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Food Travelling
Hungry hippo? So anyone who has travelled or generally been anywhere with me will know that I am obsessed with food. It is definitely something I have inherited from the male side of my family. I love my father’s stories about food, which include making an amazing curry for his father and realising it was actually too delicious to share. So instead, he ate the whole thing and got a takeaway for his dad. I would do the same… ahem… Anyhoo, on arrival in Japan we discovered it was extremely hot and muggy. So much so it was almost hard to breathe, especially when you emerge from an air-conditioned airplane.…
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Purikura
Papa-papa-razzi… This is one of my most favourite inventions ever. It’s like the old passport photo booths you can find all over Berlin, but a million times better. When I first lived in Japan, I was 18 years old and attending a girl’s high school. My classmates were obsessed with Purikura (comes from shortening the words Print Club which are written as Purinto Kurabu in Japanese). We would spend all our money in these booths taking photos of ourselves smiling. Then we discovered making silly faces was also lots of fun. And as there were basically no other foreigners where I was based, random people constantly came up to me…
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Japanese toilets
Where is the smallest room in the house? Okay, so I know I’m meant to be an English lady and we don’t talk about toilets, the loo, the lavatory, the bog or the bathroom. In fact, I only go and powder my nose. But I am going to have to go there. My dad is a urologist, so I’ve heard every joke in the book and more. And if you are going to Japan, you need to be made aware of the smallest rooms in the house. I remember as a young teenager travelling to Malaysia with my father. We were in the car and we stopped off on our…
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Travelling cheaply by Train in Japan
Choo Choo Choo… During August we shall take you on our Japan trip with us. We spent two weeks eating and seeing friends whilst discovering new places in the Land of the Rising Sun. As so many of you have asked about our trip, we thought it would be best to share it all with you. Most of it will of course be food-related, but we might even recommend some sights and fun stuff to do for when you plan your trip! Read along and let us know if you have any questions or would like more information etc – we would love to hear from you 🙂 Our…
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Ramen Noodles in Berlin
Yummy Yummy Yummy, I got Love in my Tummy… So, staying on the Japanese theme today, I will tell you about one of my favourite meals. In England, when you have been out partying hard, nothing beats a kebab and a strawberry milkshake. In Japan, Ramen is what you need. A noodle soup that will warm the cockles of your heart. Such a greasy and filling meal, it basically guarantees you not to be hungover the next day. A miracle food. I have to even admit that once I had two bowls. Different areas in Japan have different specialities when it comes to Ramen. My favourite are the Tonkotsu Ramen…
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How my grandparents met
It was love at first sight… I love the story about how my grandparents met. I think my family is full of very special and unique stories and because we are in Japan right now, I thought you might all enjoy a Japan-related post. As I told you a few days ago, my grandfather was a Japanese Prisoner of War during WWII. He didn’t really tell anyone about his experiences, but we did know they weren’t good. He went from Changi Prison to help build the Bridge over the River Kwai. Most people went here to die and were tortured along the way. My grandfather Albert tried to learn the local…
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Why Japan?
I am turning Japanese… Everyone always asks me “Why Japan”? And it seems only fair to tell you all as well, especially as we are there right now… My grandfather Albert was a Japanese Prisoner of War (PoW) during World War Two. He was captured in the Far East and ended up at Changi Prison in Singapore. He was then transported by cattle trucks for several days by rail to Thailand to build the famous railway to Burma. He volunteered to learn the local languages, dabbling into Malay, Thai, Cantonese and Japanese and was used by his officers as a translator. After his return to England, he studied Mandarin at the…
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Friday Links
I want to fly away… So, it’s going to be a Japanese themed Friday Linkies today, because we are off to Japan! OMG – could not be more excited!! One of our loveliest friends got married a while back. She lived in Japan for many years and went to the same university as I did. She got married last month and another friend of ours wrote about the little Japanese touches that were found at her wedding – lovely ideas! If you are in London, for the whole of July you can eat at this pop-up Japanese restaurant – YES!!! Amazing news! The BBC in Japanese! A great way for…