I love that feeling when you’ve settled into your seat on the plane (or train or boat, for that matter) and the last few minutes tick down to departure time. Finally, you’re off! All the weeks of planning are done. You’ve handed over anything important at work, and your out of office message is on. ... Read more »
Yokahama China Town is said to be Japan’s largest. There are others in Nagasaki and Kobe – all three were among the first Japanese ports to open to foreign trade and many Chinese traders settled there in the years to follow. Nagasaki is the oldest of the three, established in the 17th century, and is ... Read more »
Planning a trip during Japan’s famous sakura (cherry blossom) season can be hit and miss, especially if you are moving around the country a fair bit. Peak blossom time can vary year on year by at least a week or two which means that the few days you have in a given location could fall ... Read more »
I love the writings of Maya Angelou – she had such an incredible talent for describing the human condition, for capturing the very essence of human behaviour, feelings and motivations in the most poetic of ways. A prolific poet, writer and civil rights activist, she died in 2014 at the grand old age of 86, ... Read more »
Are you familiar with umami? Discovered (and named) by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda back in 1908 and known as the fifth taste group (alongside sweet, sour, bitter and salty), umami is most commonly translated as ‘savoury’ or ‘meaty’ and is a flavour profile that most of us enjoy in our food, whether or not we ... Read more »
Have you heard of kamaboko? It’s a type of surimi fishcake from Japan. Surimi is made by creating a paste of pureed white fish paste that is flavoured, formed into different shapes and steamed to cook. In Japan there are many surimi products which are sold both fresh and dried for consumers to add to ... Read more »
On our latest trip to Japan, I was determined to get a glimpse of rural Japan. We had very much enjoyed our previous insights into traditional Japan – staying in ryokans (traditional Japanese inns, often with quite an age and history to them) and visiting many century-old temples, shrines and castles. But until this trip, ... Read more »
Hakone is one of Japan’s most popular tourist destinations, famous for its onsen (hot spring) resorts and natural beauty, not least the views of Lake Ashinoko and Mount Fuji. This mountainous town sits within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park; only 50 miles or so from central Tokyo the area is visited by national and international tourists ... Read more »
If any one nation excels at skilfully enhancing an area of natural beauty to make it even more beautiful, it must surely be Japan? Certainly, we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful setting than HOSHINOYA Karuizawa, located in an area known colloquially as the Japanese Alps. About Hoshinoya Karuizawa is not only one of the ... Read more »
Formally known as the Seated Amida Buddha, more commonly called the Daibutsu (Giant Buddha) of Kamakura, this beautiful Buddhist statue was cast from bronze in the mid-13th century, to replace a similarly large wooden Daibutsu completed just a few years earlier but damaged soon after in a storm. Originally a hall was built to enclose ... Read more »
The Place of Onions, in old Lille. After last night’s rainstorm the intense sticky heat has broken and today is cool, breezy, fresh… I love it! A drop of… [more]
We went to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void this morning, an amazing VR experience where we got to be Rebel Alliance members going undercover as… [more]