Zubat discovered in Ikebukuro

As the gaijin I am I didn't work much too much overtime, and could get out of the office before most of my colleagues. Could even get a hold on a couple of more pokemon on the train home (you know, just this weirdo gaijin randomly filming people on the train). When I got to Ikebukuro, however, my phone had to give in for the massive pressure on the servers..

If you're a frequent traveler you probably know how it is like to suddenly be stuck in the middle of nowhere after some unforeseen issues with your flight. That happened to me as recent as in May; after a short visit to Norway me and my husband were taking a plane back from Bergen to Tokyo with a short stopover in Copenhagen, but due to technical issues with the plane we landed in Copenhagen just as the next plane took off to Tokyo.

As a Norwegian living abroad I tend to get slightly patriotic about finding Norwegian stuff in the stores here in Japan, simply because Norway is a country most people here only associate with salmon and cold weather. It also seems that Norway doesn't do that much to increase its "brand awareness" in comparison to the other Nordic countries (who hasn't heard about Moomin, Ikea or Marimekko?), which means that once you're lucky enough to stumble upon a product that has any relation at all to your home country you kinda just have to proclaim it for the rest of the world.

Skolebolle is basically made in the same way as an ordinary bun except it is filled with custard cream in the middle and has a layer of icing/frosting on top along with grated coconut. Apparently this type of bun was first made in Norway in the 1950s. Whether you call it skolebolle or skolebrød depends on where in the country you're from. The bun originally comes from the west part of Norway where it is called skolebolle, but in the capital most people call it skolebrød (as used in the bakery in Yokohama: スコーレブロー).

I asked one of the girls working in the store about why they were selling the Norwegian buns in their store. She went to check with one of her sempais, and he apparently said it was a decision taken on chain-level to see how well this Norwegian pastries could sell.

One of my friends told me he once came across skolebolle for the neat price of 400 yen (!) at an event in Tokyo, so with only 180 yen/bun the Be LL Be sure will be getting my support!



The Be LL Be bakery is a Kanagawa-based chain that has a number of small and cute bakeries spread out through the prefecture. If you're in Japan and want to try out this delicious piece of Norwegian pastry I would strongly recommend visiting their store! You can find their stores and menu here.

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
Anette

• All blogposts from Yokohama
• Yokohama: Christmas Market at the Red Brick Warehouse
• Yokohama: Autumn Views at Sankeien Garden (三渓園)
• Festival: Pikachu Outbreak in Yokohama - Pikachu Tairyou Hassei-Chu
• Yokohama World Porters: Norwegian Skolebolle in Cafe Be LL Be 
• Weekend in Tokyo: Tanabata, Tokyo Tower & Yokohama!
• Yokohama, Shibuya & Night @ an Internet Cafe
• Visit Yokohama: Entertainment Gourmet City
• Yokohama Kannai: The Norwegian Bar - Bar Norge (バーノルゲ)
• [Hotel Review] Yokohama Royal Park - The Landmark of Yokohama
• [Hotel Review] Hotel Edit Yokohama - A Western-style Boutique Hotel 
• All blogposts about Norwegian stuff abroad
• Yokohama : Norwegian Skolebolle in World Porters
• Yokohama Kannai: The Norwegian Bar - Bar Norge (バーノルゲ)
• Norway Food Festival in Tokyo!
• Tokyo Cafes: Cafe Fuglen - Norwegian style Coffee & Vintage Furniture
• Norwegian 17. May Celebration in Tokyo 2014 - 東京でのノルウェー憲法記念日
• Norway Yumenet Presentation in Tokyo (Norsk Salong)
• Japan Hardanger Club (日本ハルダンゲルクラブ) Performance at the Norwegian Embassy
• Norway in Japan: Arne & Carlos Knitting Event
• Celebrating Norway's National Day at the Embassy in Tokyo!
• NHK on Norwegian Slow TV／NHK放送：ノルウェーのスローテレビ
• NHK E-Tele: "Gretel's Magical Oven" and Norwegian Waffles
• The Norway-Japan Society: Yakatabune Dinner Cruise on the Tokyo Bay (屋形船)

Yokohama Royal Park ★★★★★ → review .

Hotel New Grand ★★★★ .

Hotel Associa Shin-Yokohama ★★★★

Hotel Edit Yokohama ★★★ → review .

It is the beginning of July and we have just had the big season for plum wine (umeshu - 梅酒) making here in Japan. If you like the taste of plum wine you can even try to make your own, as starter kits are available in almost any of the bigger grocery stores here.

It is actually quite easy to make your own umeshu even without a kit, and it is said that it is hard to fail at making it, so even if you have any experience making drinks you could easily give it a try.


Below I'll give an easy explanation about how to make your own plum wine.

