Kyo Modern

Because of full moon?

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 11:55:00 +0000

Everything went wrong this morning.

My kid puked in the car, l missed out a Pilates class and a massive traffic jam due to a tree fell across the road.

I went to a cafe I often go to de-stress and all the staff made mistakes too. (ie: Giving too much change, forgot to bring essential stuff for the shop, not packing the right food in a take away container, etc)

The owner of the cafe blamed on a full moon last night. So let's do that! I need excused for being disorganized everyday. Heat wave is enough!

Gelateria Gondola

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:20:00 +0000

I think this shop opened before Christmas last year but I only discovered it recently.

Gelateria Gondola

It is a gelati shop running by Italian men. They have flavours I've never seen else where. So far, I tried red bean and apple crumple&ginger flavour. There are many other fancy flavours I haven't yet to try. I heard their coffee is nice too.

Most of names are written in Italian but a friendly staff is very happy to explain about the flavour and you can try it before purchasing it.

I haven't taken photos of the shop yet but it's a small shop in Chatswood. If you know the busy intersection of Victoria Avenue and Archer street, it's pretty close to there.

The address is:

2/77 Archer Street Chatswood

Their website is http://gelateriagondola.com.au/

It's highly recommended!!

New life

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Fri, 17 Jan 2014 12:03:00 +0000

Since the arrival of my baby boy at the end of 2013, my life has been hectic. I am very happy with my little one but it's just that he is a reflux baby, looking after him can be very difficult sometime.

His reflux is mostly under control with medicine called losec but for some reasons, his symptoms were pretty bad last couple of days. When he has discomfort, he has trouble sleeping, hence I can't sleep either. It's very tiring for both of us when he is having a bad day.

He wasn't too bad today but if symptoms don't get any better by Sunday, I may have to call my paediatrician.

He also has winding issue and someone online said losec actually causes more wind. I am not sure about that but if that's the case, it's annoying! I was told I can give other natural remedies to reduce wind so I might have to do that.

My business is up and running. More owls are available at My Hair International in The Rocks and Tachi Hair Works in Chatswood. It will be available at Romantic Notions in Lane Cove next week too.

I have added new hair products at My Hair International and Tachi Hair Works. I will be uploading the photos soon!

Chattie's Komachi

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 12:11:00 +0000

This is a Japanese owned cafe/restaurant in Chatswood, Sydney.

They've been around for a year but I didn't discover them until recently.

So far, I've been there for dinner, lunch and take away lunch.

They use rice called "Kita Akita Komachi" from Akita, Japan. I always knew delicious Akita Komachi brand rice but I never heard of Kita (means North) Akita Komachi rice. It was SO tasty!
I dislike so called Asian or short grain rice from supermarkets so I usually Japanese rice from Japanese groceries. Yes I know it's a lot more expensive but for me, it's worth it.

You can buy Kita Akita Komachi rice from this cafe. There are small and big sacks available.

I loved their hamburg stake. It was so tasty. My husband loved his Katsu curry. Usually katsu we find in other shops are dry and tough. But this one was soft but still crunchy. It was so juicy too.

We also tried dessert which was made by rice flours. There were daily free cheese cakes available too.

When we went back there for lunch, unfortunately it was really busy and there were only 3 staff. We ended up waiting for a long time. We did receive apology from the owner. I'm not sure if one of their staff was absent or they were not used to with full capacity.

Their food is seriously great but in terms of service, they might want to improve a bit? All the staff were very friendly but I noticed there were few things they could do to minimise the waiting time.

Until they improve that part, perhaps, we should avoid busy lunch time. But we'll definitely go back there again.

Kyoto Emporium

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 12:28:00 +0000

Kyoto Emporium in North Ryde, Sydney is a Japanese take away and gift shop.

It opened a couple of month ago. I live near this shop but I didn't discover it until I started going to a chiropractic which was located opposite to this shop.

