Old city of Kurashiki, Okayama

If you travel west of Japan and have a chance to visit Okayama, take few more ride on the train to visit Kurashiki where you can enjoy the old style city.

Walking about 10min from Kurashiki station, you'll find a preserved area of the old city of Kurashiki.

There's a small river running between the middle of the city where you can take a ride on a classical wooden boat, observing historical buildings on both sides.

This is a picture of the old city of Kurashiki I took at dawn, before tourist started coming.
(Love the mirroring effect of the city in undisturbed water!)

You can spend couple hours walking not only the main street, but also the back street where you can find white walled historical buildings too.

Also at the entrance of the area, there's a store where you can experience cooking a famous Okayama snack called 'Mura suzume'.

If you like walking around historical places in Japan, Kurashiki is one place I would recommend people to go.

Way of advertising using trucks in Japan

Here's one way advertising is done in Japan.

That is, using trucks.

I think it is a good way because unlike posting signs there are various advantages.

One is that the height of the advertising will be at the street level, and people do not have to look up.

Second is that because the truck drives around places, you'll have more people watching the advertisement.
(And because it drives around slowly, people will have enough time to read the ad.)

Third is like you see in the picture, if the truck drives at a time when the sky gets dark, you'll attract more attention by lighting the ad.

Some truck ads play music while they drive around so you'll definitely attract more attention compared to stable signs on the street.

Maybe in cities where you have heavy traffic, this may be one good way of advertising!!

A Japanese traditional dance in Tokushima 'Awa Odori'

In Tokushima prefecture of Japan, there's a dance you must go see.

It's called 'Awa Odori' and is a traditional dance which most of the people living in the area can dance.

They have a big dance festival in August where they have men and women dressed in traditional outfit.

Ladies wear straw woven hats almost hiding their face, and men wearing a towel over their head and face.

The music is very merry and has a rhythm easy to dance.

Before the festival, you'll be able to see people gathering in parks practicing the dance for the day of the festival.

Poster for Japanese Self Defense Force recruitment

When you walk around in Japan, you may see one of these posters.

What do you think it is about?

Well, it's in Japanese, but what is written is "Recruiting members for Japanese Self Defense Force".

The three girls in different costume represents Air, Ground and Ocean self defense force.

The design changes every once in a while, but you'll be able to find it various places such as train station.
(I actually found this one in a station.)

Have you ever seen a 'Crepe vendor'?

It's not nationwide, but there is an interesting vending machine you can find in Kagoshima.

What does it sell?

Crepes.

Sounds weird?

But here it is.

It is a crepe vendor with various flavors.

When you drop in coins and push the crepe of your flavor, it comes out in a glass container like this.

And when you take it out of the bottle, you'll find a crepe wrapped in cellophane like this.

So if you have a chance to visit Kagoshima, and you want something sweet to eat, why not look for one and try it!!

Fritolay Mike's popcorn, Japan original flavor

Don't know how many different kind of flavor Mike's popcorn has, but here's one from Japan.

This is a collaboration flavor with a Japanese cup noodle company called 'Maru-chan'.

The flavoring of the popcorn is from one of their menu, which is "Wong ton soy sauce" flavor.

When you open the package, you can enjoy the scent you'll experience when you open cup noodle after cooking it.

The taste is not butter, but this is one flavor you would want to try if you are popcorn lover!!

Some chocolate snack you gotta try!! [Black Thunder Premium]

If you're looking for some snack you want to purchase for your friends in you country, this chocolate snack is one I would recommend.

It's called "Black Thunder" and they have a variety of different flavor.

This one here is "Black Thunder Premium" and is a chocolate bar with crisp cracker inside.
(They call it 'premium' because it has extra heavy cream added to the original 'Black Thunder'.)

It's in a small package so that you don't worry about not being able to finish it at once.

Have you ever tried 'Beef bowl flavored Pringles'?

So, Pringles.

It's a well known potato chips snack and there are lots of different kinds of flavors.

But have you ever tried 'Beef bowl flavored Pringles'?

