梅まつり。。。

Hi everyone!

Temperatures were a little warmer today so I had a Starbucks and lunch with my husband.  After he went to work, I went to Yushima Tenmangu.  Now it's 梅 season (plum blossoms).  Unlike さくら (cherry blossoms), 梅 last only a short time usually mid-February to March.  I almost always forget about 梅 season because it's not a prevalent as さくら but we have an 梅 tree at work, so I knew it was time to get out and see some 梅。

 梅 flowers are really beautiful and if you're in Tokyo around this time, you should check them out.

Lipton Tea...

It's tea time again!

So I've got two new teas for you.

First is Winter Tea Latte:

So Lipton recommends that you heat this before you enjoy it.  I did that.  I still didn't enjoy it.

Next is Earl Grey Orange Tea:

Do you like my artistic tea in a tree shot?  Well, this was just delightful.  I was quite happy with this one.

The list:

1. Milk Tea
2. Maple Milk Tea
3. Lemon Tea
4. Peach Tea
5. Earl Grey Milk Tea
6. Green Apple Tea
7. 50/50 Tea & Lemonade
8. Tropical Fruit Tea
9. Chamomile Citrus Tea
10. Roast Milk Tea
11. Jasmine Lemon Peel
12. Grape Tea
13. Straight Tea
14. Apple Tea
15. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
16. Matcha Milk
17. Tea Cappuccino
18. Mikan Tea
19. 50/50 Tea & Nectar
20. Luxurious Milk Tea
21. Muscat Tea
22. Plum Honey
23. Cream Milk Tea 
24. Grapefruit Tea
25. Orange Marmalade Tea 
26. Royal Milk Tea
27. Golden Pineapple Tea
28. Italian Fruit Punch Tea
29. Honey Milk Tea
30. Green Apple with Honey
31. Thailand Lychee Tea
32. Sweetened Condensed Milk Tea 
33. Turkey Apricot Tea
34. Milk Caramel Tea
35. Navel Orange Tea
36. French Pear & Apple Tea
37. Creamy Milk Tea
38. American Tea Lemonade
39. Hojicha Latte
40. Gold Kiwi Tea
41. Bitter Caramel Tea Latte
42. Green Tea & Muscat
43. Green Tea & Peach
44. Extra Black Tea Latte 
45. Green Tea & Citrus:
46. Caramel Tea Latte
47. Peach & Mango
48. Mixed Berries Milk Tea 
49. Lychee Tea
50. Winter Tea Punch
51. Winter Tea Latte
52. Earl Grey Orange Tea

The Top Five:

1. OG Milk Tea
2. Green Tea & Peach
3. 50/50 Tea Lemonade
4. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
5. Peach & Mango

One sided love...

I have to remind myself I love Japan.  "Remember you love Japan."  Because if I don't the overwhelming fact that Japan doesn't love me will start to weigh heavily on me.  And I don't mean me in particular as a person.  I mean what I am, and what that is in Japan can be summed up in one word: foreigner.  Or in other words: outsider, you don't belong here.

Japan has a long history of being a closed country.  You can read more about that here.  Shockingly that mentality has stuck with them through in to 2015.  I shouldn't be surprised I guess.  I mean if people are still persecuting gay people and frowning on interracial relationships in 2015 then I guess Japan can still be unwelcoming to foreigners.  There's only one problem with this, Japan, and it's much much bigger than me.  In 2020 Japan is going to have more foreigners in the country than they have had since probably the last time they hosted the Olympics which was in 1964.  These people will be here stimulating Japan's declining economy which will no doubt help the country, so common sense would state you can't just treat a massive influx of people like crap. 

This all stemmed from yet another bad experience I've had as a foreigner in Japan.  A company (which I won't malign here) boasts English speaking representatives as part of their customer service and should therefore have said English speakers ready to serve right?  First, I was lied to about the number of English speakers available that day.  How will I know right?  I'm just a dumb foreigner who can't speak Japanese (their assumption not mine).  I was told there was only one English speaker on staff that day, so I would have to wait at least an hour.  Fine, I said.  During the hour and a half that I waited, I counted three English speaking customer service representatives (helping other foreigners there before me). Three!  Two of whom it apparently took to help an overly chatty foreigner.  I can be patient to a point.  That point begins to blur when one of their English speaking representatives helped a long line of Japanese speakers all with numbers AFTER mine.  Bad bad customer service. Now if your company can't help people using English fine.  I understand.  I don't expect people to kowtow to me and my first language.  However, don't boast about having English speakers on your website if you aren't going to treat them with the same level of respect as native Japanese.  That's what I have a problem with, being made to feel like second class or lower class.  I work in Japan.  I do my small part to stimulate the Japanese economy.  I pay taxes.  I am in this country legally.  Yet, because I was not born here I am continually made to feel inferior.

