Year: 2025

We arrived in Tokyo at noon and dropped our bags at the Yaesu Terminal Hotel to wait for the 2 pm check-in. Lunch was at the train station in Ramen Alley where we had been before for a salty but delicious bowl of pork ramen.

After checking in to the hotel, we all gave one final push to see any sights that were previously missed. While Maneau, Jake and Yogi went shopping in Ginza, Monica, Ryan and I headed to Shibuya. The “Shibuya Scramble” crosswalk was fully busy on this Wednesday afternoon. It’s incredible how 1500 people can interweave from five directions without any major jam-ups or collisions. We strolled amid the skyscrapers to visit the Shibuya Parco Mall for an amusing wander through the gaming stores; Nintendo, Play Station, Sega… they are all here.

Ryan left us at this point and went to Akihabara to see some more anime stores while Monica and I carried on to Shinjuku to catch the laser show on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. We were a bit early so we found a quaint little bar and enjoyed a cocktail while we waited for the show to start. It was amazing and I took many photos of the spectacle.

Finally (after a wrong turn or two), we made it back to Tokyo Station and joined with Ryan at Il Viaggio restaurant for a fine Italian meal of appetizers and spaghetti.

The next day was a waiting game as our flight to Canada was delayed several hours. It gave us lots of time at the airport to chat and reminisce. What a fantastic vacation it has been… insightful, educational, beautiful, and a surprising discovery of how civilized Japan is with its clean, quiet, orderly and respectful culture. We love Japan!

🇯🇵⛩️🏯👘🎎🍜🍡👺🍶🎍🍱🗼🏣🍢🎌

For our final morning in Hiroshima, we visited the Bomb Museum for a sobering study of the impact of war and the importance of peace. At 8:30 am, a full house crowd shuffled slowly through the museum in silence, each of us processing the horror, the pain, the suffering and the sorrow. The displays, including actual photos and art donated by survivors, are a graphic account of August 6, 1945 and the days, months and years following.

With heavy hearts, we exited the museum, and strolled once again through the Peace Park to see the same monuments as yesterday. This time, however, with a renewed appreciation for their meaning and importance.

Picking up some lunch for the bullet train back to Kyoto, I admired the modern architecture of Hiroshima, a completely rebuilt city. At 300 kms/hr, it only took 1hr and 45 mins to Kyoto. Here we said goodbye to our guide, Shizuka. After a rest at the hotel, some of our group found a great skewer restaurant not far away and enjoyed a lively meal together.

Tomorrow will be a free day in Kyoto. We look forward to seeing something uplifting but I feel the memory of the bomb museum will stay with me for some time.

Today our group caught the 9 am train for the 1-hour ride south of Tokyo to the ancient city of Kamakura. It was chosen as the ancient capital of Japan by the first Shogun in the 12th century. The day was already very hot and humid by the time we arrived.

Our first visit was up into the hills to the Buddhist Zen Temple, Hokokuji. Here one finds the renowned bamboo forests where we escaped from the heat as we strolled past trickling waterfalls, koi ponds and moss covered memorial stones all while listening to birds twitter high in the bamboo trees. It is an ethereal place and unbelievably lovely. We had Matcha tea in the tea house. Matcha is a finely ground powder made from specially cultivated, shade-grown green tea leaves, known for its vibrant green color and unique umami flavor.

Back into the city, we visited the spectacular 11th century Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine. The shrine is dedicated to Hachiman, the patron god of the Minamoto family and of the samurai in general. It is very colorful and beautiful, surrounded by lotus flower ponds where the flowers had gone to seed at this time of year.

We strolled down the main street from the shrine stepping into some of the many shops that line the street on both sides and back alleys. Lunch was at a western style burger joint called Junk Heaven. It was good 😊.

Next we visited the Great Buddha, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The bronze statue was cast in 1252, stands 44 feet tall, weighs 100 tons and and was originally covered in gold leaf. However, over the centuries, tsunamis have wiped off the gold and now it has the green color of aged bronze.

Back to Tokyo for the evening and dinner at a nearby teppinyaki restaurant, Isoroku. Our party of six was joined by travel mate, Vanessa from Australia, for an exciting live action dining experience. We weren’t really sure what we were ordering but is was fun and amazing to watch the chef cook on the grill in front of us. It was all delicious and authentically Japanese.

This was a full day. I was up early so I stepped out to get some morning shots. The streets were quiet at 7 am but the sun was up and it was already hot. The architecture in Tokyo is amazing. No two skyscrapers are the same and each has its own unique architectural identity.

At 9 am our guide, Coco, escorted us via subway north to the Asakusa district to visit Sensō-ji… the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Completed in 645 CE it is dedicated to Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The crowd was wall-to-wall as testament to how popular this site is for both locals and tourists. The short street leading to the temple is lined on both sides with souvenir vendors. The temple complex itself is beautiful, colorful, impressive and serene. Incense filled the air as we wandered around snapping pics and souvenir shopping before leaving for lunch.

Lunch was an experience! We found a teppinyaki restaurant nearby where the grill is built into the dining tables. What fun to watch the food cooking right in front of us. And delicious!

