In this blog, I want to shine a spotlight on the suburb with a 'celebrity' status full of embassies, mixture of international yet old-school Japan vibe, 麻布十番(Azabujyuban). Where is Azabujuban? Azabujuban is located in Minato ward, right next to Roppongi and just a short walk or train ride from Hiroo, Akabanebashi, and Azabu-dai. Azabjyuban has … Continue reading Tokyo neighborhood highlight: Azabujuban
As the temperature plummets, being inside our home and being cozy becomes more and more tempting. One of the best Japanese way to enjoy your home is to light an incense. Just with what we have now, we have a range of incense and as you can see, we quite like incense. We love using … Continue reading How to make Japanese natural incense
The unseasonably warm autumn ended last week and just as autumn ended, we finally we spent a little bit of autumn activity in Tokyo - the classic walk along gingko tree lines of Meiji Jingu in Aoyama. About Gingko tree lines of Meiji Jingu Tree lines of Meiji Jingu is located in the heart of … Continue reading Autumn walk along the historic gingko tree lines of Meiji Jingu
One of the biggest sporting events at the end of the year in Japan is 有馬記念 (Arima Cup) a horse racing that marks the last major horse racing event of the year. As my horse racing loving father-in-law is currently visiting Japan, we headed to Nakayama Racecourse, the day before the big cup on December … Continue reading Japanese horse racing experience
This week, Native Expat explores the Japanese quintessential date spot, aquarium to see what it's all about.
I felt like I haven't visited a gallery in a while and honestly, I don't have any excuse when Tokyo offers a lot of galleries and museums throughout the 23 wards. Last weekend, I visited PLAY! Museum at Tachikawa. About PLAY! Opened in 2020 June, PLAY! museum's theme is word and art. They hold 2 … Continue reading Immersive picture book experience at PLAY! museum
Last weekend, we visited Komazawa area to watch Japan's domestic rugby competition, Top League played against Tokyo's team Toshiba Brave Lupus and Nagoya's team, Toyota Verblitz. As we haven't been in the area before, we wandered around before the game kicked off at 12pm. About Komazawa area Komazawa is one of the areas in Tokyo's … Continue reading Rugby viewing at Komazawa, Setagaya
Last weekend, instead of snoozing through most of the morning, my husband and I hopped on our bikes to the Imperial Palace for a jog. A loop around the Imperial Palace is an iconic 5km run popular from beginners to experienced runners (I saw a guy running wearing a "100km finisher" Tshirt during my run!). … Continue reading Iconic Imperial Palace Run’s Interesting Inception
After a relaxing onsen trip in Wakayama prefecture to celebrate my husband's birthday, we wanted another onsen trip quick. Luckily, Tokyo's got onsen covered too! Quality outdoor onsen within Tokyo: Sayano Yudokoro Under an hour from our place on Mita train line, we arrived at 前野原温泉 さやの湯処 (Maenohara Onsen Sayano Yudokoro) in Itabashi ward. Sayano … Continue reading Onsen experience in Tokyo
One of my constant surprises of living in Tokyo is how seemingly everything is packed within 13,500 km2 of Tokyo 23 wards' geographical area.I always feel that if you have a slight interest in anything, you'll be able to find a community and a venue where you can get stuck into it, even if it's an obscure … Continue reading Surf within Tokyo concrete jungle? Getting active at Sporu Shinagawa Oimachi
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