Travel
All 11 wards of Kyoto City (explained in one word)
Kyoto City is the biggest city in Kyoto Prefecture. Here is the list of eleven wards of Kyoto […]
Kyoto
Travel
All 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto +highlights
Here is the list of all 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto. I, as a Kyoto native, […]
Travel
10 coolest shopping malls in Kyoto
Kyoto BAL (京都BAL), ShinPuhKan (新風館), MUJI Kyoto Yamashina (無印良品 京都山科), etc. For those who seek upscale products and store […]
Restaurant Review
Walden Woods Kyoto: The white cafe of Henry David Thoreau
Inspired by Walden; or, Life in the Woods written by Henry David Thoreau from Concord, Massachusetts, Walden Woods […]
Restaurant Review
4 coolest coffee chains in Kyoto
Kyoto City’s coffee consumption is the biggest in Japan (according to nikkei.com). It’s the war zone for coffee […]
Travel
Visit Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon in Kyoto
Known as the title of Akira Kurosawa’s film in 1950, Rashomon (羅生門) was the legendary gate in Kyoto. […]
Restaurant Review
Ohsho vs. Tenkaippin: 2 Kings of Chinese food chains in Japan
Ohsho (Gyoza no Ohsho / 餃子の王将) and Tenkaippin (天下一品) are the most famous Chinese food chains in Japan. […]
Restaurant Review
Umayarou, Kyoto, Japan: Horse meat izakaya
Horse bastard! That’s what Umayarou(馬野郎) means in Japanese. The name screams everything about what Umayarou has to neigh: […]
Restaurant Review
RESTAURANT KIEV, Kyoto: Ukrainian/Russian eatery in Kyiv’s sister city
A Studio Ghibli anime-like eatery, legendary RESTAURANT KIEV (レストラン キエフ), offers exquisite Soviet cuisine with a Japanese Chinese […]
Restaurant Review
Natsumame, Kyoto: THE natto specialty restaurant in Japan
Kyoto’s only natto specialty restaurant, Natto Sosaku Cuisine Natsumame (納豆創作料理 夏豆) offers Japanese comfort food ingeniously concocted with […]
Restaurant Review
Itosen, Kyoto: Japan’s geisha-optimized Chinese food in oldest geisha district
Itosen (糸仙) in Japan’s oldest geisha district Kamishichiken (上七軒) offers Kyoto Chinese Japanese cuisine (KMC / Kyoto machi […]
Event
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER at Club METRO: Kyoto’s legendary drag show 
Japan’s oldest night club, Club METRO, hosts a monthly drag show DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER in the ancient capital […]
Event
Club Yoshida, Kyoto: Japan’s Ivy League Univ turned bohemien nightclub
Kyoto University’s Yoshida Dormitory hosts a party called “Club Yoshida.” Keen, upcoming local DJs play dissident, East Asian […]
Restaurant Review
Furusato, Kyoto, Japan: “Welcome home” izakaya
The syncretic Japanese promised land Furusato (ふる里) offers authentic Japanese homespun meals. How about some whale bacon? “Welcome […]
Restaurant Review
Ikura Mokuzai, Kyoto, Japan: Understated, lumber supplier izakaya
Who knew a lumber supplier could supply exquisite Japanese seafood? It’s so Kyoto. In Kyoto, being understated seems […]
Restaurant Review
Aketotemoro, Kyoto, Japan: WTH izakaya
A contemporary izakaya with a red light. Japanese bar food at its best. A red light at Aketotemoro. […]
Restaurant Review
Koin Agaru, Kyoto, Japan: Exquisite pork butakushi in the ’80s dreamy vibe
Japanese pork skewer (butakushi) izakaya, Koin Agaru, offers bistro-esque Japanese contemporary dishes. It is to savor pork tongue […]
Restaurant Review
Mo-an, Kyoto: Local legend Japanese cafe in mountain hideaway
Atop a Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke-esque mountain is Japan’s Cultural Heritage site also known as Mo-an, the Japanese […]
Uncategorized
Izakaya, explained: There are only 3 types, after all
There are just so many izakayas in Japan. The article explains 10 most common izakaya types and 3 […]
Restaurant Review
Cafe Bibliotic Hello!, Kyoto, Japan: The most famous “book cafe” in the city
Past a jungle is a forest of books with hearty meals. Kyoto City’s locally famous Cafe Bibliotic Hello! […]
Restaurant Review
Endo Shoten, Kyoto, Japan: Under-the-radar bookstore izakaya
An independent bookstore, Endo Shoten, is by far the most under-the-radar izakaya restaurant in Kyoto City. The izakaya […]
Travel
20 best bookstores in Kyoto
Here are the top 10% – the most famous/popular/important – of all 295 bookstores (as of 2022) in […]
Restaurant Review
Lull Kyoto, Japan: The first CBD cafe in Kyoto City
Totally legal, Kyoto City’s first CBD cafe, Lull Kyoto, offers seriously good smoothies and CBD-infused, high-quality Japanese traditional […]
Restaurant Review
Sekai Soko, Kyoto, Japan: Hip warehouse cafe behind quaint machiya-townhouse
Kyoto’s legendary nightclub World Kyoto opened its daytime cafe, Sekai Soko. Behind a traditional wooden machiya-townhouse awaits a […]
Restaurant Review
Brooklyn Night Bazaar, Kyoto, Japan: “Not in Kyoto anymore,” said my inner Dorothy
Unlike Japanese traditional “snack bars,” Brooklyn Night Bazaar is an obviously-nonconventional, sleek, and contemporary bar with a soul […]
Restaurant Review
Muraya, Kyoto, Japan: Akira-esque cyberpunk izakaya “in da hood”
In an edgy neighborhood, Sakyo Ward known as a “makai” (hell or demon world in Japanese), cyberpunk izakaya […]
Restaurant Review
BURGER ELEVEN, Kyoto, Japan: Chic and swish French bistro hamburger joint
Brasserie Café ONZE – the locally famous French bistro in Kyoto City – opened its first hamburger joint, […]
Restaurant Review
Kura Sushi Plus, Kyoto, Japan: Uber-contemporary sushi chain in tourist mecca
One of Japan’s sushi chain kingpins, Kura Sushi (Kura Revolving Sushi Bar), opened its most updated restaurant in […]