Tosu Premium Outlet

Another eventful weekend of, seriously to my surprise, shopping! My friend told me she wanted to go shopping, because she found a good deal on frying pans at one of the T-FAL stores. Unsure of where it was but completely in love with the idea of adding to my kitchen, I tagged along. Our first stop was a nice surprise in Saga, Cafe de Blue…

Cafe de Blue, Saga

Cafe de Blue

We drove out to Saga for this famous parfait shop, Cafe de Blue. This cafe has pages of gorgeous looking cafes, as well at party tiers that going as high as $100. Before I leave Japan, for my last house party I plan to order one of those. We shared a BLT club sandwich, and then ordered a couple parfaits to share. There’s a huge regular menu of parfaits, and a special seasonal parfait menu. This month’s special is with strawberries for the sakura season.

BLT club sandwiches with egg, and light wasabi mayo.

Strawberry pie parfait.

Strawberry trifle parfait.

Tosu Premium Outlet

After eating we were full, and my friend told me the place we’re going to has many stores. So it was our goal to walk off all that we just ate. Off we drove to Tosu! Little did I know that we were going to a Premium Outlet!

Tosu Premium Outlet.

Premium Outlet VIP

Anyone who visits the Premium Outlets in USA should sign up for the VIP Lounge. It’s free and you get extra discounts on top of store discounts. Internationally though, it’s different. In Japan, foreigners just have to head to the Information Counter and present a Visa. Then you’ll get a discount coupon book for participating shops.

**If you don’t have a membership, foreigners can also present their passport to get a discount book as well**

T-FAL Lucky Box, $77.

2-tier Steamer, 2 small frying pans, & frying utensils. (over $200 value)

Most of the time you have to spend a certain amount before getting a discount, but every little bit helps when you buy a lot. Today was the last day for their special sale, many stores had “lucky bags / boxes”. And I thought they were only available on New Years! (Refer to Fukubukuro New Years Lucky Bag). I wish Canada had deals like this. I realized that I am more interested in expanding my kitchen ware, rather than my wardrobe – which is still necessary because I haven’t really bought a lot of new clothes since when I first got here.
I’m really sad anticipating the day that I will have to leave my kitchen behind when I return back home…

Franc Franc Lucky Box, $50

Changeable faceplate grill (for Tako-yaki or regular), & dinning set!
($150 value)

Any time when shopping, keep an eye out for promotions. Tosu Premium Outlet promotion was if you spend $200 you could get a free bento box. Really nice, with assembling chopsticks. It somehow became easy to spend that amount that day. Yay! More for my kitchen!^^

My new promotional bento box,
with assembling chopsticks.

Coy Sashimi & Shimizu Falls

It’s a time for sakura and plum blossoms to bloom, enrich the air with its floral scent and decorate the ground in color. It’s also the season for carps! On a day trip to Saga we stopped by and visited the Shimizu Falls (Shimizu no taki).

Entrance to the Shimizu Falls
(Shimizu no Taki)

Shimizu Falls (Shimizu no taki)

It took us a while to find it for some reason. Standing in the parking lot there weren’t any signs but many people walking up the mountainside, and many coming down. When in doubt, follow the people! However, this time should have been doubt – as we ended up in a cemetery… It just happened that many people chose the day to visit their loved ones…

We found the entrance back down the hill after asking a couple locals. The trail took us up to a shrine, and then back down to the base of the waterfall.

Shimizu no taki

Eating Coy Sashimi

Right across from the entrance of the waterfall hike trail is this ryokan (Inn) & restaurant that serves Coy. Outside in front there was a little caged pool with huge black Coy – so we knew the fish was fresh!

The Coy-serving restaurant & ryokan.

Because it was already after lunch, the menu selection was small. We ordered was a combo: Coy Sashimi and Eel soup. The Coy was thinly sliced and came with a sweet & sour sauce for dipping – which tastes really good when mixed with the diced chives and chili paste! Coy had no taste or smell, and it takes a bit of a chew but it was pretty good.

Coy Sashimi & Coy Skin

Eel Miso Soup

We weren’t sure about eating the fish skin that decorated the top of the sashimi, but the owner encouraged us to eat it as the collagen would give us beautiful skin. The skin was sliced so nicely, we could tell the chef definitely had skill! I would have preferred to just watch and admire it rather than eat it. But when traveling we should all try things at least once! It had no flavor and the texture was rubbery, which wasn’t my favorite feeling but it was fun and now we like to joke about how positively radiant our skin is. ^^

Coy Skin…

Nagasaki Lantern Festival

We went to visit on the final weekend that wrapped up the annual Lantern Festival in Nagasaki’s Chinatown. Who knew there would be a Chinatown in Japan?! During the day it’s nice to see the huge displays, but it’s in the evening where everything comes alive.

Alley way in Chinatown.

To celebrate Chinese New Year, the district is covered with traditional Chinese style lanterns, and other artistic creations. It all looked really nice, very inspiring.

Dragon in an undercover shopping arcade.

It’s not Chinese without Sun Wu Kong
(aka. Monkey God)

Nagasaki Holland Village
Not far away from Chinatown, we took the streetcar to the Nagasaki Holland Village. Very cute cobble stone roads, brick walls, and Dutch merchant houses & buildings. During the Edo period, Nagasaki was the only port open to foreign trade while the rest of Japan was closed. Frequent foreign visits and influence came the formation of Chinatown and Dutch village. Buildings in the Holland Village are restored to commemorate the historical Dutch relationship.

Part of Nagasaki Holland Village

Certain areas can be a bit steep to walk down.
But it’s all lovely 🙂

Dutch-style church.

