Blog
Sensō-Ji Temple and Asakusa, Tokyo
Sensō-ji temple, located in Asakusa is Tokyo's oldest establish Buddhist temple, and the most widely visited religious site in the world.
Imperial Palace East Gardens - Tokyo
The Imperial Palace East Gardens is a historical garden in the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Built on the site of the original Edo Castle, during the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603 to 1868) as a palace for the heir to the Shogun, and later (1961) converted into the gardens we know today.
Nippara Limestone Caves
With ancient stratums from hundreds of millions or years ago, impressive stalagmites and stalactites, musical water drips, shrines and coloured lighting, the ambience and beauty of the caves really takes you away to a magical place.
Okutama - Ohtama Walking Trail
A day trip to Okutama is my personal recommendation for the perfect way to escape the city and enjoy nature.
Sunshine Aquarium - Ikebukuro, Tokyo
Nearly 40,000 individual fish across 70 or so tanks with a total water volume of 770,000 litres, it is a truly amazing place to visit.
Tsukemen - Dipping Ramen
Tsukemen, meaning "dipping noodles" is a popular style of serving noodles in Japanese cuisine. Usually with ramen, but udon or soba noodles can also be used.
Buying a Suica card
For those who don't know what that is, Suica is an IC card which can be used (among other things) to pay for public transport around Tokyo, and the rest of Japan.
Pedestrians Watch Out! Cyclists About!
I had been putting off writing this post, and truthfully I still feel a bit beside myself while doing so now. For it is my intention that this blog be a positive and informative perspective of a British person living in Japan. Quite frankly, this is not a positive post, but it is (I hope) informative.
Strawberry Picking in Yamanashi Prefecture
A few weeks ago my wife and I went with friends to a lovely place in the middle of beautiful green fields in Yamanashi Prefecture, to pick strawberries.
Shibuya Scramble - The Famous Crossing
In almost every list of top places to visit in Tokyo, or even Japan as a whole for that matter, I see Shibuya Scramble - The Famous Crossing...I was in Shibuya recently, not for the crossing but for other business.. So I decided while I was there to check it out and see what all the fuss was about..
Odaiba - Tokyo's Seaside
Odaiba, located in Tokyo Bay, is an artificial island originally constructed as a defensive fort/battery to protect the Tokyo area. Today it stands as a popular seaside destination. With a large sandy cove and a small handful of offshore islands, each with the remains of late Edo era fortresses and defensive structures upon them.
The Konbini - Japanese Convenience Store
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the noun "Convenience" as having the quality of facilitating personal ease or comfort, or of saving trouble or effort of a person or group. The Konbini is a perfect real life application of that very definition.
Public Transport in Tokyo
I think it is fair to say that the Tokyo metropolitan area has arguably one of the most efficient public transportation systems on the planet.
The Flight - London to Tokyo
Possibly the most iconic natural feature of Japan is Mount Fuji.
London Heathrow Airport
As British airports go, London Heathrow is the largest and busiest.
The Journey Starts Here
Waking up in the middle of the night to make my way to the airport, it would be a lie to say I was without nerves.