August 8, 2009

Stylish Trains in Japan



I'm not a train geek, but I found interesting magazine articles.
The men's culture magazine, Pen featured Japanese trains on June 15th issue.



It's far from Tokyo, but there are many stylish trains in Kyushu (Southern part of Japan) area!




TSUBAME, JR Kyushu Shinkansen (Bullet train), was introduced in 2004. Interior of TSUBAME is Japanese classic modern coordinated with black and dark red.


It runs between Shin-Yatsushiro and Kagoshima-Chuo. (For detail, visit the official site here.)






SONIC (883), a limited express that operated by JR Kagoshima-Honsen, is corrdinated with futuristic interior. Metallic car deck and leather seats are somehow matching well.





RELAY TSUBAME is a major stylish train in Kyushu that won many design awards.

It's like a classic hotel lounge. Green car is even more luxurious.

August 5, 2009

Wentworth Miller Loves Ramen



Prison Break star, Wentworth Miller ate this noodle when he visited in Japan.
(He added toppings of boiled egg and green onion. Price is 850 yen.)

Oishii Ramen (means yammy ramen) is 650 yen (after 21:00, 700 yen) and 100 yen for each toppings.



The name of noodle shop is DOTONBORI KAMUKURA at Shinjuku.
The ramen chains, originally based in Osaka.

Soy source based clear soup and Chinese cabbage are uniqueness of KAMUKURA's ramen.










DOTONBORI KAMUKURA (Shinjuku)
1-14-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku
Hours: 11:00 - 32:00 (8:00 AM)

*You have to buy a ticket from vending machine outside of the noodle shop.

August 4, 2009

Classic Hakata Noodle



If you want to eat a classic Hakata noodle, ICHIRAN is the best place!

Hakata noodle:
Signature noodle in Hakata, Fukuoka prefecture. Noodle is thin and straight.
Soup is pork based (Tonkotsu).


ICHIRAN offers only one kind of ramen at 650 yen. But you can customize your bowl by filling in a order sheet. For detail, check this.

And, the uniqueness of ICHIRAN is that all seats are divided like private room. So you can focus on eating your noodle.



ICHIRAN (Roppongi/Near station)
Roppongi GM Bldg 2F
4-11-11 Roppongi Minato-ku
Hours: 11:00AM - 6:00AM


ICHIRAN (Shibuya/Next to OIOI JAM)
Iwamoto Bldg B1F
1-22-7 Jinnan Shibuya-ku
Hours: 24 hours


August 3, 2009

The Most Satisfied Place In Tokyo


According to the research done by Tokyo Metropolitan Government, about 5,340,000 people visited Tokyo in 2008.

And, Shinjuku was selected as the most satisfied spot in Tokyo!
(Survey was collected from foreign travelers.)


The most satisfied place in Tokyo:

Shinjuku (16.7%)
Asakusa (10.1%)
Ginza (7.5%)

*Shibuya is also popular among Europeans, Americans, and Australians.
*Odaiba is also popular among Asians.




The purpose of trip:

Shopping (40.2%)
Explore (35.7%)
Night view (33.4%)





What did they eat?

Sushi (65.7%)

Ramen, Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ), Izakaya (Japanes style pub) are also good!
And, don't forget to try Japanese sweets! Or go to the basment of department stores, where food floor is located.






August 2, 2009

Tully's 12th Anniversary

Tully's Coffee Japan will celebrate its 12th anniversary on August 7, 2009.

The first Tully's store in Japan opened in Ginza in 1997.
Now, there are over 300 outlets in Japan.




To celebrate the anniversary, special beverages will be introduced in August 3.





Annin (almond jelly) Swirkle

Short: 390 yen (182 kcal)
Tall: 440 yen (212 kcal)
Grande: 490 yen (300 kcal)
Enrome: 550 yen (370 kcal)

August 1, 2009

Illy In A Can

 

Illy issimo; the new ready-to-drink beverage brand that was introduced as the result of a partnership between illy and The Coca-Cola Company, is now available in Japan.

Currently, two flavors are sold. Caffee (Espresso) and Latte Macchiato.
They were first introduced in Tokyo on June 22. The design of bottle is a bit different from International versions.

Price is 190 yen. (190g)