My 2019 two week holiday to Japan has been neatly separated into 46 posts throughout this blog; describing the areas I’ve travelled to, the sights I’ve seen, the foods I’ve eaten and the planning I’ve completed. Note that this trip was heavily influenced by the restrictions of the Kansai Wide Area and Kansai Hiroshima pass. For navigation purposes here are […]
Our 2019 Japan trip ended with four nights in Kyoto and we chose to stay in the Pocket Hotel in Shijo Karasuma. This is a quick review of the quirky little hotel/hostel hybrid. We chose the Pocket Hotel because I had the stereotypical idea to visit Japan during the popular cherry blossom season and this hotel was one of the […]
In my 2019 Japan trip I flew with Air China because, frankly, it was the cheapest option. It was the first time I’d flown with an airline with review scores disturbingly lower than Ryanair’s, so I wasn’t expecting a lot from them. My very low expectations were met and in some aspects exceeded. The planes were fine: plasticky economy seats […]
I’d been to Nishiki market before but it was literally a sightseeing browse and I was determined to have an informal food tour this time. So I did. I made sure myself and my boyfriend didn’t have lunch and spent an afternoon snacking down the market. Here’s a brief review of all the snacks we’d tried. First stop was the […]
Guys! So there’s this brand new coffee shop that I’ve discovered! It’s called Starbucks! Have you heard of it? … … … I’m not kidding. To be fair it was a unique Japanese style Starbucks in the heart of Gion with a tatami mat section. As befitting a unique Starbucks the queue for a seat was uniquely long and this […]
My last full day in Japan was spent shopping, eating and wandering around the Gion district. Japan is famous for the odd and quirky but I spent more time purchasing skincare products and snacks. Shopping Style For me my attitude to shopping is usually all or nothing: either I browse without a care in the world without buying anything, or […]
Kissho Karyo Gion was so popular on a weekday afternoon that we had to wait an hour before a table was available in the 24 seater cafe. Thankfully the place employed a ticket system and we were able to roam around for the hour instead of waiting in a queue. Kissho Karyo is a sleek and modern dessert specialist with […]
Kezurihiya Kyoto in Gion was the least famous of the dessert restaurants that I wanted to visit during my informal dessert tour. I wanted to go there for purely shallow reasons; their kakigori (shaved ice) just looked so very pretty with its latte style artwork on top. There weren’t very many reviews online, but I figured how wrong can you […]
I had been meaning to go to Tsujiri for years but never managed it within two Japan trips. So desperate times called for desperate measures and I’d set aside a day in my trip to specifically visit delicious dessert cafes in Kyoto with Tsujiri near the top of the list. Tsujiri is a pretty ubiquitous brand famous for its green […]
I was pretty much templed out by the tail end of my 2 week trip to Japan, so I was glad I’d picked the Philosopher’s walk as the last official sight of the itinerary. No information pamphlets, no rushing, fresh air and low stress; a lazy walk down a beautiful canal was the perfect way to cap off the sightseeing […]