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Tokyo Rail Travel Hack

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If you’re in the Tokyo area, and are carrying an IC card, I’ve got a Tokyo rail travel hack for you. (I mention Tokyo because I am most familiar with it. This hack may exist in other Japanese cities.)

Firstly, if you’re not sure what an IC card is, I will help out. IC cards are the prepaid — and rechargeable — contactless cards found throughout Japan. They’re valid on trains, buses, convenience stores, and some quick-service restaurants. Think London’s Oyster card, and Hong Kong’s Octopus card.

East Japan Railway (JR East) controls many of the rail lines in the Tokyo area; their IC card is the Suica. Pasmo was introduced years later, to be used by non-JR rail lines. These days, in Tokyo one can be easily used in place of the other.

JR West Icoca IC Card, Japan
JR West Icoca IC Card, Japan

Pictured above is my Icoca card. That one is issued by West Japan Railway (JR West); think Kanazawa, Osaka, and Kyoto. It can be used in the Tokyo metropolitan area, but cannot be obtained in Tokyo. Similarly, Suica and Pasmo cannot be obtained in Osaka or Kyoto.

IC cards from throughout the country can be used around Tokyo, too. In the same vein, you can also use Suica and Pasmo in other Japanese cities. There are exceptions — Japanese rail companies make strange bedfellows — but that’s a horse of another color.

Let’s move on to the Tokyo rail travel hack.

Seibu Shinjuku Train at Ogawa Station, Japan, site of the Tokyo rail travel hack
Seibu Shinjuku Train at Ogawa Station, Japan

Seibu (西武) is the Tokyo-area rail company that makes this Tokyo rail travel hack possible. If the name rings a bell, that’s because Seibu also operates department stores, and owns a baseball team called the Seibu Lions.

Seibu does have stops in major tourist spots such as Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Kawagoe city in Saitama prefecture, but it’s mostly for commuters.

Nevertheless, they’re a big help when you want to add value to your IC card. JR (Japan Rail) stations typically require a minimum of ¥500 or ¥1000 to top-up. This is made even more puzzling when you try to pass through a ticket gate with insufficient funds on your IC card, since you’re required to add a nonstandard amount anyway.

And how about Seibu stations? What’s the minimum value allowed?

I made a video to help you navigate through this travel hack:

Tokyo Weekend Trips: Nagano Prefecture

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In this installment of No Work All Travel, I will be introducing a Tokyo weekend trip to Nagano prefecture. More specifically, a voyage to the castle city of Matsumoto, and Daio Wasabi Farm, in Hotaka.

wasabi statue hotaka japan
Wasabi Statue, Daio Wasabi Farm (大王わさび農場), Hotaka, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

The first recorded instance of wasabi, sushi’s hot-headed colleague, dates back to the year 981, during the Heian period of Japanese history. Someone wading through the Japanese Alps had thought its leaves looked like those of the mallow plant (in Japanese, 葵/あおい/aoi), consequently wasabi was first written as 山葵, or “mountain mallow.”

Then, during the Muromachi period (roughly 1392-1573), pairing wasabi with sashimi became a thing. Typing that out, I feel somewhat stupid, but in my defense, A) it’s written on the sign below, and 2) I reckon it’s one of the most famous duos in any cuisine today.

wasabi history Japan
The earliest known record of wasabi was from 981!

I know, you’re not here to become an ethnobotanist. You want peak wasabi, right?

To plan your Tokyo weekend trip to Nagano, the Daio Wasabi Farm (unofficial English reference page) in Hotaka stands out as a unique spot to visit. And at around a 30 minutes walk from JR Hotaka station, it was a pleasant — and sometimes delicious — diversion from the norm.

Daio wasabi farm map
Daio Wasabi Farm Map

The Daio Wasabi Farm (official Japanese site), which opened in 1915, is purportedly the largest of its kind in Japan. Interestingly, within Japan Nagano prefecture competes with Shizuoka prefecture, also known for its green tea production, for the title of largest producer of wasabi. (link in Japanese)

Maybe naively, I was expecting to be detained by the smell of the fresh wasabi plants, and to see farmers using goggles and masks when handling Japan’s most famous rhizome.

Whoops, wrong on both counts.

wasabi plantation Japan
Water means life for wasabi
wasabi growing conditions
Key to Growing Wasabi: 7 Days Shade, 3 Days Sun

Wasabi plants aren’t huge fans of direct sunlight, so that’s why dark breathable cloth is used to cover them much of the time (in the two photos above, you can see the dark cloth rolled up).

After walking around the beautifully kept farm, dipping my toes in the frigid spring water, and sampling some gimmicky snacks and drinks flavored with wasabi, I continued on to the Nagano city of Matsumoto, just under 30 minutes away by train from Hotaka.

Matsumoto Castle, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Matsumoto Castle, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

The castle, nicknamed the “crow castle” due to its unusual black facade, was built in 1594. It’s one of a mere 12 original castles left in the country, and perhaps the second most famous, after Himeji.

Matsumoto Castle Gate
Matsumoto Castle Gate

For a Tokyo weekend trip to Nagano, Matsumoto is a good choice. The fastest route from Tokyo station is around 2 hours and 40 minutes, with a stop in Nagano city.

As for sightseeing, in addition to the castle, it has some pleasant canal walks, a good food scene focused on soba, and some unusual architecture, too.

Yeah, about the soba ….

