So, I went to this conveyor sushi restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo on Saturday night - Sushi Daidokoya . It was right underneath the apartment where we were staying so it had the benefit of convenience. It had outstanding selection, fresh fish, amazing prices, and welcoming environment. For reference, the yen and Canadian dollar are close to par, so ¥100 is very close to $1.00 CAD. I had eaten dinner earlier, so I limited myself to just 10 plates:) The English m...

We are enjoying our retreat for a few days in Hakone, a two hour train ride outside of Tokyo. It is a well loved resort town in a mountain range with many hot springs. The mountainside is covered in changing leaves and though it is still mild here for November, weather changes rapidly here. We have been adventuring today on the Hakone loop which has many modes of transit, starting with a train, a tram going up a steep hillside, a ropeway gondola which takes you t...

Tori No Ichi matsuri happens on the 10th and 22nd of November every year. We had the fortunate experience of attending last night as it was in the neighbourhood of our Ryokan. This is a festival to bring good luck, and the locals come to pray at the temple and eat as well as buy these decorative rakes that have all sorts of symbolic pieces to it. Some are made entirely of cats, dolls or good luck charms and come on a hay wreath of sorts attached to a bamboo pole....

We took a day trip from Tokyo to the ancient town of Nikko, a world heritage site famous for the shrine and temple of Toshugo, an important Shogun in Edo history. The two hour train ride is a lovely journey out of the busy life of Tokyo and soon you see farm lands, rice paddies and the changing leaves that everyone is snapping photos of at this time of year. Golden yellow, bright red and orange, and sunlight slipping thru. There were many Japanese seniors making ...

The wonderful thing about Tokyo is that it is a world away from everything I know and yet it is strangely familiar. We are here for 8nights on a whirlwind tour and we are settling in to the rhythm. Our traditional Japanese Ryokan has welcomed us with a small room with a tatami mat floor on which you fold out your futon nightly. The jacuzzi bath for two is a lovely way to end a day of walking your feet into the ground. We are maximizing our time and the subway he...