I love to see people doing what they do and am infinitely curious about why and how they do it. I do my best to get to every festival that I can - Japanese festivals are the complete package: costume, ritual, music, food, drink, and fun! I hope your travels are sweet. I'll do what I can to help you on your journey!
Emmie's Advice List
Stuff on Seaweed!
I'm a huge fan of seaweed. Here are some interesting varieties I picked up at the local station market.1. “Kuki Wakame” – seaweed stems (top left)- fantastic in salads with ume or ponzu dressing2. “Tororo Kombu” – pickled, shredded kombu kelp (top right)- used in soups, on udon or soba n…(110 words)
Emmie
Soba noodles Udon noodles Japanese plumTokyo-Ga
As the others have mentioned, Kappabashi is the mecca for plastic pickings. For more background info, I recommend watching the 1985 film Tokyo-Ga by Wim Wenders. It's fascinating and wonderful documentary on Tokyo and includes a tour of one of the replica food factories. FYI, he also tours a …(108 words)
Emmie
Tokyo Souvenir Airport Haneda Airport FilmYou forgot to pack underwear?!
Uniqlo stores are everywhere, but in a real pinch, try the convenience stores. Many of the Family Mart's carry selected items from the Mujirushi (MUJI) line. I've picked up underwear, pajamas, and toothbrushes at convenience stores on many different occassions - the "konbini" saved me!(45 words)
Emmie
Convenience store UniqloTampopo
A good way to fully appreciate ramen in Japan is to understand the passionbehind what goes into making it and ramen culture. I ate a lot of instant ramen when I was a kid because my dad loved it - we would make it "gourmet" by adding egg and green onions. But it wasn't until I watched the ramen…(108 words)
Emmie
Ramen noodles Movie