Category Archives: Japan

Tour Day Five! sake, strawberries, and Soma City

Tour Day Five! sake, strawberries, and Soma City
Tour Day Five! sake, strawberries, and Soma City

For the final full day of the tour, we whirled south along the coast to Tokyo, stopping at a fishery, farm, brewery, and bay. The day commenced at the Matsukawaura Fishing Port of Soma City, a zone completely leveled by the 2011 tsunami. Triggered by an underwater earthquake, massive waves swept away the dockyard warehouses and an entire village. Hundreds perished, but the city has since rebuilt, bent on a renaissance. Solar panels now occupy the flood plain, while rows of new houses overlook the sea from the hillside.

Our hosts detailed the safety measures undertaken in the wake of the disaster, levying standards of food safety orders of magnitude more exacting than the international regulations. Likewise, the local seaweed harvesters sift their crop by hand before packaging it for consumption.

We received this devotion to detail with some reassurance, as our magnificant midday meal showcased the infamous fugu, or puffer fish sashimi: a dish sliced from amidst pockets of neurotoxins. Improperly prepared, it may kill its diners in seconds.

Read the rest of this entry

Tour Day Four! wintry wonders in Miyagi

Tour Day Four! wintry wonders in Miyagi
Tour Day Four! wintry wonders in Miyagi

An unexpected snowfall brought us an unbelievable windfall of gorgeous scenery, as we wound south from Miyagi to Sendai and Koriyama.

The morning commenced with our first trip aboard the shinkansen: Japan’s famed bullet trains, flashing through the stations like liquid lightning, with the briefest of intervals at each stop to execute expedited itineraries the length of the country. I once caught the first train from Kagoshima to make an early morning flight to Singapore — the only public transit by land, air, or sea that could have carried me to Fukushima in time.

We assembled a luggage train of our own en route to the station, then settled gladly into the spacious seating. Outside increasingly snowy scenes whipped by, as our tour guide confessed he had never before witnessed this region under such an exquisitely frosty veil.

Read the rest of this entry

Tour Day Three! farm fresh in Tohoku

Tour Day Three! farm fresh in Tohoku
Tour Day Three! farm fresh in Tohoku

We bid Hokkaido a regretful farewell on Wednesday morning, consoled only by the promise of our next destination: Tohoku, the northeastern stretch of the island home to Tokyo and Kyoto. In the airport before our flight, I spotted a familiar front on a banner welcoming guests: the Sapporo beer garden from the night before! I laughed at this confirmation that our guides had selected the best of Japanese dining for the tour.

Today we anticipated our first encounter with the four-legged variety of agriculture at Koimai Farm. Over a century ago in 1891, its founders transformed a barren volcanic valley into flourishing fields and forests. Though the site regularly opens its doors to visitors for pony rides and BBQ grilling, we were invited behind the scenes to meet the stars of the show.

Read the rest of this entry

Tour Day Two! drinks, sweets, sushi

Tour Day Two! drinks, sweets, sushi
Tour Day Two! drinks, sweets, sushi

A caravan of taxis awaited at 5a.m. on Tuesday morning, bearing us away to the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market. The staff treated us to a presentation on the market’s hidden role at the center of the city’s food distribution. Farmers and fishermen arrive with their wares long before the city has woken up, where brokers and wholesalers bid to claim the meat and produce. They repackage and resell the goods to grocery stores and restaurants, who prepare and serve it to us.

We hung over the rails, marveling at the turret truck drivers zooming past and gasping at the speed of the auctions. The four tuna on sale today (a reduced number, due to rough seas) found their buyers in less than a minute.

Read the rest of this entry

Food Tour Japan! sea & shell in Hokkaido

Food Tour Japan! sea & shell in Hokkaido
Food Tour Japan! sea & shell in Hokkaido

Little had I guessed the Lord would welcome me back to Japan within six months of saying my good-byes. This week I am beyond blessed to tour the agricultural powerhouses of Hokkaido and Tohoku, as a guest of the JFOODO tours: a government initiative to share Japan’s lesser-known cuisine with the world.

