One of the few land locked prefectures, Saitama Prefecture is in the ‘Greater Tokyo Area’ and can be described as being pretty similar to Tokyo. Saitama Prefecture has always been known as a rich agricultural area, though as prices in Tokyo continue to go up, lots of people are moving to Saitama and commuting to […]

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Congratulations Izakaya Samurai on your 4th anniversary! Washoku Lovers attended the celebrations over the long weekend, and we were really excited to be there on the night. If you haven’t been to Izakaya Samurai before, it’s tucked away on Military Road in Neutral Bay, but it truly is a hidden gem. Great for a family […]

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Today is Tsukimi (月見) or Otsukimi (お月見),  also known as Jugoya (十五夜), is a festival honoring the autumn moon dating back to the Heian era(平安時代). This cultural festival spreaded from the Chinese culture as a variant of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth […]

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Located in the Kanto region of Honshu island, Tochigi Prefecture is home to Nikko (a famous city with a number of attractions such as memorials for Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shinkyo bridge, the three wise monkeys, onsen, and the historical themepark Edo Wonderland), Kegon waterfall, and for having the only IndyCar race outside the U.S. as well […]

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Miyagi Prefecture is part of the Tohoku region in northern Honshu (the main island of Japan) and its capital city, Sendai, is the largest city in Tohoku. The 2011 tsunami hit Miyagi Prefecture, but despite this disaster Miyagi Prefecture has recovered and is a beautiful holiday destination. One of the ‘3 great views of Japan’ […]

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Kumamon is Kumamoto Prefecture’s mascot, and he’s incredibly popular not just in Japan but also on the internet. What might be surprising about the loveable black bear is that the mascot was only introduced in 2010! Kumamoto Prefecture is located in Kyushu, at the bottom of Japan. Some of the tourist attractions – aside from […]

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Today’s post is part 7 of the series Ki-Yan’s Kyoto – Washoku restaurants, café & shops featuring the extravagant izakaya-style bar Doyanen located in the northern part of Kyoto. Just a reminder, in this series I am sharing with you some Washoku restaurants, cafes and shops located in Kyoto, which are introduced in my latest […]

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You’ll find Tottori Prefecture in the Chugoko region of western Japan, and it has some really interesting facts about it. First of all, it has the lowest population of all the Japanese prefectures, and secondly the name Tottori comes from “catching birds” because the area was well known for its bird population. It’s also the […]

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Kagawa Prefecture is located on Shikoku Island, near the main island Honshu. Kagawa is actually the smallest prefecture in all of Japan, but it packs a big punch in terms of things to do. Bordered by the Seto Inland Sea and the Sanuki mountains, Kagawa has a variety of sceneries to enjoy. If you like […]

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Hiroshima Prefecture is a beautiful place that everyone should visit at least once in their life. Seeing the Atomic Bomb Dome (Genbaku Dome in Japanese) in real life is an experience you’ll never forget, and the nearby Peace Memorial and Museum is quite haunting but very impactful. The city is also very beautiful in terms […]

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