On the outskirts of Kyoto lies a place of amazing beauty, a place so green and silent it speaks to your heart and soul…at least before or after the hordes of tourists pour through… According to Wikipedia, Arashiyama is a nationally-designated Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty, and deservedly so. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere. There’s a hush in the place, a special feeling, that is hard to put into...

Kyoto is a city of contrasts – modern buildings and very old temples, the latest fashions and traditional kimonos. It’s the kind of place I envision when I think of Japan. My first morning in Kyoto, I navigated the train system to get to Fushimi Inari, the temple of 10,000 gates (which should also be called the temple of a million steps!). It sits at the base of a mountain with thousands of giant red gates all in a long row snaking...

Close to Yudanaka is the famous Snow Monkey Park, where Macaques, young and old, come to hang out in the hot springs. It’s one of the only places in the world where this monkey business is observed. To get there, after a short bus ride, there is a beautiful 30 minute walk on a winding trail through a forest filled with the scent of pine. At the end of the main trail, a rushing river roars past, with waterfalls and an onsen, its old...

I’m in love…with the ryokan & onsen experience!! It’s like stepping back in time to old Japan. A ryokan is a type of traditional Japanese inn that usually features tatami-matted rooms, communal baths that are separate for men and women, with onsen (or hot springs), if you’re lucky. When you walk into Yudanaka Seifuso, the first thing you do is take off your shoes and don a pair of their generic one-size-fits-all blue...

1) The trains look like they came out of Star Trek 2) The traffic looks like a crazy giant video game 3) There are whole malls full of video games 4) You’re the only non-Asian on the train 5) The floors are covered with tatami mats and you’re sleeping on a futon on the floor 6) There are lots of rules about when you wear shoes vs slippers vs special bathroom slippers 7) Chop sticks are the norm 8) People walk around outside in kimonos and face...