After lunch, we made our way to the Uneo district to visit the Tokyo National Museum. There are three major pavilions in the complex and it is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. Ryan was our guide with his in-depth knowledge of Japanese history and culture. I learned so much thanks to his teaching. The tea-house gardens behind the museum are enchanting, cool and zen-quiet. Three hours were hardly enough to see it all but tired feet ushered us home at the end of the day.

In the evening, our entire group met at a nearby pub for a “getting-to-know-you” party. It was great fun and we were quite happy and loud after a couple of hours. In all, it was another great day.

Tomorrow, our tour will take us out of Tokyo on a day trip to Kamakura.

Today was the official starting day of our “Land of the Samurai” tour. We had a scheduled 6 pm meeting at our hotel to meet our tour guide so we decided not to wander too far from “home”. For morning amusement, we caught the subway to the Tsukiji Fish Market to wander the alleys and vendors’ stalls until lunch time.

Along the way we visited the impressive Tsukiji Hongan-ji Temple; a 17th century Buddhist temple with unique architecture and a suprise sampling of stained glass 😊.

We also visited the quaint and lovely Namiyoki Shrine; an ancient Shinto shrine with two massive guardian lions. Fishermen heading out to sea would pray at this shrine for a good harvest. Shintoism is the indigenous religion of Japan.

The fish market itself is amazing with every kind of fish you can imagine. The alleys were packed with people sampling and purchasing the goods on this Saturday morning. I really enjoyed the smoked eel and rice dish. Ryan, Jake and Maneau tried Wagyu beef and Monica and Yogi opted for ice cream.

Then it started to rain… and it rained really good. We hustled back to our hotel to dry off and rest for a bit. Then we found a nice Italian restaurant at Tokyo Station for afternoon cocktails followed by a delicious meal. Then back to the hotel for 6 o’clock to meet our guide, Coco, and the other tour members. All of us speak English (nice) with other folks coming from England, Australia and New Zealand. There are 18 of us on this tour (including the guide). Tomorrow we begin the sightseeing with the group.

Today our minds were blown… in more ways than one. First, Maneau had arranged 9 am tickets for us to the Team Labs Planets Museum on one of the man-made islands in Tokyo Bay. A 40 minute rail commute got us there just in time and well ahead of the crowds coming later in the morning.

Team Labs Planets is an interactive digital museum where the art changes depending on the presence of the human body. As you touch the walls and move through the spaces, the art follows you. In one section, digital animals roam around, stopping to look at you. Then there’s the LED light show as if you are standing in a virtual meteor shower. In another section, hundreds of living Orchid flowers suspended on strings rise and fall as you stroll through. In yet another section, you take off your shoes and wade through knee-deep water as digital fish swim around your legs. Very very cool! I highly recommend this museum experience.

Walking back to the train station, we passed the enormous Unicorn Gundham statue. This is a full scale, 20 meter tall, 50 ton replica of the famous military robot from Japanese anime. At certain times of the day, it transforms into battle mode but today was hot and humid so we didn’t wait for the show. Ryan has enjoyed Gundham animation since he was a little boy and it was wonderful to see him experience this art and relive his memories.

We also saw the Statue of Liberty on the waterfront. It was given to Tokyo by France in 1998 to celebrate French-Japanese friendship.

We rested in the afternoon, had refreshments in our rooms and then at dusk, we took the subway to the Akihabara district to see the night lights. This area is Japanese Anime central and the sidewalks were jam-packed with young people (like Ryan) seeking escapism from daily life. It was colorful, weird, mesmerizing and intimidating for a senior like me. I was the only white-haired person among thousands. However, Ryan was in his glory and I loved that he got to see (and purchase) some of his favorite anime art.

As I said, out minds were blown today… our feet worn out…. our bellies empty. Finding a seat in a restaurant was almost impossible but we did finally get an Italian meal near our hotel. Then we crashed. It was a great day.

Jake was our leader as we took the 1-hour train ride to Yokohama. The main attraction today was the “Yokohama Oktoberfest”… an authentic reproduction of the original beer festival held each year in Munich, Germany. Here, one can taste over 200 different craft beers from Germany, enjoy authentic German live music and snack on various pub foods.

One unexpected delight of the day was the stroll from the train station through Chinatown to get to the beer hall on the waterfront. This Chinatown is absolutely fascinating with a grid work of streets lined with colorful food stalls and souvenir shops. There are multiple “paifang” or street entrance gates (highly decorated architectural archways) plus an impressive Buddhist temple in the center of the neighborhood. Along the way, we also strolled through the shady zen gardens of Yokohama Park, past the Yokohama Baseball stadium and finally the lovely flower gardens along the waterfront. One lasting impression is how clean everything is here in Japan… you never see garbage lying on the ground despite the fact that garbage cans are practically non-existent. You are expected to carry your garbage with you (!!!) until you do find a disposal bin (rare).

