Shinise Rouho traditional shops and stores in Japan, tradition Japanese culture

老舗 or a traditional store refers to a specialty crafts, food, store that has been continuing a tradition for quite a while. Other words, it is a treasured historic location. Japanese has a special sentiment towards these kind of shops. And often they are associated with special craftsmanship. For example, in Kyoto, one can find traditional tofu shops that have been in operation for more than 100 years, called 老舗豆腐 or shinise tofu. You can bet the owners and the family members take a lot of pride in operating these shops. Everyone of them is managed like to the sushi ya in Jiro dreamed of sushi. After all, these have been time-tested veteran shops, must be something extraordinary that they have been doing right for centuries.

Nishi Tetsu Inn Shinjuku 西鉄イン新宿 near Nishi Shinjuku station, Japan travel information

 The Nishi Tetsu Inn or "west rail inn" is reasonably priced and conveniently located almost right outside the Nishi Shinjuku station. The Nishi Shinjuku station is only one station after the very busy Shinjuku station.

The hotel is so convenient and literally outside the station, it only took one minute walk to the lobby. We highly recommend this hotel to people who just arrived in Japan for the first time, and need a hotel that is very close to a convenience station. Specially if you are arriving at night and tired, this hotel is very easy to find.

We used the hotel as a touch base point when we landed in Tokyo. And headed to Hakone the very next morning via Shinjuku station's Odakyu Romance Car. 

The Shinjuku station is so crowded and the place was so large it was very difficult to find the right exit and entry points, we preferred Nishi Shinjuku station. 

Just like all other Japanese hotels, this place is small by American Standard. It may even be a bit cluster phobic with all your luggages and two people. Nevertheless, it is a good hotel that is convenient, reasonably priced even during the Japanese New Year's, and clean.

Wagashi Japanese sweets desserts and Japanese snacks

和菓子 pronounced wagashi is a general name for Japanese bite-size sweets. These are extremely intricate, colorful snacks that are so much more than just mochi cakes (mochi cakes have been popular in the US). 

Dango, rabbit manju bread bites, Sakura mochi cakes etc. These are essentially powdered sugar combined with mochi, red bean pastes (and other fruits variations), and flour. 

Maneki-neko Japanese Fortune Cat in restaurants and stores

It's a Japanese culture to place 

Maneki-neko 招き猫 at restaurant and store counters to bring good luck and fortune to the location. The beckoning cat waves its arm to invite guests in.

Melon Pan Melon Bun Bread, Japanese Food and Snacks

Have you seen how gorgeous the Japanese melon pans (melon buns or melon bread メロンパン) are? They are beautiful, puffy, perfect half spheres. The green color may be alarming at first but the filling is so juicy, rich, creamy and delicious, it's totally worth the try. You can only get such kawaii or cute bakery sweets in Japan! Another blog post covered just how 贅沢 zetaku or luxurious melons are in Japan. They have the status of special occasion gifts, can be priced for $100 and up, and is a well received high end fruits gift! If you're not visiting Japan soon, you can Google Japanese melon pan recipes and make your own at home!

Fruits and Fruit Sakes in Japan Japanese Food and Snacks Wiki

(Peach flavored sake)

Californians visiting Japan can be surprised by the price tag of Japanese fruits and how sweet and concentrated the juices are in Japan. The grape juice tastes more like a very sweet and flavored grape soda. It may even be frustrating finding fresh fruits and juices in Japan. It's simply too much of a luxury to enjoy fresh fruits in a country with very limited farmland resources. However, one may be delighted by the delicious varieties of fruit flavored soda, bubble gum and even Suntory sake (yes the alcohol brand from lost in translation the movie) and wine in Japan! There are many varieties of such sweetened drinks!  They can be purchased easily from vending machines at hotels and nearby street corners (the canned or the pet bottled versions). Basically no one will check your ID. Even if they do, the drinking age is much lower in Japan than most of the western world.

