Hi everyone!
I have made a new category, called "***GIVEAWAYS***" so that I can periodically give ROYCE' chocs to the people who access my blog, Please try your luck!!!

Love Japanese toilets! The norm for present Japanese toilet is what are called washlets. They do almost everything except #1 and #2 and wash your hands for you. The first time I met up with one was when I was at a company that I was visiting for business in Miyako Island and after I did my business, I couldn't find the lever or button to flush the toilet and saw on the side of the toilet bowl, a drawing with "a fountain". I pushed the button and from the toilet bowl a nozzle appeared like an alien's inner mouth and spurted water out from the bowl and hit me in crotch! I jumped back and the alien's mouth kept spitting water on the floor. I frantically pushed the buttons on the side and the fountain stopped and the nozzle retracted. That was many years ago and the present day johns open the lid, wash your butt, dries it, deodorizes, flushes and closes the lid. Here is a toilet with the function buttons on wall. Enjoy!
^( ' o ' )^^

Amazing! a 'WASHLET' in Japanese bath room1


Amazing! a 'WASHLET' in Japanese bath room2

Hello everyone!
Just to celebrate my love for ROYCE' chocolates, I would like to spread the good word of ROYCE' chocolates by giving away 4 boxes of potato chip chocolates. (you can find what they are in my blog under ROYCE Cchocolates regulars)

This is the simple rules!
1) Starting from today until April 18, 2009 (Saturday), please write a comment and send it to me using the LEAVE COMMENT form.
2) Later on, the winner will be announced and I will send an email to that person.
3) I will send the winner 1 box of Potato chip chocolates, under the condition that it is not against the law in your country to participate in a lottery or without guarantee that it will be confiscated at immigrations or whatever and that you must pay for any taxes that may incur.
4) I cannot guarantee the condition of the chocolate upon arrival. If quality deteriorates during shipping, it is not my fault!
5) Please tell me when the potato chip chocolates arrive and what you think of them!

I am buying the chocolates and paying for the delivery out of my own pocket, so let's just make it fun. I just want you to try them!

People have been contacting me wanting to try ROYCE' chocolates and I have been sending them by air mail, but sometimes the chocolate never arrives! Could it be disappearing in the mailman's tummy or what? I know that you can send chocolates to the U.S. but can anyone tell me about other countries? Are there restrictions in your country to import chocolates? It can be quite disappointing when the chocolates don't arrive..

On the box it says- un chocolat mince et leger, avec une sauce au centre. Which I THINK means chocolate slim and light with sauce in the center. If I am wrong please correct me! In the center of this 3mm thin chocolate is flowery tasting honey in the liquid form. If you take a bite, then the honey oozes out. If you pop the whole piece in your mouth, it melts and a swirl of delight from the mixture of the chocolate and honey took me back to when I was a kid and was lying on my stomach looking for four leaf clovers. ROYCE warns us to take good care when handling and preserving this chocolate, because the chocolate on the outside could break or melt and the honey will come out. If that should happen, let me suggest 2 recipes using this chocolate--This morning I had prafeuille chocolat (honey) for breakfast. 1) placing prafeuille chocolat (honey) on top of the slice of bread and popping it in the toaster until it melts 2) Buttering your toast and then spreading the prafeuille chocolat (honey) on top of that. Either way, very very delicious!!


without toast.
with toast!


Prafeuille Chocolate honey1 Prafeuille Chocolate honey2

Went to a communal bath house (sento) today with my BFF. Cost 450 yen and you can stay until you become a shriveled prune. The entrance of the sento has a shoes locker with wooden keys and we took the elevator up to the 3rd floor where we bought entrance tickets at the vending machine. In the elevator they had this poster telling you manners of the sento. Like wash before entering the tub, don't wear clothes in the tub and wipe you bod before leaving the bathing area so you won't drip all over the floor. This sento has different types of bath tub-jet like jacuzzi, camomille and lavendar, electricity (?!), cold water and an outdoor one which is on the 4th floor. I especially like the outdoor bath which is made to look like you are sitting in a tub with large rocks surrounding it. I like the feel of the cold winter air on my face and the hot water keeping your body hot. This is a link to the sento association and they give an explanation in English http://www.1010.or.jp/english/index.html. Their URL is 1010 (one thousand and ten) which is a play on words because you can say that number in Japanese- Sento!


the shoes locker the poster about the manners of the sento


the outdoor bath

In Japan, the season for strawberries is winter! I think that is because strawberries are grown in greenhouses not under the summer sun. Every year, ROYCE' makes a NAMA strawberry chocolate which is VERY popular. Many times in Japan they make strawberry chocolate using white chocolate but not ROYCE'. They use a milk chocolate. On the website it says that this chocolate not only have strawberry with it but also uses UK's Gordon Gin and "fraise"-I wasn't sure if the liqueur Fraise was creme de fraise or some other type of strawberry liqueur. The strawberry aroma that emits from the chocolate is like biting only the ripened tips of each strawberry-a strong sweetness with an undertone of sour. The refreshing strawberry taste matches well with the chocolate. Delivery only from March 1-31, 2009.


