Canmake Cheek & Cheek Part III

This Canmake Cheek & Cheek 07 Orange Bouquet is a limited edition release that was supposed to be out in early July. So learning from past experience (plus advised by Haru from Rouge Deluxe) I started stalking my local drugstores 1 week before the supposed release date of July 2. Nothing. I continued to stalk the shops and July 2 came and went. Still nothing. It wasn't until the third week of July that these new released hit my local stores. In addition to this new Cheek & Cheek, I also bought the new Candy Wrap Lips as well as the Whip Mousse Lips. Will post these next!

Canmake Cheek & Cheek 07 Orange Bouquet. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Coffret D'Or Smile Up Cheeks

Ever since the Coffret D'Or Smile Up Cheeks were released, I've been checking them out every time I visit my local drugstores (that's a whole lot of times!), only to walk away cursing at their bulky compacts. The blushes are really pretty, but the fact that they're housed in such a waste of space of a compact really pisses me off. But then I remember that I'll be moving out of Japan a few weeks and if I were to change my mind then, I would have to pay exorbitant markups plus international shipping to get them back home. Plus one of my local drugstores was bundling them with 20mL trial bottles of Kanebo Suisai skincare, so after holding out since the beginning of the year, I finally gave in ^.^

Coffret D'Or Smile Up Cheeks in 02 Peach (left) and 03 Rose (right).

There are 4 colors available: 01 Pink, 02 Peach, 03 Rose, and 04 Orange. 01 Pink and 04 Orange were sold out at that location, so I only got 02 Peach and 03 Rose. I probably won't get 01 Pink and 04 Orange since the colors are too close to the ones I already have. And plus the bulky packaging isn't exactly encouraging. Urgh.

Maharaja (Indian Cuisine)

Went to a Maharaja Indian restaurant at Shin Yokohama Station recently and had a good meal there. Although the name Maharaja greatly confuses me - how many freakin' Indian restaurants out there with this same exact name? I've always thought they are a chain, but then a google search yielded a bunch of different Maharaja restaurant websites and it didn't look like they are affiliated with each other. Did I miss something? I thought businesses within the US cannot have the same name, but it seems every US state has at least one Maharaja restaurant that isn't affiliated to the next state's O.o

Anyway, so it seems there are Maharaja restaurants here in Japan too, although the one I went to indeed belongs to a Maharaja Group chain that also owns Khazana, another Indian restaurant hubby and I frequent. See the chain's official website (in English and Japanese).

Tikka platter with 2 pieces of chicken and 2 giant shrimps. We actually started eating before I remember to take a picture, which is the reason the shrimps are, umm, absent ^.^ Oops.

Caudalie Pulpe Vitaminee Anti-Wrinkle Fluid

I think I'm really starting to like Caudalie's Pulpe Vitaminee range! In addition to the fantastic (albeit overpriced) Eye and Lip Cream, I've been using a 4mL (0.13 fl oz.) sample tube of this Anti-Wrinkle Fluid it's great too! Now that I think about it, Caudalie as a brand in general has been great and several of their products (Eye and Lip Cream above, Beauty Elixir, Lip Conditioner, Hand and Nail Cream, etc.) have worked really well for me and I like them a lot. 

Nagoya Castle, Nagoya, Aichi (Picture heavy!)

Another highlight of our short trip to Nagoya was definitely a visit to its castle. There is a long history to this Nagoya Castle, but in short, the original no longer exists - it was burned down during the 1945 Allied Forces' air raids. The one standing today was reconstructed in 1959 (I believe) and even then, it's only a shell of its former self. Inside is actually a multi-leveled museum. 

Part of the castle's dried up moat.

If you're wondering, no, this was not the super boring museum I hinted at in my Nagoya City Science Museum post. In all honesty though, while the castle museum wasn't as fun and interesting as the City Science Museum, the site of the castle and its surrounding area was worth the trip, even in the sweltering heat and humidity. I swear I must have sweated a bucket that day. Urgh.

