You might have never heard of Kunitachi. It’s a small district in Tokyo, but despite its size, this town is full of charms. So much that it inspired the anime film Wolf Children, which won the New York International Children’s Film Festival’s Audience Award in 2013. It has many cute little shops, spectacular nature, and a whole street of cherry blossom trees.
Travel GuideTokyo
Teina-Tokyo
January 29, 2019
Owakudani, written as 大涌谷, in Japanese means "Great Boiling Valley". It is both poetic and a bit mysterious. The valley was created in the result of a Mt. Hakone eruption around 3000 years ago, and still experiences volcanic activity. It is mostly safe, nevertheless. The Tourist Center was closed between 2015 and 2016, but now it is available again, as well as the Hakone ropeway.
MountainsOnsenSceneryKanagawa
Teina-Tokyo
January 15, 2019
The Japanese name of the museum is Kitte no Hakubutsukan 切手の博物館, as a postage stamp is called “kitte” (切手) in Japanese. The museum is also the office of the Japan Philatelic Society (established in 1946) and its affiliated organizations.
MuseumTokyo
Teina-Tokyo
November 11, 2017
At most, when it comes to vintage shopping, it all comes to deciding on two precious resources: time and money.
ShoppingTokyo
Teina-Tokyo
August 10, 2017
Originally, Ikebukuro was called Sugamo, and hosted various artists and foreign workers. Now, Ikebukuro is the one of the busiest train stations in Tokyo, and the world.
ShoppingTravel GuideTokyo
Teina-Tokyo
July 22, 2017
Especially if you are vegetarian, Indian and Nepalese curry shops in Japan are something you must try. They are all over the country!
Food & DrinkAll Japan
Teina-Tokyo
June 1, 2017
Bowling in Japanese is boringu (ボウリング), which can be easily confused with “boring”（ボーリング). I had never bowled before, but many people like spending their evenings bowling, so it must not be that boring. I had to try it out!
SportsKansai
Teina-Tokyo
September 7, 2016
The famous coffee chain Starbucks was found in 1971. As of June 2015, the company has 22,519 shops around the world. 1165 of those shops are in Japan (data from December 2015). Starbucks arrived to Japan in 1995, but has already gained a great amount of popularity due to Japanese people's obsession with the magic bean drink. People call it shortly スタバ (sutaba) and make it the country’s largest coffee chain, due to the combination of energizing coffee, variety, and excellent market skills.
CafésFood & DrinkAll Japan
Teina-Tokyo
September 2, 2016
It is true that we tend to accumulate stuff in our houses. And knowing how tiny houses are in Japan, this can become a problem. That is when disposing of unneeded items takes place.
GoodsTokyo
Teina-Tokyo
August 24, 2016
If there is one thing Japan is often associated with abroad, it must be a cat. But not just any cat: the little waving cat called maneki neko. Usually, at a shop’s entrance there are figures of cat with a raised paw, which is said to attract good fortune. Some cat figures are automatic lifting and lowering the paws non-stop.
CultureHeritageTokyo
Teina-Tokyo
August 5, 2016
I met my first stray cat when I went jogging in Japan. There are many domestic cats walking around (so far I have never seen a stray dog here), but strays always look different and give me different looks. That skinny cat I met had white fur, with lots of dirty stains and even some blood ones. Luckily, I could see him/her again when I went to the same spot again.
AnimalsCafésAll Japan
Teina-Tokyo
July 25, 2016
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word “vending machine” was first used circa 1895. It is defined as “a coin-operated machine for selling merchandise.” Although there are references to the coin-operated machines all the way back in the first century AD, the first modern vending machines were invented in 1880s, dispensing postcards and envelopes.
CultureAll Japan
Teina-Tokyo
July 7, 2016
Japan is famous for its food. It was even recognized as the UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013. Yet, when it comes to vegetarian, options can seem rather scarce. Recently we visited Kyoto and Osaka for sightseeing and had to find something we could eat, both meat-free and delicious.
Food & DrinkKyotoOsaka
Teina-Tokyo
June 25, 2016
Tokyo is a very diverse city with uncountable sightseeing destinations. Yet when it’s raining and cold outside, you might prefer something indoors. If shopping and dining have already showed you everything you wanted to try, then perhaps you would like to visit the local movie theaters. Especially if you are in Shinjuku and Godzilla is waiting for you right by the building of the Toho cinemas.
EventsTokyo
Teina-Tokyo
June 18, 2016
Crane games are very popular in Japan. They are called UFO catchers and are usually located in arcades and amusement parks with different kinds of prizes. And no, they are not actual UFO, as in space ships, but they are much fun.
All Japan
Teina-Tokyo
June 13, 2016
Who are oiran? According to Wikipedia, the word originates from the Japanese phrase "oira no tokoro no nēsan", which translates into "my elder sister." The kanji characters are 花 meaning "flower" and 魁 meaning "leader" or "first". They were high-class courtesans that possessed entertainer’s skills, such as playing musical instruments, arranging ikebana, performing tea ceremonies, etc.
FestivalsTraditionTokyo
Teina-Tokyo
April 27, 2016
One of the specifics of Narita city is its cuisine. There is no doubt about the diversity of Japanese dishes, of course. If you are okay with fish, you might want to try unagi (鰻). Unagi in Japanese is eel.
ArchitectureJapanese CuisineTraditionChiba
Teina-Tokyo
April 6, 2016
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