This is it.

I found it at a convenience store in Japan.

As you can find in the illustration, there's a picture of a Japanese unique dish 'beef bowl'.

The flavor is like 'beef bowl' but with an accent of red pickled ginger which goes well with the 'beef bowl'.

Besides this kind of flavor, there are other Japanese unique flavor that you can find.

So, when you visit Japan, try stepping into a nearby convenience store and see if they have any of these!!

Cheetos - Japanese original flavor -

If you have a chance to visit Japan and if you love Cheetos, try looking for "Japanese original flavor" Cheetos.

You can't always find them, but if you're lucky, you may be able to find one in a local supermarket in Japan.

This Cheetos is a "Kyushu soy sauce" flavor, which is, Cheetos flavored with a flavor of soy sauce that is unique to Kyushu, a part of Japan located West most of Tokyo.

The uniqueness of this soy sauce is that unlike common soy sauce used in other regions of Japan, it has a sweet flavor added to the soy sauce. (Maybe it can be used as teriyaki-sauce.)

These Japanese unique flavored snacks are not just for Cheetos but for other snacks too!

So, if you have a chance to come to Japan, try walking into one of a local supermarket and if you're lucky, you'll be able to find and try one!!

Something you gotta try when you come to Japan!!

Osaka "Shin sekai" area is one place you may want to go for a walk!!

If you have a chance to visit Osaka, "Shin sekai" (New World) is one place you may want to go for a walk.

It's known for a tower called "Tsu ten kaku" and is a very unique area full of big signs of restaurants.
(As you can see, there's a big sign of a balloon fish hanging right above the street!!)

Day time may be good, but I liked visiting there at night, because as you can see in the photo, the tower and the signs are illuminated, given a better view of the area.

There are lots of restaurants where you can enjoy the soul food of Osaka such as "kushi-age" (various ingredients fried on a stick) , "okonomi yaki" (Japanese style pancake) and more!!

Kusatsu Onsen A very famous hot spring area in Gunma prefecture

Japanese people love hot spring.

Being a country with lots of volcano, there are places in Japan famous for hot spring and Kusatsu Onsen in Gunma prefecture is one of them.

In the middle of the area, they have a large hot spring which is the source of the onsen (hot spring) in the area.

It has a strong sulfuric smell, but the view of the source is worth going.

Right next to this source is a small public (and free) onsen, where you bathe only your foot like foot spa.

Though you may think its only a bit of your body in the onsen, within couple of minutes, you can feel that your body getting hot from the onsen, even during the winter time.

There are ski resorts near by and many public onsen within the area, so if you like skiing, winter may be a good time of the season to go!!

Japanese unique item 'Sora ben'

If you ever have a chance to fly on a domestic flight in Japan, you may want to try 'Sora ben' or light snack lunch box of local delight, at the airport.

Because the flights in Japan are not that long, they usually don't serve meals like international flights.
(Though you can purchase light snacks in the plane.)

So, before or after you check in at the airport, you'll be able to find stores which sell these lunch boxes filled with portions of various local dishes.

The photo I have here is a lunch box I had while traveling back to Haneda, Tokyo airport from Kagoshima, the southern part of Japan where they have Japanese rocket launch sites and active volcano called 'Sakura jima'.

Because Kagoshima is an area right next to the ocean and famous for sea food, they have grilled sea fish in the middle.

Also, because Kagoshima is known for pork, they have cooked pork too!

So, if you ever have a chance to travel in Japan on domestic flight, instead of stepping into one of the restaurants and cafe to have sandwich, purchase one of these lunch boxes and enjoy it while you're on the plane!!

It'll be one good memory for your trip in Japan!!

Things to do in Japan - Looking for posters

In Japan, we don't have an army, but we have self defense force.

How do they promote people?

By posting posters in places such as train station, city halls etc.

What kind of posters do they have?

Well, Japan is famous for 'manga' or animation.

And here's one poster that I found some time ago.

They used to have posters with actual human models in cool uniforms, but looks like they have changed their style.

