Since the pandemic has eased, I’ve been to so many places including the US, Denmark, South Korea, Thailand, UK, Ireland, France, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Portugal, and Poland — in some of the countries even multiple times!

It wasn’t easy to decide which photos to share next, but then it dawned on me that I still have some photos from our trip to Japan in 2020. This country is beyond doubt my favourite to photograph and to tell stories about, and I felt I need to finish the series about our last visit.

Today I’d like to share the photos I took on the concluding two days of our trip.

Omotesando

Omotesando is a captivating neighborhood that combines fashion, amazing architecture, and a lively atmosphere. As you walk along the famous tree-lined street, you see stylish shops with the latest trends from famous designers. The buildings along the street are stunning, with modern and sometimes futuristic designs.

I especially like Omotesando Hills. It is a sleek and modern shopping complex designed by the famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando. This architectural masterpiece offers an impressive blend of luxury brands, trendy boutiques, and inviting cafes.

The area behind Omotesando Hills is filled with a diverse range of attractions and activities. One notable feature is the charming backstreets and hidden alleyways that offer a more local experience. Here, you can discover nice cafes, small independent shops, and unique boutiques that showcase emerging fashion designers and artisans.

Cafe Mameya in Omotesando is a hidden gem for coffee enthusiasts like me. The highlight of the experience is the amazing selection of specialty beans, offering a wide range of flavors and profiles to explore. The baristas will talk to you — also in good English — and brew each cup based on your individual preferences.

Another shopping center Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku is known for its impressive architectural design and the iconic entrance with a mirrored kaleidoscope-like staircase that reflects the vibrant Harajuku atmosphere.

Takeshita

Takeshita Street is a lively and bustling street located in Harajuku. It’s a popular destination for young people and fashion enthusiasts. There you’ll find a wide array of shops selling trendy clothes, accessories, and unique items.

You’ll also find a variety of street food stalls offering tasty snacks. Harajuku-style crepes is probably one of the most popular treats there. These thin crepes are typically filled with a variety of sweet ingredients such as fresh fruits, whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate sauce, and other toppings.

A decade ago, during my time living in Tokyo, I frequently found myself strolling down this street, seeking new clothing and drawing inspiration for my outfits.

From Omotesando to Shibuya

Taking a walk from Omotesando to Shibuya offers a captivating journey through Tokyo’s vibrant cityscape. You will pass by nice boutiques, buildings with modern architecture, pet shops, cozy cafes, and art galleries.

The famous Shibuya Crossing

As you venture onward, the vibrant energy intensifies, leading you to the iconic Shibuya Crossing. Often referred to as the ‘scramble crossing’, it is one of Tokyo’s most famous landmarks and a symbol of the city’s energy.

The Hachiko statue in Shibuya stands as a touching tribute to the loyal dog who waited faithfully for his owner and has become a beloved symbol of loyalty and dedication.

Tokyo Tower

On the final day of our trip we met with our friend and her little daughter for a nice soba lunch in a restaurant close to our hotel. All together we then went to Akihabara and spent some time there.

For the evening Sergio and I have planned the final sightseeing activity of this trip: we were going to visit the Tokyo Tower and its observation deck. It was March 2020, and Tokyo Tower was one the few touristic activities still open to public.

When we left the subway, we started to worry as we realized that the sun was setting soon. We did not know, whether there was a line at the entrance and how long would it take us to get to the observation deck.

Luckily, it was not crowded at all, and after a quick temperature check, we managed to be there just in time for the sunset.

The tower’s observation decks offer unparalleled views of Tokyo’s skyline. I’ve enjoyed so much looking at the city from above and taking these photos.

Zojoji Temple is located next to Tokyo Tower, creating a harmonious juxtaposition between ancient traditions and modernity. It’s a prominent Buddhist temple with a rich history dating back to the 14th century.

The design and architecture of Tokyo Tower stand out, with its striking red and white color scheme and a structure reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower.

The trip was absolutely fantastic, just like all my previous experiences in Japan, and I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to visit this incredible country again in the future.

Photos taken in March 2020

The post Another Couple of Days in Tokyo: Omotesando & Harajuku, Shibuya, Tokyo Tower appeared first on Tokidoki.

It’s been a while since the last update on this blog. Life got busy: our company has dropped traveling restrictions due to COVID, and this summer I had more business trips than in the last three years altogether. I’ve been to some really cool places, and maybe someday I’ll find time to show some pictures (mostly iPhone-made) from these trips as well, but today I’d like to share some older photos which I’ve prepared already several months ago and didn’t find time to publish them yet.

In February, I read a book about Tokyo, and it was full of nice photographs. It made me very nostalgic. While the country remained closed and no foreign travellers were allowed, I still had some unpublished photographs from our last trip to Japan which took place in March 2020, right in the beginning of the pandemic.

