http://www.city-cost.comFri, 13 Mar 2026 08:10:29 +0900A stationery loving eikaiwa teacherenCopyright © 2015 - 2026 City-Cost All Rights Reserved.webmaster@city-cost.com (CC Team)http://img.city-cost.com/static/blog_campaign_icon.pnghttp://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GO10d-foodI love trying out new tastes and although I was a bit sad that I couldn't get another can of shine muscat chu-hai I'm happy to try out a new flavor!.This time it's peach and orange!I'm not really sure why they chose to go with those flavours but it sure tastes fruity.With only 3 per cent alcohol (as almost all the horoyoi chu-hais) it's a light evening or night drink. As it's also only around a 100 yen it's an affordable drink to enjoy with friends.Have you tried it out already?Do you have a favourite seasonal flavour?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GO10d-foodWed, 20 Jan 2021 13:03:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GO10d-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GQoEL-food_money_autumnfood2020The season of the appetite has once again returned to Japan and what's a better way to satisfy your cravings other than an all-you-can-eat?!A couple of days ago I found out about a very affordable all-you-can-eat at one of my favourite bakeries. The bakery is a chain bakery called Antique Heart Bread and has stores all over Japan.If you want to take advantage of it and try many different pastries this all-you-can-eat is the best way to try a large variety and find your favourites.It is a breakfast exclusive menu so be sure to check out the hours of the store want to go to. The bakery I went to is located in Machida, Tokyo, and the last possible order there was 10.30 a.m.You can order it by going to the cashier and asking for "食べ放題" (tabehodai). There are three different menus to choose from:1. All-you-can-eat including one drink (580yen plus tax)2. All-you-can-eat without any drinks (400yen plus tax)3. All-you-can-eat with all you can drink (+200yen)On the weekend it's 100 yen more. There's a children's menu which costs 200 yen less on any days.If you are going with friends or family and they want to get tabehodai or nomihodai you have to get the same menu. My friends both ordered the all-you-can-eat with one drink but I opted for all-you-can-eat without any extra drinks but, as with basically every other restaurant in Japan, you can get free water and water refills. The store I went to offered cold lemon water so I stuck with that.When ordering you will receive a number which lets wait staff know that you ordered the all-you-can-eat menu.This all-you-can-eat is not a buffet style all-you-can-eat rather, when ordering it at the cashier, you pick a basket with a pre-selected assortment of breads and pastries. The time limit for this all-you-can-eat is one hour. From time to time wait staff will walk by with a big basket offering you a greater variety of breads and pastries which you can freely ask for. This variety includes some of the limited-edition breads and pastries, but not all of them. My favourite one this season has got to be the Halloween-style chocolate bread with a dried, hard style chocolate filling and some cranberries if you are lucky (I mention that because my friend did not have any cranberries in his part). Another seasonal pastry is the maple-flavoured croissant with almond flakes on the outside. Depending on the store and season the variety may be different but at the store I went to in Tokyo they also offered small breads with walnut fillings, pastries with sausages inside and other delicious goodies.After about an hour wait staff will come to your table and collect the number. After that you are not able to try any other breads or pastries so be sure to try the most wanted ones before the time limit ends (and before your stomach is full).To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GQoEL-food_money_autumnfood2020Thu, 05 Nov 2020 12:55:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GQoEL-food_money_autumnfood2020https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MJPk4-living_money_familylifeWith stormy weather days I tend to stay at home more often. As I live alone and am more of an introvert than an extrovert (although I do enjoy hanging out with friends and family when I do so) I don't always want to physically talk to someone. Besides reading and studying I like to write letters during my free time. As was once mentioned by Lord Baron: "Letter writing is the only device that combines solitude with good company". The cute stationery in many 100 yen shops in Japan, as well as the famous "kawaii" brands San-x, Sanrio and even Pokemon, almost always tempt me into buying a new set despite already having enough. I have been writing to a penpal from the UK for several years now and, although not being the consistent type of person, always got back to her. However, with a little bit less stress and more time on my hands now, I wanted to try having Japanese penpals. So, I checked out Instagram which has an active letter-writing community. If you don't have a preference who to write to (as in Japanese or not), then I recommend looking for hashtags such as "penpalswanted" "lookingforpenpals" and so on. In case you want to try out writing to a Japanese penpal then I recommend trying out these hashtags: "文通相手募集中”　”文通仲間募集中”　”文通相手募集”　”文通仲間募集”Most Japanese letter writers want you to be able to write in Japanese so this might be a bit tricky if your level is not that high and you want to look for a penpal there. There are many other options to find a penpal, mainly websites dedicated specifically to penpalling (typing "penpal" into a search engine usually does the trick).In case you feel a bit unsafe towards sharing your address with strangers you could also pick up a letter set or letter pad which can be as cheap as a hundred yen and start sending letters to your friends and relatives back in your home country.I think it's a nice activity (and surprise for the recipient) and a great opportunity to spend some time away from technology. Especially when it is advised to stay at home it can get boring at some point and writing to new people is a nice way to expand your horizons and get to know other cultures.Have you ever tried penpalling during your childhood or are you doing it from Japan right now?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MJPk4-living_money_familylifeFri, 30 Oct 2020 12:26:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MJPk4-living_money_familylifehttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z3B5O-foodWhenever I eat chocolaty pastry it reminds me of my days back in Germany. Although this is advertised as Frensh pastry there are many coffee shops in Germany that serve them freshly baked as well.The pastry I bought here in the supermarket has a similar feel to it. Although it is made of white pastry in my opinion it doesn't have a different flavour than brown pastry. It has a good proportion of chocolate and breadThe main difference would be the crunchy texture when taking a bite into European pastry compared to the supermarket copycat product. Nevertheless it is a tasty snack and handy when travelling.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z3B5O-foodSun, 04 Oct 2020 21:11:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z3B5O-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GOWZ7-foodI rarely buy mini cakes nowadays but when I do it has a new flavour or flavour combination. The same goes with this one. It is a small cupcake sized cake with kiri (cream cheese) and berry jam in it. The filling itself was not a lot but still tasty. Since cream cheese is usually stored in the fridge I thought I'd give it a try and put these cakes in the fridge. The next day when I had a bite and it did indeed taste better than the day before when I ate one as is. However unless you want to bring or share a snack you could also recreate the taste with blueberry jam and kiri on toast.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GOWZ7-foodSun, 04 Oct 2020 20:35:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GOWZ7-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G0vXk-foodAs I love trying out new foods and flavours I stumbled across the Pretzel snacks in daiso. They come in three different flavours. One of them is the cheddar cheese flavour. I have tried the other flavours as well but this one is my favourite. I don't think I have ever tried real cheddar cheese before so I am not sure how close it is to that taste but the cheesyness goes well with Pretzel crunch and and makes one unable to stop longing for them. I like that Japanese snack sizes are smaller than in my home country as this one comes with a whopping 264kcal per pack of 56g.Nevertheless, I love treating myself with it from time to time as it reminds me a bit of my home country.