JAPAN TRAVEL
Seasonal Italian food with no additives or chemicals
 
Surrounded by mountains in the city of Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture, is an Italian restaurant called "Restaurant & Bar Salvage." This restaurant is completely self-sufficient, using ingredients that they grow in their own garde...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Enjoy a Kamakura specialty
Hands down, the most popular flavor of soft serve ice-cream in Kamakura is Murasaki Imo or purple sweet potato. Why is it so popular? First of all, because it is unique to Kamakura. Secondly, its color looks fantastic in photos. Thirdly, sometimes you need ...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
An ideal place to start and finish your day in Iwate
A hotel with a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, a tasteful local winery, a majestic mountain, and a peaceful farm all within a one-hour driving radius sounds pretty grand, doesn’t it? Welcome to Hotel Folkloro Hanamaki Towa!
In...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Enjoy an afternoon snack before your departure
Do you love anime? Do you love Gundam, specifically? Do you like food that is dedicated to the aesthetic value of the appearance? Do you have a bit of time in Tokyo Station, but don’t want to go out just in case you do not have enough ti...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Featuring The Happiness Illuminations
Back in the winter I wrote a story on the Sagamiko light show and mentioned I had reservations for Myoko this summer.  We finally made the trip to APA Myoko Pine Valley Resort in Niigata Prefecture.
The weather was very uncertain and the predicti...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Enjoy a unique soda made with Kamakura plums
 
Just as Naoshima is famous for its Shio (salt) cider, Kamakura is famous for its Ume (plum) flavored cider. Plum is grown locally in Kamakura, and so popularly used in dishes in the city that even the 100 yen stores have packaged plums f...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Antiques, kimono fabrics, jewelry, ceramics and more
Kitano Tenman-gu is one of the important shrines located in the northwestern part of Kyoto city, dedicated to Sugawara Michizane. It is famous amongst the students, as it is associated to the kami (Shinto god) of education, so it i...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
 
A very Japanese restaurant in a very Japanese area
Gion Kappa represents everything I love about Japanese food and eating out. The restaurant is intimate, with a few dozen counter seats traditionally arranged in a square around the kitchen. Steam is everywhere and shouts between co...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
Probably the world's best sardines
The weekday lunch menu at Shinjukukappo Nakajima is the cheapest Michelin-starred meal you’re likely to find in Tokyo. A main, side, and drink will set you back around ¥2000 (around the same price as a large Domino’s pizza). The lunch set (available...

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JAPAN TRAVEL
A modern festival with plenty of tradition
 
Kashiwa Matsuri is a huge festival in Kashiwa, Chiba prefecture. Reachable from Tokyo in under an hour, it attracts thousands of attendees every year on the last weekend of July. Taking place from 1pm to past 8pm, it is an energetic and ch...

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