With the Style, Artistic Californian Resort Hotel in Hakata/Fukuoka

August 11, 2007 - 11:39 am by akko@hakata in Food, Travel  

If you’re seeking a most sophisticated hotel in Hakata (Fukuoka), my recommendation would be With the Style, an artistic Californians style resort hotel near Hakata Station. You can stay or just visit for lunch to escape from the city’s heat wave.

Food is wonderful, with the Western look and Japanese taste.
(Hakata/Fukuoka is on the sea, gifted [...]

Cool yourself with `Shirokuma’, white-bear-ice!

August 10, 2007 - 7:56 pm by akko@hakata in Culture, Others  

Shirokuma literally means white bear, but here it means a bowl of shaved ice with condensed milk syrop and freezed colourful fruits.

It is a speciality of Kagoshima, as I introduced in my previous article as the mecca of Shochu, distilled spirit.
Kagoshima’s summer is realy hot, since it places in the southernmost prefecture of Kyushu Island, [...]

Cool yourself with Shochu-on-the-rock? Shochu (Distilled Spirit) boom of Kagoshima

August 9, 2007 - 6:32 pm by akko@hakata in Culture, Others  

Shochu (distilled spirit) is one of the main Japanese alcoholic beverages following Sake.

Kagoshima is the largest, popular, and traditional Shochu mecca, providing 155,900 kiloliters in 2006 (July 2006 to June 2006), which is the record high, with an increase for the 8th consecutive year!
Satsuma Shochu (meaning Kagoshima Shochu, Satsuma is the old name of Kagoshima) [...]

Cool yourself with noodle? Enjoy summer food culture of Japan!

- 3:08 pm by akko@hakata in Culture, Others  

`Japan has four seasons’ is a very common plain sentence when people introduce Japan, which should also be explained as, Japan has four seasons to enjoy different seasonal food!
Not only beer and shochu-on-the-rock, cool noodle is the main summer food for lots of Japanese people, or even Messiah for those suffering from the crazy heat [...]

Sweets Theme Parks

August 7, 2007 - 6:34 am by akko@hakata in Culture, Food, Others, Travel  

For many women in Japan, Sweets Theme Parks are paradice! It’s like an amusement park of sweets, offering not only cakes and puddings, but also the place to relax and talk!
During summer season (-Aug.31), they offer special varieties to cool us. Each shop is competing very hard to attract customers, with beautiful looking, delicious sweets, [...]

Furusato Antenna Shops (Satelite food shops) in Tokyo; you can get local, healthy, unique food of all over Japan!

August 6, 2007 - 5:58 pm by akko@hakata in Others  

What is Furusato Antenna Shops?
Furusato Antenna Shops (Chiho Bussan Kan in Japanese) are a Satelite food shops, of distant prefectures, mainly dealing with unique local food.
Today they attract many Japanese people, by offering the mood of food culture experience, or even trip, by making very local mood.
To understand this, let me note that Japanese [...]

Antenna Shops of Hakata; foods, cup-sake, Glico @ Canal City Hakata

August 4, 2007 - 12:43 pm by akko@hakata in Food, Travel  

Here’s another Antenna Shop. It’s in Canal City Hakata, the largest and fashionable shopping mall in Fukuoka, Kyushu.
It deals with, of course, Hakata local foods,

Not only that.
Glico sweets, and variety of Japanese specialities are also available,

including fashionably bottled sake.

We call the transparent ones especially `cup-sake‘.
It used to remind us of tired businessmen, for [...]

Shopping in Ginza 2; Toys, Hellokitty…find coolest Japanese souvenir

August 3, 2007 - 12:32 pm by akko@hakata in Food, Travel  

Experience Japanese latest culture with cute characters!
1. Japanese Toys and Games

Not only Michel Jackson, but many celebrities secretly have visited this special toy shop in Ginza, Hakuhinkan.
They sell;
-Latest Character goods (like KiddyLand) (1F)
-Dolls, stuffed dolls, music boxes (2F)
-Childrens’ toy, including railway minitures (3F)
-Video games, card games, Rubik’s, others (4F)
-Rika-chan, Japanese Barbie Dolls (B1F)
*open [...]

Shopping in Ginza 1; find finest Japanese souvenir @ Kyukyo-do (fan, paper, incense), Kimuraya bakery, and Mitsukoshi (sweets and more)…

- 11:24 am by akko@hakata in Food, Travel  

1. Writing material and Incense
Kyukyodo is the traditional (since 1663) and most popular shop.

They sell;
-traditional Japanese writing material, ink, brush, inkstone, special paper.
-Japanese caligraphy (Shodo) material
-letter set, postcards
-little envelope (Noshi-bukuro), to give money for celebration, such as giving New Years’ pocket money to children.
-Beautiful Japanese papers for craftwork (or for wrapping, book-cover)
-Japanese seasonal [...]

Men Chanko, the hottest and healthest noodle of Hakata

July 24, 2007 - 4:00 pm by akko@hakata in Food, Travel  

When I ask people what they like to eat in Hakata (Fukuoka), most of them say Tonkotsu Ramen(noodle with pork bone soup), especially of Ichiran, which is the most popular Tonkotsu Ramen restaurant).
But there’s another one local people love, Men Chanko!

So, this is it!
Can you believe this is only 567 yen?
(Hakata food is delicious and [...]