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G0vXk-foodFri, 02 Oct 2020 14:34:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G0vXk-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z4278-food_autumnfood2020Autumn is here and with it came a fresh breeze of wind and an increased appetite for savory food. I especially like exploring bakeries and cafes in Japan and have found they regularly change their goods for seasonal flavours.Oranges, marron and maple are the three autumnal ingredients commonly used in a bakery I frequently go to, but they may differ at the bakery you live close by. The orange flavoured bread has a fresh taste to it and feels especially refreshing to eat during these days of transition from summer to autumn.The marron flavoured one is the most autumnal of them all and has become one of my favourite autumnal foods.These breads include whole marron which makes them quite sweet for some people. I like sweet flavours but I offered one of my friends a slice and unfortunately it was too sweet for him. So, in case you are not into sweet flavours, this might not be for you.I have yet to try the maple flavoured bread but I think it will be delicious (and sweet) as well.This bakery does not offer such types of bread every day. Also, the leftovers (if there are any) are usually offered in the form of French toast the next day -- I believe this to be in order to cut down on food waste. But if you have the chance to buy freshly baked goods and then turn it into French toast you might actually save some money doing that. Making French toast is not too difficult either. All the ingredients you need are eggs, milk, and powdered sugar. It can be a delicious snack or a hearty breakfast. In case your local bakery does not offer any seasonal flavoured bread, why not try using the normal bread found in your nearby supermarket and flavour it up a bit? After making French toast out of it, you can experiment with different flavours of ice cream and make it more autumn-like. If you live alone, I recommend freezing a part of the freshly baked bread as that will keep it softer and less mushy in the long run and you can enjoy it on a later day. I have tried that with the orange flavoured bread and it worked pretty well. I did not let it unfreeze completely which made it even more refreshing to eat.Another great place to find autumnal foods in Japan is (the 100-yen store) Daiso! Sweet potatoes are very popular in Japan, especially in autumn (although I love eating them all year round) so Daiso have come up with sweet potato flavoured marshmallows!I really love Daiso's variety and seasonal flavours, especially when it comes to marshmallows. Definitely give these a try if you have a chance to get a hold of them.If you prefer eating sweet potatoes as they are, I recommend buying them at Don Quixote as they are the cheapest there (if you live close by) but also very tasty.Have you tried any seasonal breads offered in your local bakery here in Japan? What flavours are they offering right now? What is your favourite of these flavours?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z4278-food_autumnfood2020Fri, 02 Oct 2020 10:19:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z4278-food_autumnfood2020https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Gbk5o-living_shopping_educationI've been part of the bullet journal community for quite a while and sometimes take a look at other system calendars. A few weeks ago I went to Shibuya and happen to stumble across the Hobonichi 2021 lineup reveal event. I've seen and heard about that event on instagram before and wanted to take a look at it but always felt lazy to go just for one event. I was lucky to have been able to go on the last exhibition day.This year marks the 20th anniversary of their calendars so they had set up a small exhibition about past calendars and other stationery goods.Even though the event was very small I enjoyed seeing and touching the calendars for myself instead of just looking at pretty pictures on Instagram.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Gbk5o-living_shopping_educationThu, 24 Sep 2020 17:52:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Gbk5o-living_shopping_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MJPbk-livingJapan has a lot of different collectables. Starting from the Pokemon trading card game in the 1990s there are a ton of different trading cards and trading card games on the market. A few years ago Japan has started releasing to add to the variety of trading cards: manhole cards! The manhole cards are available in different cities all over Japan, but not every city has these cards. They are released gradually over time. These cards are quite difficult to find and since they are only found at a designated spot, they are also of high value. Some even get an extra card and sell it on auction platforms. (Many sites only give out one though.) I've given up actively trying to find (mainly because it takes quite a lot of time from the travelling experience). But whenever I stumble upon a card I won't hesitate to take a card for my collection.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MJPbk-livingThu, 24 Sep 2020 17:47:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MJPbk-livinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wZ3xv-living_educationWhile browsing through the aisles of my nearby Daiso I found a freshly added type of stamps! Detective Conan! Detective Conan is definitely my all time favourite anime and Manga so I could not pass this chance to get cheap Conan stamps for my collection.They have a total of 18 different designs including Conan, Heiji, Shinichi, Ran and many more. I bought two and got Sera and Akai. I am not sure if all of the stamps have the same color but the ones I got were both in red.The images were nicely designed and you don't need to have an extra ink pad nearby as they are self inked stamps.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wZ3xv-living_educationWed, 23 Sep 2020 21:20:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wZ3xv-living_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MdvxB-foodTaiyaki are one of my favourite Japanese snacks. They are originally made with an anko filling but a few years ago Taiyaki booths started offering them with different kinds of fillings. Recently family mart released chocolate Taiyaki. Although this flavor exists for many years already not all booths sell them so I was happy to find them in a family mart close by.They do taste okay but since they are not freshly made obviously do not have the same great taste as the booths could offer. If you have a booth close by I don't really recommend them. Nevertheless, if you don't have any Taiyaki booths in your area and have a strong craving for them I recommend giving them a try!To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MdvxB-foodWed, 23 Sep 2020 21:06:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MdvxB-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLQJP-livingMixme is the name of the Purikura machine that brings a new twist into the scene: a second camera from above!It works similar to trick art museums but with less awkwardness to ask surrounding people to photograph you. The machine offers a great variety of backgrounds and many more features. For better visibility I made a pro/con list based on my own tastes.Pros:- new experience of purikura- no need to ask surrounding people for help- stamps of your silhouette are created, which you can use creatively in any of your taken shots- position of your body can be adjusted during editing phases (only with the 2 camera shots)- huge variety of background designs to choose from- two full body shots- seasonal backgrounds are available:Start of a new school year, summer, Halloween, ChristmasCons- you can only choose 2 of the said designs (the others will be a plain color background)- the machine doesn't get rid of dark circles underneath your eyes (other machines do this)- the time between shots is quite short so you have to switch fastTo view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLQJP-livingWed, 23 Sep 2020 20:19:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLQJP-livinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MAqXN-livingCaolabo is the name of the new Purikura machine that has just been released. It was created by their trends research lab and analysis your face based on your shape of face or space between your eyes. You can be one of these animals: rabbit, cat, squirrel, dogFor better visibility and to help you choose whether you want to try this machine I made a pro/con list based on my experience and taste. Hopefully it can help you decide whether you want to try it out or not.Pros- Based on your facial features your face will be photoshopped in a different way (which is great in group or pair purikura!)- great variety of layouts- Aurora coloured layouts and pens!- you can choose to have a one shot as a pocket puri- You can get the analysis of your face sent to your email account (as one of the free digital copies)- the eyes aren't enlarged as much as in other machinesCons- many of the stamps are the same as in other purikura machines- only 5 shots are taken in total- no full body shotsHave you ever tried this machine? Do you like it?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MAqXN-livingWed, 23 Sep 2020 09:42:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MAqXN-livinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wjavy-livingMany might have known about the Pikachu manhole in Yokohama but August 2020 the first Pokemon manholes inside the Kanto area have been placed!Machida is the city in which the creator of Pokemon grew up and went to school to. The area in which these new manholes have been installed is the same area where he collected insects and had the original idea of Pokemon: Serigaya Park.Having heard about that I decided to take a trip to this area and get a glimpse of these gems for myself. There are a total of 6 different Pokemon manholes. It was a great day and it felt like a treasure hunt. Hopefully there will be more Pokemon manholes in the Kanto area in the future!Have you ever encountered a Pokemon manhole?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wjavy-livingWed, 16 Sep 2020 23:04:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wjavy-livinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MgaWm-livingJapan is known for cutifying a lot of their things and they didn't stop with their manholes. I believe each city in Japan has their own design and so I love taking pictures of their beautiful designed manholes. Sometimes a city even has more than one design. And some cities use theirs for promotion purposes to lure in tourists.If you type in "マンホール"in Instagram you will find a lot of different designs and where to find them.Have you ever noticed the different designs? Are you actively seeking them out? Do you actively try to find unique designs when travelling?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MgaWm-livingWed, 16 Sep 2020 22:45:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MgaWm-livinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GQoqq-living_shopping_fashionI have loved taking purikura since I first arrived in Japan in 2012. At that time purikura came in many different sizes and it was difficult to collect them in one album.But since last year (or maybe even earlier) they have created a set size and called it "pocketpuri" (ポケットプリ) . Originally created to fit the cover at the back of your smart phone (or at least most smart phones) it happens to have the same size as the Japanese business card (名刺). Having discovered that, I went to Daiso to get a separate album for my new purikura collection.They had created an album specifically for purikura in the past but it is quite inefficient as it can hold only a few pocket puris.Do you like taking purikura? How do you organize / collect your purikura?