The reason we chose this hotel was its private open air hot spring bath or onsen located at the room’s balcony. This hotel also has public onsen at its basement area which nearly empty most of the times. Laforet Club Hakone Gora Yunosumika, which was recently renewed, is a fusion of traditional Japanese and western …
Hakone is popular for its beautiful scenery and layback atmosphere. It is also known for natural hot spring or “onsen” in Japanese. It took us almost three hours train ride from Tokyo station to reach Hakone as we took usual train instead of bullet train. A weekend getaway in Hakone was seem too short for …
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain Many years ago, traveling abroad belonged to those with …
Ueno Park is one of Tokyo’s most popular spots during cherry blossom (early spring/April). It’s a huge public park in the heart of Tokyo. It has museum, zoo, temples, small concert hall and a lake which is called Shinobazu pond. I won’t say it’s a pond considering the size. It looks more like a lake. …
“Mitama Matsuri” or Lanterns Festival is an annual festival at Yasukuni Shrine to honour the spirits of the dead who died during the war. This festival was first held in 1947 then becomes annual event henceforth. As much as 30,000 paper lanterns light the way to the shrine. There are also traditional dance, concert and …
Finding groceries can be a bit tricky for asian living abroad. Although supermarkets are everywhere in Tokyo, specific groceries like herbs and spices is a bit of a challenge to find. The first months we settled in Tokyo, we cooked our food without shallot, chili and lemon grass. Our curry didn’t smell as nice as …
