Snapshots Roundup! #1

Heya beautiful peeps!

So I've decided to make Saturdays a little more laid back, and just show some of the photos I've taken via my smartphone. These won't be professional or anything (since my phone is probably considered rather ancient now...but it's still a smartphone, so yahhh), just some snaps of random things I see that are interesting or strange.

So to kick it off, today will be quirky foods found in the shops! That would include veggies of different sizes, shapes, etc. and food items that are just a bit more interesting than what I've seen before.

Different Shaped Watermelon

I first saw cube-shaped watermelons via the internet, but never in person...until I arrived in Japan, that is. But seeing heart and pyramid shaped melons was rather interesting. (They'd better be good too for around $50 a pop!) To my understanding, to get watermelons to form into certain shapes, they need to be grown inside a shaped box or mould...not sure what that does to the nutritional value, probably nothing, haha. But nonetheless, an interesting find!

Tamago Eggplants

If you follow my Instagram (@ichigonyankochan) you would have seen these tiny white eggplants. Their name 'tamago nasu' literally translates to 'egg eggplants' which was rather amusing to my simple mind. We didn't buy any, but I do wonder if they actually taste like regular eggplants...would be fun to trick some people and stick these into egg cups for breakfast, bahaha~

Green Cauliflower

This is a variety of cauliflower that is not only green but looks badass! I love the way it's grown with spiny little mountains, very fun and unusual! I've also come across purple, orange, and green non-spiny varieties of cauliflower. Much more fun than the regular white!

Long Carrots

You would've also seen these if you follow my Iggers. These suuuuuper long carrots were very amusing to see! And once I'd come across them they appeared in many other places...at such a great length, I think these would make great light sabers or poking tools...or you could, y'know, make a big carrot cake, just to be more practical.

Seasonal Flavoured Treats

As you can see, these were from Halloween, and during this time of year you can see pumpkin flavoured EVERYTHING. In the autumn season you can also see a lot of chestnut flavoured items, but the pumpkin theme was rather interesting. This photos is just of a bunch of sweets (KitKats, hard candies, jellies, etc.), but there were drinks, savoury snacks, cakes, and I even came across pumpkin instant noodles. So yeah, they like to go overboard with their seasonal themes!

Cartoon Themed Fishcakes

While I don't support the consumption of fish, these were still an interesting find. These fish cakes are for slicing (except the round Doraemon ones) and putting into bento (Japanese style lunch boxes), and as depicted by the cute cartoon character's faces, these are catered for children...or anyone who likes anime (Honestly, if these were veganized, I'd go for Pikachu~).

White Pepsi

 

Has anyone else seen these? Because I haven't! Looks rather intriguing, and I wonder about whether they add less or more chemicals to make it white...probably more, something like a bleach...Anyway, I've never seen it, but if you have then drop a comment and tell us!

 

With Christmas and New Years coming up, I'm sure there'll be an abundance of pretty, cute, and interesting food items, so I'll make sure to snap some pics of them to share in future 'Snapshots' posts. Did you like anything from this one? Let us know in the comments! Or if there's something you've heard of and want to see, let me know and I'll try to do some scouring around!

 

Until next post, later everybodeh!

My thoughts on Compassion

Hi! This post is a day late due to the fact that I am the laziest princess in all the land. Not gonna lie, I watched documentaries, gaming videos and slept a lot instead of doing productive activities. Yay me!

 

Okay, so today I'm going to write a little bit about compassion: a word I'm seeing and hearing more since I ventured down the vegan and cruelty-free path.

 

My amateur photography skills

 

What is compassion? The definition of the word 'compassion' is 'feeling sympathetic pity  and concern for the suffering and misfortunes of others' (As found via good old Google).

It's a feeling I believe I experienced before I became vegan, generally having pretty good intuition and sympathizing with friends who were in pretty unfortunate places in life. And now that I've exposed myself to the dark world that is animal exploitation, my compassion levels have risen a lot more. While it is definitely possible for everyone to feel compassion, personally I feel like vegans, cruelty-free advocates/animal activists, and those who are passionate about humane issues (poverty, slavery, etc.) have that little bit extra.

 

Showing compassion may seem weak to some, but it's a very powerful trait to have. To show compassion means to be able to show your emotions and make yourself vulnerable, all while sharing and supporting your beliefs. It also means you feel more connected to things, such as people on different social levels, animals and nature, plus feeling compassion creates a more broadened point of view and an open mind. Compassion towards abused and exploited animals, towards people who are facing situations like sexual/religious/racial/gender discrimination, and towards environmental issues like global warming and keeping our lands abound with nature; it all creates such a special and spiritual connection, one that I feel is growing and spreading to more and more people today.