I was very surprised that there was a Japanese style gift shop so close to where I live! The shop is running by Keiko & Patric and also Akiko. They are all lovely people.

They are currently selling some of Kyo Modern's hair accessories, chirimen teddy bear and dog straps. They offer a large variety of other Japanese fashion accessories, kokeshi dolls, ceramics, traditional kids toys and many more.

As for food, they have a very good range of sushi, donburi (rice) and ramen & udon (noodle).

The shop is inside a little shopping plaza so it might be hard to see from the main road but you will see a sign outside. When you are in the area, please pop in and check out their amazing range of gifts.

Kyoto Emporium
3/22 Blenheim Road, North Ryde
0403-644-290

Mon-Fri: 09:30 to 17:00
Sat:9:30 to 14:00
Closed on Sundays (catering available)

Buku Buku Soap

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:44:00 +0000

Apart from correcting and selling Japanese style fashion accessories from Kyoto, I love collecting handmade soaps.

I use them of course, but because I have so many of them, it takes me a while to use them up. I recently found this Japanese lady who is based in Sydney is selling handmade natural soaps.

She runs a course on Saturdays but you might want to check availability first.

If you would like to purchase her soaps, you can place order via her site. There are many people who make natural soaps but she is the only one I know sells soaps with Azuki (Japanese red bean), Sake and sesami!

http://www.bukubukusoap.com/

I ended up buying few other ones and they all smell great. I just want to look at it. They smell too good to be used!

I will try not to buy any other soaps this year but the temptation is alwasy there.

One love project

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 02:51:00 +0000

It's been so wet and cold in Sydney. I can't remember when the last time the town experienced so much rain. It rained for at lease a week!

It's finally sunny today and I'm feeling more motivated. (Yes I know I shouldn't use weather for an excuse..)

Some of Kyo Modern's products will be available on discounted price at fundraising bazaar which will be organised by a none profit organisation called One Love Project.

One Love Project was established by a Japanese lady Shiho in Sydney. She runs bazaar and invites Sydney based artists to run workshops. All the sales are donated to earthquake victims in Tohoku region in Japan.

It's been more than 2 years since earthquake and tsunami hit Tohoku. Because we don't live there, many people don't think about it any more but victims still need lots of help. Many of them are still can't return to home, have mental damage from the incident and need more support for day to day life.

As Shiho says, sometimes it's difficult to keep supporting victims in natural disaster zones continuously. It;s so much easier to give one off donation. However her and her volunteers aim to give that continuously support. I'm very glad that I can take a part of this!

As for what kind of Kyo Modern's products will be available at the bazaar, I will be uploading the photos on Kyo Modern's Facebook page closer to the date.

The bazaar and workshops will be held from 9am to 12 noon on the 21st of July 2013 at 12/14-20 Eric Road Artarmon NSW.

Play dough workshop commence at 10am. Origami workshop will commence from 12noon for adults and 1:30pm for kids. These workshops will be conducted in Japanese but of course, artists can speak English!

Please the names below for more information of up coming events:

One love project

Kyo Modern

(Photo: Origami artwork by Midori Furze. I will be joining her work shop from 12noon on the 21st. She runs many other workshops in Sydney. For more details about her and workshops, please visit http://www.midorifurze.com )

Joy of choosing new products

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:28:00 +0000

When I feel down, it makes me feel better to look at new products I might want to import from Kyoto.

When I decide what I want to get from Kyoto for my business, it's bit hard to choose what I want. Because I tend to choose what "I want" first and then start thinking "Hang on, I should get what people want instead!!"

But I think it's important to sell what I love- I want to share the joy of having Kyoto made Japanese fashion accessories. It's the colour, shape, history and people who make interests me.

Most of Nishijin products are made by an Nishijin weaving articst Shisen. I deal with her daughter to purchase Shien's products.

Most of Kyo Modern's chirimen products are made by various places and people in Kyoto.

