A Day at the Asian Market

Konnichiwa!

So my boyfriend and I really like to frequent the local Asian market because of all the interesting foodstuffs and items sold there. Asian cuisine is SO different than American, it amazes me. There were these huge spiky fruits there which totally befuddled me! Where I live, the majority of the Asian culture is Vietnamese, so there wasn't a whole lot of Japanese things there, but I thought it would be fun to show nevertheless.

 Live critters for purchase- yikes!

 Ramune drinks, our favorite :)

 mochi mochi mochiiiii. I thought these ones looked interesting, I wonder what flavors they are?

Here's the little soup spoon I purchased for 99 cents, which I absolutely love

If you are blessed to have a local Asian market, go check it out! You might just be surprised by some of the cool finds.

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

Kigoi Sushi & Steakhouse

Konnichiwa!

I'd love to share with you my favorite sushi bar that opened close to home just this summer. Previously, all the sushi bars nearest my house were at lease a 20 minute drive, so to have one just a block or two away was undoubtedly exciting for me (an my boyfriend!). If you've seen my "a very genki birthday" post you've already seen one picture of a dish offered there, but here are some others.

 House Special Roll

 Chirashi Don

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They're very picturesque aren't they? Tasty and cheap too! That's what really made this place stand out among all the other sushi restaurants I've been too: it is extremely reasonably priced. (ideal for an unemployed student like me of course) However, i DO have some other favorites in the area: Wasabi, Kanai, Ninza, Hibachi Boy, and even Dillons. Once I take pictures of their sushi sets I'll show you those as well. Hopefully soon!

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

Century II Asian Festival

Konnichiwa!

I'm so excited to tell you all about my asian festival adventures. Wichita KS held a big asian event at the Cenury II building on October 26 that I went to with my boyfriend. Upon arrival we saw a big stage with various dancing acts from the different cultures of Asian countries. This was pretty cool, granted, but what we wanted to see was... FOOD.

Adjacent to the performance hall was a giant room filled completely with different food and gadget stands. It was so amazing!!! I've been to the festival once before, but that was in middle school, and i didn't remember it being this awesome.

Anyway, here are some pictures.

My itouch camera is crap, so unfortuntely you can't really see the dancers.

 A kokeshi iphone case, how can you beat that!

 traditional kimono

 hello kitty lanyards

sticky rice spoons

Unfortunately these were the only Japanese things available- o Japanese food, what a bummer :(- but don't leave yet because the other food was still incredibly delicious

 Can't remember what country this is. Can anybody tell me?

 Hey gyoza! That actually is Japanese right?

 This young woman competed in the Miss Asia Festival Contest. Wish I had been able to see who won :/

 Where is this one from..? More importantly, what is it!? I love all of these new foods :)

And that was just a FEW examples of what they had to offer. I was totally, completely in heaven. I tried some delicious Indian food. Not sure what it was, but it was like these huge triangular-ish fried things filed with this mushy orange stuff (I'm making it sound gross but it was amazing) sitting in some curried chickpeas. Then I also tried some banh bao (which was not my favoite...), shared some kimchi with my boyfriend, and got some thai iced tea for a dollar (drool). I really enjoyed attending and sharing my experiences with you, I hope you liked the pictures! I'd love to hear about any asian festivals you might have attended recently as well.

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

Other Japan Blogs To Check Out

Konnichiwa!

I hope you've been having a good week :) I'm a little upset because I had to miss the Kansas City Japan Festival so I could take my SAT. (If anyone went, please let me know how it went). 

Anyway, I want to give some credit to other blogs about Japan appreciation; they were my inspiration to start blogging after all!

General

1.  http://www.kirainet.com/english/

This blog gives personal updates of his sightseeing in Japan. I really appreciate seeing the experiences from the eyes of an American. Not only does he show pop culture aspects of the country, but historical ones as well.

2. http://muza-chan.net/

This blog is very similar to the first one but with a little different format. It makes it very easy to look at old posts.

