Travelling abroad and eating at some friends’ place, doing some shopping in the local organic supermarkets and trying some local products definitely impacts my food habits. Trying new delicious products or simply eating differently from what we eat in Japan everyday is really interesting. In Germany I was expecting to eat a lot of dark cereal bread like black bread, pumpernickel… and to buy flour to make some, which I did. But at our friend’s place I also tried freshly prepared porridge and I really love it. First milling the oatmeal (or spelt or whatever you want), then preparing some warm liquid: this time on the picture is homemade chai latte, then some fresh topping: plums, and finishing with linen seads and dates. Perfectly nourishing and warm for a chilly autumn morning and before a long forest hike in the Wine county. Hiking, walking being outside, if not possible, swimming, are all for me the best ways to recover from jetlag, together with a good breakfast.
Once a high end onsen resort with beautiful view of the seaside and stunning village spreading in the steep lush green sides of some small mountains, like many other onsen destinations Atami has been transformed into a sad village with too many horrible onsen ryokans that are now falling appart, a pitiful shopping street that goes dark before 18:00 and to complete the picture the seaside bears the scar of a highway. Between conviency and cheap development for Atami was the top destination for honey moon in the 50’s and 60’s, it is still possible to enjoy Atami and a bit of its past grandeur or rather simple luxury and beauty. A few beautiful villas old and new nested in the winding roads up the hills and a few exclusive hotels still exist. A few of the country residences built in the first half of the 20’s century can be visited, and a Hoshino resorts have made some tremendous effort to recreate some of the past atmosphere.
View from the villa del sol room
Using both a Japanese and a western building, that used to be a library, they have created a nice secluded space that is large enough to forget a bit about the ugliness of the rest of the city. A steep stair goes up the hill from the library passing by the two onsen bathes and end in the Japanese building. Climbing up one can enjoy the sound of the waves and the wind in the giant camphor trees. Except for onsen and a bit of local food degustation there is strictly nithing to do in Atami, at least for the moment. The only worth seeing museum being closed for renovation for several years, and not opening until 2017… Swimming requires a bit of a drive, and there might be some hiking trails but unfortunately we couldn’t try them because of the rain. There is a beautiful drive through the pass that goes up to Hakone.
But somehow, walking through the deserted streets at night has something really magic, some kind of Midnight in Paris or a magic hour, when your imagination can just make up anything.
Each area of Japan has its own festival more or less famous, that marks the seasons and the year. In Tokyo there are many famous festival but that is not all. Planning to see a festival in the country side or away from Tokyo is always a good idea because the atmosphere is really great and the ceremonies are often impressive. Most festivals are related to Shinto and seasonal events in the area. So the calendar of festival all over Japan is quite busy!
Last year we finally went to see Hadaka matsuri, a festival held every year in Ohara, Chiba on September 23d and 24th, very near to our country house. The festival climax is on Ohara beach where all the mikoshi gather and enter the sea one after the other. It’s hard to describe the atmosphere and the emotions, so I can only but recommend to go and check out for yourself!!!
PS: better enter the beach from the north and walk along the sea rather than the main entrance which is really crowded.
Long time no update… Sorry for that, I’ve spent a few days in Chicago followed by almost two weeks in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada for work and friends. And it was really a good time. Starting with a sunny weather and friends willing to make us discover where they live, we were very very lucky. This Mennonites area is growing plenty of delicious vegetables and there are farmers market nearby where you can find loads of fruits like you never see in Japan: blueberries and strawberries by the kilo, peaches and apricots by the box… No wonder why our friends cook their own jams! It’s so cheap! And home made jam is so delicious! Despite leaving in a hotel room for 2 weeks I manage to “cook” with just a knife and a spoon and eat fresh fruits and vegetables everyday. And finally cook when we spent the weekend north in French River in a lovely cottage of the Pine Cove, swimming, hiking and kayaking everyday for hours. Even with the limited ingredients we had it was so nice after so long to be in a kitchen and cook for everyone after a long outdoor day! In particular the kitchen of the cottage was super well furnished with high quality cooking ware so it was really enjoyable! Thanks A. for coming with me, thanks D. & C. for showing us around and spending so much time with us to make this Canadian experience really memorable and all the good work done too! Now it’s time to go home!
Not even two weeks after coming back from France I’m about to fly the other way around to the Midwest: first a few days in Chicago and then 2 weeks in Waterloo. A long hotel stay ahead, probably a lot of swimming but very little cooking unless I hack my friends and colleagues kitchen in Waterloo, which I might indeed!!! I love hacking friends kitchen and cook for them!!! So probably very few posts about cooking in the next two weeks, a bit about nice places we will visit and local food but probably not too many. Have a nice summer, a nice holidays for the lucky one!!!
