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11/22/09: Day 3 in Japan, Part I - To Hiroshima
So, the hotel has this breakfast plan. Pricing for the food looks appealing (ham and sandwich for $1.25 or so.) However, you have to pay for drinks, which costs something like $8. Figuring I can have...
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11/22/09: Day 3 in Japan, Part II - Izakaya Danjiri
Since I enjoyed Danjiri izakaya so much 2 years ago, I decided to go there again. Accompanying me this time is a teammate from my baseball team.As we are in Hiroshima, we toasted with Ugo No Tsuki...
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11/22/09: Day 3 in Japan, Part III - Hasshou Okonomiyaki
Okonomi-yaki, a Japanese cuisine made like an omelette, stirs passion among people of Japan, esepcially in the western parts. In the US, it's akin to asking who makes the best pizza.Rgionally, Osaka is...
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11/23/09: Day 4 in Japan - Arriving in Hakata
Not unexpectedly, my eyes opened around 7:30, but I woke up around 9:30 only because I had to check out by 10:00.I skipped breakfast, but that's not a bad thing in retrospect, based on the pace I am...
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11/24/09: Day 5 in Japan, Part I - Tenjin
While Hakata is where the Shinkansen stops, Tenjin is where the action is. To find out more, I decided to take a walk in the morning.Tenjin is about 20 minutes away from Hakata station by foot,...
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11/24/09: Day 5 in Japan, Part II - Yatai
On the way back from onsen, I got off the shuttle bus in Tenjin. On my agenda was to try a certain Hakata cuisine, as well as dining in yatai. Here is the bridge over Nakagawa at night.Not too far from...
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11/25/09: Day 6 in Japan, Part I - Kagoshima
The next destination on my itinerary was Kagoshima, the southern-most prefecture on Kyushu. As it would take 2.5 hours to get there, I picked up Chicken Namban lunch......and side orde of Yakisoba for...
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11/25/09: Day 6 in Japan, Part II - Satsuma Clan
Satsuma Clan (薩摩藩) is one of the more intriguing and important political power during the mid to late 1800's, as the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) came to a close. Initially, they were very much against...
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11/26/09: Day 7 in Japan, Part I - On to Yufuin
After all too short stay in Kagoshima, my next destination was Yufuin in Oita prefecture. With another few hours on the road, hearty breakfast was in order......hearty and healthy, mind you......and...
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11/26/09: Day 7 in Japan, Part II - Town of Yufuin
The town of Yufuin, along with neighboring Beppu, is famous as resort town for onsen hot springs. Its rusticness is evident from the design of their rail station.To further accentuate the point, there...
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11/27/09: Day 8 in Japan - Leaving Yufuin
While Nurukawa Onsen did not come with dinner, it did come with breakfast. I made reservation for the earliest alloted time. Not surprisingly, the breakfast was the traditional Japanese...
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11/27/09: Day 8 in Japan, Part II - Izakaya in Saga City
The next stop on the itinerary was Saga City. I knew very little about the prefecture of Saga, but my reason for being here will become apparent in the next entry.I checked in at a business hotel in...
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11/28/09: Day 9 in Japan, Part I - Visiting Tenzan Brewery
The hotel breakfast was a buffet, and it included, among others, a non-traditional breakfast item such as tako-yaki.After that, I was on my way to a town of Ogi to visit Tenzan Brewery aboard Karatsu...
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11/28/09: Day 9 in Japan, Part II - Visiting Tenzan Brewery, Continued
What are these, you ask? They are pieces of tree that make up the sugidama (a.k.a., "sakabayashi"), those green or brown balls (depending on the season) you see decorated in front of breweries. It...
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11/28/09: Day 9 in Japan, Part III - Dinner in Osaka
Afternoon was spent traveling to my next destination, Osaka. Osaka is one of my favorite cities to visit for their positive vibe and awesome food. Since I had no reservations, only thing I knew was...
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11/29/09: Day 10 in Japan - Dinner in Yokohama
After a restful night of sleep, I was on my way back to Tokyo. At the JR Shin-Osaka Station, I called my friend to set up plans for the evening.As we decided on a feast at my friend's place in...
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11/30/09: Day 11 in Japan, Part I - Enoshima Island
Believe it or not, I made it to breakfast.After fueling up, it was time to board the Yokosuka Line on the way to Enoshima Island.At Ofuna Station, I transferred to the Shonan Monorail, which runs...
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11/30/09: Day 11 in Japan, Part II - Return To Tsukushi No Ko
After freshening up, it was time for dinner at one of my favorite saké-centric izaaya in Tokyo:Tsukushi No Ko.Love the interior!Started with "that beer," which is a Dassai sparkling nigori.We started...
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12/01/09: Day 12 in Japan - Visiting the Headquarters
The day started off as usual...I spent the morning going for a walk. As my hotel for the night was in Ueno, I headed to there to drop off my luggage. Near the train station is Ueno Park, where there is...
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12/02/09: Day 13 in Japan, Part I - Koshigoé
I started the day by retracing the route from few days ago, except that my destination was not Enoshima but the town next door, Koshigoé. That fact did not prevent me from taking a glance of Enoshima,...
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12/02/09: Day 13 in Japan, Part II - The Autumn Leaves
After Mampukuji, we headed to Kamakura to visit Kayagiya, where they serve the best unagi (grilled eel).Made in the traditional eastern Japan style, Kayagiya's eel is steamed prior to grilling,...
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12/03/09: Day 13 in Japan (Last Full Day)
As noted on the title, today was my last full day in Japan. What to do? Start with a hearty lunch, of course. This is Japanese-style hamburgers with demi-glace sauce. (The burger is hidden underneath...
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12/04/10: Going Home
To work off the calories from the night before, I took a walk to Ueno Park. With luggage. And, by "work off the calories," I mean, to catch the Skyliner to Narita Airport.At the airport, I had my last...
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Japan Earthquake
On March 11, 2011, unprecedented tragedy struck the Tohoku (Northeast) region of Japan. At a staggering magnitude measuring 9.0 Richter Scale, the "The Great East Japan Earthquake" and tsunami struck...
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Some of you may remember that I have friends from Tohoku. One of my friend informed me that Miyagi Prefecture, which may have been hit hardest, organized their "alumni meeting" to decide what they can...
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