Trivia

Okazaki, the birthplace of Ieyasu, with its Okazaki Castle, had always piqued my interest. I thought it might be a bit much to just visit the castle, but then an outlet mall opened there late last year, so I figured it was about time to go. That's when I found out that Kakukyu Haccho Miso, a brand I sometimes get intense cravings for, offers factory tours! So, I decided to make a trip to Okazaki for an "adult field trip."

A friend posted about "Meao Fudo-son" on Facebook, and I initially wondered if it was a mistake for the famous Meguro Fudo-son. But the photos looked different, and I figured they wouldn't mix up Meguro and Meao, so I looked it up. That's when I discovered the Edo Goshiki Fudo. These five Fudo statues are arranged in a circle around central Tokyo, and I thought it would be fun to visit them all on my eBike, so I set out right away.

I was on a business trip to the US for our marine business. To understand the market, alongside experiencing marine products, everyone told me, "You just HAVE to go to Bass Pro Shops!" I went there with only vague info that it was a huge outdoor shop selling boats, ATVs (all-terrain vehicles), and ROVs (recreational off-highway vehicles).

Every evening at the hotel, our local guide shared tons of stories with us. They mentioned that the summer season we visited was prime time for kombu fishing and drying. And true enough, as we drove around the island, we kept spotting kombu laid out to dry on gravel patches, just like you see here!

When landing at Rishiri Airport, there was an announcement saying, "Rishiri Airport has a short runway, so we will apply sudden brakes for deceleration." I thought I was prepared for it, but wow, that braking was way more abrupt than I anticipated, and it really surprised me!

Booking way in advance is highly recommended! I decided to travel to Rishiri Island and started looking for flights and a rental car around late May.

When you hit Rishiri Island, it's all about uni-don, right? So, I grabbed a rental car from the airport and drove straight to a portside spot serving sea urchin bowls. What I saw there... Honestly, I had to blink a few times at the price tag! A few others were also pondering the sign with similar hesitation.

This time, on my way to Rishiri Island, I booked flights from Haneda to Shin-Chitose, then to Rishiri, with a domestic transfer at Shin-Chitose. I wasn't entirely sure how much time to leave for a domestic transfer, so I opted for flights with about an hour's […]

I had to close the bank account I opened while living in Sweden after the battery in my Digipass, which I used to access the account, died. It turned out to be quite a challenging and troublesome process...

On Tokaido Line stations, you often find information about nearby tourist spots on the platforms. At Iwata Station, "Kumano no Nagafuji" (Kumano's Long Wisteria) is introduced as a nationally designated natural monument. Since I had just been around the Kumano area, I got curious about why there's a famous spot called "Kumano" in Iwata and why this wisteria is a natural monument, so I decided to go check it out for myself.