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GQoqq-living_shopping_fashionTue, 15 Sep 2020 09:53:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GQoqq-living_shopping_fashionhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLQ58-foodEvery year around this time McDonalds creates a smoother viewing based menu. I like trying out the seasonal menus that are more leaned towards the cheaper side so I chose to try the Tsukimi pie / moon viewing pie. The name itself does not really reveal much of its taste. When I first took a bite I was disappointed as i but of a bland piece with only mochi. But taking a second bite revealed that theres not only mochi but also azuki beans (red beans) inside. As I learned to love this combination I also enjoyed eating this McDonald's creation.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLQ58-foodTue, 08 Sep 2020 14:14:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLQ58-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wja0v-living_educationJust shortly after discovering the new sanrio stamps I found a new couple of stamps from the Disney franchise! The motives are from the movies Big Hero 6 ( japanese title: Baymax) and Zootopia. I found them in a daiso which usually has new goods way before other daiso stores so they might not be available yet at other daiso stores.As with all of the licensed stamps they each have three different motives in three different colours. Both movies belong to my favourite Disney movies. I'm not really into the early Disney princess movies and prefer animal based Disney movies so I'm super happy they made stamps out of recent movies!To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wja0v-living_educationMon, 07 Sep 2020 18:59:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wja0v-living_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zak00-livingA famous Japanese activity to cool down is watching horror movies or doing anything related to horror. The reason for that is that experiencing fear is supposed to keep you cool. I'm not a big fan of watching horror movies as I can't really fall asleep that night so when I found out that one of my friends has a few horror type games I thought I'd give it a try.We played the games "chocolate and cat" which has many different versions, one of them being the horror version.The game has both a Japanese and an English explanation and the cards are labelled in both languages so it can be played by people who only know one of these languages. It's a fun and creative way to cool down during this summer.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zak00-livingMon, 07 Sep 2020 18:45:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zak00-livinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Gbk0W-livingWhen I first played the rhythm game "Bandori! Girls Band Party" it was the first time I heard the expressions ○○の秋 (~no aki). It is used for describing what your are usually in the mood for during this season. Apparently the most commonly used ones are 食欲の秋(shokuyoku no aki, the autumn of appetite), 読書の秋(the autumn of reading) 芸術の秋(the autumn of art/being artistic),スポーツの秋 (the autumn of sports). I like the idea of giving your autumn a theme and mood and am thinking of giving this year's autumn a theme as well! Haven't decided which route to take yet though.Have you ever heard of this phrase? Do you want to give your autumn a theme? As of now mine looks to be "勉強の秋"(the autumn of studying).To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Gbk0W-livingMon, 07 Sep 2020 13:42:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Gbk0W-livinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/M964v-food_shoppingOften found in Japanese youtube videos and hyped there I could not possible pass the opportunity to try the fondant au chocolat.As it's not too cheap (around 300 yen for two pieces) I hesitated buying it though in the past.The fondant chocolat is really rich in taste and unlike other chocolate type sweets your sweet cravings are likely to be satisfied even after one of the two pieces (maybe even after half of it!). The richness reminded me of brownies which are also one of my favourites.Have you ever tried gyomu super's fondant au chocolat before? Do you want to try it in the future?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/M964v-food_shoppingMon, 07 Sep 2020 13:11:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/M964v-food_shoppinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wrVKe-living_shopping_educationI've always loved using stamps to motivate myself to study. So I was especially happy to see these new reward stamps pop up at my local Daiso store!They are super adorable and this time Hello Kitty,My melody, cinnamoroll, little twin stars, and a mix of characters have been released.Each has three designs in three different colours.Since Cinnamoroll characters are relatively rare to encounter compared to the other ones, I got Cinnamoroll this time.Which one is your favourite sanrio character? Do you use them at home for your kids or yourself? Are you going to get any of the stamps?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wrVKe-living_shopping_educationSun, 06 Sep 2020 10:05:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wrVKe-living_shopping_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z1b5D-food_moneyA few days ago McDonald's started their new Hawaiian menu. Since I love eating pancakes and often go there to study I thought I'd give them a try.When I then received my order I was... a little bit disappointed. They were smaller than I had imagined and I think the only difference between their normal pancakes served for breakfast was the sauce (which was made with macadamia nuts). Although the pancake and the sauce didn't taste bad I most likely won't be buying them again in the near future.Have you tried any of their new Hawaiian menu yet?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z1b5D-food_moneyFri, 14 Aug 2020 08:03:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z1b5D-food_moneyhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MPPYy-living_shoppingJust recently Seven Eleven came up with a Pokemon collaboration offering a tote bag if you purchase goods worth more than 700 yen. Having missed that on purpose (because I have way too many tote bags) I was happy to see another Pokemon collaboration with one of my favorite stores: ITS'DEMO.They regularly release character collaborations and this time's theme is star hunt featuring ghost type Pokemon or Pokemon related to dreams.I really like the design of this theme but definitely have too many stationery items so I was looking for more practical goods and found the design as a pillow case!I was hoping to buy the watch as well but that one sold out quickly unfortunately (or fortunately for my wallet). The fabric is very silky so it's perfect for the current season.I'm excited to see other upcoming collaborations, hopefully with other cute designs.Do you like Pokemon? Have you bought any of the goods of the current series?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MPPYy-living_shoppingMon, 10 Aug 2020 12:05:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MPPYy-living_shoppinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MAqrq-foodI've been watching a lot of videos about recommendations for one of my favourite foreign grocery stores and kept stumbling over the fried squid. Unable to find it I picked up other snacks but last weekend I was able to find them at my local store!They come in three flavours:Spicy, plain or with mayonnaise.The spicy one has a strong flavour and is my favourite out of the three. The plain one was rather boring for me so I won't be buying that again in the future. The mayonnaise one was surprisingly delicious but truth be told I didn't read the label before I ate that one so I was rather surprised when I took a bite. At around 80 yen for 5 big squids I think they are reasonably priced.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MAqrq-foodMon, 10 Aug 2020 11:32:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MAqrq-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GOWqv-educationI use a variety of ways to study as I get bored of studying in one way easily.So today I want to introduce one of the ways I study Japanese grammar and new vocabulary words.This method works with whatever resource you choose to use.1. Pick a book which you want to study from (grammar and/or vocabulary)2. Pick a grammar point or around five new words you want to learn3. Read the grammar point and copy given sample sentences into your notebook while saying them aloud.4. Try to memorize the meaning of it.5. Write a few sample sentences by yourself with eithera. words you already know (in case you choose to learn a grammar point)orb. grammar you already know (in case you choose to learn new words)6. Post these sentences to a language exchange app or forum (I'm using the app Hello Talk) to ask for help and corrections.7. Be friendly to the ones correcting your sentences and try to help fellow language learners as well.I hope this method I started using recently helps you as much as it helped me in the past.