Sasebo Burger

Nagasaki’s three infamous eats:

1) Champon. Noodle dish, can be served either stirfry or in a soup.

2) Castella. It’s a kind of cake, and it comes in a variety of flavors.

3) Sasebo Burger. This Sasebo Burger is pretty good for what you can get in Japan, a non-burger-eating society. My photo might make it seem small, but it’s a pretty big burger. My recommendation: save your stomach space for this. Eat the Sasebo Burger first, then have all other snacks and festival foods after.

Certain venues may have special Sasebo Burger versions, there’s also the option of original. I tried the venue’s “Special Sasebo Burger”…because they were sold out of the original??…

sasebo burger. Burger with patty, two eggs, bacon, tomato, lettuce.
Sauces: light wasabi mayo & okonomikayi sauce…(from what I tasted)

Huis Ten Bosch: New Years Eve Countdown

Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki. Sad to be one of the busiest places for New Years Eve in Japan. The illumination display attracts many people from all over Japan and internationally. All hotels are fully booked for this night, and reservations are made a year in advance. Attempting to book 2 months in advance was clearly too late. Luckily, for this night only some trains provided extra temporary services, allowing us and many other visitors, to leave in the early AM.

Getting off the train.

Huis Ten Bosch

Similar to Disneyland, many amusement houses and shows to look at, just no rides. Everything was beautifully lit with lights, and the buildings seemed to take after many different European styles. Nice and cutesy like Disneyland but not so cartoony.

Many amusement sights & houses.
From teddy bears, to pirate treasure hunts.

Massive teddy at the Teddy Bear Kingdom.

 

Entrance & exit paths are divided by a small river.
View of the exit path, from the entrance.

Dutch-style buildings.

Lookout Tower. That had a massive line up!

 

A chapel for weddings.

We went walking around, but the main thing I had to go check out was the Thriller Fantasy Museum, with a newly renovated museum dedicated to Michael Jackson. This area also had a light show going every 20 minutes or so.

Thriller Fantasy Museum is made up of different buildings,
all with different “thriller” amusement shows.

 

MJ World

Dedicated to Michael Jackson and filled with the coolest memorabilia any crazy fan would adore. A pillow case he slept on, a concert sweat towel, etc. all framed for the world to see. THE fedora hats used in filming the music video “Bad” and “Smooth Criminal”, both autographed by the King ^^. Sorry…no photography allowed. There was also a theatre in the back where you could watch a performance for 400 yen.
In the audience seating, there sits a life size MJ dressed doll mid-centre with the area roped off. This is where MJ sat when he visited.

New Years Countdown

There were a couple stages around, all with different performances. We headed to the main stage where most of the crowd was, and though it was cold everyone braved it out. Especially those who came out, and stayed out this whole time to be up front by the stage. We weaseled ourselves far into the center as we possibly could – our attempt to steal body heat from others…not so effective…

Mainstage.
Optimized zoom, we were really farther back.

With less than 5 minutes to go before midnight the wind began howling like crazy, and then it began to snow! ‘Wow, everyone look it’s snowing!’ cried one of the MC’s on stage, wearing a bright yellow puffy ski jacket. Everyone began pulling up their hoods, tightening their scarves, and girls in mini skirts shrieked it was cold…
…‘Sucks to be you hunny!‘ I thought as I snuggled into my hooded down jacket like an Eskimo.

Countdown in GO, SHI, SAN, NI, ICH – Happy New Year!!

 

Eskimo kiss and que the fireworks.

Yufuin Onsen

My first birthday in Japan! Woot-woot! We got up early in the morning to catch the train to Yufuin, Oita. For my birthday we were going to be to checking out the onsen (hot spring). Oita Prefecture is known for its onsens (hot springs), and during the winter time they are the best thing to happen to anybody.

Ryokan Entrance in Yufuin

No matter where you are staying, there are tons of onsens around. Even Ryokans (Inns), open up their onsens to the walk-in public. Prices and onsen times may vary, so just check with the counter.

We stayed in a ryokan, and on the property were 3 private onsen rooms and one public onsen. After checking in we headed for a walk around. The weather was off and on, rain then stop, rain then stop, etc. After quickly checking out the area we quickly headed back for a soak before dinner. In cold, rainy weather a soak in an onsen is a very nice feeling.

Outdoor Private Onsen: open till 10 pm.

Onsen Etiquette

Before entering the Onsen bath it’s customary to scrub yourself off before entering the pool. The onsen is considered “pure”, and shouldn’t be made dirty. A small shower station is always found by the pool for you to soap and shampoo off. After rinsing off then head in for a nice soak.

**Note: The head should never be submerged underwater. If a person wants water over their head it’s best to soak a wash cloth then wring out the water onto them.**

Sometimes the water may be TOO hot to even set foot in. In that case, look for a water tap somewhere around the pool. Turn on and the cold water will help bring the Onsen to a more bearable temperature to start.

Indoor Private Onsen: Open 24 hours.

Ryokan Meals

The one thing I love about Japanese Ryokans is the awesome food! Huge with small portions and delicious! Dishes are adjusted with seasonal ingredients available, and are always served with a good size container of rice.
**Warning: will no doubt cause food comas! Recommended that you wash and soak up first before dinner. That way if you pass out it’s all good!**

Dinner

Dinner: Mini Nabe (hot pot) with egg for dipping^^.

Breakfast

P.S. Many thanks to my neighbor for her help and recommendation to this place!! L-O-V-E-D it!!

^^Happy Birthday to me!^^