You might be asking, “did you even try fresh wasabi?” Sure did! I even bought a steel grater (おろし金/oroshigane) for it (traditionally, wasabi graters were made of sharkskin). Immediately thereafter, I thought, what a pointless idea … on what/at which point would I even grate the darn thing?

Why not take it to a random restaurant and see what happens?:

Kitamon soba restaurant Matsumoto
Kitamon (北門) Soba Restaurant, Matsumoto, Japan

A simple explanation to the kind waitress at Kitamon soba restaurant in Matsumoto let me sample the true flavor and texture of nama wasabi, or fresh wasabi. Basically, it’s NOTHING like the neon green stuff you’ve been eating (and that’s a good thing).

Even if visiting a wasabi farm isn’t your thing, a Tokyo weekend trip to Nagano offers up some beautiful hiking trails, as well as quaint towns, and of course, good eats.

Hotel Room Food Hacks

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Teklimakan Market, Istanbul, Turkey
Teklimakan Market, Istanbul, Turkey

At the end of the day, it’s all about problem solving.

You see, in my quest to augment the typical hotel experience, hiccups are an inevitable part of the stay. For instance, the hotel room refrigerator might be broken. Or there’s no mini-fridge. Maybe I forgot a mouse pad (what the heck does this have to do with food? You will shortly find out). After all of that, I just got back from the supermarket, and it’s freezing outside, but boiling inside.

Ametller Origen Supermarket, Barcelona, Spain
Ametller Origen Supermarket, Barcelona, Spain

Short-term issues they may be, I still try as hard possible to find a solution for them. Let’s call these curious solutions food travel hacks.

Need an example? Always on the lookout for local food brands, I bought a hefty lot of smoked salmon, milk, and produce the first night I was in York, England on business. However, my bed & breakfast understandably didn’t have a fridge in the room.

Fortunately, however it was early December, and fortunately, both the bedroom and bathroom windows had exterior sills. Having forgotten about the lack of refrigerator while at the supermarket, I wasn’t about to let the perishables go to waste (and this particular bed & breakfast didn’t have a shared fridge). Consequently, I placed all of the refrigerable items on the sills, where they remained properly chilled during my stay. And yes, I checked to see if there was any likelihood that the items would fall on an unsuspecting passer-by, but each window overlooked swathes of shrubbery.

Note: you probably wouldn’t want to do that in a famously windy location.

But it’s not always a problem with the food. Maybe there’s something else in the room that could be adjusted with the assistance of some creativity, without having to inform (aka ask permission of) hotel staff.

For a few of my tips, check out my food travel hacks video.

Tuesday of Taste: The Turkish Breakfast

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You might know Türkiye/Turkey best for its döner kebabs, baklava, and dried fruit. But did you also know that breakfast, called kahvaltı (kah-val-TUH) is the most important meal in the country?

In my experience, most Turkish hotels will offer some combination of raw vegetables, breads, cheeses, cold cuts, and sweet spreads like honey and jam. Everything tastes fresh, there’s variety, even at the most humble of lodgings, and you can be sure that tea comes a flowin’.

The likely origin to the extravagance of the serpme kahvaltı, or “spreading breakfast,” stems from Ottoman times. The minions of sultans would feast on a variety of small plates after their morning prayers, but before taking coffee. It’s not a coincidence that the modern Turkish word for breakfast, kahvaltı, translates as under, or before coffee.

Nowadays, the breakfast spreads that truly shine have a smattering of dishes from throughout the country. Olives and fresh herbs would be the exemplars of the Aegean Sea, spicy peppers from the southeastern part of the country, and hazelnuts and tea from near Trabzon, a city which hugs the Black Sea. Plus, two of my favorite condiments, tahin pekmez, or a blend sesame tahini and grape molasses, and kaymak, or water buffalo clotted cream, were discovered only through a random serpme kahvaltı at a suburban Ankara hotel.

turkish breakfast Van Kahvalti Evi
Delicious Eastern Anatolian Sampler Platter at Van Kahvalti Evi, Istanbul, Turkey

However, if you’ve just got a short stay in Istanbul — even a long layover — why not check out Van Kahvaltı Evi for a primer on Turkish breakfast and hospitality? They’ve got two branches, the main one in Cihangir, near Taksim, and another in Nişantaşı, both on the European side of Istanbul.

The name of the restaurant, Van Kahvaltı Evi, translates as home of the Van breakfast, referring to the eastern Turkish city of Van, renowned for its morning fare.

Where is your favorite breakfast?

Gardening at Istanbul’s Ancient Belgrade Gate

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For this particular lengthy city walk, I was in Istanbul, Turkey, making my way from the tourist hotspot of Taksim, all the way to the unofficial Uyghur capital of Zeytinburnu. As is typical with my city walks, I rarely have a desired route in mind, instead letting the five senses take me down a given street. This constitutional took around 2.5 hours, with a couple of stops in between for dessert, and spinach.

Spinach?! Why???

istanbul belgrade gate gardening
Gardening at Belgrade Gate, Istanbul Ancient City Wall, Turkey

Named in honor of Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent’s conquest of Belgrade in 1521, the Belgrade Gate (in Turkish,  Belgradkapı) forms part of Istanbul’s ancient city wall. I only chanced upon it at random, yet it proved to be a unique spot, even in a city full of impressive locales.

In fact, I discovered some farmers who happened to be tending to crops right beside it.

Locavore produce mixed with local history?

This right here is why I travel.

By the way, I’ve never tasted spinach more delicious than that.

BoardingArea