Click on photo or link to read the feature • Seasonal SecretJapan’s best-kept travel secret: Go when it snows If your travel goal is to check off every Japanese destination people have tagged with 100,000+ hashtags on Instagram, by all means go during cherry blossom season. But if you’re the kind of traveler who lovesContinueContinue reading “JAN 2026”
Category Archives: 2026
FOMO Links: Fun stuff you might have missed
If you don’t subscribe to my Japan travel site (The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had) or the blog where I write about stuff you’d never see anywhere else (Only In Japan), here are links to a couple of other things you might enjoy… • From The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d HadHow to makeContinueContinue reading “FOMO Links: Fun stuff you might have missed”
Savory and Sweet Shrubs
Tart Mixers for Delicious Cocktails and Mocktailsby Michael Dietsch Recipe Flavors: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Easy to make: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Uniqueness of recipes: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: These are the best non-alcoholic drink recipes I’ve ever tasted. Each one is a sophisticated blend of sweet, sour, bitter and spicy notes, just like modern bartender-crafted drinks. The recipes call for unique combinations of flavors,ContinueContinue reading “Savory and Sweet Shrubs”
Japan’s best-kept travel secret: Go when it snows
These destinations will make you glad you skipped cherry blossom season Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa, Ichikawa Prefecture If your travel goal is to check off every Japanese destination people have tagged with 100,000+ hashtags on Instagram, by all means go during cherry blossom season. But if you’re the kind of traveler who loves to beContinueContinue reading “Japan’s best-kept travel secret: Go when it snows”
Matcha Sour
An elegant green tea mocktail with a Japanese twist from “Savory and Sweet Shrubs” by Michael Dietsch* Just because you’re a designated driver, expectant mother, or vowing to make it through Dry January doesn’t mean you have to be satisfied with too-sweet fruit juice in a fancy glass. This sophisticated green tea mocktail has allContinueContinue reading “Matcha Sour”
When you wish upon an…Elvis?
Elvis may have left the building, but if you ask this Elvis impersonator Daruma for some blue suede shoes, you just might get them! Daruma figures are a popular New Year’s purchase because they’re renowned for granting your heart’s desire. Make a wish, color in one of its blank staring eyes, and when your wishContinueContinue reading “When you wish upon an…Elvis?”
Superstitions you can use
Ensnare your crush, cure dread diseases, and avoid bad luck like a boss For over two hundred years, the courtesans of Yoshiwara were trapped within the moat and four stout walls of Edo’s pleasure quarter, so it’s no surprise they practiced many superstitions aimed at bringing about the lucky moment a rich man might noticeContinueContinue reading “Superstitions you can use”
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