Time in Kyoto’s exquisite temple gardens and fun food market
To start our first full day in Kyoto, we went to Ryoan-ji Temple, mainly to see the beautiful and famous raked gravel and stone courtyard garden.
The garden measures only 25m from east to west and 10m from south to north and contains 15 stones, or at least you are asked to see if you can see 15 stones as...
Fall foliage tour to Japan to be launched in January
In January, I will be announcing details of the long-awaited fall-foliage tour to Japan.
This will probably be a 12 day trip to Japan in November to see the fabulous fall foliage colours in major centres, such as Kyoto, Takayama, Hiroshima and Kanazawa as well as the beautiful island destination of Miyajima.
The tour will start in Tokyo and will visit...
Always a pleasure to explore calm, quiet, creative Tokyo
The ANA flight from Vancouver to Tokyo leaves at 3 in the afternoon, which means with the 17 hour time change, you get into the Japanese capital at 6 pm the following day.
This is perfect because by the time you get through customs and make the ride into town from Haneda Airport, you have just enough time for a...
New garden tours coming up and in the works for 2019
What new and upcoming garden tours do I have planned for the remainder of 2018 and into 2019?
In May, I will return to Italy for the ninth time to lead a very special Islands and Lakes Garden Tour, starting in Lugano and moving quickly to the Milanese lakes. You can see details here.
From there, we will head to Sardinia...
From Tokyo to Matsumoto, Takayama and Kanazawa
From Tokyo, we travelled by express train to Matsumoto, a city with views of the Japanese Alps, which were snow-capped and beautiful when we arrived.
Apparently, Nagano Prefecture, in which Matsumoto is located, is one of the most desirable parts of Japan to live, we were told, because of the quality of life and freedom from catastrophic weather as well...
What I am missing about Japan already: A love story
I am head over heels in love with Japan. I don’t know why this happened now rather than the first time I visited this most excellent country four years ago. But I am now irrevocably smitten.
I cannot stop saying how wonderful Japan is. I have been in a perpetual state of admiration ever since I set foot in...
How I learned to make a perfect Japanese origami crane
Origami crane in the Japanese style
It was a thrill for me when I was in Japan recently to receive two spontaneous lessons in origami from complete strangers.
In the process, I learned two terrific techniques - one, how to make a very different crane, what I now...
Why I am excited to be going back to Japan
Before going to Japan for the second time, I have been practising my origami skills.
I love the way a simple square coloured piece of paper can be magically transformed by a series of crisp folds into an object of surprising elegance and beauty.
In Japan, I am hoping to learn a few more paper-folding skills. But in preparation, I have...
Fun start to Japan tour with visits to key Tokyo sites
My Japan tour got under way with a walking tour of the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku followed by a fun welcome dinner at a yakitori restaurant.
Kabukicho is the entertainment district, sometimes compared to Amsterdam’s Red Light area, but with a lot less accent on “love shops” and more emphasis on restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
This is partly why Kabukicho...
