EAT > Beaux Séjour, Naeba Niigata (15/20)

Beaux Séjour at Naeba Prince Hotel delivers a surprisingly polished, gently old‑world French dining experience at the base of one of Japan’s classic ski mountains, with a New Year’s menu that leans into nostalgia, craft and alpine comfort in equal measure. AMBIENCE > Tucked inside the sprawling Naeba Prince Hotel complex, Beaux Séjour feels like…

ByCrispyJanuary 4, 2026

EAT > JAPAN EAT > YUZAWA NIIGATA

EAT > Sobadokoro Shinbashi, Yuzawa (16/20)

Sobadokoro Shinbashi in Yuzawa delivers the kind of quietly confident, deeply local experience that turns a simple bowl of soba into a small ritual—rooted in snow country traditions, polished enough to feel special, but never overworked. A few minutes’ walk from Echigo-Yuzawa Station, it is the sort of place you start recommending to friends long…

ByCrispyJanuary 4, 2026

STAY > JAPAN STAY > YUZAWA & NIIGATA WHERE TO STAY >

STAY > Naeba Prince Hotel, Naeba Yuzawa (14/20)

Naeba Prince Hotel is a sprawling, slightly surreal ski-in/ski-out classic: aging concrete, endless corridors and a surprisingly polished Club Floor experience that finally gives Naeba a more premium edge and a way to escape the hordes. GETTING THERE > Naeba sits in the mountains of Niigata, about 40 minutes by shuttle from Echigo-Yuzawa Station…

ByCrispyJanuary 4, 2026

SKI > JAPAN

SKI > Naeba Ski Resort, Niigata Japan

Naeba Ski Resort is a big, buzzy Japanese snow playground that wraps a classic 1970s ski hotel, serious race heritage and family-friendly terrain into one easy weekend escape from Tokyo. ARRIVAL > Reaching Naeba is wonderfully straightforward from the capital, with a 75–80 minute Joetsu Shinkansen from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa Station, then a dedicated resort…

ByCrispyJanuary 3, 2026

EAT > APPI KOGEN EAT > JAPAN WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Shiratsuyu at ANA Intercontinental Appi Kogen (14/20)

Shiratsuyu at ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen is less a standard hotel restaurant and more a calm, quietly luxurious alpine dining room, where polished service, thoughtful cooking, and a deep sense of place come together just steps from the snow. Returning to Appi Kogen after a couple years has been a mixed experience. Our first time…

ByCrispyDecember 26, 2025

EAT > JAPAN EAT > TOKYO WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > L’OMBELICO, Shibuya (15/20)

Tucked into the ground floor of TRUNK(HOTEL) YOYOGI PARK on the Yoyogi Park side of Shibuya, L’ombelico feels like a little slice of contemporary Tokyo-Italian: wood-fired warmth, natural wine energy, and that relaxed, park-adjacent buzz that rolls from breakfast through to late-night pizza. AMBIENCE > Set on a prominent corner of Inokashira-dori with three sides…

ByCrispyDecember 25, 2025

SKI > JAPAN WHERE TO SKI >

SKI > Appi Kogen

For regulars it's jut 'Appi' - a resort famous for its champagne powder great accomodation and good food options and while it is not 'Ski Bali' (yet) it does have a good mix of western and Japanese options. So Appi is a ski in ski out resort that sits in the Iwate Prefecture toward the…

ByCrispyDecember 24, 2025

DRINK > BARS DRINK > JAPAN DRINK > SENDAI

DRINK > Great Dane Brewing, Akiu, Sendai (15/20)

Set against Akiu’s pine-lined hills and onsen steam, Great Dane Brewing brings Midwestern brewpub heart to one of Tohoku’s most storied hot spring valleys—a Wisconsin-born, Sendai-brewed outpost where craft beer, wide-open views and a low-key road-trip energy converge. It feels less like a side-trip from the city and more like a base camp for slow…

ByCrispyDecember 23, 2025

STAY > JAPAN STAY > SENDAI WHERE TO STAY >

STAY > KAI Akiu, Akiu Onsen, Sendai (17/20)

KAI Akiu by Hoshino Resorts brings understated design, ritual-rich bathing and river-facing calm to one of Sendai’s most storied onsen towns, wrapping traditional ryokan cues in a quietly luxurious, contemporary frame. For ALMANAK readers, it is the kind of stay that feels purposeful rather than flashy—more about seasons, texture and water than spectacle.Summary Intro goes…

ByCrispyDecember 23, 2025

EAT > JAPAN EAT > TOKYO WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > KUFUKU±, Akihabara Tokyo (17/20)

Tucked into a quiet backstreet on the Akihabara side of Chiyoda, Kufuku feels like stepping out of electric town and into a parallel world—one where time, fermentation, and French technique quietly reframe Japanese comfort food. Set inside a lovingly preserved kominka, this is destination dining for travellers who like their Tokyo with as much patina…

ByCrispyDecember 22, 2025

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