I guess its because more young people look at the posters if it has something drawn of their interest.

So, if you have an opportunity to visit Japan, looking around for such kind of posters may be some interesting thing you may want to try.

Because they constantly change, you'll be able to find new posters every time you visit Japan!!

Hiroshima gourmet "Hiroshima style okonomi yaki"

If you ever visit Hiroshima, there's one thing you may want to try.

That is "Okonomi yaki", which is a kind of pancake.

Okonomi yaki itself is a popular dish in Japan, but the unique feature of the okonomi yaki in Hiroshima is that they have noodle as one of the ingredient accompanied by lots of shredded cabbage. (Another popular okonomi yaki is in Osaka, but I'll have it in a different article.)

There are many places in Hiroshima that serves okonomi yaki, and if you are interested in seeing how they cook it, you can step into a building right close to Hiroshima station where they have one floor of the building just for okonomi yaki.

Here's one YouTube video I made showing you how it is cooked.
(It's in Japanese, but you can see how they cook it.)

Since the restaurants are competing with each other, if you talk to the guy cooking at the restaurant, you'll be able to hear their special ingredients or the way they create their menu!

Nagoya gourmet "miso katsu" (pork cutlet with miso based sauce)

If you have a chance to travel to Nagoya in Aichi prefecture, there's one thing you may want to try.

It's called "miso katsu", and it is a pork cutlet with miso based sauce.

All over Japan, there are different kinds of miso made from different kinds of beans and barley seasoned in different ways, and tastes different.

The miso sauce used for this "miso katsu" is made from bean based miso, but saltier compared to other region and is called "aka miso" (red miso).

But for the sauce used for this "miso katsu", it is cooked so that it is not just salty but sweet at the same time, making it just right for the cutlet.

People in the Nagoya region also make miso soup with this "aka miso" and you can enjoy the strong miso flavor.

It's one of the very popular Nagoya gourmet, so if you have a chance to visit Nagoya, I recommend you list it as one of the dishes you want to eat before leaving Japan!!

Kyoto gourmet 'Nishin (herring) soba'

If you visit Kyoto and would like to try a local dish, 'Nishin (herring) soba (buckwheat noodle)' is definitely something you may want to try.

You can eat in a restaurant inside Kyoto station, but you can also try at soba restaurants in the streets.

Here's how a soba restaurant entrance looks like.
(The weird calligraphy is the sign of a soba restaurant.)

And here's how the 'Nishin soba' looks like.

It's a soba in a broth from 'konbu (a kind of sea weed)' and 'katsuo (bonito)' topped with a half slice of herring cooked in a soy sauce based soup.

The herring is slow cooked so you can easily cut it with the chop stick.

So, if you have a chance to travel to Kyoto, try it!!

Itsukushima in Hiroshima Part 5 -Itsukushima Shrine-

After you walk through the very appealing stores, you'll get to the entrance of the Itsukushima Shrine.

Since I went there on January 2nd, there were tons of people waiting to get into the shrine...

Well, you'll eventually get in, but it took some time (about 10 min) from the location I took this photo to the entrance.

Okay, so I finally got in.
You can see that the truss holding the ceiling is bright red.

Although there were lots of people at the entrance, once you get in walk for a while, you'll get to a point where you can spend some time taking pictures of the shrine.

And as you walk through the hallway, you'll get to a point where you can see the shrine gate on the ocean in a distance.

There's also a spot within the shrine, where you can take a shot with the shrine gate right behind you.
(But you'll have to wait in line to get to the tip of the deck.)

You'll also have an opportunity to get to the main room where you can make your wish behind the spot where I took the photo above!! (Sorry!! Forgot to take a shot of it!!)

Itsukushima in Hiroshima Part 4 -Itsukushima gourmet Part 2-

There's a lot more Itsukushima original gourmet that you can experience during your walk on the island.

This time, I would like to introduce the 'Age momiji manju' which is a fried sponge cake shaped of Japanese maple leaf filled with different kind of cream. (They have a fryer on all the time from morning to night.)

