When I was in Japan last month, we went to an okonomiyaki restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan. It was called Denko Sekka, in Canal City Hakata, a shopping center. (Denko Sekka means "lightning fast.")

Okonomiyaki is basically a kind of pancake or crepe cooked on a griddle. — Read the rest

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Last month I went to Japan with my family. It was my 10th time in Japan. But until this visit, I had never gone to any island other than Honshu, the one that has Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. This time we went to Kyushu, which is south of Honshu. — Read the rest

The post Why a Fukuoka subway sign calls your backpack a "rucksack" appeared first on Boing Boing.

When I was in Fukuoka, Japan, last week, I stopped by Rakusuien garden, a small strolling garden with a koi pond, a waterfall, a picturesque bridge, and meticulously tended plants. It also has a tea house, but on the day we went, there was no tea ceremony. — Read the rest

The post A box of free acorns at a Fukuoka garden put me in a great mood appeared first on Boing Boing.

I'm on the constant lookout for the tiniest umbrella available.

On my recent trip to Japan, I found the smallest one yet at the fantastic Hands store in Fukuoka.

It weighs just 65 grams and measures 8 inches long and about 1.5 inches in diameter when collapsed. — Read the rest

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