Tokyo food journey

Betelnut Thai Vietnamese Dimsum, Newoman Yokohama

2022-09-03T09:18:00.002+08:00

I have passed by this place several times but it is the first time I am entering.

Booked the Betelnut Thai Vietnamese Dimsum's afternoon tea set, which costs 3,850 JPY per person.

I am very happy because we got a very nice corner seat.

As the name suggests, they serve dimsum in their afternoon tea! And these steamed dumplings here were delicious.

Look at the amount of food on the table!

I like the way the food was presented in a South East Asian way and the colours are all so pretty.

Other than just looking good, they were all flavourful and tastes yummy.

Even the dessert platter looks good!

Other than the food, the tea served was also fragrant and nice. The staffs were also attentive. I think I will return again for their afternoon tea set.

That night, after shopping around, we went to grab gyukatsu for dinner before heading back home! This place is fast becoming our favourite place for gyukatsu! We have been here several times now.

Shin-Maruko

2022-08-23T08:38:00.040+08:00

My first time here and I was pleasantly surprised by the nice shopping street outside the station and that they have quote a variety of restaurants there.

Lunch at Punjabi Dhaba.

This shop totally deserves its high ratings on Google Map because the biryani and chicken that we ordered were super delicious.

Very happy to be able to enjoy such a yummy biryani.

After that, we walked to the Hydrangea Garden (アジサイ園) which was just across the Tamagawa River.

As the name of the park suggests, it is full of hydrangeas.

There weren't many people when we were there so we go to really enjoy the space.

The park area seems to spread out pretty wide as after this hydrangea garden, there is a lot more park space. However, we were too tired to explore.

So we left, and head to SW's house to visit her. And she nicely made us some egg tarts!

For dinner, we went to SCHMATZ Musashi Kosugi (シュマッツ・ビア・ダイニング武蔵小杉).

We initially wanted to try another restaurant but because of the pandemic, restaurants are closing earlier than usual. We couldn't wait and queue for the restaurant even if we wanted to. So, we just went into a place that could take us during that time.

We weren't drinking, but we enjoyed beer food.

Luckily, the food here is very nice despite the small portions.

Anyways, I am happy to be eating German sausages and food, as it has been quite some time since I had them.

Malaysian food in Tokyo

2022-08-19T09:12:00.023+08:00

Met up with some friends to visit Malayhuko for lunch.

Thanks SW for the invitation as I did not know that there was a place where we can order whatever food we want to eat.

There were 6 of us and we ordered 5 dishes.

First is this big plate of roast duck which was delicious!

Then we had this claypot tofu.

Prawn curry, which went super well with rice. Actually, all of the dishes that we had ordered went really well with rice.

This chicken rendang here was also very yummy.

The prawn curry and chicken rendang are my top 2 dishes of the day.

We also have this preserved veg and pork which I have not tasted in a long time. As there was so much food, each of us packed some back home to dinner that day.

After that, we went to get some desserts and I ordered this set that came with 3 different desserts and tea.

Over the next few day, my furusato nozei order for cherries arrived.

Very happy with this a the cherries were sweet and delicious. I think I will repeat this again next time.

First time Fishing!

2022-08-15T10:22:00.000+08:00

I went fishing with my colleagues at Yokosuka one weekend.

First time fishing, and we were fishing from a boat! The tools were already set up for us when we boarded. There is the fish food/ paste that we need to put into a cage to shake later on to attract the fishes and there was also cut squid to be added to the fishing hooks to bait the fish.

I know nothing but luckily, the colleague who suggested this came recently with her dad and taught me how to do it. Amongst the 5 of us who were there only 2 had fishing experience. Apparently, weu need to drop the cage filled with fish food to the sea bed and then start bringing it up bit by bit while shaking the rod so that the food gets released from the cage to attract the fish and then they will eventually take the bait on your hook. You can feel a slight pull when the fish has taken the bait. That is when you start to bring back your fishing line to check if you've caught a fish.

For the first hour, I was feeling sea sick even though we all took pills to help prevent sea sick. Plus I was having a really hard time figuring out where the fishes are from the sea bed. To add on to that, my fishing line kept getting tangled with the others around me, so I had to continuously buy new hooks for my fishing line.

But luckily, I did eventually figure how to do it and caught some fishes. Here is a picture of me with my first catch of the day. My very first Aji. This method of fishing here is mainly for Aji fish. Apparently, the fish swims at about a certain height from the sea bed so with this method, we were able to catch Aji. Some experts will focus on a different level and manage to catch some other fishes.

Once I got the hang out it, I want to keep catching more, especially since we were separated into 2 groups to see who can catch more. Look at the amount that I caught. While I did catch them, my colleague helped to remove the majority of them from my hook because I was having a really hard time trying to remove the fishes from the fishing hook.

