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Weekend trip to Yamagata - Part 3: Yamadera 山寺 On our second day in Yamagata, we left the skiing slopes of Zao Onsen by bus and returned to Yamagata Station. We hopped on the JR Senzan Line to ride a couple stations over to Yamadera Station. Yamadera literally means "mountain temple" and it lives up to its name. A thousand or so snow-covered steps lead up to collection of buildings spread out across the rocky mountain terrain, including the Godaido Hall which overlooks the valley. You will feel like you are walking around the very inspiration for many an ancient ink wash painting. Not to mention that Yamadera was where Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho, wrote one of his most famous haiku during a summer stay at the temple. Although we had many near slips, we made it up and back without any broken limbs for quite the adventure (of course, please note that many senior citizens were also making the same trek without any issue but we were half-scared that we would fall to our demise at any moment).  We even spotted a wild Kamoshika (Japanese Serow)!!! For fellow goshuin enthusiasts: Yamadera actually contains many different halls that appear to be run by different families and offer different goshuin. About half of these halls were closed when we visited, quite possibly due to the remaining snow, but there is apparently around 10 different places to get goshuin within the temple grounds. I am not a goshuin completist so I ended up going for 3 different ones -- one at the bottom of the mountain (Hiei Shrine 日枝神社), one at the top of the mountain (), and one again at the bottom (Risshakuji honbo 立石寺 本坊). All the goshuin I collected asked for a minimum 300 yen donation, but I did pass by a hall that asked for 600 yen.

After our descent, we walked around the village a bit, ate some lunch, and waited for the once-per-hour train to arrive in the toasty waiting room at the station. The pictures show: 1) View of the valley from the Godaido Hall (五大堂) -- the temple's best lookout point. 2) The iconic Kaizando (開山堂) and Nokyodo (納経堂). Nokyodo is labeled a as an "important cultural building" and I believe the sign also said it was the oldest building on the grounds. 3) Walking through the Niomon gate (仁王門). 4) A wild kamoshika snacking on some grass. 5) Cherry glass candleholders are placed all throughout the temple. One of the regional produce is cherries. 6) Rows of solemn statues, separated by snow. 7) One yen coins stuffed into any available rock crevice as tribute. 8) A Chinese-looking statue. I believe he is one of the ten judges of the afterlife (十王). 9) Looking back on the temple from Godaido Hall (五大堂). 10) A lone post box at the top of the mountain! Picked up daily -- amazing! 11) It's easy to find your way to the temple entrance from the station. Just look out for the life-size cartoon monk signs. 12-13) The first two halls (Hiei Shrine 日枝神社 and Konponchudo 根本中堂) at the base of the mountain. (Before even officially entering the grounds through the Mountain Gate 山門.) 14) A statue of Basho commemorates the origin of one of his most famous haiku poems which he wrote about the area (particularly about the cicada cries). 15-16) Goshuin -- a type of seal that can be received at different shrines and temples as a proof of pilgrimage.

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This week from Tokyo: 1) Happy White Day! March 14th is the official opposite Valentine's Day in Japan. For some reason, when Valentine's Day was brought over to Japan (obviously for marketing purposes) it was established as a day for women to give men chocolates. You give chocolates to men you don't even particularly have romantic feelings towards (not unlike passing out Valentine's to everyone in your elementary school class). In response, men are supposed to give back sweets a month later. My co-worker and I gave the guys on our team the somewhat obligatory Valentine's treats -- and we were totally surprised when one of the guys came in late on Tuesday morning baring these beautiful scarlet sweets. :) A true gentleman! 2-5) A special dinner out at a Gunma-style restaurant. Not only was the food delicious, the service was top notch. The restaurant manager even followed us outside when we left and sparked some stones at us -- which is probably a very kind gesture for fortune, I imagine. (Side note: He had a Japanese-style Darth Vader apron!). Although the flinting was interesting, the most novel part of the night was eating sheets of udon. We ordered "udon" expecting the usual noodles and instead were pleasantly surprised by a stack of thin yet substantial, double folded square sheets to dip into our accompanying broth bowls. Not to mention the tasty butterbur sprout (a spring speciality) tempura and potato yakisoba! 6) Probably the best rooftop restaurant in Tokyo: Hacienda del cielo, Daikanyama. 7) Best new find at the conbini: spicy fried peppers! 8) Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with green juice. 9) Wilkin & Sons Strawberry Conserve. Pretty packaging. 10) Rilakkuma-shaped Japanese sweets, again from the conbini.