Showing compassion and opening your mind and way of thinking is such a rewarding act. For me, I feel more connected with mother nature and with people, in both negative and positive lights, and I personally feel more open minded to peoples' views, opinions and reasons. I don't discriminate against race, sexuality or anything, because I can imagine the struggles those in such rough situations. I don't have the right to spread hate when I don't completely understand from a first-person point of view anyway. I have seen the way humans exploit animals, and now I can see how wrong it is. I feel more of a connection, and compassion for these beings.

I believe if everyone just opened their eyes, their hearts, and their minds a bit more, and actually tried to understand things on a deeper level, there would be more kindness in this world. With the reliability on media that is so focused on negativity, I understand that it's difficult to see any progress in humanity, and attempting to feel more compassionate and emotional towards others would seem useless. But what's to say doing small things won't change something? You can show compassion in small ways, and gradually increase it.

For example, buying 'Fair Trade' goods to support fair trade, or donating your change to an animal sanctuary, or going to a craft market and supporting local small business by purchasing something handmade. These small acts are ways to show compassion, and show that you care about animals, the environment, the economy and peoples' livelihoods. Think outside the box and consider others, because it not only benefits them, but you end up feeling a little more fulfilled too.

I'm not sure if my little ramble here made any sense, but I did try my best! (I'm highly skilled at starting with one topic and jumping through various topics until I'm onto something completely unrelated...within a matter of seconds when talking, mind you.) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this entry although a day late, and I'll see you next post!

Buh-bye, beautiful people~

Travel Tuesday - Jodogahama, Miyako, Japan

Recently, my partner and I decided to go on a day trip to coastal Japan to see the ocean, so we hopped into our lil' black car and ventured off to Miyako prefecture (in the Touhoku region) to a place called Jodogahama. On the way, we also stopped by a coastal town (Miyako City) that was impacted by the 2011 tsunamis.

On some of the buildings were guide lines showing how high the water levels were at the time of the tsunamis, and I'd say they were about 3-4 metres high. It's such a daunting thing to try and imagine, being engulfed by sea water so high with such force, and without warning. Now, four years on, things seem to be almost all rebuilt, with a lot of the buildings having actually withstood the earthquake and tsunami impact.

So we spent a little while here, went into a small shop that sold souvenirs and a lot of seafood (buuut we didn't buy any, dun worry!), then continued onto Jodogahama. It was a pretty nice day too; very sunny and almost warm (but not super warm, as it was virtually winter), so it was extra enjoyable. We drove up and over a hill, and not long after that we arrived at Jodogahama, where there was a big car park and an information centre, and a map for some hiking trails along the coast. We didn't get to see all of the landmarks, but we saw the ocean and a few rocky islands, and a small beach area.

The name Jodogahama is translated to 'Pure Land Beach', and it is part of the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park. It's very scenic, very windy (as expected for a coastal location), and quite nice for those who like to hike a little. Nothing too strenuous either, so beginners can easily walk these trails.

I've been told this is a 'ghost spot'...ooooh~

 

 

The water was quite clear and the waves were pleasant to watch, even if some decided to splash us (had to protect my camera frantically!). Plus there was a small cruise boat for tours around the area, and a spot where people can ride swan-shaped pedal boats (how romantic, lel).

After walking around the sea-level area, we took a short hike up a hill to see out over the Jodogahama area. It was a little steep, and the steps were formed by tree roots, which was rather interesting and a little bit magical.

Upon arrival atop the hill, we were greeted by a very beautiful view over the coast and ocean. The actual beach area is quite small, as you can probably see in the photo below, haha! But the sight was still quite amazing. This was only one part of the area, and in another there's apparently a big geyser type attraction, but we didn't get to see it this day.

 

 

We spent a little while up at this lookout and I took a lot of photos as usual (this is just a small portion), before venturing back to the car and making our way back home. The sunny day soon turned to cold and snowy as we headed through the mountains, though...but anyway! This short trip was quite nice, it was good to see the coast and to hike up a small cliff (yay, conquering fear of heights!)

 

Hope you enjoyed this little recap of one of the many trips we have taken. Have you been to Japan before? Or have you been to a pretty coastal spot elsewhere? Let us know in the comments!

 

Have a wonderful rest of the day, lovelies~