Alongside twenty other alumni of the JET program, I will zoom to nearly a dozen different locales over the next five days. Our mission? Sample fresh shellfish, tour whiskey distilleries, pair sushi with wine, practice chocolate-making, pick strawberries, and devour plate after plate of Japan’s best dishes. It’s the adventure of a lifetime, the journey of my dreams.

Read the rest of this entry

Out about: Universal Studios and Hiroshima

Out about: Universal Studios and Hiroshima
Out about: Universal Studios and Hiroshima

Japan’s Disney parks (Land and Sea) had delighted me so much, I determined to visit Universal Studios before returning west for good. My hosts outdid themselves in arranging transportation and tickets for me – recommending a convenient bus route over the expensive, multi-transfer train; carving through the brambles of Japanese websites. I could have kissed them for gratitude.

On Wednesday morning, the younger sister and I embarked at 6am for three hours via the highway, eager for dinosaurs and wizards and “jet coasters,” as it’s said in Japanese. The mountains of Okayama fell away, then up sprang Osaka’s skyscrapers, as we rolled right to the theme park’s front gates.

Read the rest of this entry

Four corners: Shikoku Garden

Four corners: Shikoku Garden
Four corners: Shikoku Garden

Of the foremost quartet of islands that make up Japan, I have visited three: Hanshu (Tokyo and Kyoto), Kyushu (Kagoshima and Fukuoka), and Hokkaido (snow festival!). Yesterday I tripped across the bay to Shikoku, the daintiest of the four.

The ocean liner train sailed over a mammoth suspension bridge, opening up vistas of intricate coastline and miniature islets. Just an hour’s journey landed me in Takamatsu, home of the Ritsurin Kouen – one of Japan’s loveliest and most historic gardens.

Read the rest of this entry

Rolling hills: Okayama Family

Rolling hills: Okayama Family
Rolling hills: Okayama Family

A friend put me in touch with his friend here, whom he has only met remotely — and at last, after failing to synch up during my Kyoto trip in 2019, we arranged to meet.

She and her family rolled out the red carpet (and the sushi!) for me, gently folding me into their loving, erudite, serene domestic circle. A clan of academics, the mother met the father in graduate school as a visiting student from Taiwan. He still researches plant molecular biology. Now their elder daughter investigates Scottish missionaries in Asia, while the younger sculpts heteromorphic dogs as a professional ceramicist.

This weekend, they treated me to a cozy futon, Japanese cooking, and a tour of their hometown.

Read the rest of this entry

Sayounara: Farewell to My Island

Sayounara: Farewell to My Island
Sayounara: Farewell to My Island

With a full heart, I visited my island haunts for the last time yesterday. My contract with JET ends with July, and the new Assistant Language Teacher for Tokunoshima High School arrives this upcoming week.

For the month of August, I am embarking on a multi-country odyssey — testing the skills acquired over my two years of solo living and solo traveling in Asia. More than that, I have committed to live my nomadic weeks in line with the principles that I want to govern my life: care for others before myself, worshipping God in his creation through my sub-creation, resting in his providence and care. As he has blessed me with bountiful opportunities to travel his marvelous world, I want to enjoy them in a spirit of faithful service.

Before venturing further afield, I am passing another week in Japan, gently parting from the place and people so dear to my heart. Of all my souvenirs, I will treasure most the farewell photos from the past few days, with my many teachers and friends.

Read the rest of this entry

Blessed Isle: Tokunoshima tour

Blessed Isle: Tokunoshima tour
Blessed Isle: Tokunoshima tour

After our race through Tokyo, my sister and I settled in for a week of life on a small island in the Pacific.

I had eagerly anticipated introducing her to what have become my everyday scenes: the sushi lunch cafe that’s hopping during business hours, the formidable sea walls flanking the coast, the memorial library where I delight in abusing the grand piano with my fumbling fingers.

Read the rest of this entry

Fawn island: Kagoshima

Fawn island: Kagoshima
Fawn island: Kagoshima

From Tokyo, we caught a Pokemon-themed plane to the southernmost tip of the main islands: Kagoshima-shi, the city center of my home prefecture. We checked in to JR Kyushu, a suave business hotel set inside the train station itself.