One may also be fascinated by how pretty the packaging is! Each small portion of fruits are packaged and decorated to the point that they sparkle! It's also a land where are many "noble" extremely pricey varieties of honeydew melon! The Japanese varieties of melons are more yellow, greener - brighter in color, more fragrant and sweeter. In fact, they are so pricey that they can be presented as a special holiday gift such as for the Japanese New Years. Japan is also the country of square shaped melons.

Amazake sweet sake flavored candy Japanese Snacks Wiki

These soft slight chewy candies are amazake or sweet sake alcohol flavored candies! Amazake is a sweet alcoholic drink made from fermented rice. It's a celebratory new year drink too! Some Japanese stores and hotel distribute free cups of Amazake甘酒 to guests and visitors during New Years in December and January!

Japanese Shoyu Soy Sauce Essential Japanese Sauce and Food Culture

Perhaps the most essential sauce in Japan, Shoyu醤油 is the stable of Japanese food culture: food dipped in soy sauce, shoyu ramen, shoyu everything. It's a sauce made of fermented food and oil blend. The Japanese even dip dango or chewy mochi rice cake in Shoyu and make Shoyu flavored sake. It seems to make everything better. The sophisticated flavor is derived from aged soy beans, salt, wheat and yeast mixture. Because of the fermentation, the process doesn't smell nor look too good. Modern Shoyu also comes in many flavors and varieties, some saltier and some sweeter. A green cap or bottle packaging now denotes lower sodium level, which marks a healthier choice. But the entire Asia is consuming lots of soy sauce everyday, and they are not stopping any time soon. In fact, the rest of the world now also shares the love, thanks to the global popularity of sushi.

How to ask for Soy Sauce in Japanese? In fact, the Japanese don't consume too much soy sauce when eating sushi. The chef usually allocates the soy sauce carefully and pre apply to each piece of sushi. In fancy restaurants, it's especially impolite to ask for more soy sauce and then proceed to drench a piece of sushi in the sauce this overpowering the natural umami or fresh flavor of the fish. If you must, ask politely sorry, please give me some soy sauce and wasabi. sumi masen shoyu to wasabi o kudasai. すみません醤油とわさびをください. If they decline vehemently, consider skipping those all together. It's really impolite to insist. It may be sad but you may want to consider another restaurant if you prefer American style sushi, which is hard to come by outside those tourist foreigner friendly hotels. Many expats in Japan have learned to appreciate the Japanese style sushi as shown in Jiro Dreamed of Sushi and other Michelin starred restaurants. It's hard to find California rolls and philly rolls in Japan. Lol, if you find dynamite rolls you are quite impressive!

misunderstanding Shoyu, Sakura Shoyu, smoked Shoyu souvenirs or omiyage from Kyoto

Where to go in Japan check Tripadvisor destinations

What are the best sightseeing spots in Japan. Where to go or travel to in Ginza, Shinjuku, Kyoto, Hakone? Tripadvisor has a restaurant and a destination menu. Just scroll all the way down on the mobile app. In fact, tripadvisor even gives out awards in Asia acknowledging the best travel sports in Japan and China. Fushimi Irani is one of the top rated temples in Kyoto by foreigners! Locals don't enjoy it as much. Though I very much wanted to travel like a local, Fushimi Irani rocked my world, so yeah tripadvsior got it right for us visitors, even though seasoned travelers in Japan

Is there Uber in Japan? Japan travel transportation taxi

Is there Uber taxi in Japan? It's only in Tokyo as of 2016. You can call for uber via tripadvsior and google map. Uber is not well known nor welcomed in Japan yet. Just take a look at the taxi culture in Japan! All taxis are black cars driven by professional senior taxi drivers who are also older, more traditional, wear white gloves, uniforms and hats, polish their cars to the max to the point that it's shiny and operating only using automatic doors. It's a long way before Uber breaks into the Japanese taxi industry and taxi transportation culture.