The day after our mini-trip to Mt. Fuji we planned to spend in Tokyo, going to different locations and visiting a friend in the evening.

Plum blossom festival at Yushima Tenjin

Before that trip to Japan I researched for some interesting locations which we haven’t visited yet. I discovered that the shrine Yushima Tenjin was a popular spot to watch plum blossoms, and the timing seemed to be right. Furthermore, I’ve discovered there was a plum blossom festival planned exactly for that day!

We have soon discovered that it was the closing day of the festival and… the plum blossom season was over as well. We only saw some remaining blossoms on the black bushes which were ready to start growing green leaves.

My calculation about the timing was wrong! I guess, I got misled by the fact that two years before that trip we were watching plum blossoms in Kanazawa in the end of March. Well, different tree varieties in different locations bloom at different times.

We walked a bit around the temple and even got to see a Shinto-style wedding ceremony.

Walking towards Ueno

When we left the shrine, we decided to walk towards Ueno Park.

We had a seafood-lunch at Ameyoko market which we also were passing by on our way to Ueno.

Ueno-koen

We got unlucky with plum blossoms, however, when we came to Ueno, we got rewarded with the beautiful view of early cherry blossoms. The peak season has not started yet, but some early varieties were already blooming.

Between the branches we saw many tiny birds of bright green color. I looked them up and found out that these birds are called warbling white-eye (Zosterops japonicus). Many photographers with huge zoom lenses were trying to capture them. That day I only had a 50mm lens with me, and stood no chance to capture these tiny moving creatures.

We did the usual stroll in the park and walked towards Shinobazu pond, the one which looks so different depending on seasons. We also stopped by at the famous Moon Pine.

Shinobazu pond

We walked towards the pond and crossed the bridge to Benten Island. There stands the temple Benten-dō.

There we saw another kind of early cherry blossom tree. I looked it up and learned that this variety is called kanhi-zakura. It has a deeper color than other typical cherry blossoms, and it blooms from early March.

It was tempting to do a walk around the Lotus pond, but we were slowly running out of time. We still had to go to Akihabara to buy a Gundam set, and later we were invited to a friend’s place.

Akihabara

Despite of the pandemic, the electronics shopping district Akihabara seemed as busy as usual.

We quickly found the store we were looking for and made it on time to the dinner in the opposite part of the city.

Photos taken in March 2020

The post One Day in Tokyo: Yushima Tenjin, Ueno and Akihabara appeared first on Tokidoki.

In the end of the last year, just before the Omicron virus variant hit the planet, we finally felt comfortable about traveling to destinations a bit further than Europe. We had a craving for something tropical and we were missing Asia at the same time. In Asia, many countries have shut their borders due to the pandemics and do not hurry to open. Luckily, we’ve discovered that Thailand was not one of them. In November last year, it has just started accepting vaccinated tourists without a need for a long quarantine. We’ve never been to Thailand before, and thought that it was a good opportunity to get some acquaintance with the country.

To enter Thailand, however, it was required to do two PCR tests: one before the flight and the second one upon arrival. It felt like a gamble, because with COVID-19 you can never know for sure. There’ve been so many cases, when even vaccinated people without any symptoms tested positive. Well, we decided to take the risk and booked the trip.

Initially, we booked ten days in a nice resort on the Koh Phi Phi island. Soon, however, the travel agency where we booked the tour, has contacted us and told us that, since we would have to quarantine before we got the results of the PCR test upon arrival, they wouldn’t be able to offer us the shared transfer to the island. They offered us two options: either we could pay for a private speed boat or we could spend the first night in a resort in Phuket. The first option was not very cheap, and we also found the idea to get some acquaintance with Phuket attractive, so we picked the second option.

Quarantine in the hotel

As you may already have guessed, our first PCR tests were negative. We had a long flight with a stop at Abu Dhabi. When we arrived at the airport of Phuket, everything was well organized: following the line, we quickly went through the testing procedure, and after that, without having to wait for long, we got picked up by a taxi shuttle to bring us to the resort SAii Laguna Phuket.

In the hotel, after a quick check-in, they brought us to our room, where we were supposed to stay until the tests results were ready. I took a shower and feeling fresh at last went to bad (as always, I didn’t sleep on the plane). Two hours later, when I woke up, the test results (negative of course) were there! I even didn’t noticed that I was on quarantine.

I had my very late breakfast on the balcony enjoying the best view I could have wished for.

Free at last

It was around the sunset when we went out to explore. It gets dark early in Thailand in this time of year.

That evening I was lazy and didn’t take out my SLR camera. All photos in this post I took with my iPhone.

We went straight to the beach and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Having walked further along the shoreline, we discovered that there were many interesting local bars and various food places in the shacks along the beach.

