OMG! I think I may have died and found food heaven. I was so excited to go skiing at Hoshino Resorts TOMAMU in Hokkaido because I love skiing almost as much as I love eating. And I love Japanese food almost as much as I love breathing. So I was happy to discover that the […] Read more…
You might think that with six lifts and scores of runs, including off-piste and backcountry areas, that Hoshino Resorts TOMAMU is all about shredding the slopes, but there are endless other indoor and outdoor activities for little snow bunnies and powder pups, whether they’re strapped into skis or not. We certainly love the pow, and spend as much […] Read more…
It’s sooo fluffy” declares Raffles happily as he leaps out of our coach into the nearest heap of fresh snow, disappearing somewhere into its powdery depths. We’ve arrived at Hoshino Resorts RISONARE Tomamu, just a 90-minute drive from New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, to flurries of snowflakes dancing in the sky like frosty fairies. I’m so entranced […] Read more…
I must confess that I was a little late to the party when it comes to Harry Potter. In fact, I’d never read a single word of his wizardly tales or watched any of the many movies until Raffles became hooked on Harry. Now I’ve not only read all the books, but have watched each […] Read more…
The Minions have stormed Osaka in a blaze of banana. That’s right, the mischievous yellow henchmen, along with super villain Gru and his girls, Margo, Edith & Agnes have moved in to their new headquarters in the brand spanking new Minion Park at Universal Studios Japan. So what exactly is Minion Park? Well, to be frank, it […] Read more…
Imagine, if you will, a child so completely fanatical about Japan that he was well versed in the history of feudal Japan before he understood basic addition, attempts to create DIY samurai armour from paper plates and egg cartons, has his heart set on a career as a ninja and swears he has ramen broth […] Read more…
Tokyo. It’s all about cloud busting skyscrapers, bright lights, the blur of the bullet train, the heaving suburb-sized train stations, crowded mega street crossings, J-pop and Hello Kitty, right? Umm, not exactly. At least not in Shimokitazawa, a low-rise haven for hipsters just minutes from the neon beanstalks of Shinjuku and Shibuya that is like […] Read more…
At Casa Eats World, sushi is like oxygen. It is something we simply can’t live without and is inhaled by Raffles and Sugarpuff almost as frequently as air. Especially since our return from Japan. Their indefatigable fixation for the deceptively simple snack of rice, fish, vegetables and seaweed, means we’ve attempted making it at home […] Read more…
They say that no family holiday to Tokyo is complete without donning a set of mouse ears. So I decided to surprise my brood by ending our Japanese adventures in dazzling Disney style. My bad. When, on our last day in Tokyo, I wake them with the news they will be spending their day at Disneyland, I […] Read more…
So what does a normal family do when they first arrive in Tokyo? Hit up some of the incredible shrines? Stroll the flashy neon strips of the Shinjuku, Shibuya or Ginza shopping districts? Drown in a sea of Hello Kitty paraphernalia? Or stop to snack on sushi? You’ll have to tell me. My family isn’t […] Read more…
Raffles and Sugarpuff love a hotel stay, but not for the cool kids clubs, fun family activities and customised kids menus in their restaurants. In fact, it’s in spite of them. I just can’t seem to sell the idea on them… they’d much rather share the same experiences as us. And that’s ok with me. […] Read more…
One thing you could never accuse Kyoto of is a shortage of temples and shrines. There are quite literally thousands of them. But even amongst Kyoto’s 400 individual Shinto shrines, Fushimi Inari is one of the city’s most extraordinary and unforgettable sights. And it’s not just because the sight of its 10,000 or so tightly spaced […] Read more…