Nestled amongst the 1,017 acres of Golden Gate Park, the Japanese Tea Garden is truly a gem in San Francisco (alongside their Japantown). It is the oldest Japanese garden in the United States, and one of the most authentic. It’s lush greenery is primarily made up of plants native to Japan and China and it utilizes many classical elements […]
As I planned my extended trip around Europe, I knew staying in a mix of hostels was a given. Yet for some reason, planning my trip around the U.S., hostels not once crossed my mind. When I first met Hostelling International USA last fall at a travel blogger conference, I stupidly asked them if they had many hostels […]
Skoshbox is another popular monthly Japanese candy subscription box. Pronounced su-ko-sh-box, the name is a play on words from the Japanese word sukoshi (少し), meaning ‘a little’. Appropriately filled with sample-sized snacks, these boxes start at just $10 per month depending on your subscription length. Meaning, the longer you subscribe the cheaper it gets. For those who are looking for more than […]
Every Friday I’ll be sharing a photo from someplace in my travels. This week’s photo is of downtown Chicago as seen from the South Loop. After what felt like an extended winter followed by weeks of rain, the weather is finally looking up here in Chicago as warmer temperatures and blue skies roll in. Luckily, that means […]
Complete with the grandeur of Straits Chinese architecture and that timeless San Francisco charm, The Scarlet Huntington hotel exudes luxury from the moment you lay eyes on it. If that sentence is at all confusing, I’m going to assume it’s because of the Straits Chinese part. Straits Chinese, also known as Peranakan, refer to those who were […]
The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is said to be the second largest cherry blossom festival in the U.S. after the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC. So after spending a week in blossom-filled DC, I packed my bags and made my way to sunny San Francisco. Held in one of the country’s three remaining Japantowns, over […]
Here’s the thing– I’m obsessed with Greek salad. Like, obsessed. I could eat it all day every day, especially now that it’s getting warmer… but let’s be honest, salad just isn’t that filling. There. I said it. I am not one of those people who can simply eat a salad for lunch and be fine for hours […]
Living under the rock that was Hong Kong, I honestly had no idea that subscription boxes were even a thing. Paying someone a certain amount of money each month to receive some mystery box? Yeah, okay, I guess I get it. In fact, the more I let that concept sink in, the more I became […]
Don’t worry, you’re not going crazy. Yes, I already posted April’s recipe of the month, but visiting all of these cherry blossom festivals across the US has me feeling extra festive– which means this month has two featured recipes! I’ve been having cherry blossom fever, and these little sugars fit in perfectly with all the cherry […]
People often ask me about buying kimono in Japan, and as much as it makes me cringe, who can blame them? A quick Google search proves it’s one of the most popular questions asked by tourists about to embark on their first adventure to Japan. So do you want to buy a kimono in Japan? Probably not. […]