Buy Fresh, Eat Healthy, Cook Simple – The Farmers’ Market in Kobe’s Tarumi Fishing Port
Mar 28, 2022 By Justin Hanus
Only about 20% of the land in Japan is suitable for growing crops. Even so, most of the country's population historically survived on subsistence farming. These days only a vanishing few Japanese are farmers, and most of them are only part-time cultivators of the earth. It is, therefore, a much-anticipated...[ Click to read more ]
Miroku no Sato: Your Next Day Trip in Hiroshima
Mar 24, 2022 By William Farrow
As the warmth of spring begins to run over Japan, people are looking to get outdoors again. For residents of Hiroshima city and the surrounding areas, Miroku no Sato offers a lot as a day trip destination. Located to the southwest of Fukuyama city, Miroku no Sato is a family-oriented amusement...[ Click to read more ]
Great Pubs in Kobe
By Justin Hanus
Kobe might not be quite as bustling as Osaka or Kyoto, but it has a vibrant evening culture with the centrally-located Sannomiya, in particular, featuring several venues worth visiting for a beverage or two. There is an eclectic vibe about the city, and you can find a range of international...[ Click to read more ]
Crafty Guys – Meet Nagoya’s Craft Beer Sensations, Tall Boys Brewing
Feb 28, 2022 By Bert Wishart
You all know the Bat Phone, right? The red telephone that Commissioner Gordon used to contact Batman, it flashed red whenever Gotham City needed help. Here at JIS Towers, we have the same thing, but it rings whenever there is a new craft beer bar on the block. Our Beer...[ Click to read more ]
Finger Lickin’ Chicken on Sticks – Nagoya’s Best Yakitori Restaurants
By Bert Wishart
When you think about Japanese food, it is probably sushi that most readily comes to mind, followed by rice and miso soup, with knife-wheeling teppanyaki chefs serving up wagyu completing the triumvirate. However, perhaps one of the most varied - not to mention popular - is 'yakitori,' and that it...[ Click to read more ]
I Heard it Through the Grapevine: Sera Winery and Yume Park
Feb 24, 2022 By William Farrow
As the chills of winter give way and the warmth of spring begins to return to Japan, people find themselves willing to venture into the great outdoors again. Those with smaller children will also quickly search for places where the little ones can run around and burn off energy. What...[ Click to read more ]
Some Pep(per) in Your Step: Spice in Hiroshima
By William Farrow
After being in Japan for a while, foreign residents often opine that the local food culture does not offer options that cause flop sweat three bites into the meal. So let's go ahead and search Hiroshima prefecture for restaurants that bring the heat! Ramen and Yakisoba: Akazō The exterior of...[ Click to read more ]
Looking for Snacks? Leaf it to Me!
By William Farrow
In Japanese, the word momiji usually refers to the leaves of the maple trees in Japan. A popular symbol representing autumn, it should come as no surprise to hear that the Japanese snack on...wait, what? Are people eating leaves? Also, isn't this article being written in late winter?! Okay, no one...[ Click to read more ]
Spring Pickings – Strawberry Picking Around Tokyo
Jan 24, 2022 By Michael Stigall
Japan has a beautiful relationship with fruit. While it tends to be a little expensive (at least to the eyes of foreigners used to supermarkets crammed with the stuff for next to nothing), fruit is revered in status: apples are grown to extraordinary sizes and prized for their taste, mangoes...[ Click to read more ]
Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum
By Michael Stigall
Whether all you only know about ramen is instant, cup-o-noodles, or are a true aficionado who can tell the difference between shoyu and tonkotsu based ramen by smell, perhaps you’ll agree: Ramen is so good, it should be in a museum. Well, you’re in luck — there is a ramen...[ Click to read more ]
