Category Food
Mount Fuji (Day 1) – Ascent and summit
When we decided to come to Japan this summer, I told Amanda that climbing Mount Fuji was my top priority on my list of must-do activities. In fact, it was my only must-do activity. Why? Well, why not! Although not the tallest or most difficult climb in the world, Mount Fuji ranks among the most […]
Kyoto (Day 3) – Gion Corner and dinner at Aunbo
For performing-arts enthusiasts such as Amanda and I are, it isn’t enough just to see temples and gardens: We always supplement that sort of sightseeing with cultural events, such as concerts, dance performances and theatre. We didn’t have time (and it wasn’t the right season) to take in these cultural events as they would ordinarily […]
Kyoto (Day 3) – Sightseeing rebooted: Fushimi Inari, Tofoku-ji, Kiyomisu-dera, Chion-in
Oh man, what a difference sleep makes! After going to bed last night at the unheard of hour of 11:00pm, we got a full nine hours of sleep, which is basically unheard of on our vacations — we tend to average somewhere closer to 6 hours per night due to awesomeness. Only sometimes all that […]
Kyoto (Day 2) – Gion district and dinner at Kyoto-Gion Nanba
Kyoto is known for having many good restaurants, including many with Michelin stars. With the help of our concierge we had reservations for a place called Nanba in the Gion district. Gion is the old historic district in Kyoto, and it’s known for it’s charming evening atmosphere when the geisha go to work and the […]
Kyoto (Day 2) – JD Kai Food Tasting Tour
Having begun our stay in Kyoto with a bike tour to some of the major sights, we thought it only natural that we spend the next day on a food tour to experience some of the local gastronomy. We found the JD Kai Food Tasting Tour on Tripadvisor and booked it well in advance — […]
Kyoto (Day 1) – Biking through Kyoto: Golden Pavillion, Ryoanji, Bamboo Forest
Tokyo is a glittering, modern city and I love it in all ways, but it’s a little short on history and tradition. If you want that, you need to go to Kyoto, which was the seat of imperial power for centuries and escaped the worst of the bombing during WWII. The city has a higher […]
Tokyo (Day 3) – Michelin-starred sushi in the Ginza district
Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in the world (including Paris!) and so naturally Amanda and I came here with every intention of notching a few more stars on the proverbial belt. For some reason the Michelin guide for Tokyo is not available in the US (even the outdated versions are hard […]
Tokyo (Day 2) – Ramen and Mochi in Akihabara
By the time we escaped from the Maid Cafe, we were both starving and crashing from the sugar high we’d gotten from those brightly-hued sodas. So we set out to find something a bit more substantial for dinner. One option caught our eye for sheer outlandishness — but chasing a disgusting purple potion with what […]
Tokyo (Day 2) – Bathing at Hakone
We got naked again today! This time in pursuit of that quintessential Japanese experience: the onsen. Japan, as you know, is part of that volcanic “ring of fire” that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. As a result, it has not only beautiful volcanoes (see Mt Fuji) but also about a million hot springs. These hot springs […]
Tokyo (Day 1) – Cooking dinner with Mari
At 5:00pm sharp, we emerged from the Shintomicho subway stop and looked around. We saw four other non-Japanese-looking people standing awkwardly a few feet away. “Are you guys here for the cooking class?” we asked. Four nods, six introductions, next thing we know a young Japanese woman named Mari shows up and ushers us all […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 