Nissin Japan has had several different variants of Seafood Big Cup Noodle in the last few years.  This Tonkotsu Seafood Big Cup Noodle is a limited time variant for the winter of 2023-2024. The Nissin HK Seafood Cup Noodle is easy to find in Canada at Chinese supermarkets, but not the Japanese version, so it was a surprise to find this on the shelf.  The Hong Kong version is similar to the one in Japan, but every regional version usually tastes at least a little different too.  I quite like the regular seafood version and really enjoy the Hong Kong Curry Seafood Noodle version t ..read more

While I'm not blogging or working, I've been writing my second novel, Kumotawa Confluence.  It has been a long haul on this project as it has been underway for three years and I'm finally on the last four chapters.  Even when I'm done writing, there is still editing, cleanups, and the whole publishing process to take care of.   Urban Fantasy – modern Japan Estimated at 130,000 words. Kumotawa Confluence Book Blurb On the fog shrouded slopes of Mount Kumotawa, a sacred shrine stands guard against the stirrings of an ancient evil.  Yuriko, a former special forces operati ..read more

Futakoi is a light novel, visual novel, and anime series.  It takes place in the charming town of Futakoi where twins seem to sprout like dandelions after rain.  The star is Nozomu Futami, a young lad who returns to his hometown and he gets caught up in twins and other adventures. Now that I have that out of the way, Futakoi Alternative takes place in a different town with a different protagonist, but with many other characters (twins included, crossing over).  It is basically an "alternative" version, not a sequel, that is very different from the original. The show ran for 13 e ..read more

Tokyo is one of those cities that changes constantly.  If you haven't been back every year, the changes tend to stack up over time and you could be in for a shock the next time you visit in five years or even more so if it has been ten years.  While some locations and events don't change much, new ones arrive and others disappear into the past.  There are many new attractions and changes in Tokyo for 2024 and it hasn't even been two years since I wrote the post  Planning My Tokyo 2022 Trip Highlights and Attractions (for Anime and Regular Tourists).  I know I'm going t ..read more

I found these Nissin Snow Crab Miso Cup Noodles at T&T market around Chinese New Years.  There were actually a number of limited edition noodles and other food items in stock at that time. It was a bit of a treasure trove.  I think it was all brought in for the holidays as people splurge on deluxe treats and other items at that time. It was pretty hard to miss these noodles on the shelf as the packaging for them is bright orange in colour with a pretty interesting crab graphic on the front in the big white RAOH logo.  Yup, you read that right if you know your noodles.  ..read more

I think this RAOH King Doro, Kotteri, Chicken noodle has been out in Japan for a few years (since 2022) and this is the first time I've run across it.  When I saw these on the shelf at the Chinese supermarket I bought a few of these when they were available.  The RAOH brand instant noodles are usually quite good for the noodles and the soup.  These noodles are air dried, but they actually have a more complex process that makes the noodles in layers to enhance the bite and chew.  Kotteri means thick so this will be a thick soup that will cling to the noodles. Tasty RAO ..read more

Back in December I checked to see if they had any second-hand figures for some anime series I follow.  I found sets of game-prize figures for both Spy x Family and Lycoris Recoil.  I had previously picked up a pair of figures for Lycoris Recoil earlier in the year, but this time I found some reasonably priced Luminasta figures of the girls in uniform.   Spy x Family is a popular spy thriller / comedy anime where Loid Forger, a master spy, receives a critical mission to infiltrate an elite school and get close to a powerful politician to prevent the next war.  To succeed he ..read more

I've been surprised by the new varieities of Japanese instant noodles available at Asian supermarkets in Edmonton/Calgary in the last few months.  Most of these are a limited release specials in Japan so they are gone once they sell out.  One of these is the Nissin Donbei Extra Spicy Chili Oil and Meat Broth Kitsune Udon which was so good I ended up buying extras to share with family.  I just kind of wish that the stores would stock the regular flavours of Donbei or Cup Noodle as it is nice to get these limited releases, but you can't get the normal stuff! 3/4 view of the ..read more

 I like Kelly Love Udon noodle cups!  Yup.  Came out and said it.  Actually, I'm glad I like them because I bought a box of six from Costco.  It would have sucked to find that they were not to my liking as they weren't super cheap.  I think the box cost $18.99 Canadian, so it works out to about $3.16 per cup and you get a big cardboard packing box for free. I'd actually never heard of this brand before as it started in the UK / Europe according to their website.  It was started by Kelly Choi who is an entrepreneur with a passion for flavors from the Far East ..read more

Roxon is a relatively new multi-tool vendor that I have reviewed a few times before.  They have some innovative designs that don't copy other vendors.  I've bought a number of their tools as they are reasonably priced, have good quality, and look pretty cool in general.  These tools are not perfect by any means, but they definitely have their uses and could be your primary multi-tool.  Some of the features I like about these tools are their large scissors if the tool has them, and the innovative tool deployment  / lock / unlock lever mechanism they use to deploy the sm ..read more