The instructions were: bring your own toothbrush and towel. Soap, bathing facilities, charging outlets provided. I didn’t read it to the end. That’s why the rest of my entourage ended up brandishing their toothbrushes glumly at the counter staff. But, they could rent towels for 150¥ apiece – […]
If you are an onsen aficionado, you definitely need to visit Kyushu. Oita and Kagoshima are ranked #1 and #2 in Japan for having the most number of hot spring sources so you can expect a long list of renowned onsen resorts (Beppu, Yufuin, Kurokawa, Kirishima) to choose […]
When I swapped pandan with Matcha, few people noticed. But someone did come up to me to confirm it: that wasn’t pandan, was it? Making pandan juice requires tenacity and patience by the ton. To save myself the trouble, I traded it for matcha (also, was in the […]
So I was back in Japan again in May. Now, May is an awkward period – too late for cherry blossoms, too early for the festivals and fireworks (Jul-Aug). May is like a filler between seasons where things take a hiatus before the real deals start rolling. Still, […]
From Mountain to Valley We got back to Kofu 甲府 from Mt Houou at around noon and without much ado, booked ourselves on the first train out to Okaya 岡谷 (Limited Express Azusa, 50 mins). At Okaya, we transferred to the JR Iida Line bound for Iida 飯田 […]
the last word 