Strawberry nama chocolate1 Strawberry nama chocolate2

This is made into an image of a leaf because of its thinness. Thin and sensitive yet bursting with flavor. Each chocolate is actually a square about 3mm thin and the center is filled with a caramel creme. Placing it in your mouth you will get the chocolate taste and as the outer layer melts, the caramel oozes out. This is a delicate combination. Almost like a couple doing a ballroom dance!


Prafeuille Caramel1 Prafeuille Caramel2


Prafeuille Caramel3

You ever have chocolate marshmallows? Well, it is nothing like that, AT ALL,,,I was quite wary when I purchased this product because I was thinking of these huge marshmallows stuck inside a hard coating of chocolate. Actually these marshmallows are tubes (without the holes) about 2 cm. long is surrounded with soft chocolate and is dusted with a fine cacao powder. As we were taking photos, we started to snack on them and they would just melt in your mouth! By the time we finished taking the pics, we must have consumed half the box without realizing it. This is not too sweet and the coffee taste gives it a fine edge. Me My BFF



ROYCE' Marshmallow Chocolate milk coffee1 ROYCE' Marshmallow Chocolate milk coffee2

Karinto is a crispy Japanese traditional snack made of flour and sweetened with brown sugar and deep fried. Usually it is coated with brown sugar but in ROYCE's case, they coated it with chocolate. For the karinto biscuit, ROYCE uses 100% Okinawa brown sugar100% made from sugar canes grown in this Japanese southern island to sweet this snack and coated it with a rich velvety chocolate, The depth of sweetness of the brown sugar and cocoa has an aftertaste that is not heavy at all. CRUNCHY too!


Karinto Chocolate1 Karinto Chocolate2

This is NOT what you THINK!


Karinto Chocolate3 Karinto Chocolate4

This peculiar name is actually an abbreviated combination of 2 Japanese words "kurumi" for walnuts and "mashumaro" for marshmallows. That is exactly what is inside these thick bars of delicious chocolate! ROYCE doesn't skimp on the marshmallows or walnuts, so you don't have a too chocolaty taste but just the right balance. The large halves of roasted walnuts and pieces of marshmallows is great! When I opened the package, I tried to cut it with my nama chocolate pick and couldn't even make a dent! But if you use a knife you can cut this into cake-like slices. What does it taste like? Kurumaro Milk (milk chocolate based) is like a super deluxe rocky road! The Kurumaro White (white chocolate based) has changed my mind completely about white chocolates! I love it!

o(^o^)o oishii!


KURUMARO CHOCOLATE milk1 KURUMARO CHOCOLATE milk2

KURUMARO CHOCOLATE1(it's so haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard!)



KURUMARO CHOCOLATE milk3 KURUMARO CHOCOLATE1

KURUMARO CHOCOLATE2(it's so haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard!)

March 3 is Doll's Festival (hina matsuri) or Girl's Day (hina no sekku). They also call it momo no sekku (peach festival) because I think its because the peach flowers bloom around this time. Families with girls display these dolls starting from usually around February 4 (which is the Spring Equinox) and must put away the dolls right after the Doll's festival because if you leave it out for too long, then the daughter will not be able to marry. I took this pic from a show window that had 3 beautiful displays of these dolls. The top tier is the Empress and the Emperor (he's on the left), the others are the imperial court like musicians and ladies in waiting. These dolls are very expensive and take up a lot of space, so these days many people just purchase the top tier. The other pic that I have put is a lacquered set of plates and bowls that will be used on March 4 for sweet sake and other morsels!


Doll's Festival or Girl's Day1 Doll's Festival or Girl's Day2

So everyone knows about Valentine's Day right? Well, what about White day? It is on March 14th every year for guys to give the girls who gave them something on Valentine's Day something in return. Japanese are basically polite and reciprocate with a gift if you give them one.. And, why is it called White Day? I believe it is from the conspiracy of the confectionery companies and in the beginning they advertised returning marshmallows to the girls giving it its "white" image. Image getting like 10 bags of marshmallows??? Now the gifts are more innovative however a no-thinker is usually handkerchiefs to more expensive items which I cannot imagine. I was reading the handmade newsletter made by my beautician and it seems as though quite a few guys bake cookies in return. Here is my thoughts on stuff that was given to me.---Eco-bag to use instead of plastic--Fabulous idea! Especially when they are inside of a little dog or toy which you can pull out of their stomach and use right away! --Powdered Paprika--I liked it and used it. But why? ---Food, chocolates, sweets--I love it! ----Fishnet stockings...--- Had one boss who gave all the ladies in the company black fishnet stockings every year.......like, uuuhhhh... thank you very much...