From riding high-speed bullet trains to spending time in its family-friendly airports, and trying out unique street foods, it’s no surprise that Japan has a special place in our hearts. Another Japanese quirk we can’t get enough of? Japanese Candy. Japan has produced candy on a large scale since the late 1800’s with the amount …
No matter where you go in Japan, it’s hard to ignore the smell of freshly made Taiyaki (たい焼き). You can find taiyaki vendors in every city at almost every train station or shopping mall in Japan, just let your nose do the work. What is Taiyaki? There are a couple of stories concerning its origins, …
Every child, at some point in their lifetime will experience the joy of placing their very first coin into a gumball machine. From that moment forward, every single toy vending machine becomes a beacon of light when they reluctantly visit the grocery store or mall with their parents. My first 5 years of parenting sounded …
GASHAPON: Japan’s Crazy Obsession with Toy Vending Machines Read More »
We arrived the first week of March into the New Chitose Airport (by way of Narita, Tokyo) to spend a week of skiing in beautiful Hokkaido, Japan. As our flight arrived early in the afternoon, we booked one night at a nearby hotel so we could start the next morning off fresh, touring the city …
Chitose Airport: The Most Family Friendly Airport You’ll Ever Visit Read More »
It’s almost March! Which means very soon we’ll be hopping on a plane, heading to Japan for a month! This will be our first trip overseas for the year, and we can hardly wait. We’ve been reading up on Japanese culture, what to see & do in all the cities we’re going to visit, and …
I learned something from my children yesterday after they asked me to take them to eat a bowl of saimin. I walked them over to a ramen restaurant, and as we entered, Jaf exclaimed, “Mom, this is not SAIMIN!” as he stared at the walls plastered with beautiful photos of ramen. “I don’t want to …
Oahu Eats: Our Favorite Saimin Restaurant On Oahu Read More »
Lou Lou and Jaf recently visited the food trucks at Mililani Tech Park located in Central Oahu. Mililani Technology Park is home to many technology companies and other industrial businesses. But, we didn’t come here to find a job. We came for the food! Every week, Monday through Friday from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, …
A couple of years ago, our awesome friends, Mike & Pei, wanted to ensure our good luck and prosperity at Chinese New Year. And so, they invited us over to celebrate the New Year by preparing a proper Chinese meal for us. Known as Shuan Yang Rou or Chinese hot pot (in Japanese it’s known …
Kung Hee Fat Choy! Now that New Year’s has passed, everyone in Hawaii is anticipating the next big celebration which of course is Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year marks the beginning of the new lunar calendar, and is generally around the middle of January and February. This year it will be celebrated on Monday, …
Multicultural Children’s Book Day is on January 27, 2016 and in preparation for it, the kids are reading a variety of multicultural books, with LouLou starting off the year having completed her first ever Pack-n-Go Girls book, Mystery of the Golden Temple by Lisa Travis. What is Multicultural Children’s Book Day? Multicultural Children’s Book …