Urikiri 売り切り clearance sales useful travel Japanese phrase vocabulary

売り切り 読み方 うりきり pronounced urikiri

Clearance or sales 

Traveling from Tokyo to Hakone by Train JR Pass Japan Travel

What's the fastest way to travel from Tokyo to Hakone? Definitely by Odakyu Romance Car, which by the way is not included in the JR Rail Pass. It's the fastest option in year 2015-2016 only 85 minutes or so. 

The best way to book Odakyu Romance car is to book on its English website or through a window at the Shinjuku Tokyo JR station. Please do this days before. Tickets do sell out. Hakone is a popular destination among locals.

each ticket costs less than 1800 yen, so it's not a bad one to buy out of pocket even if you are a JR Pass holder. 

The JR train does not offer non stop train to the Hakone Yumoto station.

Odakyu Romance Car is the only non-stop express service from Tokyo to Hakone. The fastest route is from Shinjuku station to Hakone Yumoto station. 

Even with a ticket you may still have to beep in with a JR suica IC card at the entrance of Shinjuku. The confirmation booking is literally just a text based email with no confirmation number, only assigned seating. The Japanese take these seating a very seriously. Do not switch seats even if there are empty seats around you. People get on and off in different parts of the route. The Japanese keeps very good track of this and will enforce seating.

東京 Tokyo 

新宿駅 Shinjuku station

箱根湯本駅 Hakone Yumoto station

小田急ロマンスカー

Ginza Gucci Cafe Tokyo Japan Travel Destination what to do in ginza

There are only a handful Gucci Cafes in the world: Florence, Milan, Shanghai and Tokyo. The Tokyo Ginza location is a must see destination. 

You are here to see the Gucci logo and decor, experience the novelty and luxury. The menu is limited though birthday

 cakes from this cafe can look amazing. A great place to have a date!

The luxury leather fashion brand only had this rare cafe in limited locations. It's very fittingly located at the trendiest most exciting modern shopping district of Tokyo Japan - Ginza.

Try their cocoa powder monogrammed Tiramisu, also a famed Italian dessert. Also try the Gucci logo monogram chocolate. One of the few locations on earth where you can purchase Gucci chocolates! And it's a designer artisan chocolate.

Not all dessert comes with the logo. The doorway is probably the best picture spot to show off the logo. Otherwise, the monogram chocolate and the tiramisu with powdered cocoa logo can be great photo props. And also the bill and check.

Depends on your understanding of Japanese culture and language, the staff can range from helpless to helpful. It's always hard to communicate hence the movie "lost in translation". Just keep in mind that the culture is different, a bit patience and politeness goes a long way. Entitlement backfires quickly. 

OL Office Lady Japanese Culture OL lady travel app and magazine

Office Lady or OL is a very unique Japanese business culture. Office Lady is a vocabulary created by a female editor of a Japanese magazine tailored to women, describes Japanese business women, and more specifically female Japanese office workers or white collar workers. For example, a female legal assistant at a law firm is an office lady. It's not really a positive word. For example, many legal assistants in Japan are housewives turned office ladies. They don't hold the most powerful positions nor the highest salaries. The top lawyers are still mostly male. It's still the case that male coworkers often get promoted to better positions and hold higher salaries. Make no mistake, these newly minted middle class workers are heavy spenders and command a lot of financial power. There are now iPhone Apps and magazines catered to single office lady travel, covering office lady friendly activities and destinations. Once upon a time, they were also known to be heavy handed stock investors. They use their spare time to tackle stock investments and even invest in US stocks. It's not uncommon for females to control the finance of a Japanese household. In certain sense, they have all the power to make household financial decisions, that includes any daily purchases. 

Visiting Kiyomizu Dera on New Years Eve

This year we visited Kiyomizu Dera the clear water temple on New Year's Eve. Unlike other shrines and temples (yasaka jinja and koudaiji), Kiyomizu Dera opened later at 10pm (the schedule will be published on its Japanese website) and is open all night long till day break, it is also open the next day. 