Also, sometimes the slip and start jumping around the boat. Plus they are slippery so it is hard to catch them to throw them back into the pail.

The captain of the boat was also nice enough to gift me 2 saba fish that he had caught!

In total, I think I caught about 15-17 fishes. Not too bad for a first timer I think.

I don't think I would've been able to do this without the help of my colleagues because it is not just catching them. You also need to remove their gills and clean the fishes before bringing them home. I was not able to help out at all with that part. I have never handled a live fish in my life.

Here is the cleaned fish that we will bring back to my colleague's home to cook. There is actually 2 cooler boxes filled with fish. The other one, my colleague planned to bring home to share with his family.

After drying ourselves, we went to Kaneyo Art Café (かねよ食堂) for lunch before driving back to my colleague's home.

There the 2 boys started to remove the gut and scales of the fishes, while I dried and packed them in cling wrap. 2 of my other colleague went to return the car to the rental car shop.

After cleaning the fishes, the boys were super tired and went to nap while the girls continued prepping the food while chit chatting.

After that, we all got together to prepare this feast here for dinner.

As you can see, we had Aji in sashimi, tataki, fried version and even grilled saba. After that we separated the remaining fishes amongst ourselves and brought them home. I was super happy with the outcome of that day's catch as I had fish at home for the next few days.

From pasta to bah kut teh

2022-08-11T10:08:00.040+08:00

We went to Kamakura Pasta, near Oimachi station for lunch with friends.

It has been years since I went to Kamakura pasta.

We all ordered the all you can eat bread option with our pasta. I like that they serve the bread hot and that they bring it right to our tables.

As we were 5 adults with 2 kids, we ordered 6 pastas. Here are pictures of what we had ordered.

I do not like carbonara at family restaurants because the sauce us heavy on the cream.

One thing that I do like, is the option to choose fresh pasta for the extra chewy texture.

I ordered this uni which was yummy. But somehow I am more excited about the bread than the pasta. Lol

After that we walked around the area to try to burn off some calories before dinner.

We arrived at this playground where I&A played to their hearts content.

After that, we headed back to T&I's home to make some you tiao for dinner to go with the bah kut teh that Tony has cooked.

Not bad for our first try.

While it is not as airy as the professionals and it is thicker in general, I am just very happy to have some to go with the bah kut teh.

Group picture!

JJ made us a yummy fruit dessert and I brought a chocolate cake.

Thank you T&I for inviting us over for dinner! ;D

Garden Lounge, Hotel New Otani - Super Sweets Buffet

2022-08-07T09:10:00.103+08:00

Having watched several videos on this dessert buffet on youtube and on instagram, I had really wanted to come and try it for myself.

We came to the Garden Lounge of Hotel New Otani for their expensive super sweets buffet （スーパースイーツビュッフェ）, which costs 7,700 JPY/ pax, as a form of celebration.

This hotel has a cafe called Patisserie SATSUKI (パティスリー SATSUKI), which specializes in fruit short cake. And at this buffet, you get to try the mini versions of it.

While it is a desserts buffet, you do get savoury items, such as various finger sandwiches, pasta, curry, etc.

Look at the amount of food on our table!

Super happy to finally be here!

I like that not only their cakes are yummy, but the savoury dishes are all very good too. Here I have the eggs benedict, burger, beef stew and a cheesy baked dish.

While I wanted to eat more of their hot savoury dishes, I held back because I wanted to eat more of the Pierre Herme collaboration dessert, which is this rectangular cake here. This is really good, I especially like the biscuit base! Maybe because I prefer cakes with a biscuit base, I liked this more than the short cakes.

As much as I tried to stay away from rice or pasta, I couldn't help it but ordered this curry rice. As you can see, there are both red and green curry here. I saw online that you can ask them to put 2 curries on the same plate and I did that. I also knew from reviews that the curry is very delicious. Hence, I went to order a plate too and true to the reviews that I saw, the curries were very delicious!

After the super sweets buffet, we were both super full and needed to walk around to burn some of the calories from the sugar.

We walked around the garden in the hotel and found some really nice hydrangeas.

There was nice little Japanese garden like area and the new green colour of the new leaves makes the area a nice photo spot.

Here is a view of the fancy hotel in the background.

As we explored around the hotel, we found a place that is probably for holding weddings too.

The lighting there was really nice for photos.

This buffet was really expensive, but I am glad that I came because after watching all the videos about it online, I kept thinking about it. Now that I have been here, it is like one of those "been there/ done that" kinda moment. So now, I do not have to keep wondering about how the food is like in my head as I already know. And I most likely would not return because it is very expensive.

As I get older, I cannot eat as much. So buffets are really not worth the money for me. I tried to compare the amount of food that I ate to the amount of food that a youtuber that I watched ate when she visited. I did not even eat half the amount that she ate.

