Hagi's Advice List

Hagi image Hagi Japan 51 years in Japan

Certified guide interpreter / Domestic travel service supervisor / Executive director, DeepJapan
http://www.toursbylocals.com/MountFujiTourGuide

Living in Shibuya, Tokyo for over 20 years. I would like to take overseas tourists to deeper Japan!

Okutama, easy access and abundant nature in western Tokyo. images

Okutama, easy access and abundant nature in western Tokyo.

Okutama Town is located on the western edge of Tokyo. It is 40 miles west and two-hour train ride from Tokyo Station via Shinjuku and surrounded by green mountains but certainly within Tokyo Prefecture. It is a part of Chichibu Tama Kai National Park but major local tourist attractions are within s…(442 words)

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Hagi

Tokyo Nature Train Hotel Onsen Fishing cave Soba noodles Okutama Yoga
Enjoy rich hot-spring of Kusatsu Onsen and visit public bathhouses like the locals do. images

Enjoy rich hot-spring of Kusatsu Onsen and visit public bathhouses like the locals do.

Kusatsu Onsen(草津温泉), or Kusatsu Hot Spring is one of the most renowned hot-spring resort in Japan, located in the Tochigi Prefecture, about 100km north of Tokyo. Tochigi is rich in hot-spring resorts including Kusatsu, Ikaho, Shima, Minakami and Manza. Above all Kusatsu is highly evaluated with…(350 words)

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Hagi

Onsen Kusatsu Onsen Train Bus Japanese inn
A Cozy Tavern in Shibuya, offering Local Cuisine of the Mt. Fuji Region. images

A Cozy Tavern in Shibuya, offering Local Cuisine of the Mt. Fuji Region.

Shibuya is known as an exciting town, a center of the latest culture. This city attracts both young and old.This reputation for new and cutting edge is perfectly true, but the other side of Shibuya is historical and retro. A small town with a never-changing atmosphere, people and stores thrives…(566 words)

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Hagi

Shibuya Restaurant Yamanashi Cuisine Tokyo Drink Food Sake (Rice wine) Mount Fuji Wine
Explore a back street of Shibuya, and you’ll find secret restaurants. images

Explore a back street of Shibuya, and you’ll find secret restaurants.

If you want to visit Shibuya and find a secret place where few tourists are seen and only locals are around, I'd like to recommend the Hyakkendana area in Shibuya’s Dogenzaka town. Hyakkendana means “100 stores” and this used to be the busiest area in Shibuya more than a half century ago. Actually …(512 words)

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Hagi

Shibuya Mount Fuji Yamanashi Tokyo Restaurant Drink Sushi Food Wine
Mt. Fuji shows its superb view around Lake Kawaguchiko. images

Mt. Fuji shows its superb view around Lake Kawaguchiko.

Mount Fuji was designated as an UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage Site in 2013.Mt. Fuji has been popular destination among overseas tourists. But many of Mt. Fuji tours offered to them are actually Hakone tours to view Mt. Fuji from Lake Ashi which is located at 30km south west of the mountain. …(841 words)

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Hagi

Mount Fuji Lake Kawaguchiko Lake Nature Park Yamanashi Japan Onsen ropeway Visit
Mt. Fuji access guide; trains and buses for Lake Kawaguchiko area. images

Mt. Fuji access guide; trains and buses for Lake Kawaguchiko area.

If you will visit Mount Fuji (富士山), Kawaguchiko Station (河口湖駅) or Mt. Fuji Station (富士山駅) are major gateways for magical Mount Fuji, designated as a world cultural heritage site in 2013, and the magnificent Fuji Five Lakes area (富士五湖). Deepjapan published "Mt. Fuji Travel Guide" …(2106 words)

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Hagi

Train Trip Ticket Mount Fuji Transportation Yamanashi Bus Lake Kawaguchiko Fujikyu Mount Fuji 5th Station
Yakitori; Grilled Chicken that Sake Lovers Can’t Drink Without. images

Yakitori; Grilled Chicken that Sake Lovers Can’t Drink Without.

Just like Londoners enjoying fish and chips with pints of beer at the pub, yakitori(焼き鳥, やきとり) or skewed chicken barbecue, is an essential delicacy for beer or sake here in Japan. You can easily find yakitori on izakaya menus everywhere in Tokyo, but I would like to recommend you visit a few…(256 words)

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Hagi

Drink Sake (Rice wine) Yakitori Tokyo Restaurant Beer Izakaya Salt
"Teishoku" is a nostalgic homemade meal for Japanese. images

"Teishoku" is a nostalgic homemade meal for Japanese.

Are you interested in the fare found in a normal, ordinary Japanese household? Why not give Teishoku(定食) a try? The word itself means "set meal", and if you've stayed at a Japanese style inn and enjoyed breakfast there, you must have tasted steamed rice, miso soup and several other delicacies…(305 words)

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Hagi

Teishoku Tokyo Miso Izakaya Miso soup Lunch Gyudon (Beef bowl) Japanese cuisine Hotel
Want to eat Tempura at a reasonable Price? Here's How!! images

Want to eat Tempura at a reasonable Price? Here's How!!

Tempura(天ぷら), battered and fried seafood or vegetables, is traditionally one of the most famous delicacies in Japan along with sukiyaki or shabu-shsbu. Many visitors find Tempura to be relatively expensive as it usually is expected to cost as much as several thousand yen. Let me give you a few h…(279 words)

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Hagi

Tempura City Restaurant Soba noodles Udon noodles Tendon
Udon is a Must-Try for a Real Japanese Noodle Experience images

Udon is a Must-Try for a Real Japanese Noodle Experience

Everyone knows the most popular noodle dishes for Japanese are ramen, soba and udon. Why then, we wonder, does udon seems to be mentioned less often and receive less attention from international visitors? Here, I would like to let you know where and how to experience UDON, our fascinating, tradit…(437 words)

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Hagi

Udon noodles Restaurant Ramen noodles Soba noodles Tempura Fast food
Curry Rice in Japan : Extra Topping Matters. images

Curry Rice in Japan : Extra Topping Matters.

"Curry rice" (カレーライス) originates in India but it has been loved for decades in Japan as well. Traditional curry rice among Japanese consists of steamed rice with viscous curry sauce covering boiled beef, pork or chicken and can be enjoyed at curry restaurants, ramen restaurants, beef bowl res…(278 words)

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Hagi

Curry rice Tokyo Ramen noodles Beef Gyudon (Beef bowl) Tonkatsu (Pork cutlet)