One of the turrets.

Yamachan versus Furaibou

For some Starbucks fan, visiting Seattle means getting a latte from the original Starbucks shop. For some fans of chicken wings, visiting Nagoya means beers and loads of wings from the Yamachan honten (the original shop), at least that was what hubby's colleagues, H. san and A. san said. They both are fans of the chain and were eager for us to have a taste of the famous wings at the very first shop where they rose to fame. Wings? Do you really have to ask? I was all in ^.^

Yamachan honten's signage. Their mascot is actually a cartoon of their CEO. Isn't that hilarious? They literally put his head on everything, from the napkins to the beer pints to the plates. They even had sheets of puzzle games, like find the 7 tiny differences between 2 pictures or connect the dots, etc., all with his face on it! LOL!

Nagoya City Science Museum, Nagoya, Aichi

Hubby loves astronomy so he was looking forward to visiting the Nagoya City Science Museum for its world largest solar-powered planetarium. However, the Sunday we went was also the first weekend of summer break for Japanese school children (their school year starts April 1 and they only get about 6 weeks of summer vacation at most), and needless to say tickets to the planetarium were sold out early on in the morning. 

Trains on display outside of the museum.

Nagoya, Aichi

Two weekends ago hubby went on a short weekend trip to Nagoya with 2 of his colleagues to visit a well known professor in their field. Being so spoiled I got to tag along again since I don't mind wandering around by myself while they go do their thing ^.^  

The best part about traveling on the Japanese shinkansen? The specialty bentos, duh! And of course the ride on the Nozomi (the fastest shinkansen service between Tokyo and Osaka) was super duper smooth. The trip from Tokyo to Nagoya took about 1.5 hours, with just one more hour to arrive in Osaka. Awesome, huh?

Hubby's specialty seafood bento from Sendai and my sukiyaki bento.

Neighborhood Obon Festival 2012

I thought I'd end the month of July with this post ^.^

This year, our neighborhood's Bon Odori (Obon Festival) was on the last weekend of July, 2 weeks later than last year's. Hubby actually saw a flier advertising it this time, so it didn't catch us by surprise like it did last time. We went out there pretty early, about 30 minutes after it had started and the lines for snacks and drinks (yakitori, yakisoba, hot dogs, beer, shaved ice, etc.) were already out the park's gate!

Watch a video I took of the festivity while standing in line for yakisoba ^.^

I'd say this year's Bon Odori was much more lively than last year, which was a bit more solemn due to the earthquake and tsunami occurring just a few months back. Lot of kids were running around, kicking up a storm of dust but no one minded, except perhaps those who were eating ^.^' Watch this video I took of the opening dance.

Kamatora Delivery

Urgh. I'm behind on my posts again. Sorry! I'm catching up now since there are some fun posts lining up for August ^.^

Kamatora is a brand new addition to our delivery-only list, serving somewhat traditional Japanese food cooked in a steel bowl coated with non-stick teflon on the inside. We were so excited when we received their menu flier we called to order just an hour after the flier dropped LOL! Let's just say pretty much everything on their menu is drool-worthy, check it out for yourself via their official website, by which you can also place delivery orders. The lunch selection is small, only a handful of choices, but the set meal is much more filling than it looks.

The coolest part? They actually deliver the food in real tableware, just like our favorite Neighborhood Chinese Restaurant! Each set meal comes with its own wooden lacquered tray. The main entree in the steel bowl encased in a wooden holder and lid, a few slices of pickled vegetables (they just love pickles here in Japan, and I do too so it works out perfectly ^.^), and another lacquered tray of condiments with shredded nori, chopped scallions, and grated real wasabi. For what, you may ask? See that thermal pot? It's *not* tea but rather dashi. Hubby and I were totally fooled the first time we ordered, only to find out upon pouring each other some "tea" into our tea cups that this "tea" looked and smelled suspiciously like...fish broth xD