I recently got married to a wonderful Japanese man.  I love him with all my heart and soul.  I am saddened to think that someday our future children will not be accepted in Japanese society.

Perhaps some of this stems from minor homesickness as I recently returned from a trip to my hometown.  I am always stunned by the vast cultural diversity in America.  Part of reverse culture shock.  I was also amazed by my husband's view of my home.  I got to see things from his perspective, and it was like looking at things through new eyes.  I think he really fell in love with the place.


Japan, I love you.  I really do.  It's really hard to love something that doesn't love you back.  It's 2015.  Japan, you need to start changing.

Lipton Tea...

HAPPY 50 TEAS!  I've hit another milestone.  I've managed to sample 50 teas.  That's pretty awesome if I do say so myself.  Also, it's a good thing I love tea.

First is Lychee Tea:

Now I'm not so sure what the difference is between this and Thailand Lychee Tea.  Again, I'm not the world's biggest lychee fan so this was not my cup of tea (literally).

Next is Winter Tea Punch:

I really enjoy this tea/punch concoctions.  This is no different.  Boasting made with "blood oranges" on the label, this is just delightful!  (In fact, I saw this on Lipton Japan's Facebook page and I've been searching for it since.  I just found it at my コンビニ this morning.  Incidentally I knew it would appear soon because a blank shelf space appeared last night.)

The list:

1. Milk Tea
2. Maple Milk Tea
3. Lemon Tea
4. Peach Tea
5. Earl Grey Milk Tea
6. Green Apple Tea
7. 50/50 Tea & Lemonade
8. Tropical Fruit Tea
9. Chamomile Citrus Tea
10. Roast Milk Tea
11. Jasmine Lemon Peel
12. Grape Tea
13. Straight Tea
14. Apple Tea
15. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
16. Matcha Milk
17. Tea Cappuccino
18. Mikan Tea
19. 50/50 Tea & Nectar
20. Luxurious Milk Tea
21. Muscat Tea
22. Plum Honey
23. Cream Milk Tea 
24. Grapefruit Tea
25. Orange Marmalade Tea 
26. Royal Milk Tea
27. Golden Pineapple Tea
28. Italian Fruit Punch Tea
29. Honey Milk Tea
30. Green Apple with Honey
31. Thailand Lychee Tea
32. Sweetened Condensed Milk Tea 
33. Turkey Apricot Tea
34. Milk Caramel Tea
35. Navel Orange Tea
36. French Pear & Apple Tea
37. Creamy Milk Tea
38. American Tea Lemonade
39. Hojicha Latte
40. Gold Kiwi Tea
41. Bitter Caramel Tea Latte
42. Green Tea & Muscat
43. Green Tea & Peach
44. Extra Black Tea Latte 
45. Green Tea & Citrus:
46. Caramel Tea Latte
47. Peach & Mango
48. Mixed Berries Milk Tea 
49. Lychee Tea
50. Winter Tea Punch

The Top Five:

1. OG Milk Tea
2. Green Tea & Peach
3. 50/50 Tea Lemonade
4. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
5. Peach & Mango

Happy 50 teas!

Kit Kat Time!

Hello everyone!  It's that time again.  It's Kit Kat Time!

So throughout Japan there are regional flavors of Kit Kats which you can only buy if you visit that region (or Narita for certain flavors).  See here.  Fortunately, my fiancé's hometown is Kobe so he picked up some Kobe Pudding Kit Kats for me.

Unfortunately, I didn't like them very much.  They are SUPER sweet which if I say that it says a lot because I love sweet things.  I'm going to try them toasted and hopefully, they will taste better.

Finally, Kit Kat Dark came out in 2011 but I have avoided it because I generally don't like dark chocolate. 

Kit Kat Dark are actually really nice.  They are slightly sweet and the dark chocolate isn't too bitter.  (In actuality they call these "adult" Kit Kats.  Seriously, that's what the package says, but I can't bring myself to call them that, so I'll just call them Dark.)

Here's the list:

1. Cheese
2. Bitter Almond
3. Ramune 
4. Berry Pomegranate
5. Apple Vinegar
6. Peach
7. Green Tea
8. Tiramisu
9. Wasabi
10. Vanilla
11. Sakura Matcha
12. Strawberry
13. Raspberry
14. Vanilla Ice 
15. Caramel
16. Pumpkin Pudding
17. Cookies and Cream
18. Cinnamon
19. Citrus
20. Japanese Chili
21. Blueberry Cheesecake
22. Purple Sweet Potato
23. Rum Raisin
24. Brown Sugar Syrup
25. Orange
26. Hazelnut
27. Condensed Milk Strawberry
28. Passion Fruit 
29. Strawberry Cheesecake
30. Baked Kit Kats 
31. Hokkaido Red Bean
32. Orange Peel
33. Kobe Pudding
34. Dark

On planning an American wedding whilst in Japan...

