2 years ago). Thankful for my family bearing with me, when I told them about this place and we must go for authentic green tea experience.


Green Tea Ceremony in Taiho-an
First off, I want to thank my cousin who is working in Japan right now for helping my family and I to make a reservation at Taiho-an for our very first green tea ceremony experience. The last time I was here, the place was fully booked, and we were unable to check it out. Instead I only got to try this cup of green tea at the tourist center….


To start off, we got this really cute pastry dough thing that cleanse our palette for a fully green tea experience.


Our server than prepared our green tea with this pot of hot water and a special whisk just for matcha to create the traditional green tea as part of the authentic green tea ceremony experience.


The green tea was amazing. It had the color of a green tea latte (without the milk) and while it had the taste green tea, it also had a hint of sweetness. The tea itself was not watered down which I assumed would, as it was just pure matcha powder and hot water.


And thanks to my mom who took this photo of me at the end in this matcha ceremonial room.


Uji Shrine
Next off, after the ceremony experience, my family and I venture in the rain to the Uji Shrine. It’s actually my first time here, as I never ventured this far the last time I was in Uji. By far, I actually meant like a 10 minute walk across the bridge.


I really like this shrine! Not sure what this shrine is about, but it has a cute rabbit in the middle. And I’m also not sure why people ring the bell at the shrine, but I did it anyways. Maybe it’s good luck! (Yes! I get a year of good luck).


And what I LOVE about this shrine most was the leaves that were still intact on the trees. And the silhouette of the Japanese maple against the cloudy yet bright sky, it was beautiful.


Byodoin Temple
Following the short detour to the Uji Shrine, was the long awaited visit to the Byodoin Temple. The Byodoin Temple is a striking example of Buddhist Pure Land architecture. And together with its garden, the temple actually represents the Pure Land Paradise and was influential on later temple construction. Did you know this temple dates back to 998!?! as a countryside retreat villa for the powerful politician Fujiwara no Michinaga, not as a temple!

It was Michinaga’s son who turned this place into a temple by ordering the construction of its most spectacular feature, the Phoenix Hall. This hall is now featured on the back of the Japanese ten yen coin!

Did you know, the Byodoin’s buildings were repeatedly lost to fires and other calamities over the centuries? However, the Phoenix Hall was never destroyed, making it one of the few original wooden structures to survive from the Heian Period. Going to stop with the facts here before I bore all of you with history. Below is a snapshot of the Byodoin Temple from a few different angles the day I went. 


Can you imagine how pretty this place would be in spring with cherry blossoms on the side? Sigh, I think I need to go back in the spring time.

Green Tea Meal in Nakamura Tokichi

My long awaited meal at Nakamura Tokichi. Last time I came to Uji, I wasn’t able to eat here because it was over an hour wait. This time, I got lucky! So here it is, my full green tea meal at Nakamura Tokichi


Oh and how can I forget the sweets before leaving Uji! Yes, I needed my fixes of ice cream!


Last but not least, I got carried away in the rain and had a bit too much fun with my sister at Uji. It’s been a while we went on a trip together.


I always thought the Japanese were very clever to invent clear umbrellas because it won’t obstruct the scenery in the back… I guess I was wrong. LOL.

Stay tune for my next post as I continue to travel through mainland Japan!

xoxo,
D

Albany, New York
New York! Everyone loves New York… that is if it’s New York City. But what if you were to travel to upstate New York? There are no direct flights, and your layovers are miles west or south to your final destination. Yes, that’s right… after 2-5 hours of layover and 2 flights on tiny airplanes (sometimes even with propellers), I travel to a city called Albany, the capital of New York State.


Walking towards the terminal at the airport, it does make me wonder why does a capital city look so….. quiet.

After being here for a handful of times, I still think this place is kind of quiet. It maybe that or because I’m working the long hours, sometimes up to 18 hours a day, to really appreciate this city. The food at lunch is amazing though, I think that’s a win for sure after the long hours, I definitely need some brain food.


Although, outside my hotel from downtown Albany I do see historical buildings, and some contemporary sculpture/building. Still I don’t think there is not much around here that is unique or as great as the Big Apple. Below are a couple of shots of early morning and late evenings in downtown Albany.