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GOWqv-educationTue, 05 May 2020 14:46:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GOWqv-educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G0vZj-living_educationToday I started my day with a short walk in my area. It was very early (maybe around 6.30 am) so there weren't many people outside.Since a couple of days ago I have been using the app "fabulous" which helps in establishing healthy habits. So far I was able to make drinking water first thing in the morning, exercising and eating a healthy breakfast (which no other method made me do). Since I had experienced a positive change even with those tiny habits I'm going to give the premium version a try. I've never purchased a premium version of an app so I'm curious of what lies ahead.I spend the rest of the day biking and decided to buy a new Kanji drill book for elementary school students as I've experienced having troubles with writing a lot of the Kanji. I started doing the first page along with some vocabulary and grammar reviews.I ended the day with one of my favorite Detective Conan movies: Quarter of Silence.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G0vZj-living_educationTue, 05 May 2020 14:43:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G0vZj-living_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLQ7D-living_foodUnfortunately this year we are not supposed to travel around during the golden week. But still I wanted these days to be a little bit more special than usual. So instead of going out I decided to get some pizza delivered.I used a 50% off coupon for an L sized pizza and got some Conan Cider to drink along with it. The corbonated drink went well with the pizza although I couldn't finish either of them.So I continued to eat it as my dinner as well while watching last year's Detective Conan movie on hulu. Hulu has decided to make some of their shows available to the public until the end of golden week to sweeten up people's time at home. Maybe you'll find something you like to enjoy while staying home?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLQ7D-living_foodSun, 03 May 2020 21:32:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLQ7D-living_foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GR1XK-living_educationMajor companies are offering free promotional items that help sweeten the hard times we are going though right now.One of the offers I am enjoying these days are the free Detective Conan episodes that are being uploaded by the official Detective Conan Youtube channel. Every day they upload one new episode and have now reached more than 100 episodes. I think it's a great way both to motivate children (and adults) to stay at home but also to improve my Japanese listening skills. Since these episodes are provided from the Japanese official website, subtitles are not offered and listeners who don't understand every word can guess the meaning as its used in context.In my case sometimes this method lets me memorize the words much more easier than just learning them by heart.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GR1XK-living_educationThu, 30 Apr 2020 16:15:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GR1XK-living_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEPRg-food_shoppingAfter reading about 7-11 releasing Detective Conan wagashi I thought maybe they'll have other Conan goods as well, so I checked out their website.I found that they indeed have recently released new Conan goods!Whenever you buy certain two items (of a selection of four) you can choose an extra item for free. This time the items had two be from a selection of health drinks from the brand Q&P.There are eight different items in total:Mini clear file (advertised as ticket clear files), sticky notes, notebooks, and big size stickers.Although this time's products are a bit more expensive than usual ones I think it's still a good deal considering that Conan goods tend to be expensive anyway.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEPRg-food_shoppingTue, 28 Apr 2020 17:10:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEPRg-food_shoppinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zKPOA-living_shopping_educationLawson is one of my favourite convenience stores and I regularly check their and other convenience stores websites in search for cool collaborations and the likes. So a few days ago I came across a special offer from Lawson. To encourage children to stay at home they let you print out two different Pokemon coloring pages for free!(Note: They are available until April 27.)How to print the pages1. Choose ローソンプリント (lawson print)2. This will lead you to a page that asks for your agreement ( I think for handling personal information). Since you don't need to insert any personal information to print the two pages just go ahead and push 同意する (doui suru, I agree).3. Select the option on the top left (ぬりえ)4. This will Lead you to the Tages that you can print out for Free. Check which ones you want to print (you can check both) and click print.5. The printing process might take a couple of minutes as they are first downloaded from the internet before they can be printed.6. Enjoy your free coloring pages!They seem to change their motifs regularly so it might be a good idea to check on their website for new motifs!To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zKPOA-living_shopping_educationThu, 23 Apr 2020 09:28:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zKPOA-living_shopping_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MYmX9-livingA few years a new wave of adult coloring books appeared and lead to many cute and adorable adult coloring books (much like everything else in Japan). Coloring is said to be a stress reducing activity. Especially in times like now it can become a great way to calm down and get rid of the stress surrounding us.Before going back to Germany for a short visit to my parents I thought of adding to my collection of adult coloring books. Somehow I stopped myself from buying any new ones and thought to myself that I could just get them when returning to Japan. Much to my surprise they were all sold out at amazon Japan! This might especially be true because stores are closed right now in Tokyo. They might still have them in stock in physical stores. Luckily, I was able to buy a few at Daiso. They even released a new series just a few months ago. Now they have about 7 adult coloring books.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MYmX9-livingThu, 23 Apr 2020 09:23:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MYmX9-livinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MY79B-living_food_shopping_money_transportation_howtoThere are a lot of different ways to save money while living or traveling in Japan. One way of saving money especially during travel is by visiting tourist information centers. In this blog post I want to introduce to you a few ways as to how Japan's tourist centers help me save money.1. CouponsMany tourist centers carry a variety pamphlets. These pamphlets, usually, not only include information about popular (and hidden) tourist spots but also discounts to those attractions. Typically the discounts are small but bigger discounts can sometimes be found. One time I went to one of Tokyo's tourist information centers and found a 1,000-yen discount coupon to the famous robot show in a restaurant in Shinjuku.2. Information on free eventsWhile sightseeing can be a big part of traveling you might also want to check out information regarding local events which are usually free to participate in and a fun way to spend your time and get to know the locals in Japan as well as their arts and crafts.3. Get the right directionsSometimes the locals know an easier or more efficient way of getting from A to B and sometimes they can give you advise as to whether or not a one-day train or bus pass is cheaper than buying individual tickets, which leads to the point number 4.4. Buy one-day passesIf you plan on visiting a lot of sightseeing spots in one area of Japan, I recommend asking if one-day passes are cheaper than paying for journeys between attractions individually. You can purchase these kind of tickets at most tourist centres that are located inside train stations.5. GiftsSometimes tourist centers either give out free gifts for you to take or hold special promotional events. Once such example is filling out a questionnaire and receiving a foldable fan in return (I did that at the tourist center close to Mt. Takao). Also look out for events where if you post something on an SNS platform, you receive something in return for doing so. Usually I do not keep the items for myself but bring them back to my home country as omiyage for friends or relatives.6. A place to restAlthough not every tourist information center in Japan provides a place to sit, nevertheless, some centers do have seats where you can eat your packed lunch or enjoy a drink (for example Tachikawa, Asakusa and Kawagoe). How does this save you money? In case you do not want to spend extra money on food and drinks during your travels you can rest there for free and do not have to look for a cafe or restaurant to rest your feet.