Postcard 45- Lithuania

Received 23 February 2012 from Lithuania.  Gorgeous dyed easter eggs, in traditional patterns. Postcard id:LT-187229

Day 1 - A visit to the shrine

1 January 2012- We started the new year with a very typical Japanese activity- visiting the local Shinto shrine to pray for good luck in the new year. Well, we visited the shrine, along with half a million other people. It's a very festive atmosphere, with various food stalls, the sale of various good fortune trinkets for the coming year and everyone getting there on the same 2 carriage tram!

postcard 202- Netherlands

Received 21 December 2011 as part of the secret christmas card RR.  From the Netherlands.  Technically not a postcard, as actually a card, but received through postcrossing and not a photo so...

Day 365- The lonely glove

31 December 2011 - A wander through the waterfront Merican Park, someone has lost a glove, and someone else has placed it on the post.

Day 364- The remains

30 December 2011 - We took a wander around the old foreigners'area of Kobe. This is where a lot of the early European/American embassies and consulates were located. There are many western style buildings, in 19th century style, and it is a Japanese tourist attraction. Some are still occupied, this one appears to have fallen down (the 1995 earthquake perhaps?) and been left to decay.

Day 363- Kobe view

29 December 2011- We ventured down to the waterfront area, and rode in the Kpbe ferris wheel. A pretty view, but perhaps not the best decision to choose the completely clear carriage...

Day 362- Nishiki markets

28 December 2011- The Nishiki market is a series of covered over arcades in the middle of Kyoto, lined with mostly food shops. Open daily. Here a pickles store shows its wares.

Day 361- Wishes and hopes

27 December 2011- We went to Kiyamizudera- a Buddhist temple. It's usual to find these wooden plaques at Japanese shrines and temples- wishes and hopes and prayers, placed where they can be heard.

Day 360- Snow!

26 December 2011 - We did something different this day- we took a "romantic" train ride through a mountain gorge, and back again (we didn't take the river boat ride that was the other return optin). While there were flurries on our way to the train, nothing was sticking. We did get a glimspe of snow dusted mountains here. Later we found out that one of the temples near where we caught the train received a hefty amount of snow- maybe we should have gone there.

Day 359- Merry Christmas

25 December 2011- We spent Christmas morning at a huge Temple market in Kyoto. The market is held every month on the 25th, and is biggest in December and January.

Day 358- pretty lights

24 December 2011- Japan does fairy light installations on a massive scale around Christmas- here trees along a stretch of riverbank for over 500 metres were decorated in lights, that went from yellow, to red and green to blue. Amazing. and packed with people

Day 357- Making mochi

23 December 2011- We went to an open air farmhouse museum in a park in Osaka. As we came to the final house we spotted this group of people, with tables set up as an outdoor kitchen. We looked at the house, and I went inside (taking off hiking boots is not fun, so Greg didn't.) While I was inside, one of the old ladies decided to tell Greg what they were doing. By the time I came outside, he had a bowl of vegetable miso soup, and another was on the way to me. They were making mochi- a traditional year end/new year food in japan. It is made by pounding cooked gelatinous rice into a gelatinous mass, adding flavouring (such as ginger) and shaping into cakes/balls that fit into the palm. While I have been given mochi before (it is like christmas fruit cake in that respect, given to all the neighbours), I have never made it. Mochi rice is different from normal rice. They were cooking it in a very oldfashioned bamboo steamer over a wood fire, then put in the big stone bowl and pounded with wooden mallets. It is hard work.

Postcard 189- Finland

Received 6 December 2011 as part of the secret christmas round robin

Day 329-Fruitcake

25 November 2011- We made a test cake to see if the recipe was any good.

Day 316- Roo!

12 November 2011- We were staying at this resort, the units were right off the 18th green (which would be much more interesting if I played golf) and late in the afternoon this roo decided to pay us a visit. If you look closely at her pouch, there are some feet visible, but the joey didn't come out. This is not a zoom shot, there were no fences, I was actually this close.

Day 304- Halloween lantern

31 October 2011- Halloween isn't really celebrated much in Australia but over the last 3 or 4 years it has been getting bigger. This year there were "american pumpkins"on sale in the supermarket (for an insane price) for people to buy. But no jack o lantern carving kits (those dull knives with orange handles). We even had a single trick or treater at our place. Must be the influence of the american tv and movies.

Day 203 - At the museum

22 July 2011- After the consumerist shopping of the day before (I went a bit nuts in Fabric Town and then we went to Shibuya) this days was all about absorbing culture. We went to the Edo-Tokyo museum, which has some impressive exhibits- including this reconstruction of a kabuki stage (I think). Unfortunately the english translations were very dry, and inconsistent. Although Greg did point out that they were very economics focussed too- not the norm in Australian history displays. After this we ended up at Akihabara, so not an entirely cultural day. If you want to read about the rest of the trip- Greg does have a travel blog somewhere.

Day 202- Cappucino

21 July 2011- First morning in Japan, we wandered into a little coffee shop up the road from the hotel. This is Greg's daily cap- only here it comes with cinnamon sprinkles and a cinnamon quill, and in a chintzy cup. oh and whipped cream instead of foam.

Day 201- Coffee wave

20 July 2011 - A photo of my airport coffee- This pattern must have been created by the barista- very topical as we were at the Gold Coast- A beach vacation area.

Day 200 - Pancakes

19 July 2011 - We stayed at the Gold Coast the night before our flight, and had Pancakes for dinner. This was the all you can eat special- which came with whipped butter, not ice cream. In Australia, pancakes are routinely served with ice cream, which I find weird. It's supposed to be butter!