Sakura Days Japan Fair

Last weekend the Sakura Days Japan Fair happened at the Van Dusen Gardens - a celebration of the beautiful cherry blossoms that have been blooming around Vancouver and all things Japanese. Luckily the weather held up when I went!

A pond at the Van Dusen Gardens.

The first thing I did of course, was hit the food stalls! I zeroed in on takoyaki (octopus balls) from Zipang Provisions. It was pretty cool watching the guy make them on the grill!

Next, I tried the pork ramen in fish soup from Benkei Noodle Shop. It was a little bland, but I didn't expect too much from a food tent. 

There were other entertainment, such as musical performances, dances, and the marketplace.

A cool picnic blanket!

Some beautiful cherry blossoms!

For the rest of the afternoon, I joined the TKC Japanese Gourmet Kitchen cooking class taught by Takeshi Hasegawa. He was demonstrating how to make three different types of Japanese soups. The class focuses on healthy and wholesome Japanese cuisine, without the use of chemicals or additives. The class was fun and informative and the soups were very tasty! I'm definitely going to make some myself! 

Vegetable soup.

Japanese Dashi soup.

Chicken and anchovies soup.

Various ingredients used.

Women's Badminton Medal Matches #TakePart2012

Today was my day off to watch some Olympic sports! We headed to Wembley Arena for the Women's Singles Badminton Bronze and Gold Medals matches, as well as the Women's Doubles Badminton Gold Medal match. The games were exciting, and of course, China dominated the games.

China vs India in the bronze medal game. Due to a leg injury, China had to forfeit after the 2nd round started.

China vs China in the gold medal game.

China, China, and India

Women's doubles gold medal game - China vs Japan.

Medal ceremony.

China, Japan, Russia.

 Here are a couple of video clips of the matches and the medal presentation: