things i would have done differently this past week: i wouldn't have left japan. also, i wouldn't have forgotten to complete my netsheet for my photography class or gotten out of bed on friday morning after staying up till 4am making bite sized sweet potato tartlets with brulee marshmallow frosting (new post coming about that one later). i maybe (hopefully) wouldn't have accidentally stabbed myself under the nail with a dull needle, but given my track record for being miss klutzy of hong kong, that may or may not have happened again. i also maybe wouldn't have dropped my phone in the full bath tub (what did i say about my track record and being miss klutz?). but most of all, i would not have left japan.
yea, sure, sure, there were people i missed in hk (justin, mich, jeff, mom, dad, gramps- i'm looking at you). but really, what would a few extra days in japan hurt? friday, saturday, sunday, monday...tack on tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday...maybe saturday too.... nothing. except maybe my waistline. (i blame you, 7/11 across the road from our hostel, bento take-put place on the next block, and the ramen shop on the block after that.) but whatever. not the point.(oh yes, by the way, this is my first post on my blog with pictures from my dslr, so three cheers for no more iphone photography!)
now, you're probably wondering, "wasn't there school on friday and monday, lucia?" and "what type of student are you, skiving off to japan?" well. it was a school-approved trip. so there. take that. (MUHAHAHHAHAHA.)
i was actually in japan with the upper level art classes mainly for the saturday and sunday, during which the annual deign festa takes place in tokyo. the design festa is essentially a huge exhibition thing where local (and a few foreign) artists and artisans come together, with stalls/booths, and display and sell their work, and there are live band and dance performances and things. quite cool, actually. the festa was huge, taking up an entire exhibition center; the main center square, four halls on the bottom floor, and two halls on the fourth floor. each hall on the bottom floor had about 120+ booths, so...imagine that size. (for someone born and bred in hong kong, that's HUGE, by the way. like, thumbellina vs. the beanstalk huge.)
yea, sure, sure, there were people i missed in hk (justin, mich, jeff, mom, dad, gramps- i'm looking at you). but really, what would a few extra days in japan hurt? friday, saturday, sunday, monday...tack on tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday...maybe saturday too.... nothing. except maybe my waistline. (i blame you, 7/11 across the road from our hostel, bento take-put place on the next block, and the ramen shop on the block after that.) but whatever. not the point.(oh yes, by the way, this is my first post on my blog with pictures from my dslr, so three cheers for no more iphone photography!)
now, you're probably wondering, "wasn't there school on friday and monday, lucia?" and "what type of student are you, skiving off to japan?" well. it was a school-approved trip. so there. take that. (MUHAHAHHAHAHA.)
i was actually in japan with the upper level art classes mainly for the saturday and sunday, during which the annual deign festa takes place in tokyo. the design festa is essentially a huge exhibition thing where local (and a few foreign) artists and artisans come together, with stalls/booths, and display and sell their work, and there are live band and dance performances and things. quite cool, actually. the festa was huge, taking up an entire exhibition center; the main center square, four halls on the bottom floor, and two halls on the fourth floor. each hall on the bottom floor had about 120+ booths, so...imagine that size. (for someone born and bred in hong kong, that's HUGE, by the way. like, thumbellina vs. the beanstalk huge.)
our group actually had been able to obtain a booth through the lottery system, and 18 of 21 of use had work to display. we all made some prints of our work, and some of us even made stickers of the cartoon animal characters. we didn't sell too much (in fact, i sold nothing, but my friends sold some stuff, so that's great. but then again, all my friends are miles and worlds and galaxies more talented in art than i am, so that's probably why.)
we were given some free time at the festa, so (of course) i went and bought stuff at the festa. mostly stuff for other people, but i did get a pretty camera strap for myself, so that's nice :)
the only other things i bought for myself at the festa was, of course, food. mmmm.
our first day there, i had a suspicious curry rice thing (which i forgot to photograph because i was distracted by a) the incoming black cloud, since the stall i got it from was in the outdoor food court, and b) not tripping, which is a constant struggle for me in flat shoes. put me in heels, though, and i could most likely dice tomatoes and juggle with one foot all while walking a tightrope 50 feet in the air or something. the higher the better. not even kidding.)
