Japan is famous for all-things green tea or matcha… and the most popular place to get your green tea fix is in Kyoto, but where in Kyoto? As a huge fan of green tea desserts, I decided to go for a matcha pilgrimage to a small city on the southern outskirts of Kyoto called Uji (宇治) during early March. Is it worth the trip? We started our day with a trip from Osaka to Uji without knowing what to expect. …
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{Japan} Hoot! Fukurou no Sato (Owl Village) Cafe in Harajuku, Tokyo
We visited Owl Village / Fukurou no Sato (武蔵野カフェ＆バー ふくろうの里) in Harajuku, Tokyo in March 2016. I’m sure many of you have heard of the popular cat cafes in Japan. But the new craze seems to be these owl cafes that are popping up everywhere around the big cities. Owl Village is literally a stone’s throw away from the iconic Harajuku Station. If you take the Takeshita exit from the station, just cross the road and turn …
{Japan} Sakura petals & colourful lanterns at Kawagoe Spring Matsuri, Saitama
Last weekend, I visited one last sakura spot with a friend of mine before all the pink turn to green, just so we could take pictures and stuff. Because if a sakura petal falls in the middle of the forest and no one is around to take a photo of it, does it really happen? Ha. We visited Kawagoe, a small town in Saitama that’s only about 1 hour away from Shinjuku. It is a nice old town with …
{Japan} Pretty in pink & pretty crowded at Inokashira-koen, Kichijoji
My memory of my first visit to Inokashira-koen would be of Ghibli Museum and of getting lost inside this large park filled with beautiful autumn colours. Now that I’m living in Japan, I have actually been visiting the Kichijoji area every Sunday for church… And suddenly, the park is becoming our Sunday walking spot. So of course today, while it’s still sakura season, we visited Inokashira-koen for a nice walk along the cherry blossom and nature. …
{Japan} Cherry blossom viewing at Chidorigafuchi, Tokyo
There are so many reasons to visit Japan, but one of the most common ones is to view the cherry blossom in April. Now that we have moved to Japan, I knew we had to make use of that one-week full-bloom period that we have, so after visiting Roppongi on March 31st, we decided to visit another spot on April 1st. Chidorigafuchi appears on so many top lists on where to view cherry blossoms in …
{Japan} Tokyo Midtown Blossom & Roppongi Hills Sakurazaka, Tokyo
Sakura season in Tokyo usually lasts for about a week and a half. And I’m going to make the most out of it. The “full bloom” i.e. best viewing time starts on March 30 until about the end of first week of April, although some would extend to the second week. Today (31 March), we visited Roppongi for a day of walking and stuff, and the weather was a nice 19 degrees. This is my first …
{Japan} The crazy cool Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku, Tokyo
If I were to ask you to describe Harajuku for me, what would you have in mind? If I were to say I went to a restaurant called Kawaii Monster, what would you imagine? Now put those two thoughts together and enter into this very real very Harajuku world of Kawaii Monster Cafe… It is located in, surprise surprise, Harajuku. Upon entering the premise, we were greeted at the reception area and were then told …
{Japan Life} Moving and living in Tokyo
We moved to Japan! Tokyo, to be exact. Yes, after a year of considering and carefully planning, we finally made the move on Feb 29 of 2016 (three weeks ago)! So from now on, it’ll be easier for me to blog about all-things-Japanese and update you with the latest and greatest from the land of the rising sun (or is it “the land of the rice and sun”?) We celebrated our 4th anniversary earlier this …
{Japan Winter} Osaka (Part 6): Eating our way around Dotombori & Namba
If you’re in Osaka, you’re going to be eating a whole lot. After all, Osaka is the home of takoyaki and okonomiyaki and a whole lot of other food that you should not miss out! We spent a few days in Osaka, and apart from all the touristy things we did, we also ate heaps. So here’s our food travel adventure in Osaka… Kani Doraku First one on the list: Kani Doraku, a restaurant for …
{Japan Winter} Osaka (Part 5): Neon lights & sign boards around Dotombori & Namba
When most people think of Osaka, they would think of the running man neon light and other sign boards around Dotombori area. And that’s true, I consider the most “fun” part of Osaka to be the Minami (Namba) area, because you have all the food on one side (Dotombori), shopping on the other (Shinsaibashi), and geek-lovin’ on another (Den Den Town). While we were in Osaka, it rained a fair bit. But the rain somehow …