New Year's Eve in the market

It was busy today with people doing their last-minute shopping before the 3-day New Year's celebrations. Locals and tourists flock to this part of town to buy the freshest ingredients so I decided to join in on the action!

Several stands sell the same items so how does this foreigner know which one is the best? I have a little system... go with the one that has the longest line! Yep, yep. :) This kamaboko (fish cakes) stand fit the criteria so I waited for my turn and sure enough, it was delicious.

Next up was the cakes stand. So many to choose from...no wonder people are super serious trying to pick their favorites!

One by one, I enjoyed browsing through the food and took snaps of some of the popular delights. Japanese yams, the yummy cakes, mozuku (green seaplant) and soba (long noodles symbolize long life).

Delicious treats are brown sugar, sata andagi (Okinawan donuts), the must-have mochi (rice cake), and muchi (Okinawan mochi) wrapped in banana (?) leaves. My favorite is the sata andagi donut!

After my shopping, I was getting hungry and stumbled upon an awesome place to eat. From 3pm on New Year's Eve the local shop owners set up some tables and serve homemade soba noodles. It was oishii (delicious)!!

Did I mention it cost only 100 yen (less than a US dollar)? For those of you who are in the area next year, it's right along Heiwadori towards the back. Just be sure to get there before the soba runs out...which is fast! :)

Happy holidays!

The new year is just around the corner! So many plans and things to prepare...very exciting. But for now we're going to take a little time out to enjoy the holidays. Hope you have fun doing the same. :)

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and looking foward to 2011!

Kawaii Zakka Shop

Today was an unusual day for me because I had the afternoon off...yay! So without a second thought, I went straight to my favorite handmade/specialty shop. If you're a big "zakka" fan like me these places are like heaven!

Plush toys, books, stationary...you name it, they have it.

I love all the yummy colors and kawaii characters but how do they fit everything on the shelves? Japanese sure are professionals at being compact !

If that was not enough, they even have a bakery filled with delicious treats

and fresh flowers for the home.

With some cream cheese bread and a little shopping, it was the perfect way to enjoy my afternoon! :)

FREE Printable Christmas Activity Sheet!

The kids in my English class got into the holiday spirit making these cute, Christmas trees. It's always fun incorporating crafts into our lesson because it gives them a chance to practice USING English (I'm all about learning by experience...that's why I came to Japan to study Japanese! :) ) Our focus was on following directions, using colors and shapes, and being creative.

So after folding the paper in half and cutting out our tree...

I asked them, "Find the color RED and draw some small circles. Now take out the color LIGHT BLUE and draw some squares." (Those who needed a little help could look at the board and follow my demo.) As we went through the activity, I tried to let them locate the colors and draw the shapes before I did. It was great practice and they loved making the project.

At the end I allowed them time to add their own designs and put on the final touch....

a shining star at the top! They did an amazing job and had no problem doing this activity all in English. So proud of my students...they're all such bright stars! :)

Now it's your turn. You can download the worksheet for free by clicking here. Save the picture and when you print it out be sure to select size B5 and "fit to page". Feel free to drop a line or show us some pics of your trees. :)

Have fun and happy holidays!