Crumbs to Crunch

Okinawa is one of Japan's best holiday destinations. With its beautiful beaches, interesting history and tropical weather, it is in many ways the perfect getaway. However, for me there is one important thing that trumps all these other considerations when deciding where to go on holiday: what delicious local delicacies can I try? Okinawa's food reflects the mix of cultures that effected this group of islands far from the rest of Japan. From the American influence that created Taco Rice, or the Chinese influence on Okinawan Soba, there are many things that you can try in Okinawa that are completely different to the food from the rest of Japan. Of course, I am always most insterested in the sweets, so it's no wonder that I've become a big fan of Sata Andagi. Sata Andagi are deep fried buns very similar to ones found in Chinese cuisine. They are a little tougher than regular donuts, with a golden exterior and a cake-y interior. The name comes from the words 'sugar...

Japan is  well known for its cute characters, delicious treats and famous anime. There's one bakery that combines all these things together to create perhaps the most Japanese snack ever: The Totoro Cream puff. Totoro is one of Studio Ghibli's most famous characters. He first appeared in the 1988 film 'My Neighbour Totoro' and charmed the world with his cuteness. The owner of Shiro-Hige's Cream Puff Factory  is actually the sister in law of the director of the movie, Miyazaki Hayao. This charming little Tokyo bakery has a whimsical feel, partially hidden away down a small road and surrounded by lots of trees. The interior design is full of wood and warm colours, so its a lovely and cozy place to enjoy some treats. The stars of the show are of course the cream puffs. The flavours change depending on the month, so you can check what they'll be serving when you visit here .  We tried a chocolate cream and a caramel banana cream flavoured Totoro. You...

Are you a fan of apple pie? If you are, then Hirosaki might just be the place for you! Hirosaki is in Aomori, a prefecture in the Tohoku region in the north of Japan. Aomori is famous for its delicious apples, and nowhere is this fruit more greatly celebrated than in the city of Hirosaki. There are over 50 shops in the town selling different types of apple pie. With so many options, it can seem overwhelming. How can you possibly find the perfect pie for you?! Well, the answer is simple. All you need is the Apple pie map !  Not only does the map tell you all the different locations for pie shops and bakeries, it also rates each pie on its sweetness, sourness and amount of cinnamon. My personal favourite is  スリーブリッヂ or Three Bridge, a cute little bakery near Hirosaki station. Their pie is rated 3/5 for sweetness and sourness. But don't take my word for it, head to Hirosaki and do your own research! There's plenty of pies to enjoy and beautiful sites ...

Cream Collon Surely this snack wins for its hilarious name! These are crunchy tubes filled with a custard centre. Unfortunately I found these biscuits disappointing as the custard was quite sickly. 1/5  Kinoko no yama This means 'mountain mushroom'. They are are little pretzels stems covered in chocolate tops. They are so cute and taste so good, this is my favourite.   5/5 KitKat - Yuzu and Cough Syrup The Yuzu KitKats are white chocolate with a wonderful zing. I was surprised by how sour they are but in a good way. 3/5   However, the cough syrup flavoured KitKats smell and taste exactly like medicine. Absolutely disgusting but impressive how authentic the taste is!   0/5 Lotte's Koala March These cute biscuits are puffed cereal parcels filled with chocolate. Each biscuit has a different Koala design. These bite-sized biscuits are not only delicious but also perfect for children and Koala lovers! 4/5 ...

The Crumbs to Crunch sisters have always loved autumn colours . This year, I planned a special hike up Fukushima's most famous mountain, Mt. Bandai. Unfortunately, the weekend I chose for the hike happened to be right before typhoon Lan! Due to the lashing rain, we were forced to abort our walk. However, nothing eases wet weather blues like a nice cup of tea.  Mt. Bandai We found a charming little cafe called 1888, right next to the  Mt. Bandai Erruption Museum (a great little museum with information in English, well worth checking out). The name of the café refers to the eruption of Mt Bandai in 1888 which buried five villages and killed 477 people. Part of the mountain was blown off, creating the nearby Five Coloured Lakes (Goshikinuma).  Five Coloured Lakes (Goshikinuma) Ordinarily, 1888 would have a lovely view of the twin peaks of Bandai. However, due to the terrible weather, we could only just make it out in the mist! Even ...