For a personal reasons, I can't go back to Kyoto this year but I will keep eye on goodies that I might decide to import.

I miss going to markets in Kyoto. There are heaps!!I want to buy products for myself and Kyo Modern from there...

I've only been to Toji, Shimogamo shirine and Kitano tenmangu market. There are a lot more but I can never stay in Kyoto long enough. Most of markets are on monthly basis at a shrine or temple but because there are so many of them, there is always a market held every week. (It's not necessary on weekends).

Here are the some of the market names:

Kobou san market at Toji Temple

Chionin market at Chionin Hyakumanben

Kamigamo market at Kamigamo shrine

Tenjisan market at Kitano Tenmangu shrine

Be there early. There are usually many people at markets!

Mother's day gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:39:00 +0000

Mother's day is coming soon.

In Japan, it is common to send carnations to mother.

I thought people would do the same in Australia but I see people send varieties of flowers and organise family gathering on Mother's day.

Since my mother is in Japan, I can't invite her for dinner or anything so I plan to order flowers online from a florist in Japan and organise delivery. Life is getting so much easier with online shop!

If you are thinking of sending gifts to your mother, how about Nishijin gamaguchi? Mothers and grandmothers often purchase this products for themselves.

Nishijin weaving is known to for rich colour and smooth texture. Inside the gamaguchi is supported by inner layers so it's very durable.

Pouches are pretty popular too.

There will be more products uploading on the site soon.

Chinese lion dance and Japanese lion dance

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 05:53:00 +0000

I celebrate new year twice a year.

I celebrate 1st of January and Chinese new year as my husband has Chinese back ground.

When I saw Chinese lion dance for the first time, I thought it was very powerful compare to Japanese one and a lot more gaudy. (My husband said Japanese one looks cheap but anyway)

In Japanese, it's called "Shishi-mai" (獅子舞) The roots of Japanese lion dance said to be from China which I expected but colour of lion, music and dance are very different.

Chinese lion dance is pretty fast and music is loud with a drum. Japanese lion dances follows normal to slow speed and music is relatively quiet with small drums and Japanese traditional flute. Until recently, I didn't know the style of dancing and design of the lion differs by region in Japan.

The one I know is a red wooden face with green cloth body. I do remember Okinawa which is part of Japan but very close to Taiwan has lion with lots of hair. But I really thought the rest of Japan all has the same lion.

Japanese lion dance is not only performed on the new year day, also at regional festivals through out the year.
It looks like the one I know (red face one) is only performed on the new year celebration?

Lion dance in Kanto region which is Tokyo and surrounding regions is very different to the one I know of. It's done by 1 person inside, the head of lion is above eye level and a dancer plays drum while he dances!

I became particulary interested in Sanbiki shishi-mai (Three lions) from Kanto region. Fukushima is famous for that too.

One of the site I visit occasionally had a good details of Sanbiki shishi-mai. It's only available in Japanese but has few pictures to give you ideas of how they look like.

Sanbikishishi-mai at Nagasaki shrine, Tokyo

There are many Japanese lion dance footage available on You Tune. I spent 30 hour browsing different style. Now I feel like visiting different regions to see different lion dances in Japan.

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 01:01:00 +0000

Happy New Year to all!

I hope everyone had a good holiday. I've been back to work for a while now.

I ate "Osechi" which is traditional Japanese cuisine for the New Year's Day. Usually I'm in Japan this time of the year so I eat osechi made by my mother.

I did know that different family or different generations use slightly different ingredients to make osechi but I didn't know what each food represents.

The only thing I knew was Konbu(Seaweed) represents "Joy" as the name konbu sounds similar to "yorokobu" which means joy in Japanese.

There are other food such as "Tazukuri" which means making rice fields, "Kazunoko" for having many kids, etc.

