Comparing Morning Meals in Japan & Taiwan If you’re planning a trip to Japan, why not add one more destination to your trip? This might not be the right time to travel to Hong Kong, and popular Southeast Asian destinations like Bangkok are an extra seven-hour flight from Tokyo. Here’s our recommendation: take a 3.5-hour flight to Taiwan. Taiwan may be a short flight...
Yugawara, Kanagawa Prefecture One of the pleasures of traveling to an onsen is having a full-course Japanese dinner after taking a relaxing bath. Each hotel or ryokan has its own signature dishes such as sashimi, steak, or shabu shabu. However, vegetarians and vegans may have a hard time dining at an onsen resort. You will need to let the hotel know about your food...
Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture A tattoo-friendly onsen awaits travelers at one of Japan’s most popular tourist destinations. Yurin, located in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, is near Toshogu Shrine, famous for enshrining the country’s first shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa. Ieyasu unified the country in 1603, the beginning of the Edo Era. The shrine in Nikko consists of 40 magnificent buildings showing off the refined techniques of Japanese architects...
Tokura Kamiyamada Onsen, Nagano Prefecture This is one of the most famous onsen in Nagano Prefecture. It sits next to the Chikuma River, a large river surrounded by mountains. Soak in the onsen and gaze at the magnificent scenery. There is nothing better! The onsen’s simple alkaline spring water is gentle to the skin, leaving it silky smooth. It is known as “beautiful spring...
Do only Japanese People Visit Public Onsen? Some onsen are run by local governments. These are called public onsen. They are mainly used by locals, so there’s no accompanying lodging facility. They typically charge around 500 yen (about $4.50). The local governments operating these public onsen aren’t that interested in attracting large numbers of guests, so the buildings and equipment aren’t upscale. It’s just...
Japan’s Onsen Are ‘Kimochi Ii’ Let your mind and body unwind in the soothing mineral waters of a Japanese hot-springs bath, known as an onsen. The experience inevitably induces exclamations of “kimochi ii” or “it feels so good!” You’ll hear the phrase as soon as a tired soul sinks his or her body into the bath, immediately letting the day’s stress float away with...
The New Wave of Japanese Cuisine Japan has seen a marked uptick in specialty restaurants recently. It seems the Japanese diner has grown tired of all-purpose food courts that serve everything from sushi to spaghetti, fried rice to French fries. Instead, they are flocking to specialty restaurants with very limited menus. The boom was triggered by Ikinari Steak, a restaurant that serves only steaks....
Ginza, one of Tokyo’s most famous neighborhoods, was originally a name given to a silver coinage mint of the Shogunate in the Edo Era (1603–1868). “Gin” means silver and “Za” means a group of merchants. Shortly after the huge Ginza Fire of 1872 burned down the area, the Japanese government appointed an English architect to re-design the town. Ginza was Westernized and reborn as...
Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture Ukiyo-e is one of the best-known genres of Japanese painting, established in the 17th and 18th centuries. That was the Edo Era, when much of what the West loves about Japan–woodblock prints, sushi, Kabuki, manga, and much more–flourished. The word “ukiyo” originally meant “modern” and “sensual.” The themes of the paintings tended to reflect the manners, customs,...
The Joys of Kanazawa Ishikawa Prefecture hugs the Japan Sea. As you head inland, the coast gives way to snow-capped mountains, underneath which hot springs waters roil. And in the middle of the Prefecture sits one of Japan’s most attractive cities: Kanazawa. The city prospered during the Edo Era (1603-1868) as the capital of the Maeda clan’s domain. The Maeda daimyo’s domain was the...