It was short before Christmas, and we spotted some decorations. It always feels odd to see any Christmas attributes in tropical countries. For me, Christmas and New Year are associated with snow and cold. Well, for Sergio, who grew up in a warm place, it’s the opposite and seeing Christmas trees on a beach is a usual thing.

We thought it would be cool to have a dinner in one of the shacks, but soon we realized that we needed cash for that. Our only option was to return to the resort, and then withdraw and exchange some money at the reception.

Although the hotel facilities were very inviting, we felt like we wanted to get in touch with something local and wild. And so, we headed back to the beach after we got some cash.

Amazing dinner experience

We walked quite far along the beach passing by many different shacks. It was strikingly empty everywhere. We didn’t have any particular place or goal in mind. I guess we just were curious to see what comes next — until we reached the point when there was no further path.

We turned back and headed to the open-air restaurant which we thought looked interesting. Just when we reached it, the whole electricity there went off. Only one table was occupied by a group of young Americans, and they already had their food a drinks served.

We were wondering, whether they would still be able to cook with the power being off. They told us it wasn’t a problem, and here we were: by candle light in a beach cafe having our first Chang beers! The power was coming back and going, but it didn’t bother us. That was such an amazing experience!

The food was also great. We both ordered soups: Sergio got a tom yum with prawns and I had a tom kha, a coconut soup, with seafood. Both were delicious!

After the dinner we returned closer to our resort and, since it was still early, went for another beer to some other beach bar. They had a nice electro music playing and we sat at the table right next to the sea enjoying the sound of the waves and looking at the colourfully lit horizon.

That was such a magical evening!

Departure day

In the morning, we had a breakfast in the resort’s restaurant. I picked some unusual looking things from the buffet. Among those was a curry which turned out unimaginably hot — the kind which makes you feel ringing in your ears. I was glad I took just a little of it. There were also a couple of nice local sweets with coconut flavour.

As much as we loved it there, it was time to move further. Again, with a taxi-shuttle they brought us to the pier, where a speed boat was waiting for us to bring us to the wonderful island Koh Phi Phi.

Photos taken in December 2021

The post First Time in Thailand: Quarantine in Phuket appeared first on Tokidoki.

Today I would like to share with you some pictures I took in Toronto during our last trip to North America in the autumn of 2019. We came to Canada to attend Sarah and Nate’s wedding, and it was my first time visiting this country.

Downtown, day 1

We took it slow on the first day after arrival. We were staying together with friends and family in an Airbnb house in Brampton. We had a breakfast, picked up a rental car and went to a nearby moll, where we bought SIM cards and had a lunch.

Late in the afternoon we drove to Toronto Downtown. We didn’t do much there, just had a stroll around the famous CN Tower, went to the waterfront and had a couple of drinks on a cozy open air terrace.

It was probably the last warm day that year and I was wearing a summer dress.

On the next couple of days we attended the beautiful wedding, spent some time with the family and had a trip to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, where I took so many photos, which I’d like to share in a separate post.

Downtown, day 2

Having returned from St. Catharines, we spent another couple of days exploring Toronto. We went to Downtown again and had a longer walk there.

Downtown in Toronto has this typical business district vibe. It’s full with tall buildings, housing countless offices, shops, banks and restaurants.

Again, we walked along the waterfront, enjoying the fresh autumn air.

Distillery District

Having explored the downtown, we decided to drive to the Distillery District. This pedestrian area full with 19th century buildings got its name for housing once a large whiskey distillery. These days it’s a hip area with good restaurants and bars, designer boutiques and art installations. We absolutely enjoyed browsing in its shops.

There we also had a lunch in BOKU, a nice Japanese place.

Kensington Market

On another day we went to see Kensington Market, another hip area with its unique vibe. It’s a popular alternative-multicultural area, which is considered to be a symbol of tolerance in Toronto.

In this neighbourhood, you will find many Victorian homes, numerous specialty grocers and bakeries, vintage boutiques and arts spaces.

Driving and parking in these narrow streets should be particularly challenging.

The area is full of vintage and modern murals and indie art installations. It’s known to be the most photographed neighbourhood in Toronto.

Chinatown

Located just 10 walking minutes away from Kensington Market, Chinatown strikes with its authenticity. It’s full with Asian open-air markets and shops offering fresh fruits, vegetables and other Asian goods. Of course there are also many Asian restaurants and cafés.

We had a lunch in a very Chinese restaurant called Harmony. The food made me feel as if I was back to China! We also spent some time in a bubble tea shop Hey Sugar, where I had literally the best bubble tea I’ve ever tried.

Photos taken in September 2019

The post Toronto, Canada appeared first on Tokidoki.

In June this year we spent a weekend in northern Italy in the province of South Tyrol. It was our first trip abroad since the beginning of the pandemic, and, therefore, we had to do some research regarding traveling regulations. All turned out to be rather simple: we just needed to do the fast antigen test and fill out a couple of forms. Since we were traveling by car, the PCR test was not required. 

