Hello everybody, it's Aya here and I am officially back from holidays in Japan! Actually, it's been a few days since I've been back and all I've been doing is eating cake and playing this Tsum Tsum game on my tablet that I downloaded off of the Play Store in Japan. I think I'm officially in denial that I turned one year older while I was away.

To make the transition even harder, I'm importing all of my photos and videos onto my computer and I realized that it would just be an awful shame not to bombard you all with post photos of my beautiful vacation in Japan. Sorry that it won't be a recipe post this time around but I hope that some of the food shots here will be enticing enough!

I went to Japan with Oli and we terrorized 3 cities together: Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. I'm going in no specific order here with my photos so let's just jump over to Kyoto and see what we did there.

We stayed in a residential part of Kyoto and the area was very quiet.

On our first day, we decided to rent bikes into the city. What was supposed to be a ride to this vegan restaurant I found on happycow.net ended up being a crazy adventure into unfamiliar territory. That is, until we found out the restaurant was closed that day but nearby there was something familiar after all.




I normally like to stay away from food I already know when in a foreign country but I basically couldn't resist the coincidence of finding a German bakery in a random part of Kyoto. Also because we walked inside and realized none of the goodies were German.




But who says no to a Japanese pastry? I'll tell you: nobody.



I thought I was tired of Japanese bread but looking at this makes me want some again.

After a short trip into an area that we thought looked cool (which ended up being an incredibly popular area near the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine), we found one of the purposes of our trip: a cat cafe.


Many Japanese residences don't allow pets so the cat cafe is the perfect place to come, drink a coffee, and enjoy being in the presence of adorable furriness.


She was my favorite: a calico by the name of Ringo (it means apple in Japanese). Unfortunately, she was also the shyest and didn't really want to play, but she watched us all through a little house she went into later.

Cat cafes require you to pay a certain amount for your time there. From there, you can choose to order drinks or pay for snacks for cats. It can get a bit pricey but if you love cats or are missing your cat back home (as we were), it's worth a visit. The ones here were very friendly and even finished my tea as we were leaving.

Neko Café TiME
Fukakusa Ichinotsubocho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto
Kyoto Prefecture 612-0012, Japan

German (?) Bakery and Cat Cafe in Kyoto

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Okonomiyaki is a popular Japanese street food and it literally means "grill as you like it". Very suitable because depending on the region you're in, the fillings can vary immensely. The base of it though is a cabbage-filled savory pancake made on a hot pan.


This is my first attempt and I suppose it doesn't look much like the ones you would actually get in Japan. But hey, I had to improvise with what they had at the Asian store (and the amount of cash in my wallet).


It is fairly straightforward. In fact, it's pretty hard to mess up. Just cut the greens, mix in the wet, put it on a pan, and you're good to go.


If you're like me and flipping okonomiyaki is not in your genes, don't worry, you can just push in the broken edges and try again.


Shredded cheese is a totally acceptable topping!


Katsuobushi and Aonori is found on many Okonomiyakis but since neither were available, I cut up Nori and just left the Katsuobushi out!



If anyone is curious, the recipe I used can be found HERE. Give it a go if you're ever in the mood for an unconventional savory pancake that is different from the Western traditions!

My Attempt at Okonomiyaki

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It was after the food poisoning that I was battling my desire for trying new things with my actual need for comfort. My friend and host Sophie told me that I should go to Rue Saint Anne near the Pyramides Metro stop because there I can find many Japanese restaurants and shops. I did just that and found Aki, a restaurant which also has a Boulangerie (bakery)!

The chalkboard menu outside is super cute!

Alas I only got a Onigiri (riceball) with sour plum. It felt good to eat rice . . . 

The place was very popular and there was a good mix of French and Japanese people. They also had lovely looking bentos but they all had meat and it made my stomach do back flips. If you are ever in Paris and looking for some Japanese food, go down this street! And look for Aki!

Paris in Snaps IV

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Hello lovely people and welcome to December! It's been quite a busy week for me the past week. Mainly looking around for gifts but also applying for health insurance here in Berlin. I swear the receptionist knows me by face now because I'm constantly there and this ridiculousness that every time I go, the person I spoke to the last time is not there because they are on holiday. Well, it's all settled now and now it's time to focus on other more fun things.

First things first, Nikolaustag. What is Nikolaustag? Well in Europe on the 5th of December, there is Nikolausabend (Nicholas Evening), where children put out their boots (Oli told me after they've been cleaned) so St. Nicholas will drop by and fill it with treats and gifts. Then on December 6th, the official day, the children wake up to the goodies in their shoes. St. Nicholas is also accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, who is said to be a sort of demon that plays tricks on the children if they are not good. I just wanted to mention all of this because it is tonight and even if you're not in Germany or Europe, if someone you know has been a sweetheart, maybe you can surprise them with a bag of sweeties in their shoes.

Now on to my review of Cha no Ka! Cha no Ka is a green tea sandwich cookie made in Kyoto, Japan. Here is an official photo:


My mother just recently got a hold of some of these cookies through work and she sent me a box along with a few other things in a recent package. So here is my first impression and review!



First off, adore the box. The Japanese really put a lot of effort into presentation. It would also be nice to re-use the box maybe for small things or cover it in wrapping paper for gifting.


It's recommended to eat them as soon as possible and be kept under 28 degrees C. The cookie itself is a crispy butter cookie with white chocolate in between. If you love the taste of green tea, this is a definite winner! It's just the right amount of sweet from the white chocolate to balance out the bitterness of the matcha flavor. Having just one is really hard so I suggest if you ever get some of these to put the lid back on as soon as possible so you don't eat them all.   It's a short review but I thought it would be nice to share my experience with something a bit more exotic than Teddy Grahams or Pepperidge Farm. Happy Thursday everyone!

Leading up to Nikolaustag and Cha no Ka Review

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Hey guys, what's shakin'?

A few days ago, a question popped into my head: Are there Purikura machines in Berlin? For those of you who don't know, Purikura are sticker pictures that you can take, decorate, print, and swap with friends. I did a bit of research (this means I googled "Purikura in Berlin") and found out that J-Store in Charlottenburg had one!

Before heading down there, we sat down for a lovely meal.


I think due to the weather change, I've been making a lot more soup than normal. Also, an easy Caprese Sandwich! Remember to rub the insides with Olive Oil, Salt, and Pepper. Makes it super tasty and Olive Oil is most beneficial when cold as opposed to heated.
I wanted to look cute for the photos so here is my outfit.


I got the hat at a fashion show I assisted (You can read up on that on my old fashion blog here)

Purikura in Berlin and Meal Snaps!

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