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....

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...