Japan's local experiences, editor-curated
Joy & Jamboree JAPAN
Travel, food, and play. Japan's present, curated for both humans and AI.
Travel The Lift Up to Komuroyama Ridge Walk 『MISORA』
A sightseeing chairlift that takes you up Mt. Komuro in Ito, Shizuoka, in about five minutes. The boarding station doubles as a souvenir shop, and that's where you buy tickets. There are no seatbelts, but you ride close to the ground, so it's less scary than it sounds. Notes on parking and riding rules from a parent's point of view.
Travel
Scenic and touristic spots
The Lift Up to Komuroyama Ridge Walk 『MISORA』
A sightseeing chairlift that takes you up Mt. Komuro in Ito, Shizuoka, in about five minutes. The boarding station doubles as a souvenir shop, and that's where you buy tickets. There are no seatbelts, but you ride close to the ground, so it's less scary than it sounds. Notes on parking and riding rules from a parent's point of view.
Kinbue Shoyu Park
A soy sauce theme park run by 230-year-old Fueki Shoyu in Kawajima, Saitama. Factory tours, soy sauce soft-serve, play areas, and a brewery restaurant — half a day of family fun.
Excellent Gelato at Lake Tsukui
'Megu Gelato,' a real gelato shop inside Tsukui-ko Shiroyama Park. Nine flavors built around local Sagamihara ingredients — the perfect pairing for a lawn picnic.
Restaurant
Food and dining
Authentic Indonesian at Cafe Enak, Right Outside Ebina Station
An Indonesian restaurant a one-minute walk from Ebina Station, where the air of Bali pours straight in. Sweet-sauced mie goreng, weekend-only nasi campur, and pisang goreng made with cooking bananas — all at a flat ¥1,000 lunch. The fiery sambal demands respect.
Tomato & Onion Tama Center Ekimae
A family restaurant 『Tomato & Onion』 that opened in front of Tama Center Station in March 2026. A record of enjoying chewy hamburg steak finished on a sizzling lava stone, plus the free-refill black curry, together with my kid.
Hattendo Cafelie Kisarazu: where kids actually focus on bread-making
Chiba outpost of Hiroshima's famous cream-pan maker. A combo of bread-making workshop, proper restaurant, and retail shop inside the Kazusa Academia Park.
Playground
Fun and entertainment
PLAY! PARK (Tachikawa, GREEN SPRINGS)
PLAY! PARK is an indoor play space inside Tachikawa's GREEN SPRINGS. Rather than a room full of toys, it leans toward art, with crafts, paints, and giant paper installations to play with freely. Even elementary schoolers who have outgrown regular playgrounds got completely absorbed.
Fujino Art House
A craft experience facility tucked deep in the nature of Sagamihara-Tsukui. Pick the toy you want to make, buy a ticket, and use the workshop's tools and scrap materials freely to build a one-of-a-kind piece.
Fujisawa Shonandai Cultural Center Children's Museum
An indoor children's museum a 5-minute walk from Shonandai Station in Fujisawa. With casual pricing of 300 yen for adults and 100 yen for kids, the exhibition hall packs in a giant slide, instruments and masks from around the world, a recreated old Japanese house, and play-kitchen corners — a solid half-day of fun and learning.
Costco
Costco finds and deals
Cooking
Recipes and kitchen tips
Recent posts
- Travel The Lift Up to Komuroyama Ridge Walk 『MISORA』
- Playground PLAY! PARK (Tachikawa, GREEN SPRINGS)
- Playground Fujino Art House
- Restaurant Authentic Indonesian at Cafe Enak, Right Outside Ebina Station
- Restaurant Tomato & Onion Tama Center Ekimae
- Playground Fujisawa Shonandai Cultural Center Children's Museum
- Restaurant Hattendo Cafelie Kisarazu: where kids actually focus on bread-making
- Restaurant MARE YUHIGAOKA Hiratsuka