We haven’t booked any hotel in advance, and after receiving our negative test results, we just picked one. Luckily, we did not have any particular place in mind and it was still possible to get unoccupied rooms.

We chose the hotel Napura near the town of Bolzano, and it turned out to be great (it’s not an advertisement). We enjoyed our modern spacious room with a comfortable bed and a cozy balcony, delicious breakfast and the nice restaurant with great service, but the absolute highlight was its rooftop terrace with hot tubs. My favourite memory of that trip is enjoying the whirlpool bath under the starry sky, surrounded by incredibly beautiful mountains, olive trees and lavender bushes.

We also enjoyed dining out in the towns Bolzano and Merano. Alpine cuisine is typical for the region, however, we were looking for the restaurants with Italian influence. In Bolzano, we especially enjoyed our meals at the Trattoria Filo d’Olio and in the restaurant Italia & Amore.

We also did some food shopping in a local hypermarket and returned back home with our trunk full with Italian delicacies, including fresh pastas, cheese, different varieties of pesto, good olive oils, balsamico vinegar and some sweets. Italy is always about food! 

Dorf Tirol

On Saturday, which was the only full day we were staying there, we decided to go hiking. There are so many hiking options in the region! We picked one of the routes staring in Dorf Tirol near the town of Merano. I had my camera with me, and I guess my photos should give you a good impression of how it was.

The heritage trail

We chose the heritage trail and enjoyed walking the path surrounded by wines and apple groves, looking at medieval castles and pretty hotels on the slopes. It was a pleasant experience and I’m sure we’ll come back some day to explore the other trails as well.

Photos taken in June 2021

The post Hiking in South Tyrol appeared first on Tokidoki.

Two days of our journey we spent at the base of Mt. Fuji. Together with our friend Paul who lives in Tokyo we went to a tiny town called Fujiyoshida and had a great time there.

Day 1

To get there, we took an early bus from Shinjuku station. We did not buy tickets in advance, and we got really lucky to get the last three tickets. Despite the pandemic, the bus was full. As we arrived, we headed straight to the hotel and left our luggage there. The ‘hotel’ was in fact an old two-storey house with a couple of spacious tatami-flloor rooms managed by a friendly Japanese old lady, who gave us a key to our room and demonstrated how to make a futon bed. We’ve already done it so many times in the past, but I guess they always show it to foreigners.

After we left our luggage, we went to explore. We did not have a clear plan, just a list of the sights we wanted to visit. We were also not sure, which of them were open, since many museums and public places in the country were closed due to the pandemic. To our luck, there was a tourist information center, where a nice lady gave us a map of the area, marking close and open attractions. This was super useful, as she also marked the spots of our interest and advised from where and at what time of day Mt. Fuji looks at its best, and told us which transportation means should we take to get to these places. In addition, she also instructed us what to do in case we experience COVID symptoms and gave us a phone number to call, should this happen.

Mt. Tenjo Panoramic Ropeway (also known as Mt. Kachi Kachi Ropeway)

Although the lady from the tourist information office told us the view from Mt. Tenjo is better in the morning, we could not afford waiting, as we also had other plans for the next day.

We took a cable a car to get on top. There we saw a small caffe, an observation deck and several hilarious figures of tanuki, or Japanese raccoon dog, and a bunny. The observatory has a view of the lake, as well as Aokigahara forest, and Mount Fuji.

It was windy and very sunny. The sky was so clear! Not the best condition for photography, but the view was still enjoyable. From there, we also could see the Fuji-Q Highland, the amusement park which stood silent these days, closed for indefinite time because of the pandemic. It brought back memories of one sunny autumn day Sergio and I spent there a couple of years ago.

Some moments later the summit was covered by a cloud.

It was so cold there! Despite the fact that I put on all the clothes I had, it was still freezing cold.

Now what’s the deal with these tanuki and bunny figures? It turned out, there is a folktale about this place, and these two animals are its main heroes. The line name Mt. Kachi Kachi comes from this folktale. Despite the fact they seem so cute, the tale is rather dark and includes torture and death. Better read it yourself.

Walking along the shore of Lake Kawaguchi

As next we wanted to see a great photographic spot in the Oishi Park. At first, we though we would be able to get there on foot before the sunset, so we walked along the shore of Lake Kawaguchi, enjoying the view and the nice conversation.

At some point we realized that the sunset may actually come sooner than we expected. Luckily, we were walking along the bus route.

Sunset views of Mt. Fuji at the Oishi Park

We arrived to the spot just in time. The sun already started to set and I enjoyed photographing Mt. Fuji in changing light.

