I’ve read about and seen many dreamy photographs on the many Japanese castles all over the country but in the end I only managed to see one castle while in Japan – Nagoya Castle. It was at night, I didn’t even go on the grounds but just driving pass late at night and seeing it as I...

Tokyo is a massive city with skyscrapers that touch the sky and a frantic buzz that goes on 24 hours a day all day everyday. Meiji Shrine is a huge temple, complex, forest and Shinto shrine in the heart of Tokyo that offers an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. In the later days of my trip...

Todai-ji or the “Great Eastern Temple” is one of the most famous landmarks in Nara. It ranked highly on my list of “must visit” places in Japan and after being greeted on my arrival in Nara by tricky but cute deer I made my way quickly to Todaiji which was already a sight to behold...

While doing my calculations and working out my budget for my trip to Japan last year the second thing on the list after my plane tickets and before even accommodation and spending money was a Japan Rail Pass. The JR pass is a special railway discount pass that allows persons visiting Japan for a short...

Yakitori is one of those “regular” types of foods the (formerly) picky eater in me wanted to try when I arrived in Japan. After grabbing 3 different flights and making it halfway around the world from Kingston to Tokyo I met up with a Jamaican friend Dave and his Japanese friend in Yokohama super...

Every major tourist area has its main stop, that must see attraction all visitors must go to or their time in that particular area, town, city or country would be incomplete. Good examples are the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Statue of Liberty in New York. For Kyoto that place is Kinkaku-ji or the “Temple...

Nijo Castle is a massive complex in Kyoto Japan built in the early 1600′s as the home of the first Shogun of the Edo Period Tokugawa Ieyasu. The entire Nijo Castle grounds include various buildings, temples, gardens, moats, walls, ponds and watchtowers and unsurprisingly it is one of Kyoto’s...

Being a fan of anime, manga, gadgets and tech, one of the places I spent the most time at and enjoyed the most while visiting Japan was Akihabara or “Akiba” as it is known by the locals. I learned a lot about Japan’s “geek” culture from my visit to Japan and conversations...

Next in line in the long list of things I did for the first time while in Japan is eating that delicious Japanese noodle dish called Ramen. Ramen for me is one of those iconic Japanese dishes I see so much in movies, anime etc that it was a no-brainer when on my second trip to Akihabara I decided to...

One of the three main stops during my 1 day exploration of Kyoto while in Japan was Ginkakuji a Zen temple which was originally constructed in the late 1400′s. It was originally intended to be the retirement villa of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the 8th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned in Japan...