A day in green

 

Waiting for the train. Green boots, green jacket, lime green umbrella.

 

Wednesday here was one of those days of heavy rains that happens only when living close to the ocean. Hard, driving, downpour rain for hours on end. I love rainy days, as they are the perfect excuse to stay in with a good book, or drink a warm beverage, and I always get the best sleep during a rainstorm. Throughout the day green was a reoccurring theme, appropriate for these early summer days.

 

 

The floor at Uguisudani Station- nightengales, which the station is named after.

  

 

The view from my office window, particularly verdant on a rainy day.

  

 

Green tea and green tea coated chocolates for an afternoon snack.

  

 

The green stripe of the Yamanotesen on my way home. 

Friday 金曜日

Some photos from my Friday. Above- it was a fantastically beautiful sunny day here in Tokyo, so I paused on the bridge near Uguisudani Station to marvel at the view of the Sky Tree and the rush of the JR lines below.

Tea time at work. Each day at 3 p.m. the part time researchers and some of the full time senior scholars at the institute pause for tea. As the many visitors to the institute bring edible omiyage (souvenirs), from their respective parts of Japan, there are always interesting snacks. Today's was an apple sweet from Nagano, it was a light cake filled with sweet white bean paste that had a subtle apple flavor.

 

Fashion on the Yamanote-sen on my way out to dinner and drinks with a friend.

 

Work-a-day Friday

 

Working on a cloudy Friday with a giant cup of Blackberry Sage Tea. 

Matcha Frappuccino

It was a year ago this week (June 18 to be precise) that we moved back to the States from Japan, and this is the first summer since 2005 that I'm not in Japan, so I've been feeling a little nostalgic for times past. As a result, on Tuesday I decided to pop into Starbucks on my way home to get a Matcha Frappuccino like I used to study with in Yokohama.

Tea

Loose leaf rose-scented green tea to soothe my sore throat on a Monday.

Beverages 飲み物

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Yesterday was my last full day of classes and the weather was beautiful, so after I returned home from school we went to the park to enjoy the afternoon. On the way we stopped by the Family Mart to pick up some snacks and drinks such as tea (above) and juice (below). I'm also including a photo of the prepared coffees (last). I love that the tea in Japan is unsweetened, I can't stand the super sweet high fructose corn syrup drinks that pass for tea in U.S. convenience stores, and while I like to make my own tea at home, the ease of picking up a real bottle of green tea (for me) or barley tea (for Joe) while out and about is a nice everyday luxury. The boxed drink section includes melon juice, apple juice, orange juice, grape juice and fruit teas as well as banana, peach, and plum drinks and sometimes my favorite, aloe juice (though not in this photo).
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Processed coffee, while nothing like the real thing, is great for caffination while traveling or out in the city for the day. I'm fan of the Mt. Rainer brand Cafe Latte (middle shelf left side).
-

Interesting Japanese Products II

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The longer we have lived in Japan, the more we have become accustomed to the variety of products available here that aren't readily available in the U.S. Things that once seemed exciting to me, such as aloe flavored yogurt, nori (roasted seaweed) flavored potato chips, or yuzu flavored tea, are now commonly a part of our diet. Occasionally though, something will stand out, which is what happened when I saw Azuki flavored Pepsi. Azuki, or red bean, is a popular addition to desserts, often you will find it ground into a sweet paste and used as a filling for mochi, bread, or other confections. Personally I find it to be ok in small amounts, but I don't like to eat too much of it at once because I feel that the consistancy of the beans is too pasty to eat in large quantities. When we saw the Azuki Pepsi we tried it out of curiosity, thinking that it would not be very good, however it was pretty tasty. The sweetness of the azuki was slightly reminscent of cherry flavored sodas, and the red color also conjured up this image (visible in the photo). Although, as I don't drink soda very often, about 1/3 of the bottle of the sugary carbonated sweetness was as much as I could take.
Another yummy product that I had recently was the Meiji brand Rich Matcha candybar pictured below. I love anything matcha (powdered tea leaf) flavored, so this combination of matcha and white chocolate was definitely a favorite of mine. I'm also a huge fan of matcha lattes, matcha ice cream, and matcha cake, as well as my favorite guilty pleasure beverage to study with, Starbuck's Matcha Frappucinos.
-