ah, I know it’s been a while… okay… a very long time… but I have been busy and I have lots to blog about! So keep and eye out for new entries soon!
In the mean time, here’s a photo of my winning from the lucky dip my real estate agent was running when I went to resign my contract~
Yes, that’s right… A block calendar! woot! too bad I didn’t win the TV….
yes, that’s right… A decapitated koala…
Bwhahahah…. Now that I have your attention…
So, Lotte’s Koala March has come out with a special flavor, Custard Waffle. Don’t really get why it is touted as waffle flavored, but whatever sells I guess.
Overall, not bad, but not special. Not all that different from white chocolate I thought. But any Koala shaped snack is alright by me. Plus they do donate towards the Save the Koala Foundation!
KitKat has also come out with a new seasonal flavour – Sakura Green Tea (Sakura Matcha). But there is no way I’m trying that. Green tea flavoured items just taste off to me…
Ume Blossom
Ume 梅 (Japanese Apricot or sometimes refered to as Plum) blooms from about mid February to March. It’s really similar to Sakura, but lasts a lot longer and has a mild scent. However, unlike Sakura, the Ume isn’t as abundant.
In Tokyo, one of the most famous places to view Ume is Koishikawa Korakuen, in Bunkyo ward. The garden has a Ume grove, called Bairin, that contains over 20 different types of flowering Ume trees. It is only 8 minutes walk from Iidabashi Station, and entrance is 300 yen.
Here are some photos from my visit to the park on February 21st.
Bairin - the Ume grove
White Ume
Weeping Ume
Pink Ume
for more photos of Ume check out my flickr set!
Quick Overview
Mt Myojyogatake
Distance: 12.6km
Duration: 5 to 6 hours
Difficulty: Medium to difficult
Season: April to December
Starting point: Gora 強羅
Finishing point: Hakone Yumoto 箱根湯本
Maps
A map of the hike can also be viewed at GPSies
The Mapple 山と高原地図 map series number 29, which includes Hakone 箱根 and it’s surrounds, can be bought on Amazon.co.jp. Note, these maps are in Japanese, but have some English and furigana.
The Hike
From Gora Station 強羅駅 cross over the railway line to the right and head down hill on the residential street. At the end of the street take a right and then a left and you will be on a steep winding road down to the river. When you reach the river turn left and follow the road over the Miyagino Bridge 宮城野橋. Here you can take two routes. The road directly right on the other side of the bridge will take you to a trail that will lead you directly to the summit of Mt Myojyogatake 明星が岳. Or if you continue along the road that crossed the bridge you will join a trail that leads you to a mid-point on the ridge between Mt Myojingatake 明神が岳 and Mt Myojyogatake 明星が岳.
Trail head
If you choose the trail direct to the summit of Mt Myojyogatake 明星が岳, follow the signs leading there. I chose the second path to the midway point. For this path, at the first traffic lights after the bridge, and across from the Miyagino Shishomae 宮城野支所前 bus stop take the street to the right. Walk up the streets following the signs pointing to Mt Myojingatake 明神が岳 or Mt Myojyogatake 明星が岳. From the trail head you will walk up stairs past a few backyards until you enter the real forest. The walk up to the ridge is mostly stairs and can be slippery when wet. It should take about 70 minutes to reach the ridge. From the ridge, if you take the trail to the left you will climb Mt Myojingatake 明神が岳. It is also a steep climb, and should take about 45 minutes, but I have read the view is quite nice on a fine day. If you take the trail to the right you will head towards Mt Myojyogatake 明星が岳, passing through some wild pampas grasses, and the bottom of the Daimon-ji 大文字. It takes about 50 minutes to reach the highest point of Myojyogatake 明星が岳, where there is a tiny shrine.
Cleared forest
Keep heading to the right down hill, and after an hour or so you will exit the trail onto a road. Keep following the road straight ahead towards Tonomine 塔ノ峰 for about 900m, and you will again see a trail heading up hill on the right. Take this trail and follow it for about 30 minutes. You will pass a few areas of forest that have been cleared before seeing a sign to the right for Amida-ji Temple 阿弥陀時. Take this path down hill. There are a few stairs here, and it can also be slippery in wet weather. In about 25 minutes you will come to a sign pointing to the left downhill for Amida-ji Temple 阿弥陀時. If you go ahead here for a few minutes you will come to some caves. After checking them out you can continue on to Amida-ji Temple 阿弥陀時.
From Amida-ji Temple 阿弥陀時 just follow the road down and to the left to reach Hakone Yumoto Station 箱根湯本駅 in about 15 minutes.
To and From
As always, the following routes are just recommendations. Please use Hyperdia or Jorudan’s Train Route Finder to find the most suitable route for you!
From Tokyo 東京, you can either catch the JR line or the Odakyu 小田急 line. The JR Tokaido line 東海道線 leaves from Tokyo Station 東京駅, and takes 86 minutes and 1,450 yen. Or you can catch the Kodama Shinkansen to Odawara 小田原 from Tokyo Station 東京駅, costing 3,640 yen and taking 36 minutes. The Odakyu 小田急 line leaves from Shinjuku Station 新宿駅 and goes to Hakone Yumoto Station 箱根湯本駅. You may have to change at Odawara 小田原 to continue further on. The Odakyu 小田急 line either costs 1,150 yen and takes approximately 110 minutes, or if you catch the Romance Car (reserved seating) takes 89 minutes and 2,020 yen.
From Hakone Yumoto 箱根湯本 catch the Odakyu 小田急 Hakone Tozan Tetsudo line 箱根登山鉄道線 to Gora 強羅. It takes 37 minutes and 390 yen.
