JAPAN BY PREFECTURE: OSAKA

Osaka Prefecture (大阪府; Osaka-fu) is part of the Kansai Region (関西地方; Kansai-chiho) on Honshu, the main island of Japan. Despite being one of the smallest prefectures area-wise, it boasts an impressive amount of cities. Thirty-three to be exact; with the most famous being it’s capital city of the same name– Osaka. Daitō Fujiidera Habikino Hannan Higashiōsaka Hirakata Ibaraki Ikeda Izumi Izumiōtsu Izumisano […]

#FINDINGASIA: MOCHITSUKI AT THE MIDWEST BUDDHIST TEMPLE, CHICAGO

Mochi (餅), which is a sweet sticky rice cake, has been eaten in Japan since ancient times for special celebrations and festivals. The practice of hand-pounding mochi, known as mochitsuki (餅つき), is now rare even in Japan as most people would rather buy machine-made mochi sold at stores instead of making their own. Yet still, whether store-bought or […]

LUXURY AND LOCATION AT HOTEL GRANVIA, BARCELONA

Checking into Hotel Granvia was bittersweet. It was our final night in Europe and we were fortunate enough to be spending it in a 19th century palace. Commissioned in the late 1800s by the owners of the Bank of Barcelona, it became one of the few palaces in Barcelona’s city center. It was weird to think of a […]