It comes on a stick, and they have three different flavor.

And, as you can see, you cannot distinguish what kind of flavor you have just by looking at it.

So, what they did was have printing on the stick.

It's not very clear, but on the stick from the left, it says 'koshi an' which is smooth sweet bean paste, and in the middle, you have 'cheese' and on the right 'cream' (it's custard cream).

Just to show how each flavor looks, this is 'koshi an'.
It's the basic filling of the 'momiji manju'.

And here's how the 'cheese' filling looks like.
It's not like pizza, but still, matches well.

Finally the 'cream' (custard).

It's one unique Itsukushima sweets that you may want to try during your visit!!

Itsukushima in Hiroshima Part 3 -Itsukushima gourmet part 1-

On the way to Itsukushima shrine, there are various shops along the way, especially local gourmet.

Here are some of the major local gourmet you can find on the way, so if you want to try, make sure you go to Itsukushima hungry!!

So, this is one of the road that leads to the Itsukushima shrine.
As you walk along the path, you'll see the ocean to your right with shops on the left.

The first gourmet you'll find is the 'Oyster curry bread'.

It's a fried bread with curry inside, but with oyster as the main ingredient.

It's not too spicy hot, so children and people who are not used to eating spicy curry can enjoy them too!

Next along the path, you'll find a store with a sign saying 'Pettara Pottara'.

It's a baked riced ball dipped in a original recipe sauce with oyster topped on it or with baked eel inside.

It's a handy snack like the 'oyster curry bread' so you can also enjoy it on your way to the shrine.

Since the store is introduced in tour book and have been aired on TV, there were many people waiting in line at the time of our visit.

Itsukushima in Hiroshima Part 2 - From Hiroshima to Itsukushima-

When traveling to Itsukushima, the most probable way you may take is taking the train from Hiroshima station where the bullet train (Shinkan-sen) stops.

This is the train that you will take if you are taking the JR train.

You'll be taking this train to 'Miyajima-guchi'.

After you get off at Miyajima-guchi, you will walk to  the ferry terminal which is a few minutes walk from the station. (It's easy to know where to go, because most of the people who will get of at Miyajima-guchi will be heading to Itsukushima.)

This is the walkway to the ferry.

Before you get on, don't forget to buy the ticket for the ferry!!
(There's a vending machine for the ticket.)

One thing you can enjoy while you're on the ferry is the oyster beds floating on the ocean.
(There's one oyster bed to the center left of this photo.)

About 10 min after the ride, you'll see the shrine inside the sea.
(Sorry...it's hard to see in the photo but there is a shrine at the center of this photo...)

So, this is how it's like when you reach Itsukushima.

There will be deer walking around freely on the island greeting you!!

Because they're so used to people, they don't run away and just walk around freely.

You can even get close and take pictures with them because they don't run away!!

Itsukushima in Hiroshima Part 1

For those who have not been to Hiroshima, here's one place you may want to consider traveling.

It's about half an hour ride + 10 min ferry ride, but Itsukushima sure is one place worth going.

It's an island with a shrine gate in the water with wild deer walking around the island.
(This photo below is a picture I took on the way to the shrine.)

You can walk to the gate when the tide is low, but even if it high, you can get on the boat to go through the gate.

I'll be introducing some of the interesting thing you can enjoy (i.e. gourmet) at Itsukushima in the following articles.

Kinosaki Onsen (Hot spring) is a place you may want to go

Kinosaki is a hot spring resort in Japan, north from Kyoto.

Kinosaki Onsen (Hot spring) night view

It is a place where you can try out different kinds of hot spring.

What is unique is that it is a small town full of hot springs of different theme, and people spend their time going from one hot spring to the next in their 'yukata' (a kimono kind of outfit) and 'geta' (wooden sandal).

At night, you can hear people walking in their 'geta' and people coming in and out to try out the different kind of 'onsen' (hot spring).

Also, there are old style arcade you can stop by and have fun!!