Last week was the Obon holiday (the period when the spirits of ancestors come back), we had a chance to hang out together. Obon is the most important Buddhist festival in Japan. It takes place in

While chatting with my friend from Texas this morning, he shared a very inspiring story with me. It was about a 103-year-old Japanese person who climbed Mt. Fuji. He was recognized by the Guinness

My mom was born and raised in Kyoto, so she often cooks Kyoto-style dishes called obanzai in Japanese. Since summers in Japan are very harsh, she uses seasonal vegetables such as eggplants, winter

Today, I'd like to share my newest piece with you. As usual, I've posted step-by-step photos, so you can see exactly how I painted this plate. When I started this work, it was spring. Since I wanted

Have you ever heard Japanese interval walking? If you're someone who care about health , you may already be familiar with it. Today, I'd like to introduce this exercise to you. It was invented by a

Yesterday, I attended my regular porcelain painting lesson in Kyoto. Currently, I've been working on 呉州赤絵 (gosuakae, Swatow ware) and I enjoyed painting a mug and a plate. I still need to add more

August 15th was the war-end anniversary in Japan. On this day, the Empire of Japan surrendered in World War II. Eighty years has passed since then. Both of my parents lived through the war, but

Today, I'd love to introduce umeboshi, which are pickled Japanese apricots with you. Since ume contain citric acid, they are considered a healthy food. The citric acid relieves fatigue, restores

Last month, I visited a pottery exhibition in Miyama, Kyoto with two of my friends and bought a lovely handmade vase. I wrote about that trip here. Since then, I'd decorated the vase in the tokonoma

Last month, I went to an English garden in Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, with my daughter and her family. Although I'd heard the rose garden was beautiful, I couldn't make any time to visit, so it was

Have you ever made coffee-flavored jelly before? If not, I highly recommend it, especially if you are a fan of coffee. When you eat it with vanilla ice cream, it's absolutely delicious! It's very

There is an Indian curry restaurant about ten minutes away by car that my husband and I sometimes visit. Since the restaurant has run by Indians, once you step in, it feels like you are in a

Even thought this summer has been hotter than last year, fortunately, some of my roses has been producing rose hips. I've spotted them on five different varieties. I'm excited because it seems like

I'd love to share my very new art piece with you here. When you look at this work, you might think it looks familiar. Yes, you'd be right! I've been practicing the exact same designs, such as

Since we figured out farmer's market are great, we've been going to them regularly, which has become our new habit. Even so, we still don't know which market is the closest or best, so we've been

Ume (Plum or Japanese apricot) are perfect plants to me because in the winter, we can enjoy viewing their blooming. Then, we also can enjoy their fruit as well. Since I've written about the flowers,

Yesterday, the weather finally reached 39 ℃ (102.2°F) in my area where I live. We are living in a higher temperature than our body temperature. According to the weather forecast, it'll be 38 ℃

I have three blueberry bushes and I bought them from my neighbor who has been running a blueberry farm. He advised me that it's better to grow them in pots, so I've been following his advice. This

Last week, after visiting my parents' house, I stopped by an art museum in Kyoto on the way home to see an exhibition which featured the Japanese illustrator, Takashi Yanase. He is best known as a

Last April, I decided to knit a teddy bear for my grandson, but I wasn't interested in knitting a pattern in Japanese. I wanted to challenge myself. So, I chose to knit it in English. It was my first