Finally, it got dark, and we headed back to the bus. On the way, we saw a very interesting example of modern architecture. It turned out to be the Hoshinoya resort. I would definitely love to spend a night there someday.

The bus brought us back to the ropeway station. From there, we got to walk a little towards the train station. Our hotel was one train stop away from where we were, but before we took the train, we had a nice dinner at a tempura restaurant not far from the station.

Back to the train station

At the station, we had to wait a bit, and when the train arrived it turned out to be decorated with anime characters.

Day 2

My plan was to get up early on the next day and to get to one interesting photo spot to make use of the beautiful morning light. The guys, who are not that passionate about photography, wouldn’t join. I was still jetlagged and, oh well, I’m not a morning person (especially during vacation), so the plan failed on my side, too.

Once we all were ready, we moved our luggage into the locker at the train station to save some time later. Our return bus tickets were for later time, so we had plenty of time to see the remaining sights on our list.

We enjoyed some combini snacks and coffee for breakfast and walked towards, perhaps, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region and in Japan, but I’ll come later to that. Again, we chose walking, as we wanted to see the town.

We passed by some temples and blooming trees, enjoying the ambience of the provincial town, which at some moments seemed even deserted. It was out of season, plus the pandemic played its role. The streets were empty and almost all local stores and restaurants we were passing by were closed.

Many associate Japan with skyscrapers and hi-tech, however, this country has another face — its countryside, which I find absolutely charming. A railroad, a web of wires connecting electricity poles, and a badass mountain in the background — I could easily imagine it being a scene from an anime of some well-known director.

Chureito Pagoda in Arakurayama Sengen Park

And here we are, at one of the most famous sights in Japan! The sight of the five-story Chureito Pagoda in Arakurayama Sengen Park is probably known to everyone. Usually accompanied with cherry blossoms, it often decorates tourist booklets or general articles about Japan. Finally, we got to see this spot with our own eyes!

As you can see in the photographs, we were a bit early for cherry blossoms, and the sun was on the ‘wrong’ side (and I didn’t bring any lens filters), so I didn’t manage to take a booklet-level masterpiece shot. We still enjoyed the view, though.

Hopefully someday I’ll get to see this place in its full beauty with cherry blossoms around.

Back to the town

We still had plenty of time before our bus back to Tokyo, so, again, we chose to walk back to the town. We walked along the Honcho street enjoying the view.

Kitaguchi-hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine

Our next destination was Kitaguchi-hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine, a UNESCO-listed Shinto shrine complex. The first religious building was built at this very spot in 100 A.D., and since then the place served religious purposes. As the starting point of the Yoshida Trail, during the Edo Period, it was used by pilgrims to pray before their religious pilgrimage up to Mt. Fuji’s summit.

These days the shrine consists of several wooden structures. I found the stone lanterns framing the path through the forest and the surrounding trees which must be over hundred years old especially impressive.

Coffee bus

Right next to the temple stood a retro coffee bus. Of course I couldn’t resist trying their coffee! I even managed to have a small talk in Japanese with the shop owner, who told me that he roasts the beans manually in a small roaster — he actually had it there in the bus!

Donki

We had a simple dinner in one of Matsuya restaurants we found there. After that, it started getting dark, Mt. Fuji completely hid behind thick clouds and it was freezing cold. Fortunately, we stumbled upon a Don Quijote store (or simply Donki), one of those which sell everything possible. We decided to use the opportunity to buy some things from our list to bring home.

It was definitely a great trip with lots of walking and seeing great things. We will definitely return to the area once it will be possible again.

Photos taken in March 2020

The post Our Trip to Fujiyoshida, or Several Views of Mt. Fuji appeared first on Tokidoki.

On one of the days of our first week in Bogota together with the whole family we went to the Parque Jaime Duque. Located a bit outside of Bogota, it’s a family oriented amusement park founded in the 80s by a former Avianca pilot Jaime Duque Grisales. The park contains some attractions for kids, several replicas of famous buildings from around the world, the Museum of Mankind, and a zoo, demonstrating Colombian fauna. We were particularly interested in seeing the zoo, and it turned out to be a fun place! Check out the photographs I took there.

Flamingoes

Capuchin monkeys

Little ducks

Condors

Guess who got bitten?

And meet the lama!

Small fluffy animals

Spider monkey

Humming bird

In this park, I saw a humming bird for the first time, and it was something magical. It’s incredible how fast these tiny creatures can move! The bird did not belong to the zoo collection, it just happened to fly there.

Pretty little fox

Seeing this cute little fox, Sergio’s little nephew said: ‘Perrito!’ which means ‘doggie’ in Spanish.

Macaws

Ecuadorian great horned owl

More birds

‘Cocaine’ hippos

Parque Jaime Duque became home for a couple of descendants of ‘cocain’ hippos. In 80s, Pablo Escobar kept some unusual pets — four large hippos illegally imported to Colombia. After the drug lord’s death they were just left there on their own. They managed not only to survive, but also grew in number, which, according to ecologists, poses a big risk to the local environment.

