We had the wonderful opportunity of joining some dear Japanese friends, Kayoko and Takashi, on a quick vacation to beautiful and historic Kyoto and Nara. We visited Kyoto once before, but this time took the shinkansen, high speed bullet train. I was…
We were so happy to find out that grandma and grandpa (Matt’s parents) were planning to visit Japan! It was their very first trip out of the United States, and we couldn’t wait to show them more of this wonderful…
Gonpachi is a restaurant in the fashionable Roppongi district of Tokyo, and is apparently best known to westerners, as the “Kill Bill” restaurant. I’ve never seen the movie, so I wouldn’t know, but many famous people have also eaten here,…
My dear friend Kayoko, invited us to Ukai-Toriyama for lunch a few weeks ago. The restaurant is located in a beautiful, mountainous area of Japan, not too far from our home. The grounds were exceptionally beautiful, of course. One of…
In Japanese culture, it is considered rude to “eat on the go”. You always eat at the restaurant or eat at your destination, never while walking around (yes, this includes your coffee). For this reason, Japanese street food is pretty…
A few weeks ago, we spent a lovely Saturday hiking to the top of Mount Takao. There was even a chair lift to take you half way up the mountain. This was certainly no Mt. Fuji… thankfully! The girls felt…
A visit to a shrine, within the first few days of the new year, is a very important aspect of Japanese culture, known as hatsumode. There are various celebrations held at these shrines, but we chose to attend the Daruma…
The Yosakoi Festival is a dance competition held every year in Harajuku, featuring over 5,000 dancers (about 100 teams) from all over Japan. 5,000 dancers? You know I’m there! Yosakoi dance originated in Kochi City, Japan, which still boasts the…
Tokyo’s Chinatown, in the waterfront neighborhood of Yokohama, is said to be Asia’s largest. (I can’t help but think, as opposed to just being in China? But, maybe I am getting too literal!) Anyway, we had a wonderful afternoon and it…