The Japlanning Guide to Sakura Season 2020

February 24, 2020

It’s coming up to the most beautiful time of the year in Japan; no it isn’t Christmas, it’s Sakura season! This is Japan’s busiest season for both domestic and international tourists. Everyone flocks to see the stunning blooms on the cherry trees all over Japan while enjoying time with friends and family under the blossoms. From late March through to early May the trees bloom from Southern Japan to the most North Most tip. Without further ado here is the ultimate guide to Sakura Season in Japan for 2020.

Sakura season is a magical time in Japan, from the first bloom till the last petal falls, the country is blanketed in a palette of pink and white hues, showing the world that spring has most definitely sprung. Throughout this time, Japanese people come together with friends and family to enjoy the natural beauty and flock to parks, and river banks filled with sakura trees, and relax under the trees with picnics and drinks and embrace the beauty.

Japlanning Eats: Nakiryu - Michelin starred ramen

March 17, 2019

By Bryce Marley-Jarrett

In the mid 2000’s Japan dethroned France as the country with the most michelin stars, with Tokyo being the city with the most stars in the world. In recent years Tokyo has become home to two ramen bars that have each been awarded a Michelin star for their dishes. The first was Tsuta in 2015 and followed by Nakiryu in 2017. Today we are giving you our review on the Michelin ramen at Nakiryu, and tips on how to get your hands on a bowl of one of the best ramens in the world.

Sitting at the base of a small office building surrounded by apartments in a very unassuming residential town in Tokyo, most would walk past Nakiryu and not even notice it - you could assume it was a small accountants office. However behind the ground floor door on the corner of the street is a small, 10 seater ramen bar that makes one of the greatest bowls of ramen in the world.

The Japlanning Guide to Sakura Season 2019

February 24, 2019

by Bryce Marley-Jarrett

It’s coming up to the most beautiful time of the year in Japan; no it isn’t Christmas, it’s Sakura season! This is Japan’s busiest season for both domestic and international tourists. Everyone flocks to see the stunning blooms on the cherry trees all over Japan while enjoying time with friends and family under the blossoms. From late March through to early May the trees bloom from Southern Japan to the most North Most tip. Without further ado here is the ultimate guide to Sakura Season in Japan for 2019.

Japlanning Drinks - Café de L’ambre

August 21, 2018

by Devon Martin

In a quiet little corner of Ginza, down a nondescript laneway sits a perfect little coffee shop that has been roasting beans since 1948. Are you a coffee lover? Coffee obsessed? This. is. your. place.

Alerted to this gem by some Japanese friends, the Japlanning team hit up this perfect café on a recent trip to Tokyo.

The café opens at noon and serves you guessed it, coffee. There is nothing else on the menu. But what it lacks in options for food or other beverages, it more than makes up for preparation and choice of beans. Every guest must at least order 1 cup of coffee, but even for the non-coffee obsessed there’s something on the menu for everyone. The majority of the coffee is prepared with the nel drip method; using a copper kettle, and being strained through a filter which looks like an old sock. The pour is slow and hypnotic to watch.

Japlanning Art - Finding Kusama

May 16, 2018

By Bryce Marley-Jarrett

Yayoi Kusama is one of the most well-known Japanese artists. Her major works and style are instantaneously recognisable; especially her polka dot works and love of pumpkins. Her works are so popular that galleries are currently vying to host major exhibitions dedicated to her across the world. However, you may be wondering: where do you find some of her finest works in Japan? Today we explore Yayoi Kusama’s installations, exhibitions, and the new museum dedicated entirely to her art, in Japan.

Yayoi Kusama was born in Matsumoto, Japan on March 22, 1929. Kusama trained at the Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts in a traditional painting style known as Nihonga. However she found the style frustrating and was more drawn to the European and American Abstract Impressionism. After stints of living in Tokyo and Paris, in 1958 she moved to New York, to become apart of the avant-garde scene, focussing on the pop-art movement through the 1960s. She became known after a series of ‘happenings’ she organised in New York, where naked participants were painted with brightly coloured polka dots: a style that she is now infamously known for in the art world.

The Japlanning Guide to Sakura Season 2018

March 11, 2018

by Bryce Marley-Jarrett

It’s coming up to the most beautiful time of the year in Japan; no it isn’t Christmas, it’s Sakura season! This is Japan’s busiest season for both domestic and international tourists. Everyone flocks to see the stunning blooms on the cherry trees all over Japan while enjoying time with friends and family under the blossoms. From late March through to early May the trees bloom from Southern Japan to the most North Most tip. Without further ado here is the ultimate guide to Sakura Season in Japan for 2018.