Nodoguro (Akamutsu) also known as Blackthroat Seaperch aka Rosy Seabass in English, some even term it as the “King of White Fish”. They can only be caught along the coast of the Japan Sea. Guess what, Kanazawa is along the coast of that sea, and that means super fresh Nodoguro fish right in Kanazawa.
Read MoreInitially, we are quite afraid we might not have time to try this teahouse experience as we only reach Kanazawa in the early afternoon, and still need to check in at the hotel first due to 2 checked size luggage with us.
Upon all is done and we managed to catch the bus to the Higashi Chaya around 3pm, and we went to the teahouse around 4pm after some minor exploring in the area.
Read MoreFrom my research, Grill Otsuka is one of the top restaurants in Kanazawa for western cuisine, specifically their Hanton Rice and Hamburger Steak. So we decided to eat this for our dinner after our day trip to Shirakawago.
Read MoreOne of the most famous pâtisserie in Nagano based on my research on Tabelog. So we decided to go for it after our morning sightseeing trip to Zenkoji Temple which is actually quite nearby.
Read MoreToday will be spending most of our day in Matsumoto visiting the Matsumoto Castle aka Crow Castle (due to castle’s black exterior colour), Nawate Street, Nakamachi District, and Matsumoto City Museum of Art. We also did some light night walk around at Nagano Gondo District.
Read MoreSecond time’s the charm! As the first time I visited them they were close, which is during the first day of my Japan trip.
In short, the best Shinshu Togakushi Juwari (100% Buckwheat) Soba I ever eaten at the point of time!
Read MoreRetro wooden decor cafe with a nice and laidback atmosphere. I was definitely having certain expectations due to the above average ratings on Tabelog for this cafe.
But food and drink wise is not the case…
Read MoreDecent Shinshu Soba restaurant with a chill and homely ambience few minutes walk away from Matsumoto Castle and literally beside Nawate Street.
But after the meal, just having a tingly feeling in my mind that says it’s a bit of “touristy restaurant” based on the customers and other variables I’ve seen.
Read MoreToday will be a full-day excursion to Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, as per our pre-trip planning we already knew that we can’t cover all the areas in a 1-day trip, sadly missing out on Midagahara and Bijodaira area.
Read MoreThis ramen shop has superb location (opposite Nagano JR station), long opening hours (11am-1am), and opens daily! Shortlisted into my to-eat list for this trip purely based on its location and opening hours, cause not much food stalls open that late into the night outside of the main cities in Japan.
Most importantly, how does this bowl of ramen fares?
Read MoreOne of the must-try food and local delicacy in Toyama, which is the Shiro Ebi (White Shrimp) aka “the jewel of Toyama Bay”. Of course, we have to try it since our train ride ends at Toyama Station after concluding our tiring but a fulfilling day trip to Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route.
Read MoreSad to leave Japan which is our virgin trip there for 20 days, but all good things must come to an end, and time to board our outgoing flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
This flight is on Japan Airlines’ Shell Flat Neo business class cabin with a 2-2-2 seating configuration. No direct aisle access for every seat, bed only go angle-flat, and less privacy compared to their better business class configuration which is the Sky Suite.
Read MoreMy first ever trip to Japan and virgin experience on a premium cabin too! Boy, I was so excited for this trip (and flight)!
The Japan Airlines’ Sky Suite III business class cabin is on a 1-2-1 seating configuration, which offers direct aisle access to every seat, ability to go fully flatbed, and provides decent privacy.
Read MoreOur (wife and I) first ever trip to Japan (after saying for so long)! It is a red-eye flight from Singapore to Haneda International Airport via Japan Airlines JL38 on Business Class (I will be doing a review on that soon!).
Upon clearing immigration, collecting our luggage, exchanging our JR Passes at a booth a few steps away after stepping out of immigration, plus a couple of train transfers before taking the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Nagano Station (phew, that’s quite a handful).
Planned to reach Ueda earlier in the afternoon to do some sightseeing prior to dinner at Rikitei, but some trains are cancelled in the afternoon (as still on recovery mode from Typhoon Hagibis) which I wasn’t aware.
But regards to food, come hell or high water I will go for it when I have planned. In short, we travelled to Ueda just for a dinner at Rikitei, is it worth it?
Read MoreFirst meal of my first ever Japan trip! Although this wasn’t my first choice for Shinshu Soba, I chose to dine here because my first choice (Bocchi) was close on that day. Too hungry and tired (flight from Singapore to Tokyo and then shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagano), so my second choice will be more than good enough!
Read MoreThis place is an absolute gem! To be honest it wasn’t a planned choice to come here, but I’m glad that I did so after searching for food recommendations around this area.
Read MoreDidn’t even know of %Arabica until my close friends asked me out to try it few days ago, since they know I like coffee. And of course due to my nature, I went to google more information prior the trip there and found out it was a famous Japanese coffee brand with quite a bit of global presence. Well, time to see the % ΔRΔBICΔ world through coffee.
Read MoreFinally tried Shake Shack in Singapore with a much more manageable queue time at about 10 minutes and also another 10 minutes waiting for the food. We visited during off-peak (4pm) on a Sunday weekend, which is a-ok in comparison to the insane launch hype (and queue).
Read MoreQuaint boutique cafe/store in Ho Chi Minh City that specialises in anything chocolate; single origin Vietnam chocolate, drinks, patisserie, retail shop, and even inhouse roasting.
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