Starbucks American Cherry Pie Frappuccino

 You know, for as much as I say I don’t go to Starbucks, I’ve kind of been going to Starbucks a lot lately. As I’ve said many times before, I’m a sucker for limited edition snacks/drinks/any kind of promotion that comes out.

However, Starbucks drinks don’t usually catch my eye. They’ve had some interesting sounding drinks, but nothing that I’d rush over to try… Until I saw the American Cherry Pie Frap. Now, I’m not a fan of cherries, but I love pie. And what makes this frap so special is that the dome is made of pie crust!

Instant Yakisoba Noodles

My current school schedule doesn't leave much time for me to cook sometimes. I'm trying to prep my meals better and eat healthier, but unfortunately, that's not always the case. Which means that, a lot of time time, I end up eating a classic one-man Japanese dish: instant noodles.

Because of this, I get to try a lot of instant noodle brands and options. Whenever I get the chance, I'll try to snap some pictures and write a few words on them for this blog! Some of them are much better than the other, and I forget a lot of the time too... So it's beneficial for me too!

Elementary School Lunch (Kyuushoku) in March

Can you believe I finished my year? I'm still in shock. Despite some of the problems I've had, I've really enjoyed my time working here. Onto the last edition of my monthly school lunches for March.

I think that, if you have the opportunity, you should opt into eating school lunches. Not only does it allow you to eat things you may not normally eat, but it also strengthens your relationship with the school. A lot of the meals I ate at school used ingredients I didn't normally cook with. And, sometimes I enjoyed the new dishes so much that I ended up looking up a recipe online and incorporating it into my dinner menu. Eating with your teachers and students is a good way to get to know them. Even though it may be difficult or awkward at first if there is a language barrier, it's good to put in the effort.

When I worked at my old school and didn't get an opportunity to eat school lunch, I remember being really jealous. It was hard to bring hot lunches (there was no microwave) and in winter, eating a cold meal wasn't fun... Plus, I would occasionally forget to make lunch the night before and rush to buy lunch in the morning which was a pain. I highly recommend taking the opportunity if you can!

Elementary School Lunch (Kyuushoku) in February

I can't believe my contract with Interac is almost up! It's flown by (though sometimes, it's felt like it's dragged on forever...) and I can't believe the school year is almost over. Here's February's menu, as if I need a reminder that I won't have many school lunches left...

When you come to Japan (or even before), one of the first things you hear about school lunches is that you have to eat everything that's served to you, regardless of whether or not you like it. And while this is mostly true, it is much more important if you eat with your students. If you don't, then you don't really need to. I don't drink milk, so I don't take it at all. Some of the teachers are "dieting" and will only eat half the bread given to them and throw it away. A benefit of being self-serve is you can somewhat control what you're going to eat, and adjust accordingly.

Elementary School Lunch (Kyuushoku) in January

It's good to be back in the routine... Kind of. Being on vacation always makes me want to quit working. Anyway, here's January's school lunches. I also (finally) remembered to take a picture of the whole month's menu, in case you were wondering what that looks like.

If you can't read Japanese, it may be a bit difficult for you at school...

Elementary School Lunch (Kyuushoku) in December

December is over! Well, I only worked half of December anyway and had (unpaid and paid) vacation the rest of the time...

Let's talk about the size of my school lunches. I worked in a Junior High under my last board of education, and let me tell you that there is a very big difference between the JHS meals and ES meals. Primarily, the difference was in the size. When I first saw my elementary meals, I thought they looked pretty sad. Even the teachers comment sometimes on how sad the meal of the day looks. I'm glad I'm not the only one!

Starbucks Seasonal Sakura Blossom Latte (2017)

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a Starbucks Lover. I love sweets, and I see Starbucks more as a candy shop than a coffee shop. For real coffee, I'll go elsewhere... But to satisfy my sweet tooth, I'll head to Starbucks.

Elementary School Lunch (Kyuushoku) in November

Here's the monthly menu for my meals in November.

If you haven't noticed, I don't eat lunch with my students. On occasion, I will eat with my students if invited to, but for the most part, I eat in the back of the teacher's room with the other office staff. At my secondary school, I do eat with my students (which is why there are no pictures from my other school).

In my old schools under my old Board of Education, ALTs were banned from eating school lunch and eating with students. Because of this, I brought my own lunches to school and ate them alone at my desk. It was quite a lonely experience, especially because I'd be the only teacher in the teacher's room most of the time... Though the pressure of not having to make conversation while eating was nice.

Elementary School Lunch (Kyuushoku) in October

It's that time of the month again... Now that October is over, I have a compilation of October's school lunches. If you didn't notice, we also got trays this month! My Friday school already has trays, and it looks like my main school is following suite.

So, I teach at two different schools. One is strictly an elementary school, and one is a much smaller specialty school that has elementary, middle school, and high school students in the same buildings. The posts I make are from my elementary-only school.

Both schools are under the same Board of Education, but in different "blocks", so they get the same school lunches, just on different days. This means that I'll usually eat the same thing two times a week. It's interesting to see the different takes each school cafeteria has on the dishes. I won't comment on which school has a better cook, though!

Elementary School Lunch (Kyuushoku) in September

Here's September's school lunch menu! Things are starting to get a little bit different, thankfully!

