Seeing Beautiful Countryside...

I would like to introduce you an Italian restaurant with quiet rural views.

Sakurazaka VIVACE

This restaurant is in Moriya City, 1.5 hour-drive from Tokyo.

The unique point of this restaurant is you can move to your favorite table with a cup of  coffee after lunch:)

There are some huts built in the site, and a lot of tables in the open air.

Okay, let's walk around to find the best table for coffee:)

Thank you for visiting!:)

Getting through the Bamboo Tunnel led to...

Why don't we get through this bamboo tunnel?

It is incredible to go through such a tunnel in a city, Yokohama... 

Coming out of the tunnel, what jumps out is an old Japanese traditional house...

It has fern garden:)

I felt as if I had been transported through time...

This house is more than 50-years old and was renovated and repurposed as a cafe and restaurant :-)

You can enjoy Japanese home cuisine in a comfortable wooden room.

And you may see such a starling, a bird:)

               Of course, I had Warabi-mochi , Japanese traditional dessert, and ice cream:-)

Laura's House

I visited a lovely cafe, "Laura's House," last month.

I think that the owner built here based on Little House on the Prairie. Have you ever read it? or watched it? The famous story had also been broadcasted on TV many times here in Japan.

 I was a big fan of it:)

The scenery here reminded me of my good old days...

Laura, the heroine of the story, seemed to pop out of the entrance of the house!

Oh, she seemed to leave her shoes on the step here, and the vines were covering the step sides beautifully...

Okay, let's go into the room!

There were many furniture which were shabby and chic! Loooove those kind of taste!

Laura might be reading a book by such a windowsill...

And I thought I heard something here like,  "Laura, dinner is ready! Please lay out the plates!" 

 I had a feeling Laura would be at this home, and laughing with her family...

I heard that there is Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Wisconsin, the U.S. I would like to visit it someday...

Lunch at Ruth's Home

I've just returned from a trip to New Zealand, and had a great time to visit Ruth!  She has a gorgeous garden, as I shared in the previous post.

Ruth invited us into her livingroom!
She incorporates harvested plants into life, like hanging the bunches of lavenders in her back porch.

 

She'll fill little organza bags, and put them under her pillow!

And she always picks flowers from her garden and decorates a room with them:)

 Ruth treated us to lunch!

She used many veggies and fruits from her garden to cook!
Oh... I should have taken a picture before we ate...


Ruth has a gorgeous lemon tree!

Using the freshly-harvested lemons, she made some original lemon juice for us... and ...

Honey Lemon Cream Puddings!

 

I was astonished to know the fact that she made it in a microwave! It was creamy and fresh taste, yummy!!!!
Besides, the teacup is from her vintage teacup collection. It's lovely, isn't it?
The fresh raspberries were, of course, from her own garden!

 

 

All dishes she served for us were very delicious!  She is a good cooker, I can tell you that!!!

In addition, what struck me by surprise was...

* From my expression in the photo below, you will see how excited I was...:)

the GIFT!!!

Which was....

 

a little house made of CARDBOARD, and a stone covered with lovely LACE! Can't  believe that she made both ! YES, they are HANDCRAFTED!!! 

 I can't even imagine how to make it.  After knitting lace, then put it on a stone? Oh...maybe not...  then put it while knitting???  Ummm...complicating.....I have no idea....

Anyway, she must have known that I took a photo below, being excited to see those lovely little houses, decorated  on the wall.

And I was also surprised to know that Ruth is a beautiful lady:)

Almost two years have passed since I started this blog.  I'd never expected that I could visit a blogging friend living in a foreign country!

If any of my blogging friends have a chance to come to Japan, please let me know:) 
I’d love to have a visit.

Thank you for welcoming us, Ruth and Jon!!! 

 

Hips & Berries

Autumn has come and I can enjoy red berries and rose hips in my balcony.

 Cranberry

 

Recently, we have a typhoon (hurricane) EVERY WEEK... Last week, we had a big typhoon which inflicted immense damage on Izu-Oshima Island,  located about two-hour-ferry-ride from Tokyo. It's quite rare for us to have such a big one in October. In addition, two big typhoons are still on their way to Japan together this week, scary...

 

 

 

So, I decided to pike up all the cranberries before typhoon comes.

Rosa Glauca

We can enjoy rose hips, as well.

※キチさ〜ん、グラウカのヒップ今年こそキチンとしたものを渡したいんだけど、
　　もう摘んじゃって大丈夫かな?　台風でシワシワになってきたものもあるんだけど…＾＾;
　

Rosa Mulliganii

Love the crimson red of the Checker Berry:)

From here, I want to show you the Blackberry from Jun.

This one was given by my garden friend and it was the first time to have berries!

Love the shape of them!

Besides the blackberry and cranberry, I have one more edible berry in my garden, called Bilberry. It had also berries in July and I picked them up and had them frozen with blackberries.

 

 

 

Finally, I made three-berry-jam.  It was yummy!!