Travel to Anaheim and Chicago

Anaheim

Anaheim is home to the iconic Disneyland Resort and two of Southern California’s professional sports teams. Fans of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks can watch the hockey team on ice at the Honda Center, the city’s award-winning concert venue that will host indoor volleyball during the 2028 Summer Olympics. The other team, the Los Angeles Angels, play baseball in Angel Stadium of Anaheim, known as “The Big A.” It is the fourth-oldest active MLB stadium in the U.S. The Southern California city has a lot to offer — whether you are eating in the trendy Packing District or visiting the Anaheim Convention Center for a large-scale event such as VidCon, Anime Expo, WonderCon or the NAMM Show. Here is Tokyo Journal’s top pick for places to stay in Anaheim:

Travel to Seattle

Seattle is home to the Space Needle, the first-ever Starbucks, Pike Place Market, the Market Theater Gum Wall and other iconic attractions. It’s also got a thriving food scene, making the city a destination for all foodies. The best way to explore Seattle is on foot. Sports fans can catch a game at CenturyLink Field and Safeco Field, or indulge in Pacific Northwest culture at the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of Pop Culture and the Pacific Science Center. These are Tokyo Journal ’s picks for some good centrally located, modern and historic places to stay in Seattle:

Travel to Central Coast, California

Paso Robles, San Louis Obispo County

The Central Coast of California and its four regions — Monterey Bay, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura — make up what is known as “The Original Road Trip,” a classic drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. It’s a seemingly never-ending stretch of beautiful views, beach towns, extravagant resorts, wineries and historical attractions. There is something for everyone on what has become known as the ultimate Californian experience for tourists and locals. Tokyo Journal recommends Paso Robles, an approximately three-hour drive north of Los Angeles or south of San Francisco, for its proximity to fine wineries, Hearst Castle, the Paso Robles Events Center, the Ravine Water Park, downtown Paso Robles and more. Wine enthusiasts can explore Paso Robles Wine Country, where an abundance of wineries produces more than 40 diverse wine grape varieties.

Travel to Yosemite

Yosemite National Park is the most revisited park in the United States, and it’s no wonder with the grandeur of Half Dome, Glacier Point, El Capitan, Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite Falls, the Mist Trail to Vernal Fall, and its vineyards. Action seekers will enjoy rock climbing, horseback riding, archery, swimming and biking. Winter activities include sledding, tubing, snowshoe hiking, skiing and snowboarding. Here is Tokyo Journal’s recommendation for a luxurious stay while visiting Yosemite. This luxury, boutique hotel is a short drive to astonishing waterfalls, soaring granite icons, giant sequoia trees and stunning natural monuments.

Travel to San Francisco & Scottsdale

TJ’s hotel reviewers headed to San Francisco and Scottsdale to experience the best places to stay. Here are our favorites.

Figs and Ham Tart

For making last-minute meals, I always try to have a few key ingredients at home. I keep a few rolls of frozen puff pastry in the freezer, and in the fridge I make sure there are fresh eggs, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, vegetables, good ham and milk in the fridge. With these ingredients, I can whip something up to eat in no time. I did this a few weekends ago. I left my house at 5:45 a.m. to go to my triathlon training session. When I got back at 9:30 a.m., I knew I needed something special for lunch. I took a roll of frozen puff pastry out of the freezer and let it defrost for a couple of hours on my kitchen counter. In the meantime, I showered and rested before preparing the rest of the ingredients to make this SUPER tasty tart. For ham, I recommend Mr. Meat’s Spanish Serrano ham. Here’s the recipe:

New American Comfort

I have memories from my childhood of my mother and father packing the car for our annual summer stay in Wisconsin. Into the car went clothes, sports equipment, a cooler to store food for the long stretches of drive that lay ahead of us, and a box full of the staple foods we had grown accustomed to in Los Angeles and couldn’t live without. Tortillas, hot sauce and pinto beans would fill our coffers only to be replaced by Nueske’s bacon, wild blueberry preserves and hazelnuts for the return.

Koshu Wine – Uniquely Indigenous to Japan

When it comes to Japanese alcoholic beverages, most people think of sake. But in recent years, sommeliers around the world have been becoming curious about another: the indigenous wines of Japan, namely those from Koshu.

Mari's Homemade Cooking Recipes

How to Make Miso-simmered Mackerel

Ingredients (4 Servings)
Miso broth:

• 4 tablespoons miso
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons mirin
• 4 tablespoons sake
  
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 120cc water (about 1/2 cup)

1 whole mackerel or 4 slices of mackerel, about 100c / 3.5-oz. each
15g / 1/2-oz. piece of ginger, sliced

Teaching to the Heart and Head

In teacher education seminars and conferences, a common warm-up task is for the workshop leader to ask participants to take a few minutes to think of an inspirational teacher that they had in school or elsewhere, to identify what it was that made this person inspirational, and pinpoint what qualities that person had. I feel uncomfortable when I get asked to do this task. I can readily remember a lot of uninspiring teachers, but not very many inspirational ones.