In an area of Kanazawa called Nagamachi (長町) you can visit the Nomura Residence, also known as the “Samurai House” and home to the Nomura clan for as many as 10 generations. Most of the original samurai houses have either been destroyed or commercially developed, so it is quite unique to have the chance to visit a samurai house in its original shape. Even if you're not interested in samurais you can still enjoy the sight of the well-preserved Edo architecture and not to mention the beautiful Japanese garden.

This weekend the Japanese Sake Fair 2017 is being held in Ikebukuro's Sunshine City, and people participating in the event have the opportunity to try sake from more than 800 sake breweries from all over Japan. Yesterday I had the chance to participate in an exclusive opening event where we got a pre-taste of today(17/6)'s fair.

45 Japanese prefectures were represented at the fair, and among the sake you get to try at there are 430 award-winning brands from the Annual Japan Sake Awards. As you can imagine they all have their distinguished flavor and aroma, so whether you are a huge sake fan or not you might just find yourself a new favorite sake at this event.


The event lasts only for one day, and this year it is divided into two sessions lasting from 10 am - 2 pm and 3:30 - 7 pm so there's no time to wait for those who want to visit this year's Sake Fair!

For those who are interested in the event, check out my blog post from last year's Pikachu Outbreak here

One of the things that can be recommended as a cultural experience for people visiting Japan is to combine a day sightseeing with trying to wear the traditional Japanese clothing kimono or yukata. Even for Japanese people wearing a kimono is not something you have the chance to every day, and even most Japanese people only were kimono for special occasions a couple of times a year.