The end of summer vacation and the start of the second semester signals a change in the kyuushoku menu. For the most part, the meals are somewhat seasonal and use only fruits and vegetables that are in season. A lot of the time, students will ask for a certain dish, only to be told that "that's not a summer dish" etc. For the most part, I haven't really been able to tell the difference yet! There have even been some repeats!

How to Buy Cheap Fruits in Japan

I hate reading things from people on the Internet who say you can't find fruit in Japan... This isn't true. While it's not a tropical fruit paradise like some of Southeast Asia, and fruits aren't as cheap as in America, they are out there and there are plenty of them.

To be fair, one of my least favorite parts about living in Japan is how expensive import fruits are. Yesterday, I bought a handful of cherries for 400 yen, but I was desperate! But a lot of people hear about thousand dollar watermelons, and get the idea that Japanese fruits are unobtainable. That's not true. Fruits, especially local fruits, are very cheap and readily available almost anywhere.

Elementary School Lunch (Kyuushoku) in July

I hope you find July's lunches insightful. This is a slightly shorter list because the middle-end of July is when summer vacation starts! Which means that I don't get lunch for half the month because I'm not in school for half a month. :)

I'm also not in school for the majority of August. I think I only worked two days in August. However, because the school lunch is billed by the same cost monthly (so months with less days means lunch is slightly more expensive) so they just don't provide lunch in August. Otherwise, the two days that I worked, my lunches would've been about $20 each! Unfortunately, no one told me this, and I showed up my first day back with no lunch and had to leave school to get some... I had even emailed the company asking about this, but of course I never got a response back!

Travelling to Japan With a Peanut Allergy 101

Travelling with an allergy can be a tricky thing, especially in places where you don't speak the language. A bit of research and preparation can go a long way in these cases, though, because it's better to be over prepared than under prepared.

People with peanut allergies exist in Japan, too, so you won't get funny looks or people who disregard you when you're there. While it's not the most common allergy, these types of allergies are on the rise. (I've been told the rise in food allergies in Japan is because of pregnant mothers eating too much convenience store food, but that could just be a rumor...)

Elementary School Lunch (Kyuushoku) in June

Here's June's edition of my school lunches! I'm slowly working on the backlog! Please forgive me!

If you haven't noticed, I don't drink the milk that's provided with the school lunch. Luckily, my school isn't too strict about what I have to eat. In fact, I see some other teachers mixing the milk into the coffees they bring to lunch, etc. I have a pack of furikake in my desk that I add to the rice sometimes (I'll designate if I've added anything). Obviously, your situation may differ depending on your school. In fact, you may not even have school lunches at your school! (I know of one case like this.) Or, you may not be allowed to eat the school lunch. (As was the case in my last Board of Education...)

Ramen Review - Cup Noodle Premium "Shark Fin" Flavor

Did you know my first Japan blog was actually started in 2012? I was so amazed by the plethora of flavors and brands available that I decided to start a ramen blog where I chronicled all of the different flavors I ate and my opinions on them. (Un)fortunately, the blog is now deleted and I gave up on the endeavor pretty quickly. I soon realized that buying ramen daily when I was paying for school lunch didn't make sense financially.

Even still, I take note of different ramen flavors. Cup Noodle has been experimenting with premium flavors. I saw them on the shelves a few months ago, but always put off buying them. Then, one day, they simply disappeared. I was so sad because I wanted to try the fancier flavors. Luckily for me, they reappeared at the beginning of the month. Needless to say, I grabbed one of the shark fin flavored cups to try for myself. And, in the spirit of my old ramen blog, I decided to do a review on it!

Elementary School Lunch (Kyuushoku) in April/May

Researching teaching in Japan, I heard horror stories about some of the school lunch combinations ALTs are served. Now that I'm a teacher, I decided to contribute and share some of the school lunches I eat on a daily basis. Luckily, I haven't had any combinations that have made me question the entire system... But that's not to say that some days are less appetizing than others!

This will be a monthly roundup of all the lunches I ate at my elementary school during the previous month. I'll try to include a description of the dish (if I can remember what was in it) because sometimes it's a bit hard to tell. I hope you enjoy this bit of insight on school lunches in Japan!

Hiyayakko: A Summertime Snack (冷奴 / ひややっこ)

Photo by Flickr user asiansupper

Summer in Japan can be the absolute worst. It's hot, humid, and everyone's sweaty. Though it's not quite summer yet, I can feel it fast approaching. Convenience stores are already stocking up on cool snacks and kids are riding their bikes around and playing in the river. Nice, except for the killer heat. Today, I'll be sharing with you my favorite summer Japanese dish, hiyayakko and a recipe for it.

Now, hiyayakko is essentially just cold tofu with some garnishing. But it's much better than that description makes it sound! It's creamy soft tofu that's ice cold and melts in your mouth, a salty-savory sauce, and the crispness of green onions. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Best Fish & Chips in Kansai: Seafood Caravan 10 Nishinomiya

On my weekend walks, I'd always pass Seafood Caravan 10. While I've never been a huge fan of fish and chips, the restaurant's appeal still got to me. I caved one afternoon and treated myself, and all I can say is that I wasn't disappointed. Perhaps I was never a fan of fish and chips because I never had a proper plate of them... But now I'm a believer.