Discoveries from around the archipelago
There is sushi and there is design. And then there is designer sushi. There's no better way to describe the beautiful seafood and vegetables on offer at the minimalist restaurant A-Womb. The eatery specializes in high quality, DIY hand-rolled sushi (temaki), featuring many local vegetables and unique food combinations not often found at your standard sushi joint.... Continue Reading →
Last year, my friend Felicity (constant travel companion and fabulous videoegrapher at Where Next Japan) invited my daughter and I to Kyoto for a visit to a rather special garden. Her Osaka-based photography club had gotten permission to visit a private garden in northern Kyoto and she wanted to know if I would like to... Continue Reading →
If there is one thing I love to do in a city, it's take a walking tour. You get a completely different feel for a city when you are literally pounding its cobblestones (or pavement) and having a guide to point out the things you wouldn't even think to notice can make a visit seem... Continue Reading →
Want to learn more about one of Japan's most popular drinks but don't know where to begin? If a trial and error tasting at a local bar isn't for you, you can learn a lot about sake in a short amount of time at one of Kafu's sake tasting evenings. Kafu is an up-and-coming cultural... Continue Reading →
On my trip to Kyoto earlier this month, I was faced with a rather rainy forecast. So, turning to the internet and my trusty research skills, I tracked down this article on a fan shop in the Miyagawa-cho neighborhood of Kyoto that taught visitors an age-old fan throwing game. So, with umbrella and good friend/frequent travel... Continue Reading →
March was another fortunate month of travel and it was hard to pick a favorite shot. I was going to use a shot of the beautiful Hori Teien, a hidden garden located outside of Tsuwano in rural Shimane Prefecture. But then I went to Kyoto ... and of course, in the city that never ceases... Continue Reading →
When I was planning my trip to Kyoto last week, I went through my list of gardens, temples and shrines (and restaurants, of course!) to see what would occupy my time for three glorious days of solo travel. I hadn't exactly planned on the pouring rain. But thankfully, the bad weather gave me a reason... Continue Reading →
I’ve just come back from three packed days of sightseeing and eating in Kyoto and, while I’d love to keep this amazing matcha cheesecake a secret, I can’t help but share with you all my new favorite café in the old capital. If you’ve been fighting the crowds on the Kiyomizu-zaka (one of the main... Continue Reading →
Kyoto is home to five hanamachi, or geisha neighborhoods. Every year, each neighborhood's geisha (or geiko, as they are known in Kyoto) and maiko put on a demonstration of their accomplished skills. Tickets sell out quick but last year, I was lucky enough to score a pair of tickets for a Sunday afternoon show by the... Continue Reading →
When I was in Kyoto last year, I was wandering the blocks around the main artery of Shijo-dori, looking for a washi paper store. I found it, a few blocks south of Shijo on Higashinotoin-dori. On the way, however, I passed a squat black building with a significant line of people waiting outside the door. A... Continue Reading →