Flowers & Chocolate

2022-08-03T10:49:00.085+08:00

Met up with ST san after a long time due to the pandemic. Our first time meeting in 2 years. The pandemic really separates people.

We went for Malaysian food in Chinatown.

Since we are already there, we went to explore the nearby English Gardens.

On the way there, we reached an observatory with this view of the Gundam Factory.

The garden was pretty busy when we got there as it was after lunch time.

But it is still possible to take some nice pictures with only the flowers in the background. ;)

After that, we took a long stroll to Hammerhead for desserts at the Vanilla Beans Cafe. ST san was the one who introduced me to this cafe many 6 years ago.

J and I ordered a chocolate cake and the chocolate journey, whereby you got to try a piece of chocolate that is made from beans of different regions with different intensity of cacao. I like the tasting sheet so much that I brought it home with me!

I like that you get to taste the different types of chocolate. It is really good for identifying the kind of chocolate that you like or don't like.

Meanwhile, ST san had the big chocolate partfait that J and I had tried before. As it is really big, I would not dare to challenge having this all by myself.

After identifying the chocolate that you like, you can buy it from their shop right next to the cafe!

After dessert, we walked around a bit and spotted this caramel shop called Caramel Labo,

When we were there, they were having this caramel tasting plate for only 110 JPY. It was too good to pass on so all 3 of us ordered 1.

The caramel was nice and I liked that they served it with a cup of hot tea to help dilute the sweetness in the mouth.

After that, we continued walking to Yokohama Station. J and I decided to grab chicken rice and laksa there for dinner as it was already late.

We also ordered this tsukesoba, which was surprisingly very yummy!

Back at Cova again

2022-07-30T10:06:00.000+08:00

It has been super long since I've dined at Cova and I am really glad to be back with I-san, who was my ex-colleague.

We came for the lunch course, which had increased price from the last time I visited.

I felt like the presentation has gotten even better. This is I-san's oyster appetizer which looks like a decoration. My fish appetiser does not lose out in taste and presentation too.

I do not have pictures of all the food as due to measures for the pandemic, every table had a plastic screen in the middle, to prevent human droplets from spreading.

These 2 mains here are mine. Fettucine carbonara and grilled pork! Yummeh~

Lastly, dessert is raspberry ice cream with fruit jelly like thing at the bottom.

After lunch, we had fun catching up over tea.

After the super heavy lunch, I went for early dinner with J.

Can never say no to sushi, especially since Sushi Ro is my fav. conveyer belt sushi chain restaurant in Japan.

I like that they always have some specials every month. This is here one of the specials for the month that I visited. Various seafood topped on 3 pieces of rice ball. Very generous amount of seafood, in comparison to the amount of rice!

ブリル飯店, Lumine Yokohama

2022-07-26T10:31:00.039+08:00

Lunch at ブリル飯店 at Lumine Yokohama.

I made a reservation at Ikyu for a 2,800 JPY lunch course/ pax.

Website: https://restaurant.ikyu.com/116608/?ikgo=2

First time here and I like how spacious and comfortable the seats are.

First up, was the tea that came with our course. I like that we each get a pot of our tea of choise, so we are not limited to just sharing 1 type of tea.

Our lunch course came with 2 small appetisers - the steamed chicken and the pickled vegetable.

Then next is the shrimp spring roll which had whole shrimps in it, char siew tart and the pork siew mai.

So far so good as all the dishes served to us were delicious!

The we have the vinegar pork with steamed man tou. The vinegar pork was very flavourful and you can definitely taste the vinegar in it. You will definitely need to pair it with the steam man tou to even our the flavours.

We also get a mini bowl of shrimp wonton. The noodle and soup was soso but the wonton was nice.

And lastly, dessert which were annin tofu and sesame ball.

I like that the sesame ball had a flavourful sesame filling. I only wished for the skin part to be thinner.

Overall, I really liked the atmosphere and the pace of the food served here. Good for when you want to have a relaxing meal.

Spring flowers #3

2022-07-22T17:23:00.075+08:00

Another day, chasing flowers. But first, brunch at cafe de lento.

Website: http://www.addresslento.com/

This place here is a very popular small cafe located in Motomachi, which means there is already a queue outside before the shop is opened and as time passes, there are more and more people queuing outside. As you can see, there are not many seats inside, so you might have to wit a bit to get a seat.

I ordered the salad nicoise, tart and drink combo for 2,200 JPY. Meanwhile, J had the beef stew, rye muffin with ham & cheese and drink combo for 2,207 JPY.

The salad was beautifully presented and tastes good, but the beef stew was the bomb!

It may not look like much from this picture but it was really flavourful and delicious. The rye muffin was yummy it's own but went very well with the beef stew!

Here is my delicious strawberry tart. I enjoyed it's tartness with the sweet ice cream. I will re-visit again for more desserts.