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Weekend trip to Yamagata - Part 1: Zao Onsen and Ski Resort 蔵王温泉 Although my SO was under the impression we were going to Zao solely for the snow sports, the truth is I primarily selected Zao for the scenic aspects and the fact that they offer a ropeway and gondola along side the usual (but always terrifying) ski lifts. In particular, Zao is famous for its 樹氷 (juhyo) or "ice monsters". The climate conditions lead to snow and frost attaching layer upon layer to the steadfast branches of the mountain trees to create bulky beasts of white. We took the earliest Shinkansen we could and arrived before noon Yamagata Station. From Yamagata station, we waited in what seemed to be an endless line to get the 30 minute bus up to the Zao Onsen Bus Terminal. The bus was supposed to come at 9:40, but from the sheer amount of people queuing, it seemed impossible for us to board. Luckily, the first of a slew of buses arrived about 20 minutes before schedule so our concerns were quickly brushed away. The bus ride was also quicker than we predicted. We arrived at the bus terminal and dialed our hotel to get the free shuttle to come pick us up. The shuttle arrived in less than 5 minutes and we were back at the hotel in the same amount of time. It's actually a bit of walk to get around the village, although everything is reachable by foot. We probably could have walked from the station to the hotel in 15-20 minutes. Our hotel was located right across the street from the Zao Ropeway Sanroku Line which was perfect for our uses. It would have been a long walk in our gear to the Zao Chuo Ropeway, but luckily the Sanroku Line is the one that connects with the Sancho Line to bring you all the way to the top where the monsters dwell. On a side note, the hotel we stayed at (たかみや瑠璃倶楽リゾート Takamiya Rurikura Resort) was perfectly equipped with a lobby supplying snowboard and ski stands and mats covering the ground where you can shake off the ice a bit. In addition, there's a changing room for women and a spacious cloak room to store your unnecessary gear during the day before the 3pm check in or after you check out. After one round of snowboarding, we went straight to the mountain top to pay our visits to the Juhyo. On our way to the top, everything became whiter and whiter until we could barely see a couple feet ahead of us. The Juhyo perfectly camouflaged into their surroundings but we could make out the outlines of the few that loomed closest to us. We had some of the local soul food, imoni (芋煮), at the restaurant at the top and let the negative degree weather bully us a bit before we went back down the hill. After snowboarding, I returned all my gear to the rental shop recommended by the hotel (who also kindly gave us a significant discount coupon) while my SO packed his gear back up to be shipped back home. In Japan, it is super easy to ship something as large and weighty as a snowboard through delivery companies like Kuroneko so that you don't have to worry about heavy luggage while you travel. His snowboard was waiting for him in the lobby the moment we arrived and he left in in the lobby for it's return journey. BTW, you also need to return your lift passes at the end of the day to get your 500 yen investment back! You can return it at the machine near the ticketing counter or even at the bus terminal. I was impressed by how easy it was to use the passes, just a simple beep every time you go through the gate to board -- but I also was unpleasantly surprised by how many people they allow to be smushed standing into the ropeway car (gondola was fine and had chairs too!). Be prepared for skis and snowboards being pressed into your back and sides. I spent the rest of the day walking around the town while the snow flurried down. And we had some ramen and a very ma-and-pop-esque restaurant next door to the hotel. Will post about my wanderings, as well as the next day's journey a couple stations over to Yamadera temple. We will definitely be back at Zao in the summer to see the Okama Crater lake. The pictures show: 1) Viewing the juhyo (ice monsters) from the mountain top restaurant. 2) Face to face with the monster. 3) Visibility plummeting but the ice monsters stand unmoved. 4-5) Top of the mountain. Seems there is also a temple about. 5-6) Negative temperatures drive us into the mountain top restaurant for shelter and local speciality Imoni udon...and an Okonomiyaki stick just for good measure. 7) Juhyo magically transform back into trees as we travel back down. 8-9) Zao Ropeway/Gondola/Lift passes. 10) The Tsubasa Shinkansen that runs between Tokyo, Yamagata, and beyond.

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Another average week in Japan: 1-2) Lord of the Flies cake. 🐽 3) Urth Cafe, Daikanyama. 4) Pale double happiness. 🍜 5) Crunchy French Toast from Blu Jam Cafe, Daikanyama. Going to try adding corn flakes next time I make french toast at home. 6) Lazy attempt at being healthy via chia seed. 7) Scottish potato chips! With strange things like Scotch Bonnet and Haggis! 8-10) All work related. Hipster coffee from a visiting colleague from our Munich office. Bi-annual company workshop involving legos. Special Japanese sweets from the client the day before the deadline: the tastiest pressure/motivation you can ever receive. Catching up a bit since I’ve been a bit busy at work. I wanted to do a Valentine’s roundup of all the different chocolates I gave/received so that will be belatedly posted soon.

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My week in review: 1-2) Limited Edition Magikarp Taiyaki in Yokohama. 3-4) Karaoke farewell party for a co-worker. Sang PPAP and noticed an oblivious Pepper robot chatting happily to his own reflection in the lobby window. I’m a pretty cold-hearted person most of the time, but something about this scene makes me feel so very sad. 5) Continuing the karaoke theme with miniature karaoke from a capsule machine. There’s even a little wall phone! やばい 6) Ginger Coke was released this week! My mom’s been boiling Coca Cola and ginger for me since my childhood though (a home remedy for when someone’s feeling ill). 7) Choco & White Choco Croissants from St. Marc Cafe (you can find this cafe at most stations & the croissants are delicious). 8) Akabanebashi Station is covered in glass bricks (benches included). 9) Coriander (aka Cilantro) chips, soup, and hot pot mix from Kaldi. 10) Finally tried Dumbo Doughnuts in Azabu Juban! Huge but lighter on the oil and sugar (at least in taste…tasted a lot like bread actually).