Well if you've just joined us, you should know that I'm engaged and I'm planning my wedding.  Now first of all, we decided not to get married in Japan.  We are getting married in America, so that means I get to plan everything while in Japan (Yay!).  I did a search for this and came back pretty much empty handed, so I hit the internet hardcore.  Here are some sites that may help you no matter where you are planning to get married.

Sites I recommend:

For ideas & planning:

Pinterest

For just about everything:

Wedding Wire

Note: I found my florist through here, but you can also search for venues, caterers and anything else really.

For the dress and bridesmaid dresses (any dress really):

Light in the Box

They also ship internationally.

Invitations:

Wedding Paper Divas

My favorite thing about Wedding Paper Divas is that they will send you 8 sample invitations you can look at before you decide which ones to buy.  They ship internationally.

Odds and Ends

Amazon

Ebay

For gifts for your bridal party:

Etsy

My advice to you is book your venue first because you can't do anything else without a place to get married.  After that things mainly tend to fall into place easily.  Of course, I wouldn't try to delude you and say that this is an easy experience.  It comes with its stresses but hopefully, I've managed to help a little bit.

Spend a comfortable life..

This is a phrase I hear a lot in Japan.  If we overlook the awkward sentence construction, what does this mean exactly?  Easy?  Convenient?  Relaxing?  All of the above?

(Side note: I had orginally intended to write about how safe Japan is.  After all, is that tantamount to comfort?  But as I thought more about it, I decided to veer a different direction.)

Here's another question set for you: Does where you live affect you as a person or does the person you are just transport to a new place with you?  Would all my gaijin friends at the table pounding beers be doing that in their home countries?  Or has the atmosphere of Japan radically changed them into beer pounding machines?

It took me a while to feel comfortable here.  Of course, I've always felt safe but comfortable is different in this case.

Back in America I was a bit of a homebody.  I didn't party and hardly ever drank, and because I was older when I moved to Japan, I felt those days were behind me.  When I moved to Japan, my only friends were my coworkers.  Don't get me wrong I like these guys (almost all guys) but they went out every Friday night.  At first this was fun for me but I realized that I didn't have any other friends.  I would occasionally hang out with the other female who I worked with, but she was my only female friend.  For a little while it seemed that Japan had changed me, and I wasn't happy.

I hit the internet.  I searched on language exchange sites, I joined Meetup, and I looked for ways to widen my social circle.  Soon I had girl friends!  We went shopping.  We ate lunches.  We did プリクラ。

Then just last year, I became very close with one of my new co-workers.  I didn't know it the first time we hung out because we mainly bitched about work, but I soon found out we had the world in common.  We both loved to sew and make costumes.  We loved" Glee".  We found joy in being lazy homebodies.  I was happy and comfortable in her presence.

Japan is such a transient place.  I had known that but it never affected me like it had when she decided to take a job in another country.  I've been tremendously busy since she left but I remain a bit withdrawn.  It may sound cheesy but it's difficult to form durable bonds like that with people these days.  Everyone is so busy here (even me).

Another friend of mine told me she didn't make friends with people much anymore.  She said she had been hurt too many times by people who have left Japan.  I'm starting to understand where she's coming from.

I hope I can continue to form strong friendships like that.  I'm not ready to give up just yet.  Every other aspect of my life remains quite comfortable: job, fiancée, master's classes (well sort of), home, and anything else I'm forgetting.  I love Japan and I'm happy it's my home but I don't think I will ever get used to how much people come and go here. 

This post is part of the J-Bloggers Comfort Carnival.  

Lipton Tea...

Hello!  I have two new teas for you.  These are both part of the Tea Loves Fruits Series.

First is Peach & Mango:

This tea is awesome!  I liked this one so much it made it into the Top 5.

Next is Mixed Berries Milk Tea:

Honestly, I couldn't finish this one.  It was way weird.  Maybe a mixed berries would have been okay but the addition of milk, just no.