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MY79B-living_food_shopping_money_transportation_howtoTue, 02 Apr 2019 15:28:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MY79B-living_food_shopping_money_transportation_howtohttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/w5j8r-living_food_money_sustainablelifeNot too many months ago I found an article in my local newspaper which arrives bi-weekly in my mail for free. This article helps spread awareness about how to handle food waste but more importantly how to reduce it. Since that is something that I have experienced more than I would like to admit (and maybe some readers feel the same way) I thought I would share this article and my thoughts about it with you so we can all learn from it.The article tries to catch the readers attention with the heading, "If you reduce food loss, you will also reduce your grocery bill." In my opinion that is something almost everyone would want to do, right? Save a little bit of money here and there to make daily life a little bit more enjoyable. Whatever gets you going, use that motivation to lessen your ecological foot print.So how can we reduce our food waste?1. Decide on days when to clean your refrigerator.In order to help you keep on check on things, you gotta know what is inside your fridge and what needs to be used up within the next few days. This also helps to reduce overbuying on food which might otherwise go to waste. So checking it before your grocery shop definitely helps in reducing food waste.The article suggests cleaning out the fridge once every ten days. I would probably not go that far in cleaning the actual fridge as that is quite time consuming but I do agree that it is a good idea to check the "best before" day to avoid unnecessary food waste.Speaking of the "best before" day, it helps to...2. Know the difference between "賞味期限" (shōmi kigen) and "消費期限" (shōhi kigen).Knowing the difference between the two terms shômi kigen and shôhi kigen is quite crucial in reducing unnecessary food waste. This is because shōmi kigen merely indicates that the best taste is guaranteed by that date but it does not say you have to consume it by that day otherwise it will spoil. So, eating it after that day just reduces the flavor but does not harm us if we consume it past that day. Throwing it away right after that day increases food waste when it could still be consumed.Shōhi kigen, on the other hand, means that the item spoils as soon as that day arrives meaning it should not be consumed after that day. Checking the refrigerator and pantry regularly raises the awareness of this shōhi kigen day and helps prevent unnecessary food waste.Some food items can also be frozen so that is another way of reducing food waste.3. Organize the refrigerator in an efficient way.Most of the things shown in the article might be common knowledge, like putting leftovers into air-tight containers before putting them into the fridge and sticking labels with the opened day on longer-lasting items that might easily be forgotten in the chaos of every day life. If you have to get things out of the freezer it helps to keep things visible if you store items vertically instead of horizontally.4. What to do before throwing away raw food waste.This tip is mainly meant for reducing the weight of the thrown away waste. 70% of the waste's weight comes from water and thus increases the weight of waste produced. To reduce the amount of water helps keep the food waste compact. Especially in towns were you have to pay for special trash bags in order to throw away food waste this also helps in reducing the trash bag's size, or the amount of trash bags used, reducing the cost of throwing waste away.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/w5j8r-living_food_money_sustainablelifeTue, 19 Mar 2019 12:19:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/w5j8r-living_food_money_sustainablelifehttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLb17-food_moneyWhile on the mission to save some money on groceries but still enjoying life, I try out cheaper versions of snacks in Gyomu and Donki. This time I tried out this cookie with chocolate inside.It's chocolate cream (simile to nutella) smashed between two biscuits. The shape resembled a type of cookie that is very famous in Germany. So I wanted to try it in the hopes of experiencing some sort of nostalgia which the Japanese refer to as natsukashii. Only to find out that...the biscuits are a little bit... too easy to break apart. So although the taste was similar to the German version the natsukashii feeling didn't arise. So I will probably not rebut it in the future.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLb17-food_moneyFri, 15 Mar 2019 13:11:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GLb17-food_moneyhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wj8e4-living_educationIn my free time I like to explore and wander or bike around new areas.While I was having one if these bike tours I stopped at open air sports arena to drink out of their water fountain and while I was browsing around the attached little park something interesting caught my eye:A phone charger powered by solar energy.There were spots for about five or six phones to charge and they even provided different adapters. I didn't try it myself but it seemed to work fine on the other phones that were charging. On top of the sign they had one of those solar panels which you can see on many of the new houses. I'm hoping that in the future this way of charging phones will be found in many other areas too or somehow incorporated in future technology.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wj8e4-living_educationFri, 15 Mar 2019 12:45:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wj8e4-living_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G6Z9W-living_foodThe season of sakura has slowly started with some early blooming trees in some regions but will be in full bloom pretty soon. But for now, why not enjoy the plum season instead. This weekend the town area around Mount Takao is holding a plum matsuri. Now when I hear the word Matsuri I usually imagine a lot of food stalls and other activities but this time there was only one area that had something to eat. Nevertheless the beauty of nature (almost) never fails to awe me. This was also the case for this time's hike. I enjoyed seeing a new part of an area I've visited a lot in the past.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G6Z9W-living_foodSun, 10 Mar 2019 08:27:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G6Z9W-living_foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wXk61-living_food_shoppingEaster season is coming closer and you can find a variety of easter decorated snack packages in the aisles of grocery stores.Last week while I was browsing the aisles of Daiso I found a small section of Easter decorations and since it's not really a Japanese tradition to celebrate it (much like Christmas) they actually put up a little poster explaining it.When I went they had cute little figures und coloured eggs as well as bunny ear head bands so you too can dress up as an Easter bunny. They might bring more decorative items into the stores as they did with other seasonal items. I might get a sheet of wall stickers and stick them on my blank door so it won't look as sad anymore.I wonder if Easter will be celebrated more especially in the kindergartens in the coming years.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wXk61-living_food_shoppingSun, 10 Mar 2019 00:41:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wXk61-living_food_shoppinghttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GBgAO-living_educationRain. Cold weather. But that did not keep me from taking a step outside my home and into the wetness waiting outside. And it was worth it. My local community centre was holding an exhibition of tsuroshi which were handcrafted by the town's children going to elementary school close by.Apparently, they choose a different topic every year and this year it was year of the boar (inoshishi). As you can see in the photo above the boar is not the only one hanging around.It was an amazing experience to see all the beautiful creatures as well as the big doll display and get to know my town's people better.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GBgAO-living_educationTue, 05 Mar 2019 23:33:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GBgAO-living_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/we8A4-foodI love trying new ice cream flavours and Essel Super Cup is one of my favourite ice cream brand. So I was very happy to see that they had released a new flavour! This time it is salty butter cookie flavoured. The base is vanilla and inside there are bits of cookies, surprisingly bigger than I expected. I did not really taste any butter, though.The flavour resembles the one MOW released last year (salty caramel) which I also enjoyed eating but is not available at Donki.I really enjoyed this new flavor and will probably try it a few more times before it vanishes like the other limited edition flavours.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/we8A4-foodTue, 05 Mar 2019 18:58:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/we8A4-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zK9yN-living_shopping_transportation_hachioji_shi_tokyoSince my first travel to Japan I have been very enthusiastic in collecting the commemorative stamps found in various museums, train stations and other places.Like every year JR is hosting a Detective Conan stamp rally; this year it's held from February 12 to March 24. Usually I just collect the stamps of the stations that happen to be on my way but this time I thought, why not collect some stamps while making a bike tour? The weather was sunny and I got to explore part of my town I haven't seen before. It was also the first time I collected enough stamps in a stamp rally to receive one of the limited collaboration items. Not really sure if I'm going to collect the rest of the stamps of this stamp rally though as the stations are quite far away and I don't really want to spend a lot of money to collect stamps. My favorite stamp so far is Conan dressing up as Kaito Kid. Isn't that grin just adorable?! During the first phase you can get a ball pen as a reward, the second will be a pouch and the third a clear file. I got my ball pen at Tachikawa, which also has a pop up store in the ecute building on the 3rd floor. After taking a look at all the merchandise (which was obviously overpriced), I decided to get a note pad and a postcard of the teaser poster of the upcoming movie. To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zK9yN-living_shopping_transportation_hachioji_shi_tokyoSat, 02 Mar 2019 21:26:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zK9yN-living_shopping_transportation_hachioji_shi_tokyohttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Md8KK-living_food Last year in September I started taking cooking lessons at one of ABC's cooking studios and enjoyed taking lessons there. They have a system that let's you take a free lesson if you introduce a friend to their studios (you will be taking the lesson together with your friend). This month they are having a Valentine's Day special which is only available until February. Since it looked a fun activity to do with a friend I invited one of mine to make the chocolate together. Making the chocolate was not as complicated as the photo suggests. After making the dough and putting it into a form, you bake it. The baked dough is cut into three parts which are put on top of each other with a layer of jam in between. So this recipe is quite easy to redo after the trial lesson and I would definitely do that, if I had an oven in my apartment.I kept one chocolate for myself to see if it really does taste good (spoiler: it does) and gave the other three ones to my friends as "tomo choco" (chocolate given to friends) and "honmei choco" (chocolate given to the person you have feelings for). I got a lot of complements from my friends whom I gave them to who sent photos of it saying it looked like store-bought chocolate.So, if you always thought of wanting to learn or improve your cooking skills I recommend taking a trial lesson.ABC has special offers only available during the trial lesson so you might want to have a look at their website before taking the lesson if you are thinking of joining them afterwards. One thing to take into consideration before taking the trial lesson is that they are offering these free lessons with the aim of introducing you to the studios so half of the time of the the free lesson will be used to explain all the different courses you are able to take there.