We arrived at the beer hall just in time to see several hundred other people in the main tent participating in a conga line dance to polka music. It was a brilliant introduction to the spirit of Oktoberfest. The day was hot and even hotter in the tent but our spirits were lifted by the enthusiasm of the crowd. We quickly found a shady table outside the tent and enjoyed 3-4 hours of story telling, laughter, drinking beer and even socializing with other locals at our table. Jake was in his glory as he found some of his all-time favorite beers.

After enough drinking (lol) it was time to head back to Tokyo. First we stepped into a nearby 7-Eleven store which reportedly has the world’s largest collection of craft beer. Just imagine… we were like kids in a candy shop and picked up a few cans to take back to the hotel. Then we walked back to the train station through Chinatown. It was dark by now and the lights were truly mesmerizing. We were all tired and sleepy. I actually nodded off on the train ride into Tokyo.

Today was an eleven hour round trip car ride to the Nagano mountains to see the snow monkeys in the hot springs at Jigokudani Yaen-Koen park. Our Get Your Guide taxi driver, Alex, met us at the hotel at 8 am and away we went. Tokyo is so huge, it took us an hour driving at full highway speed just to get outside the city.

There was rain in the forecast for the day and we did get some on us at times. However, we were lucky at the park and the rain held off long enough for us to get close and personal with the monkeys. They are very tame and will stroll around and through your legs if you stand still. When the weather is cold, they will lounge in the hot springs. However, today was mild and the monkeys were busy foraging for food.

Next we stopped into the quaint town of Obuse (pronounced Ob-oo-say). Charming and less crowded with tourists than other spots in Japan. This town is known for its chestnuts and the dreamy back alleys are lined with the trees in full fruit. We had lunch at an authentic Japanese restaurant where Jake and I both enjoyed a sake tasting with our meal.

After lunch we visited the Hokusai museum. Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is one of the most famous and celebrated Japanese artists. He popularized wood-block printing and produced many prints off each original carving. This essentially brought his art to the masses. The colors in his and other edo-period artists works are exquisite. “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” is one of the world’s most recognized paintings and I have a photo of me standing beside it. Hokusai lived his final years in Obuse ergo his museum is here.

Then back to Tokyo. A wonderful day it was. Tomorrow we are planning a day trip to Yokohama for something less natural and less artsy but just as interesting and way more fun. Stay tuned! 🍺

Our first full day in Tokyo was a walking tour of the Ginza neighborhood around our hotel. We covered more than 10 kms starting with the imperial gardens and palace of the Japanese emperor. A highlight for me was seeing the street art including a Godzilla statue (first of 2 statues in the city of this famous monster).

We did some shopping, did some dining and oggled at the beautiful night lights on our way back to the hotel. Tired feet and full bellies signaled the end to a wonderful day.

Tomorrow will see us take a private tour out of the city and into the highlands of Nagano prefecture to the northwest.

Sarah and her family escorted us to the Saint John airport so she could take our car home to avoid the 3- week parking fee (much appreciated). The first leg of the journey took us to Toronto where we enjoyed an overnight stay with Monica’s sister, Marguerite. The next morning, Marg’s children, Sandy and Craig, joined us for breakfast along with Craig’s daughter, Eloise, and Monica’s niece, Catherine. It was a hearty breakfast and a heart warming gathering. Again, very much appreciated.

Then on to the airport where we met up with Maneau, Jake and Yogi for the 13-hr flight to Tokyo. Just after boarding, there was a medical emergency with a passenger which delayed our departure for one hour. Once airborne, however, the flight was uneventful. Thirteen hours allows for lot’s of time to build anticipation. That first glimpse of Tokyo was truly a thrill. It looks big enough on the map and even bigger from the air. Interesting to note that the population of greater Tokyo is equal to the entire population of Canada… 40 million!

When we landed, we were greeted by a representative from On The Go Tours who escorted us via subway right to our hotel just a step from Tokyo Central Station. A quick bite and a cold drink were all we could manage before crashing for the night. Sleep was welcomed.

A new adventure awaits. Monica, Ryan and myself along with good friends, Maneau, Jake and Maneau’s mother, Yolande (Yogi), are about to embark on a 3-week journey to the other side of the planet… to Japan. 👺🏯🇯🇵👘⛩️

Through On The Go Tours, we booked a twelve day tour called “Land of the Samurai”. We will arrive in Tokyo four days before the tour even begins giving us lots of time to adjust and see some sights not on the tour. Then, with the tour, we will continue three more days in Tokyo to really discover the city before we head west with stops at Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, Hiroshima, back to Kyoto and return to Tokyo for the flight home.

Excitement and anticipation are very high. Everything is expected to be strange and fascinating. I am most psyched for the food, the art and the night lights. Monica is looking forward to the shrines, castles and gardens. Ryan is seeking the history of Japan and anime culture. Yogi hopes to see Mt. Fuji and Geisha. Maneau & Jake will lead us on the search for fine Japanese beer, gin, sake, and whiskey.

It’s going to be an Epic Journey. God be with us as we join 40 million other tourists to visit the world’s favourite destination in 2025, Japan. Monica is wearing her silver Shepherd’s Bell for safe passage.