The Japanese Art of Furoshiki Gift Wrapping Workshop at Yuchengco Museum

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Are you tired of wrapping your Christmas gifts the same old way? Give yourself a headstart this Christmas and make your holiday season more eco-friendly by trying the Japanese art of Furoshiki gift wrapping.

The Japanese art of Furoshiki gift wrapping uses pieces of cloth as the wrapper. Learn how you can use a bandana or handkerchief to wrap gifts of different shapes and sizes. Using traditional Furoshiki techniques with today's ribbons and charms, discover how you can wrap gifts that friends and family will want to receive first and unwrap last.

Venue
Yuchengco Museum located at RCBC Building Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia) corner Ayala Avenue, Makati

Instructors
Strategic brand planner Vicky Ortega's passion is gift wrapping. She loves finding unique ways to wrap gifts for her family and friends.

Marketing consultant Nenette Sadiua is currently taking her second bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. Her passion is preparing creative gift baskets.

Beauty Blossoms in Manila with Pixy!

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Mandom Philippines Corporation officially launched its Japanese cosmetics brand PIXY, at Whitespace Manila a few weeks ago. PIXY cosmetics made its way into the Philippines after showering beauty across Japan, Indonesia, and Malaysia to bring the best of truly Asian beauty!

With the arrival of Pixy, flawless skin, girlish shades, and big beautiful eyes that you see on Japan’s most fashionable streets have never been closer at hand! No need to hit the drugstores of Tokyo to try your favorite Japanese looks - the best has come to our doorsteps!

PIXY is a Japanese-formulated and Indonesian-manufactured make-up line which flatters skin tones, while infusing the same light-reflecting, skin-perfecting properties, making Japanese cosmetics high in demand.

In each gleaming compact and sleek tube, Pixy offers the best of the ladylike “gal” trend with a twist: it’s now affordable, wearable, and incredibly easy to do. Pixy acts as your loyal beauty companion: each pretty pink product fits neatly in your handbag, promising to awaken your youthful glow and creative spirit no matter where you are!

Mount Fuji: Japan's Most Famous Landmark

Wazzup Pilipinas!

I searched the Internet and found out that the most famous landmark in Japan is the one called Mount Fuji. So this article is all about the said mountain, or is it really just a mountain?

Mount Fuji is with 3776 meters Japan's highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been worshiped as a sacred mountain and experienced big popularity among artists and common people throughout the centuries.

It is an active volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708. It stands on the border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures and can be seen from Tokyo and Yokohama on clear days.

Another easy way to view Mount Fuji is from the train on a trip between Tokyo and Osaka. If you take the shinkansen from Tokyo in direction of Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, the best view of the mountain can be enjoyed from around Shin-Fuji Station on the right hand side of the train, about 40-45 minutes into the journey.

Cocomochi: Japanese Rice Cake with Coconut

Wazzup Pilipinas!

I make desserts almost twice every week. I know that’s probably not the healthiest thing, but it’s what I enjoy doing and I love dessert! This week, I’ve decided to make mochi.

Mochi, a traditional Japanese dessert, is a rice treat I have enjoyed since childhood. Sometimes, mochis are wrapped around ice cream and have it in frozen yogurt shops. If you have seen it before and haven’t tried it, I would definitely urge you to. It’s a small treat that is chewy and slightly sweet and is SO good!

The traditional method of making mochi can be tedious, but nowadays there are other options such as baked, steamed, or microwaveable mochi. In my case, I used the microwavable mochi recipe (probably the easiest of the three). By far, this is one of the easiest recipes for mochi, while it is also tasty, especially when eaten warm. For those of you who want a quick, coconut mochi treat, I would highly recommend this recipe.

The ingredients in this mochi recipe can be easily found at any supermarket. I would suggest to the use the exact ingredients and ratios in the recipe.

Japanese Culture: White Day

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Who says that February was the only month that celebrates something romantic on its fourteenth day?

Well, maybe here on the Philippines it’s only in February, but in other countries particularly Japan, they have this thing called White Day which apparently falls on the fourteenth day of March, just a month after the celebration of Valentine’s Day.