Then I conducted my sister on a twenty-four hour tour of Kagoshima’s culinary champions: tonkatsu (the Japanese version of schnitzel, or breaded pork), cherry blossom pastries, chestnut cakes, and – of course – shirokuma: the iconic shaved ice of the region. Drenched in sweetened condensed milk, studded with fruit, it had topped my list since November 2021 for treats to delight guests. My sister opted for the red beans variation, while I bought the classic.

We scooted downtown for a late night stint at the nearest onsen, a public bath with piping hot mineral waters, powered by the city’s neighboring volcano. On the way home, we paused to purchase a bulk pack of frozen dumplings from a vending machine (a vending machine!) before retiring for a long-awaited rest.

Sunday morning brought us amidst a relentless downpour to my first English church home in Japan, the dauntless Calvary Chapel. As ever, the congregation welcomed us warmly – with a hearty brunch and many invitations to return soon. The assistant pastor’s wife even accompanied us back to the station, where she saw us safely aboard the bus to the airport for our final flight of the week: home to Tokunoshima.

The ladies of Calvary Chapel in Kagoshima

Low city: Asakusa

Low city: Asakusa
Low city: Asakusa

“Ah, you went to Tokyo!” a teacher greeted me last year.

“Yes!” I agreed happily.

“Then, you went to Asakusa?”

I hesitated, heart sinking. “…no.”

This year, returning for my second Golden Week in the capital city, this time with my sister joining me, I vowed to make the “Kyoto of Tokyo” a priority.

Read the rest of this entry

Imperial east: Skytree and Odaiba

Imperial east: Skytree and Odaiba
Imperial east: Skytree and Odaiba

We invested in recovering for most of the day following our Disney extravaganza. Stephanie foraged for breakfast at the FamilyMart convenience store around the corner, returning with a bag bulging with salmon rice balls and melon pastries. I tapped through maps and metro schedules, charting our course for the time remaining in Tokyo.

I had deliberately decided to revisit my tour of the year before, at the same time of year to minimize surprises, with many of the same destinations at mind. It didn’t try my imagination much to consider places I would willingly wander again, and SkyTree topped the list. A fabulously elongated mall, it attracts most for its city view, but that afternoon we sought its mix of unique treats and quirky shops.

Read the rest of this entry

Enchanted city: Tokyo DisneyLand

Enchanted city: Tokyo DisneyLand
Enchanted city: Tokyo DisneyLand

After a day of grazing on vendor snacks in DisneySea, we decided on more substantive fare and booked seats at the Sherwood Gardens breakfast buffet. “Breakfast” seemed like a misnomer – besides the usual selection of pastries, eggs, and bacon (from the West) and rice, miso soup, and salad (from the East), the endless countertops offered noodles and canapes, egg salad decorated with a tomato rose, hamburgers and fries for littler guests, not to mention enough fish, meat, and cakes for lunch and dinner besides.

We launched into our tour of the flagship park with a few eclectic rides: Star Tours, a drone-populated airport terminal so realistic that it roused unpleasant flashbacks to hectic travel; and the Pirates of the Caribbean. This water-based ride utterly immersed us in a bayou-like landscape as we drifted past candlelit tables — other DisneyLand guests, in fact, dining at the attached restaurant. Next we sailed right through a exchange of cannon fire, with a pirate captain to our left firing on the beleagured town to our right.

Read the rest of this entry

Twice charmed: Return to DisneySea

Twice charmed: Return to DisneySea
Twice charmed: Return to DisneySea

My sister adores classic Disney even more than I do, which propelled the Tokyo theme parks to the top of our sightseeing wishlist. Expecting massive crowds for the national holidays later in the week, we arranged tickets for Monday and Tuesday — including a stay at the exquisite, art nouveau style Disneyland Hotel.

As I enthused extensively about DisneySea last year, I’ll recap only briefly before focusing on our maiden voyage to DisneyLand: a vintage park celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The first morning of our adventure, we rose early to savor a surprisingly gourmet buffet — never before has a breakfast menu offered me sashimi! We splurged on a taxi to the park, where the staff conducted us through the well-oiled machinery of depositing luggage and purchasing passes.

Emerging at last into the Renaissance harbor that so beguiled me, my sister and I plunged into the park’s kaleidoscope of imagined worlds.

Read the rest of this entry