Christmas Comes to the Westin

It’s Christmas Eve! This month, I went on a search for the best Christmas decorations in Tokyo. We all know Japan’s winter lights, called illuminations in Japanese, are outstanding, but they don’t have much to do with December 25th. I didn’t come across any nativity scenes but I did find one enchanting display in Ebisu.

Sweet Plum Blossoms

It’s mid-February, and it feels like spring is just around the corner. As winter begins to draw to an end, the warmer weather brings out one of my favourite flowers: the plum blossoms!

Winter Paradise at Takaragawa Onsen

Being the volcanically-active country it is, Japan is teeming with natural hot springs. Though these onsen are everywhere from cities to the seaside, the best ones are always found in the mountains, in my opinion. There are few things more relaxing than soaking in an outdoor onsen (rotenburo) alongside a river in the middle of a forest.

Setagaya in the Snow

The entire country, bar the subtropical Okinawan islands, has entered a deep freeze this week. On Monday, a snowstorm swept across Honshu, and Tokyo welcomed its first heavy snowfall since the “snowpocalypse” of 2014. It usually snows only a few days a year, and rarely enough each time to accumulate on the ground.

To Market, to Market

There’s less than one week till Christmas! I hope everyone is ready… presents bought and wrapped, Christmas tree up, ugly Christmas sweater (that you secretly love) waiting to be worn! Isn’t it just the best time of the year?

February Favourites

One of the most beautiful visions I’ve ever seen is the combination of pink sakura and yellow nanohana. Kawazu town in Izu, Shizuoka, comes alive each February when these stunning flowers bloom simultaneously.