My mother makes what's called "Meiji style Osechi". Meiji is the era from 1862 to1912 in Japan.
In Meiji stule osech, most of ingredients are brown or black. More modern "Heisei style Osechi" (1989-current) looks a lot more birhgter with colour of red and white.
I always thought I should inherite skill and style of making osechi from my mother but at the same time I thought "But I can't get all the ingredients in Australia. I could get some of them but they don't taste as nice"

So when I ordered osechi from one of Japanese chef, I wasn't expecting much but it was much nicer than I thought! I want to know where he gathered the ingredients from.

I ordered osechi from Urasan Japanese catering. It was $200 for 2 to 3 people. ($20 discount if you order early)

There were other places that were also offering osechi for similar prices. They are:

Hana Jurin: Located in Crows Nest. http://www.jurin.com.au/hana_jurin/
Blancharu: Located in Elizabeth Bay http://www.blancharu.com.au/
Shiki: Located in The Rocks: www.shiki.com.au
Mino: Located in Mosman: www.mino.com.au
Ura san Japanese catering: Locagted in Sushi e in CBD. 0405 147 055 http://merivale.com.au/sushie

*Blancharu is a Japanese owned French restaurant. Their osechi is mix of western and Japanese cuisine
*Hana Jurin was the only one where the price was over $200 but that was because it was for 4 people.

If you are interested in eating osechi for the new year day in 2014, try contacting one of the restaurant above in December 2013!

Season's Greetings

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 02:36:00 +0000

Every year in Australia, someone always ask me if Japanese celebrate Christmas.

My answer is "Yes" but it's more of an excuse to have a party. For some reasons, we celebrate Christmas eve, not the Christmas day. And Christmas day is NOT public holiday.

I think celebrating Christmas culture started when my parents were little. (They are in their 60s now). But it was for people who could afford to do so. Many people were still very poor after the war.

As for me(born in 80s), I always celebrated Christmas with family and I believed in Santa Clause too.

I think many people still think Japanese are Buddhist therefore we don't celebrate Christmas but in fact, majority of us don't have religion. We celebrate whatever is fun and make money if we are running shops.

Having said that, new year eve and the new year day are very important for us. Family member gather around, eat traditional new year cuisine, go to a shrine for a new year prayer, etc.

I'm usually back in Japan this time of the year but not this time. As much as I like Australia, I still prefer to be in Japan for new year's eve and the new year.

But I love Christmas spirit here!! I bought more Christmas decorations this time and also bought many Christmas cookies from a lady I met at Kirribilli market. (Please refer to the photo)

Her business name is All That's Nice. You can find her from her facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/allthatsnicecookies?ref=ts&fref=ts

Thanks so much to all the people who supported Kyo Modern this year. I wish everyone a bright and delightful holiday seasons!!

Soy Candle Aritist Takako

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 02:13:00 +0000

A friend of mine who will be sharing the stall at Kirribilli market on the 1st of December makes soy candles.

She makes soy candles with and without fragrance. Personally I like the one with fragrance.

Unlike ordinary candles that are made by mainly paraffin, soy candle doesn't have burnt smell. It is softer and has a low melting point.

Her candles comes in various sizes and with different decollations. I purchased stained glass ones before. And I just found out she started making Christmas candles too!

When I share a market stall with friends, I often end up buying their products for myself. I love my friends artworks.

You can find more information of what she does via her facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/reikot#!/CandlemakerTakakoYamamoto

Hope to see you all on Saturday!

New products

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:37:00 +0000

Christmas products are available at Beehive gallery、Romantic Notions and Tachi Hair Works

At Beehive galley, there are kokeshi cosmetic pouches, handmade hair accessories including new hair bands made of shibori, Santa on reindeer and cakes which are screen cleaners. There is also Christmas decorations for wall. Of course, all these products are made of kimono fabric by craftsman in Kyoto, Japan!

At Romantic Notions, there are kimono teddy bears and cake screen cleaners. I will be adding coin purses and small teddy bears soon.

