Wine Yukata

Adding to the rainbow collection of yukata that I have is always a joyful time. 

This latest one was the second bolt I bought from the shopping trip to Nippori with my friend David last year. I've already made the Red Yukata (in Japan), but this one came home with me unmade. Not sure what inspired me to dig it out and make it at last, but here it is. 

Another 100% hand sewn, zero waste kimono for my collection. Could be my favourite yet. 

Missed Opportunity

One year ago today, we were getting on a plane to Japan. Not for a short trip, but to live there for a six month stint. What a time. We were a huge bundle of emotions all rolled into one. You could not have prepared me for the hard parts, how much we would love it, or just how much we would miss it when we got home again. 

I'm thinking on it now and a few things come up, not as regrets, but just reflections. I know it's unlikely we will ever have the chance to do this again, but these are certainly things we might have done differently. 

My first one would have been to enrol into a kimono classes. I am fairly good at wearing kimono, but it would be nice to have a bit more in the way of "official training" to give me a bit more confidence. I did think about it before we left, but we were so busy organising everything else that it really got put on the back burner. By the time I thought about it in Japan, we only had two and a half months left in Tokyo, and seven weeks of that I was doing the teacher language course in Saitama. The shortest class was three months and would have been a stretch. Alas, missed opportunity. I'll have to look for some online classes I can do instead. 

When we were in Nagoya, strategically at the same time as the World Cosplay Summit, we got to see the final parade of Cosplayers down the main shopping street. That was really cool. We do wish we had also been organised enough to actually attend some of the other cosplay events that happened that weekend, and been able to participate in the cosplay parade itself. Logistically, packing a cosplay costume with everything else we were lugging around at that point, did not make sense, but in a perfect world, it would have been great to do. 

We knew we wouldn't be using a car much in Japan, but the travel around Shikoku really needed one. Steve had organised to have his International Driver's Licence before we left, but I opted not to. At the time, I figured I'd rather not drive and Steve would be able to do it all anyway. However when we were there, Steve ended up having to do all the driving with a broken hand. Not fun, especially through the mountain roads! On top of that, Japan has a zero alcohol limit, so if we drove out for dinner and Steve wanted to get a beer, he couldn't. I felt really silly that I hadn't sorted my licence too. Lesson learnt, better for me to have the licence even to be a support driver than to leave it all up to Steve. 

Our last reflection was that it would have been good to go to some Japanese conversation classes to help us all with our Japanese speaking. Steve especially felt that he could take in the language easily enough, but producing it was another matter. Of course, in the grand scheme of things it's fine, but it's another "would have been nice" moments when we look back. 

The girls ask us quite frequently now, when we will be going back to Japan. I'm so glad it has made such a positive impact on their lives and that they want to return! Hopefully next year we can squeeze in a visit. 

Walks around Saitama

There is not much to say in this post. These are just some photos I took as I waked around North Urawa, where I was living for seven weeks doing a teacher training course in July. Hope you enjoy the pictures of Japanese summertime suburbia. 

Kimono Collection

Even though my kimono collection (here and here give pretty good snapshots if you are interested) is pretty extensive, compared both to a regular Japanese person, not to mention the average Australian, I managed to come home with a considerable of new pieces after our six months in Japan earlier this year. 

Wearing new yukata and obi for work

For those who don't know, most Japanese people would have maybe one yukata (summer cotton kimono) at home, and maybe a formal one if they had to go to a wedding (like mother of the bride type thing). But a cupboard full of them is pretty unheard of and to be honest, I think lots of people hire them for events if they need them, rather than buying them. Especially since they would likely need help dressing too. My friend Haruka doesn't even have a yukata, she thought it was hilarious that I was buying them and wearing them. 

I tried to be restrained about purchases, but since they don't just sit unworn in my cupboard, I do have some justification. I did come home with more than I expected to, but in my defence, I was gifted a number of these which I was not expecting at all. 

My "haul" stacked up and sorted, disguising just how many items there really are. 

