Blog
Blog 2025年1月
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Traveller Review Awards 2025
Thanks to your support, we have won the Booking.com Traveller Review Awards for the sixth year in a row. During the three-odd years of the Corona disaster, there were days when there were no guests at all and we were worried about what would happen, but we are glad that we have continued to do so. We will continue to make every effort to make your stay as comfortable as possible, so please do not hesitate to let us know if there is anything we have not done right.
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Kaki-no-tane
Kaki-no-tane is one of Japan's most popular snacks. These soy sauce-flavoured arare with a spicy chilli flavour are called kaki-no-tane because of their resemblance to the seeds of the persimmon tree. Above all, the combination with peanuts is popularly known as kaki-pi. Kaki-pi go well with beer and are popular as a snack. They are sometimes offered free of charge as a coffee snack in coffee shops. They are sold in supermarkets and convenience stores throughout Japan and are also reasonably priced.So it is one of the most recommended souvenirs. One of the major concerns of the Japanese public is that the…
- Travel tips
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White-bellied green pigeon in the Kyoto Imperial Palace
Winter, along with spring, is the time when the Kyoto Imperial Palace is at its busiest with small birds. In particular, white-bellied green pigeon is the symbol of the Palace in winter. After raising their young in northern Japan and the mountains, they spend the winter in Kyoto City at the Imperial Palace and the Botanical Gardens. The bird is often found in trees and is difficult to spot, but you will notice its presence because of its oohs and aahs, a very eerie call. Different from such a voice, the bird, as its name suggests, has a beautiful olive colour…
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Casual french -Le pont-
Of course, one of the most important purposes of a trip to Japan is, of course, Japanese food. From curry rice and kaitenzushi to kaiseki, Kyoto offers a wide variety of Japanese cuisine, but in fact there are also many good French restaurants. Even if you think you don't have to come all the way to Japan to eat French food, there are French restaurants in Kyoto that you should definitely try. One of our recommendations is Le Pont. The chef, who has honed his skills in Toronto over many years, has carefully selected Japanese vegetables for his excellent cuisine. As…
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Shinkansen (bullet train)
Shinkansen trains are very popular with foreign tourists. Even on the platforms, people often get carried away with taking videos and are often warned about it. One of the most popular photo spots is Tokyo Station. You can see the Tohoku, Hokuriku, Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen trains in various directions for 150 yen for an admission ticket, so I guide visitors to Tokyo on group tours. I think the most beautiful is the Tohoku Shinkansen E5 Series Hayabusa, falcon in Japanese. Hayabusa was once the nickname used for the sleeper express linking Tokyo and Kyushu for nearly 50 years. In the past,…
- Travel tips
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Kyo ryori -Harebare 晴々-
Kyo ryori 京料理 is a leading brand of Japanese cuisine. It refers to refined, light-flavoured cuisine that makes the most of the flavours of the ingredients, and has a gorgeous, elaborate appearance. On the other hand, obanzai おばんざい is eaten on a daily basis as home cooking. These dishes utilise the flavour of dried bonito flakes, kelp, shiitake mushrooms and other ingredients. Obanzai is more affordable than Kyoto cuisine and is also known as osōzai お惣菜 in shopping streets. A 12-minute walk from the guesthouse, you can enjoy high-quality obanzai at a reasonable price at Harebare. Particularly popular is the lunch,…
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Lidth’s jay in Amami Oshima Island
Despite being about the same size as the UK, Japan is home to 15 endemic bird species. Of these, four species, including the Lidth's jay, can be observed on Amami Oshima Island, south of Honshu, and is designated a World Heritage Site. The Lidth's jay became a protected species in 1921 after being overhunted since the end of the 19th century when its beautiful feathers were used to make women's hats. In recent years, its population has recovered and it has been removed from the Red List of Threatened Wildlife and can now be seen close to people's homes. It has…
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Door-to-door suitcase delivery
One of the most difficult aspects of travelling to Japan is moving with suitcases.The Shinkansen is a convenient way to travel between cities, but carrying large suitcases can be very difficult. If the sum of the three sides of the case (length, width and height) is 160 cm or less, it can be carried on board, but if it exceeds 160 cm, you will need to book a special seat. However, these seats are very limited in number and often cause problems when luggage is placed without permission.In addition, buses in Kyoto are always crowded and there is always trouble…
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Goosander on the Kamogawa river
In January, the Kamogawa River is teeming with ducks. The most remarkable of these is the Goosander. These ducks are slimmer than common ducks such as mallards and teal, making them look one size bigger. The Goosander is called kawaaisa ‘川秋沙’ in Japanese and uses the autumn kanji ‘秋’. It flies to the Kamogawa River between October and November and returns north in early spring, although some individuals may remain until June. In the past, they were found mainly in large rivers, particularly those with strong currents, and were so few in number that they were included on Kyoto Prefecture's list of near-threatened…
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Daifuku -Otowaya 音羽屋-
There are numerous wagashi shops in Kyoto. Wagashi is the general term for traditional Japanese confectionery, and there are many different types, such as mochi (rice cakes), yokan (japanese sweet bean jelly). Daifuku, a type of wagashi made from red bean paste wrapped in a rice cake, is particularly popular as a common Japanese confectionery. A variety of ingredients are used in daifuku, with popular varieties including mame daifuku made from red peas or soya beans, and ichigo daifuku with strawberries in the bean paste. A must-try when visiting Kyoto is Otowaya's yomogian-mochi. Yomogian-mochi are daifuku rice cakes with mugwort kneaded into…
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Okonomiyaki -Okonomiyaki Katsu お好み焼き克-
The first restaurant featured in this blog is Okonomiyaki Katsu.For a while, I worked as a clerk at Ritsumeikan University, and this is a restaurant I often frequented. It's a very small restaurant with two tables sitting on tatami mats and four seats at the counter. The owner's wife explains the menu and how to eat in English, so the restaurant is packed with foreign tourists at lunchtime.The most popular dishes are okonomiyaki and yakisoba, cooked on teppan. Okonomiyaki is a kind of pancake made from wheat dough dissolved in water and cooked on a teppan with the ingredients of…
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How to find a good restaurant in Kyoto
One of the most frequent requests we receive from customers is for good restaurants.Kyoto is Japan's fifth-largest city in terms of the number of restaurants, with over 8,000. One of the city's attractions is that you can sample not only Japanese cuisine, but also a variety of cuisines from different countries.Many tourists refer to word-of-mouth reviews on Google. However, there is nothing less reliable than word of mouth on Google. Your taste preferences will vary depending on the country or region you come from, and will also depend to a large extent on your physical state that day. What's more,…
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