Sunset in the park

Photos taken in January 2020

The post Parque Jaime Duque appeared first on Tokidoki.

Another day of our trip we decided to spend in Shinjuku. Shinjuku is one of Tokyo’s wards, considered as major commercial and administrative centre of the city. It’s packed with shops, bars, clubs, restaurants, galleries and all sorts of other establishments. Also its railway station is the busiest in the world.

Although many other parts of Tokyo seemed to be more quiet than usual, affected by the beginning of the pandemic, on that day Shinjuku was as lively as before. In short, our plans for the day included having a ramen, visiting the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, taking some photographs at the Omoide Yokocho and, finally, doing some shopping.

Ichiran ramen

Although Ichiran is a popular ramen chain, we’ve never been to any of its restaurants before, always giving a preference to the Ippudo chain or other individual shops. This time we were curious to try the ramen of Ichiran.

Their ramen could be distinguished by thin noodles and a hearty tonkotsu broth. It was tasty, although I was a bit disappointed by the plain egg — I prefer when it’s marinated.

A very striking difference was in the way you get to eat your ramen! It’s being served in individual booths, so that you don’t get to interact with others and can focus on your ramen. Interactions with the serving personnel are also minimal. You enter the building and select your dish in a vending machine, paying in advance. After you get your receipt, you get an individual booth assigned to you. There, you get a pen and a piece of paper, where you can customise your ramen based on your preferences, picking from different options like, for example, richness of the broth or whether you want some garlic and spicy sauce in it. Your meal is served through a little window in the booth, which gets shut with a curtain after you have it served. Such a dream shop for introverts!

It was definitely an interesting experience, however, for me ramen is a social meal. I really enjoy going to ramen shops with friends, and that makes other shops like Ippudo more attractive for me.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

After the lunch we walked towards the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. It’s a very famous park and garden, but somehow we never got to visit it before.

I believe this place should be beautiful in any season, but we particularly enjoyed being there during the spring time. Just look at the photos I took that day!

This park is such a calm place. Being there, it’s hard to believe there is a bustling megapolis out there.

Being in this park reminded me of ‘The Garden of Words‘, a brilliant anime film by Makoto Shinkai. Its action is actually happening in the Shinjuku Gyoen.

Although it was still early for the peak cherry blossom season, we discovered a beautiful early blooming tree near the pond.

We really enjoyed being in the park and stayed there until it’s closing time.

Omoide Yokocho

It started getting dark and we hurried to the Omoide Yokocho, an alleyway full of tiny BBQ restaurants. I discovered this photogenic spot back in 2013, before it became popular amongst Instagram photographers. I couldn’t resist stopping by at that place again.

We were considering having a dinner in one of the yakitori places at Omoide Yokocho, however, we were still not hungry at that time. Furthermore, we already had a heavy ramen that day, and another meaty meal felt like an overkill.

We spent further couple of hours doing shopping in the area. We were in the Tokyu Hands, when all shops in the area started to close. Apparently, they shortened their hours of operation due to the pandemic. So, we started looking for dinner options.

Sushi for dinner

The large train station of Shinjuku hosts many restaurants. We though it would be good to have some sushi. We soon discovered that many restaurants were also closing early that day, however, we still managed to find a sushi shop which was still open. The sushi were really good! It’s a shame I did not memorise the name of the place.

Photos taken in March 2020

The post Tokyo: Enjoying Shinjuku appeared first on Tokidoki.

Let me continue sharing some fragments of our trip to Colombia last year. In the rest of our first week in Bogotá, we visited some touristic attractions and I discovered even more new dishes.

La Mariposa

Once, while we were driving, I saw an interesting view: a hill covered with tiny houses forming colourful clusters. Sergio told me that from aerial perspective this settlement should form a butterfly (la mariposa in Spanish). He also added that a tourist shouldn’t go there, since it’s a poor area and there is a high risk to get stabbed.

Usaquén

We visited the locality Usaquén which appeared to be nice and clean.

There, we had some coffee in a caffe and walked around the area.

We stumbled upon a small outdoor market. At that place one could buy various Colombian souvenirs. I bought myself a piranha preserved in plexiglas. Isn’t that cool?

Bogotá Botanical Garden

We also went to visit the Bogotá Botanical Garden. I always enjoy seeing unusual plants, and Colombia has a lot to offer in that domain. It turned out, however, that during these days, the botanical garden was hosting an exhibition. Its grounds turned into a large display of colourfully lit installations demonstrating the Colombian flora and fauna. So, instead of visiting the greenhouses, we spent a couple of hours going through the exhibition, which also was super fun to do.

