Food– category –

Autumn is one of the best seasons for food in Japan. As the weather gets cooler, supermarkets, restaurants, convenience stores, and cafés begin to fill with seasonal ingredients and flavors. Fish, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, chestnuts, pe...

Nara is famous for two things: its friendly deer and the Great Buddha at Todaiji Temple. And yes, if it's your first time in Nara, you should absolutely see both. Greeting the deer in Nara Park and standing in front of the Great Buddha a...

Japan has a rich bento culture. A bento is a Japanese-style packed meal, often carefully arranged with rice and side dishes in a single box. One of the most overlooked parts of this culture is the bento box itself. From cheap plastic con...

Shodoshima is one of the most peaceful island escapes you can take from Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. Known for its olive groves, soy sauce breweries, dramatic gorges, and quiet coastal scenery, it offers a slower side of Japan that many visito...

Many travelers are already familiar with tuna, salmon, and a few other popular types of sashimi. But the range of sashimi in Japan goes far beyond that. Let’s check out the different kinds and see what makes Japanese sashimi culture uniq...

A Small Historical Town Near Lake Biwa, Easy to Visit from Kyoto and Osaka   Nagahama is a small historic city located on the northern shore of Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake. The town developed as a castle town during the Sengoku ...

Trying local fruits is something you must do when you travel in other countries.  Even though you might have a similar kind of fruits in your country, Japanese fruits are worth trying as they're often relatively sweeter and gorgeous. &nb...

5 Essential Phrases for Japanese Izakaya   If you have plans – or hopes! – to visit Japan, a brilliant way to prepare is by picking up a few handy phrases you’ll be able to use while there. In bigger cities especially, you’ll find t...

If you have been to Japan or  even a Japanese restaurant in your country, you have probably tried edamame beans. Usually it's just boiled with salt and it's perfect snack for beer.  Edamame itself is cultivated almost anywhere in Japan, ...

What's Nodate ?? When you hear word "tea ceremony", you maybe think it's something solemn and you have to sit in an authentic Japanese room while a host makes a cup of tea for you.    But there is an outdoor style of tea ceremony, c...

Japan is famous for its culinary culture and  it seems Japan has a various type of food and you  have a plenty of choices. However, people who have some type of diet find it difficult to find where to eat. Vegetarian is one of them.  Jap...

I, a guide of travel lovers, am also very fond of travelling. I will share some stories from my travel journal with the blog readers. The very first episode is one in Himi, Toyama.  One day in last March, I got off the train at the railw...

  Japanese sweets are called "wagashi -和菓子-", and they have developed a lot since 14th century. Wagashi are often served with a cup of green tea and the sweetness goes well with the bitter drink.     At a tea ceremony w...

What would you imagine when you hear the word 'sushi'? Sushi is basically the food of the combination of raw fish and vinegared rice and the world of sushi is deeper than we expect. The range of sushi is not only sushi rolls we see in a ...

If you’re a foodie traveler, takoyaki (octopus balls) is what you can’t miss when traveling in Osaka.  You don’t need to make a big effort to find a takoyaki stand, since they’re everywhere in the town.  (Until about 10 years ago there u...