Cute cakes for Hinamatsuri

On March 3rd, the doll festival "Hinamatsuri" is celebrated. Hinamatsuri is girl's day in Japan. Platforms covered with a red carpet are used to display a set of ornamental dolls representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period. Here is an example of the dolls.

Of course there are cute sweets to help celebrate!

Amazing onsens!!!

I am not a big fan of Japanese TV because I just don't get many of the programs ("don't get" meaning the humour is strange in my opinion) but one of the exceptions is their travel shows. Japan has one of the highest rates of domestic travel and I totally understand why every time I view one of their travel shows. The show I just finished watching was about onsens (hot springs). I thought I would share some of the pictures. Remember when you go to an onsen you are naked ... so we only go to ones that have private onsens meaning your room has an onsen attached to it....either on a balcony, on a patio, in a private garden etc.

The first one is in Shizuoka ken (same prefecture as Mount Fuji). For one night 2 days the price starts at 20,000 Yen ($224) and this includes the room and dinner and breakfast and the hot spring.

The room.

The hot springs.

The food.

This next onsen is in Chiba (near Tokyo). For 1 night 2 days the price is 22,000 Yen ($247) per person. This price includes the room, hot spring, dinner and breakfast. This place has many private hot springs.

This next one is in Nagano prefecture. The cost starts at 16,000 Yen ($179) for 1 night 2 days. It includes the room, onsen, dinner and breakfast.

This room has a private hot spring on the balcony.

Onsen.

A traditional fire cooked meal. This style is very cool. You put the food on sticks and the sticks are put in the sand around the fire to cook.

Amazingly beautiful!! I LOVE watching these shows. Hopefully we will go to one soon!

Gluten Free? Living in or visiting Tokyo? You are in Luck!!

Thanks to a reader (Annalisa) who posted a comment in one of my blog posts about living gluten free in Japan I now know about this restaurant. It is in Roppongi and is the sister restaurant to the original which is in East Melbourne. It is Japan's first wheat and gluten free restaurant. It is called S. Komatsu.

To ensure that it is completely gluten and wheat free they make all their own sauces and condiments and all are completely free of preservatives, additives, artificial colours and sweeteners.

Here is a map. If you click on it, it will take you to the site with more instructions on how to get there.

It isn't very often that I wished I lived in Tokyo but.....iina!!! (means I'm jealous!).

Hungry? Want a Moffle?

What is a moffle?

Mochi is Japanese rice cakes made from pounded sticky rice. Someone had the great idea to turn them into a mochi waffle! Apparently, they are kind of crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Here is the mochi press.

To make a moffle you add a piece of mochi (there are different kinds-thin sliced and regular rectangle shaped mochi). then close the press and it comes out looking like a waffle. If you want a stuffed moffle (like a sandwich) then you add 1 thinly sliced mochi and then you add some meat or other filling. Then top with another piece of mochi.

Then, close the press and when you open.....

In the picture above you get a kind of sandwich or stuffed waffle/moffle!

Here are some pictures to show you what you can make using the mochi press.

Seriously will have to talk to my honey about getting one of these!!!

Meccha Kawaii Sweets!

Last week I was lucky enough to get some handmade chocolate and other sweets from some students for Valentine's ("tomo choco" I guess you could call it). Some of the cookies had cute faces-they were very sweet. I totally forgot to take pics of those so instead I decided to put up these pics to show just how cute sweets can be! (oh and from the title of today's post "meccha kawaii" means "very cute")