Tomorrow, it's Shrove Tuesday and who doesn't love a day dedicated to pancakes? While sugar and lemon on your pancakes is a classic, it's fun to mix it up once in a while! This year I have been inspired by my trip to Japan to make okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake made with cabbage and drizzled with special okonomiyaki sauce. Okonomiyaki is delicious and really easy to make. I used the recipe from the Japan Centre's website . It can be a little tricky to get your hands on all the ingredients. I used ordinary plain flour and it turned out well. For the okonomiyaki sauce, you can find it in Asian supermarkets or substitute it with Worcestershire sauce as it tastes similar. Okonomiyaki If  Okonomiyaki is not your thing, we did a series on pancakes from different countries so it's time to crack out those recipes again to have the best ever pancake day! For savoury ideas, check out Korean vegetable pancakes or galetttes which are thin pancakes made out o...

We have few obsessions that rival our love of food, but one that comes pretty close is our appreciation of stationery. Therefore imagine our excitement when we discovered that in Tokyo there is a stationery café, otherwise known as Bunbougu Café , near Harajuku.  As you descend the stairs into this basement café, you are surrounded by the amazing doodles that people have drawn in the café. The pictures are so good, be sure to have a look to give you some ideas for your own creations! The café itself is cosy and modern. There is such a relaxed atmosphere as everyone scribbles and doodles away. You can wander round the café and pick up various bits and pieces of stationery for your creations. If there's any pen or notepad that particularly takes your fancy, you can buy it in the shop after your meal. I particularly liked some crayons in the shape of hippopotamuses and some wonderful, thick and vibrant calligraphy pens.  The food is delicious too. With a menu tha...

Japan. A country where amazing, quirky ideas become realities. Take the universe of the themed café for example. Tokyo is abounding with cafés themed around every possible interest. There's cat cafés, owl cafés, cafés that give you pastries in the shape of Totoro, cafés in which you can be served by butlers, animé themed cafés... The list goes on and on. When searching around for our perfect café, we came across a concept café that we immediately fell in love with. The Moomin House Café. Situated at the base of Tokyo Sky Tree (right next to the Sky Tree station) The Moomin House café is the perfect stop off point when you need a break from your vigorous schedule of touristing. Just in case you have yet to encounter the joy that is the Moomins, let me give you a brief background. The Moomins are a series of books and comic strips written by the Finnish author Tove Jansson in the 1940s. With their large snouts and big eyes, they quickly became a huge internationa...

When I think of castles, I usually think of stone turrets. portcullis and battlements so I was quite surprised when I saw a white wooden castle looming in the distance. Of course Japanese castles would look different from British ones, I just had never thought about it before.   I visited Tsurugajo Castle in Aizu Wakamatsu which was once a stronghold for Samauri. Built in 1384, the castle was home to the feudal lords who ruled the area.  However, it was destroyed in 1868 during a rebellion that marked the end of the feudal era. The castle that stands today is actually a 1960s replica but is impressive nonetheless. I climbed to the top of the castle and got a feel for how the feudal lords felt surveying their kingdom.  In the castle grounds there is the adorable Rinkaku tea cottage which was built by Sen no Shoan specifically for tea ceremonies. In fact, his father invented the ritual that we know today as the tea ceremony.    Nowadays they...

Summer is finally here! In Tohoku we're enjoying a small window of perfect weather, the glorious few weeks of sunshine and blue skies before the scorching humidity of the majority of the summer months. It's time to make the most of it and get outside!  With this in mind, we headed to the prefecture of Yamagata on a flower tour. The first stop was Sasho Rose Garden. This lovely little garden was stunning with its multitude of roses in every colour. The blue skies and walls of roses made the perfect backdrop for taking photographs. As a Crumbs to Crunch sister, it was also vitally important to find the perfect snack to match the surroundings. Sasho garden didn't disappoint and I was quick to snap up some rose gelato. Its mild and delicate flavour was the perfect accompaniment to this peaceful garden.  Next stop was Iide Dondendaira Lilly Garden. We were a little early to see all the lillies in bloom, but the ones that were out were beautiful. I loved the orange and y...

We've been around the world and tried many strange ice creams, from the tomato flavoured ice cream of Nice to the salt ice cream of Dublin . However, nothing quite matches the crazy ice creams available at Karafuneya Coffee in Kyoto. As soon as you enter this lovely cafe in the Sanjo area of Kyoto, you are greeted by an enormous number of plastic models representing the amazing desserts. The best thing about Karafuneya is the sheer range of sundaes. We were equally thrilled by the classic chocolate and strawberry parfaits and the slightly more unusual Japanese flavours, such as macha and black sesame. There were even enormous sundaes (about 2 feet tall) that you can share with all your friends. However, the real eye catchers are the more outlandish ice cream combinations. We spotted a model for a French fries parfait, a deep fried chicken parfait and an American hot dog parfait. The models actually looked surprisingly delicious, but we weren't feeling too adventurous. So ...

