As I review my top five foods lists of 2022 and 2023, there’s too much of a pattern. The same countries pop up. Guess I can’t get enough Georgian/Mexican/Turkish/Japanese food, hey? Think it’s status quo for my top five eats of 2024? Probably. Worse yet, I can’t recall much of what I ate between January […]
Tourism
JR EAST PASS Nagano Niigata area
Late last month in Japan, I was able to test out the last of the major JR East rail passes, the JR EAST PASS Nagano Niigata area. Outside of the Tokyo metro area, this particular pass could be a hit for outdoorsy visitors, including hikers and skiers. However, there were a couple of bureaucratic hiccups […]
Sands Macao Restaurant Reviews: Chiado and Jiang Nan
Disclaimer: I was invited by Sands Macao to enjoy one night at Conrad Macao, as well as dine at the Portuguese restaurant Chiado, and the Chinese restaurant Jiang Nan. Following a nice Cantonese meal earlier this year at The Venetian Macao, I was looking forward to seeing what else the massive Sands Macao development — […]
Hotel Review: The Hari, Hong Kong
Disclaimer: In exchange for a 2-night stay, I am writing a review of The Hari hotel in Hong Kong. Having been a former (albeit brief) Hong Kong, and Shenzhen resident, I seem to make it to HK once or twice a year. Somehow, HKG is still my 2nd-most used airport, even though it has been […]
JR Hokuriku Arch Pass and Gassho Architecture in Toyama, Japan
Contemplating a trip to Tokyo and Osaka, but unsure about where to go between the two visits? Why not get a JR Hokuriku Arch Pass to appreciate the UNESCO World Heritage gasshou-style (合掌造り) architecture in Toyama? Skip to: gassho, what’s that? First, let’s briefly delineate the Hokuriku area. The three mainstay prefectures are Fukui, Ishikawa, and […]
Hotel Review: Park Hotel Tokyo
Disclaimer: In exchange for a 2-night stay, I am writing this review of Park Hotel Tokyo. Before we jump into particulars, you might be interested to learn more about the concept behind the hotel. Art Much like its sister property the Shiba Park Hotel, there is a core theme at the Park Hotel Tokyo. Whereas […]
Hotel Review: Shiba Park Hotel, Tokyo
Disclaimer: In exchange for a two-night stay at Tokyo’s Shiba Park Hotel, I am writing this review. At the other end of the frenetic Tokyo spectrum, we have the 76-year old Shiba Park Hotel; you wouldn’t be surprised to know that the hotel is just a few minutes walk from the eponymous Shiba Park, and […]
Hotel Review: Shinjuku Prince Hotel, Tokyo
Disclaimer: I am writing this review in exchange for a one-night stay at the Shinjuku Prince Hotel. There is probably no single Tokyo hotel that I’ve walked by more than the Shinjuku Prince Hotel. Why? One, it’s in a cliché photogenic neighborhood, Kabukicho: Two, I’m a frequent visitor to the Shinjuku Batting Center, home of […]
