Author: Japanfromwithin
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Cup Noodles Museum
Cup Noodles Museum: A Complete Guide to Yokohama and Osaka Ikeda: Instant ramen is one of Japan’s most globally recognized food inventions, and the two Cup Noodles Museum locations, one in Yokohama and one in Osaka Ikeda, let visitors dig into that history hands-on, most famously by designing and building their own custom cup of…
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Hiroshima and Miyajima
Hiroshima and Miyajima: A Travel Guide Hiroshima offers one of the most emotionally significant experiences available to visitors to Japan, alongside genuinely excellent food and, a short ferry ride away, one of the country’s most iconic shrine views on the island of Miyajima. This guide covers what to see and how to plan your time.…
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Tokyo’s Retro Nightlife Alleys
Golden Gai and Omoide Yokocho: Tokyo’s Retro Nightlife Alleys: Tucked just steps from Shinjuku’s neon towers and packed department stores are two tiny, atmospheric pockets of old Tokyo, narrow alleyways lined with impossibly small bars and food stalls that feel like stepping back several decades. This guide covers Golden Gai and Omoide Yokocho, two of…
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Tokyo Train Photography Spots
Tokyo Train Photography Spots Train Enthusiasts Will Love: Tokyo’s rail network is dense enough that several ordinary, easy-to-reach city spots double as genuinely rewarding train photography locations, where multiple lines cross paths or a single well-placed deck gives you a close-up view of trains in motion. Here are four worth seeking out. Short digest movie…
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fancy food Grilled Eel
Unagi: Japan’s Grilled Eel Tradition, and Why It’s Worth Trying: Freshwater eel isn’t a dish most visitors have encountered before arriving in Japan, it’s rarely eaten this way elsewhere, which is exactly what makes it worth trying. Unagi (eel) prepared in the traditional Japanese style is rich, tender, and completely different from what the phrase…
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Japanese Fried Chicken “Karaage”
Why Japanese Fried Chicken Has a Reputation for Being So Juicy: Fried chicken exists in some form in nearly every country, but Japan’s version, karaage, has earned a distinct reputation among international visitors specifically for how juicy it is compared to fried chicken elsewhere. It’s a staple at izakaya, convenience stores, and home kitchens alike,…
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Japan’s Gourmet Shaved Ice Boom
Kakigori: Japan’s Gourmet Shaved Ice Boom, and Where to Try It: Kakigori has existed in Japan for centuries as a simple summer treat, but over the past decade or so it’s transformed into something else entirely: a serious dessert category with dedicated specialty shops, long lines, and a genuinely devoted following. If you associate shaved…
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More Japanese Food Than You Know
Japanese Food Has Way More Variety Than You Think, Go Try It All: If your mental image of Japanese food starts and ends with sushi and ramen, you’re missing most of what’s actually on offer. Japanese cuisine covers an enormous range of dishes, flavors, and cooking styles, and since you’ve already made the trip, it’s…
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Restaurant Chains with English Touch Panel Ordering
Restaurant Chains with English Touch Panel Ordering: Easy Options for Visitors: A Japanese-only menu can be intimidating if you don’t read the language, and it’s one of the reasons some visitors stick to familiar international chains instead of trying genuinely great local food. The good news is that a number of major gyudon, kaiten-zushi, and…
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Japan’s Favorite Fried Classics food
Tonkatsu and Tempura: A Guide to Japan’s Favorite Fried Classics: Deep-fried food in Japan takes a distinctly different form from what many visitors expect, lighter, crisper, and more precisely executed than a lot of Western fried food. Tonkatsu and tempura are the two pillars of this tradition, and each comes with its own popular rice…
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The Comfort You Experience in Japan
The sense of comfort and security that people experience when traveling in Japan, for example, the politeness of the Japanese people, a society where lost belongings are properly returned to their owners, the low level of theft and overall sense of safety, quiet streets and neighborhoods, cities free of litter, towns without graffiti, clean public…
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Japan’s Egg Sandwich
Tamago Sando: Why Japan’s Egg Sandwich Has Foreign Visitors Obsessed: Japan’s convenience store egg sandwich, tamago sando, has become something of an internet phenomenon among international visitors in recent years, with travelers regularly posting about how something so simple can taste this good. For Japanese people, though, it’s nothing new at all, it’s a humble,…