As part of my stay at @azumafarm.koiwai in Iwate I participated on a walking tour of the historic districts of Morioka. As a tour guide myself I loved participating on this tour. Our guide spoke fluent English and is a local so knows the shops we visited and could answer my many questions of the area…

Exciting new property near Morioka, Iwate in Tohoku. I was lucky to be the very first guest to stay here, before it opened, for Afar. Grateful for the opportunity. I am a big fan of Tohoku, my family is from nearby Yamagata. The article is here (and in stories under travel): https://www.afar.com/hotels/in-depth-review-of-azuma-farm-koiwai-in-iwate-japan Only 24 spacious…

Exploring the world of food and sake is always a delight. The host of the Sake Industry Night at Kakō was Oriol Sola, Director of Operations at the new JW Marriott Hotel Tokyo. Sake brewery Kesennuma Otokoyama Honten from Kesennuma, Iwate, shared several interesting sakes from their portfolio. Kako, the Japanese restaurant, is on the…

Shibui is a charming book by author Sanai Ishida about “The Japanese Art of Finding Beauty in Aging”. Japanese-American Ishida shares lessons she learned from her Tokyo-born mother while growing up in Los Angeles. Shibui has several meanings in Japanese that range from astringent and bitter to elegant, subdued, understated, and tasteful in a quiet way….