It’s been a year since we travelled to Japan, and while I never got around to sharing the last of our family photos from our wonderful trip, the fact my mom just arrived in Osaka was motivation enough to publish a blog post. Both Bebe and I are definitely pining to be with my mom in Japan. Bebe loved Sanrio Puroland in Tokyo. It’s a teeny tiny Sanrio version of Disneyland but it was Japanese style cuteness overload, and we spent a...

Read More

  Kyoto is one of my favorite sightseeing destinations in Japan. Throughout my life, I’ve had the privilege of visiting this beautiful city a few times, but because I’ve visited at such different stages in my life, it felt familiar, yet also new each time. (Sorry, some of the images are large and may load slowly; I forgot to compress them!) My younger experiences included visits when I was in early elementary school, followed...

Read More

It’s been over a year since I last shared anything on my personal blog, and it’s also been a year since I was last in Japan. I thought I’d kickstart my blog by sharing a few pictures from our travels to Kyoto and Tokyo this spring. I also have several pictures from last year’s trip to Japan in spring 2015 that I’ve wanted to share for more than a year now, but somehow time just kept slipping away. Maybe I’ll...

Read More

  Happy Japanese Girls’ Day! Today, March 3rd, is Hinamatsuri, also known as Girls’ Day or Doll Festival. Since Bebe was born, this Japanese holiday is one that we celebrate annually in my family, and is something my daughter looks forward to each year. Many years in my childhood, my Mom would host Hinamatsuri parties for me and a handful of my friends, and now I in turn have the pleasure of doing the same for my...

Read More

I hope everyone had a beautiful Mother’s Day weekend! We enjoyed a nice weekend spent with family and we also took Bebe to her first Dodgers game. Of course, she had more fun looking through the binoculars at the outfielders and eating frozen yogurt while playing with our family, but she was a good cheerleader and had a blast. Here are some photos of our family at the game. Or skip down to the salad recipe at the bottom of the post. Me...

Read More

Happy Japanese Children’s Day! May 5th is Kodomo No Hi, also known as Boys’ Day. It’s a day for celebrating the well-being, happiness and health of all children in our family. To celebrate Children’s Day, Bebe and I kept things simple. Since our favorite Japanese restaurant is closed on Mondays, instead we went to our local Japanese supermarket to grab a bite to eat in their amazing food court. Bebe feasted on her...

Read More

I waited one year to participate in what could possible be the best 5K in Southern California: The 2014 Coaster Run. In case you’re wondering, it’s the best, because Snoopy is the best. Yes, Snoopy graces the finisher’s medal, as well as the Coaster Run t-shirt. It makes it all worthwhile. About a year ago, I was looking forward to participating in the 5K Coaster Run at Knott’s Berry Farm, as well as the 1K Kid’s...

Read More

  Each year, during Hinamatsuri, or Girls’ Day, the Japanese markets near our home sell sweets specifically for celebrating this holiday. The most popular is “Hina Arare” or sweet puffed rice. The kids really seem to like this one. This year, we had a nice variety of treats thanks to my brother and my sister-in-law so I thought I’d share a photo of all the sweets we’ve been enjoying since yesterday. My...

Read More