Places we stopped along the way
Kagawa, Ehime & Tokyo
Honetsuki Marugame Dori
A honetsukidori restaurant in Toricho, within walking distance of JR Marugame Station. I gripped the radish-sprout-topped chicken with a paper napkin, bit in, and enjoyed it with a mug of beer.
87-2 Toricho, Marugame, Kagawa
Sources: tabelog.com retty.me
This moment in the journey
Honetsukidori, and a trip only the blossoms can plan
Dinner was honetsukidori, a Kagawa specialty. On a night street in Marugame I found a shop with a sign reading Honetsuki Marugame Dori, and a big honetsukidori sign standing by the door.
A mug of beer to start. Then came a bone-in chicken leg, heaped with radish sprouts. I gripped the bone with a paper napkin and bit right in. With this dish, the very act of tearing into it makes it taste even better.
This cherry blossom trip was supposed to start in Kyushu and simply head north. Instead it took me unexpectedly east and west. Only the cherry blossoms know where I'm going next, and that's part of the fun.
Watch this scene on YouTube7:48
More notes from this journey
Mitoyo (Mt. Shiude)
Mt. Shiudeyama
At 352 meters, the highest peak on the Shonai Peninsula.
From: Chasing the cherry blossoms across spring Japan
Shimanami Kaido
Hirakiyama Park
A park at the top of Mt.
From: Chasing the cherry blossoms across spring Japan
Kagawa, Ehime & Tokyo
Kotohira-gu Shrine (Konpira-san)
A shrine on the eastern slope of Mt.
From: Chasing the cherry blossoms across spring Japan
Mitoyo (Mt. Shiude)
Chichibugahama Beach
A shallow beach stretching about a kilometer.
From: Chasing the cherry blossoms across spring Japan
Kagawa, Ehime & Tokyo
Tokyo's cherry blossom spots
Ueno Onshi Park has cherries from kanzakura blooming in February to Kanzan at its best in mid-to-late April, and draws close to 3.3 million visits in the blosso…
From: Chasing the cherry blossoms across spring Japan
Kagawa, Ehime & Tokyo
Tokyo's Sakurazaka slopes
On the slope I walked in Akasaka and Roppongi, the marker post says the road was laid in the mid-Meiji era and named for a large cherry tree that stood at its f…
From: Chasing the cherry blossoms across spring Japan
More notes from Kanto
Kamogawa, Chiba
Namero on rice
Namero is a Chiba specialty handed down along the coast of the Boso Peninsula.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamogawa, Chiba
Sauce yakisoba
A staple of summer festival stalls.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamogawa, Chiba
Grilled seafood skewers
The taste of the festival stall, on a small charcoal grill on the veranda.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamakura, Kanagawa
A little Kamakura drinking set
At the farmers' market near Kamakura Station, growers from around Kamakura sell "Kamakura vegetables," many varieties in small quantities, grown with as little…
From: A hundred-year-old house in the town of the Enoden
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kenchin-jiru
A soup of root vegetables and tofu, sautéed in oil before simmering.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kamakura morning set with grilled dried fish
Kenchin-jiru made with Kamakura vegetables, with dried fish from the market shop grilled alongside.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima