Kitchen gadgets found only in Japan

I'm guessing that these are only found in Japan of course I could be wrong but I never saw them in Canada!

First we have the "takoyaki" maker. "Takoyaki" are octopus dumplings and are very very yummy!!! I know some people have takoyaki parties so of course this would be very "bendy" (means handy or convenient)to have at home.

Then we have the very important hot hand towel warmer. In the winter in Japan, whenever you go to a restaurant, or even sometimes to a friend's house, you will be handed a hot hand towel. In a good restaurant they will be real cloth. In a cheaper restaurant they will be made from a soft paper. In either case, they will be heated so of course, you need one of these warmers! Here is a tip if you travel to Japan, don't do the "ojisan" (old man) thing and wipe your entire face with the hot towel while sitting at the table....it isn't cool!

The last gadget for today is the canned drink warmer. I have to admit, it is very cool to be able to get a hot drink where ever you are. This is obviously for a house or a small store but the whole hot canned drink thing is pretty amazing in Japan. I mean, you can be in the middle of nowhere yet there will a vending machine filled with hot drinks, hot corn soup (think creamed corn), pudding in a can etc. Well, if that appeals to you, you can buy this and always have a hot drink (or corn soup) ready to drink!

Due to Etsy's policy changes for commercial supplies...

Due to Etsy's policy changes for commercial supplies we are listing all new memo pads and letter sets on our yahoo store. The reason is this:

" A commercial crafting supply is not a commercial item that, although it may be used in crafting, is ready to use as is (for example: mass-produced clothing, dollhouse furniture and clothing). "

These new rules came into effect in the last couple of days but only affect new listings. Stores with listings that include these newly prohibited items are given a grace period, till the end of the year, to remove the items. So, all of our older items will be removed by us on our etsy shop at the end of the year and all new items will be added to our yahoo store.

To read more of the new changes please click on the link :

http://www.etsy.com/dosdonts.php#selling

This is going to sound pathetic...

Seriously, this is going to sound pathetic but my calculator died and I'm a bit sad. I can imagine that you might be saying something to the effect of "it is just a calculator...get over it" or even "wtf?" but I have had this calculator since I was 10...making it 29years old! And it was a metric converter. I used this all the time (it has been from my family's house to university to Vancouver to Japan) but since opening my businesses and having to deal with both cm and inches etc, I have used it every day. Recently it started over heating...when it was turned off! And then last night I could hear some ticking noise that I traced back to it and when I removed the battery cover, there was some kind of liquid...it was at this point that I realized it was dead and if I put more batteries in it ....it might cause melting plastic or worse....a fire. So, I have accepted its death but immediately started looking for another metric converter calculator since I hate using the web site converters. I have found one and while it won't be quite the same, it will do the job! .......ok....the pathetic part is over!

Speaking of electronic gadgets, has any one used the newest Kindle (amazon's "wireless reading device")? I have been dying for one but they were only available for the U.S but the newest version can be used in 100 countries and Japan is one of them...woohoo! I have read a ton of testimonials and stuff but would love to hear from anyone if they have one and how they like it or what they don't like etc. I seriously can't wait to get one!!

The cutest point card ever!!

Point cards are everywhere here as I'm sure they are in North America. Most are just functional and not much to look at but I went to a nearby "kaiten" (conveyor belt) sushi place the other day and as I was paying I saw these point cards.

They are for kids only and they get a stamp for each time they come in and after 10 times they get a gift. Not sure what the gift is but I'm sure the kids would be happy! I asked the lady at the at the register if I could take one and she looked at me like I was crazy so my hubby said that it is so cute that I would like to keep one. I'm sure that gave her something to talk about!

It's been crazy around here!

I can't believe it has been about a month since I last blogged! Many times I went to blog but then checked the time and it was 3 am...not the best time to start.

Things are good but have been busy! I am back to working 5 days a week for now so I have less time to myself. But hubby and I have a deal- Monday nights are mine. When I come home from work (at 9:30 pm), I come home to an empty apartment...no TV....no hubby...just silence! I LOVE this! Our agreement is that he doesn't come upstairs (he is down in our office which is the apartment below us) for at least 3 hours. I come home, watch one TV show (criminal minds), drink some wine while reading a book and take a nice hot relaxing bath....pure heaven. I don't turn on the computer. I don't have anything to do with the business and I feel soooo refreshed. I look forward to my Monday nights a lot now!

