One thing that I love about living in Tokyo is that I can always have something new to explore. It can be a neighborhood I haven’t explored yet, a new cafe that just opened nearby, a new exhibition! This weekend, I finally went to Yanaka 谷中, a quiet neighborhood in the Taito ward, east of…
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It is that time of the year again, Japan’s most beautiful season, the sakura or cherry blossom season. First hanami spot of this year for me was Shinjuku Gyoen, one of my favorite places in Tokyo 🙂 Not all the cherry blossoms were in full bloom on that day, but we managed to find a…
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It’s June which means the month of 梅雨 tsuyu (rainy season) in Japan. Although the rainy season can be quite depressing, with weeks of endless rain and rarely a sunny day, one thing to look forward to is the 紫陽花 ajisai (hydrangea) season. I used to have white hydrangeas in my garden back home but…
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It’s not a secret anymore, I must admit it, I might be a little bit addicted to Instagram. Are you looking for a nice restaurant to go to with friends? Check on Google Maps and then look at more photos on Instagram (sometimes I even decide what to order based on Instagram photos, haha)—looking for…
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The warmer weather is perfect for little day trips, not far from central Tokyo. When my friend, Flavia, visited me over the weekend, I was thinking what we could visit together in Tokyo, as she loves museums and we both wanted to discover a new one. I have heard about Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum…
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Europe is covered in March snow but in Japan (or at least in Tokyo…) spring has sprung! Now, besides the early bloomers, the ume (plum) flowers, you can admire early sakura (cherry) blossoms in several places in Tokyo. One of those places is Shinjuku Gyoen, a beautiful park located in the busy Shinjuku, a perfect…
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Let’s continue the story about 梅 ume and spring in Tokyo. Over the last weekend, Tokyo was blessed with wonderful weather that couldn’t keep me inside. So, Saturday, I headed to this shrine I have heard of as being famous for its beautiful plum flowers (ume) and for Tenjin, the kami (god, spirit in Shinto)…
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It is getting warmer and warmer, birds are singing, trees started to bloom, winter is almost gone and spring is ready to take its place. Many argue that spring is the best season to visit Japan and the reason for that are of course the country’s famous sakura or cherry blossoms. But before hanami or…
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Long time no post! And long time no hike for that matter (maybe since hiking around Santorini?) … Lately, my Grad school has been keeping me busy with all kinds of presentations, papers and so on, but I still managed to keep my goal of visiting a new place in Japan at least once a…
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Admiring seasonal flowers is a favorite national pastime in Japan, and as I am also a huge flower lover, I decided to go to the Red Spider Lily Festival (September 16th -October 1st, 2017) in Hidaka, Saitama, about an hour and a half train trip from Tokyo. The Kinchakuda Manjushage Park is the largest park…
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