Kurume is a town in Kyushu, roughly halfway between Fukuoka and Kumamoto. It’s famous for Kurume ramen, which is either a compromise between the punchy Kumamoto ramen and the mellow Hakata tonkotsu ramen…
I told myself I was on a diet… and since I’d spent quite a lot on travel in May, I spent my June weekends at home doing nothing but reading. So I barely made it to any good restaurants. Enjoying li…
Marugame Seimen is a Sanuki udon chain that’s all the rage these days. One happened to open near my place, so I went. The house specialty: kamaage udon The skill level looked lacking at a glance, so I…
The last place I dropped by in Osaka wasn’t anything special either, but I took pictures, so here they are. A street in Namba You can see the Ferris wheel, too. Black vinegar I had a glass to soothe…
I started a ferocious diet in May, so I needed some kitchen gear for making diet food. And since I’d come all the way to Osaka anyway, I couldn’t not stop by IKEA. The recently launched French dog…
In the evening a friend took me to a café that’s supposedly one of the places in Osaka with a good-looking crowd. I remember it being somewhere near Umeda, but, well, I doubt I’ll ever go back. The…
A lot went on in June, so there weren’t many updates. Come to think of it, my last trip, the visit to Osaka, is already a month-old story. A friend of mine lives in Osaka and told me to come visit, so I …
I had a business trip to Korea at the end of May. It was a very short trip, so I didn’t have much time and couldn’t really fit in any good restaurants, but on a weekend morning I carved out a littl…
I’ve lived in this town for a while now ^_^ and there’s one izakaya I could call my regular spot, if you stretch it a bit. It’s no amazing destination restaurant, but it’s not bad for f…
I’d been drinking myself half to death until 4 a.m. the night before, and then had Italian for lunch on top of that, so my head was completely fogged. At times like this I crave ramen like crazy, but I w…
There was an Italian restaurant I’d been wanting to try for ages, so I took the chance and went with some friends. It’s called Acqua Pazza, in Hiroo, and apparently it’s hugely popular with w…
The Hanzomon/Kojimachi/Akasaka area looks quiet on the surface, so there isn’t much for tourists to see, but it’s actually the de facto center of Japanese politics, home to the Imperial Palace, the…