You might miss the entrance if you weren’t looking for the address because the frontage Noren (Japanese curtain) is understated. (It’s beside the Apple Farm Market across Safeway). From the same food group that gives you Suika, Raisu (Japanese word for “rice”) serves delicious Japanese food in the reliable authentic flavors but in tapas style…
Category: Food
London Heritage Farm, Richmond B.C.
Along the Fraser river by the coastline city of Richmond (British Columbia) stands the London Heritage Farm— a historic site complex consisting of a farmhouse, family barn, heritage and herb gardens, memorial rose garden, hand tool museum; with antique farming equipment, chickens, Honey and Blue Orchard bees (with picnic tables). In the farmhouse is a tearoom…
Thanksgiving Dinner from Granville Island Public Market
Granville Island Public Market is a food lover’s paradise. With fifty main retailers and over a hundred more rotating day-vendors selling local and international artisanal foods (and crafts), a wide international selection of delicious cooked food and ingredients for what you want to cook yourself, it has practically everything you need in a market. And more. Just…
Amasake Chaya, Hakone’s Last Edo Period Teahouse
Tradition. History. Culture. Food. Drink. Nature. Tale of the Faithful 47 Ronin: Check, Check, Check, Check, Check, Check, and Check! They come together in this 400 year-old thatch-roofed countryside teahouse set amidst the lush mountains of Hakone. To facilitate travel, the town of Hakone— famous for its year-round stunning natural scenery, hot springs, and expansive options…
“Spring of the Gods”: Oshino Hakkai Springs
Not-to-be-missed Mt. Fuji World Cultural Heritage Site and Japanese national monument, Oshino Hakkai Springs is situated in an idyllic, picturesque village in the Fuji Five Lakes region where you can explore nature, history, food, and culture while chasing Mt. Fuji. On a clear day, you might see her majesty, the elusive Fujisan. If you happen…
Sweet Secrets at Shiroi Koibito Park, Hokkaido
Behind this wall, Cookie Disneyland! Langue de Chat [Lengua de Gato] sandwich with white chocolate filling. Maybe you’re familiar with the famous cookie! In the unlikely event that you are not, Langue de Chat means “cat’s tongue” to connote the oval shape and thinness of the delicate French cookie that “melts” easily in your mouth. Ishiya’s…
Otaru 1: Market & Sakaimachi
Otaru is a charming little harbor city less than a half hour by train from Sapporo; in light of this, it has become a “bedroom community” or commuter town wherein people live here while working in the now more-crowded ( and more pricey) urban center of Sapporo. Preserved historical buildings throughout this city has given…
Hokkaido Dairy, Corn, and Other Produce
Hokkaido is famous for its premium dairy products… cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream, and milk. Its undulating picturesque hills are perfect nurturing pastures for its cows and sheep. It is also famous for its exceptionally sweet corn, potato, and melon. We stopped by a rest area with a little market selling Hokkaido’s specialties. “Be patient,…
Hokkaido: Chateau Furano
Not far from the Furano Cheese Factory is Chateau Furano in Hokkaido. They use local ingredients for their wine production. A visit to the factory allows you to learn about how they make their wines with a walk-through to the wine cellar/ aging warehouse. Free wine samples are available. There is also a gift shop…
Hokkaido: Furano Cheese Factory
Furano Cheese Factory (富良野チーズ工房, Furano Cheese Kōbō) has an open window for guests to see how the Japanese Camembert cheese is made. Squid ink cheese and other cheese samples welcome you. Informative displays and vintage dairy memorabilia are on display. Interactive displays are available for guests to explore: Educational workshops are also available. Besides the…
BUTTERFLY IN THE SPRING 