Ishinomaki city was among the most seriously affected by the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami which hit on 2:46pm 11 March 2011. Located 300 miles North of Tokyo, it takes around 4 hours by train (2 transfers) to get there. I first heard of Grace Mission Tohoku (GMT) through Crash Japan, a Japan-wide Christian disaster relief organization (thanks to John for connecting […]
Instant Noodles are a hungry man’s best friend, and actually a large part of my childhood. So while I was passing through Japan, I paid homage to the man who invented it — Momofuku Ando and his Instant Ramen museum located in Osaka (and also Yokohama, which is closer to Tokyo!).
Manga Cafe also known as mangakissa in Japanese is a kind of café in Japan where people read manga (comic books). Patrons pay for their time in the café where they can read in a comfortable setting. Most offer internet access and drinks. For an hour’s stay, the cost is generally about 400 yen (~$4.5). Longer stays are […]
Haru’s Cooking Class One of my most memorable times in Kyoto was Haru’s cooking class. I learned how to make Dashi (soup stock), Aemono & Kinpira (vegetarian dishes), Tamago (omelet), Kobe beef & Miso soup! The recipes were simple, but got me started in Japanese cooking. Taro (the teacher) holds the cooking classes in his […]
Capsule HotelThe first capsule hotel to open was in Osaka, Japan in 1979. The need was driven mainly by travelers too intoxicated to safely get back home, or too embarrassed to face their spouses. These hotels have extremely small “rooms” (capsules) intended to provide cheap and basic overnight accommodation for guests not requiring the services offered by more […]