Every year in Japan on the 5th of May, Children’s Day (子供の日) is celebrated. The aim is to celebrate boys, girls, mothers, and fathers. It wasn’t always gender neutral, though. Originally called tango no sekku (Boy’s Day) and referred to as the feast of banners, traditionally it only celebrated boys and their fathers. Girls also have […]

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Photo by K.Uchida Hello WASHOKU LOVERS! I am honoured to be writing my first post for the Washoku Lovers blog. My name is Marta, and I lived in Japan for 16 years, experiencing many beautiful Washoku restaurants before moving to Sydney. From this post on I would like to share with you some Washoku restaurants, […]

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Have you ever experienced a Japanese tea ceremony? The performance of Chanoya, Chado or Sado, or the way of tea,  is considered an important cultural artform in Japan. There’s no dunking your cookie in your cuppa here! There are teahouses specialising in tea ceremony, in various forms all over Japan. The most formal can last […]

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Picture: Manpuku gets their nori sheets stamped with their shop name, it’s very unique! My first experience with seaweed, like many other peoples’, was sushi. Salty and kind of sweet, nori is the best known seaweed used in Japanese food. You might be surprised that although you’ve probably eaten seaweed in other forms, it’s not actually […]

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    Hello Washoku Lovers! I’m honoured to be writing my very first post for this site. I’m in Japan for several months each year (mostly in Kyoto) hosting my Japanese Cuisine and Culture Tours and am always finding new and wonderful places to eat, drink and discover and learn about Washoku.  I’m happy to […]

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I was lucky enough to have a quick getaway to Melbourne, and so of course I just had to visit Maedaya, our specially partnered restaurant! It’s a very quick tram trip (take number 75 from anywhere on Flinders Street), although it is outside the free tram zone so make sure you have a myki! Get off […]

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Do you support local Aussie farmers? Is it a concern for you to buy local produce? Australians take great pride in Australian produce, often considering it to be undeniably the best there is to offer. Seafood, farming, fruits and vegetables, we’ve got it all. You might be surprised to know that not all countries are […]

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Picture: Cakes from Patisserie Anniversary in Hiroshima from my trip in 2014 For many people planning an overseas trip, they write out a list of things they want to do, and places they want to see. For many places, like New Zealand, America, Britain, Canada, South Africa, and a lot of other places, it’s an easy list […]

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Photo credit It’s currently snowing beautifully in Japan right now, what a big difference to what we’re experiencing here in Sydney! An annual tradition in February is the Sapporo Snow Festival (running until February 18 this year). It features magnificent snow sculptures all around Odori park, and of course as with any festival, there’s lots […]

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Photo: Japanese shaved ice from Kome Hachi Soba in Okinawa, Japan. photo credit Australian summer stereotypes always involve a trip to the beach, fish and chips, and an ice cream. Within the realm of ice cream, we have quite a lot of choice. Cheap McDonald’s soft serves; a Paddlepop, Golden Gaytime, or Maxibon from the servo; […]

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