the only other things i bought for myself at the festa was, of course, food. mmmm.
our first day there, i had a suspicious curry rice thing (which i forgot to photograph because i was distracted by a) the incoming black cloud, since the stall i got it from was in the outdoor food court, and b) not tripping, which is a constant struggle for me in flat shoes. put me in heels, though, and i could most likely dice tomatoes and juggle with one foot all while walking a tightrope 50 feet in the air or something. the higher the better. not even kidding.)
so anyway, i bought the curry rice thinking that it would be japanese curry, which actually veers toward the sweet side, but, of course, found out i was wrong only after my third bite. apparently it was indian style curry. so imagine that shock. fortunately, i can take spicy pretty well, so it wasn't that bad.
the curry itself was actually quite good, just slightly suspicious on the grounds that i couldn't tell what sort of meat was in it due to the fact that a) i couldn't read japanese, b) i couldn't the vendors since i didn't speak japanese, c) the meat looked strangely like both pork and beef, and d) my friends couldn't tell that meat it was. they kept changing their minds between pork and beef, and being allergic to beef, i decided that simply avoiding it would be the best option for me. otherwise, it was pretty good curry :)
the curry itself was actually quite good, just slightly suspicious on the grounds that i couldn't tell what sort of meat was in it due to the fact that a) i couldn't read japanese, b) i couldn't the vendors since i didn't speak japanese, c) the meat looked strangely like both pork and beef, and d) my friends couldn't tell that meat it was. they kept changing their minds between pork and beef, and being allergic to beef, i decided that simply avoiding it would be the best option for me. otherwise, it was pretty good curry :)
now, to my favorite food from the festa food court: french toast cubes served with soft ice cream. seriously. whoever thought of that., you are freaking genius.
the dish was simple; they simply took very thick break slices ad cut them into cubes, then soaked them in an eggs, whole milk, cream, and sugar mixture. they then pan fried the stuff and served it in a container with a choice of chocolate or caramel sauce and a serving of soft serve ice cream. (the photographed one is chocolate. i had both caramel and chocolate sauce on separate days, and the caramel one was better, in my opinion, but that's besides the point.)
perhaps i'll recreate these french toast cubes, but with an autumnal/spring kick. all flavor pairing suggestions welcome :)
the dish was simple; they simply took very thick break slices ad cut them into cubes, then soaked them in an eggs, whole milk, cream, and sugar mixture. they then pan fried the stuff and served it in a container with a choice of chocolate or caramel sauce and a serving of soft serve ice cream. (the photographed one is chocolate. i had both caramel and chocolate sauce on separate days, and the caramel one was better, in my opinion, but that's besides the point.)
perhaps i'll recreate these french toast cubes, but with an autumnal/spring kick. all flavor pairing suggestions welcome :)
of course, the trip wasn't just the festa; we visited a few places in tokyo as well, such as shinjuku on our first night there for dinner, and the ever famous ginza square, omote-sando, the meiji shrine, shibuya, and the asakusa temple. we walked a lot, and pretty much traveled everywhere by train or foot, which rendered most of us extremely tired, but apparently not me, since i'm pretty used to walking pretty much everywhere.
tokyo is such a beautiful city; in a way, not that different from hong kong, but in many ways, very different. skyscrapers are rare there; very japanese stylized buildings and temples are dotted around the city, greenery is a thing (see my romania post. seriously. GREENERY!), the city is quite clean as a whole, and the people there are actually- get this- polite and friendly! (if you live in or have visited hong kong before, you'd understand the politeness and friendliness thing.)
tokyo is such a beautiful city; in a way, not that different from hong kong, but in many ways, very different. skyscrapers are rare there; very japanese stylized buildings and temples are dotted around the city, greenery is a thing (see my romania post. seriously. GREENERY!), the city is quite clean as a whole, and the people there are actually- get this- polite and friendly! (if you live in or have visited hong kong before, you'd understand the politeness and friendliness thing.)