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Silicone products have been around for a while and in recent years utensils for use in the kitchen have become more common though there still seems to be some skepticism amongst consumers. First lets be clear silicone is not a plastic that is made from petrochemicals. Silicone is a compound derived from a chemical process that utilizes silica as its key component. There are different grades of silicone for use in different applications and for example the products sold by Zakka Japan like the VIV silicone steamers and bottles use high grade silicone manufactured in Japan that has passed stringent...

I'd like to introduce you to one of my favourite markets in Japan, the Kuromon market located in the Nipponbashi district in the Minami area of Osaka city. The market is open on a daily basis to the general public and houses all manner of vendors selling fresh seafood, fruit and vegetables, meat, pickles and more. There are many vendors of seafood who specialise in tuna and also "fugu" a poisonous blowfish considered a delicacy by many. In the market there are also many restaurants, I recommend the udon restaurant ASOKO, that makes all its noodles by hand and serves...

Mt Koya, a buddhist village dating from the 9th century located in the mountains of Wakayama south of Osaka. On a hot humid day in late summer Mt Koya offers relief from the heat and an amazing insight into a village devoted to Buddhism that functions to this day. It is accessible from Osaka on the Nankai line and takes about 90 minutes. "Okunoin" houses the tomb of the founder of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, Kukai and is surrounded by a forest of giant cedar trees and more than 200,000 graves, representing a who's who of Japanese history. In...

In the autumn of 2009 I hiked along the Yamanobe trail, a "road" that dates to at least the 8th century that meanders through rural villages and farms on the eastern edge of the Nara basin. It is considered to be one of Japan's oldest roads/trails. There are many shrines and burial mounds dating from the time that Nara was the centre of power in Japan. If you are looking for experiences outside the big cities this is one worth considering. It is about 40 m by train from Osaka and can be accessed from Tenri station on the Kintetsu...

In the summer of 2012 I headed to Naoshima an island in the inland sea between Shikoku and Honshu. The island is an interesting series of paradoxes having gone from fishing villages and agriculture to supporting a smelter (still in operation) and then morphed into a island dedicated to art. The famous Japanese architect Ando has created a series of galleries that house prominent works of art, displayed in a creative way. In the post war years young people left places like Naoshima to work in the large cities such as Osaka and Tokyo. These days in the small villages...