At Tachi Hair Works, there are new hair accessories and Christmas ornaments.

Christmas is only a month away now. I hope Kyo Modern's products will make good Christmas gifts for friends and families.

Beehive Gallery (Gifts Shop)
Shop1 441-443 King Street
Newtown 2042 NSW

Romantic Notions (Gifts Shop)
101 Longueville Rd, Lane Cove NSW 2066, Australia

Tachi Hair Works (Hair & Beauty Salon)
Shop 1, 272 Victoria Ave., Chatswood NSW

Coming soon

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:56:00 +0000

After 3 weeks in overseas, I am finally back in Australia.

I picked up lots of new products while I was in Kyoto. Now I should add them onto my new website that is launching in this month.

I will announce the official open day of the website soon. I will be uploading photos of Kyoto on facebook page soon too.

Getting ready for Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:09:00 +0000

Being busy with setting up a new website. It should open just before I leave for Japan next week.

While I'm away, I won't be able to process the sales so any order come through during that period will be processed in mid November.

I didn't realised it's so close to end of the year. That means Christmas is just around the corner!! 2012 was somewhat very fast for me.

I'm planning to get products for Christmas from Japan.

How about Santa on a reindeer?

It's actually a screen monitor cleaner.

I can't wait to see more products in Kyoto!!

New products at Tachi Hair Works

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 07:27:00 +0000

I didn't realise the lasts time I updated this blog is more than a month ago.

Oops!

I have received new products and I'm in a process of selling them at shops in Sydney.

So far, a hair salon Tachi Hair Works in Chatswood sells some of the new hair accessories.

I will be dropping off more products at a gift shop Beehive gallery in Newtown and a hair and beauty salon My Hair International in The Rocks sometime this week. And other shops next week.

Apologise for an unclear photo but the products in the photos are a hair tie. This hair tie is made with a ribbon which is made of rayon and acrylic beads.

It comes in different colours. The one available at Tachi Hair Works is pink. This is almost like wearing kanzashi (traditional Japanese style hair ornament) but it's a hair tie so it's so much easier to wear. Shinning beads definitely makes your hair more stunning.

The size of the decorations (ribbon & beads) are 11x5cm. The diameter of a elastic band is 9cm. It's handmade by a craftsman in Kyoto.

More photos of new hair accessories are below:

Garbera hair pin. It comes in blue, pink, red & purple. Handmade with rayon & cotton.

Hair tie with round decorations. Made of rayon and chirimen,

New products coming soon

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:06:00 +0000

I have placed orders of new products from Kyoto, Japan.

This time I'm getting more hair accessories and unusual gifts. The one in the photo above is actually a PC monitor cleaner! It's made of chirimen (kimono fabric).

I should be receiving the products sometime next week. After that, I will let you know when and where that will be available to purchase!

Japanese calligraphy

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 04:36:00 +0000

A friend of mine runs a monthly workshop of Japanese calligraphy in ryoan Gojyuan in Balmain, Sydney.

She has ran numbers of workshops in Australia before.

Learning calligraphy was compulsory in any schools in Japan. I wish I took calligraphy lessons more seriously so that I could have had nice hand writing!

If you are interested in learning Japanese calligraphy in Sydney, please contact Tomoko directly or ryokan Gojyuan.

Tomoko: tomokoworld514@hotmail.com

More details are available on Tomoko's website: https://sites.google.com/site/mojiyafudeart/

also on Gojyuan's website: http://www.ryokangojyuan.com/en/workshops_calligraphy.php

Kamisaka Sekka exhibition at Art Gallery NSW

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 02:55:00 +0000

The exhibition of Kamisaka Sekka is on at Art gallery of NSW in Sydney.

Sekka is a Japanese artist who brought traditional paintings and lacquer ware to more modern designs.

He was around in 1866 to 1942.

I went there last weekend and I was astonished with the colours he used. He drew lots of plants which looked so real. I wonder how he managed to make such colours.

