Month: February 2018

Kyoto Botanical Garden: Conservatory

On By Stefanie WhatIn japanLeave a comment

It’s spring~!

Hi, guys. We’re finally getting into weather where I don’t have to bundle up under piles of winter clothes. And while the plum blossoms are still mostly thinking about blooming (but haven’t quite yet), it’s been too lovely out to sit around waiting on a single type of flower.

I’ve talked before about the Kyoto Botanical Garden. Located just outside Kitayama Station on the Kyoto Karasuma Subway, the gardens cost a ‘whopping” 200 yen to enter. They’re a great place to spend an afternoon in almost any season. There’s a playground for kids, a plum blossom grove, a rose garden, a European-style garden area–you name it, they have it. But today I want to talk about a specific feature: the conservatory.

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Student Loans and Teaching in Japan: Compatible?

On By Stefanie WhatIn GeneralLeave a comment

Hi, guys! It’s still cold here in Kyoto, but we’re finally starting to see signs of life in the plum trees as they, one by one, start budding and blooming. Before we know it, we’ll be in full flower season again, going from plum to cherry blossoms and then to the countless other types of flora you can find in Japan.

Meanwhile, though, I’m still buried under the kotatsu, clutching at my hot tea. However, there is one big, important change:

As of this month, I am officially student loan free.

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The rise of “My Choco”

On By Stefanie WhatIn japanLeave a comment

Around this time last year, I brought up the idea of “being romantic to yourself.” Back then, I had two or three students that told me (amidst giggles hidden behind a hand) that they’d gone to the department store and bought $100 chocolates… all for themselves! What scandal; what deliciousness! I’d thought it was a cool idea, and didn’t give it a lot more thought.

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Flower Hunting, Start! Looking ahead to Cherry Blossoms

On By Stefanie WhatIn japan3 Comments

You might be asking yourself a few questions today. Things like, “Did I leave the gas on?” “How is it already February?” And, most pertinently, “Why is Stefanie talking about cherry blossom viewing when we’re still so far away from it?”

Originally, I was going to make a post about ume (plum) blossoms, as we’re in the right season for them. Ume blossoms, often overlooked in favor of cherry blossoms, have a lovely smell and help guide you through the last of winter into spring.

Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is all of my pictures of ume are terrible, and thus far in Kyoto there is one (1) tree that is blooming in Gosho. And that tree is surrounded by people with camera lenses three times the size of my head.

So, let’s talk about cherry blossoms today!

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