After brunch, we visited the English Rose Garden (イングリッシュローズの庭).

Another free garden in Yokohama that I enjoy visiting.

It is nice to just walk around to view the beautiful flowers after a meal.

Really like my pinkish brown hair. I think this is a hairstyle that I will try again in the future.

Spring flowers #2

2022-07-18T17:13:00.064+08:00

The next week, we were back at Yamashita Park again. As the flowers were really beautiful, we wanted to get more pictures with them.

We were there super early this time so there were very few people there.

It is nice early in the morning if you want to get nice pictures. Also, it is less hot!

My pink hair that has faded.

We then walked to the Landmark Tower to grab lunch,

There, we saw that they had an event for Attack on Titan.

And right in the centre of the building is this!

As I don't watch the anime, I am not familiar with the characters but an installation of this size is very impressive.

We had lunch at BUBBYS (バビーズランドマークプラザ).

Website: https://bubbys.jp/locations/landmark-plaza/

We ordered the eggs benedict (1,400 JPY) and the BBQ pulled pork sandwich (1,400 JPY) to share.

While the eggs benedict was yummy, I enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich more. Love the generous portion too.

After that, we went to Vanilla Beans the Roastery (バニラビーンズザロースタリー) at Hammerhead for desserts.

We had to get their VANILLABEANS Parfait -The Roastery (1,980 JPY), which is this available only at this branch

I really like the chocolate and orange combination. This is one big parfait and is best shared by 2.

Before going home, I had to buy some chocolate too. I love their tablet chocolate and highly recommend the sparkling one.

Spring flowers #1

2022-07-14T17:00:00.026+08:00

This is the start of a series of visits to various flower gardens.

On this day, we grabbed lunch at the Malaysian restaurant where we had our usual Char Kuey Teow and Wantan Mee.

After that, we dropped by Yamashita Park.

Roses were in full bloom and I could not resist taking pictures with them.

I come every year but I never get sick of this.

After that, we walked to Sakuragicho station where we noticed that the new cable car attraction has started operation.

I was surprised to find a queue for it. Maybe because it is newly opened.

I find the prices very expensive as it is a short journey from Sakuragicho station to World Porters. Honestly, I would rather walk. I suppose the view would be better and the atmosphere more romantic at night than in the day.

Staying at Chiba again

2022-07-10T16:59:00.032+08:00

For this trip, I booked a night with Daiwa Roynet Hotel Chiba Station (ダイワロイネットホテル千葉駅前).

I have stayed here before for work and really enjoy my stay because the hotel is new and there are rooms with massage chairs.

This time, I booked a double room with a massage chair so that we can relax our muscles after all the exercise in the day.

As you can see, the room and the washroom are both spacious for a business hotel. I also prefer these kind of toilets in comparison to the typical unit baths which are smaller and have a smaller bath tub.

That night, we went to Chiba station to buy from sushi and salad for dinner. We also had some interesting cup noodles that were purchased at Naritasan from the Korean restaurant where we had lunch. This yangnyeom flavour one is very nice!

The next day, we stopped by Nishi Kasai on the way back to grab lunch at Mumbai Kitchen.

I haven't visited in a long time and was pleasantly surprised to find that they have expanded the space.

It is super spacious now and there are even posters of celebrities visiting.

I always order their garlic naan when I visit and this time, it was no different.

We also had the chicken briyani which I think is the best in Japan!

Hope to be back here again one day with my ex-colleagues, whom I used to visit this place with.

Naritasan, Chiba

2022-07-06T09:03:00.083+08:00

The next day after coming back from our trip to Akita, we went on a trip to Narita.

First stop - Marondマロンド成田店, for breakfast.

First time trying this pastry which has been getting popular in Tokyo. While it is nice that the cream is light and fluffy, I am not a fan of this as it has too much cream in it.

Then we walked along the shopping streets to Naritasan.

As it was very early, the streets were empty and many shops were still closed.

I found it interesting that the Chinese animal horoscope line the streets.

There are some pretty cool retro buildings on that street.

Finally made it to the gate of Naritasan Shinshoji Temple (成田山新勝寺).

The temple ground is huge and there it a lot to explore.

Be ready to climb a lot of stairs though,

Spot the tortoise.

The new green is really nice. I think that this place would look pretty covered in snow too.

I imagine that this place would be very busy pre-pandemic as it is very near to Narita airport and easy access for tourists. But due to the pandemic, the temple and the nearby streets were pretty empty.

As the ground is very big, we had a great workout walking up and down all the stairs.

Luckily, the weather was nice and perfect for walking.

After all the exercise, we stopped by 韓国料理 FOODLAND&MARKET for lunch.

We ordered oden and korean fried chicken in garlic and yangnyeom flavours.

The chicken was super good as they were fried till perfection. I love how crunchy the skin is and that they were very flavourful.

