Month: <span>January 2019</span>

The Cakes of Japan

I picked this up in Sakaihigashi station. There was a shop selling a variety of profiteroles with different fillings and such like. This was described as New York Cheesecake. The …


Himeji Castle

On the way back from Kurashiki I took the chance to stop off at Himeji to see the castle. it’s considered one of the best castles in Japan and it’s …


A Trip to Kurashiki

After Christmas I made a nice trip to Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture. I’m reliably informed that it is known as “Little Kyoto” and it’s easy to see why. After the …


The Cakes of Japan

This was described as “Irish Cake”. Well, I guess it’s green. The picture doesn’t give any idea of scale. It was about 5cm tall. The blobs are bits of chocolate. …


A Day Out in Kobe

Kobe is quite close to Osaka by train and it’s a nice day out. Wandering around the waterfront reminded me of Liverpool a bit. My original intention was to visit …


Coming of Age Day

Monday was Coming of Age Day in Japan. People “come of age” at 20 and everybody celebrates on the same day. Each city has a big ceremony and everybody dresses …


Japanese Trains

One of the things that Japan is well know for is it’s trains and, in particular, how they always run on time. Their punctuality isn’t quite as good as assumed …


Sakai Festival

The city that I work in is called Sakai. I while back they held a festival and I attended the big parade along with some of the my colleagues. To …


Saturday Morning TV

Most Saturday mornings I try and watch some children’s TV. The idea is that I might learn some Japanese but I’m not really at that level. Still, it is quite …


Nara National Museum

Before Christmas I went on a day trip to Nara, the ancient capital of Japan. I visited Nara in 2016 and spent most of my time looking at the various …