*Note: the trial lesson is only free if you are introduced through a student of their studios, otherwise you pay 500 yen to take the trial lesson.If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments section.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Md8KK-living_foodWed, 13 Feb 2019 10:49:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Md8KK-living_foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G7vVn-living_food_fujiyoshida_shi_yamanashiHidden next to Fuji Q Highland lies the fairytale world of Gaspard et Lisa.These two French characters have their own theme park which does not require any entrance fee and is generally open from 9:00 to 17:30.Although originally aimed at children, in this theme park there are also many things adults will be able to enjoy.1. Les Rêves Salon de Thé: The Café with a spectacular view of mount FuijiOn the first floor of this café there is a little shop where you can buy souvenirs and delicious pastry items. The second floor (which can also be reached via an elevator)is spacious and has three levels. The style leans towards what looks like the Parisian style. As it is a theme café the prices are a bit higher than normal but it also offers Gaspard et Lisa themed cakes and beverages, and depending on the weather and where you sit you can catch the beautiful view of Mount Fuji. I recommend going there in the late afternoon just before dawn reaches as the sky colors Mount Fuji in a beautiful way (which I was not able to catch fully with my smart phone camera). If you spent a certain amount there, the café will give you vouchers which you can use on the merry-go-round next to the café.2. Café BriocheThis café is smaller than the one mentioned above but has an area where you can sit outside. I have not been to this café yet but if you enjoy drinking your coffee outside and the weather permits, I recommend going there. The café opens as early as 8:30, depending on the season, so if you haven't eaten breakfast yet, this is a good place to have it. 2.Photo spotAs a photo spot lover I just have to mention the romantic photo spot not far away from the café. Here Gaspard et Lisa are waiting for you there to take a photo with them! 3. For a family date with children: The merry-go-roundThe merry-go-round features the different characters of Gaspard et Lisa's world. Since I went with a host family and we received enough vouchers from the café mentioned earlier I also went for a ride. I probably would not spend 600 yen to take this ride otherwise.3. Souvenir ShopThe souvenir shop is designed beautifully with Gaspard et Lisa in all variations and all over the place. It has a second floor from which you can catch a better view of the two characters flying through the sky in a balloon.I recommend buying souvenirs just before going back home to avoid carrying them while you enjoy the atmosphere. In the case that you are collecting souvenir coins you can also find them in this shop. 4. Eiffel TowerRight at the entrance you can see a miniature version of the Eiffel Tower with a playful water area which is especially beautiful when dusk arrives. 5. For a family date with children: Theme Hotel RoomsIf you are planning to explore other areas close to this theme park, why not spend the night in the Highland Resort hotel's themed rooms? You can choose between a Gaspard style room and a Lisa style room.You can see the rooms as well as make reservations anytime on their website.As the park is quite small I recommend combining it with a trip to Fuji-Q Highland in the morning and going to the park in the afternoon, as that is the time when it is at its most beautiful.You can find more information about the Gaspard et Lisa theme park as well as the Fuji-Q theme park at Fuji-Q's website: https://www.fujiq.jp/en/area/lisagas/To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G7vVn-living_food_fujiyoshida_shi_yamanashiThu, 07 Feb 2019 14:27:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G7vVn-living_food_fujiyoshida_shi_yamanashihttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MAnAv-living_educationDuring the past year I have not had a real plan where to go and what to experience so I let some of opportunities drift by and did not take consistent action to accomplish my goals, such as travel goals. One of my friends is an avid traveler so I let her take the lead in many of the travels we did together. Since she moved a little farther away, I haven't been traveling as much, something I do want to change this year!One of the people from whom I have drawn inspiration from is the YouTuber メンタリストDaiGo who has also written tons of books on different topics regarding self-improvement. He uses Japanese as his main language for output which sometimes turns reading or listening to him into quite a challenge for me (but also definitely helps in improving my Japanese language skills).In one of his videos (正月休みムダにする人しない人) he mentions a way to rest effectively and not lose motivation when returning to work after the holidays. He suggests doing something that is totally new to us and gets us out of the comfort zone when we get days off of work. This can be talking to new people, traveling to new places or experiencing a new activity. He also recommends to plan the trip yourself instead of letting a company plan it for you as that increases anticipation and excitement for it. So I want to share some of the short-trip travel plans I have for this year and maybe it will also inspire you in your future travel plans.Tokyo Metro Stamp RallyTokyo Metro has been doing a monthly stamp rally for more than 2 years now, which I only found out about at the second half of last year. So far I have only "participated" in one of them but found it enjoyable.Unfortunately you can only know about the current month's rally route (and, of course, the routes in the past) but not about future rally routes in advance.Taking Mentalist Daigo's advice though, I don't want to simply copy the suggested route (although that can be fun, too) but do a little research by myself and add and remove destinations from the original route. Detective Conan (around April) and Pokemon stamp rally (around July)Every year JR is holding a stamp rally featuring Detective Conan and Pokemon. In the past I have only passively collected the stamps I happen to stumble across during my part time jobs but this year I want to actively choose 1 or 2 destinations per rally I have never been too, featuring my favorite characters and planning a day trip around them. Speaking of Detective Conan, I am most definitely looking forward to the new movie airing this year April featuring the magician Kaito Kid.Mucha Exhibition (July 13-September 29)I am very excited about this exhibition as I have never seen any of Mucha's works in person. Ever since my art classes during my high school years in Germany I have been a big fan of his art style. One of the reasons might be because it resembles the comic and manga art style. A fan of his art also created Ghibli artworks which simply look beautiful and astonishing. This exhibition takes place in the Bunkamura Museum located close to Shibuya 109.Inokashira Koen and Zoological ParkAlthough this will probably be just a short half-day trip, I somehow have always been postponing it. I tried finding it on my trip to the Ghibli museum many years ago but was unable to find it at that time (and my company didn't really care to really find it so I had to give up early). So this year I want to enjoy looking for the famous squirrels that reside in this park.Trip to Kyushu: KagoshimaI have always wanted to travel within Kyushu, especially to Kagoshima. One of the reasons was to visit my friend there but another reason is the beautiful scenery with the beautiful Mt. Sakurajima and the sand onsen. When I first heard about the sand onsen I remembered a scene in Pokemon Emerald in which elderly people were taken to a sand bath close to a mountain. Turns out these scenes where actually based on Kagoshima! I was thinking of including one or two prefectures in Kyushu depending on budget and time. You can find travel information on Kagoshima's website www.kagoshima-kankou.comor on Kyushu's website www.welcomekyushu.com Although looking at this list makes me feel a little overwhelmed I am also excited to get out of my comfort zone and see different sites of Japan.So what are you looking forward to this year? What inspired you to do those things?