Nagi Shokudo: Relaxed vegan eatery in Shibuya
When in Tokyo, I like to try out different vegan or vegetarian restaurants in addition to my mainstays. Nagi Shokudo (なぎ食堂) isn’t located that far from Shibuya Station.
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Author: Mia Jaap
Okunoshima – Japan’s Bunny Island
Bunnies! Of course you can get your fix of bunny-shaped cuteness in one of Tokyo’s bunny cafés, but the number one location for fans of the cute animals is a small island in Hiroshima Prefecture: Okunoshima.
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Hirosaki Neputa Matsuri
This is one of the big three festivals in the northern Tohoku region, the other two being the Aomori Nebuta Matsuri and the Akita Kanto Matsuri. They are all held around the same time (early August) too.
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Inakadate Rice Paddy Art 2015: Star Wars & Gone With The Wind
Inakadate is a village in Aomori Prefecture and a population of 8000. Since 1993, the people of Inakadate began creating rice paddy art to promote tourism and revitalize the area.
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Tokyo Movie Meet-up: Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation
After a long time, I could finally make it to another movie meet-up, thus saving the latest Mission Impossible film from its fate of being seen on the small screen. This was also the first time for me being to the new TOHO Cinema in Shinjuku.
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Naoshima – Island of Art
Naoshima is known as the “art island” and has several art museums with exhibits by various well-known artists. The island is also well prepared for tourists with a shuttle bus connecting the various art sites and the port.
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Aozora – Free ebooks in Japanese language
In order to become fluent in Japanese and reach the level of a native speaker, you have to leave the textbook behind at some point. The school I went to (Naganuma) handed out copies of newspaper articles at the advanced level.
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Tokyo German Village – Winter Illumination
Tokyo German Village is a park in Chiba, located about two hours from central Tokyo. The park offers facilities for families, flower events, a souvenir shop and German food. It’s not an educational place meant to teach you German – in many ways it’s very much a Japanese park.
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Taking the Highway Bus in Japan
Trains in Japan are excellent but pricy, especially long distance ones. If you are lucky enough to stay in the country for more than one month, travelling by bus is the cheapest option to explore the country.
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Omnibot: The wonderful world of Tomy’s Robots
Just like any other kid, I liked toy stores. One German toy store called “Spielwahn” in particular seemed magic to me. That store didn’t sell action figures, Barbie or board games but a range of games and robots by the Japanese manufacturer Tomy.
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Art Aquarium in Fukuoka
Over 2.5 million visitors across Japan have seen the special exhibition Art Aquarium which features goldfishes in small and big tanks illuminated with changing lights.
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