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Small things from this week…. 1-2) Harry Potter Capsule Toys! And I got Draco! 3-5) Starbucks Purin! Been looking for since Christmas during which they also had Christmas design cups for the pudding. T-T so cute. 6) Daruma gummies 7) Cute apple juice 8) Re-ment: Playback of Youthful Days (プレイバック青春days) 9) Temple-themed capsule toys. 10) Green Car at Shibuya Station wearing Hello Kitty bows.

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丸子山王日枝神社

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This week from left to right; top to bottom: 1-2) La Vie en Rose Burger from Jiyugaoka Burger (自由が丘バーガー). Cozy, bright rooftop restaurant in Jiyuugaoka (as you may have guessed). 3) Strawberry shortcake flavored instant yakisoba....combination of disgusting and intriguing. Consumed in honor of Strawberry Day ("ichigo" sounds like Jan. 5th and strawberry)! 4) Where's Waldo/Wally Ketchup. I like random branding campaigns. 5-6) Amazake (from Kyoto) to warm up during the winter days~ 7) Cute McDonalds Nanoblocks. Hamburglar nostalgia. 8) Finished The Eyre Affair. By Jasper Fforde. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 9) Played Kotori Fight. 🌟🌟🌟🌟  10) Spotted Jane at the conbini. 😍

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Hakone Road Trip Part II: Fujiya Hotel After visiting Hakone Shrine (read that post here), we drove back through the mountains to make our 1:30pm reservation at the The Fujiya ( ザ・フジヤ) main dining room of the famous Fujiya Hotel (富士屋ホテル) -- easiest the most picturesque hotel I've ever visited. I'm very keen on anything that has the Spirited Away vibe/storeyed pavilion style. The hotel has multiple buildings and a garden -- the most iconic of the buildings may be the towering Hanagoten (花御殿 - "Flower Palace") which was constructed in 1936. Apparently every room in this building is named after a particular flower which can be found illustrated on the door to each room. The restaurant was located in the beautiful main building (constructed in 1891), which sits across from the Hanagoten. In fact, we could see the Hanagoten right from our table. All of the interior design details in the main building are astounding -- ogre heads glaring up from the bottom of a pillar, a long tailed rooster carved into another wall, a lobby area entitled "Magic Room", etc... The garden also extends back to include a koi pond, waterfalls, a huge maze of greenhouses, and even an old water wheel. The Fujiya is known for their curry (you can even buy some microwave packets to bring home in the gift shop) so I had the pork cutlet curry course meal. Afterwards, we also grabbed a couple of their well-loved curry pans (bread with curry filling) from the hotel's Picot bakery for the trip home.

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Hakone Road Trip Part I: Shrine of the Nine-headed Dragon (part of Hakone Shrine) Today we drove down to Hakone (Kanagawa-ken, not far from Tokyo) to visit Hakone Shrine (箱根神社) for our annual hatsumoude (初詣 - Japanese tradition of visiting a shrine at the start of a new year; the first visit to a shrine for the year).  Luckily, traffic was pretty light and we were able to worm our way into a parking spot in front of the shrine (lots of free parking available but also lots of competition for the spots). A 2-minute walk brought us to the base of the stairs leading up to the Nine-headed Dragon Shrine (九頭龍神社). There's a charms/talisman booth here where you can receive a goshuin (last picture -- a seal you can collect in a book when visiting temples: read more here). Then we waited in line to actually walk up the stairs to the temple, as it was being metered due to the crowds also visiting for hatsumoude. There was a long line at the shrine to pay your respects to the gods but, overall, not insanely packed since it was already the third day into the new year. Cute chicken talisman, etc abounded for the Year of the Chicken. As well as the shrine's namesake nine-headed dragon -- the cleansing fountain (where you traditionally wash your hands and mouth before entering) was particularly neat since usually these fountains only have one dragon. Then we hightailed it over to the Fujiya Hotel for our lunch reservation...which you can read about here. For fellow goshuin enthusiasts:  The Hakone Shrine offers a selection of three different seals. As I understand it,  one for the overall Hakone Shrine and two for the shrines/deities contained within: Nine-headed Dragon and Ebisuten, one of the Seven Lucky Gods. You can request any of the three (300 yen) and there's also a rather nice goshuin book (1,300 yen). Actually, you can find seals of all Seven Lucky Gods at seven different shrines around Hakone. More info: http://enjoyhakone.com/the-seven-lucky-gods-worshipped-in-japan

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Max Brenner's Chocolate Chunks Pizza to go (with a burger on the side). I try to make the most of my one hour lunch break at work. :)

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Need to stop procrastinating on writing my Christmas cards!

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Snoopy Christmas donut from Mister Donut :)

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もうやんカレー 246 (Moyan Curry 246) is very possibly the best curry I’ve ever had.

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Day of Dars.

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Today's Tea: The Ureshino Ginger Tea

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Brûlée Donut from Krispy Kreme. Look at all the cute Christmas donuts too-