Shaved Ice

Japanese people are probably quite good at finding ways to feel cooler in summer and there are various ways to relieve summer weariness.

Shaved ice is one of them. It is a simple dessert, a bowl of shaved ice topped with variety of syrups such as strawberry, lemon, and condensed milk.There is a typical flag with a Chinese character meaning ice.
My recommendation is Ujikin topped with matcha green tea, condensed milk and red bean paste. Yummy, yummy!

Crape myrtle- Sarusuberi

Now the crape myrtle blossom is blooming beautifully and strong. It symbolizes midsummer. It has a myriad of small, cute crape-shaped flowers of pink, red and white.

Crape myrtle is "Sarusuberi" in Japanese which literally means "monkey slip." Funny name. Its trunk surface is so slippy that even monkeys might slip down from the tree. The older it grows, the more slippy it gets.

It has another Japanese name, "Hyakujitsu-ko." It means "red flower blooming for one hundred days." It blooms for a long time under the blazing sun.

The name shows what it is.

I want to be like this flower.

Minoo Summer Festival

This time of the year people enjoy summer festivals,both small and big,across Japan.

Today I walked for thirty minutes to the Ashihara Park where Minoo Festival was held. Minoo city is a residential area located in the northern part of Osaka Prefecture.

A lot of families and young people came to enjoy the stands and stage performances. Some of the girls wore pretty summer cotton kimono called yukata.


There were variety of food stalls and attractions. The most popular stand foods are yakisoba fried noodles, yakitori broiled chicken with sweet sauce and cotton cancy. And one of the most popular attractions was yo-yo scooping. My favorite one is goldfish scooping game.

Double-faced Gauze Tenugui

Tenugui is a rectangular cotton cloth used mainly as a towel or headcover. In Japan it was one of the most common household items up until a few decades ago when terry cloth towel became popular.

Although everyday use of tenugui dropped significantly, recently a new type of tenugui, doule-faced gauze tenugui has been popular among young women. It features different fancy patterns on each side and has a high water absorption ability.

Today I had one around my neck when I played tennis with my friends. (Too hot and humid to play tennis) It protected my neck from the strong sunlight and absorbed sweat very well.

I'm a fan of this new type of Japanese tenugui. Wittily practical!

Folding Fans and Flat Fans

Japanese people use two types of poratable, manual fans. They are sensu and uchiwa in Japanese.

Sensu is a folding fan made of paper on a bamboo frame, usually with a decorative picture, design, or calligraphic character on it. It makes a popular foreign tourist souvenir especially in Kyoto.It is also used as an important stage prop in traditional Japanese dance and rakugo comic storyteller.

In addition, it is a must item in tea ceremony.

On the other hand, uchiwa is a round, flat paper fan with a wooden or plastic handle. It is often used to advertise many things such as new products, shops and some events. Sometimes we get uchiwa in some event or on the street. Compared with sensu, uchiwa has a more casual image.

I have an impression that young students fan themselves by uchiwa while older people carry sensu in their bags.