What you need:

●Plums　1kg
●Sugar　Around 700g
●White liquor　1.8L
●A clean container (For instance a 5L bottle)

① First you leave the plums in a bowl of water for a couple of hours before cleaning them. It is important to remove all dirt from the plums to avoid any fungus developing during the period the plum wine is left to mature.

②Dry the plums & remove the plum stems

④Fill the jar with plums and sugar in layers one after the other. Be careful so that the plums don't get crushed.

⑤Pour the liquor carefully into the jar

⑥Once you have filled up the jar, leave it in a dark place. From time to time you can shake the jar carefully to make sure that the sugar is evenly mixed.

...And that's it! Now you only have to wait a year or so before the umeshu is ready (it is drinkable after three months or so, but the longer you wait the better it gets!)

Step 4: Plums and sugar

When can I make plum wine?

If you find yourself in Japan the best season for making plum wine is around May-June. This is also when you can find equipment and ingredients prepared for you in the stores. Apparently the best timing to use plum for wine making is 3 months after the plum flowers have bloomed, so you can time it depending on when the plums bloom in your country.

Plum wine ready to be stored

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
Anette

A giraffe in front of Mt. Fuji (taken from Fuji Safari Park's homepage)

For people wanting to see the sacred Mt. Fuji while in Japan it is possible to combine the trip with other activities in the vicinity, and a visit to Fuji Safari Park might be an enjoyable option for both young and old travelers. The park is located in Susano in Shizuoka Prefecture, and can be reached by car from Tokyo in about 1 hour 45 minutes so it is also an option for a day trip if you don't want to spend the night. Last weekend I and some friends stopped by the safari park as a part of our trip to Shizuoka where our main goal was to go paragliding with Mt. Fuji in the background.

For many people, Mt. Fuji, or Fujisan (富士山) in Japanese, is one of the primary symbols of Japan. People have come from near and far to climb the sacred Mt. Fuji almost from the beginning of time, and after it became recognized as a World Heritage site in 2013 the number of visiting tourists have skyrocketed. If you find yourself in the area and are looking for a unique way to enjoy the view of Mt. Fuji (and you're more of the daring type) you might want to consider to go paragliding with the beautiful volcano in the backdrop.

Ikebukuro is a vibrant area where you in addition to an endless selection of places to shop and dine can find what might be Tokyo's widest selections of pet cafes. I have previously written about my visit to a bunny cafe in the area, and about Tokyo's one and only penguin bar, which also happens to be located in this part of the metropolis. This time I went to check out one of Ikebukuro's Owl Cafes with some of my friends.

In Japan it is very common to make a so-called Wedding Profile Video (プロフィールビデオ) that shortly introduces the happy couple and shows how they got together. Apparently as many as 71.9% of couples in Japan show Wedding Profile videos in their weddings, and among them 56.9% of the videos are made by the couple themselves. If you're interested in making a Wedding Profile Video for your big day you can check out some tips here:


7 tips for making a great Wedding Profile Video:
1. Focus on making a movie that guests won't get tired of watching
2. At the same time both the bride and groom should have a chance to show the pictures they want
3. Make a movie that contains comments and/or messages
4. ...That are shown at a speed where it's possible to read what is written
5. Even if the video doesn't have a clear development it should stick to its form
6. Give the video variation by using two to three songs
7. Make a video that doesn't disturb the progression of the wedding reception


There are some general guidelines for making a wedding profile video. First of all the video should be well balanced, and is usually divided into 3 parts; the background of the childhood of the groom, the bride and finally a section with the the happy couple together. Adding music is also an important part of the process, and most people choose between 1 to 3 songs for their video.

Part 1 & 2:
From baby to school age: Around 5-10 photos each
School age (from elementary school & up):
Around 10-15 photos each
Recent years: Around 5-10 photos each
Length: Approximately 2:30 min each

Part 3:
30+ photos (depending on your storyline, editing style & length of the song)
Length: Approximately 3 min

Total length of video: Around 6-8 minutes

As mentioned, one important thing to keep in mind is that it would be boring for guests if all the photos contained pictures of the bride/groom only. Adding photos that also include friends and family will make it a more interesting experience for the people that are watching.

My darling Yuma and I recently celebrated our wedding together, and I prepared this very, very simple homemade wedding profile video just using iMovie, the default movie editing program on Mac. Even though the quality might not be super top notch or anything we got a lot of positive feedback from our guests, who seemed to enjoy both the homemade style of the video as well as getting to know more about both our backgrounds and common story. If you have access to a regular video editing program and some time on your hands this type of video could be a great way to spice up your wedding ceremony.!

If you have any questions or comments feel free to drop a note below! Thanks for reading :) -Anette

• All blogposts about wedding
• How to make a Japanese Wedding Profile Video (プロフィールビデオ)
• Happy Wedding: Reusing my Mom's Old Wedding Dress
• White Pigeon Wedding Modeling in Kyoto! 
• Modeling for Kyoto Weddings: My Japanese Wedding, or the day I (Almost) Married a Stranger