On New Year's Eve people come here to make the first new year wishes with a dedicated heart (the more determined you are the more likely your wish will become true). It's exiciting with a tipsy crowd and it's cool to see the temple illuminated.

It was nearly 40 minutes walk from Yasaka at Gion district passing by Koudaiji and then to Kiyomizu. It was cold but many young Japanese people are making this "pilgrimage" so we decided to join.

There were many beautiful sites along the way : wooden pagodas, giant Kanon Buddha statue at Koudaiji, giant Tang Dynasty inspired bell at Koudaiji, and Ishibei Kouji (little pebble road, famous for its Minshuku 民宿 the traditional family operated inns with paper window panes and bamboo walls and tiled roofs). 

There was a big crowd near the entrance of the temple and shops started to open near the clock. Food and drinks were not allowed at the temple so you cannot eat and walk (which is considered rude in Japan).

The temple was open at 10pm sharp. The crowd rush in to view the red pagoda and foreground, before reaching the ticket booth. You have to buy a ticket, but keep the ticket, it's the same one you can use for the next days in fact, given that it is seasonal, you can probably use it all seasons. 

The illuminated temple was beautiful at night (more beautiful than day time because winter had stripped all the branches of leaves). 

The famous raised platform of pure wood grid foundation was also illuminated and a crowd of at least 200 people gather. There is walkway on the right side facing the platform, along the mountain and downward to exit the ground. It's a perfect place to snap a picture of the raised platform, a picture perfect spot for Kiyomizu Dera.

New Years in Japan Holidays Schedule

If you are visiting Japan on New Years 1/1 or near January 1st, watch out, hotels may be very expensive as well as flight tickets. While there are fewer trains and taxis, they still run in most cities. But if you are visiting a remote area you might be stuck. Plan carefully before visiting. Some employees get 12/31 to 1/3 off and one day off on Christmas. Keep in mind that some people work on New Years including perhaps your host family or Airbnb host in Japan.

Suiran Luxury Collections SPG Hotel and Lonely Planet Cover Bamboo Forest Hotel Travel Destination in Kyoto

Suiran Luxury Collections SPG Hotel and Lonely Planet Cover Bamboo Forest Hotel Travel Destination in Kyoto. That's a mouthful! SPG built a luxurious hotel here slightly in the mountains of Arashiyama, Kyoto, near Tenryuji (Sky Dragon Temple, a popular tourist destination) and also the picture perfect symbol of Japan: the bamboo forest of Kyoto featured on covers of Lonely Planet Travel books!

What can you do near Suiran Luxurious Collections SPG Starwoods Hotel?

Definitely the bamboo forest and the Tenryuji. Then the hotel spa's zen inspired treatments with complementary Yuzu soda and local fragrance gift pouch keepsake. 

Even visitors or none hotel guests can rent the private hot spring osen hot bath for 45 minutes for a fee of 4200 yen. This open air hot spring bath is complementary for spa guests. 

Some say on Tripadvisor that it's a mere hot water tub but still the atmosphere is kyoto Japan's Arashiyama backdrop. It may be a great honeymoon destination or a first hot spring experience. With privacy! Privacy is hard to come by. 

Address : 12 Sushkinobaba-cho saga-Tenryuji ukyo-ku Kyoto SPG category 6 hotel

Presents and Souvenirs for Japanese Host Families and Airbnb Hosts Japanese Culture

It is common to bring gifts when visiting a friend, and even a strangers' home in Japan. Wherever you travel, you can probably find a souvenir store, even in the train stations. Japanese people love shopping for omiyage souvenirs. There are many limited addition goods that can only be purchased locally. Example snack brand Pocky and Pretz produce limited edition flavored based on local delicacies.  The trick is to buy the snacks at the international airport terminal, with a valid passport, you can purchase special souvenirs to take with you when leaving Japan such as the white lovers chocolate or Shiroi Koibito from Hokkaido. While traveling via JR Train Pass in Japan, you can also pick up unique souvenirs for your host family (this solves the problem that your luggage might be already jam packed when you arrived in Japan)

a small gift for your host family can go along way. If you're coming from the United States, you can buy Limited addition Christmas Starbucks mugs,  ghirardelli chocolate from San Francisco, flaming hot Cheetos snacks, San Francisco Hello Kitty editions, etc. you can also purchase souvenirs from your famous University. Japanesd tourists often shop for souvenirs at Stanford for example.

