Category: Life-style

Hotel life: my American favorites

When traveling it’s always hectic with food for me, I don’t like eating out 3 times a day. Most portions are way too big and I get quickly bored with the amount of mix tastes that surpasses my imagination.  As you may know now, I like simple delicious things. So when in the US I really enjoy organic groceries that can be found pretty easily in main cities and sometimes opened round the clock (even better for jetlag and busy working days). It seems particularly true in Boston. There, you can buy things I didn’t even imagine exist, almond milk yogurt with coconut taste, super delicious cereal bars, fresh cut fruits, natural cheese, teas (i usually pack on Chai), tons of different types of flours (well I’m not baking in my hotel room…) and my favorite drink, non organic though but from sustaible harvested ingredients: the Naked fruit smoothies, just perfect for middle-of-the-night-breakfast! 

During this short stay in Boston I tried the new to me (haven’t been to the US for 2 years!) pineapple-mango-coconut water Naked, and just loved it, not as thick as the regular mango one! And I found super delicious bars from Earnest eats, my favorite is the almond trail mix. The taste of almond is really strong but it’s really good and just not too sweet. That and a bowl of fresh raspberries was my post-swimming breakfast.

Because, yes! I always pick hotels with a swimming pool. I love to swim early in the morning to recover from jetlag. Doing laps before starting a long business day, after a long trip is just making me feel really good. How do you do to keep a good balance when traveling?

Anytime breakfast
Anytime breakfast

Hanami in Tokyo

Here we are, this is the 2015´s week for hanami in Tokyo. Yes, it usually don’t last much then a week because at some point it rains and the delicate flowers fade. Right now the cherry trees are in full bloom, every place is crowded and Japanese people heads are spinning with flowers, sake, and spring. There is something extremely beautiful and poetic in the air, these trees, these flowers, that moment that will be very short, it is certainly a good reflection on the shortness of life and the natural cycles.
But this has turned out as being such a business, of blue plastic sheets, potato chips and cheap alcohol, and people are taking this opportunity to get massively drunk, that I found celebrating hanami almost disgusting now. Hopefully there are still a few placed where you can enjoy the calmness and beauty of spring, without getting lost in crowds of drunkards. So avoid Ueno park, Yasukuni shrine, Naka-meguro… Instead, stroll in Yanaka cemetery, in Tokyo University botanical garden, or on some universities campus (Todai, ICU, TIT, TUAT…), or walk around the imperial palace at night. But please, do it in style!

Empty alley in Yanaka cemetery at night
Empty alley in Yanaka cemetery at night
TUAT koganei campus
TUAT koganei campus

Saturday market

Every Saturday we spend in Ohara, the first thing we do is to go to the local JA cooperative to shop for vegetables, fruits, eggs… Every thing is locally grown in very little farms or by old folks, using no chemical, it’s super fresh, super tasty and super cheap. We’re lucky because Chiba prefecture is famous for growing a lot of things and our area is known for strawberries, nashi, tangerines in particular. There is also an amazing variety of tomatoes and cabbages. Nearby, they also produce eggs, pork and milk, and Ohara fishing port has great fresh fishes and spiny lobsters (and s fish market on Sunday once a month). It’s just fresh food heaven.

The seven herbs rice

On January 7th, there is a tradition in Japan to eat a seven spring herbs rice porridge (七草がゆ). The seven herbs consist in fact in 5 sorts of greens an 2 sorts of little radishes. You don’t even have to worry gaｔhering the proper seven products they are sold as a set pretty much everywhere.

I particularly love these seven spring herbs, and because it’s a one-year chance I usually cook the traditional rice porridge or a variation.

This year I went for a very simple rice-omelette with seven spring herbs.

I just steamed for 1min the seven herbs on top of a juicy omelette and served with Japanese rice. Instead of the sauce for the rice-omelette, I’ve just added a bit of salt. Et voila!

年賀状 – new year's card

In Japan it is more than a tradition to send new year’s card to all your friends, family, colleagues etc… Their preparation is a big business. The post office is also playing an important role, because you can post your cards anytime before January 1st, they will be strictly dispatched only on 1st and after, so no worries that you card will arrive too early!

Well, for me this year that will not happen! I was really out of idea for the design and a good brain storming was necessary to come out with something. It’s very likely that this new year Chinese animal: the sheep, didn’t inspire me much (it’s also a tradition to use the Chinese sign in your design).

Well, I’ve finally managed to design something 

and to prepare the cards. Now I need to post them, oups!

So, happy year of the sheep!!!

The most difficult moment…

It’s really a heart breaking moment for me to leave the house and the garden on a sunny morning and to go back to Tokyo (top picture). It’s silly, because the drive by the sea-side is really beautiful and the view of mount Fuji from our apartment is quite amazing (bottom picture)… Yet I can’t resolve myself to go…

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