(太陽ノ塔): Green West It’s difficult to find a chilled out café in the bustling city of Osaka. I usually go round in circles looking for one then realise I’m still in Umeda station. That’s when I give up, and head to Starbucks. I feel slightly guilty as I enjoy my white caramel mocha. To…
Paragliding in ‘Sky Sports Town’, Aogaki! Have you ever stared at a bird gliding about in the sky and imagined what that would be like? Have you ever taken it a step further and tried to make it happen? Well, here’s your chance! I work part-time in Aogaki, a town near the middle of Hyogo…
Vietnamese Cuisine Growing up in England with two Asian parents, both of whom previously lived in Vietnam, meant inevitably I was to be exposed to the eastern delights of Vietnamese home cooking. The half a year I have spent in Japan has been filled with sushi dates, ramen meet ups and sober soba get-togethers but…
Off to the city Now judge me if you will, but there were always two flights out of KIX (Kansai Airport) that excited me – the 0030 departure to Bangkok (daily), and the 2330 to Singapore (not every day, but it goes on the ever-important Friday night). Flights that I can catch without having to…
関西å°ãŠå¥½ã¿ç„¼ã Delicious, winter comfort food which is so easy to make! Ingredients – 1 small cabbage 200 – 300g thin sliced pork (butabaraniku) and/or seafood 1 cup flour 3/4 cup water 2 eggs 1 teaspoon instant dashi (fish stock) oil okonomiyaki sauce dried bonito (katsuobushi) dried seaweed (aonori) mayonnaise Slice cabbage finely Cut pork into…
February was cold and depressing, even more so for the Valentine’s haters amongst us. Fortunately heading into March we can see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, spring is stirring its sleepy head, soon to be followed by summer, and what do the warmer months mean? Why, putting away the kotatsu and…
Everyone loves a good acronym and in February I coined a new one. Admittedly PDDN is not as catchy as ATM, LBD, LOL or any of the other TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) which have so sneakily invaded our everyday speech; no longer being used ironically but as words in their own right – who’s guilty…
Outside of my apartment building sits our soil factory box. It’s half-filled with incredible planting soil—the result of a year and a half of bokashi composting by the two of us. It’s actually quite astonishing to see over a year’s food scraps broken down to such a minimal volume! But the reason that I know…
Welcome to Chapter 2 of ‘The Mochi Diaries’ (餅ã®æ—¥è¨˜) ☆〜（ã‚。∂） Today I shall be introducing the original mochi that began my infatuation many years ago during a trip to Kyoto!! Without further ado I present my holy grail of mocha – the triangular, deviously delicious Nama Yatsuhashi 生八ã¤æ©‹!!!! Nothing screams ‘I’ve just visited Kyoto’ more than bringing…