Sometimes you need to travel to another side of the world to get answers to your questions. And the question I’ve been asking myself was – what had happened to Umu, my favorite Japanese restaurant in London, which has changed for the worse ever since it’s head chef, Ichiro Kubota…

After eating in all these “alpha” sushi places in Tokyo the standards for fish and rice get pretty high. I don’t want to sound snobbish – the first time I went to Japan I was so ignorant, I thought that sushis are the most basic meal to prepare, something everyone…

Staying in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Kyoto was a very special experience. Let’s say, hoteliers who are willing to learn how to host a guest in their hotel should stay in a high-end ryokan for at least one night. The experience was “special” from the moment my taxi…

When I go to a new city, I always try to visit its market. Like this, you can approach the local culture a little bit better. A small photo “reportage” from this 400-year-old market…

Kaiseki – is a traditional Japanese multicourse meal that originates from tea drinking ceremonies in the 16th century. Kyoto and its region is the cradle of the Japanese culture as well as of kaiseki. Many say that multicourse small portions menus in the “Western” gastronomic restaurants are influenced by the…

When visiting the beautiful Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto we passed by this small eatery serving soba and drinks. The soba (hot noodle soup) cost only 600 yens (around $6), but it was the best hot soba I have ever had… And the view and the surroundings were simply beyond any…