Eating in Japan
Drinking in Japan: Sake, Shochu, Highballs and Where to Try Them
How to read a sake label, why everyone is drinking whisky and soda, and the difference between a standing bar and a…
Travel style: First-timer
Eating in Japan
Sushi, Ramen, Udon, Soba: What to Eat Where
Six things worth eating properly at least once, what separates a good version from a bad one, and roughly what each should…
Eating in Japan
Izakaya Etiquette: How a Japanese Night Out Actually Works
The small dish you did not order, the rule about pouring your own drink, and why everyone orders a beer first. An…
Eating in Japan
Halal, Allergies and Dietary Needs in Japan
Japan's allergen labelling law is stricter than most countries and its restaurant culture is far less prepared. What is legally disclosed, what…
Eating in Japan
Vegetarian and Vegan in Japan: The Honest Guide
Japan is harder for vegetarians than almost any developed country, and the reason is a fish stock that is in nearly everything.…
Eating in Japan
Konbini Food: What to Buy at 7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart
A 250 yen rice ball that is better than most restaurant food anywhere else. What to buy at each of the three…
Eating in Japan
How to Order in a Japanese Restaurant Without Japanese
Ticket machines, plastic food, counters with no menu at all, and the six phrases that cover every restaurant in the country. Eating…
Destination Guides
Hyogo: Himeji Castle, Kobe and Arima Onsen in Two Days
Japan's finest surviving castle, a port city rebuilt after an earthquake that changed the country, and a thousand-year-old hot spring twenty minutes…
Destination Guides
Fukuoka: Kyushu’s Gateway and Its Yatai Streets
Japan's most liveable big city, with an airport five minutes from the centre, the country's last real street-food stall culture, and the…
Destination Guides
Mount Fuji and the Fuji Five Lakes: Where to Actually See It
The mountain is visible about eighty days a year and almost none of them are in summer. Which viewpoints work, which month…