New Life in Japan & Autumn Pancakes

Hello.

I’m back.

While I was absent from this blog, a lot of things happened in my life.

After spending a year in Bangkok, we decided to move to Japan.

I initially left Japan over 20 years ago, and I never thought I would come back.

But well, “never say never”, right?

I felt it was the right time to come home, and I actually got excited about starting a new chapter in Japan.

This time, with my husband.

How did he feel about moving to Japan?

Well, he always expressed interest in living in Japan, and once I became ready, things moved very fast.

(The photo above is from an Kinosaki Onsen ryokan during our trip in April (before our move).)

We initially stayed at my parents’ house (and it made our transition so easy!!).

We really enjoyed quality time with them, but we were out of their place a few weeks later because we were able to find an apartment (more quickly than anticipated).

We were lucky that we were able to find an apartment we really liked!

We downsized big time when we left Minnesota, and we didn’t really add much possession in Bangkok.

So, we moved to our new apartment with a few suitcases each (lol).

In Bangkok most apartments came furnished, but that’s not the case in Japan, and there are a lot of things needed to start life.

We’ve been busy shopping every day for everything, from furniture to a toilet brush.

I felt a bit overwhelmed at times, but mostly I was excited about being able to choose what suited our taste for each room, especially putting together the kitchen.

My new cutting board (photo above) is made of Hinoki wood and it smells amazing.

But my favorite thing about this is that it stands!

I think it looks adorable, but it’s also sanitary.

For the pan and the pot, I decided to get the same brand, FIKA, I was using in Bangkok because I liked them so much.

I was happy that I could get them here in Japan, too.

It’s been about two weeks since we moved in, and our apartment is slowly becoming a comfortable place, although some major furniture pieces, such as the dining table, is still missing, and I’m happy that I can now have some of my routine back like having Natto rice for breakfast.

It’s has been also fun to try high quality Japanese food products, like this Daitoku soy sauce.

We also enjoyed some sweets on the Tsukimi (moon viewing) night a few days ago, and I’m hoping to celebrate more cultural events in the future.

Yesterday was the first day I felt I was finally ready to take some photos of food I cooked in our new apartment.

I didn’t have a turner yet, so I used chopsticks to flip the pancakes (lol).

I called them “Autumn Pancakes”, because they were served with two seasonal ingredients, chestnut and pumpkin seeds.

They were finished off with coffee syrup.

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Oh, by the way, I found a wonderful vegan specialty shop in Nagoya.

I will make a separate post about that.

But I will say the vegan butter I found at the shop is now our favorite butter (and used on these pancakes, too)!

When I moved to Minnesota from Japan, I realized how much I appreciated the spring season after long winter.

When I moved to Bangkok from Minnesota, I realized how much I appreciated having warm weather all year around.

Now I’m back in Japan, and I realize how much I appreciate how beautifully the seasons change.