A little Tokyo halloween

Well, almost October and halloween isaround  the corner. Not sure how many children in Japan will dress up and go for trick or treat but you can see these cute decoration being sold everywhere in any of the supermarket in Tokyo. Unlike Christmas, Halloween is relatively a new celebration in Japan and I believe many still not so sure how to celebrate Halloween, and therefore, end up looking like another sales gimmick. But they sure produce some cute fake pumpkins! 

Flowers in Autumn at the Showa Kinen Koen

The weather began to cool down, more cloudy days and the days are getting shorter announced the arrival of autumn. But nonetheless, this is best time to take a step back and enjoy the changes if the season. I had the opportunity to see the cosmos field in Showa Kinen Koen. It was the most beautiful flower field in the autumn for me.

Just loved to see small creatures like bees and caterpillars nestling in the flower as they looked so contented.

Cute fellow

Another cute nestling in its flowerbed

Buzzing Busy Bee

Where are you going, cute one? Don't you like this flower?

For directions to get to the Showa Kinen Koen, you can see it here and here. 

Enjoy your day at the cosmos field then!

Are you ready for autumn?

You can feel it - the days are getting shorter and the weather is slowly getting cooler. What's fun for autumn? I am looking forward to fallen autumn leaves, yellow gingko lanes, field of cosmos and picnic. What's my bucket list for autumn?

Picnic in the park
Drink hot chocolate

Have shabu-shabu (Thin slices of beef in Japanese broth) and yakiniku (grilled meat with vegetable) with my friends

Hike among the autumn leaves 

Collect gingko nuts/chestnuts for roasting

Relax in a hot spring while soaking in the autumn colors

Kissing in the falling leaves

Enjoy the mountains

I found a great website on visiting the Japan mountains. The website has information on how to get there, walking and hiking courses, resting huts, support for parents who are taking their children for a hike and even information for kids. Plus they have awesome pictures of the mountains that makes you consider visiting.
http://www.qkamura.or.jp/list/enjoy_mountain.asp

Now that we are going into autumn, it is the best time to get into the mountains. The mountains will be bursting with fall color. What else I like about going to the mountains in autumn - less crowds and less bugs. By this time, most crowds have thinned to a trickle, and the bugs are all but gone.

But we still have to practice some precautions before going into the mountains. One of it is to carefully choose your hike destination. Make sure there is enough rest huts or emergency help available when your cellphone is out. Before you head out, take the time to check trail conditions and weather forecasts. If possible, tell someone know where you will be and when you plan to return. Not to mention, bring warm clothes and also be prepared for any weather. And it is highly advisable to pack the backcountry essentials. This backcountry essential could save your life if you get lost or injured.

Chilled desserts for summer

I love eating desserts but I don't like it showing on my waistline. Fortunately, we have plenty of low calorie dessets in Japan. One of them is the warabi mochi.

It is made with starch (warabi flour or the baby bracken fern) and serve with kinako (toasted soy bean flour) and black sugar syrup. I love to eat them chilled. Slightly sweet and with the right consistency of chewiness ❤

Sunshine flowers

Now is September. The weather is slowly getting cooler which I am glad but I will be missing the sunshine too. What is coming ahead this month is one last trip of the year to the sea this weekend and celebrating my after-graduation party next weekend!!! Meantime, flowers to remind me of summer!!

Hot, hot ice cream

I love the ice cream in Japan. They are sweet but not sickeningly sweet. Even Haagen Dazs and Starbucks here tone down on their sweetness. I felt that the ice cream here has just the right amount of sweetness that makes you feel, sweet :) These are my favourites!!!

Green tea ice cream! 

Wafer ice cream, both chocolate and milk! Yummy!

Summer edition of caramel and macadamia nuts Haagen Dazs ❤

The port cities of Slovenia

During the conference, I booked a tour to go to the coastal towns of Potoroz and Piran but unfortunately, there wasn't enough participants and it got cancelled. So I had to rent a car for the day which turns out to be a better decision. To rent a car in Slovenia is relatively easy - you just need an international driving license, your passport and credit card. After comparing prices from a few car rental companies, I decided to rent the car from Avantcar. I love these guys!!! They have fuss-free service, cheaper than many other car rental companies and they have the newest models of cars!!! I regretted now that I didn't take any photos of their cars - some of them are really a beauty! If you go to Slovenia, rent a car from them - http://www.avantcar.si/en

After getting the car, I am on my way to the coastal towns. The highway was excellent and upon exiting the highway, the road leading to the port cities was beside the sea. it was the most beautiful coastal drive (too bad I didn't managed to stop and take pictures- another regret!). Anyway, after reaching Portoroz, I decided that this is not the town that I want to linger too long (lots of big hotels and casinos) so I drive back to Piran. But to get into Piran, you have to pay a fee of 12Euro (if I remembered correctly) to get in for two hours. But there's a trick.There's an easily missed (for non Slovenian speaking/reading foreigner) car park about 10mins walk which only charges 4Euro for the first hour and 1Euro for the subsequent hour (please forgive me if the rates are wrong, my memory don't serve me that well nowadays). It is better to park here than to park inside the town because of the lack of carpark space in the town. As you start approaching Piran on a rather steep downhill road, look out for this large parking lot is on your left between the sea and the cliff you will be driving on and when the road levels off, watch out for the word, 'GARAGE' and make a sharp left turn for the parking.

Piran is definitely a better town to spend your afternoon in. Another good thing to do while you are there is to eat the seafood, freshly caught and lightly grilled.

And beautiful sunset as you drive back to the city.

The cool valley

From Lake Bled, there is another beautiful gem to be discover - the Vintgar Gorge. It was a hot two-hours walk for me to get to Vintgar Gorge but it was sooooo worth it. Look at the pictures and you will agree with me why the two hour walk in the hot sun is worth it.

Blue waters

I have never seen water so blue like in a painting but it is real. There are blue waters and the waters can be found in the beautiful country of Slovenia! I was lucky to be able to visit Slovenia after a conference. I had such a good time meeting people and making new friends!
Slovenia is such a beautiful country with so many natural wonders that it is not doing it justice for just one post. Some of my favourite places in Slovenia is Lake Bled. As everyone knows, there is a beautiful island church in a lake.

The church from far

The view from the top was also awesome! I can't stop taking picture of this little island from different angle but I like this picture the best!

 The church up close

Our boatman

I stayed at this hotel, Villa Preseren which my Slovenian friend informed me that it is currently the hippest hotel in that area. I choose that hotel because it is small and boutique-like therefore I assumed the service will be more personalized and less crowded than some of the bigger hotels in that area. Little that I know that every rich and wanna-be-famous people in Slovenia want to stay in Villa Preseren. Well, I have no complains about the room (I choose the smallest room away from the restaurant) but the service... let's just say they need more staffs and more training to be attentive. Maybe I am asking too much especially being used to Japanese excellent service. 

From the villa, it is a short 15mins walk to the castle Bled. I tried to have dinner there but guess what, they are fully booked for the night so maybe it is best to call ahead and make a reservation. But one thing I must say, the food in Slovenia is so, so fresh!! I was nursing a bad cold during this trip but thanks to the freshness of the food, I was healthy again!