On our way back out the shopping street, I spotted an amazake shop and had to try it. It was interesting that they serve the amazake in paper cup as the one above that is suitable for walking and drinking in. It is made in a way that the liquid will not spill easily.

It was nice to be able to experience the peacefulness of Naritasan during this pandemic. I hope to be back again before the crowd returns.

Last meals in Akita

2022-07-02T09:01:00.112+08:00

For dinner, we went to Tsukenen TAKEMOTO Shouten (竹本商店つけ麺開拓舎), a place that J used to visit when he was in Akita.

Website: https://www.takemoto.store/

Look at the inside of this ramen shop!

Feels like a festival is going on with all the lanterns.

As you can tell from the name, this place is famous for Tsukemen, specifically their lobster broth tsukemen.

Other than lobster broth, they also have other seafood broths e.g. Niboshi (煮干し) and Gyokai tonkotsu, which is a ombination of seafood and pork broth.

I ordered their lobster broth ramen. The broth has a strong flavour which I enjoyed.

They also serve gyoza, which were yummy!

Dinner pic with T&I family! After dinner, we drove back to to return the rental car.

On our drive back from Oga, we stopped by a bakery called ボンヌ (Bonne) as I wanted to buy cakes for Irywn to celebrate his birthday.

At the same time, I also bought some cakes for myself for breakfast the next morning. I got these 2 fruit and chocolate cake from Bonne, which were simple looking but yummy.

For early lunch on our final day in Akita, we went to Local Kitchen Rails Akita (ローカルキッチンレイルズアキタ), near the station.

We ordered the Rails steak plate (1,480 JPY) and a tomato pasta with chicken meatball and mushroom (850 JPY).

While the steak was delicious, I think that the pasta was not worth ordering as the taste was only so-so and you can easily make better or find better tasting ones elsewhere.

As we still had some time to spare after that, J and I went to PRONTO Akita OPA (プロント秋田オーパ店) to chill and have some dessert while T&I went shopping.

I tried their matcha basque cheesecake (530 JPY) and brulee in baum (450 JPY) for the first time. The matcha basque cheesecake was dense and rich in matcha, which I love The brulee in baum was interesting because it was my first time trying it While it was yummy, it was very sweet! Probably better with a cup of hot tea or coffee without sugar.

After desserts, it was time to catch our shinkansen back home!

But before we leave, a picture with Akita-ken.

Cheers to more trip to explore new places in Japan!

Cape Nyudo, Mount Kanpu & Akita City Port Tower Selion

2022-06-29T16:20:00.135+08:00

For lunch that day, we stopped by Cape Nyudo (入道崎) and dined at one of the restaurants there.

Website: https://oganavi.com/spot/48/

We went with one that has an interesting menu that everything can eat and does not have too long of a queue.

The restaurant that we went to only has an open floor seating area. Good for families but not so good if you want to sit comfortably.

This ishiyaki dish here (2,300 JPY) is one of Oga's specialty dishes, whereby a red-hot volcanic glow stone is placed into a hot broth filled wooden bucket to boil seafood. Can you see the broth bubbling right after the stone is added in this picture here?

I ordered the 2,300 JPY kaisen don because it has hotate, uni and prawn.

Group pic!

This place serves ramen which the kids can eat.

After that, we explored the area a bit.

We even went up the lighthouse.

View from the lighthouse.

After that, we drove around the Oga area to this observation deck - 八望台.

We were slowly moving higher and higher up,

Mt. Kanpu (寒風山) was probably the highest point.

There is a charge of 550 JPY to the 360 degree observatory.

The wall with all the celebrities' signatures.

Posters explaining about the Geopark.

As you can see, it was pretty misty when we were there and visibility wasn't that great,

Look at the winding road we took to get up there!

After Mt. Kanpu, we drove to Roadside Station Akitakō (道の駅あきた港).

The ground floor of has many stalls selling souvenirs, locally grown vegetables and food products.

Website: http://www.selion-akita.com/

There you can find the Akita City Port Tower Selion (秋田市ポートタワーセリオン), which has a free observation deck.

The elavator to get up also offers a nice view as it is transparent and allows you to see outside.

The view here is nice as it is by the port and you can get a nice view of the sea. We managed to catch the sunset while we were there! As it was cloudy when we were there, we did not get a very nice sunset view.

Day 2 in Akita

2022-06-25T16:19:00.074+08:00

Day 2 in Akita

Early in the morning, we ate breakfast at hanamaru udon because it was open and near us.

The open space outside Akita Station looks so new, wide and clean.

On this day, we rented a car so that it is easier for us to travel around.

Along the way, we saw windmills.

First stop was to take picture withThe Big Namahage Statues( 巨大なまはげ).

