An Early Christmas Date

Yesterday, D, Hiro and I went to Hikone city area.  Hikone is one of famous old city in Shiga, and it’s just 10 minutes from my house by car.  There is famous Hikone castle near Biwako lake, and many restaurants and shops around the castle.

It was suposed to be snowing yesterday, but it was actually a sunny day (still cold though).  There’re many tourists around the castle.

First,we came to this cafe with D which I went with my friend the other day.  This cafe is a bakery/cake shop with nice dining area.  Because the shop opens at 11am and we arrived there 15 minutes early, we went driving inside the castle first.  You can drive around the castle and moat.  We could easily kill 15 minutes by enjoying the view

I love the interior of the cafe.  No, I love the building itself.  Looks like someone’s house with lots of tabels and chairs.

They serve lunch menu and nice drinks too.

We ordered sandwich lunch plate to share.  It’s Campagne bread with prosciutto, cream cheese and salad. The plate came with soup (it was carrot soup yesterday), cold chicken salad, salad & hot chips, and a choice of drink.  (¥1050)  I LOVE the Campagne bread.  Inside is moist, soft and chewy, but the crust was very hard and crusty.  All the food on the plate was delicious.

Then we ordered strawberry tart, and Monburan (Mont Blanc).  It took me 10 minute to chose the cake because all the cakes and bread looks so cute and delicious.  I had cheese cake last time, so I chose different one to try.  They’re both DELICIOUS. (>v<)

(cheese cake I had last time)

Hiro was happy too.

Then, we walked around “castle road”.  It started snowing and so freezing cold…

All the buildings around “Castle Road” were refurbished to look old few years ago in order to attract tourists.  Even a bank looks like this.

We strolled around the street, and bought few souvenirs.  It was windy and the air was spiking our faces, so we decided to head home.  It was a lovely day – we had early Christmas cake together, and had wonderful time

Sunny Morning

It was a sunny morning so Hiro and I went outside for a short stroll.

It’s nice to go out!  It wasn’t too cold.  If it’s raining or snowing, we can’t probably go walking like this in the morning.  In Perth, going for a walk around 8AM had been our routine because while walking he always fell asleep and take nap for 1hour or so.  If he doesn’t take this morning nap around 8am (before his 10AM solid feed) he gets cranky.  So, walking using a baby carrier was a great help.  He loves the bouncy feeling, I think.

We walked pass the neighbourhood temple.  People were already working.

I can’t believe I used to swim in this river when I was a kid!  It’s all covered with grass now.

After this walk, he fell asleep as usual.  Already looks sleepy in this photo…

Birthday Cake for 2nd Birthday Boy

When I was asked to make a birthday cake for my friend’s toddler, I wasn’t sure if I could do it at first.  It’s just less than 1 week away till I head to Japan, and I still had lots of things to do.  Packing, cleaning the room, laundry…  But I said “sure” because it’s his 2nd birthday party and I’d already bought a birthday present for him.

My friend wanted something simple – sponge, cream, and fresh fruits.  Just like Japanese cake.  I was little worried though, because the location of the party was at the park (BBQ party) and the forecast said it’d be raining!  If outside, there might be many flies too.  Because I use fresh cream, I thought it might be ruined if it’s windy and raining.

I finished making the cake anyway,

Now it’s the most scary part – delivering the cake!  It was a quite big one, so I had to put it in a big box.

When we arrived there, the sky was all white and grey.  I quickly showed the cake to my friend, and covered it to protect from the wind and flies.

There’re so many yummy foods – hotdog, grilled veggies, and some food made by Thai chef (our old friend)!  I especially loved a spicy prawn salad she made.  I must get the recipe!

She even brought a deep-frier for spring rolls.  She said that if she cooked it at home and brought there it won’t be crispy.  It’s true…

They all seemed to love my cake too.  I was relieved.  Although it started to be drizzly while enjoying BBQ, it was a lovely day.

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Happy Halloween~!

It’s so hot today again….  Not over 40 degrees yet, but I’m sweating with just a T-shirt.

I thought today is the chance to put jinbei on Hiro.  My friend gave it to us for him to wear this summer, but we will be in Japan soon anyway and he won’t be able to wear it.  Hmmmm, does he look like Japanese?

Jinbei is a kind of traditional Japanese clothing worn by men, women, boys, and even babies during the summer.  Women’s jinbei have started to become popular in recent years.  I used to see only men’s and boy’s at the shops before.  Just like yukata, jinbei is often worn on summer festival day, but also as a form of nightwear or house wear.  It’s very light and comfortable to wear.  I thought it’ll be fun to wear it here on Halloween too.

Happy Halloween to everyone!

Baby and Kids Market

I knew about this Baby and Kids Market for a long time but it was my first time going there. It was held at South Fremantle Senior High School recreation centre on last Sunday.  There was nothing I was looking for to buy particularly, except for one thing – a baby bath chair. I was thinking to buy either here or in Japan, and they’re around $30 ~ $50. I was hoping that someone would be selling one at the market, but I didn’t think that I could actually find it.

….. I found it!

It’s the one I saw at Big W. Japanese bath chairs are much cuter and seems more comfortable, but this one will do for 3 months in Japanese bath room. It has suction cups at the bottle so it doesn’t get slippery. I got it for $10.

The market was from 9am till 12pm, and I arrived there around 11:30, so I didn’t really have time look around. But, I got further discount on baby clothes and toys! I got some winter jackets and pajamas for him to wear in Japan. And, I got a nappy disposable bin for free!  The seller didn’t want to take it home so she gave it to me. (´∀｀=)♥

On the way back home we stopped at McDonald’s to grab some lunch.  And we won 1 French fry!  I was so full after eating BigMac value meal… but couldn’t help myself to steal some of caramel McFlurry.

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