Spring has finally sprung and there is no better way of celebrating this glorious season than gazing at sakura in Japan.  I wasn't even planning to be in Japan for the cherry blossom season. Each area has such a narrow window for sakura that it was a wonderful surprise to be in Tokyo when the blossom was at its height. I had naively imagined myself writing haikus with blossom floating around me. In reality, about a million people and I crowded into Ueno Park to witness the event of the season! Surprisingly, it didn't matter that there were hoards of tourists and locals. In a bustling megacity like Tokyo, it was practically a miracle that we all managed to find a certain amount of peace, marvelling at this natural wonder. Many of the locals were picnicking under the blossom and their spread was incredible, from mouth watering noodle dishes to yakitori. I got very jealous and so headed towards the many food stalls in the park. I bought some Okonomiyaki which are ve...

I have a new love and it is called melonpan. This sweet bread is everywhere in Japan, and when it’s fresh out of the oven, nothing can beat it. It is a light, sweet bread with a crisp top and can be recognised by the distinctive crosses etched onto it. The name comes from the fact that it apparently looks like a cantaloupe melon, rarely is the bread actually melon flavoured. As for 'pan', that is the japanese word for bread, which originates from Portuguese.  On my quest to eat as much melonpan as possible, I found myself at Asakusa Kagetsudo Honten. This tiny little shop near the Asakusa Temple in Tokyo is famous for its jumbo melonpan. Asakusa (Senso-jiin) is one of the most famous sights in Tokyo. This Buddhist temple was built in the seventh century. The big gate of thunder opens the way to a path lined by little huts selling Japanese souvenirs and snacks. Once you arrive at the temple, you can get good luck by wafting incense over yourself. You can even find o...

Yesterday was Hina Matsuri in Japan, also known as Girl’s Day or Doll’s day in English. The celebration of this festival is a traditional way to pray for the health of a young girl. When a baby girl is born, parents often prepare dolls before her first Hina Matsuri. Then, every year a display is put up in the house. The top of the three-tiered platform has an emperor and empress doll. Surrounding them are court ladies, court musicians and items usually associated with marriage, such as tea ceremony utensils and personal effects that a wife would take to her new home. However, this display must be put away before the 3 rd March, otherwise it is said that the girls will not be able to get married. As in all cases, what really interests me about this festival is the food! I work in a school, and our special school lunch consisted of chirashizushi and hina arare. Chirashizushi consists of sushi rice with vinegar and sugar topped with raw fish and sometimes vegetables. Hina arar...

One of the sadder moments of living abroad is when you realise that Guy Fawkes Night is pretty much an exclusively British event. I'd been complaining about the lack of fireworks when I heard of the Taimatsu Akashi, or the Sukagawa Fire Festival, which takes place a mere week after Bonfire Night. In 1589, the castle of Sukagawa was burnt to the ground by Date Masamune. Now every year the people of Sukagawa commemorate the loss of life by building 7 feet tall pillars and setting them on fire. It's an amazing sight- the fires look incredible and frightening, but the locals seem fairly relaxed about the huge fire they start every year in the town centre. This year, the weather was not kind. It was completely bucketing it down. Although we got completely soaked to the bone (as part of our grim determination to not put up an umbrella and block the view of the people behind us), the Samegawans cheerfully informed us that the rain was a good thing as it causes the fires t...

We are firmly in autumn territory now, and so it's time for some autumn baking! Here at Crumbs to Crunch, we've already been bowled over by autumn in England and Scotland , but there's nothing quite like autumn in Japan. It's one of the most beautiful times of year to see the country, and people come in their hordes to see the stunning autumn trees. I was lucky to explore the colours in Nihonmatsu, a city in Fukushima prefecture. In Nihonmatsu they have a yearly chrysanthemum doll festival, during which local gardeners grow the beautiful flowers onto the bodies of historical figures. After looking round the fantastic displays, we climbed to the top of the hill where the remains of Nihonmatsu castle are. It was a spectacular walk, with some of the finest trees that I have ever seen. After a slightly blustery day, nothing is better than going home and chowing down on some cookies. I decided to give my cookies an autumnal twist. Persimmons are the autum...