Vegemite

Although it's not Japanese, we tried it for the first time in Japan! There is an international grocery store not far from us, and I just had to get it. I've always heard mixed reviews (2% good, 98% bad) and had to find out for myself. I knew to use it sparingly since it's easily overpowering. We tried it on toast and I also nibbled a bit off a knife. It's definitely NOT for us. I forced myself to finish the toast, and that was no easy feat. Now we are stuck with a whole jar of Vegemite....

Sassy Purse

I found this amazing purse in a "thrift" store. I say "thrift" because there isn't anything thrifty about second hand stores in Japan. They are quite expensive and normally charge full price for used items! It's a real bummer, and I dream of the day I can shop nice, dirt cheap American thrift stores. Nevertheless, this purse stole my heart.

Orange Ice Cream Mochi

Delicious summer treats (and really any time of the year) are always amazing here. One of our favorites is ice cream wrapped in soft, decadent mochi. This one had a blob of orange jelly in the middle of vanilla ice cream. It tasted like dreamcicle mochi! YUM!!

Graffiti

"Spray Beast"

Graffiti in Japan just tickles me. I don't know why... it just doesn't seem to flow with the culture. It's so un-Japanese. And among the symbols and nicknames, you get a nice sprinkling of Engrish. It's wonderful. I have kept the graffiti here PG.

"Rebel Squad" The most popular tag seen all over town

"Rebel Squad" "Thieves"

"Freeline 2 Night"

"Dope Boy" "Thieves"

Aawww

Cutest ad ever! I found this on the train. Baby panda wants his cinnamon toast!

Cafe

We visited a wonderful, quaint cafe in town, and they have great drinks. Both of us got this chilled delight, since it was crazy hot outside. Delicious!

Chow Mein

Although chow mein is not Japanese, it's still delicious! I found an easy recipe that I tried out recently and it was good! For the noodles, just use spaghetti! I would suggest using half the suggested soy sauce, however, or at least low sodium. Mine turned out quite salty. Here's the link to the recipe!

One Pot Chicken Chow Mein