Last Saturday we finally had a chance to visit a very popular burger shop Baker Bouce in Sangenjaya. It was difficult to choose one from so many choices, and I ordered 'Red Eye Bull' (extra lean meat patty, available only thirty patties a day) Cheese Burger. The chargrilled well done pate was very meaty and tasty, but probably because I've been eating like an old people these days, the melted cheddar cheese was too fatty to me. I should have ordered a simple hamburger. If this shop is around the corner (and I don't have to queue) I would love to pop in for take-out burgers. BTW I haven't came across to a Japanese burger shop which serves tasty Deep Fried Potato Wedges: less greasy, crispy outside and fluffy inside. Let me know if you know any shops.

It was really nice weather on Sunday, so we went to Komazawa Olympic Park. After walking around the park a little bit, we saw many TV trucks next to the park gymnasium. We were wondering what kind of event was going on, and it was National Women's Wrestling Championship. Hurray! We like martial arts! We had never seen live wrestling before, so we were excited and enjoyed it a lot. Unfortunately Kyoko Hamaguchi didn't take part this tournament because of a wrist injury. She is a very famous (her father is also super famous) and strong fighter who won world championships five times. But she was there, watching the tournament, apologizing for her fan club members, and posing for photos. Surprisingly she looked kind of sweet in normal clothes, but as soon as she walked, she looked like a hunter...

It's been nearly a month since I started yoga, I can finally use the yoga mat which I bought a year ago. I am an easily excited person (but quick to cool down sometimes) so I take four lessons a week now. A little problem I have now is I feel extremely relaxing while I do Shava Asana (the posture of a dead body), I fell asleep a few times... I also started to eat a grain and vegetable based diet on the weekdays only. I wouldn't call it macrobiotic diet, it's just very very simple Japanese food, probably my grandparents were eating something like this. My recent favourite is Kuromame (black beans) Genmai (unpolished whole grain rice). BTW this is not an April fool's story, my friends!

Last month I had to cancel my visit to a famous Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa in Hokkaido. But I bought Shirokuma (polar bear) Sio Ramen (salt flavour ramen noodle) at Shin-Chitose airport instead. When I saw a guy carrying a few bags of this noodle at a cashier, I remember that I read the article saying 'it's a very tasty instant noodle', so I bought four bags. Unfortunately it was quite a normal instant noodle (maybe I expected too much?). The ramen noodle was Asahikawa style, middle thin (not super thin) and slightly curly. The packaging is unique, I guess it would be a nice Hokkaido souvenir.

I was walking around Touyoko Noren-gai (japanese only) at Tokyu Department Store in Shibuya, I came across an interesting sweet at Toraya, one of the oldest traditional confectionery in Japan. The sweet is called Golf Monaka (monaka is a traditional Japanese sweets), Hole in One. The size is exactly same as a real golf ball, and surprisingly it was created in 1926! When my sister saw it, she said that probably some golfers who achieved ‘a hole-in-one’ buy this as gift. It make sense! I think it will be a nice small present to anyone though. The inside of the golf ball is smooth strained red azuki paste, their bean paste is classic and always good.

I bought fresh mekabu (wakame root) the other day. I'm so happy that the mekabu season arrived! When I wrote about mekabu last year I didn't know that I should chop mekabu first, then soak in boiling water (not vice versa!) so I don't have to struggle with the sliminess, and also I can enjoy hot steaming mekabu with pleasant fresh sea smell! It's very tasty to eat it on rice with some soy sauce, my friend named this dish 'super golden special delicious bowl'. A piece of mekabu is just for one to two portions, not enough for me. I have to get more next time. The season continues until April, I'm going to enjoy it for a while.

The other day I went to Hokkaido with C. The day after we arrived, I got a high fever and lost my voice. I was sick in bed for five days, so I had to give up going to the Asahiyama Zoo (although we managed to see the Sapporo Snow Festival on the last day). On our way back to our home from Haneda airport, my bad luck continued: I forgot a shopping bag full of Hokkaido sweets and seafood on the train. What a mess!