Some background context: I have never scuba dive in my entire life. The first time I did anything close to scuba diving was snorkeling and that was like a year ago at Turks and Caicos. To be quite honest, I was worried for a few reasons: (1) when I went snorkeling, the ocean water often gets into my goggles and the salt water stung my eyes; (2) back in the day when I still studied science as one of my elective courses, I learned that if a person dive too deep too fast, bubbles will form in the brain, and you can die…; and (3) the oxygen tank is heavier than me, and it may crush me.

But here I am in Okinawa, on vacation mode, what’s going to happen? So yes, I decided to go scuba diving, for the first time with a company called Sealovers. The Sealovers Company offers English instructors and pairs one instructor to two newbie divers. We had a group of 4, so we had 2 instructors. What’s really good about this company is that they also help us took pictures for free! So I still have snippets of this amazing experience on my SD card! For more information, you can visit this website.

Originally, we were going to the Blue Cave in Okinawa. The Blue Cave is located near Cape Maeda in Onna Village. It is a natural cave rising up from the ocean that divers can enter. The cave acquired its name from the blue tone created inside and it is a popular sightseeing spot for a lot of visitors to Okinawa. The sun’s ray reflected from the bottom limestone cave creates the distinct blue colour. However, I did not get to go to this Blue Cave because a typhoon was approaching creating strong tidal waves dangerous for all divers. As an alternate, we explored the coral reefs of Okinawa and it was AMAZING.

Off we go to the coral reefs then. Look at those weights tied around our waist! each one is about 5 lb and I had a total of three!

1. Agu Pork and Wagyu Beef

First, recapping from my last post, if you happen to be in Okinawa, you will know that this place, Hundred Years Old House Landlord Ufuya (百年古家大家) is a place you must visit.



While this is a historical site, it is also a place where you can fill your tummies! My family and I were very fortunate to try some of the Agu Pork and Wagyu Beef in shabu shabu style while we were here. Reservations is highly recommended if you want to try this out this type of shabu shabu cuisine at Okinawa. I am already hungry by just looking at the food pictures below…



Additionally, we saw there was another place where tourist ate noodles also with Wagyu Beef or Agu Pork. Reservations is also needed because this place is just super popular. Information about this restaurant is below.



Address: 90 Nakayama, Nago, Okinawa Prefecture 905-0004, Japan
Mapcode: 206 745 056 * 82
Phone Number: 0980-53-0280
Hours of Operations: 11:00AM – 5:00PM; 6:00PM – 10:00PM
Website: http://ufuya.com/en/reserve_form/

2. Fresh Seafood

If you take a look at the map of Japan, you will know that Okinawa is surrounded by the  ocean. This means, there are lots of fresh seafood, and that’s a win for me, because it is at Okinawa where I got to try some new types of seafood, and consumed some of my favourite fresh seafood as well!

Among the different restaurants I went to, these three stood out to me the most:

(A) 海人食堂 (UMINCHU SHOKUDO)
If you want fresh seafood from the ocean, this is the place you must go. This restaurant is located at Iye Port Terminal and it’s ran by the Iye Fisheries Cooperative Association. This restaurant does have a fast food style to it with minimal interaction with the staff. As a diner, you will first order from the vending machines. If you don’t know what you want to order, the menu is on the wall. Simply pick the number on the menu and input it in the vending machine.



After you order, the vending machine will print out some tickets. Bring these tickets to the counter where the staff prepares for the food. Then you will need to find a seat at the restaurant. Seats are first come first serve, and at lunch hours, this place is packed, so try to get there early before the lunch wave hits.



Below are two of the dishes which I took a picture of. #6 and #9 respectively.



Dish #6: Sea Food Bowl contains Okinawa specialty from the dish above are the sea grapes. They look like tiny grapes, texture feels likes fish eggs, but taste like seaweed. Some say there’s a sour taste to it, and I concur. I think, when the sea grapes pop, there’s a bit of sourness to it, but otherwise, it just taste like seaweed with a different texture! Definitely recommend all to try it!



Dish #9: Daily Sashimi Set Meal, comes with whatever is fresh from the ocean that day. Note, the miso soup also taste a little different. I can’t quite pinpoint the taste of it, but it’s on the saltier side, so try it out and let me know how you like it! The black stuff in the middle is also a type of seaweed called Mozuku Seaweed. It is said to be very healthy, but it’s often serve with a sour sauce.