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MAnAv-living_educationFri, 01 Feb 2019 10:24:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MAnAv-living_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wkpoe-living_food_shopping_moneyLately I have been feeling overwhelmed by the amount of food I have in my storage in the little apartment I have. Most of the food are from friends leaving Japan but I also brought over some instant meals from Germany in case I miss my national food. Since it was a large amount I only looked occasionally into it leading me to the situation I am in right now where the expiration dates of these items are approaching (March and April).Since my budget for this month is also quite tightI thought of creating this challenge for me in February and made some guidelines for myself.What do I want to achieve with this challenge?1. To cut food waste2. Save money3. Find a way to manage my groceries, rethinking consuming behavior4. Create more space in my little apartment (by using up food items)The rules I made for myself:1. Go as long as possible without buying new food items2. Budget 1000 yen for food per week in case something is needed3. Only go to the grocery store twice per weekMethods I want to use for this challenge:1. Make a wishlist2. Use time usually used for shopping to increase my Japanese language skills3. Write reviews of Japanese food items (and decide whether I want to repurchase in the future)I will take you along on my journey every now and then by doing some reviews on the Japanese food I've used up if I think it will be valuable to the community.Also additionally, since I'm feeling a bit of a rush of buying many cute items right now, I'm also including them in my challenge for this February.Have you ever done a no buy challenge? What is/was your experience with it?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wkpoe-living_food_shopping_moneyFri, 01 Feb 2019 08:39:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/wkpoe-living_food_shopping_moneyhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G7v4N-foodAs I was walking through the ailes of my local supermarket I saw something surprising: Pringles with Ramen and Yakisoba flavor!Now these definitely sound more delicious than their counterparts!The Yakisoba one is supposed to have a squid flavor. They both come in a small sized can and cost about 100 yen each depending on the store.The Ramen one comes with soy sauce flavor.I haven't tried either one of them yet but I have the feeling they might be more flavorfull and worth trying than their counterparts (ramen or yakisoba with Pringles flavor).Have you seen these chips before? If yes are you going to try them out?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G7v4N-foodMon, 05 Nov 2018 17:08:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G7v4N-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Mvvpd-living_howtoWhen moving in Japan one has to think of many things. One of those things is changing the address at various places, something which becomes especially important if you have to pay bills. One of the places people might forget to change their address is with the post office. After having just moved to a new apartment I found myself receiving bills from places such as the pension service from the previous renter. At first, I thought it might be enough just to throw the mail away. After a while I got worried though, that if I do not let the senders know that the previous renter does not live here anymore it might impact me in a negative way. So, I started researching how to let the senders know that the previous person has moved out. The easiest way to return wrongly delivered mail 1) When a wrongly addressed mail arrives at your place: Do not throw it away. This will only result in receiving more mail from the same sender. 2) Write this on the wrongly addressed mail: 配達ミス This means that the mail has been incorrectly delivered to you. Write it on the side of the envelope where the address is written. 3) Bring the wrongly addressed mail with 配達ミス written on it to any red post box and put it/them in the local slot. It might also work if you insert it in the other slot but I have not tried this so I am not sure if it works as well. 4) Wait for a mail man to arrive at your place. At first I thought writing 配達ミス will only let the senders know that the original recipient has moved and the mail would simply be returned. It turned out that it actually also lets the postal service know about who is not living in this place in order for you to not receive any incorrectly addressed mail in the future. During the next few days a postal worker will then arrive at your apartment or house -- they want to confirm that the mail was really addressed to the wrong person.The worker then asks you to write down all the people living in your household on a piece of paper. Alternatively, you can try bringing the mail to the post office (which might solve the problem on the spot), but mine is closed on the weekends and I wanted to avoid any waiting time so I found bringing the mail to the post box was the easier way for me.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Mvvpd-living_howtoTue, 30 Oct 2018 13:17:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Mvvpd-living_howtohttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zVRkP-living_shopping_yokohama_shi_kanagawaA few weeks ago I went to the Pokemon Centre close to the Sakuragicho station. At the entrance they were distributing a clear postcard notifying about its change of location. It is moving soon to a new location! Since they will close its location on October 28 they made an event were visitors could meet and take photos with some Pokemon!The Pokemon I saw were a Slowpoke, Eevee and two Pikachus, the male wearing a soccer shirt and the female wearing a cheerleading uniform. For each you have to line upseparately as they were taking turns. Unfortunately I couldn't take photos with the Pikachus, but luckily with Eevee and Slowpoke!To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zVRkP-living_shopping_yokohama_shi_kanagawaSat, 27 Oct 2018 18:43:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/zVRkP-living_shopping_yokohama_shi_kanagawahttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MqeXl-foodDuring my latest shopping trip to donki I discovered a newly released kind of cup ramen: Pringles Super Cup Ramen!I was very surprised by this collaboration as it is quite unusual to combine a chips brand and cup ramen. Apparently they both have an anniversary to celebrate which became the reason to collaborate. It's Pringles' 50th anniversary and Super Cup's 30th anniversary.I don't really enjoy Cup Ramen but sometimes it's nice to have. The taste wasn't too bad but nothing out of the ordinary. It was a little bit too spicy for me though so next time I won't put in all the spice.Have you already tried this new collaboration? How did you like It?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MqeXl-foodFri, 19 Oct 2018 12:32:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MqeXl-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z88ev-food_shopping_moneyAfter trying the regular shake at McDonald's a few months ago I've been trying a few of their seasonal editions. Since my short vacation in Tokushima where i first tried sweet potatoes I fell in love with the taste. Although Germany is famous for potatoes I have never tried sweet potatoes there. So when I found that sweet potatoes are quite common during fall season I was happy to discover that McDonald's also used them in their latest version of shakes. No question are these not really healthy (and environmentally friendly) but from time I do enjoy drinking a cup of those shakes especially since the S size only costs 120 Yen.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z88ev-food_shopping_moneyThu, 27 Sep 2018 18:37:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z88ev-food_shopping_moneyhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GBgER-foodWhile waiting at Kyoto for my night bus back to Tokyo I found some seats at Mister Donuts close to the JR entrance. While charging my phone I was looking around and saw that Mister Donuts started selling donuts with Halloween designs. They had pumpkin faces (white chocolate or strawberry), long sticks disguised as mummies and some ghost faces. As seen in the photo I've tried the pumpkin face and enjoyed eating it. These are a bit cheaper than the ones sold at Krispy Kreme but I do plan to try one of theirs too. I believe they will be available until Halloween and them disappear until the next Halloween season comes closer.Have you tried any Halloween donuts yet?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GBgER-foodTue, 25 Sep 2018 09:57:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/GBgER-foodhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z3Zqj-living_moneyWhen I first read genkidesu's post about air conditioning in Japan, it kind of got me thinking, because I had quite a different experience. The first time I came to Japan was 2012, a year after the nuclear power plant disaster and the big earthquake. I believe they haven't started to bring the power saving changes to the classrooms then, which is why my classmates and teachers took the freedom to lower the temperature to 20 degrees celcius and it was just a matter of time until I got sick. When I got back to Japan 2016 they changed it to either 26 or 28 degrees celcius, making it quite a hot place to study in. Although people (me included) are complaining about it, I can remember not having any air conditioning inside schools in Germany sometimes having class in a room that is over 30 degrees hot, although it might have changed since I left school.As I come from Germany, where air conditioning was almost never used (except maybe in malls, shops and some trains) it also shocked me when I found out how cold the air conditioning inside the trains in Japan were and still are. I used to bring an extra jacket just for the commuting time inside the trains but have since gotten used to the refreshing "breeze" from it and start to enjoy and even anticipate it. To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z3Zqj-living_moneyMon, 16 Jul 2018 09:54:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z3Zqj-living_moneyhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MqraO-shopping_toshima_ku_tokyoAfter finishing work I went to Sunshine City, a shopping mall, in Ikebukuro. One of tge stores is the Pokemon center on the second floor. They released new items celebrating the 20th anniversary of Pokemon so I was wondering around looking for something I like.Inside the store there were some store staff walking around showing two different Pokemon promo cards. I was wondering how to get these promo cards and found out that when greeting them with the word "Pokkenchiwa" you will be able to receive the Shaymin Pokemon promo card as a present! To receive the other promo card you would need to purchase 5 booster packs of Pokemon card game. If you love Pokemon cards I recommend going there and greeting the staff with Pokkenchiwa! (I am not sure how long this promotion will last so you might want to go there soon).To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MqraO-shopping_toshima_ku_tokyoFri, 27 Apr 2018 21:28:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MqraO-shopping_toshima_ku_tokyohttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEq9D-shopping_shibuya_ku_tokyoThis year gudetama is celebrating his 5th birthday. San-X, the creators of Gudetama decided to celebrate it by opening a pop up store in Shibuya.To advertise the pop up store they got quite creative and installed big posters with pop up plush effects close to Keio Shibuya station. Even though I'm not much of a fan of Gudetama i still could not resist these cute pushes and took a photo with them.