Little bits and pieces of my 3 favourite things in Fukuoka
Sakura Fubuki・桜吹雪, which translates to Sakura Snow Storm is upon us in Fukuoka! At home my baby roses are still in full bloom (man kai・満開).
I got the most beautiful wagashi from Kichi-Zoh to celebrate the last days of blossoms. It is a yōkan based sweet that represents the oar of a boat, peddling through a lake where sakura petals have fallen. How dreamy! The perfect mid-day break imagery for a day a little too busy to go for a walk.
I found this spring hanabira mochi・春花びら餅 at the supermarket. It seems to be the spring twist on the New Years classic hanabira mochi. It’s a simple mochi wrapped around pink colored white bean paste. To be honest, I think the supermarket made it up but thats ok! It was cute and delicious. The flower shop across the street had the sweetest little roses. The whole city seems to be blooming with flowers right now so I couldn’t resist bringing some inside.
Kintsugi, which means golden joinery, is a traditional pottery mending technique. Broken pieces are put back together using golden lacquer, its flaws and cracks strengthened and highlighted and turned into a new, stronger piece with its own beauty. It’s not hard to extend the metaphor. Sometimes bowls get broken, sometimes hearts get broken (sometimes by the same person) but embracing imperfections helps to see different kinds of potential.
With sakura season almost over, I got an amazing sakura paste dorayaki from Rabbit Moon. I’ve had a couple already and been lucky enough to chat with the store owner again. It’s been an absolutely lovely spring, with the blossoms and exploring Fukuoka and my neighborhood and I’m so excited for the rest of the year.
It was a gorgeous sunny day so I headed back to Aburayama to see the cherry blossoms over there. I can see Aburayama from my bedroom window every morning so it was fun to go back. Since it was my second time there I didn’t take as many photos but it was still incredibly nice.
On the walk back home ( I love I can walk home from the mountain so much) I passed by the most beautiful little stretch of river with lots of trees and petals raining down, it was such a nice end to the hike!
I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself when this season is over next week. For now, I will have sakura mochi with sakura paste beside my sakura branches and sakura tea on a sakura plate. I went for a walk in the evening and it was just the prettiest ever.
Inside, I had sakura dorayaki with red bean paste. Dorayaki is like a fluffy little pancake. It was lovely. I have some sakura branches for my home and I love to look at them every second.
But outside! Very early, we went out to see the sakura near my place by the castle ruins in Ohori Koen. It was the perfect weather, and the perfect blossoms and perfect morning.
The mountain in the background is Aburayama, where I’ve been hiking and will try to go again this weekend to see even more blossoms, should I be so lucky.
It is officially full bloom, or man kai・満開 for sakura season. I celebrated with the prettiest sakura and red bean namagashi・生菓子 from Kichi Zoh. Soon the petals will start falling and it will be beautiful as well but I’m hoping for a couple more days.
Some people just have a natural, seemingly endless sources of kindness, generosity and comfort that extends to everyone around them. The owner of Rabbit Moon・兎月 (and all the staff honestly) are just so kind and sweet it truly brightens my day to go there. He always makes time to chat a minute and is patient with my awful Japanese grammar. Now they are selling sakura mochi, which is a long time favourite of mine and is I think the most popular sweet of sakura season. I bought some sakura branches from the florist across from Rabbit Moon and had a moment to appreciate the nice parts of today and this season.
Despite the rain I met a friend at Hachi Cafe for lunch and treats. They are most famous for their matcha tiramisu so I got the houjicha・ほうじ茶 version which is nice and toasted tea, perfectly suited for cooler weather or rainy days. And of course can’t say no to a matcha bowl.
It turned out a more rainy than I had hoped and had to cancel a hike. I still got out to see a few cherry blossom trees (these are in front of my building so I didn’t get that far) and a few treats. Another watermelon and white bean daifuku from Hanabishi・果実大福 華菱. There was a shop nearby selling whip cream and fruit sandwiches, which are incredibly popular in Japan (you can get them at 7-11).
Tea, Sweets and Trails 