There is also a bus to Miyagino Bridge 宮城野橋 from Gora 強羅, but it is irregular and probably quicker to walk the distance.
If you are staying in the Hakone 箱根 area for a few days Odakyu 小田急 has a Hakone Freepass, which covers return trip from Shinjuku 新宿, and many of the other forms of transport around the area. The 2 day pass is 5,000 yen, and the 3 day pass is 5,500 yen. Details can be found here.
Links
Odakyu Hakone Freepass – http://www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/hakone_01.html
Hakone Zenzan, some other hikes in the Hakone area and weather reports- http://www.hakone.or.jp/english/osusume/hike_list.html
HakoneNavi, tourist information site for Hakone – http://www.hakonenavi.jp/english/
My Flickr set of the hike – http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelelisa/sets/72157622650744760/
The map of the hike on GPSies – http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=aczcuerkubjxtjxm
Amida-ji Temple 阿弥陀時
Daimon-ji 大文字
Gora 強羅
Gora Station 強羅駅
Hakone 箱根
Hakone Tozan Tetsudo line 箱根登山鉄道線
Hakone Yumoto 箱根湯本
Hakone Yumoto Station 箱根湯本駅
Miyagino Bridge 宮城野橋
Miyagino Shishomae 宮城野支所前
Mt Myojingataka 明神が岳
Mt Myojyogatake 明星が岳
Odakyu 小田急
Odawara 小田原
Shinjuku Station 新宿駅
Tokaido line 東海道線
Tokyo 東京
Tokyo Station 東京駅
Tonomine 塔ノ峰
No really, I haven’t! things have been a little busy recently with exams starting this week. I have been working on a few posts, but it’s taken me longer than I intended to finalize them. In the meantime here are a few of my favourite photos from Sendai, 2005. Oldies but goodies. Man I miss my old digital camera!
The tomb of Date Masamune, first lord of Sendai-Han. An example of Momoyama Architecture.
Blue Hydrangeas
A stone walk from the Sendai Wild Plants garden. Lovely place, super big garden!
Not Sendai, but from Zao in Yamagata prefecture, the Okama crater lake.
Until next post! Ciao~
but this was sooooo cute that I had to share it!
a cake...
yes, a cake. A cake… with my name on it!!!! (it says ‘Micchan’, my nickname at work) OMGosh! isn’t it sweet?!
Courtesy of one of the girls in my English club… awwwwwww!
This week’s winning recipe is from the December issue of Woolworths Fresh magazine (and despite the snazzy website, I can’t find a link for the recipe). The original recipe has directions for making your own raspberry sauce, however, as I was unable to find raspberries near me (fresh or frozen) I substituted raspberry jam instead.
Almond and Raspberry Tart
Almond and Raspberry Tart
Time:
30 minutes cooking
Makes 2 tarts
Ingredients:
1 jar of raspberry jam
2 pastry flans
125g of butter
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 tsp of almond essence
3 eggs
3/4 cup of almond meal
1/2 cup self-raising flour
thickened cream or ice cream to serve
shaved almonds (optional)
Method:
1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2) Cream the butter, sugar and essence with a beater, and then beat in the eggs one by one.
3) Stir in the almond meal and flour to the creamed butter and sugar, until well combined.
4) Spoon the jam over the base of the flans, then spoon the almond meal mixture over the top. Use a knife to spread the mixture evenly. If you want, sprinkle shaved almonds over the tart.
5) Bake for 30 minutes until golden.
JAPANiCAN ran a free bicycle rental day in Yokohama last Saturday. It was actually a survey for the Yokohama government in trying to improve tourism and road traffic in the area, so after riding around we had to fill in a survey (but we were also paid 2,000 yen).
I asked a friend to go with me, and we met bright and early on Saturday to get our bikes. The bikes were really interesting. I was my first opportunity to ride a powered bicycle, and while fun, I don’t think I could live with one everyday.
We spent the next few hours cycling along the waterfront in Yokohama. Both of us had been to Yokohama a number of times before, so we had seen most things already, but as this was my first time there with my SLR I took some photos of the buildings.
Here is the Red Brick Warehouses, which are now a shopping mall –
The buildings nicknamed King, Queen and Jack (respectively) –
Jack (the bottom one) is my favourite.
And of course, what’s a trip to Yokohama without stopping in Chinatown to have some eats (^-^)v My pick of the day was Chilli Prawn Buns –
So, the latest seasonal flavour in KitKat is Raspberry and Passionfruit
It’s been released in time for Valentine’s Day, and even has a gift card on the back if you want to give it to that special someone (^-^)o
It’s more raspberry flavour than passionfruit, and its covered in dark chocolate, so it’s perfect for when you want a little treat. I certainly wasn’t going to share!
I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and although I only made a few changes, it was totally win.
Apart from Anzac cookies, this was my first time with American Style Oatmeal Cookies, and I was very pleased with the results.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Time:
12 minutes cooking
Makes 24
Ingredients:
5 packs of Quaker Raisin and Spice Instant Oatmeal (about 1 1/2 cups)
100g butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup raisins
dash of ground cinnamon
Method:
1) Preheat oven to 175 degrees C, and line baking tray with baking paper.
2) Cream the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl.
3) In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, oats, raisins, salt and cinnamon. Stir into the creamed butter and sugar and place dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
4) After chilled, roll into 24 balls and place on the baking tray with at least an inch separation between.
5) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, then leave on the tray to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool further.
yamaonna 