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Travel to Japan - Basics

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Japan Rail Pass The Japan Rail pass is good for unlimited travel on most Japan Rail trains. This may be a good option if you are travelling to more than two cities in Japan, or if you are returning to the same city. For example, if you are flying in and out of Tokyo, but want to visit say, Kyoto, then you would need a round-trip Shinkansen ticket, which could cost almost the same as a Japan Rail Pass . The pass is available for 7, 14 or 21 days and can only be bought outside Japan by tourists who have ‘Temporary Visitor” stamped on their visa. Alternatively, if you fly into one city and out of another, for example, if you fly into Osaka, then travel to Kyoto and then fly out of Tokyo, you may be better off buying one way Shinkansen tickets from Kyoto to Tokyo separately. Tokyo Metro Pass The Japan Rail pass is valid on a lot of inter-city Japan Rail trains, many bullet trains and on the Yamanote line and Monorail in Tokyo. However, it is not valid on the Toky...
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Vegetarian food options in NYC - Part 1

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On demand, here is a guide to vegetarian food in New York City that doesn't include the usual pizzas, pastas and sandwiches. New York is a foodie's paradise. You get try out cuisines from so many different parts of the world without necessarily breaking the bank.  Some of my favourite restaurants in New York are: X'ian Famous foods  - $ This restaurant features food from the X'ian province of China (think Terracotta Warriors). This is a very cold, harsh terrain and not much rice grows there so their staple diet is thick, chewy, hand pulled noodles. Mt Qi vegetables with hand-ripped noodles in soup Their Spicy Tofu is an all-time favourite The menu is displayed on the wall and vegetarian options are marked in Green. Their chilled Jasmine tea is also very nice. It has an actual Jasmine bud inside.  Though it is all-day dining, this self-service restaurant is a very popular lunch spot, so go early or late to avoid long queues. This ...
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Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo

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Cherry Blossoms!! After planning for over 2 years, we finally managed to time our trip to Japan to coincide with the Cherry Blossom season! So without much further ado... now presenting... the Cherry Blossoms!!! If there is a low hanging branch, there are sure to be hordes around it clicking selfies from all possible angles! The Cherry Blossoms have to be seen to be believed. Gardens in Tokyo have hundreds of Cherry trees and when they are in full bloom, all together, the spectacle is mind blowing.  People have Hanami - Cherry Blossom viewing parties in the gardens. Tons of people picnicking under cherry trees.  There were no trash cans around. Yet when it was time for the park to shut, the park was absolutely clean. As if nobody had been there all day. The government installed makeshift tables made out of old cartons under rows of Cherry trees for people to picnic! The cherry blossoms in...
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Vegetarian and Vegan food in Tokyo

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The food in Japan was so yummy and healthy too, that inspite of eating to my heart's content, I lost one kilo in 10 days! Kaiseki is a multi-course Japanese meal that is exquisite and delicious and a must try. Below are some of my favourite restaurants by location, so you always have something close by. Tokyo Station T’s TanTan This sightly difficult to find restaurant serves delicious vegan Ramen noodles. It is located inside Tokyo station which is massive. On the first floor of the station is Keio Street. If you reach here, the restaurant is easy to find since it is located on one end of the street. You will need a ticket to get inside the station. There was a queue to get in and we had to wait for 15-20 minutes for our turn. Black Sesame Ramen with the white vegetables on the side. Spicy Midori Tan-Tan The soup comes in many flavours - Black Sesame, Golden Sesame, Midori Tantan etc. You can select toppings of Red, Gr...
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