San-X rhinestone goods

Have you checked out all the cute new rhinestone items from San-X? Deco is big in Japan now, and I guess San-X would be silly if they didn't cash in! Haha. I think the deco computer mouse with rilakkuma is extremely cute, but a bit steep for me at 3990Y.




I could afford this Cat with white socks deco seal, I think it would look awfully cute on my DS which is also black and red.



Sorry that after this long break from posting that I only have this short post to offer. But I am going to try and get back into the swing of things slowly.

The Hikawa maru in Yokohama

Back when I was living in Yokohama, I often passed by the Hikawa maru, and I didn't know a thing about the ship until I decided to do a bit of research today.

The Hikawa maru was built by the Yokohama Dock company and was launched in 1929. Her first voyage was 5/13/1930 to Seattle, US from Kobe Japan as a cruise ship. Because of her lavish art deco interior she was referred to as the "Queen of the Pacific" and various celebrities of the day were among her passengers. All in all the Hikawa maru crossed the pacific about 254 times. During the war she was repainted and used at as a hospital ship, and used by the US army after.

She was returned to Japan in 1947 and was refitted to once again carry passengers across the Pacific. However the convinience of the airplane cause the Hikawa maru to loose a large amount of travelers and service was terminated in 1960. In 1961 she was permanently berthed at Yokohama and became a floating youth hostel and meusem. The hostel closed in 1973, and the mesuem followed in 2006, despite being declared a "cultural asset" of Yokohama in 2003.

A few years of uncertainty followed, but ultimately Hikawa maru was refurbished and the museum re-opened to the public in the spring of 2008.

I wasn't able to visit the museum in the Hikawa maru because it was being restored during the time I was there, but the outside is very grand so I can only imagine how interesting it is on the inside. Please check her out if you get the chance!

Access: The Hikawa maru is berthed in the harbor along Yamashita Park and can be accessed by taking the Minato Mirai line and getting off at Motomachi Chuka-gai station.

Snack Review: Meiji Meltyblend

Today I am snacking on Meiji's Meltyblend Fruity Strawberry メルテイーブレンドフルーテイーいちご flavor. I had heard about this chocolate on various Japan related blogs, and decided to try it out when I saw it on the shelves at Mitsuwa. This is a seasonal item, for the winter as evidenced by the snowflakes adorning the package. I got this awhile back so I can't say for sure if it's around anywhere now.

There was a just chocolate version, but I love strawberry and I think it's a little more fun to have some flavor combination going on. As promised by the package, this chocolate is a melty chocolate. It dissolves slowly on your tongue if you're not greedy and chomp into it right off the bat like me. But it does maintain it's petite cube shape well when handled, and is cover with bitter chocolate powder.

The strawberry inside melts just as well as the chocolate shell, but it's true charm point is it's bright bold, fruity flavor! The strawberry is not much more sweet than it is when in berry form, so it's a great balance for the creamy chocolate. This sweet is not cloying like American sweets, but it's got enough sugar to keep you satisfied. And it's small size will not ruin your diet or next meal!

Review Quick Facts

Name: Meltyblend fruit strawberry flavor

Source: Mitsuwa Market

Rating:★★★★★

Snack Review: G Fresh cola flavor

For this next (long over-due) snack I have decided to introduce G Fresh gummis in cola flavor. Cola flavor gummis were a favorite of me and my ex-bf, and actually there's a couple different varieties to choose from in Japan. This type is covered with a slightly sour sugar coating.

The inside is very mildly sweet, and once the initial sourness of the coating subsides, it becomes sweet and works well with the gummi center. The really wouldn't be anything but a less sweet version of Haribo cola gummis if it were for that nice coating. There's not too many in the zip top package, but it's the perfect little candy snack.

I always grab these up whenever I find them. While I brought these home from my last Tokyo vacation, I believe they are available at Mitsuwa market

Review Quick Facts
Name: G Fresh (cola flavor)
Source: Lawson
Amount: 1 packet
Rating:★★★★☆

Snack Review: コーヒービート

I first tried Coffee Beat last month while I was in San Diego, I picked it from the Japanese market Mitsuwa. In the past I never really like coffee or coffee flavored foods, but since my last trip to Japan when I ate some coffee flavored caked (to be reviewed later) I acquired the taste haha. I bought a mix bag of Coffee Beat, Apollo, and Choco Babies and bought a small tube of the Coffee Beat just before I left SD.

The outside of the individual candies is crispy like Reese's Pieces and really gives you that feeling of eating a chocolate covered coffee bean. The crispy outside coating is also where all the coffee flavor is, so you get a nice firm burst of it as you take the first bite. In the middle is some medium grade chocolate which becomes a little melty and creamy as you eat it. The chocolate and coffee flavors combined and tastes similar to a mocha.

Coffee Beat is a perfect candy for anyone who enjoys candies, people who are real coffee enthusiasts might think the coffee flavor is not strong enough. The small package is also nice as it's really easy to over eat on these little candies pieces!

Review Quick Facts

Name: コーヒービート (Coffee Beat)

Source: Mitsuwa super-market

Amount: 1 tube

Rating:★★★★☆