Most of plants he drew were common ones I used to see in my town in Japan. (ie bush clover, peony, willow tree, etc) It was very nostalgic.

If you like "Japanese fine art", please go to this exhibition. You can also see art works from other artists who were inspired by Kamisaka Sekka.

The exhibition is on until the 26th of August.

More information is available here.

New products

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:22:00 +0000

New kimono fabric earrings, a wallet and a card holder are now available at Tachi Hair Works in Chatswood.

Check out the basket on the counter.

I have restocked teddy bears, hair clips and　a handmade silk pouch!

Tachi Hair Works

272 Victoria Ave
CHATSWOOD NSW ,2067

Cafe Cre A Sion

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 08:49:00 +0000

I finally made my way to Cafe Cre A Sion today.

This is a small cafe nestled in Sydney CBD. They serve cafe food plus very large variety of macaroons!

The business is Japanese owned so you can find unusual flavoured macaroon like Yuzu (citrus fruit) & Hoji cha (tea). I was there with a bunch of friends so we tried several flavours. I think I like Yuzu the most!

They also make nice coffees and Japanese tea. I bought Uni Cha (green tea from Kyoto) biscuit and it was probably the best tea flavoured biscuits I had in Sydney! I was meant to eat one before dinner but already ate 3. I better leave the rest for my husband.

The shop space is pretty small. There are tables inside and outside but it can probably accommodate up to 8 people inside and 4 outside.

I saw many regulars getting a cup of coffee. Some of them walked away from cups and came back later to return an empty cup. I wonder if they walked back to their office, finished coffee and came back?

This is one of the must place you should try if you love macaroons!

Check out the reviews and more photos on Urbanspoon.

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 08:46:00 +0000

My food adventure never ends. I love food...especially sweets!

A friend of mine bakes cakes for special occasions. You can see some of her works on her blog or on facebook page.

If you have trouble viewing the page, search Julie's heart bakery. She is based in Sydney.

I'm thinking of asking her to bake a cake for my wedding anniversary. It will be either something with a love heart or my favourite character Miffy!

What's happening with Kyo Modern...

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Tue, 29 May 2012 07:47:00 +0000

Just in case people were wondering what's happening with me... I'm still arrive!

I was sick for few weeks. After that, I started preparing for a new website. My current website was done by myself and there was only so many improvements I could make as an amateur.

So I've decided to use a professional to re-do my site! It will be ready in next couple of months time. I will let you know when it's up.

May wasn't so busy but June is somewhat busy season. It's 6 months before Christmas (yes, already!) so that's when wholesalers start stocking up for Christmas sales.

I have started to look around as well. I need new products for Kyo Modern!!

In a mean time, you can still go to online shop on my current website which is up & running. And if you are in NSW, Queensland or Victoria, there are shops where you can visit to purchase Kyo Modern's products.

Fujipan the Japanese bakery

noreply@blogger.com (Kyo Modern) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:15:00 +0000

"Pan" means bread in Japanese. Apparently origin of this word is German or something else, I can't remember.

Anyway, Japanese style bread is a very good mix of European style bread with Asian taste. It's bit hard to describe by words. It's much easier if I can take you to a bakery in Japan!

There are so many varieties of bread in a Japanese bakery. As much as I like bakeries in Australia too, I still miss Japanese bakeries.

I only know one decent Japanese style bakery in Sydney and it's called Fuji pan. It's located on:

605 George Street, Shop 1
Corner of Goulburn Street and George Street in Sydney CBD

It's actually owned by Fujiya restaurant which is located right above this shop.

They have pretty good varieties of bread and also some cakes. My recommendation is "Mochi Mochi" pan. (the one on the right. This particular one was chocolate flavour)

It's so soft and tasty! The shop is open till late but if you go there after 8pm, they normally don't have that much bread left (but often they are on clearance!) so get there early!