Eating in Japan- Izakaya

A traditional akachōchin, red paper lantern fusually hung outside an izakaya in Japan.

Eating anywhere in Japan is a treat. Eating in an Izakaya is the best treat, in my opinion. Izakaya are sometimes compared to pubs in the West, but I think of them more as bars with amazing snacks. Similar to tapas bars. They are casual, fun and often rowdy. Izakaya translates to stay and drink. … Continue reading Eating in Japan- Izakaya

For the love of RAMEN!!!

To say I like food is somewhat of an understatement. A million years ago I trained as a chef, then I studied nutritional medicine and now I teach cooking in a primary (elementary) school. I love everything about food, and when I teach, I teach the culture, the history and the social aspects of food, … Continue reading For the love of RAMEN!!!

RAKU- A sublime dining experience.

When I looked up "best Japanese restaurant" in Canberra, Raku was the obvious front runner, with many people extolling its virtues. I always look up the best local Japanese when we travel, as we love eating Japanese food and I am always interested to see how other places do it differently. We are lucky in … Continue reading RAKU- A sublime dining experience.

Headed for Kyushu

Monday morning we were booked to take three shinkansen from Kyoto to Nagasaki. I woke up feeling very less than average and had been coughing and spluttering all night. I always feel sad about leaving Kyoto, but this time I was feeling so unwell, it was overpowering my impending dread. I got up early and … Continue reading Headed for Kyushu

Revisiting a Couple of Old Favourites in Fushimi

Tuesday night we decided to take Mum and Ted to our favourite little brewery and also our favourite yakitori place in Fushimi, a district in Kyoto famous for it's sake. We jumped in a cab and set off for Fujioka, or Bar En. This brewery is so aesthetically amazing, I would visit even if the … Continue reading Revisiting a Couple of Old Favourites in Fushimi

Shishito Yakitori

Glazed Japanese shishito yakitori wrapped in prosciutto

Last weekend we stopped past a local veggie market on our way home from stocking up our sake supplies. We don't go very often, as it is usually so busy, but they have excellent and difficult to find ingredients and I wanted to buy some new shiso micro-greens to grow on my kitchen window ledge. … Continue reading Shishito Yakitori

Looking for the Master

As a follower of Japanese culture, if you have never seen Midnight Diner on Netflix, you need to stop reading this blog for a moment and queue it up. It is one of Nihonshu Girl’s and my favourite television shows - ever. It is set in a diner in the backstreets of Shinjuku which opens … Continue reading Looking for the Master

Five Crazy Days in Tokyo….. Part 4

Kaminarimon, the Thunder Gate at Senso-Ji temple in Asakusa in Tokyo.

Our last full day in Tokyo we started by dropping Ewan in Akihabara. He was on a mission to find a figurine, and the rest of us were not keen for the noise and crazyness of Akiba. We continued on to Asakusa. Senso-Ji temple is amazing, and I wanted to show Harper. We started at … Continue reading Five Crazy Days in Tokyo….. Part 4

Five Crazy Days in Tokyo…… part 3

The only thing driving me out the door on our third day in Tokyo was coffee. We found a very cool little cafe, but sadly their coffee machine was broken. The owner, was however, making drip filter coffee, which is very popular in Japan. It takes an extrodinary amount of time to make, and is … Continue reading Five Crazy Days in Tokyo…… part 3