Does this plant look familiar? If you are in or from Asia, maybe it does. In Japan, it’s known as kin mokusei (金木犀) and it blooms in the autumn. The plant is a big bush or tree and is rather…
Halloween in Japan
It’s almost Halloween season. In Japan, it is popular among young people to celebrate Halloween. However, the way they spend it in may be completely different than in the countries where Halloween is origin. If you are a foreigner living in Japan, I’m sure you have been confused about it.
Theme Mailboxes
Are you familiar with Japanese mailboxes / postboxes? Usually they are red but depending on where you are, you may come across a unique one. The other day I noticed a special one at the Saitama City Hall. This design…
Low Gear Only parking space
This is a parking lot in the downtown of Tokyo. The reason the ceiling is arched is because it is under the elevated train rails that run through the city. The floors and walls have not been overly remodeled, giving…
Glamping in Japan
Have you heard of “glamping”? It is a combination of the words “glamourous” and “camping” and means exactly what you’d think ~ an elevated camping experience. It is a trend that has become popular in the US in the last…
How about a bubble tea?
It is said that Japan entered the third bubble tea boom in 2018. Many colorful and cute stores have opened, and famous foreign chains have also entered Japan. Due to the pandemic, some of the stores closed, but I think there are many people who call for bubble tea delivery.
Ski Slope Camping
In Japan, some ski resorts convert into camping areas in summer. I recently had the opportunity to camp at one such place in Gunma prefecture. Because it’s a resort area, the grounds were very well taken care of and the…
Wandering in the sky
There are many ropeways that climb mountains, but I think ropeways that cross over the city are quite rare. In April of this year, Japan’s first urban circulation ropeway started operation in Yokohama.
American Food in Japan
In the world’s biggest cities, it is usual to find all types of food from many different companies, but the host country always puts their own twist on it. Chinese food in Japan is different than Chinese food in America…
How is Taiyaki made?
When you scrolling in Tokyo, sometimes you can come up with a Taiyaki shop. Being lured by the sweet smell, you just find that it is hard to reframe from yourself to by it.