Kyaraben under cherry trees in full blossom ?!
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8 years, 10 months ago
Kyaraben under cherry trees in full blossom ?!
Spring has finally come over here in Japan. The temperature has risen significantly and the sun shows up more often !
It is also the beginning of the Hanami cherry blossom season, usually last a few weeks in between the end of March and the beginning of April. It could be one of the most enjoyable time to visit Japan !
Whats better than being able to admire cherry trees in full bloom, a blue sky and kyaraben
What is kyaraben ?
Sakura trees
Picnic under the Sakura tree
As often in the newJapanese language, it is actually an abbreviation of 2 words :
the first part of the English word character combined with the first part of the Japanese word bento ( it is an abbreviation of an expression with one word in English and the other in Japanese !)
In this case character has to be taken in the sense of character of a story or video game etc In Japan, it is often used to refer to the little mascots Japanese people are so fond of, for example Pipo-Kun, the Tokyo Police mascot. It also includes characters of popular national shows such as the cartoon character Doraemon (which is kind of the equivalent of Mickey Mouse in Japan)
bento
Bento _is much more than a simple meal box ! It is a quite important element of the Japanese culture. Most of the households and mothers prepare bento for their children or husband. Usually during lunch at school very often kids dont eat in canteens as much as in the west, while it does exist. It is the same thing for employees in companies who often bring their bento_cooked by themselves or their wives.
bento box
Therefore Japanese people eat a bento as western people eat for example sandwiches but the most interesting difference is that cooking a bento can be considered as an art ! While sandwiches are rather practical than anything else
Anpanman, an other very famous Japanese comic character
First of all, there are lots of different types of bento boxes, but what they have in common is that they are composed of different compartments so you can put different food cooked in different ways. Actually, the diversity of different little dishes you can find in a _bento _is amazing, especially considering the fact that most of them are quite small.
Kyaraben
_kyaraben _are elaborately arranged bento with food decorated to look like characters from popular media.
Examples:
Totoro form Miyazaki famous animated film My neighbor Totoro
Doraemon, a very popular comic character
Pokemon kyaraben
There are 100s of beautiful Hanami Spots allover Japan, japan-talk.com has listed up top 18 in Tokyo and WikiVoyage has long list for places all over Japan, pretty sure you can find one close to you as well.
Some tips on where to find and buy bento boxes:
The famous goods department store Loft ( the one in Shibuya should have English service)
http://edepart.7netshopping.jp/ss/topic/c1210093001/
Tokyu Hands, two big branches one in Shinjuku Takashimaya and the other in Shibuya.
https://hands.net/cate/kitchen/lunchbox/lunchbox/
After knowing all that why dont you join us to enjoy the Sakura blossoms at Yoyogi Park, traditional event amongst the Japanese and these-days even foreigners.
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How many times you have been thinking :
I want to do that .. but not alone:(
I want to go there . but not alone:(
We are here to erase out the but not alone sentence and welcome you to join us. Your visa status, age and nationality are not important to attend, only your open minded and cheerful attitude.
We want everyone to feel welcome. It is all about having a good time and enjoying a good company, our goal is not to gather hundreds of people for a drink party, instead we wish to for our members to meet, mingle and socialize.
This time of the year we are welcoming you to enjoy the Hanami party under the Sakura trees at the Yoyogi Park.
?We will cancel off this party, when its rainy.
OfJapan.jp and Tokyo Pub Crawl are teaming up to give you guys a full day experience of fun, entertainment, and socializing. Tokyo-style!
Event Details
?Date: April 4, 2015 (Saturday)
?Time: 11:00 am 3:00 pm (or 4:00 pm)
?Place: Yoyogi park
?Fee: 1,000 yen cash [includes welcome drink, snacks, leisure plastic sheets, garbage bags, paper cups, entertainment with games with prizes, etc.]
?Reservation: http://goo.gl/LelWFQ (please sing up so we can prepare on time)
2014 Sakura Party
What should you prepare:
Good mood as a start 
We will prepare some light snack, red/ white wine and soft drink, other that that you should bring along.
Sakura
?Access
How to get to Harajuku?
http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/
Type in the station name at where you will be coming and to from and Harajuku or Meiji-jingumae to to column.
?After Party?
OfJapan.jp and Tokyo Pub Crawl are teaming up to give you guys a full day experience of fun, entertainment, and socializing. Tokyo-style!
After the hanami party, join us for the Tokyo Pub Crawl!!! All hanami attendees purchasing a combination ticket will get a ¥500 discount off the regular pub crawl admission price, which includes :
? 3 welcome shots per person
? FREE shots between bars
? Entrance to all bars and clubs,
? Chances to win drinks and prizes
? Pictures of event. (will be uploaded following mon/tues) ? Potentially a back massage from Juliano
TPC
This is a great chance to experience traditional a traditional Japanese party in the day time, followed by an exciting tour of the awesome Tokyo nightlife! You will know the real Tokyo by the end of the night (if you can remember it!)
Price for 2 events is 3,000 yen; online link will be added soon.
Were looking forward to meeting you!
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