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Yoichi Diaries: Nikka Whisky Distillery
On Sunday April 14, my boyfriend and I went to visit the Nikka whisky distillery in Yoichi, where Nikka was founded. It’s one of the big hallmarks of Yoichi, just a bit away from Otaru, and probably one of the bigger tourist destinations in the area. My boyfriend is a whisky fan, so I wanted…
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Shakotan Diaries: A Drive Around the Shakotan Peninsula
On April 6th, my former coworker / friend took me on a day-trip drive along the West coast along the Shakotan peninsula. It’s less “Shakotan” Diaries since we actually didn’t spend too much time in Shakotan itself (there really isn’t much else in Shakotan considering it’s a village with a dwindling population), and more “Shiribeshi”…
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Taipei Diaries: Taipei Zoo, Gongguan snacks, and saying Goodbye
March 29th: A bit ago I found out that the entry fee to the Taipei Zoo costs $2 (after conversion), and that’s a pretty good deal (also Ueno Zoo, whch is 500 yen according to my boyfriend), and my boyfriend and sister had an interest in going, so my dad and I tagged along (my…
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Taipei Diaries: National Palace Museum, North Taiwan Tour, and Yongkang Food
On to Part 2 of my spring Taiwan trip! March 26th: This day was actually pretty cold and our trip to the National Palace Museum. I had been before back in 2018, but my sister wanted to go again, and we figured it’d be a good experience for my boyfriend to see. I had the…
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Taipei Diaries: Spring Family Trip, Taipei 101, and Ximending
This year, my schools’ Spring break is March 23-April 7, which means two weeks of deskwarming for me. I decided to take the first week off to go travel to Taiwan again (I had lots of fun last year and couldn’t wait to go back at a warmer time!), and it just happened to also…
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Japanese Work Culture: The Enkai
With the end of my second fiscal year working in Japan, I’ve just ended my second year of enkais, and luckily, for both of my schools. What’s an Enkai? Glad you asked. In a Japanese work setting or even a restaurant setting, you might hear the word Enkai thrown around. An Enkai is basically a…
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How to Survive Winter in Japan
Tokyo might not be as bad, but it does snow in most parts of the country in winter. Winter preparations are especially important for me, living in Hokkaido, though I actually heard Aomori is the snowiest city in the world. With March coming around, spring is finally approaching. This also means winter is finally ending…
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Sapporo Food: Ice Cream and Parfaits
Arguably Hokkaido is most known domestically and internationally for their milk. More broadly, the dairy, and even within the prefecture there’s huge pride on it too. Ice cream places will all clearly advertise made with Hokkaido milk, or more specifically milk from a specific town in Hokkaido. I remember back when I came to Japan…
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Sapporo Diaries: Kirby Hunting Continued
On March 2nd I went out to Sapporo (yes, two weeks in a row) to do some more seasonal eating, Kirby shopping for my sister, and hopefully some more Starbucks hunting. Part of the inital plan was to try to get one of the Round 2 Kirby Happy Meals, but 1. my sister wanted all…
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Sapporo Diaries: Kirby and Starbucks Hunting
Happy birthday to the emperor! Febraruary 23rd was a holiday for the aforementioned reason, so I decided to go out to Sapporo for various reasons. Taking my normal bus in the morning, my first stop after arriving was heading to the Starbucks at Parco to grab the newest seasonal frappucino and also to do some…
Annie's Excursions
A Travel and Lifestyle Blog