Japanese Cultural day at Mt. Coot-tha

 Tea ceremony performance

Flower arrangement

 

We went to Mt. Coot-tha today with our friends to experience Japanese culture.
I wanted to see Urasenke style tea ceremony; I was curious how different Urasenke style is from Edo senke style which I am currently learning.  We also wanted to try freshly pounded mochi.

As the weather turned out to be very nice, the event was popular with many people.
I enjoyed observing each movements of tea ceremony. The basic is more or less same but how they handle fukusa or chashaku is different.

We had a chance to eat some very fresh and tasty mochi. I haven't had such fresh mochi for a long time.

Kitsuke for photo shooting- Japanese Cultural Day event @ Mt. Coot-tha

The photo is from this link →

http://www.couriermail.com.au/life/whatson/celebrate-culture-in-japanese-garden/story-fn8zvh1s-1226122062496

Japanese cultural day event will be held at Mt. Coot-tha this Sunday. Please click the link above for the details.

My friend works for Consulate- General of Japan asked me to dress a model in kimono for photo-shooting by Courier Mail. I had just dressed her and didn't go to the photo shooting, so I was very excited to see this image:) 

※着付けを習いたい方、着付けをしてもらいたい方、ぜひこちらのHPをご覧ください。

Japan Week: Japan Town festival is coming close

I am going to have a stall at Japan Town festival, organised by QUT Japan. The event will be held at QUT campuses during Japan Week.
I will bring kimono accessories and original jewellry including new items I haven't listed on Etsy shop.

This is an event to introduce Japanese culture and also to raise money to help those affected by Japane earthquake and tsunami. The event features Japanese instrumental performances, a quize on Japan, origami lessons, games and Japanese food stalls.

Details:
31st August: QUT Garden's point campus,  2 George St, Brisbane QLD 4001
1st September: QUT Kelvin Grove campus, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane QLD 4059
11:00am-14:00pm Free admission

Osen, Japanese TV drama- must to see for kimono lovers!

All these images are borrowed from Nippon Television web site.

Osen, Japanese TV drama, was on Air in 2008.

My tea teacher recommended me to watch this TV drama as she knows I love kimono so much.

Yes, I enjoyed a lot visually.

Actress Aoi Yu plays a main role as a general manager of a long established Japanese restaurant. She changes kimono 3 times a day or more. From her dressing gown kimono to casual kimono before business hour, then to formal kimono during business hour, then to dressing gown kimono.  

The story itself is nothing special, but quite interesting to see the old fashioned style cooking procedures; how they grow their own veggies, miso and koji, how they prepare before cooking and how they actually cook.

If you like kimono, or Japanese food, or cute Japanese girl, you will enjoy this TV drama.

Cute cat earrings

I have listed these super cut cat earrings on my Etsy shop.
Perfect gift for cat lovers!

Honke Owariya, soba noodle restaurant since 1465

 

Honke Owariya is my favourite soba restaurant in Kyoto, which is located near Karasuma oike station.

Isn't it amazing this place has more than 500 years of history! 

The inteior of the ground floor seems to be really authentic. I wonder if it it original.

Anyhow, this is where you can enjoy soba as well as history without paying fortune.  

The following is borrowed from their website.
"Since 1465, Owariya noodle restaurant, originally a confectionary shop, has been loved by the people of Kyoto. Besides serving Kyoto restaurants throughout history, Owariya has also been patronized by the emperor's family and monks from Kyoto's historic temples. In the Edo period we served our noodles in the imperial palace, and even today, the royal family visits us when they come to Kyoto. We have been keeping our traditional tastes and serving from our hearts for over 530 years. We hope that you, too, will enjoy this tradition"

Orange, gold and black kimono obi sash clutch bag

More flap clutch bags made from kimono obi sash.
I have three of these bags made with the same gorgeous obi sash on my Etsy shop.
These are really gorgeous fabrics!

Kimono clutch bag with flap

 

I have listed several kimono clutch bags recently on my Etsy shop.

I made some pencil cases using the same fabric which I haven't listed but I used up this obi fabric for these clutch bags.

I did like this fabric a lot, but kimono and obi are one of a kind materials. I won't find the same fabric again.

Hopefully I find something similar in near future.

Another Ozu film- Ohayo, Good morning 1959

We borrowed another Ozu dvd from the library catalogue.
This one is totally different from Tokyo story we watched couple of month ago.
It's comical and heart warming.
And the boy on the right was super cute.
If you want to smile, this is the film to watch.

Retro meisen bag

I like these kinds of retro fabric, which is often found in Meisen kimono, as well as traditional kimono fabric.

These are very unique fabric and definetely one of a kind bag.

This bag is available on my Etsy shop.