Eat like a local, and try one of hundreds of options of tsumami dishes you’ll find at many restaurants around Japan.
When friends gather to break bread and enjoy each other’s company, there’s nothing like beginning with a simple toast.
New Year’s, or oshogatsu, is one of Japan’s most important and longest holidays. Although oshogatsu originally referred to the whole month of January, most people associate it with the first three days (sanga nichi) of the month.
There is something very comforting about sitting around a bubbling hot pot with friends and family. Often rich with a variety of vegetables, hot pots are also very nourishing.
Toshikoshi soba (year-crossing soba noodles) is a traditional food that many Japanese eat every year on December 31.
A story my mother-in-law tells me, made me reminisce of the musings of Louise Bourgeois, a French American artist losing herself in her hometown. “
In Japan, every New Year we eat a variety of foods which form part of the Osechi Ryori (or New Year’s foods) meant to bring us good luck, health and happiness.
Just like in the States, the holiday season is the most cheerful - and busiest - in Japan.
Whenever I visit farmers’ markets and do a little shopping off base, it’s like I’m getting a small taste of home.
Glistening noodles wrapped taut around the wooden edge of a chopstick. Soft, fluffy bowls of rice peppered with bright bits of chopped vegetables, crafting the illusion of steam rising right off the plate.
During the holiday season in Japan, you will see KFCs filled on Christmas Day, while on New Year’s Eve, you will hear bells from temples heralding the arrival of the new year.
Each December, Christmas is celebrated by people in countries all over the world, and Japan is no exception!
Fellow Stripes Japan writer Takahiro Takiguchi recommended I visit Otaru while I was around Sapporo.
During your trip, don't miss out on Japan's amazing variety of sweets, from KitKat and Hi-Chew to unique chocolates and candies.
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