Website: https://oganavi.com/spot/94/

As we continued our journey, we made a pit stop at this place that has a nice little cafe.

After that, we continued our journey to the Namahage Museum (なまはげ館).

Website: https://namahage.co.jp/namahagekan/

There we got to enjoy a show about namahage. The room itself is smoky and we all had to sit on the floor. The namahage will appear as the story is being told to us and they will start scaring kids who are there.

The story itself is used to frighten lazy or naughty children. Some of the kids near us were really scared and cried very loudly.

In Akita, at most tourist spots, we will see these carts with old ladies selling rose shaped ice cream called Babahera Ice (ババヘラ). The rose shape reminds me of the ice cream in Seoul but the flavours are different. Babahera is made of strawberry and banana flavoured ice cream.

Here are some shots taken inside the museum.

Everything namahage is in this museum. If you are interested to learn more about namahage, this is the place to visit. While I did not read in depth all the signs and explanations, it was nice to just look at all the displays that were available.

Lastly, a group pic before continuing our journey.

Dormy Inn Akita, Nakadori Onsen Komachi no Yu (中通温泉こまちの湯ドーミーイン秋田)

2022-06-21T14:40:00.001+08:00

For our trip to Akita, we stayed at Dormy Inn Akita, Nakadori Onsen Komachi no Yu (中通温泉こまちの湯ドーミーイン秋田).

Website: https://www.hotespa.net/hotels/akita/

This here is our double room on the 8th floor.

The best is pretty small but it has pretty good services.

The room does not have a bath because they have shared baths here.

Here is the sink, that is right in front of the entrance.

Right in front of the shared bath, there are some free services for guests. In the morning, they provide yoghurt drinks and later in the day ice cream.

Also, on the first floor, there is free beer available for guests.

At night, there is also free duck soba for guests which I did not get to try.

Considering the price we paid and all the free services available, this hotel provides a pretty good deal even though we did not utilise all of the free services. I highly recommend this place for those who are on a budget but want to stay at a place other than a hostel.

Exploring Akita

2022-06-17T07:04:00.128+08:00

Visiting the Akita City Folk Arts Center (Neburinagashi-Kan) (ねぶり流し館).

Website: https://www.city.akita.lg.jp/kanko/kanrenshisetsu/1003644/index.html

This is the place to go to if you want to learn more about the Kanto Matsuri (竿燈まつり) or pole lantern festival. It is a festival celebrated in Akita, that is related to the Tanabata festival.

There is an expert there who will guide you if you want to try balancing the pole lantern on your palm.

Being guided on how to handle the pole lantern.

The sensei teaching me how it is done.

Me attempting to do the same.

Lol the posture.

This place is pretty fun as it is interactive. There is also a room with a drum that you can play with following the instructions on a video right next to it.

There, we also got to see some traditional living spaces.

After that, we slowly made our way to the Turret of Kubota Castle (久保田城御隅櫓).

Here is the Kubota Castle Front Gate (久保田城表門).

The area is pretty big and it is quite a walk to the Kubota Castle.

Finally made it up there.

There is an open deck at the top of the castle that provides a nice view of the city.

There were surprisingly quite a number of wind turbines in Akita.

The weather was so nice when we were there.

After that good walk, it was time to replenish the lost calories with some sweets from Sensyu Terrace,

which is in the Akita City Cultural Creation Center.

The simple exterior and menu.

We ordered a parfait and a macaron.

As the weather was getting warmer, it was really nice and refreshing to enjoy the parfait at an outdoor setting.

For dinner that night, J brought us to Mugendō (無限堂秋田駅前店), which is famour for serving a popular Akita dish known as Kiritanpo.

Website: https://mugendo-ekimae.gorp.jp/

The restaurant has a very interesting interior decoration.

Even the table colour and pattern on the table was interesting.

First off, a salad.

A group pic with

The beef teriyaki pizza (1,080JPY), which was surprisingly yummy.

The Inaniwa somen yuba cream soup that T&I ordered, which looked really good.

This is the special nabe dish called Kiritanpo. A pot for 1 person costs 1,280JPY.

The soup has a herbal taste to it which I enjoyed but I did not like the rice that was in it.

There were other food that I did not manage to capture from this meal. Overall, it was an interesting experience trying Akita food. But sad to say that this will be my first and last kiritanpo.

Lol

First time to Akita prefecture

2022-06-13T07:04:00.081+08:00

Making full use of our JR Pass, we took the train to Akita from Aomori.

Look at the nice and clean interior.

All the famous Akita motives decorates the station.

Namahage (生剥)

Kanto or Pole lantern

More Namahage.

Akita dog

By the time we arrived, it was time for lunch. We stopped by a famous udon chain restaurant in Akita - 佐藤養助秋田店, for lunch.

Website:https://www.sato-yoske.co.jp/shop/akita/

J had the red curry udon for 1,320JPY.

