Japan Day 23: Welcome and Kimono Club

The office threw a welcome party for the new staff members today! For the party, we had cakes from a nearby French pâtisserie, and they all looked really cute! (It seems like almost everything in Japan can be summed up in that one word–cute!) I picked the matcha flavored one because I have begun to realize that I really like the flavor of green tea. The cake was subtly sweet, with a crispy crust at the bottom. The supervisor–the head honcho of the office–also gave us a present each today! They were wood carving of rabbits that he made himself! I am super impressed by them; in the one I picked (pictured below), all of the bunnies fit into one another. So thoughtful! 

Before we got off of work, I had a chance to visit the Kimono Club, where I got to try on a yukata (a more summery version of a kimono that is easier to put on). The first time I tried it on, the club members helped me and demonstrated how to wear it. After that, they had me (with some assistance) try it on myself! I am actually quite proud of how much I learned today! The steps in wearing a kimono or yukata are more complicated than one might expect, but I think I was able to get by with the guidance of the nice Kimono Club members. (One of them was also a Shrine Maiden– a girl in charge of caring for a Japanese shrine. I thought that was really cool!)

After that, I visited a store called Foodium, where I purchased some red bean mochi! This was the first time I tried mochi in Japan, and it is so good! The outside is a lot softer than mochi you would find in the U.S., and it was relatively cheap from this store too! What a great deal!