Emmie's Advice List

Emmie image Emmie Canada 8 years in Japan

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!

Stuff on Seaweed! images

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 image

Emmie

Soba noodles Udon noodles Japanese plum
Tokyo-Ga images

Tokyo-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 image

Emmie

Tokyo Souvenir Airport Haneda Airport Film
You forgot to pack underwear?! images

You 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 image

Emmie

Convenience store Uniqlo
Tampopo images

Tampopo

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 image

Emmie

Ramen noodles Movie