We went there just before the dawn.

After the sun went down, they turned on the lights in the installations.

Passing by a sports ground

Bandeja paisa

On some other day, our friends Cindy and Carlos brought us to the restaurant El Envigadeño for another must try. Bandeja paisa is a typical dish from the Paisa region. It includes beans, a couple of different sausages, poached egg, carne molida (ground meat), chicharron (fried pork belly), fried platano (cooking banana) and rice. It’s usually served with arepas (corn bread) on the side. You can imagine, such a dish easily covers a weekly caloric intake of an average person.

The portions which we ordered were humongous and I could barely manage to finish a half.

The restaurant itself was decorated in a very peculiar way.

Paloquemao market

Another very fun place to visit in Bogota is the Paloquemao market. It’s a large local farmer’s market, selling fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and flowers. I’ve never seen so many exotic things under one roof!

In addition, they got kiosks selling ready meals. One can buy a meal and eat it seating on plastic chairs directly next to the shop — not the most convenient way, but definitely a fun experience! I tried a tamale, and it was very delicious.

Furthermore, at the market, they also sell tasty juices (which are more like smoothies).

Catedral de Sal, Zipaquirá

On another day together with Cindy, Carlos and their baby-son we went on a day trip to Zipaquirá, a town located in about 50 km north from Bogota. Its main attraction is the Catedral de Sal, a cathedral built under ground in the former salt mine. It is very unusual, and definitely worth visiting!

The church was built in the 90s within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 metres underground. It consists of various corridors and sanctuaries located in the caves left behind by previous mining operations. The combination of light and stone carvings makes its architecture truly mesmerising.

After visiting the mines, we joined a bus tour to the town of Zipaquirá. The town looked different compared to Bogota, but it was actually quite a typical provincial town, as I observed it in the next couple of weeks while visiting other regions of Colombia.

Photos taken in January 2020

The post More of Bogotá and its Surroundings appeared first on Tokidoki.

It was by all means an unusual trip. I was in-between the jobs and though it would be nice to spend a week in my favourite country before diving deep into my new role — ironically, just like I did before taking my previous job. Back then in 2018 we went on a two-week trip which I already covered in a series of posts on this blog.

In fact, we decided quite spontaneously to go on that trip: on some day in February I was just browsing ticket prices to whatever places — the activity I enjoyed doing pre-pandemic. I noticed that round-trip prices to Tokyo were lower than usually. That was certainly affected by the beginning of the pandemic and its spread in Asia, but back then people in Europe (us included) were not taking it seriously. I mean, nothing like that ever happened in our lives, and it was impossible to foresee how the whole thing will turn out. So, we bought the tickets just two weeks before going on this 10-day trip. We didn’t know yet it was meant to be our last trip overseas for a long period of time.

In the beginning of March 2020, we were flying back to Tokyo. It was tempting to buy another JR Pass, but that time we did not have enough time for a trip through the country. So, Tokyo was our primary destination and we were planning to leave it only once during the trip — to visit Fujiyoshida, a town close to Mt. Fuji, but I’ll come to that in one of the following posts.   

Arrival day

As always, the flight was quite long and exhausting. I didn’t sleep at all and we arrived to Tokyo early in the morning. For the first couple of nights we booked a hotel where we’ve already stayed before. It’s located in the familiar to us Ningyocho area. In 2013, when I spent six months in Tokyo, we used to live close by and know almost all the shops and restaurants in the area. 

It was raining in Tokyo, so we decided to take a direct shuttle bus from the Narita airport which took us to Suitengumae station. We had to walk from there for about 10 minutes, but that was quite straightforward, since we know the area and didn’t even need any map.

Despite the fact that our planned check-in time was much later, the room was already free, and we were allowed to use it. That was such a big help! We were exhausted, and I was desperate to take a shower. 

According to our initial plan we were going to spend the day doing some shopping at Akihabara and then meeting friends there at a yaki-niku (Japanese BBQ) place. However, we were so tired, that we just went out to have lunch in Kaisen Misakiko, a sushi kaiten nearby our hotel, then returned to the room, had a nap, and went to Akihabara only late in the evening to meet with the friends. It was a very pleasant evening.

Familiar places

Next morning we managed to get up early. We planned so much for the day! 

First thing, we went to Kappabashi, the area in Tokyo we also know very well, since we spent there our three months in 2015. We took the subway to Iriya station and enjoyed walking the familiar streets from there. 

It was such a nice and sunny March morning! We saw some early cherry blossoms.

On the way, we passed by the old house where we used to live, to check if it’s still standing. The whole area almost hasn’t changed since our last visit in 2018!

Shopping at Kappabashi

We went there not just because of feeling nostalgic. Kappabashi-dori is famous for its shops supplying restaurants with all possible items from kitchen utensils to furniture and food-making machines. Although the target customers are restaurant owners, it does not mean you can’t shop there as an ordinary shopper.

