Japanese culinary adventure in both Japan and USA.
Karuizawa is a small, quint town that is only about an hour and a half away from Tokyo by Hokuriku Shinkansen. It has a lot to offer from hot springs, mountain scenery, historic architecture, and even an outlet for shopping. We did an overnight stay that kicked off our Japan Alps Loop itinerary. During our visit to Karuizawa, we booked a far too short over-night stay at Hoshinoya Karuizawa.
Continue reading “Tabemono in Ryokan – Hoshinoya Karuizawa”
After a restful and peaceful first night at Zaborin, you truly appreciate the brilliance that this contemporary, yet zen-like ryokan offers. While there were other guests staying at the same time as our stay, the ryokan is large and the feeling of luxury and exclusiveness permeated throughout our stay. As previously mentioned in the last post, Zaborin is nestled in a quiet forest in Hanazono of Niseko and the kanji characters for Zaborin (坐 忘 林) means “to sit and forget amongst the woods”, and it is a perfect description of our experience as we forgot about the troubles of the world and just enjoyed ourselves nestled in the white-birch forests. Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 9- Rusutsu Amusement Park, TreeTop Trekking, and Zaborin Part 2”
After finishing our hike along the beautiful and scenic coastline of Cape Kamui, we drove about an hour and half to the highlight of our trip, Zaborin Ryokan. Nestled in a quiet forest in Hanazono of Niseko, the ryokan is deliberately remote and secluded to provide a refuge of serenity and tranquility. In fact, per the ryokan’s website the name Zaborin (坐 忘 林) is a combination of zabo (坐 忘 – to sit and forget) and rin(林 – in the woods or forests) which combined together translates “to sit and forget amongst the woods”, which is an accurate description of our experience here as time seemed to slow down and allowed to appreciate the surrounding nature and simply unwind and be at peace with ourselves. Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 8 – Zaborin Ryokan in Niseko Part 1”
My very first ryokan experience was at Gora Kadan, and it changed my experience and expectations of Japan forever. Gora Kadan is located in a small town of Gora in Hakone, which is over an hour and a half by train from Tokyo. It is the former retreat of the Imperial Family, Kanin-no-miya, and repurposed and remodeled into a ryokan in 1989, blending elements of both old and new, and East and West. We have stayed two times on separate occasions, and it is a gorgeous and serene place that allows you to enjoy a relaxing and peaceful getaway from the hustle and bustle of the cities. Continue reading “Tabemono in Ryokan – Gora Kadan in Hakone”
February 26, 2017
Kenzo in the Napa Valley is an ambitious opening from Kenzo Estate winery owners Kenzo and Natsuko Tsujimoto. Interestingly, Kenzo Tsujimoto was the founder of Capcom prior to his ownership of Kenzo Estate winery. Besides the winery, the husband and wife couple have four restaurants and tasting rooms throughout Japan where they bring the Napa Valley wines to Japan. Now with Kenzo, they plan to bring an authentic taste and experience of Japan to the Napa Valley area with a focus on kaiseki and sushi. Continue reading “Tabemono in SF Bay Area – Kenzo in Napa, Good Kaiseki and Sushi but not Great”