I did take photos of each thing, but honestly, there are so many and I felt like this would get boring and long if I put all of them in. Most of the yukata that I bought while in Japan, I actually wore while we were there (or the girls did), so you've probably already seen some of this stuff anyway (here and here). And there is more than just the yukata/kimono part, there is the obi and the ties and the under stuff and what not. In the interest of not boring you - here are some highlights. 

This is possibly my favourite new yukata. I bought it with my friend Haruka at an outlet sale. It's a designer label and has an Aladdin inspired print on it. So cool. Also, the fabric weave is a specific summer one which has very subtle sections that are more see through (let me know if I'm not explaining it right, or you want more info), so that the breeze can pass through and you can stay actually cool in the hot humid summer. It really works and is so comfortable to wear. 

I did buy a large number of obi (waist belts), because they are so easy to mix and match with different kimono and wear in a variety of ways. Also, I got most of these second hand for incredibly cheap so a really great way to bring more colour and fun to the kimono wardrobe. Most of them are double sided too, so twice as much really!

Hanhaba Obi - half width

The first two obi below are the fanciest that I got and the most expensive. Still second hand and cheap compared to what they would be new. Rachel picked out the green wave one for me and I got the butterfly one from a second hand store in Matsuyama. The other two were gifted ones. 

Full width Obi (formal wear)

Along with the two obi there, I was gifted three kimono, one wool with a matching haori (jacket) and the other two beautiful silk with peach blossom patterns. One even came with matching shoes (which you can see above). I could not believe how lucky I was to be given these, especially since I was only meeting the ladies who gave them to me that day! 

The last thing they gave me was this absolutely stunning fuirsode (kimono with long sleeves). I actually don't own any furisode, so I was doubly excited to receive this one. It's on display in our hallway. Photos don't do it justice. The butterflies are all hand embroidered with metallic threads and metal work. 

Aside from the yukata that I bought and wore a lot, I only bought two kimono myself. One was a gorgeous green colour that was only $10 at a shop in Takamatsu. I couldn't walk past it. My final purchase was less spontaneous. I was wanting to get a black formal kimono (usually worn at weddings). Not particularly to wear, but to remake into a fancy dress. Steve and the girls gave me lots of grace as I trawled through the formal section of the second hand stores and feedback when I pulled out options. 

I eventually settled on this one with its lovely honeycomb and flowers pattern. I'm excited to sew it into a dress, and I can see the design I want to get in my mind, but I know I'll be doing a fair amount of draft and pattern work first to get it right before I cut into the actual thing. It's not like I can go out and buy more fabric if I stuff it up!

Inconceivably, I managed to pack all of the new things into the storage that I already had in our room, with only one new shelf needed. Thankfully, that shelf was only being used by Sophie's Squirrel Girl tail, which was pretty easy to relocate. The best storage solution that I have for my kimono stuff is a self made "shoe storage hanger" thing that I put together years ago now out of the leftover fabric I had from making curtains. I could have sworn I blogged about it, but I can't for the life of me find it in searches, and I've written so many blog posts now (over 950!!), trawling back through them to find it seems like a lot of work. And maybe I didn't blog about it at all? 

In any case, everything has its new home and I'm pretty happy it's here. We are eight weeks into school term now, and I've worn a yukata every day. 

Tea Ceremony

Here is a throw back to something we did about halfway through our time in Japan this year. I didn't get around to blogging about it then because we were so busy with other things, and I wanted to include some photos that I had from the time before everything was digital. Gasp! Obviously those photos were not accessible from Japan. 

When I first lived in Japan way back in 2004, I somehow found myself studying the traditional Japanese tea ceremony with my school friend Yuki and another girl called Mona. The three of us would gather, I think every second Sunday, at Yuki's house and get dressed in kimono. Our teacher would arrive and we would each have turns practicing. 

2004: Mona, Yuki, Paula and our Sensei

It was generally a pretty fun way to learn, because you got to drink the tea and eat the beautiful Japanese sweets (wagashi) that came along with it. 

