Ollie Diary day14

May the 28th

Today, the weather forecast calls for a typhoon to pass over part of Japan. It's raining cats and dogs from morning till night, so it's not a very active day.

I've got to go to the Irie-san's house at 9am to make ichigo daifuku, mochi filled with fruit, here, strawberry. Talking about it the day before made me really want to try some. Mako-san has kindly bought some strawberries, so I'm going to help Takae-san prepare them, under the watchful eye of Irie-san and the Japanese TV shopping channel playing in the background.

A strawberry いちご has to be wrapped in a ball of anko あんこ, then in a thin layer of hot mochi もち that we've colored pink. There are even little decorated pots to offer each treat individually, just like a real shop. It's become my favorite Japanese dessert!

It was then another quiet afternoon, which allowed me to finish sewing the bags, as well as a curtain to hide a recess in the kitchen.

In the evening, we had another surprise when we found out that Hosomi-san has studied the art of Japanese tea at a famous school in Kyoto. He collected a few utensils (including self-made tea spatulas) from his room and improvised an informal ceremony, using whatever means he could find and a motley collection of crockery. Nevertheless, it was a charming and interesting experience, with all the different ways of preparing tea. So my first matcha took place in this shared kitchen, in the middle of leftover tomato soup. Just loved it!