It’s good. Hella good. When it comes to wagyu, I have to say Ishigaki beef stole my heart. Yes, I’d pick this over Kobe beef any day. It’s simply unforgettable. Lucky for us, this was widely available in Okinawa. Makes sense since the Ishigaki islands are basically neighbors. Getting the meat fresh should be easy. And what I’ve been finding out since...

Similar to Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market, heading to the Makishi Public Market means you’re looking for fresh local seafood. They do sell other things, but if it’s sashimi you want, good sashimi you’ll get. What you want to do here is to order food on the first floor and have the restaurants on the second floor prepare it. It...

You usually see umibudo as a side dish. However here at this Ganso Umibudo, they celebrate this savory sea grape as the main dish. It’s a rice bowl topped with umibudo, nagaimo, ikura, and uni. Put together so beautifully it was a bit heartbreaking to eat. The restaurant is easy to get to if you have...

You may think finding good sushi in Japan would be easy right? Well, if you know Okinawa, you’re in for a surprise. It will take a bit of work, weeding out those that focused on rolls, to find a premium place offering quality fish and a dedication to the craft of nigiri. Enter Jirocho Sushi, a restaurant right...

You can’t avoid Okinawa Soba if you wanted to on this island. Everywhere you turn, you’ll see a shop serving up this classic that you probably never seen outside of Japan. Not sure why this local dish hasn’t made it to the popup scene. Maybe that’s a good thing. Let’s keep this local secret here....

My traveling partner in crime had read up about a shabu place in Kyoto. A place that’s been hypothesized as the birthplace of modern day shabu. So what to do, but to venture out and find this place called Junidanya. However, within historical area of Gion where each building has minimal signage, it was a bit hard...

Dinner was all about fugu, pufferfish, a delicacy with that deadly reputation of killing people. But really? At this day and age the percentage of people getting a lethal dose of poison is getting rare. There’s rigorous training for chefs to be certified and you can bet restaurants do everything possible to make it safe. One episode,...

We chose to visit Shinto Shrine, famous for its rows and rows of Japanese Gates, on a Sunday. Not the best idea for someone who don’t like crowds. And boy do I not like crowds. But the weather was nice and we had little time in Japan. So off we went to this busy tourist attraction. A...

After our boat ride we went up into the bamboo forrest. We passed by a few restaurants and ryokans overlooking the river and turned up the street. A few rickshaw drivers were running their patrons up the block. It was a little amusing given the short distance they covered. I figured they were raising money...

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove was on the agenda today. But instead of going directly there we went two train stops further to Kameoka Station. That was where we started our Hozugawa River boat cruise back into Kyoto. Most of it was a gentle ride through the lush green mountains. There were some rapids they warned you about....

Thanks to numerous delays on our flight, we arrived to our hotel in Osaka around midnight. That didn’t leave too many options for food. I should have taken into account the long train ride from the airport. It was close to an hour on the express. Still it would have been late and I was starving. So...

New Year’s Eve, a time when normal people prepare to bring in the new year. Some get dressed up to the nines, breaking out their top hat and head out to drink. Others stay home and live vicariously through the television. And then there’s me, spending as much time possible in Ramen Alley. Visiting all...

After our wonderful lunch it was off to Sapporo, the second destination of my trip. It was a bit of a mystery how we got there since there was a mix up on our bus ride. Our pick up was at an adjacent hotel and when a driver came in around the time we were...

Before leaving Niseko, there was one place I wanted to try out and eventually write about. And yeah, this place was a No Reservations kind of place. That didn’t matter though, I’ve read so much about the place that it warranted a visit. And as fate would have it, it was up the street, right...

What I forgot to put into these posts are the trips to the onsen. Our hotel was equipped with one and we even went to the one in the Vail hotel. And that’s because I wanted to go every day after boarding. Twice wasn’t so bad right? Good enough to keep the pain and aching...

The morning started with a nice coat of fresh snow along with a constant dusting. So of course, my buddy understood why we couldn’t wait around to ride with his friends. Coordinating on the mountain would always be impossible. But hearing that it’s a big group, I had a feeling we’d run into them. And...

It was Friday and rather than waiting for my buddy’s friends to get into Niseko, we were off to the mountain to ride. There was no way we were going to pass up the powder that’s been dumping all night long. However, the temperature wasn’t holding up and the powder, dare I say, felt like...

At the beginning, it was apparent getting to Niseko, Japan was going to be arduous. I was recovering from a very bad sinus infection. It was a week in and all my symptoms got worse. Mental note, see the doctor early when there’s a vacation involved. Stupid me thought I’d be over this in a...