The list:

1. Milk Tea
2. Maple Milk Tea
3. Lemon Tea
4. Peach Tea
5. Earl Grey Milk Tea
6. Green Apple Tea
7. 50/50 Tea & Lemonade
8. Tropical Fruit Tea
9. Chamomile Citrus Tea
10. Roast Milk Tea
11. Jasmine Lemon Peel
12. Grape Tea
13. Straight Tea
14. Apple Tea
15. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
16. Matcha Milk
17. Tea Cappuccino
18. Mikan Tea
19. 50/50 Tea & Nectar
20. Luxurious Milk Tea
21. Muscat Tea
22. Plum Honey
23. Cream Milk Tea 
24. Grapefruit Tea
25. Orange Marmalade Tea 
26. Royal Milk Tea
27. Golden Pineapple Tea
28. Italian Fruit Punch Tea
29. Honey Milk Tea
30. Green Apple with Honey
31. Thailand Lychee Tea
32. Sweetened Condensed Milk Tea 
33. Turkey Apricot Tea
34. Milk Caramel Tea
35. Navel Orange Tea
36. French Pear & Apple Tea
37. Creamy Milk Tea
38. American Tea Lemonade
39. Hojicha Latte
40. Gold Kiwi Tea
41. Bitter Caramel Tea Latte
42. Green Tea & Muscat
43. Green Tea & Peach
44. Extra Black Tea Latte 
45. Green Tea & Citrus:
46. Caramel Tea Latte
47. Peach & Mango
48. Mixed Berries Milk Tea

The Top Five:

1. OG Milk Tea
2. Green Tea & Peach
3. 50/50 Tea Lemonade
4. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
5. Peach & Mango

Adopting a dog in Japan...

I've wanted to write about this for a long time, but other things just kept creeping up.

*For the record I do NOT support pet stores and neither should you.  There are many shelter dogs all over the world in need of homes, but because of the 2011 earthquake many dogs in Japan were displaced and lost their former homes, and even today shelters still remain full of them.*

I want to say if you're a foreigner, forget it.  What I mean to say is forget adopting from an entirely Japanese rescue organization.  Even with my Japanese boyfriend speaking to the organizations entirely in Japanese, as soon as they found out a foreigner wanted to adopt the dog, any dog I was interested in was immediately adopted by some kind loving Japanese family.  Shelters in Japan are wary of foreigners because some foreigners have left Japan and left their adopted animal behind.  Thus, Japanese shelters are left with a bad taste in their mouth for foreigners looking to adopt.  It didn't matter to them how many times I swore up and down that I want to stay here.  I had the scarlet "F" on my chest.

Despite all these heartbreaks, there are some organizations that will work with foreigners, and I'd like to recommend them to you.

First, I recommend ARK.  They do not have a shelter in Tokyo but they will transport your new adopted family member to you.

The other organization is Animal Friends Niigata.  Their shelter is in Niigata but they will also transport your new adopted family member to you.

Animal Friends Niigata frequently does adoption events at Aoyama Farmer's Market.  You can volunteer there if you want.

If you're looking to give an animal a forever home, these are my suggestions.  If you aren't long term and can foster an animal, ARK would be happy to help you with that.

Here's my baby and me:

Lipton Tea...

Hello all!

I have a couple new teas for you this month.

First is another from the Green Tea Series, Green Tea & Citrus:

I think it's safe to say that anything from this series is bound to be good (unless the addition is one I don't like, muscat, for example).  This one is another winner.  It's light and refreshing.

Next, Tokyo welcomed me home last night (as I was vacationing in the Philippines) with Caramel Tea Latte:

Lipton has made many caramel efforts but this one I think is the best one so far.  The other caramels were just off.  The caramel in this tea is light and not too overpowering and it meshes nicely with the tea and milk.

Only 4 more to 50 teas!

The list:

1. Milk Tea
2. Maple Milk Tea
3. Lemon Tea
4. Peach Tea
5. Earl Grey Milk Tea
6. Green Apple Tea
7. 50/50 Tea & Lemonade
8. Tropical Fruit Tea
9. Chamomile Citrus Tea
10. Roast Milk Tea
11. Jasmine Lemon Peel
12. Grape Tea
13. Straight Tea
14. Apple Tea
15. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
16. Matcha Milk
17. Tea Cappuccino
18. Mikan Tea
19. 50/50 Tea & Nectar
20. Luxurious Milk Tea
21. Muscat Tea
22. Plum Honey
23. Cream Milk Tea 
24. Grapefruit Tea
25. Orange Marmalade Tea 
26. Royal Milk Tea
27. Golden Pineapple Tea
28. Italian Fruit Punch Tea
29. Honey Milk Tea
30. Green Apple with Honey
31. Thailand Lychee Tea
32. Sweetened Condensed Milk Tea 
33. Turkey Apricot Tea
34. Milk Caramel Tea
35. Navel Orange Tea
36. French Pear & Apple Tea
37. Creamy Milk Tea
38. American Tea Lemonade
39. Hojicha Latte
40. Gold Kiwi Tea
41. Bitter Caramel Tea Latte
42. Green Tea & Muscat
43. Green Tea & Peach
44. Extra Black Tea Latte 
45. Green Tea & Citrus:
46. Caramel Tea Latte

The Top Five:

1. OG Milk Tea
2. Green Tea & Peach
3. 50/50 Tea Lemonade
4. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
5. Jasmine Lemon Peel