An Afternoon in the Inuyama Castle Town
“Well, we won’t have the car for three hours. Are we just going to hang out at Yellow Hat or something?” That was how our Saturday planning started. We were finally getting a drive recorder installed in our car, something we’d wanted to do for years. It’s nothing fancy, but…
Fall Ohigan 2024
“I want to go to Kyoto for ohigan this year?” “Ohigan? What’s that?” “You visit family graves. Kind of like Obon” This is a snippet of a random conversation Dude and I had. I’ve lived in Japan for 8 years now and I’d never heard of ohigan. What is Ohigan?…
Ramen Review: Shinpuku Saikan (Yamashina Shop)
Welcome to my ramen review! Today I’m reviewing Shinpuku Saikan’s Chuka Soba! About Shinpuku Saikan Shinpuku Saikan opened up their first shop by Kyoto Station in 1938. Their ramen stands out due to the extremely dark color of the soy sauce/shoyu broth. It’s nearly black. We visited the Yamashina shop.…
ARC Review: Blue Se7en by Michele Inoue
Where & When to Get It I had the wonderful opportunity to read Blue Se7en by Michele Inoue. The book is about Seven, a young lady getting ready to leave for college, goes on a wonderful trip to Japan with her friends. Natsuo is a hot boy band star in…
Ramen Review: The Most Desarted Ramen-Bar in the World
Welcome to my ramen review! This time I’m reviewing The Most Desarted Ramen-Bar in the World’s Captain Gold ramen. About The Most Desarted Ramen-Bar in the World Nihon Ichi Hima na Ramenya, or The Most Desarted Ramen Bar in the World, is not deserted at all. There was a long…
Japanese Sword Exhibit Report – The Beauty of Swords and their Ornate Mountings
On display from January 6 to March 17, 2024, the The Beauty of Swords and their Ornate Mountings exhibit at Nakanoshima Kosetsu Museum of Art in Osaka features a wide range of Japanese swords and koshirae/mountings. About the Exhibit This exhibit features a selection of pieces from the 50 sword…
Ramen Review: Makotoya Gyu-jan Ramen
I decided to start reviewing the ramen! It’s a good way to share my favorite ramen places with y’all and also a good way for me to jot down my thoughts. I started off with Makotoya’s gyu-jan ramen.
New Oil Cloth for my Iaito
It was a long time coming. The old cloth I use to oil my iaito is so old that no one would ever think that it was once white. It’s in a pretty sorry state. While I was at Nosyudo the other day, I did it. I finally picked up…
30th Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Zen Nihon Iaido Taikai 2023
After a long 4 year break, members of Seito Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu (MJER) were able to get together for the organization’s annual taikai and banquet. This will mostly be a journal-style post about my trip, but first, What is the MJER Zen Nihon Iaido Taikai? The Muso Jikiden Eishin…
Getting a Montsuki in a Pinch
It’s the middle of summer here in Gifu. Thankfully, summers are shorter than they are in my hometown, Houston, but hot nonetheless. I was driving to work in my car-turned-oven when I realized something: I’m participating in an iaido embu at a very nice Noh theater in August. I need…
I’m thinking about coming here to post my own casual content. The Twitter situation is getting out of hand.
Kenshin VS Shishio ~ A Rurouni Kenshin Sword Exhibit in Seki
At the time I’m writing this, it’s starting to get a little warmer here in Japan. The plum blossoms are blooming and everyone is looking forward to the cherry blossoms. If you’ve ever seen the anime or manga called Rurouni Kenshin, I’m sure you’re familiar with the lovely spring scenes…
Cheap Daiso Copic Case
The problem I really needed a nice but cheap Copic marker case. When I originally moved to Japan, I wasn’t sure how long I’d stay and didn’t want to start at zero when and if I returned to the states, so I did what any 20-something year old would do…
Ghibli Tea Review 2019
I had no idea it was a thing until I saw an article about it, but Ghibli tea exists. Somehow I’m not surprised. Ghibli films often feature food and drink and, especially if you’ve ever been to the Ghilbi museum, you’ll notice a certain love for European things. I love…
7th Anniversary for the 23rd MJER Soke
On May 12, 2019, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the 7 year anniversary ceremony commemorating Fukui Masato-sensei becoming the 23rd soke of Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. Before the Event This ceremony happens annually at Inaba Jinja (JP) in Gifu City. I’ve been a member of Chubu Eishinkan…
Surviving Winter in Japan
Unless you’re somewhere near the equator, everyone experiences winter. It’s cold and unpleasant for some people and a winter wonderland for others. However, when you up and move far far away, you often find winter to be a different sort of beast. This is what I discovered my first winter…
Detective Conan Cafe 2018
I had the opportunity to go eat at the Detective Conan Cafe 2018 in Nagoya last weekend. This is a cafe that opens up around Japan when the annual movie comes out. Up until now, I’ve only been to the Animate Cafe for Touken Ranbu events. This was the first…
My ALTIA CENTRAL Experience
I am almost done with my second year at ALTIA CENTRAL. Since there isn’t a lot of information on this rather awesome ALT company, I thought I’d write about a little about my experience. My Background So why did I end up becoming an ALT? Well, that’s kind of a…
Christmas Eve Pizza and Christmas Day KFC
We ate so much. The food might be different from the US, but the amount of food you eat for the holiday is the same. Merry Christmas.
Ramen Lunch
After stopping by city hall to sort out why I’m still enrolled in National Health Insurance even though I have company insurance, we stopped and had some ramen. https://instagram.com/p/BbtTd9CgBZn/