Food-Specific

3. http://www.foodie.com/collections/duwi-s-pinandityo/of-japan-and-glut  

This is sort of like a pinterest board ecept every post has a link to a Japanese food recipe! I'm not much of a chef but I'd love to try all of these.

4.  http://japanesefood.about.com/

Another site full of Japanese recipes, but it is actually an official website. More recipes, less personal.

5. http://www.popbento.com/

Here, the blogger shows various ways to pack a lunch using the traditional Japanese "lunch box", the bento box. I must note that not all of the lunches are Japanese, however they are still totally adorable!

6.http://tokyofooddiary.com/
High definition culinary pictures that will make you abosultely DROOL as well as restaurant recommendations accompanied by their menus

News

7. http://www.zonjineko.com/

Not sure if this can actually be considered new, but it offers a variety of free approaches to learning the Japanese language as well as a multitude of pictures of the people on the streets of Japan

8. http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/

I absolutely adore japan-talk.com! So much useful information about customs on Japan and lists of different foods and festivals. Makes me want to be in Japan right now!!

9. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/

I like to use this webpage to keep me updated on what is currently going on in Japan

Blogs on Blogger.com

10. http://yangyanginjapan.blogspot.com/  

Tourism in Japan from the viewpoint of a Korean. She comments on differences between her country and Japan frequently, which is quite intriguing.

11. http://ken-yanadori.blogspot.com/ 

A blog solely dedicated to pictures of various Japanese landscapes and architectural beauties

12. http://livnomonogatari.blogspot.com/

The life of an American model living in Japan (the food in her posts looks delicious!)

13. http://mskomoewekwe.blogspot.com/  

The story and updates of a girl who has studied Japan for a long time and has finally been able to go there. Soooo jealous

These blogs are great reads and a fantastic way to incorporate the Japanese culture into your web-browsing, even if you aren't a native. I found almost all of them through the website stumbleupon.com (if you don't have an account you NEED one) I hope you take the time to check them out and love them as much as I do!  

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley 

A Very "Genki" Birthday

こんにちは 
Hello! As you may know, Genki is the romanized version of the Japanese word meaning both enthusiasm and good health. I thought this was the perfect word to encompass my 17th birthday :) As you can imagine, my friends and family are all very aware of my weird Japanese "fetish", if you will. So i started off the night with a great sushi dinner date at my favorite Japanese steakhouse, Kigoi. (My boyfriend and I waited an HOUR because we are fools and didn't call ahead :P) but seriously, check out that sashimi/nigiri action!

To top all that deliciousness (mm mm ^-^) my mom surprised me with two gifts perfectly suited to me: Human Japanese (a software for learning the Japanese language) and reusuable chopsticks of which I had been desperately in need. There are some pictures below this text of both presents.(One of the pairs of chopsticks has pictures of naked women on it- yikes!) My favorite are the pink ones with the adorable little bunnies. I haven't gotten very far in the Human Japanese program yet, but I can already tell you it is GREAT. It really feels like the teacher is speaking directly to me, and more as a friend than a teacher. And not only does it teach conversational Japanese, but reading/writing as well. I highly recommend it.  So excited to learn! Let me know what you think of these lovely gifts. Also, I do not know why my font is highlighted on my blog post, how can i fix this? It is really frustrating me.

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

"Tokyite" Stuck In A Kansan Body

こんにちは (Hello!) and welcome to my webpage<3 I really appreciate you taking the time to check out my first post. This is basically just an introduction to what my blog will be all about. For several years now, I have developed a passion for all things Japanese: the culture, the customs, THE FOOD. But really. It’s an obsession of mine. However I can’t hold a monopoly on the adoration of such an interesting country: I want everybody else to appreciate it as much as I do. So this is both for those who already love Japan, to see how I incorporate the Japanese culture into my life, and also those who are new to the Asia craze, to develop a mutual passion. I will try to post once or twice a week, including a regular “green tea of the month” post. I already have a ton of ideas for future blog posts and look forward to sharing them with you!

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley