A chocolate shop and cafe called Max Brenner has opened in Tokyo. There are already so many chocolate cafes around that I wondered whether it really needed importing, but once I went myself, the atmosphere and…
Hamamatsu, in Shizuoka Prefecture, is famous for gyoza even within Japan. Among the countless gyoza specialists, a handful of so-called famous shops are impossible to get into without lining up. Out of those, …
For health reasons I usually stay away from instant food, but the level of Japanese instant food is really quite high. Work was crazy busy over the New Year holidays, and I figured if not now I might never get…
I had an appointment in Shinjuku, and after mulling over what to eat, I booked a table at Mizutaki Genkai. Mizutaki is a regional dish from Kyushu that I had only heard about and never actually tried. The fro…
I did not have a great impression of Eggs ‘n Things, but on the morning of our departure I ended up going back. Not because I wanted to, it just sort of happened that way. Coffee … Eggs Benedict…
It was our last evening, so we did a lap around Waikiki, shopping and sightseeing along the way. Roughly what it looks like It is clean. The night view People lining up in front of Marukame Udon I had n…
The town on the North Shore is not very big, so you can walk around the whole center in about 30 minutes. It had the look of a faded fishing village that tourists drift into now and then. But Matsumoto Shave I…
I went out to a shrimp truck away from town to try the garlic shrimp the North Shore is famous for. I think it was about a 15-minute walk. This is roughly what the truck looks like. It is not exactly cheap….
The Cheesecake Factory is a famous family restaurant even by American standards, so I really wanted to go at least once. The line is always long, so I went late at night, and we got seated right away. Exterio…
I had heard there was a great fruit shop in Waikiki, but I wondered whether it was really worth the trip. Fruit is something you can just buy at the supermarket, after all. In fact, the papaya I bought at the …
ABC Stores are the convenience marts you see everywhere in Waikiki. My hotel plan did not include breakfast (for some reason there were not many plans that did), so I used them all the time. The ABC Store next…
Before I came to Hawaii, Marunbi (@rumaru) told me I absolutely had to try this burger place, which sits at the far end of the beach after you cross all the way through Waikiki. It is called Teddy’s Bigg…