made in nihon

wow haven't been on here for quite some time. as i've been doin my ritual am fashion blog checks, ive been itching to start up again. especially since i'd love to start putting up my art, photography, and designs. on another note, my brother is jetting off to tokyo tomorrow for culinary school, so this post is a dedication to his hard work to get to where he is now, and will be heading, and to the tokyo-lovers. good luck kento, and i wish you nothing but the best of luck and love.

so first off, here are some photos i took when i went to Kyoto 2 summers ago:
this was a small boutique that sold intricate designed trinkets and traditional clothing. form far away i thought it was just a lit box, but it was a gorgeous shop! the colours you see are rice papers that have been dyed, with small lanterns inside, and top to bottom glass windows surrounding the shop. such a work of art!

It was my 20th birthday when I visited Japan that year, so I had to go take the traditional Seijinshiki photos in Yokohama where it was close to my mom's family. I'm wearing the kimono that my mom wore at her Seijinshiki. It has 14k gold threads weaved into everywhere I am wearing. I absolutely adored the kimono, although it was suffocatingly snug (they put layers of rolled towels underneath the kimono and the obi (the thick belt/bow) because I couldn't fill into it. The hair stayed put for the entire day, and thank goodness since they spent 3 hours on the prep!

Above: Photo taken out of the bullet train from Sapporo to Otaru (one of the infamous hot springs heaven)
Above: Shot taken walking through the back streets of Kyoto. It was my first time there, and I was breathless when I arrived. It was photography heaven. Thankfully we are in a digital world.

Above: We went to a remote town in Hokkaido called Jyozankei where there are numerous hot spring baths called onsen, parks, and ryokans (hot spring accomodations). We stayed overnight at an even more remote (way deep into the forest and over an old, unsturdy bridge) ryokan where there were maiko dancing while we had our meal. They were very graceful while dancing but when they came around to our table and spoke to them for about 20 minutes, they were all very shy. Turned out they were 14 and in training to become geishas.
Above: When we visited Kyoto, we explored on foot and I found a beautiful shop where they handmade kimonos and custom orders. The one I'm wearing is created by the master of the shop. It is estimated at roughly $1 million as it has gold and silver threads all throughout the kimono. The cherry blossoms, and details are all hand painted. The kimono itself has been hand-dyed. It is an extremely intricate process that takes from 4-10 years to complete depending on how elaborate the design is. It was an absolutely honour to actually wear the gorgeous kimono.

Below: It was one of the last days in Kyoto, and since it was summertime, its the peak season for festivals all over Japan, especially Kyoto. We were on our way to one of the Buddhist temples so we adventured through the streets and came across an event where geishas danced traditional routines from the Edo-period (most likely a little modernised). It was stunning and very entertaining!
And finally, I'd like to end the blast from the past photo rampage from my Japan Tour with my parents with my favourite Japanese-style parfait:
Below: We had to have a taste of the very famous but sacred dessert shop called "Kinana". I LOVE LOVE LOVE kinako (soybean flour), shiratama dango (Shiratama flour or sweet rice flour), and real green tea ice cream, so the fact that it was all-in-one was a party in my mouth (in the best way, of course).

Kento, I wish you all the best. I know you'll be a successful chef!! I've believed in you to become a chef since you made me "dogfood" and I'll never forget those awesome dishes you made since we were kids. Can't wait till you're home with more receipes and lessons to teach me. Love you!!

xoxo M.