I ordered the hot udon with tempura for 1,650JPY.

Their udon is unlike the typical thick ones. They are thinner and I actually like this version better. The food here was delicious. And I was surprised by how good J's red curry was.

Group picture!

Their udon and prepacked curry are available for sale at the shop. As the udon was super good, I bought a big pack back home. Very good and so convenient when I need some udon to my soup dishes.

From the station, we walked to our respective hotels to drop off our luggage. This Akita Museum of Art (秋田県立美術館) here is just our meet up point.

First stop was the Akarenga-kan Museum (秋田市立赤れんが郷土館), which is a local history museum that was once the opulent headquarters of Akita Bank.

Website: https://www.city.akita.lg.jp/kanko/kanrenshisetsu/1003617/index.html

You are free to explore the museum freely. There are various stands that explains about the displays in Japanese and English.

The interior is pretty grand has an European feel to it.

There is also an area for exhibiting Katsuhira Tokushi's work on the top floor.

While it was interesting to look at the interior and learn a bit about history. One can probably skip this is they are not a fan of history and is looking for something more interactive.

Exploring Hirosaki during Golden Week

2022-06-09T08:38:00.095+08:00

After breakfast, we walked to Former Yoshii Shuzō Brick Warehouse (旧吉井酒造煉瓦倉庫).

One of the red brick warehouses is a contemporary art museum.

Meanwhile, the other one is a restaurant with a small souvenir section.

Not sure why they hung this apple from the top. Maybe it is one of the art exhibit.

The same building was also a brewery for A factory.

After that, we walked to Saishōin Temple (最勝院).

Website: http://www15.plala.or.jp/SAISYOU/

There is a 5 story pagoda at this temple.

This temple is interesting as it was the first time that I am seeing a temple with rabbit guardians.

Apparently, this was built to commemorate those who died in the battle during the reunification of the Tsugaru district.

For lunch, we went to Taishō Roman Tea Room (大正浪漫喫茶室).

Website: https://www.facebook.com/fujitataisyoromankissa/

Look at how picturesque the place looks!

So retro!

The simple menu is on display outside for all to see.

When we were there, there were already many people there and we had to wait in line

There is a huge waiting area in the building with a grand piano. Honestly, I felt that they could've used that space to expand the restaurant area so that they can serve more people at once.

The simple salad that came with the set lunch.

My apple pie dessert that came before the main dish.

The place was really busy so they asked if they could serve the dessert first and I said yes.

Apple pie is not be go to choice for dessert but it is every in Aomori so I have been have so many apple pies there.

The cheese curry main dish which was yummy but I felt that it was a bit small.

We came to this place because my first option for lunch was closed on that day. Overall, it is not too bad as it is near Hirosaki park and there are benches outside for us to sit while we wait for our turn. Also, the view here isn't too bad.

Website: https://www.hirosakipark.jp/

After lunch, we made our way to Hirosaki Park (弘前公園) which had really beautiful shidarezakura blooming.

The castle that we can enter but omg, the passages are so narrow and steep!!!

It is nice to finally be able to visit the famous Hirosaki Park which is famous for it's sakura.

While there are many people, you can still manage to take nice pictures with no one in the background.

There are many shidarezakura around the park.

There are also other gardens with flowers such as tulips

Lol, posing with the tulips.

After this, it was starting to get late and it was time for us to travel back to Aomori for dinner.

Libero (カフェ・リベロ)

2022-06-05T09:03:00.050+08:00

The next morning, we woke up early to catch a train to Hakata as we wanted to visit Hirosaki Park for Sakura.

The beautiful looking train hat we took

The seats are clean and comfortable.

Lol, I guess you can only see this in Aomori.

Vending machine that only sells apple juice.

There is even a chart which shows you the flavour profile of the different kind of apple juice.

Which kind would you prefer?

Big apple statue in the station!

Apply on the post box!

Once at Hirosaki, we walked to Liberoカフェ・リベロ for breakfast.

Website: https://cafelibero.jimdofree.com/

Small little cafe on the side of the road with a nice ambience. When we were there, we were the only customers and hence, felt like we got the whole place to ourselves.

The interesting interior deco.

As it was still cold, they have a heat radiator there to keep the place warm.

The above is J's breakfast set. Meanwhile, I ordered their french toast with ice cream.

As breakfast a little small, we also added an apple pie because why not? We are in Aomori after all.

Overall, the food is simple but the taste is decent. The place in only runned by one lady so it might take sometime for everything to be served.

Dinner at UGUISU, Aomori

2022-06-01T20:49:00.000+08:00

Initially, I planned to grab sushi for dinner at this popular restaurant in Aomori. However, I did not expect restaurants here to be so busy during dinner time that we would have to make a reservation in advanced.

