

The evening we arrived we ate some of the famous miso ramen in Susukino, which I have to say was the bomb. Definitely would recommend that to anyone arriving and facing -11 degree weather like us. I discovered a quirky little parfait bar too which we went to shortly after. 

Yes you read that right, parfait in -11 degrees, but Hokkaido is famous for its milk products, so it would be rude not too. Something I learnt from Simona this trip was that parfait can be eaten anytime, anywhere, and that this girl has a soft cream problem. This was cemented firmly after meeting us in a café and quote: “I was only going to order a tea”, but yet again, having ice cream in front of her.

Our first day was fun filled, we visited Odori Park to see the intricate snow sculptures that the festival is so famous for. My favourite was a Cup Noodle ramen themed slide that children, whose expressions varied between those of joy and pure horror, sped down with great encouragement from everyone watching. 

I was a little disappointed that the main spectacle was something Final Fantasy themed, as I’m not a fan, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate the work the Defence Force had put into creating it. Food and alcohol stalls lined every corner of the park, so the drinking started early with some mulled wine. This, accompanied with Minions galore and a rather sinister Winnie the Pooh made from snow, really created a winter wonderland.

In the evening we visited Otaru, a small harbour town about 40 minutes to the west of Sapporo that looks out onto Ishikari Bay. During the snow festival the canal is adorned with floating lanterns, along with walk ways glowing in light from wax candles with petals or leaves inside. The atmosphere it created was just beautiful, and despite the hordes of tourists (admittedly I was about to punch the next person who smacked me with their selfie stick), you could appreciate the hard work that goes into creating something so magical.

Our final full day was more relaxed, with us heading to an onsen and afterwards heading to an ALT enkai organised with ALT’s from all over Japan. The onsen was a learning curve in itself, since it was the first time I’d onsen-ed since getting my tattoo. Sheridan was in the same position and we bought some skin patches to hide them. Hers worked well, mine on the other hand… let’s just say my skin wasn’t pink like she thought, and I looked like I’d had a skin graft from a deer.

Whilst I loved my trip to Hokkaido, there were so many more places I wanted to visit, but the time scale and snow made it a little impossible. I've promised myself that I'll go back in summer one year, to visit the local Ainu areas and to discover more about the indigenous people who once thrived on the island. Visiting some tiny craft stores in Otaru, I was surprised at the somewhat similarity between Ainu and Native American jewellery. A kokopelli wouldn't have been too out of place, and that only intrigued me even more.