Take an Authentic Japanese Cooking Class in Kyoto
Dec 21, 2016 By Justin Hanus
One of the most memorable and exciting aspects of traveling or living among a different culture is exploring the cuisine. While going to an authentic restaurant may be enough to get your foodie fix, sometimes the most excitement and delight comes from the challenge of preparing the dish on your...[ Click to read more ]
No Bad Apples in the Bunch – Fruit as a Status Symbol in Japan
By Justin Hanus
There are quite a few things that evoke the saying, "Only in Japan." Fruit as a status symbol is one. Like many things where those in other cultures go dully about their business, the Japanese have instead raised the growing of fruit into an art form. The lust to produce...[ Click to read more ]
If It is Important in Japan There’s a Mascot
Oct 24, 2016 By Justin Hanus
In their original incarnation, mascots were intended to provide luck; and so you found them most often with military units, sports teams and schools. More recently mascots have been created to generate money but in Japan mascot mania goes far beyond even commercial motivation. There are mascots oozing civic pride for...[ Click to read more ]
The Wisdom of Ancient Stones – Tsunami Stones
Sep 27, 2016 By Justin Hanus
Japan is a most beguiling land of ancient wisdom and modern technology. The two beliefs often mingle and sometimes conflict. One place where ancient culture and a present grounded in science have rubbed against each other is the tsunami stones that are seen in many coastal locations of the island...[ Click to read more ]
The Art Beneath Our Feet
By Justin Hanus
Travel to France and you might well come home with an extensive photographic collection of stained glass cathedral art. Travel to Japan and you might well return with an extensive photographic collection of manhole cover art. What's that you say? A municipal sewage system might not seem like the most...[ Click to read more ]
The Appetite of Autumn: Japanese Fall Foods
Sep 09, 2016 By Bert Wishart
The return of oden to convenience stores in around mid-August Japan is a signal that fall is coming, and for many this means relief from the oppressive heat and humidity that kills the appetite. In fact its rather good timing, as autumn foods are especially delicious; they even have an old adage...[ Click to read more ]
Prepare to Launch – Kansai’s Capsule Hotels
Aug 19, 2016 By Justin Hanus
Celebrated Japan architect Kisho Kurokawa gave the world its first taste of mass pod living in 1972 with the creation of the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo. The idea was to give hard-working traveling businessmen a convenient place to bed down for a few hours before getting back to the...[ Click to read more ]
Experiencing the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Japan’s Engineering Marvel
Jul 25, 2016 By Justin Hanus
In a world where construction projects grow higher, longer and bigger by the day, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge is practically a dinosaur. The world's longest suspension bridge is now 18 years old. The bridge actually requires three spans to cross the Akashi Strait and link Kobe and Awaji Island in Hyogo...[ Click to read more ]
The National Treasures that Roam through Nara Park
Jul 22, 2016 By Justin Hanus
Pigs are sacred in Egypt. Cattle are sacred in India. Goats are sacred in Syria. Elephants are sacred in Thailand. In Nara the animals worshiped are deer. Deer have been roaming the Kasuga Hills in these parts since before there was a written language, before there was a Japan. When...[ Click to read more ]
El Zocalo Burrito in Osaka
Jun 29, 2016 By
I have it on good authority that El Zocalo Burrito in Osaka is all the burrito you will ever need. More US than Mexican, El Zocalo Burrito features great big burritos with an assortment of toppings that anyone who has ever dined at a taco truck in LA would immediately...[ Click to read more ]
