Japan Eat Play Sleep

As you could have read here , I had went to Japan in the July-August period and I could find the most delicious Japanese peaches and grapes in the supermarkets. Even though they are really pricey, you should try them at least once. The fruit are so full of flavor that it is worth every penny. I didn't realize until after I went to Japan a few more times, that these fruit are seasonal and only available for a limited time period. I am not really accustomed to that, as most fruit in the Netherlands are available year-round. Of course, we don't have the most exotic fruit available here, but fruit such as grapes and strawberries can be bought any day of the year. You can read more about when it is the best time to buy the special Japanese strawberries, melons, cherries, peaches, watermelons, pears, persimmons, apples, and mandarin oranges over here . Fruit picking is also a great activity to do during your vacation in Japan. Many fruit orchards provide these activities and...

After introducing Uobei (魚べい) to you, I cannot leave out Genki Sushi. Unlike Uobei, it doesn't work with a one price concept, but with different looking plates. The variety is a lot larger, but you are also more likely to walk out with a higher bill than what you first intended to spend than at Uobei or Sushi Ondo that has a similar Genki sushi logo. The plates with a yellow/orange rim: 108 yen The plates with a red rim: 183 yen The plates with a beige rim: 237 yen The checkered plates: 345 yen The rectangular plates with swirls print: 486 yen. You can find the standard menu here and underneath you can find the seasonal, summer 2014 offering. There are many Genki Sushi stores in Japan, but this store in Shibuya should be the easiest to find for tourists. Address: 24-8, Udagawa machi (宇田川町24-8), Leisure Plaza Building, Shibuya, Tokyo. Directions: Leave Shibuya station from exit 6 (top center on map). Locate the famous Starbucks store that overlooks the Shibuya ...

Uobei is one of the sister companies of Genki Sushi, which you may be more familiar with. This conveyor belt sushi chain store offers more than 80 kinds of sushi to choose from and they are all 108 yen a plate. Every now and then, there will also be some seasonal items that are more special and a few items among those may cost a bit more. You can click here to see the standard menu and underneath, you can see the seasonal offering for 7 July - 8 August 2014. The store that is the easiest to find for tourists is the  Uobei (魚べい) Shibuya Dogenzaka store.  Address: Dogenzaka 2-29-11, sixth Central Building, Shibuya, Tokyo. Directions: leave Shibuya station from exit 1 West Gate (on map: top left side).When you are outside, locate the Mark City sign and when you standing right in front of it, go to the left, keep walking until you see a Lotteria store in your right. Then, go left. On your right, you will very soon see a large building with a lot of restaurants, su...

Previously, I have written about the Cupnoodles museum , but there is another ramen themed attraction in Yokohama, the Shin-Yokohama Raumen museum . Although it is also called a museum, the main selling point is that ramen from stores across Japan can be ordered in one place (it saves you travel time).  They have also created an ambiance of old times - 1958 Japan -, in which you can enjoy your noodles. These are the 9 stores that currently have a temporary store there: Ryu Shanghai, Ganja, Men no Bo-Toride, Zweite Ramen, Kamome Shokudo, Komurasaki, Sumire, Shina Soba-ya, and Nidai-me Genkotsu-ya. It is quite unique that they have invited a German ramen store (Zweite Ramen) to open a shop in their museum. What makes this store special is that they make the noodles from durum flour, which is usually used in pasta and pizza. If even Japanese people like their noodles, I might have to go pay a visit to their store in Germany as that is a lot closer to where I live than Japan. A...

I enjoy visiting museums in my own country and those abroad, but the Cupnoodles museum in Yokohama, Japan is unique in its kind. I can't believe that there is actually a whole museum dedicated to the history of cup noodles. The most fun part is that you can actually hands-on create your own instant noodles starting from flour in the Chicken Ramen factory. The participation fee of this activity is 500 yen (300 yen for young children), which isn't included in the entrance fee. In the My Cupnoodles factory, you can also create your own customized cup noodles with your own design on the packaging and with the soup flavor (4 kinds) and the toppings (4 out of 12 ingredients) of your choice. It costs 300 yen to make one cup noodle that you can take back home in a travel-proof air package. There is also a Noodles Bazaar, which is decorated to mimic an Asian night market. You can order noodles from 8 different countries (Italy, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Korea, and...

Since I did an " Eating at 7-Eleven Hong Kong " for my Hong Kong travel blog, I thought I might as well do one for Japan. ^_^ Most of the times, as a tourist, you can get very tired from all the sightseeing and from trying to speak and understand the local language. Eating at 7-Eleven is then the easiest option. I don't encourage you to eat there every day, but a trip to 7-Eleven once in a while, can really make your life a lot more convenient. That is why they are called convenience stores. ^_^ During my last two stays in Japan, I had went there for an easy breakfast (an onigiri or a pastry) and I had also bought dinner (cold noodles) a couple of times. Food from 7-Eleven Japan that you must try - Pastry. The first thing that wanted to try the most was the melon scented butter bread (aka Melon pan). I had always seen it in manga and anime and it looked quite delicious. The top sugary coated part that is supposed to look like the exterior of a melon has a litt...