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 →
Great Gardens: Hakuryuen (Kyoto)
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 →
Review: Kyoto – Seven Paths to the Heart of the City
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 →
Experience: Sake Tasting at Kafu
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 →
Experience: Tosenkyo at Hangesho Fan Shop
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 →
Friday Photo: March 2015
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 →
Crash Course: Tosenkyo
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 →
Good Eats: Ten (Kyoto)
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 →
Experience: Miyako Odori
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 →
Good Eats: Kamo (Kyoto)
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 →