Month: May 2016
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Tokyo Food Diary part 1: Ramen, Tsukemen, Udon
On this trip, we wanted to taste the authentic version of various genres of convenient Japanese food that we have been eating outside Japan. For more traditional fare, we had during our ryokan stays (click here). We had only about a week in Tokyo and managed to eat ramen, shabu-shabu, tonkatsu, Japanese curry, izakaya dining, yakimono,…
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Sunday Anti-War Protests in Harajuku 原宿, Tokyo
On Valentine’s day February 14, Sunday, we encountered a protest in Tokyo. Harajuku is the geographic area spreading from Harajuku JR Station south along Omotesando down to Meiji-dori. It is better known internationlly as a center of youth fashion – especially Takeshita dori (竹下通り). After we crossed Meiji-dori, Sue and IT stopped at a vintage clothes…
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Sushi Matsue 松栄, Ebisu 恵比寿, Tokyo
We had about a week in Tokyo and wanted to reacquaint ourselves with as many different genres of authentic Japanese food as we can. We managed to have sushi (see below), yakimono, wagashi, ramen, shabu-shabu, tonkatsu, localized chinese, french and italian, japanese curry and izakaya snacks (see later posts). We had lunch with IT’s friend who…
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Yakusugi Land 屋久杉ランド, Yakusugi Shizenkan 屋久杉自然館
Yakushima was registered as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 1993. It is also called “the island of ancient forest and water” because of the huge Yaku cedars, which are over 1,000 years old, moss and abundance of rain. According to wikitravel, the island’s forests are not virgin. Hundreds of years ago, most of…
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Finding 13, part 5
Well, tomorrow is Friday the 13th of May 2016. We are not superstitious about the number. We just happen to live at No. 13 now and I used to work at Room 1313 on the 13th floor. I(Chris) am just curious about the other No: 13’s – how they look and what’s behind them. As you will see, we…
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Jomon no Yado Manten 縄文の宿 まんてん, Yakushima 屋久島
Jomon no Yado Manten (JNYM, 縄文の宿 まんてん) was our lodgings for 3 days on Yakushima 屋久島. It is 1-minute walk from the airport, basically just across the 2-lane main road that circumnavigates the island. The airport is really an airstrip and it closes after the last flight left or landed in late afternoon. Between the two ryokans that…