Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum

Just a hop, skip, and jump away from Shin Kobe station lays one of the most boring-sounding museums out there: Carpentry Tools. However, once you walk up the inspired garden into a very modern and chic building, it soon dawns upon you that this isn’t going to be the boring look at hammers and saws […]

Rut Bryk: Touch of a Butterfly at Tokyo Station Gallery

Last month, the Mrs. was able to win a lottery from a local online newspaper for tickets to see an exhibit happening at the Tokyo Station Gallery in Tokyo proper. We both went into this experience knowing absolutely nothing about who Rut Bryk was, what kind of art she did, nor anything about what exactly […]

Japanese Fortunes and Luck: Ema and Omikuji

Aside from washing your hands and praying, there are a few fortune-related activities one can partake in at a traditional Shinto Shrine or Buddhist Temple: Hanging an Ema and braving the Omikuji. For your consideration, here is a brief primer on each as they relate to my personal experiences visiting many, many different Shinto shrines […]

Yokohama Cup Noodles Museum

Hot on the heels of fresh, hand-made ramen from around the great nation of Japan we come to what the Japanese once voted as the single greatest invention of all-time: Instant Noodles. In Yokohama, you can venture into the Cup Noodles Museum, where a variety of instant noodle-based fun can be had by people of […]

Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum

A short walk away from the Shinkansen station in Shin-Yokohama rests the world’s first food-based amusement park. Established back in the 1990s, the Ramen (sometimes spelled Raumen) museum hosts a small museum to ramen and an extraordinary food court that serves varieties of ramen from all across Japan.

Kawagoe Warehouse and Tsubakiya Foot Spa Tea Room

It’s not often that I’ll single out a specific store but this one has so much character and a nice surprise in the back that I couldn’t help but give it its own spotlight. I figured I’d spend a little time sharing about the Kawagoe Warehouse and Tsubakiya Foot Spa Tea Room.

Kobe Kitano Ijinkan: Moegi House and Weathercock House

Kobe, the city famous for its very expensive, high-end beef, also has quite a few historical sights to see. Contrary to the Japanese aesthetic of Kyoto, Kobe has an entire neighborhood of preserved European-style homes from the 1800s-1900s. The mansions, known as Ijinkan (異人館), were home to many European businessmen and entrepenuers seeking to gain […]

National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno

This blog is certainly no stranger to dinosaurs and dinosaur hunters, nor is it a stranger to museums in Tokyo. Today, we’ll take a look at some of the features that makes Ueno’s National Museum of Science distinct from other natural history museums.

Mind-Blowing Animal Facts I’ve Learned in Japan

Language is a funny thing. You can convey so much information with it but different languages often have different strengths when it comes to that expression. In English, we have all sorts of quirks and eccentricities from our colorful linguistic history. Japan also has its fair share of insights it can offer, a few of […]

Kanamara Matsuri

Alright, so, here we go. This is the festival with the giant phallus parading through town. There are a lot of expectations going into an event like this, and a lot of things you are suspecting to see. I’m here to report that some of those expectations were met thoroughly, while others fell woefully short […]