Traveling to Japan ; 姫路 Himeji, 名古屋 Nagoya, 沖縄 Okinawa
After saying bye to my friend at the Narita international airport, I stayed in Tokyo for a couple of nights and had a good time with my older brother. He lives in Tokyo. He works very late as all typical full time workers in Tokyo do, so we didn't have much time to catch up. Finally we found a time to have some plant-based lunch and good coffee.
神楽坂 Kagurazaka, Tokyo
I then headed to Hayama, Kanagawa to see one of my best friends and her lovely family. I had a great meet-up with two other school friends. We all went to the same school 15 years ago. We were serious students who studied hard and worked hard, not much party or clubbing. It was really nice to see them with their family, adorable kids and the mommy faces.
葉山 Hayama, Kanagawa
Then, I headed west to meet another friend, Aya. We were not very close when we were at school. We found out that she was working with one of my clients in the same office. Since then, we have been keeping in touch and meet up every time I go back to Japan. She has a charming daughter who is 6 years old now. She works for her husband's business and makes accessories for her own business. She donates a part of the profits to an organization which supports children fighting with cancer or serious disease.
This is her page : https://anello.handcrafted.jp/
This is her blog : http://ameblo.jp/anello2014/
She is one of the most inspiring friends I have. I've noticed that we work so well together. We were chatting about what I could share on my next long visit to Japan. Thanks for her hard work, we organized a workshop in a beautiful space in Tatsuno city, Hyogo.
姫路城Himeji castle, with Aya 古民家カフェcafé in Tatsuno, Hyogo
I had a great workshop with such beautiful souls. I was sharing the tips for easy and quick plant-based meals. It was challenging to find good quality vegetables and plant-based ingredients. Soy products, Tofu, natto and deep fried tofu (油揚げ) are very popular in Japan. But most of them are not made with GMO free soy beans. Also, it is not cheap to get the beans and grains which even grow in Japan. You will see lots of products are imported from China in the Japanese supermarkets.
Aya knows a farmer who grows vegetables organically in Tatsuno city which is about a 60 min. drive from Himeji city. We visited them and got some beautiful and delicious vegetables.
After such a great time in Hyogo, I headed to Nagoya which is my second home town. After I worked in Tokyo for one and a half years, I moved to Nagoya for a job and stayed there for almost 4 years. I still have good friends over there. I only had a couple of days but I had a great time with my friends.
terre à terre にて At a bakery ''terre à teere
Okinawa, this was the final destination of this trip and it was a gift from one of my friends. Do you know there are beautiful islands and beaches in Japan? I stayed two nights and a typhoon was hitting the island so I couldn't enjoy the marine sports. But I had delicious Okinawa cuisine and a great meet up with my friends.
瀬底島 Sesoko island フクギ並木Fukugi trees
真栄田岬 Cape Maeda
Overall, I have so much gratitude to all my family and friends who support and love me even though I'm far away from Japan now. Even after 8 years, I am still finding it challenging at times in Montreal. Maybe it has been many years since I left Japan. It is a great reminder that I am not alone. My heart was filled with so much love and smiles during this trip. Thank you everyone who shared time with me in Japan. Love you all xx
Love & gratitude,
Maya