Address: 33 Toya, Yomitan, Nakagami District, Okinawa Prefecture 904-0305, Japan
Mapcode: 33 792 330
Phone Number: 098-957-0225
Hours of Operations: 10:00AM – 4:00PM
Website:  yomigyo.shimatabi.jp

(B) 山原新鮮組 (YANBARU SHINSEN-GUMI)


Stumbled upon this restaurant on the way back to our accommodation from the Heart Rock. My sister previously saw some recommendation on a website, so we decided we will grab dinner here! And it did not disappoint!

Starting off with free beer and a fresh sushi platter…



Followed by some grilled seafood, and we had to grill it ourselves on this tiny coal stove! It was fun, until the clam shells cracked and the pieces of shell blew up everywhere.



Ending a hearty meal with some hot foods, some fish and beef tongue.



We didn’t need to make any reservations at this restaurant, and it was relatively empty when we were there. Maybe because it was too early? or was it getting late? Not sure, but it is north of where all the activity is, so this may probably be a lunch place as opposed to a dinner place.



Address: 1 Chome-12-2 Gusuku, Nago, Okinawa Prefecture 905-0013, Japan
Mapcode: 206 628 301
Phone Number: 0980-54-0040
Hours of Operations: 11:00AM – 4:00PM; 5:00PM – 2:00AM

(C) 第一牧志公設市場 (FIRST MAKISHI PUBLIC MARKET)
Last but not least, this place was probably the highlight for my taste buds where I ate a variety of seafood, hot and cold.

This market, First Makishi Public Market, is deemed to be Okinawa people’s kitchen. It is very similar to the markets you see in Japan, but it is air-conditioned and is very clean! How this place differs from the other markets is that there are two levels – wet market on the first floor, and the eatery is on the second floor. Diners can choose the ingredients on the first floor and then the staff will bring the food up to the eatery on the second floor which would be prepared, and cooked at 500 yen per person (for 3 dishes).

It’s only obvious that the seafood section stood out to me. Look at all the yummy goodies to be prepared!



What stood out to me the most is the yakougai (夜光貝)! And I finally got to try it! Hint: they also sell the shells in Okinawa, but if you are going to eat them already, tell the staff members there and they can clean it for you so you can take it home! As for the texture, it taste like conch.


As for what I ate, oh man, it was totally out of this world. We had two seafood platters, clams and lobster miso congee. Everything was fresh and delicious!



Address:  2-10-1, Matsuo, Naha-City, Okinawa, 900-0014, Japan
Location: Near the International Street
Phone Number: 98-867-6560
Hours of Operation: 8:00AM – 9:00PM (Different by store)
Website: https://kosetsu-ichiba.com/

3. Ice Cream

Okay, so I’ve only heard of ice cream made out of cream, but never heard of ice cream made out of sea salt. In Okinawa, I guess it’s really close to the ocean, almost all their ice cream have sea salt as an ingredient. And in this section, I will talk about all the ice cream I had at Okinawa. Note: it was like 35 degrees celcius everyday, and one ice cream was definitely NOT enough.

(A) CREAMIA
On the first day, when my family went to the Hundred Years Old House Landlord Ufuya (百年古家大家) tourist attraction, we found this place: Creamia. Turns out it is a must-eat ice-cream place in Japan. There are two types of ice cream. The generic soft serves which has green tea or vanilla flavour and another soft-serve ice cream which is extremely creamy and rich in milk flavour. The second choice has an unusual cone and it taste like a cookie. Both ice creams were delicious.



(B) HAAGEN-DAZS
Some great finds in convenient stores were my favourite brand name ice cream, Haagen Dazs. What’s so special about the ones below? Oh, they are just pumpkin and Annou Imo (Okinawan sweet potato) ice cream only available in October! *While quantities last*



(C) SEA SALT ICE CREAM
I think the ice cream I had at Gala Aoiumi (Gala 青い海) was probably my favourite. Soft serve sea salt ice cream. As well as sea salt beni-imo ice cream in a cup. If you are interested about what else is there in Gala Aoiumi, feel free to go back to my previous blog post (Okinawa Adventures).

4. Beni-imo Goods

5. Okinawa Specialties