grated daikon 'radish' arts

daikon ‘radish’ is usually serves with fish foods. It help with digestion. These exquisite grated radish arts are spreading on twitter.　
The recipe is. here

cool masks

People out there may get scared by the sight of many people wearing masks in public in Japan. No pandemic. It happens as often as it does in your place. You may suspect that one of them will pull out a gun and rob something. However, NOBODY does. Stats say Japan is one of the safest countries with one of the lowest crime rates. Although a mask doesn’t stop germs completely, it does quite a lot . It also keeps your mouth damp, and moisture in your mouth makes viruses less active.

Masks today are more comfy to wear. They are 3 dimensional in a way and have some inner space. Some have a subtle aroma to soothe you. Some have pop or chic designs to pretty you up. You can change them according to your mood or fashion. They are washable and sustainable.

Happy valentine's day

On St. valentine’s day, girls give chocolate to boys they love in Japan. Japanese chocolate companies make half their annual sales during this time of the year.
There is a giant billboard that looks like a chocolate bar, measuring 166 meters in width and 28m in height, at a Meiji chocolate factory in Osaka. To spot it from JR train, see the northern side, between Settsutonda and Takatsuki stations.

new year's eve and ume flowers

Tonight is new year’s eve on Japanese traditional calendar, which is similar to Chinese calendar but slightly different. That means, officially tomorrow will be the first day of spring.
Japanese apricot flowers, a sign of early spring are blooming.