London Life

Mochi Rose

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In February I created a Japanese Sweet in a Rose shape for Valentine’s Day. It was a type of sweet called ‘Nerikiri’. This month I made another rose shaped sweet and this time it is Mochi Rose. ‘Mochi’ is a sticky and gooey rice cake that is getting so popular in London but actually it is not the easiest material to make into some shape. This Mochi Rose is my second attempt in a flower shape by following the Clematis I created in May. I like trying to create something new.

Mochi Rose

Unlike the pink Rose in February for Valentine’s Day, the colour of the flowers I had in my mind for summer is orange and yellow.

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Tanabata Bamboo on the 7th of July

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Tomorrow, the 7th of July, is a day called ‘Tanabata’ Day in Japan. It is not a national holiday but we have events and festivals on that day all over Japan. It is based on an old story that a young couple (stars) who fell in love with each other far too much and neglected their work made the God got very angry. The God decided to make them live separately on each side of the river (the Milky Way), however, seeing that how sad they became, he felt sorry for them and gave them permission to cross over the Milky Way once a year on the night of the 7th of July if the weather is good and the sky is clear. I posted this story in more detail two years ago so if you are interested to know please visit the post.

1280px-___(19545533256)This is the story that happens in the sky above us, so what can we do down on the earth? We wish it’s going to be a clear sky on the day so that the couple will see each other. As the gesture that we are wishing for their happy meeting we put a bamboo outside our houses and write our wish on a piece of colourful rectangular paper called ‘Tanzaku’ and hang it on the bamboo. Around this time of last year I was working with a British retailer in London. He placed a bamboo outside his shop and asked his customers and passer-by to write their wish and hang the Tanzaku on his bamboo. Amazingly to me it was a huge hit. All people loved the idea and enjoyed the sight of it so much.

Tanabata Bamboo

By imagining the sight of Tanabata Bamboo I created this sweet for July.

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Wagashi Making Workshop

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Last Sunday I had an opportunity to hold a ‘Wagashi’ Japanese Sweet Making Workshop. The venue of the event was Wasoukan, the Kimono shop located in Notting Hill, South West London. I had been thinking to do this kind of activity for many years and the chance had come to me at the end of May. Because it was decided so suddenly that I had only just a little more than one week to notify and gather people to attend.  Despite the short notice, many people made enquiries, ending up with the right number of participants for the day.

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ONE Seat Left to Grab for Workshop

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My ‘Wagashi’ Making Workshop in London will be held this Sunday (the 10th June).

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So far I received a great reaction from people but ONE seat is still available!

If anybody who reads this post would like to grab this opportunity to learn ‘How to Make Japanese Sweets in London’, please email the organizer, Wasoukan (info@wasoukan.eu) directly. As time is running out …

Japanese Sweet Making Workshop in London

on: the 10th of June (Sunday), 10-12AM

at : Wasoukan (293 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill,  London W11 2QA)

https://www.wasoukan.eu/

 

Hope to see you there on Sunday!😊

News: My First Wagashi Making Workshop is Coming!

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This is a rather exciting news to announce. I am going to have my first ‘Wagashi’ Japanese Sweet Making Workshop. In the last two years I had been asked by several people who are curious and keen to learn how to make Japanese Sweet whether there would be a possibility of me teaching a class. Just recently the opportunity suddenly arose so I grabbed it. That is why the date was decided very quickly and it is rather short notice.

 

‘Wagashi’ Japanese Sweet Making Workshop

on: the 10th of June (Sunday), 10-12AM

at : Wasoukan (293 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill,  London W11 2QA)

https://www.wasoukan.eu/

 

My first workshop will be held at the Kimono shop that has been serving my sweets for two years. They have a counter type of Matcha Bar at the front of the shop. It is a very cosy space in a unique Japanese atmosphere. The counter is quite small so the participants are limited to a very small number. I wondered what kind of design I can show the participants how to make. And these are the sweets I decided that we are going to make together!

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Lumiere London 2

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Lumiere London was a big lighting festival that was held in January. I visited several areas in central London and my journey continued from the venues I took viewing the installations at Westminster Abbey, Soth Bank, Oxford Cirus to Piccadilly through Regent Street in my previous post.

Leicester Square

One of the main exhibition areas of this year’s Lumiere London was Leicester Square. Inside the square there were giant rabbits, fox, frogs as well as a huge Foxglove plant and many Butterflies glowed in the darkness, creating a magical fairy tale world.

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It was really the Night Garden

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‘Sensu’ Folding Fan

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I say here once again ‘Happy New Year!’. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. In Japan New Year is such a big deal so the first three days of January are national holidays. Traditionally we celebrate those days in very Japanese style visually, musically and spiritually. So naturally I would like to make a very Japanese looking sweet for this New Year month.

‘Sensu’ Folding Fan 

I wondered what was very Japanese in design. I thought something that relates to Japanese clothing ‘Kimono’ must be surely very Japanese. The pattern and the texture of the silk print and embroidery work are unmistakably Japanese. So I had been thinking what was suitable as the design for my sweet making and decided to create a sweet in a shape of one of the important props when you wear Kimono. It is a folding fan called ‘Sensu’ that is made of Japanese paper ‘Washi’.

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