Higashi Chaya and Nishi Chaya Geisha Districts of Kanazawa

Most people know about Gion, the famous Geisha district in Kyoto, but are there any others out there? Well, there’s a hidden gem of a city, Kanazawa, that has not one, not two, but three surviving Geisha districts! We went to the two larger ones, the West and East Tea Districts, to check out the […]

The Year 2021 in KitKats

I am a man of habit: I know what I like and what I like are KitKats in a wide variety of flavors. In spite of their vicious attack on the consumer via reduction of the size of the candy last year, I continue to purchase their product because to be honest, I really don’t […]

Sayama Tea Festival 2019

Out in Saitama Prefecture is Sayama City, a proud producer of tea for Japan. They’re pretty niche, though, producing less than 1% of all tea for the nation. Regardless, they have a strong tea tradition which is on display during the annual Sayama Tea Festival, which we were fortunate enough to take part in this […]

More Japanese KitKat Flavors

If you thought those first few flavors were the only KitKat flavors available, you would be wrong! There are a seemingly endless number of flavors, many of which seem to be seasonal or limited edition, many more of which I have been able to encounter. I will share the next batch of flavors with you […]

Japanese KitKat Flavors

One of the most fabled tales I heard back in the olden days (1990s) about Japan was the abundance of flavored KitKat bars. They were one of my childhood favorites, so when I arrived in Japan as an adult nearly 15 years later, I was curious if the KitKat craze was a passing fad or […]