Located in Ikebukuro is the Ikebukuro West Gate Park. While most people tend to head to the station or the massive shopping mall at Metropolitan Plaza, which is 22 floors and 4 stories down in the underground (the plaza is connected to the LUMINE department Read More …
Mikasa Kaikan is a company that owns many restaurants throughout Japan. Specializing in French, Italian and Chinese cuisine, their restaurants are hard to miss. As some who may want to experience southern European food, Mikasa Kaikan has Market Restaurant Agio, which specializes in Milano style Read More …
In Japan, when it comes to used anime, manga and toys, Mandarake is one of Tokyo’s most well-known stores to visit. While there are stores that people can find in Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Akihabara, Osaka, Utsunomiya, Sapporo, nagoya, Umeda, Kokura and Fukuoka (and at one point, Read More …
Halloween has become a phenomenon in Japan. A little over five years ago, Halloween wasn’t even a thing in Japan. But that has changed as Halloween has become a major event in Japan were restaurants, bakeries, cafe not only found an event to take advantage Read More …
One of the well-known snacks in Japan is from Fujiya Food Service and has chain of confectionery shops and restaurants throughout Japan. And while this blog is about the Fujiya Nakano Broadway, I have to write a little bit about the company’s history. Created in Read More …
Located in the Minato Ward in Roppongi is one of the noteworthy pubs in the area. Shamrock by Abbot’s Choice is known for carrying numerous draught beers, hundreds of varieties of whisky and bottled beer. Best place to find during your stroll to or from Read More …
A station that many people use to transfer from one station to another is Nippori Station in Arakawa Ward. The station opened back on April 1, 1905 and the Keisei Station portion was opened in December 1931. Nippori Station is right next to Yanaka, an Read More …
I wrote about my experience at Zojoji Temple in the Shiba neighborhood of Minato Ward back in 2015. The San’en-zan Zozo-ji Buddhist Temple is a great temple of the Chinzei branch of Jodo-shu Buddhism and founded by Yuyu Shoso. While I’m not going to dwell Read More …
Tokyo Sea Life Park in Edogawa was a location that I wanted to check out on my bucket list. While Tokyo Disney Land and Disney Sea are across the ocean in Chiba Ward and can be seen across the park, before going to Tokyo Sea Read More …
For those who want to explore aquariums in Japan or are looking for inexpensive ways to entertain the family while in Tokyo, Tokyo Sea Life Park is definitely worth your time. The Tokyo Sea Life Park is located at Kasai Rinkai Park and is operated Read More …
As I have written about the indoor theme park, J-World, located at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, one of the things I am often asked about is the store. What items are sold? Is it a great place for souvenirs? Yada yada yada. And for the Read More …
At Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City is an indoor theme park called “J-WORLD” for fans of the “Shonen Jump” manga and anime which is a collaboration between Shonen Jump. Price is about Y800 for admission for adults and Y600 for children, while Y2,600 gives you unlimited access Read More …
One of the busiest stations in Tokyo is Yurakucho Station, a railway station located in the Chiyoda Ward. The name was derived from the Meiji Era after Oda Nagato (Yurakusa), younger brother of Nobunaga Oda. Operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Tokyo Read More …
If you go to Shiodome, near the NTV Buildings and right next to Taco Bell are these polka dot statues/benches which appear to be sniffing each other’s butt. In Japan, you may run into the weirdest things but these statues/benches usually is a polarizing site Read More …
In the Minato Ward, an area was redeveloped and opened in 2002 and would be known as Shiodome (pronounced as she-yo-do-may), a name which translates to “halt the tides”. The location which is the headquarters for Nippon Television and home to many cafe, restaurants and Read More …
Shimokitazwa is known for its shops and restaurants but for those looking for a bike or need bike service should stroll by Shimochari Bicycle Service owned by Hajime. When going inside the shop, you’ll notice that there are is a lot of love for California, Read More …
If you are looking for a family restaurant that sells Japanese comfort food for great prices, is not always easy to find. But at Shiodome, Japan Dining M (or better known now as Hokkaido Yoshoku Bar) not only offers great prices for their dishes but Read More …
In Tokyo’s Minato Ward, Shiodome is one of Japan’s most modern and savvy areas. The area is the headquarters for many of Japan’s major corporations such as All Nippon Airways, Fujitsu, Sega Sammy Holdings, Softbank, to name a few. But the location is also a Read More …
In Japan, stickers are very popular and there are those who collect the stickers because they are designed by various artists and are limited edition only sold at stores such as B-Side Label. And on July 28th, B-Side Label, the popular sticker store in Harajuku Read More …
I wrote about Asakusa Senso-ji and Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist Temple, Asakusa Jinja back in 2015 and explored the history, but because I came with friends in the last trip, I didn’t fully explore the location until the following year. Granted, when we last went, it Read More …
In Yanaka, near Nippori Station, is a temple called Daikokuten Kyooji Temple. While not a huge temple, the temple does date back from the Edo Period and inside, there is a statue of Daitokuten, one of the Seven Lucky Gods (shichifukujin). The statue is said Read More …
While walking through Yanaka, I passed by an area that I wasn’t sure if there was anything significant inside. Yanaka is so full of tradition like for every few feet you walk, there is a temple and a shrine that you will most likely visit. Read More …
When it comes to menchi-katsu (minced meat with vegetables in a fried potato covering), people are quite selective of what’s best. From Kichijoji’s Harmonica Alley to Asakusa, there are people who have their favorites, but there is one menchi-katsu restaurant that gets a lot of Read More …