A Manual, In The Toilet

Flushing down the toilet in Japan at times can be a challenge for someone who does not read Japanese. The toilets there are so high-tech and vary in terms of ways to use them. They have so many different features and without proper guidance, one must try every single button there to try to flush. At times, we do not even need to touch anything, it only requires a simple wave in from of a smart detector. Simply amazing.

This manual was found in one of the toilets at the Narita International Airport. I guess it is catered for international users as it is translated in a couple languages.

Kaempferia Galanga - The Flower

We have Kaempferia Galanga (Kencur in Indonesian) and one morning I found a pretty flower blossomed. More information about this plant can be found here.

Small, Round And Pink

This is the small type of Zinnia that has blossomed in our garden. Its diameter is just around 3cm, slightly over an inch. The shape is so awesomely round and the layers stack up really nicely and it looks so close to perfection.

Strawberry Ice Cream

I am always on the look out for strawberry on sale. They tend to be expensive here, as they are imported all the way from the USA or Australia or New Zealand. Some of them also come from South Korea and Japan. Still, they are not inexpensive.

I got some when they were on sale early in the week. Some of them were converted into ice cream and they are handy and yummy.

White Zinnia

It turns out that we white Zinnia too. I didn't know that.

From Kitakaro Store

We went to Kitakaro store in Otaru, Hokkaido, it is a store that sell many types of good looking and delicious desserts. Their famous product seems to be their Baumkuchen. They are available in many other places too in Sapporo and reportedly Kitakaro has many chains in Japan. Baumkuchen are sold there under many different brands too, not only Kitakaro.

Baumkuchen is German layered cake, but surprisingly is popular in this country. We got a box and brought them home and are working on finishing them. They do not have long expiration date.

The picture down there is inside the store too, a couple of their employees making and baking the cakes.

Thai Basil - The Babies

We have begun planting the seeds from our Thai basil a few weeks ago. Some have grown nicely. In the container above, some of the plants were taken from the area surrounding the original plants. The seeds fell and grew and we picked them up and moved them there.

Pink First

Our first of second generation Zinnias has opened up and it's a girl, it's pink!

Cheez Twists

Day 2 at home, the business was to bake cheese twists. How we miss them.... so much!

Growing Fast

Some of the Zinnias that we planted and grew on their own, thanks to the wind that blew the seeds away, grow so fast. They were planted just over a month ago after my two sisters left early in March. Upon returning from Japan, I saw the flower buds appearing in many of the plants, some of which were still small, but maybe old enough to produce flowers.