Japan doesn’t actually have as many cafés as I expected.There were many times when I walked for more than an hour thinking, “My legs hurt… I should rest at a café somewhere.” In Korea, you just stop for a moment, look around,and there are two or three cafés nearby.So maybe Korea simply has a lot of cafés. Anyway, when traveling in Japan, you often have to check the map beforehand if you want to go to a café. And surprisingly, there aren’t many places that pull espresso.Most cafés are hand-drip only.So an iced americano is hard to find, and you’ll…

I am not someone who eats tonkatsu very often,but since I came to Kagoshima for this trip,I decided to enjoy it properly. A few days ago, I had the tonkatsu at Roppakutei. It was bold and intense,so I described it as “tonkatsu for young people.” Today I wanted something easier to eat and still delicious.This is my second visit to this place.I was already familiar with the style, and I liked it beforehand.The place I want to introduce today is Juan (寿庵). Juan has three locations in Kagoshima.The main store and Tokai branch are a bit far from the center,so…

Kagoshima and shochu. I keep repeating these words through this whole travel series.You might be tired of hearing it by now.But what can I do?Kagoshima really is the city of shochu. And the reason I travel to Kagoshima is simple —I want to drink shochu. The first time I arrived in Kagoshima was during my Kyushu round-trip in 2017.I took a ferry from Kagoshima to reach Yakushima, stayed there for three nights and four days (it was amazing!!), and then came back to Kagoshima for one night.Back then, I thought Kagoshima was just a small countryside city, so one night…

The reason — or maybe the trigger — for this trip was simple. It was my birthday. I didn’t want to spend it alone at home.There is a certain charm in spending a birthday alone while traveling,but spending it alone at home feels only lonely, nothing else. Today is my birthday. Right after checking into the hotel,the first thing I did was book a restaurant for tonight. Choosing where to eat tonight was the most important decision of this trip.I spent a lot of time searching, reading reviews, and checking photos. When you sort Kagoshima restaurants by Tabelog rating,the top…

The theme of this trip is actually a “birthday trip.”And today is my birthday. I already booked a pretty expensive restaurant for dinner tonight. So for lunch, I wanted something light and easy to digest.After drinking a bit too much last night,I thought it’d be better to soothe my stomach firstso I could enjoy dinner properly. At times like this, soba is what comes to mind. Buckwheat noodles are gentle on the stomach,and warm soba broth always feels comforting. So I searched for soba restaurants in Kagoshima on Tabelog. That’s how I found Tenjinbo Marushin (天神房 丸新), located in the…