In fact, many tourists come to visit that street to buy some souvenirs and to visit the so called sampuru (from English ‘sample’) shops, selling food samples made of plastic. These are often used at restaurants in their shop display windows to demonstrate the menu. Such sample items often look soooo realistic, that it’s even hard to tell that it’s only plastic. Huge pieces can be costly, but some shops offer small items as souvenirs like a tiny sushi or even a kit to make your own food sample. 

We were planning to buy some stuff for our home, like beautiful ramen bowls and some miscellaneous ceramic items. We always wanted to do this kind of shopping there, but were always constrained by the luggage allowance. This time we made sure to leave some extra space for our dinnerware. 

Besides, I wanted to visit the shop called ‘Union’, which sells everything possible for coffee from dripper filters to syphones, cold brew towers and even roasting devices — everything from popular Japanese brands like Hario or Kalita. They sell roasted coffee as well. It’s a paradise for a coffee lover like me, and of course I didn’t leave it empty-handed.

As for the ceramics, the challenge was to find a shop. I didn’t look for any recommendations in advance, so instead we just quickly went through the whole street and noted some potential stores. The one we liked most, Maeda, was located almost in the end of the street. Their showroom wasn’t fancy, but the products they were selling were amazing. There we managed to find everything which was on our list, and the shop staff wrapped everything with care and provided us with a tax free document.

We could have spent more time at Kappabashi, however, our agenda for the day was full. We made a quick stop at Sensing Touch of Earth, a cozy coffee shop which we like despite it’s weird name. I ordered a matcha latte to-go, and we continued walking back towards the subway station.

Imperial Palace

We returned to the hotel and left the stuff we bought at Kappabashi and immediately went back to the subway. This time we were heading to Chiyoda, the administrative center of Tokyo. You may remember the story (which I told you in this post) of how we missed the chance to visit the Imperial Gardens. During that trip we were determined to fix that.

Furthermore, this time I even applied online to get us spots on an official free guided tour through the Imperial Palace grounds. Usually such an application is not necessary, but very helpful. It assures that you will take part in the excursion if you show up at the scheduled time. Visitors without such registrations would be served on a first-come basis.

This time, however, we wouldn’t get in without our registration. Because of the pandemic, many public places like museums, galleries and observation decks decided to close indefinitely. The Imperial Palace excursion takes place outdoors and it was not cancelled, however, the number of participants was limited only to those who were pre-registered. So, we were in!

You may wonder, what is actually this tour about? The Imperial Palace has been the residential place of the Japanese Emperor family since 1868. In the Imperial Palace Complex consisting of several buildings the ruling family undertakes its official duties. Different ceremonies and public activities also take place there.

The excursion is a guided walking tour. There are guides speaking different languages. On that day there were an English speaking and a French speaking guides. The only French couple who joined on that day got a very exclusive tour. We joined the English speaking group of course.

The duration of the walk is about one hour (you will cover about 2.2 km). Taking photographs is allowed, however, you should keep the group’s pace. There are special people following the group who make sure that nobody stays behind.

In general, it was an interesting experience. We’ve learned that all imperial buildings were actually quite modest (no aqua discotheque or anything).

Lazy afternoon in the Imperial Gardens

After the excursion we were a bit hungry. We didn’t have time for lunch before the excursion, and after it was already quite late. There was no point in having a complete meal since in a couple of hours we were meeting up with my former colleagues with whom we were going to have a dinner at an izakaya (a Japanese bar serving drinks and small foods). So, we grabbed some snacks from a convenience store and headed towards the Eastern Imperial Gardens.

There we just sat on the ground in the middle of a park enjoying the sun. It was so warm, we even were able to remove the jackets! We had our snacks, and Sergio told me he would like to take a nap — right there in the park. So, I took my camera and went to explore.

Meeting with my colleagues

In the evening, we went to the institute where we both used to work to meet with my former team. I was as always very glad to see them. There were of course many new members, staff and interns — all are nice people, with whom we spent a pleasant evening in an izakaya. One thing which never happened to us before: the izakaya was completely empty and we were the only customers. 

Night blossoms at Chidorigafuchi

After the party was over, Fumiki offered us to show the early blooming trees in the park near Cidorigafuchi. In the spirit of hanami, we bought some drinks in a convenience store and headed to the park. We were impressed by the large magnolia trees in full bloom.

Midnight snack

At midnight, returning to our hotel, we realised we were hungry again. I guess our jet lag was playing tricks on us. We decided to make a quick stop at a Yoshinoya next to our hotel, and discovered some new healthy items on the menu. The meal I ordered was very delicious!

Photos taken in March 2020

The post Back to Tokyo in the Beginning of the Pandemic appeared first on Tokidoki.