To celebrate Tokyo Olympics 2020, two Japanese public holidays were shifted to create 4 day long weekend between July 22-July 25. My husband and I visited Shikoku over those 4 days and in the previous post, I shared the first part of our trip where we visited the art island, Naoshima, ate Kagawa's famous udon noodle and … Continue reading 3 nights and 4 summer days in Shikoku Part 2
Since 2020, some public holidays were shifted around specifically for Tokyo Olympics. Ocean Day and Sports Day were shifted to last Thursday and Friday respectively …so that everyone can watch the games from home (and maybe reduce traffic). I partially wanted to stay in Tokyo to experience the Olympic vibe that I heard so much … Continue reading 3 nights and 4 summer days in Shikoku Part 1
Last weekend, we revisited 'our lake side cabin' in Yamanashi prefecture that we visited in September 2020 (if you missed it, here's the link to the post from our first trip) hoping for a lake swim but more excitedly to barbecue🍖. There are many fun and exciting things about living in the middle of Tokyo but … Continue reading Lakeside barbecue and first shot of vaccine
This week's post is the third and final part of Kyushu Road Trip we traveled to the southern region in Japan during our Golden Week 2021 holiday. (If you missed the previous posts, here are the links to the previous posts of Kyushu road trip:- Part 1 where we started our journey in onsen prefecture … Continue reading Kyushu road trip part 3
During the Golden Week holiday season that started from April 29, we have been road tripping in Kyushu, Japan. Last week, I shared the first 2 days of our trip where we flew into Oita prefecture to enjoy onsen in Japan’s onsen town, Beppu, and drove to Kumamoto in the mountain side (if you missed … Continue reading Kyushu road trip part 2
Hello from Kyushu! Japan is now in Golden Week. Starting with Showa Day on Thursday April 29, the Golden Week where public holidays occur one after another making it a long, long weekend continues until the following Wednesday where public holidays of Constiution Day (May 3), Green Day (May 4) and Children’s Day (May 5) … Continue reading Kyushu road trip part 1
Collectively known as 谷根千 (Yanesen) which takes the first syllable from the 3 adjacent suburbs of 谷中(Yanaka), 根津 (Nezu) and 千駄木 (Sendagi) in Bunkyo ward, this area is a popular strolling area with a 下町 (Shitamachi or downtown) vibe. Luckily, the areas avoided bombing during wars and many temples and buildings have been preserved. Similar … Continue reading Tokyo suburbs highlight: “Yanesen” Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi
In the last week's Tokyo weekend getaway: Karuizawa, Nagano post, I shared the highlights from Karuizawa part of our 3 nights 4 days trip and in this post, I’ll share the highlights from Hakuba part of the same trip. About Hakuba Hakuba is located in the Northern Alps region in Nagano prefecture and people have enjoyed skiing … Continue reading Tokyo weekend getaway: Hakuba, Nagano
February 23 is Japanese emperor's birthday which fell on a Tuesday in 2021 and is a public holiday. Many people decided to take Monday off to make a longer weekend.My husband and his brother did so; I were not so lucky but we decided to take this opportunity to explore beyond Tokyo and enjoy the … Continue reading Tokyo weekend getaway: Karuizawa, Nagano
The coronavirus number has been going down and although we are still in a state of emergency, many people we know have been traveling or making travel plans. I have wanted to go strawberry picking since we moved to Tokyo 2 years ago (I've mentioned about it in one of my early posts) but haven't … Continue reading Tokyo weekend getaway: Charming Chichibu Saitama
Native Expat 