While Kyoto was incredibly nice and the Gion Matsuri an eye-opener to Japanese festivals, Takayama offered a slice of Japanese culture, tradition and architecture in a setting that felt a lot more authentic. One major highlight of the region is…
Kyoto: Of Geishas, Maikos and Matsuris
Kyoto was probably the city I was looking forward to the most on my Japan trip. I’d heard endless stories from fellow travellers about how Kyoto is the city which best preserved Japan’s cultural heritage. This holds true compared to…
Hiroshima: City of Peace
After Miyajima, we had only a few hours to spare in Hiroshima before heading to Kyoto. Naturally, I wanted to see the A-Bomb Dome and understand the extent of the destruction. The Peace Memorial museum tour and graphic photos of the devastation were…
Miyajima: The Ryokan Experience
I read before that Miyajima could be done as a day trip combined with Hiroshima. While that may be true, I am just so glad that I decided to spend one night there instead. After all, the Torii Gate is…
Osaka: A laid-back Tokyo
Osaka was the first leg of my Japan tour and landing at Kansai International Airport got me all fired up. I had enjoyed myself tremendously the previous time I was in Japan and I just couldn’t wait to get past immigration…
Touring Japan
I flew to Japan in July 2014, a long overdue trip after a 10-day winter trip to Tokyo four years earlier. I still love the people, the food and the culture but the entire experience in summer is vastly different. It was…
Tokyo Food Porn
I recently visited Japan and Tokyo again but a couple of years ago, I was in Tokyo largely because I wanted to try some of the oldest restaurants in the city. Now, I did expect the food at these establishments to…