I wasn't particularly great at it, but the learning was fun, and I got to pick up the skill of dressing in a kimono as well. My teacher is still teaching and when she heard that we were over in Japan, she invited us to have tea ceremony at her house. 

There are a huge number of variations of tea ceremony, and we started this one with a trip outside to prepare ourselves with this lovely water feature in the garden. It had been filled with ice cold water and there was a whole ritual of hand washing, mouth washing and then also washing the bamboo scoop before the next person could use it. 

We then entered the tea room where my friends made us tea one at a time, and we ate the delicious sweets. 

Then we had turns making tea as well. I was proud of the girls for giving it a go. 

I also had a turn. It was funny because my brain couldn't remember any of the routine phrases I was supposed to say, but my body remembered all the movements for scooping the tea, closing the box, pouring the water and mixing the tea. 

My friend Mona was practicing a different type of tea making, so we all (well, the girls opted out of the second cup) had more than enough tea and then finished with the tea ceremony went to the living room to have more cool drinks (it was hot, humid summer) before leaving. So much tea and polite Japanese. The girls were exhausted at the end, but it was a fun experience. 

Home to Australia

Sooner than we could have imagined possible, we found our six months over. Even though we had enjoyed our Osaka time, getting there had been a bit of a slog. I think it was the realisation that the end was near combined with the reality of packing all the stuff to leave Hiroshima. Our mood getting into Osaka had been a mix of grumpy and sad, but we'd ended up having such a great time (Expo and Sumo!) that it had really turned around for us. 

Then we really packed our bags one final time and prepared for home. The girls were happy as could be. Even a day of having to juggle suitcases and kill time before heading to the airport didn't phase them. They were ready. 

I think I was ready, but also so very not ready. I was ready to give up living out of a suitcase, and ready to have an oven again. Not ready to say goodbye to the trains though. Not ready to stop bowing to people to say thanks to them. Not ready to say goodbye to kimono in the shops, a convenience store on every corner and a ridiculous mascot for every city. 

But there we were. At the cross over point of coming and going. First thing to do at the airport was weigh our bags. They were about 10ks over. We could have juggled things around and added to our carry on, but in the end it was quicker and less stressful to pay $30 for the extra allowance. We may have celebrated that decision with our last Mister Donut of Japan. 

That job done, we killed some time by playing a round of D&D at the airport. Never would I have thought I'd be doing that in my life. Then it was lines for bag drops and security checks. Compared with flying out of Osaka in 2024, where we spent an hour and a half in the check in line and then another full hour getting through security only to have to run for our plane, this was relatively painless. We got through with about an hour to spare before departure, so Steve even had time for a beer. I had time to try to use up all our yen buying every variety of Kit Kat the airport Lawson had to offer. 

Walking onto the plane, some random Aussie students decided to join our selfie. 

Night time plane flights are pretty standard as far as things go. I think I got about four hours sleep. Rachel again, got the most, Sophie, probably the least. Brisbane airport was busy, but we were fine to take our time finding all the bags and getting in the lines to get out. I thought I'd cry when I saw Maria waiting for us (she certainly did), but no tears yet. 

We managed to get everything in the car and were off home. Appreciating the big blue sky of Australia. Perfect weather to come home to. As we pulled into our street, I could see the red flowers of the bottle brush trees in full bloom while Steve marvelled at the wide road space with actual nature strips and footpaths. I cried when I saw our neighbours out waiting to welcome us home again. So much love. 

That first day and week home passed so quickly and with a huge amount of surreal. Steve went to the doctor for a check up on his hand (all clear, praise God!) and a hair cut. We hit Aldi for the first basic shop, struggling to think of how to buy groceries for anything more than two days since that's really all we catered for in Japan. The girls reconnected with their street friends and were out of the house at the creek more than they were home. I unpacked everything and cleaned the house. We had a street party, saw family and got back to work. 