After walking around town for a while, we ended up here at UGUISU, which is located on the 1st floor of Daiwa Roynet Hotel.

Website: https://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ001250613/yoyaku/?vos=othpporgzzzzx00000001

The interior is spacious and modern.

Judging from the interior, the place must be pretty new.

The place was pretty fancy and they served otoushi. Luckily, this meatball was yummy.

We ordered more appetizer and accidentally got more meatballs. Lol. Luckily, these are of a different style and the taste was totally different.

This cold lime soba was super refreshing and I really enjoyed it.

This gyu mabushi was super delicious.

Look at the amount of beef on this!

We also ordered a kakiage which was delicious! Everything here is really good.

We ended the meal with a matcha anmitsu which was also good. So glad to be able to end the meal with a yummy dessert.

The next night we ended up there too because another restaurant that we wanted to dine at had a really long queue and we were not sure how long we had to wait.

This night, we ordered the potato salad which was yummy.

We had the gyu steak instead of the gyu mabushi but this was also super delicious! They grilled the beef so well here.

We also had an apple salad which was very refreshing and gave me ideas to start making apple salad at home.

And lastly, we had this platter of appetizer which was really nice because we got to try 8 different kind of dishes which were all very good btw.

So yea, if you are in Aomori, I highly recommend UGUISU. We were here back to back for 2 nights in a row because we did not make reservations at other restaurants and we could easily walk in here.

This place is clean and spacious. It was really very comfortable to dine here.

The food is good too. Definitely a place that I would return to again for a meal when I visit Aomori again.

Art Hotel Aomori アートホテル青森

2022-05-28T20:48:00.001+08:00

On day 1 & 2 of this trip to Aomori, we stayed at Art Hotel Aomori.

Website: https://www.art-aomori.com/

The hotel is pretty grand for Aomori were most of the buildings around it is short.

The entrance, look at all these Nebuta.

A closer look at the designs.

They always have a fierce looking deity on it.

And there is always an animal.

This time we were placed on the 12th floor.

The inside looks like this, with a big open space in the middle, which makes it look very spacious.

Our room!

Our hotel room!

We booked one with a massage chair, which I enjoyed every night after showering.

The standard unit bath.

Some amenities.

We only requested for breakfast on our 2nd day and the spread is pretty decent. They served a combination of Japanese and Western. They also served some sashimi don and grilled hotate, which was nice.

Hakko Maru Aomori & Galetteria Da Sasino

2022-05-24T20:20:00.000+08:00

After visiting the , we came to the nearby Hakkoda Maru Aomori

aka Seikan Train Ferry Memorial Ship Hakkōda-maru( 青函連絡船メモリアルシップ八甲田丸).

It operated as a railway ferry between Aomori and Hakodate until 1988.

Now, it is a museum that describes the people and culture of Aomori.

Lots of apple stores on display as Aomori is famous for apples.

Lol, trying to stay warm with the locals.

This little A here is very busy with all the controls on this ship.

Of course, as it is a ship, the lower decks and engine rooms are still preserved and we can explore them on our own.

After that, it was time to rest and to recharge!

We went to Galetteria Da Sasino at A-Factory for some dessert.

This place seems to be famous for their basque burnt cheese cake and parfatis.

While waiting for them to open, I also noticed that they have some interesting tasting vending machines outside for alcohols. Put in a coin and you can get a tasting glass for these alcohols.

As usual, J ordered a coffee.

We ordered a galette to share. This was really good btw. I had forgotten how good galettes can be.

We also ordered a sweet potato parfait to share. This was also very yummy. I love that they have different kinds of sweet potato in this parfait. All of them were super delicious. I highly recommend coming here for their galette and parfaits.

Tokyo food journey

Betelnut Thai Vietnamese Dimsum, Newoman Yokohama

Shin-Maruko

Malaysian food in Tokyo

First time Fishing!

From pasta to bah kut teh

Garden Lounge, Hotel New Otani - Super Sweets Buffet

Flowers & Chocolate

Back at Cova again

ブリル飯店, Lumine Yokohama

Spring flowers #3

Spring flowers #2

Spring flowers #1

Staying at Chiba again

Naritasan, Chiba

Last meals in Akita

Cape Nyudo, Mount Kanpu & Akita City Port Tower Selion

Day 2 in Akita

Dormy Inn Akita, Nakadori Onsen Komachi no Yu (中通温泉 こまちの湯 ドーミーイン秋田)

Exploring Akita

The simple exterior and menu.

First time to Akita prefecture

Exploring Hirosaki during Golden Week

Libero (カフェ・リベロ)

Dinner at UGUISU, Aomori

Art Hotel Aomori アートホテル青森

Hakko Maru Aomori & Galetteria Da Sasino

Dormy Inn Akita, Nakadori Onsen Komachi no Yu (中通温泉こまちの湯ドーミーイン秋田)