This coming week is another week of holidays for me so I definitely will relax and do lots of things I just haven't had time to do.... lots of puttering around the house, organizing things, making things and going out.

We have also been working on our business plan. When we first started we had no idea what we were doing or what to focus on etc. Now, in our 3rd year of business we are rethinking some things and making plans for other things. It is quite interesting the way life/business happens. It amazes me ...we have had the good fortune to be featured in a few (we will be featured in a magazine in the UK in November and December) big magazines/newspapers and it has really excited us and made us think/dream bigger. We have also done some work on our yahoo site-added a few features and will continue to do so to make it more customer friendly. So...we have been busy!

Another thing on my mind...I turned 39 on October 8th....40 is next year. It really has me thinking. I live in the land of "obasan". "Obasan" basically means "old woman". And anyone over 30 is considered that here. The thing is ...it has a total image with it....forget sexy or attractive or daring to do things. Think dark colors, clothed from the neck to the ankles and no makeup. I must add that this is my opinion/experience on this ...it might not be true for everyone or for people living in Tokyo or big cities but I live in the countryside. I was even told by one of my "obasan" students (she called herself that) that she doesn't wear makeup because she has a husband...she isn't looking for one! Anyway, I have always felt that we get better with age...like a fine wine! I feel great and look great and as a foreigner I'm not expected to be the same as Japanese women but it shocks me every time a Japanese woman tells me she couldn't do what I do or wear what I wear or .....(the list goes on). I have a feeling that the longer I stay here and the older I get, the more I will surprise people. I always like to repeat that quote that goes something like "most men die at 25 but are buried at 75"...life is to short not to live a juicy life!!

UGH!!! It is so humid!

Ok....seriously....October is around the corner and I wouldn't know it by going outside. It is soooo humid here! That whole refreshing fall weather is just a dream. The other day the taxi driver proudly said that the weather lately must be similar to Canada. I laughed a little and said....ummm....I don't remember sweating this time of year in Canada!

I have to say that I often feel like it is only me that really feels this weather. Japanese are already dressing as if it were in fact fall....ok....maybe it is on a calender but not in terms of temperature. It was about 27 Celsius plus 80% humidity...how could wearing a turtleneck sweater be comfortable?!

Ok...I will stop complaining about the weather.

The other week I was talking to my student about how much I missed spaghetti squash. My hubby and I had eaten it in Canada and we both missed it a lot. At first she didn't know what I was talking about and then she figured out that I meant "somen uri". "Somen" are thin white noodles eaten mostly in summer so we call it "spaghetti" and they call it "Somen". Anyway, she said she had only eaten it once in her life and it was a long time ago and she didn't really like it. She had eaten it boiled with "ponzu" which is a tart citrus sauce (I am pretty sure I wouldn't have liked it that way either). So I told her how I cooked it....roasted in the oven with butter and salt and pepper. She said it sounded interesting. Well, last Wednesday she came bearing gifts! She found 2 small spaghetti squash for only 100yen (about $1) each at a vegetable stand. Apparently, they aren't very popular so not many farmers grow them. She bought 2 for me and 1 for her. She cooked it the way I had told her and she loved it! Tonight I cooked mine and was in heaven!

Yesterday I worked my butt off doing some work on our http://www.from-japan-with-love.com/ store. We now offer gift certificates! I have had many customers ask for them but we weren't able to do it until I did some things to the site. Anyway, we now offer them in $25, $35, $50, $75 and $100. Here is what I made for our site yesterday. They are emailed out but I wanted a pretty graphic for the site.

I state that I email it out within 3 business days. But I was thinking about stating that I could send the email with the gift certificate code in it to the buyer if they wanted to print it out and send it in a card. It won't be pretty like this but rather it will have all the info on where (my store), how to use it, the code etc. Hmmm...maybe I could work on making a pretty one for people to print off themselves. Any thoughts?

I LOVE this commercial!

I love this commercial. The music is such a perfect match for the car! I have no idea what language this song is in but it makes me smile every time I hear it. Sadly, the car is WAY too small for us. I watched another video that said that a 190 cm person can sit in the back behind a 190 cm person in the front. I guess, since Futoshi is 197cm we would have to cut a hole in the roof!