Spring is here!

The clearest sign that spring has arrived is the blooming of Sakura. 

I think this time of year is one of the things that I'll miss the most about Japan. 

Today is officially the end of my full-time job as an EST at HMES. 

My Japanese co-teacher gave me this lovely bouquet when I left. 

And the nutritionist gave this cute one to me tonight at our お疲れ様 dinner. 

Bye Bye Ogikubo

Tonight is my last night in Ogikubo.

Now things are REALLY getting REAL.

Look at how stoked the B is.

I've lived here for just about four years, and since I will soon be unemployed, full-time wise, it's time to let go of this little apartment.

Last Day of School...

School has come to an end and it was pretty hard to say goodbye to my kiddos.  

Last school year, I was in charge of three kids from the US, Taiwan and Iraq, but this year I was challenged with a class of 11.  They came from the US, Dominican Republic, Iraq, Pakistan, Poland, the Philippines, Australia, the UK and Scotland.  

Working at HMES was as much of a learning experience for me as it is for my students.  I hope Japan takes this pilot program to the next level and expands it beyond this school.  I have seen foreign students who are put into Japanese public school without any support and it's an uphill battle for them.  Having a program like this available  helps these kids grow and is a really good way to ease them into the special culture and language this country has.

Looking forward to seeing these kids again a few times before I leave and all of the wedding planning I have ahead of me.

Mokumeganeya and Tachikawa

Friday the 13th.

The second one in a row this year... I think this is a rare occurrence.

And with this strange and eerie day, comes my date with the B in the midst of cleaning up and moving out of my apartment.

We met up in Tachikawa, which is where we had our first date, and were on the lookout for a restaurant to have dinner at when I spotted 杢目金屋 (Mokumeganeya).

This place uses the Mokume-gane style of metal smithing to create wood grain patterns out of metals.  They basically layer different metals in various combinations, heating, pounding and twisting the metal to create the pattern.

They used to make the guards on a katana using this method and now they make rings and other fine jewelry.

At first, the B was NOT interested in going in, but I wanted to see their sakura diamond in person, so he humored me by going in.


After looking at their displays, he actually gained interest and we sat down to get more info and see more samples.

The B decided that he wanted his wedding band from here!

I was super jealous because I wanted it first, but while he was selecting what metals he wanted in his ring and  the shape and pattern, I was looking at the sakura diamond.

They're made beautifully.  

A standard round brilliant cut diamond has 58 total facets while the round sakura cut diamond has a total of 87.

It actually has two layers of sakura on it!  One in the cuts of the crown and the other in the base of the pavilion.

After a while, the B said that I could get a diamond if I really wanted it, but it was kind of silly for me to have three rings.

Then the salesman said that they also made pendants!

SOLD!!!!!

We ended up getting these diamonds called kizuna diamonds.  

They're called kizuna diamonds because they were cut from the same stone.

The sakura diamond on the left is mine and will be made into a pendant.

The kizuna diamond on the right is the B's and will be set in his wedding band.

The fitting for his ring will be sometime in mid-April and I am soon excited to see it!

Three hours later, we were starving and hit up McDonalds... which was right across from our first date site!

Yep, starbucks.  We actually met up here after work one day back in February 2012 and had coffee... for four hours. lol.  

Since then, they have renovated and revamped the shop, but this location is still special to us.

Order Made Kokechi

I Gunma is home of the Usaburo Sosaku Kokeshi doll (卯三郎創作こけし) and I remember getting one from my boss and also giving one to my friend as a housewarming gift. So I thought it would be the perfect thing to have for my wedding!

Upon searching through their website (http://www.usaburo.com/en/about/index.html), I thought I could have the B and I bond over the kokeshi making class they have... 

But right now it's not available. 

So I googled a bit deeper and when I searched for "Bridal Kokeshi," I found 卯三郎の孫 produced "Kokechi" and I realized I had bought their Doraemon kokeshi for Bb when she moved to Tokyo!

So I jumped on my gmail and sent an inquiry.

After much discussion and pleading, the artist O-San agreed to accept my order on Saturday when Chika-chan when to the shop in Maebashi even though they are very busy. 

I decided I needed to get my order in this week and started thinking about it over the weekend. 

I knew I wanted to use these aloha print shirts 

because we haven't decided on our wedding outfits yet, this green shirt is one of three aloha print articles of clothes the B has, plus our wedding will be in Hawaii and our new home for the next four years will also be in Hawaii. 

Then, on Tuesday I drew my rough sketches. 

And tonight before and after my part-time job in Shinagawa, I managed to finish my colored sketches to send to O-San. 

I don't know how detailed she will be able to draw them in, but the aloha part is almost as important as my birthmark. 

I emailed the photos to her earlier tonight so hopefully I'll hear good things from her soon!!