On Sunday, Super Sake Boy and I had arranged to meet up with the very lovely Fujimoris, the couple we met at Shu Kura sake bar in Ponto-cho. Our conversation on the evening was very broken English/Japanese and somewhat sake fuelled, but fun and interesting, none-the-less. Super Sake Boy had painstakingly written his emails in…
Category: Culture
Matcha, Sushi, Fairy Floss and Echoes of Murasaki
Saturday morning we decided to have a bit of a lazy and slow start to the day, as we had arranged to go to Uji with Maki and Senki and Sen-chan had track and field club in the morning. It was a good reason to have some down time. We did a bunch of washing…
A Day of Excellent Temples and Even More Excellent Sake
On Friday morning we headed out early after a reasonably early night. We had decided on a temple on the other side of town. Daitoku-Ji is a large temple complex, a branch of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen Buddhism. There are around six buildings of the main temple and then around 22 sub-temples. Established…
Fujioka Shuzo, The Secret is Out
Do you ever have one of those moments when you are travelling, when you stumble upon something truly special. Something that is not in the guide books. A place that captures the town or city that you are exploring. You get almost giddy with excitement. It’s like you’ve captured a Pulitzer Prize winning photo, or…
Antiques and Okonomiyaki
Saturday morning we had breakfast and headed out to one of the temples local to the guesthouse. This was my third visit to Kiyomizudera, Clear Water Temple, and every time it has something different to offer. I am really enjoying seeing the difference in the scenery of the places I know, in a different season….
From the Eastern Capital to the Old Capital
On Friday morning we got up and had sort of planned a day in Asakusa, at Senso-Ji and then taking an afternoon shinkansen to Kyoto. We decided to drop our bags for storage in Shinagawa station, as our shinkansen was leaving from there at 3:30. Only problem was we had not for even a moment…
Ebisu Yokocho
Many areas of Tokyo have awesome “yokocho”. Yokocho means alley and these alleyways are busy and bustling and full of amazing little bars and restaurants. They are loud and vibrant and narrow and a writhing mass of humanity, in the nicest possible way. We love these yokocho and they often have excellent yakitori places with…
Japanese School Lunch
Yesterday morning I was up early, eager and nervous, to start my adventure to my school’s (where I work) sister school in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. Chiba is next to Tokyo and not difficult to get to. Our sister school, Nambu Elementary School, is a primary school and I met the grade 6 teacher, Saeka-san, when…
Tokyo Never Disappoints
We arrived at Narita Airport around 8:30am, yesterday morning, everyone slightly disheveled and sleep deficient. Mum hates flying and the kids are not great plane sleepers…. I had more sleep than I regularly do, and we hit the ground running. JR passes efficiently processed by the lovely Hashimoto-san in the JR East office at Narita…
Women, criminals and other subversions in Japanese sub-culture….
Last night I watched a documentary made by a woman, a well-educated and intelligent woman, who was raped by a well respected Japanese journalist. Her story was very sad and her outcome was not satisfactory. The case was dismissed, at the last minute, as there was insufficient evidence. The man was the biographer of Shinzo…
Super Easy Teriyaki Chicken
Teriyaki Chicken is a staple in our house. It is quick and super easy and very delicious. It is loved by everyone and is my no-brainer “go to” meal. I make my sauce from scratch and have tweaked several different recipes, as I often find Japanese sauces to be ever so slightly too sweet, sometimes….
Heisei to Reiwa: A Golden Week to Remember
On Tuesday the 30th April history was made as the first Japanese Emperor in over 200 years abdicated from the throne. Emperor Akihito, who was enthroned in 1989, chose to step down and pass the responsibility to his son, who on 1st May was enthroned as Emperor Naruhito. The occasion was celebrated around Japan, as…
