Gelato Pique Happy Bag 2015

I wanted to purchase the Gelato Pique Happy Bag 2015 but it's sold out in a blink of an eye...

It was back in stock a couple of times but it's gone so quickly. It's extremely popular among Happy Bags.

As far as I see the images uploaded by the lucky ones who successfully got this Gelato Pique Happy Bag, the items in the bag are so adorable!

I'm almost 40 so this brand might be a bit too cute for me, but I really like the feels and color...

I will definitely get the Happy Bag next year!

Japanese strawberry

One of my American friends told me what she would miss the most from Japan would definitely be Japanese strawberry.

The most famous and popular brand I think is the one called A-MA-O-U.
Akai (red), Marui (round), Ohkii (big) and Umai (tasty).

Before holiday season, the price is relatively high, but after the season, it lowers to JPY200 - JPY500 on average. (the price depends on what types of strawberry you're going to buy..)

If you visit Japan during the season (from December through April), please please please try Japanese strawberries.. Particularly, you should try A MA O U (あまおう）.

Japanese Fast Food - TEMPURA-

I went to Ashiya to run errands and dropped in this Tempura restaurant on my way to the station.

  They served rice and miso soup soon after I sat down at the table. A lady brought Tempura right out of the hot oil one by one- shrimp, squid, flatfish, eggplant, okura and mixed-vegetables.

I also ordered grated Daikon radish - good with tempura...

It was only JPY690!!


Makino　（まきの）
If you have been to Marugame Seimen, Japanese Udon restaurant chain, it'd be easier for you to imagine what's like...Fast but tasty.

Today's breakfast

I made bagels with the rice bran.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour 150g

Wholewheat flour 150g

Rice bran 20-30g

Brown Sugar 15g

Salt 6g

Yeast 3g

Water 150-160cc

My most favorite item - Obagi Peeling V10 Essence

There are so many cosmetic brands out there...sometimes it's very difficult to decide what to choose.

But I've been using Rohto Obagi Peeling item which I think is particularly good for summer!
Up until recently, the item is called as Obagi Triple Peel 10 but was recently replaced by Rohto Obagi Peeling V10 Essence.

Obagi Triple Peel 10 is in light-blue color bottle while new Peeling V10 is in deep-blue color bottle.
It gives us a sort of high-end image...

I use this item twice a day - morning and night - just after washing my face.
I like using this item with Rohto Obagi C10 serum! Thanks to them, I think I can keep bright skin in spite that I'm exposed to direct sunlight every day - my face still shines though....

I like this company -Rohto Pharmaceuticals - their Obagi product line is highly admired and loved by many women here in Japan. Their icon is Obagi C5,10 and 20 serum! I use C10 serum and think it is very good throughout the year...You just use a couple of drops at a time so it lasts almost two or three months so it's pretty reasonable in terms of price.

I use many items when it comes makeup because it's fun to try many colors. But I stick to a few of certain items for my skin care routine.

You can purchase Obagi Peeling V10 Essence from here!
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Travel tips

We went to Okinawa and stayed there for two days.

It was very nice to spend time doing nothing but bathing.

The hotel that we stayed in, there were so many guests around the world..We heard a lot of languages including Chinese, English and even Russian!

When I had a small chat with a chef at a restaurant in the hotel, he told me that they have more and more guests from Russia these days because some airline companies have started direct flights between Okinawa and Russia.

I'm just glad that more and more people become to know about Japan and actually visit many places such as Okinawa.

There are many nice hotels in Okinawa so it's easy to find a nice one, but in big cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, it would be a good idea to use this kind of service:
airbnb

Especially, if you are planning to visit Kyoto and to spend there for a week or two, you could find a lot of useful and down-to-earth information about Kyoto on this website.!

That's what I thought...

My son chose tomato over carrot!

Basically, it tastes vanilla with a hint of tomato flavor...
It sounds and looks kind of funny but we like it!





Haagen Dazs Japan is to release some more new items such as:
Waguri (Japanese maron)

Sweet Potato

They follow the same strategy as Nestle's kit kat?