Tokyo and Vicinity

Tweet Your Way to a Stay at The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo

Sep 4th, 2009 | By | Category: Featured Articles, Tokyo and Vicinity, Travel

Located in the tallest building in the city, The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo offers guests an understated and luxurious environment high above the hustle and bustle of Roppongi’s trendy Tokyo Midtown complex. I recently had the pleasure of a relaxing one night retreat from my daily life and thanks to the generosity of The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo you […]



Tokyo Garden Parties with Beer!

Jul 31st, 2009 | By | Category: Events, Tokyo and Vicinity

Tokyo beers gardens can be found in parks and on building rooftops throughout the city  and there’s nothing better than enjoying a cold beer, or two, with friends on a warm summer evening in the city. Social and business networking on Tokyo has now been taken to a new level with the creation of the […]



Views Even a Fish Could Love

Jul 27th, 2009 | By | Category: Museums, Tokyo and Vicinity

Sitting 52 floors above Tokyo, you will find Tokyo City View in the Roppongi Hills’ Mori Tower where you will share great views of the city with the fish of “Sky Aquarium III” from July 17th – October 4th. The Sky Aquarium intersperses art among fish tanks and utilizes fish tanks and their occupants as […]



Kagurazaka Festival

Jul 22nd, 2009 | By | Category: Festivals, Tokyo and Vicinity

In the center of the Tokyo’s Yamanote line you will find Kagurazaka Slope, an area that was once just beyond the walls of the imperial palace grounds, and where artists, politicians and Geisha once mingled. The name Kagurazaka is a combination of kagura (a shrine-dance to music) and saka (hill) and evokes the sites and […]



An Evening Amongst Geisha

Jul 20th, 2009 | By | Category: Events, Tokyo and Vicinity

The arts of the Geisha are not often witnessed by foreigners or even the ordinary Japanese, so I was told by my host Takehara-san.  The six Geisha districts of Tokyo, Shinbashi, Akasaka, Asakusa, Kagurazaka, Mukoujima and Yoshicho, have teamed up with Muromachi Fukutokujuku to present performances that are a great way to “feel”  Japanese culture […]



Yakitori Alley – Oishikatta!

Jul 13th, 2009 | By | Category: Food, Tokyo and Vicinity

Dining in a  lantern lit alleyway that lies humbly within walking distance of Tokyo’s glitzy Ginza stores and neon lights is sure to have you saying “Oishikatta!” – that was delicious! As you enter Yakitori Alley you will be met with a chorus of irishaimase (welcome) from the staff of the many closet sized restaurants […]



Amuse Yourself in Japan

Jul 8th, 2009 | By | Category: Tokyo and Vicinity, Travel

Amusement parks, theme parks will add a special something to your Japan trip, especially if you are traveling with kids, or the young at heart who would never dream of passing up an opportunity to act like kid. Game centers (video game arcades) can be found in almost every neighborhood and Ferris Wheels seem to […]



1000 Paper Cranes & Colorful Ema

Jun 30th, 2009 | By | Category: Photo Gallery, Temples & Shrines, Tokyo and Vicinity

Shrines in Japan offer up beautiful vignettes for visitors to enjoy at every turn.  The torii (entrance gate) can be impressive, large and wooden like that at Meiji Jingu, multiple smaller ones in a distinctive red, or a single simple torii that humbly announces the presence of the shrine. The path to the shrine itself […]



Fishing Tokyo’s Tama River

Jun 29th, 2009 | By | Category: Outdoor Activities & Sporting Events, Tokyo and Vicinity

It isn’t always necessary to travel far to have an outdoor adventure, even in the world’s most populated metropolis. For Tokyo area fisherman a unique angling opportunity can be just a couple of train stops or a short bicycle ride away. Tokyo’s Tama River spring run of Far Eastern dace is one of those opportunities. […]



Tokyo2016 A Bid for More Olympic History

Jun 15th, 2009 | By | Category: Featured Articles, Museums, Tokyo and Vicinity

The decision on whether Tokyo will once again be honored as the host city of the Olympics is just a few months away.  On October 2nd, the Olympic bid committee will decide whether Tokyo will be chosen to host the Summer Olympics in 2016. The Summer Olympics were hosted by Tokyo in 1964 and is […]