carbs 4-eva

I reminisce about bread on The Billfold.

flea market for the fleabags

This Sunday at Shinagawa Intercity, we'll be hosting a flea market booth for JCN!

Shinyokohama coffee survey

Yeah they just flattened some plastic baggies on there to make "ice."

Since starting my new temp job in Shinyokohama and falling asleep at said job (just for a sec, but still) on the afternoon of the second day, I have instituted the necessary policy of lunchtime iced coffee. It is finally summer in Japan, which means hot sweaty disgustingness all the live long day. Iced coffee is a two-pronged attack tool to get through it.

In my quest to find the perfect place to procure my lunch time fix, I canvassed all the coffee spots in a several block radius of my building. Here's what I came up with. All prices are for the smallest ice coffee.

Café Veloce: ¥190. Pretty good - this is the closest shop to work. Downside: Veloce is always fairly smoky, in all of their branches actually.

Café de Crie: ¥250. This place is fine. There's an outdoor terrace, which I haven't used yet, but which is a nice option.

Tully's: ¥300. Sorta spendy. They get a minus because they serve their for-here iced coffees in disposable plastic cups, the only place that does so. That being said, I like to take the dogs to the one near my house because it's one of the few places with outdoor seating in my 'hood.

Moriva Coffee: ¥180. I had never seen/heard of this place before running into it in Yokohama, but it does seem to be a chain. I noticed the second time I went there that the coffee was fair trade Kilimanjaro coffee (it says right there on the window!), and the third time that it was organic.

Doutor: ¥200. This cheap standard is downstairs in the subway station.

Hoshino Coffee: ¥480. This place is more kissaten than coffee shop, and I love their old signage. But it's a wait to be seated, coffee served in fussy brass cups, have lots of thick toast and hotcakes kind of place. Good to go if you have a nice long chunk of time to kill whiling away the afternoon.

For extra consideration:


Starbucks: ¥300. I don't go to S'bux, because they have enough money. Also one of the most expensive brews.

Subway:¥200. Not a coffee shop, but the drink is reduced to ¥180 if you buy food.

Freshness Burger: ¥300. Also spendy and not a coffee shop, but their product is high quality and their coffee is fair trade. I've extolled my love of FB before; they still have the Beans Burger and it's still delicious.

Daily Yamazaki: ¥130. The cheapest one, and it's fresh-ish, but seating is limited, and you're sitting at a convenience store.

The outcome:
Clearly Moriva is the jam; fair trade AND organic AND pretty much the cheapest one? It's my new fave coffee place and where you will find me most lunchtimes, eating my bento and drinking my iced coffee.

Itadaki café

On Monday (which is a national holiday, 海の日, Marine Day/Ocean Day/Sea Day/Go to the Beach Day), we are having a benefit for JCN at Itadaki Café in Azabu Juban. Itadaki, which is a dog-friendly café, has generously offered us their space for our purposes for the day, and a portion of all food and drink sales will go to JCN. We will also have a few knick-knacks for sale (plants, cat- and dog- cutesy stuff), and there will be forever-hom-seeking puppies present! (See previous post for pics - it's the soccer gang.)

This lovely flyer was drawn by the über-talented Anastasia Suppan - contact her if you need illlustration work done!

puppy meet & greet

We had a puppy meet & greet over the weekend for the newest batch of pups to come down from the shelter.

They are (clockwise from upper left) Kazu (boy), Tanner (girl), Sawa (girl), and Beckham (boy). I didn't name them, but maybe you can guess the theme... I think the name Sawa is cute anyway. I heard she's a famous Japanese female soccer player.

These babies are a bit over three months old, newly spay/neutered, and vaccinated. Whee!

I also got to see some graduates. Poppy and Sakura came along for the ride, and we got to see a grown-up Bucket! Renamed Neville, he's an utter sweetpea.

And guess who else stopped by to say hi.... who's this? Could it be....? No way. Hold on.

Really? That guy?

Check it:

All grown up! His name is still Nakio (Naki for short) and he is still a Monster Boy!

The puppies are still looking for forever home. Drop a line to JCN if you need a snuggly companion that will grow up to be an enormous ball of energetic fur.

Spendin'

 I talk about spending all my yennies over at The Billfold!

Conversations at work

First week temping here.

Guy: Hey, H-san, want to go to lunch with us?
Me: Thanks! That's nice of you. But... I am vegetarian so...
Guy: Huh. Vegetarian? Oh. Um... maybe next time.

***

Guy: Do you go to Roppongi a lot?
Me: Um, sometimes. I go to Azabu more. I have a friend who lives there.
Guy: Oh yeah, there are a lot of foreigners in Azabu.
Me: She's not a foreigner.
Guy: Oh.