Note: This, and many of my recent posts, are from trips I took pre COVID. Go online, search for Ainokura village and look through the pictures. This village is so beautiful it is hard to believe that such a place actually exists. Not only does [...]
There is place in Tokyo called Amazake Alley, a stretch of road from the exit of Ningyocho Station up to the Meiji Theatre. It was named after a shop that used to sell sweet sake here during the Meiji period (1868-1912). Over the years, this [...]
Takayama is famous for many things. One of those is its festivals. The Takayama Festival is considered to be one of the most beautiful festivals in all of Japan. During this time, elaborately decorated hundreds of years old floats are paraded around town. During the [...]
There are many reasons to visit Takayama but one is the morning markets held daily, one of the biggest in Japan. There are two parts to this market. The first is the 300 year old Jinya-may market open to farmers looking to sell their goods. [...]
On our last trip to Japan (just before the pandemic), we rented a car and went driving through the countryside around the mountains in Gifu Prefecture. One of our stops (and there were many stunning stops) was Takayama. I highly recommend spending a few days [...]
Occasionally, I have a hot chocolate just so that I have an excuse to share a spot with you all. This is one of those moments. The hot chocolate was like those hot chocolates many of you will remember from your childhood; a sweet powdery [...]
I have a hot chocolate bucket list and I plan trips around this bucket list. My family is ok with that…in fact they are pretty happy about this obsession of mine. There are a handful of spots in Japan on that list and I have [...]
We spent three nights in Nakameguro, partly because it seemed like a fantastic neighbourhood and partly because I wanted to spend some time sipping hot chocolates at Green Bean to Bar. This may sound strange, but Nakameguro felt a bit like living in Paris. We [...]