It sparked my interest to know about this ancient Japanese tradition using bird feces! The guano is sterilized with a UV Ray. The natural enzymes powder of the Nightingale feces helps remove dirt, shed dead skin cells and also leaving skin softer and brighter,  it contains an amino acid guanine with anmonic whitening qualities. This Japanese beauty secret has been used for Geisha make up as well as a make-up cleanser, it has been utilized for generations in Japan since the 18th century. Sounds very intriguing! yet malodorous. However, something I’ll definitely try for its known results.

         Look how yummy these pastries and cookies look! They only make them in Spring in restaurants; Kobeya Kitchen and Tsudayen in Japan.

     Sakura Mont blanc- a cake with cherry blossom cream topping. And Sakura Pastry- shape of a cherry blossom petal and has cherry blossom flavored jam in each of its five petals.

    Sakura no Happa cookies- cookies with salt preserved cherry blossom petals.

     Pink wrapper: Sakuramochi flavored white beans jelly with sprinkles of cherry blossom leaf.
Brown wrapper: Sweetened chesnut wrapped in red bean jelly. These are sold in Mitsuwa Market here in several locations in the U.S.

Source: TimeoutTokyo

     We recently attended an Asian Cultural Festival at Fruit & Spice park in Homestead, Fl. The Festival had a variety of foods, performers and vendors. Although the day was cloudy, it did not stop anyone from enjoying the festival. Of the many shows they had the one we enjoyed the most was the Japanese Taiko Drumming, even though some of the drummers weren’t Japanese themselves they seemed to have skill and passion.

     The Merchandise vendors had nice things, and we did not have a chance to try the food but we did try a Taiwanese drink called Bubble tea that had soft and chewy like pearls called Tapioca at the bottom of the tea. 

    Our favorite flavor was the Mango Bubble tea. We found a website that shows the recipe: Ellen’s Kitchen

Videos of the Taiko Drumming:

     Has anyone read J-List’s posts? or are you on their mailing list?  If not, I recommend that you do read their posts for it gives you a little insight on Japan from Peter Payne’s, owner of J-List, point of view. He often writes about his experiences as a resident in Japan and the on- going things there. It’s interesting to hear of someone living in Japan regardless of where you are from since the culture itself can be difficult to get accustom to.

     J-List Sells a lot of cute and interesting things from over there, even snacks! We have purchased from them the Japan i-Tunes card. We have yet to purchase other things they offer, as for snacks we already buy from a store nearby, Tate’s Comics, of course J-List has a vast selection but its good to know we have something nearby to satisfy our cravings at anytime! 

        Among the interesting posts, there are a few that has cool information that foreigners  normally wouldn’t know about. For example, Vending machines accepts large bills ( 8,937 JPY/ $100 USD), Construction signs saying they are sorry for the inconvenience of the work being done, Different flavored snacks and drinks like aloe yogurt or milk-bread, and so on.

      One of the reasons why I enjoy reading his posts is because his insights on Japan makes you feel a bit closer to the culture knowing that the experiences and info. you are reading comes from someone who lives there versus looking to read the news or wiki information on-line. So give it a read or two if your curious!

Have you been thinking about going to Japan and are wondering how you’re going to meet someone there? Well, if you’re interested in picking up a Japanese girl, this site says that Japanese girls love “high-tech gadgets” so its best to approach a girl that is carrying a cell phone, and then say: “Excuse me, could you tell me what kind of phone you have? I need to buy a birthday gift for a friend of mine, and I know she’d love a new cell phone. Yours looks really cool." Japanese girls love to take pictures, so with that you can start a conversation and eventually ask her out on a date!

If you want to know how to pick up a Japanese guy go here. I was surprised to find out that Japanese guys are really shy. So, if you think you’re going to go there and the guys will swarm you just because you’re a “foreigner” your in for a huge disappointment. The article even says; “In fact foreign women are among the loneliest of people in Japan.” Looks like its the girls job to go after that cute guy you see while walking around Japan.  Such a hard job! If you want more tips visit the two links for the entire article, and good luck!

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