Bringing a gift for your host family is a very nice gesture according to a Japanese culture. This small gesture goes a long way

Nijo Castle Nijojo 二条城 Kyoto Japan Historic Travel

There's a small castle in mid Kyoto near the imperial park. Though small, it has all th essential intricacies of a Japanese castle. If you have time, it worth visiting for sure. What's special about Nijojo? Definitely its security mechanism. 

Have you heard of the Nightingale Floor or the Creaking floor of Nijojo?

It's an ancient security device used to alert castle dwellers of potential intruders and assassins. uguisubari (鴬張り) floor is designed in such a way that hidden nails will rub against a mechanism even when slight pressure is applied on the floor panels, making rather annoying chirping sounds. At night fall, this mechanism can be especially useful in dark dimly lighted halls leaving intruders little space to hide. 

Picture credit wikipedia

Online Japanese Anime RPG Game Character Generator

Want to make your own anime character dress him or her up with professional outfits like warriors, healers and office ladies? This Anonymous D's Anime Maker got you covered. Though it's an outdated app, it does its job and give you many fine tuning options. Give it a try.

Evangelion Anime Theme Shinkansen Bullet Train Travel in Japan

To celebrate a special train's 40th anniversary, the Japanese Shinkansen launched an Evangelion themed bullet train painted purple and designed after the 00 Machine that's piloted by Ikari Shinji.

Of course there are limited edition this train only bento box and food set - so Japanese. All seats have purple covers. There's even a pilot pit with the Evagelion pull system full body pilot throne. This simulated experience is just too exciting for evangelion anime fans.

Travel in Japan Shinkansen Bullet Train Gran Class VIP Cart

What is the Gran Class experience like riding Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train? It's a pleasant special experience though it's not the VIP service you'd expect. Surely it's cluster free, which may be very valuable in Japan given how crowded, busy and hustling the country is (think Shibuya crossing craziness).

The Gran class has its own cart and place to line up. Each seat is assigned. Can be purchased via service Windows like the Modori no Madoguchi or via the ticket vending machine. It's a great by when the train is overcrowded and fully booked. This may be the only ticket available on the entire train! But it comes with a big price tag. And of course it isn't covered by JR pass.

The entrance wall has a beautiful Sakura cherry blossom lacquered finish. 

There are only 15 seats available in the dimly lit cart. Each seat is nearly fully adjustable leathered luxurious seat with lots of space, which may be extra extra luxurious in a land with limited space. However the seat cannot be flattened 180 degree like a bed or in flight first class or business class seats. It's comfy for sure but not a good sleeping spot. 

You get a pair of disposable slippers and a personal remote using which you can adjust a personal reading light beam. 

Not much is free really, you will have to buy your own bento and coffee or tea. Bummer. It's an elevated experience but it's not flying first class. Given that sometimes the trip is only 40 minutes or 2 very expensive hours, this purchase may be more vanity, last-minute last ticket than good value.