As you may have noticed I am not in Tokyo now but in France after two days in Paris we went south and are now spending a few days in my hometown: Aix en Provence, at my parents’ place. Prunellia and I grew up in a beautiful environment. Prunellia probably didn’t enjoyed it as much as I did but we were very lucky. And now that time has passed I see myself even luckier because we can stills enjoy that. A large family house in the middle of pines and oaks, a pool in the middle of lush greens, a tennis court, friends nearby and always ready for a coffee, and nearby the moutain Sainte Victoire and a little (touristic and posh) city with plenty of history.
The museum hotel the Caumont in Aix city center
There are plenty of things to do in Aix en Provence, starting with walking around the city center, its gothic cathedral, the narrow streets of the old center, the farmers markets, the hotels particuliers or mansions with their typical architecture and the numerous foutains. Then there is Cezanne and all the painters, the atelier and the beautiful landscapes around that inspired them with amazing little hikes (not always possible in summer because of forest fire prevention). Recently a few new museums have opened one in the countryside, in a vineyard: chateau Lacoste, contemporary art outdoor, a must see place. The other one in one of the old mansions in the city and the renovation and exhibition are really nice: hotel de Caumont (don’t misunderstand with a hotel where to spend the night!!!).
That said, being in my hometown means a lot of local products for cooking and traditional recipes prepared both by my mother and I: soupe au pistou, bouillabaisse, fig tarts, flan (pudding), zucchini flowers… Many of the recipes have already been posted in the past because they are real classics and I cook them in Tokyo too, but some are just not possible. I will still share them with you in the next few days.
30m pool with view for lapsroom with viewbathroom with view too
What a nice experience to stay in a beautiful hotel in your own city! Last time we did that was for our wedding almost 10 years ago, when the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo was still brand new and we hold our casual party in the same building. Since then none of the new hotels in Tokyo really attracted me enough to want to stay in a hotel in Tokyo, the two things that attract me the most in urban hotels being the swimming pool and the view. During the summer I often thought about staying at the new Otani or the Okura for their outdoor summer pools, but in the end weather and work never managed to be right. Until the Aman opened last spring… The minute I saw a picture of the black pool and the view I wanted to go. At first it was almost impossible to have a room there without planning long ahead etc… Right after it opened and my parents were visiting we went for a drinkonly, but now that the press boom is all about Amanemu in Ise, the Tokyo hotel has more availability on last minute booking. So we finally did it and I’m very glad we did. The place is impressive, not just the lobby but the rooms too, and the pool of course that we amply used. It has nothing to do with wabisabi, it is Japanese in style but not in dimensions, it’s like a cathedral. I loved the material, in particular the lava stone for the bath room. Simple, efficient and elegant without being pompous. Everything is about the view and that’s exactly what you want. I loved the modularity of the room and bathroom with the giant sliding doors, the steps that creates a partition in this huge space while preserving the view from everywhere. And the sofa by the window to srutinize outside, the streets of Otemachi, the construction sites, Hibiya park… Like looking at a model.
We wanted to go to Hakuba for a long snowboarding weekend but didn’t manage to get a room at our favorite hotel: la neige Higashikan, so we decided to go to Karuizawa. Karuizawa is not well known for being a ski resort but rather a summer getaway to get a bit of fresh air and to avoid Tokyo heat. It’s therefore known for being a classy place for the Tokyo well off to have a country house. We really love the forest in Karuizawa and we once considered buying there before we found our house in Ohara. Karuizawa in winter is not a crowded place, most of the villas are closed during the winter, a lot of shops, museums and restaurants too. But the principal was there. There is a little ski resort with enough tracks to spend a whole day having fun there, and it’s steep enough for a few shirt black tracks. The view of Mount Asama, a nice smoking volcano, is really nice from the top of the resort.
There are tons of nice hotels to stay at. We tried the newly refurbished Kyu Karuizawa Hotel and were not disappointed. And since there are some hiking courses in the area we went snowshoeing too, which is also something I really like to do, and I found missing in Hakuba (only found guided tours). I also like very much visiting the old Nakasando-中山道 area of Oiwake with some nice old houses along the path.
Eating in Karuizawa is also nice, there are plenty of local nice products, one being ham and cured pork meat. Miso is also great and I bought a few. I can’t wait to try it!
And if outdoor is not your cup if tea or the weather is not good, there are a few art museums to visit around.
So it was a great outdoor time, with little use of connected devices; I have muscles ache and this time I know it’s not because of work and stress and it feels really good!!!
Packing done. Everything’s ready. This time I’m traveling to France for work for about 10 days. I’m sure I’ll come back with tones of things, food, fashion and interior related probably!