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEq9D-shopping_shibuya_ku_tokyoSun, 22 Apr 2018 19:34:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEq9D-shopping_shibuya_ku_tokyohttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEqZY-living_money_educationAt the beginning of the year I started job hunting activities. There are many things one has to be careful about when looking for a job inside Japan especially when you want to find a job outside the usual language teacher jobs. As the first step I consulted the career center in the university I am studying in. We discussed about how to fill out the 履歴書, the Japanese résumé which companies usually request when you want to apply to a job. The résumé that Japanese companies request are usually sold on campus. In some cases, companies may provide an own form with their questions you need to fill out. This form is called Entry Sheet or ES in short.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEqZY-living_money_educationThu, 12 Apr 2018 15:57:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEqZY-living_money_educationhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEqj1-living_shopping_moneyAs an avid commemorative stamp collector as well as Detective Conan reader and watcher I definitely wanted to get some of the rally stamps. So far I have collected three. Fortunately one of them is basically my home station. I was planning to get more of the stamps of nearby stations by getting to the stations by bicycle. Not only because I want to save money but also because I want to enjoy the nature and work out all at the same time (to be honest the money does play a big part of it, though). The sudden winter like weather and loads of baito, does make it a little bit hard to do so, though. Anyone who likes participating in stamp rallyes?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEqj1-living_shopping_moneyThu, 22 Mar 2018 17:30:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/MEqj1-living_shopping_moneyhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Mn51o-living_shopping_moneyI gotta admit that I have a big weakness for all things cuteAnd Japan has a lot of those things. The good thing is many items are available for as little as 108yen in the 100 yen stores such as seria and daiso. But the little price also makes it very tempting to buy new little knick knacks there especially letter writing related. So it happened again today and I melted away seeing the cheerful summer flake stickers. I might need to set a limit sooner than later...Do you have anything that you are very tempted buying even though you already have enough?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Mn51o-living_shopping_moneyFri, 16 Mar 2018 20:52:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Mn51o-living_shopping_moneyhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z8QaL-living_hachioji_shi_tokyoAfter a two weeks without a real break from work and little sleep I decided to treat myself a bit. One of my favourite ways to relax during stressful situations is going to the public bath or onsen. There is one not too far from my place with a variety of baths. My favourite one is where you can lay down on a stone bench the water being underneath and let the hot water heat you while the cool air cools you down. The sauna is another place I like to relax. Luckily the onsen I usually go to also offers saunas and reclining seats.Anyone else fancy a nice day at the onsen too? Or do you like to relax in a different way?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z8QaL-living_hachioji_shi_tokyoFri, 16 Mar 2018 06:57:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/z8QaL-living_hachioji_shi_tokyohttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G7j40-living_food_shopping_hachioji_shi_tokyo April is the time of new beginnings in Japan! School starts, work starts and students entering university move from their parents' place to their own (or the dormitory). What better time then is there to create new kitchen accessories and interiors? For that occasion Seria started various new series of cups, mugs, glasses, dishes, bowls, and the like. One of the new series is the cat series. It is so popular that I found half of the mini plates were already sold out. But why are they so popular?One reason for its popularity is the everyday use of these mini plates by Japanese people. When we go to a restaurant the staff serve small sizes of tsukemono in them. Tsukemono are pickled fruits and vegetables. But they can also be used for putting in sauces and dips which you might not want to touch some of the other parts of the meal. Another reason for these plates to be so popular in Japan is the fact that they have a rather unique design. Between all the classic cherry blossoms and the other flower or vegetable designs, this one sticks out as there are rarely any animals found on these mini plates.Especially, these paw-shaped plates were all gone when I wanted to get one more the next day: Somehow it feels like this paw is giving me a high five!What do you think about this current cat craze? Do you eat tsukemono? And do you already have enough plates for them? If not, are you planning to buy some? (If you are, then definitely rush, as there are not too many left!) Or are you just going to watch this trend go by as you don't feel them to be neccessary at all and just put the tsukemono on a big plate with all the other parts of your meal?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G7j40-living_food_shopping_hachioji_shi_tokyoThu, 15 Mar 2018 10:16:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/G7j40-living_food_shopping_hachioji_shi_tokyohttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Mn5X4-living_transportation_sapporo_shi_hokkaidoTruth been told.. I didn't go to Hitsujigaoka with my family but with one of my travel buddies. But! Hitsujigaoka offers a lot of great child-friendly activities, especially during the winter season. A little bit of background...Hitsujigaoka is famous for having the statue of Mr. Clark on its grounds. He used to teach at Hokkaido University and is best known for the phrase "Boys, be ambitious!". During summer time the grass is green and the sheep are outside and can be viewed from top of the hill (hence the name hitsuji(=sheep)gaoka. But in winter, when there are piles and piles of snow and it is too cold for the sheep to be outside they offer many snow related activities.So here are six activities you can enjoy with your friend(s) or family at Hitsujigaoka:1. Experience a Kamakura hutKamakura huts are huts made of snow and surprisingly, they are very warm inside. Although these huts are not only available in Hokkaido (there is also a snow hut festival in Nagano) it is a nice feature to experience the huts and their warmth at this place especially in case you've missed other opportunities to see them.2. Take a photo with Mr. Clark's statueIf you come to Hitsujigaoka you cannot miss the opportunity to take a photo with Dr. Clark. Originally, there was only a bust of Dr. Clark which was located on the campus of Hokkaido University but since many tourists came to visit the bust, it disturbed the everyday activities on the campus and this statue was built on the observation hill of Hitsujigaoka.3. Build a miniature snowmanThe observation hill provides space and materials to create your own miniature snowman. These include utensils to create round balls but also accessories such as eyes, hands, scarfs and others.By the way this is my interpretation of a modern day Pikachu:4. Slide down a mini hillLocated at the front side of the observation hill, they have a small hill and mini sleighs to use for sliding down the mini hill.OR4. Slide down a bigger hill on a tubeThis bigger hill is hidden behind the biggest building. Using a tube you can slide down the hill. Since there are two rows available you can also do a race with your friend! There are also bigger tubes available for two people (or tall people) in case you want to accompany your children or partner. One of the friendly members of staff will hand you the appropriate tube and all you gotta do is slide down and have fun!5. See the history of the snow festival inside the museum.Want to warm up while learning about the history of the famous Sapporo snow festival? Then this is definitely the place to go! In this museum you can view former festival posters as well as miniature models of past snow sculptures featuring collaborations with different countries all over the world.6. Walk on skiiersI haven't tried out this feature but apparently you can borrow these skiiers at the house (formerly a church) next to the museum for free and use them to walk in the snow in a designated area.With so many activities being offered, I'd say it's definitely worth a visit so don't forget to plan a few hours into your itinerary for this great site.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Mn5X4-living_transportation_sapporo_shi_hokkaidoWed, 28 Feb 2018 14:13:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Striffy/Mn5X4-living_transportation_sapporo_shi_hokkaido