Sapporo Beer Factory

Way back in February of this year, I was in the snowy northern island of Hokkaido. While there, I was able to visit the Sapporo Beer Factory, producer of one of the most iconic Japanese beers seen at home and abroad: Sapporo. While the tour was all in Japanese (unlike the information available from Yebisu) […]

Museum of Yebisu Beer: History and Beer

While visiting Ebisu a week ago, my wife decided that we would go to the Yebisu Beer Museum, just a short walk from Ebisu Station. I’m not a big fan of Japanese macro beers, but I figured it would be a nice experience. Little did I know, it would turn out to be much, much […]

Japanese Craft Beer You Should Be Drinking

I’ve had the great fortune to travel a fair amount around Japan, from Hokkaido down to Kyushu (no Shikoku or Okinawa… yet!). I always like to find out something local about the place I’m visiting: local dishes, local sights, and local drinks. While I haven’t been everywhere in Japan yet to sample food and drink, […]

Otaru Snow Light Path Festival 2018

About an hour north of Saporro is Otaru, which has its own winter-inspired festival during the Sapporo Snow Festival. Known for its restored canal along the sea, Otaru decorates the canal and a special street in the city with lanterns made of snow and ice. With a good pair of snow boots and a warm […]

Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park

When you tell people you are visiting Nagano, they will ask you if you’re going to ski or snowboard. After you tell them you aren’t, there is a small chance they will ask if you are going to see the snow monkey park. Every time you see snow monkeys hanging out in hot springs set […]

Japanese Sweet Potato Treats

Kawagoe is famous for its sweet potatoes, as evidenced by its mascot being the adorable sweet potato. As such, you can find many sweet potato-based dishes, drinks, and treats scattered throughout the city. It’s the start of sweet potato season, and over the past few months, I’ve been slowly trying each of these treats and […]

Cafe de One Piece

Living in Japan, I figured I’d see all sorts of cool and unique themed restaurants and cafes, especially those themed around popular anime and manga. Imagine my surprise when, in Korea, I stumbled upon a massive replica of the Thousand Sunny, the pirate ship of the Straw Hat Pirates in the popular Shounen Jump series […]

Seoul Craft Beers

While in Seoul, I had a small chance to partake in some local beers, brewed there right in the heart of the metropolis. I was not able to visit an extensive number of breweries or pubs due to time and money constraints, but the ones I was fortunate enough to visit offered a diverse offering […]

My First Japanese Baseball Game

I’m not a big sports guy, but I do enjoy watching live events with friends, so the possibility of me enjoying sports is not so far off. I’ve had some good experiences with live sports in the past (Exhibit A, Exhibit B), so when a friend asked if I wanted to see a Yomiuri Giants […]

Enoshima Island

Just off of the coast of Kamakura, south of Tokyo, lays Enoshima Island, a small island that hosts many interesting man-made and natural beauties. One rainy weekend during summer, I was able to make a stop on the island for my wife’s birthday and get a little taste of what the island has to offer.