For me ‘Toraya’ – House of the Dragon – is the quintessential contemporary Japanese café.
do what you love Page 49 of 82
The floating village
I love boats. I love water. And I love the countryside. So when I heard about Ine ‘the Floating Village’ I knew I had to visit.
Secret garden
Tucked away down a side street near the Eastern Mountains of Kyoto is this lovely garden, in the grounds of Murin-an Villa. Simple, peaceful, and more than often yours all to yourself…
Living an artsy life: Traci Penrod shares her story
Today’s shared story comes from Traci Penrod. After 17 years in the pharmaceutical industry Traci decided that her career just didn’t tap into her creative side enough. She enjoyed scrapbooking so much that in October of 2011, she decided to take a leap of faith and start her own company.
Kyoto cafes 9 – Cafe Sarasa
Housed in an old bath house in the north of the Nishijin textile district, Cafe Sarasa oozes character. The old wash taps remain on the walls, which still bear glossy mosaics from a time when they would be splashed daily.
Late Summer blooms
The Imperial Palace gardeners have brilliantly designed the garden so there is always something in bloom. These late summer flowers made me smile as I took a final stroll through the grounds…
The way of writing
The Japanese word for brush calligraphy – shodo – literally means ‘the way of writing’, which I think perfectly captures the essence of it.
Enter the geisha
When I went to the kimono design studio to work on my noren curtain (more on that soon), I was not expecting to have a geisha come in for a spot of shopping…
Ohara
Although we have just left Japan, I still have a lot of adventures to share with you here on the blog so I will continue to share these over the next few weeks, starting with Ohara…
Kyoto cafes part 8 – Sagano-yu
Do you ever go into a particular cafe and feel all the tension leaving your shoulders as you give a sigh of happy comfort? That is how I feel when I go into Sagano-yu cafe in Arashiyama, a beautifully restored old Japanese bath house which is now a cafe and shop.