Last month, I produced a series of travel stories around my trip to Utsunomiya for The AU Review. They are very comprehensive and I will link to them below. But I wanted to carve out a bit of space on my blog to talk about …
japan
Freeman Shokudo, Hatagaya
The year of the lockdown hasn’t been all that conducive for dining out and subsequently, the writing of said dining out. But there are still a few great eateries I need to expound on before we banish all memory of 2020 to a box, locked …
Chichibu and Nagatoro, Japan
The number of covid-19 cases in Tokyo is on the rise again, but several weeks ago when we enjoyed a moment’s optimism, we made a break for Saitama prefecture. We were able to avoid prolonged hours on public transport by renting a car, no doubt …
Why I Feel Complicit in the Death of Hana Kimura
Hana Kimura passed away this weekend. She was 22 years old, with bright pink hair and quirky, glamorous costumes that she wore as part of her thriving career as a female professional wrestler. Some of us might have come to know of Hana through her …
Anjō and Okazaki, Japan
This is the final piece covering my winter vacation to Aichi Prefecture. Prior to meeting Emi, it was never really in my mind to specifically visit Aichi (despite having a lofty 47 prefecture goal a la Cheeserland), let alone spend as much time as we …
Gamagōri, Japan
Adventures in Aichi-ken continue as we head further south to Gamagōri, a place I had truly never heard of until Emi added it to our itinerary due to our penchant for onsen. A population of just 80,000 or so, the largest onsen resort town in …
Nagoya, Japan
The road to the end of 2019, to the start of 2020 and to Aichi Prefecture began with our first stop in the city of Nagoya. Nagoya is famous for not having very many things to do at all, or so said my cheeky colleagues when …
2019 The Name of Life
The sound of 2019 is the voice of one of my Thai trainers as he shrieks “我慢!” at me from within the ring. He does this in a way that is both serious and jovial, and often when I complain about the pain of being …
One Year in Tokyo
Several years ago, I read David Chang’s Unified Theory of Deliciousness in Wired, which gave me a new perspective on the duality of life. You can read his in-depth observations on the topic above but the summary of it is that a dish that is …
Goop Café, Tokyo Midtown
Goop has arrived in Tokyo! It’s the brand’s first foray into Asia. The main section is the lifestyle store where the brand stocks everything from rose quartz face rollers to athleisure to charcoal bath soaks. Whatever your take is on Gwyneth Paltrow’s controversial brand, you …