Picture perfect Mount Fuji view on Shinkansen the Japanese Bullet Train Travel in Japan

Posters of Shinkansen running right in front of a picture perfect snow covered view of Mount Fuji is everywhere. In fact it is quite possible to see this in person on a sunny day. The Fuji Mountain is so big that it will fill up the window! It's an impressive symbol of the Japanese national pride much like the bold eagle for Americans. Mount Fuji view was the most stunning when we ride from Hakone to Osaka via Hikari Shinkansen ("light" bullet train free via JR pass.). It is a transient view of only 2 minutes on the right side. Our party missed most of it, so on the way back from Osaka to Tokyo, again via Hikari we tracked it the whole time using Google map (it's clearly marked). Mt. Fuji emerges soon after Shizuoka 静岡 on the left side. And this time it's again picture perfect though slightly smaller. People told us it's rare to see the entire body of Mount Fuji on such a cloudless clear day. We got lucky. See our Japan's Mount Fuji view on Shinkansen travel picture using iPhone below. We planned an entire trip to Lake Ashi to see Fujimi (Mt Fuji view) in vain, this really made us feel a whole lot better. 

Akihabara manga anime heaven a must visit Travel in Tokyo Japan

Have you heard of Akihabara in Tokyo? 100% Otaku heavy of everything anime and manga or everything else with anime and manga twists like Evagelion UCC coffee. For any anime fans, this is a must visit place for anime and manga merchandise such as figurines and plushes. Come here to check out the maid cafe! Manga Kisa (a manga reading cafe) and a building full of cosplay options!

churros at Saruza cafe Jigokudani Monkey Park Snacks in Japan travel in Japan!

Churros look different in Japan! It obviously is an "imported" snack, but it comes with its own twist - perfectly crispy creamy sweet and even a little carameralized. This order comes from the take out menu at Saruza mountain cafe at Jigokudani Monkey Park.

What to know before visiting Tsukiji Fish Market - travel in Tokyo Japan eat sushi

The tuna auction requires special reservation and starts early.

Tsukiji requires travel to the outskirts of Tokyo with limited train availability in the early morning. 

Check the Tsukiji website for holidays and closings, which happen quite often.

Tsukiji market is completely closed during the New Years.

Tsukiji is about so much more than just tuna auction. Explore the market after 9am for a sushi breakfast.

Check the Tsukiji website for fresh fish of the season.

Advice from locals in Japan: Tsukiji is an active market not a tourist attraction. Fishmongers are very busy, stay out of their way to avoid interrupting their work or being rude, or the worst getting injured due to careless mistakes

Foreigner Special travel pass at Nagano subway station for JigokuDani Monkey Park to see the snow monkeys

At the Nagano subway window, there's a ticket booth 1 day travel pass for foreigners. 1 day pass costs 2900 yen and gives access go local subways and trains also a ticket to the snow monkey park. grab a brochure for the Snow Monkey Resort and ask for the next bus or train to Jigoku Dani Monkey Park. Our sample travel route is by subway for about 44 minutes to Yudanaka then to Kanbayashi Onsen via bus (10 minutes), then a trek to the mountain. This route is popular among Japanese people the subway train is rather full.

Try the Starbucks extra small size "Short" Latte or Green Latte Things to Do in Tokyo Series

Did you know a lot of things are smaller and more "Eco friendly" in Japan? Even their Starbucks has an extra small size called "Short". Try it out. It's so cute and tiny when you hold it in your palms. Also try their Green Tea latte or latte available in short size (latte is the same, green tea latte is slightly more intense than else where), or the green tea Frappuccino also slightly more bitter and intense

Japan celebrates new year 2016 the year of the monkey with special technical monkey feeding maneuver only in Japan

Apparently it is not easy to get monkeys to dine together as they are hierarchical. Nevertheless the Japanese zookeepers decide to do something uniquely Japanese to make the impossible possible. They figured out a technical way to feed the monkeys in sequence and get them to spell out Saru - Monkey in Japanese to celebrate the New Years! Here's a picture reposted from a Chinese news website.

Trying Japanese Ekiben Eki Bento at Japanese train stations on Shinkansen food in Japan

Traveling in Japan can get really busy. Tokyo is expensive and your vacation is short, there just isn't much time to explore. When hungry and drained, buy a luxurious yet affordable bento at the Eki (station) and enjoy these delicious and beautiful looking treats while riding the Shinkansen. Definitely a bucket list item - things to do when visiting Japan. These are not exactly substantial and can be a bit sweet.