As we have already established, Dan loves coffee. So, one sunny weekend at the start of the glorious spring season in Japan, we took to Kokura to have a little coffee tour. We started out taking a 1 hour trek through suburbs, past factories, down back allies, to find coffee shop number one. It sat…
Category: Life in Japan
Our First Snowboard
On the first weekend of March, we took off on Friday after work in pursuit of snowy pastures. We had a weekend booked at Geihoku Kokusai in Hiroshima prefecture, and a weekend rental of a cottage and snowboarding equipment…the cottage was an excellent pine cottage in the woods style. But without any Gothic horror vibes….
Kagoshima and Coffee
Our long weekend trip to Kagoshima was full of relaxation and coffee shop discovery, as usual! We enjoyed the charismatic streets of Kagoshima. Little alleyways you could meander down and find a nice restaurant or cool bar. We visited several places with no information on the outside, but inside we found colourful spaces and eclectic…
Kagoshima = Active Volcano
My favourite moment of our long weekend away to Kagoshima was sitting in a Lawson’s cafe (convenience store) overlooking Mount Sakurajima, which is a large active volcano. Talk turned to volcanoes and fiery deaths. Dan picked up his phone and typed ‘most active volcano in Japan’. The answer: Sakurajima. He looks at me, slightly pale,…
Setsubun
Setsubun, the day before Japan welcomes spring, and a chance to banish demons and wish for good luck in the coming year. This year we celebrated (for the first time) with our friends at our local shrine in Ayaragi. To ensure good luck for the year, any new years eve decorations need to be burned…
Tsunoshima and Goodbyes
In January we took a trip up to the Tsunoshima bridge and island. The trip was our last (for now!) with the lovely Lauren, who is moving back to Hawaii to pursue her career goals of becoming a flight attendant. Lauren’s dedication to seeing as much as possible and Instagram photos has led to some…
Onsens – Keeping Warm in Winter
Onsens are a big part of the Japanese lifestyle and a great way to keep warm in the cold Japanese winters. They are popular throughout Japan, which has its fair share of natural hot springs because it sits on a fault line. However, for those who are not experienced in the onsen, they are a…
Akiyoshidi Winter Wonderland
To fight those January blues we have been trip planning. It is certain death for the savings, but for the life experience, totally worth it! Before we depart Yamaguchi Prefecture in July, we have decided to check out some of its hot tourist destinations. The first on the list…Akiyoshidi Plateau and Cave. We decided on…
Narita Airport Horror Story
This winter holiday we visited our families and spent New Year’s Eve in Paris. It was the perfect winter trip in the most beautiful city! More to come on that… However, the story of our trip does not start there. This first blog installment is about the journey, and what a journey it was! At…
Run Forest Run
On Sunday 10th December Dan and I ran our first (and possibly last…) half marathon! We had put in some good effort training for the run, but had fallen ill at the last hurdle. We suffered various illnesses throughout November, so training took a real hit. Still, we were determined to try our best and…