There was joy and adjusting. Lots of stories to tell (the girls go to stories are catching the puffer fish (Rachel) and beating the sumo (Sophie)) Steve and I struggle more with what to share out of so much that happened. I have had the hardest time adjusting back. There is something I just love so much about Japan. As part of our visa requirement, we can't return to Japan for six months now. We actually had to sign forms at the airport saying so. I could certainly have cried then. But we will be back. I don't know when, but I do know that. 

Thanks for coming on the journey with us. 

Osaka World Expo

I honestly don't know where to start for this post: Osaka Expo. Wow. 

Gundam Pavilion

We were there pretty late in the season; with only a month to go so many people were lining up to get in. We had booked tickets for a 9am entry slot, and were there in the line at 8:30. We could also see people there at 8:30 lining up for their 10am entry, and the 11am as well. Inconceivable! Lots of Japanese people were well prepared with portable seats they could use when they were in lines so they didn't have to stand as they waited. 

So many of the pavilions had a booking system so they could control the number of people coming through, while others just had lines out front. Some had a mix, like the Nordic Circle Pavilion, which opened a "walk in" slot at 2:30 as we happened to be passing by. Lucky I guess, but then we were pretty underwhelmed with what we saw there. 

Lanterns in the Vietnam Pavilion

What we could see everywhere else though, was fascinating and cool. Amazing to see the number of countries represented, the architecture of the site as well as all the buildings. Because we had the 9am entry, we did manage to enter a number of pavilions early on, but after about 10:30, it was lines of an hour or more, if you were lucky. 

Tree of Harmony in the Malaysian Pavilion

We knew it was going to be pretty busy, so we didn't mind it. Instead we just took our time walking around and seeing what we could from the outside. I guess I don't know what to write for this post because mostly, the photos speak for themselves. 

Expo grand ring on the right - huge!

There were several Commons buildings which housed a number of smaller countries. Walking through these was actually a highlight for me, because each country had so much culture and handicraft on display. Amazing to see! 

Resting space

Expo from on top of the grand ring

I also loved seeing so many countries of people that I now knew, thanks to the seven week long training course I'd done back in July. How great when all these countries can come together for something. That we are all unique and individual, but our differences can be celebrated and used to help each other. Oh how that is my prayer for our world today. 

I got my last round of takoyaki (octopus balls) there, which were delicious. Myaku Myaku, the Osaka Expo Mascot is possibly the weirdest thing that Japan has ever come up with. We also saw people dressed in Myaku Myaku inspired outfits through out the day, including a lady in kimono with Mayku Myaku on her obi. 

We spent some of the day making sure we spun all the Pokestops at Expo, and got the stamps for each. This was a bonus Pokemon Go feature for everyone playing at Expo which was pretty cool. 

Pokemon themed displays that were the Pokestops. Fun!

I haven't talked much about the stamp culture, but in Japan, most train station and loads of tourist sites (like the castles) have an old school ink stamp you can get when you are there. Rachel had been collecting all sorts of stamps during our stay and was so excited to get the Expo ones for each country. She was a bit bummed she didn't have an actual stamp book, but we used what we had, which was her train stamp book from Tokyo. 

Anyway, we managed to last pretty well until about six, when we decided to split up. Sophie was so tired from late nights and early mornings that she needed to go home. Rachel was keen to stay with Steve and see the drone/lights show that happened between seven and eight. 

From on top of the grand ring at night. 

When Steve was leaving with Rachel, he noticed they had the number of atendees projected onto the train station building outside. Over 240 000 people had visited just that day. When he told me I said it's no wonder there was a line for the loos. Japanese public transport still remains so superior to the rest of the world, because there was no wait for the train home and Steve and Rachel even had seats on this super cute deer theme train. 

I have to say, my expectations for expo had been pretty low, especially since my parents had been the week before and told me it was so busy and crowded and hot that they were unable to get into anything. But, we were so pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed what we did see. Hooray!