Cooking -- March 31, 2008

Today's menu was Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki which is a little different from common okonomiyaki. We use less dough, but more filling like noodles,bean sprouts, and tangle shavings. It is not easy to turn over the dough because of a lot of filling.But everyone did a very good job!

We enjoyed spring vegetable salad with Japanese flavor dressing.

Shodo -- March 24, 2008

A visitor from Finland joined us for shodo today. Started with practicing straight lines, she made a beautiful work 'Nihon'. After the lesson we had a fun chat over coffee.

Shodo -- March 6, 2008

Six ladies enjoyed the shodo lesson today. It was the last shodo for one lady who had hosted the class for years. We presented her a certificate of completion of the advanced course. She made a great progress. We really miss her!

Graphic art shodo -- February 28, 2008

Today's lesson started with carving lovely objects such as dolls or flowers. Then ladies wrote meaningful kanjis on shikishi paper and tanzaku papers. Gave artistic touch on them using carved rubber stamps. Happy to know a newcomer was fascinated in this program.

Shodo -- February 18, 2008

We had a fun shodo lesson today. Hiragana letters 'hinamatsuri'(dolls' festival)are really graceful.

Cooking -- February 12, 2008

Today we used winter fish buri(yellowtail). The typical way of cooking buri(yellowtail) is 'teriyaki', but today we used Balsamico vinegar and wine vinegar which made great flavor.

We also enjoyed rape blossoms which are now in season. They appeared very new to Finnish people.

Shodo -- February 7, 2008

Just two participants today, but we enjoyed shodo as usual.　One lady with two children could finish lovely pieces though she had to leave her seat several times.

Shodo -- January 28, 2008

We welcomed a newcomer from Finland who arrived in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago. Three kids were playing well while mothers practicing shodo. It was really an enjoyable lesson.

Shodo -- January 24, 2008

One regular member couldn't attend today. So three ladies practiced and enjoyed shodo while the husband worked at home beside them.

Graphic art shodo -- January 17, 2008

We had the first art shodo lesson in 2008 today.Three regular participants and two visitors from Finland enjoyed making artistic shikishi decoration and seasonal cards. After the lesson, we exchanged our news having coffee and snack. We knew our teacher got the first prize at the recent exhibition. Omedetogozaimasu.

Cooking -- January 11, 2008

This year's first cooking class was held on Friday. The menu was deep-fried cod with cut vegetable, scrambled tofu, ozoni, and Japanese sweet cake. Though there was a lot to do, everyone cooked together according to the teacher's instructions and the lunch was ready at 12:30.

Shodo -- December 14, 2007

Three ladies attended this year's last shodo, which was really the last lesson for one member. She will be moving back to Finland soon. We presented her a certificate of completion of Basic course. After the lesson we had a fun chat over nice food.

Finnish home cooking -- December 11, 2007

We had the first session of a cooking program by a foreigner. Six Japanese ladies attended and enjoyed numerous Finnish Christmas dishes, from appetizers to desserts. It was also nice to know how people spend Christmas holidays in Finland.

Cooking -- December 10, 2007

We enjoyed making sushi rolls again today. It is really fun to make sushi rolls with a bamboo mat, though California rolls are a bit difficult to make.

Hikari School -- December 7, 2007

Today's workshop of Hikari School was quite unique. Though it was quite difficult to make awabi-musubi knot with mizuhiki cords, the ladies did a good job. The most enjoyable time for the ladies might be wearing yukata kimono and having pictures taken.They looked so lovely in kimonos!

Outing to Kawagoe -- December 1, 2007

Two couples of a mother and a daughter joined a trip to Kawagoe which is known as "Little Edo". Maples in the gardens of the temples and Kawagoe castle were just beautiful. They tasted sweet potatoes and saw sights of the city such asfireproof storehouses which are now used as shops and bell tower.

Wrapping -- November 30, 2007

Five people attended today's wrapping class. Started with a review of the basic box wrapping which is not familiar to them. Then we challenged wrapping a box with a paper crane on top. Everyone did a good job!

Shodo -- November 22, 2007

Five ladies enjoyed shodo, chattering and coffee beside a lovely Christmas tree. As the member's schedule in December is quite tight,this becomes the last shodo class in 2007.

Cooking - November 12, 2007

The menu was Buta-shabu(pork shabu-shabu), but a bit different from ordinary shabu-shabu. We used lettuce and watercress instead of chinese cabbage and long onion. It was very tasty! The sesame ice cream we made for dessert was lovely, too. We enjoyed the new flavor.

Shodo -- November 9, 2007

Three ladies attended November shodo class today. The photo above shows their beautiful pieces of work written on various color paper.

Shodo -- November 1, 2007

Four members joined shodo class today. One lady who has just started her Japanese lesson seemed quite interested in kanji and hiragana as well as pronunciation of some words which are the same as her language. Of course the meanings are different.

Wrapping -- October 30, 2007

Though four members had to cancel the lesson, two ladies enjoyed the fourth lesson of wrapping. They learned how to wrap a cylinder and a bottle with thin paper. It was difficult, but the most diffficult one was folding a crane on the wrapped box. First they practiced folding a crane with origami paper.