Tokyo is one of my favourite cities in the world. It's a place where I can visit every year, no every month, and not get tired of.

The food is definitely one of the reasons I keep returning to this bustling city, though there are definitely more reasons than the food.

So here's a list of my favourite places to go when I'm in Tokyo.

Last year was eventful with me having to fly to Japan on three occasions and I can't be more grateful to be able to witness the transition from Summer to Autumn. Now that I've finally settled down and have some time, it's time to catch up on my adventures from last year.

I went on a 12 days Japan trip and while I went to some of the same places as I did a few years ago, I skipped out on Mt Fuji. If you're interested to know more about my trip to Mt Fuji, check out my previous post. I'll do up another post on the food gems I've found in Japan but meantime, here's my Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kanazawa, and Takayama itinerary.

Perth has her Swan Valley and Sydney has her Hunter Valley. Hunter Valley is Australia's oldest wine region and is home to lots of good wine and good food. It's a three hours drive from Sydney and there's a straight highway that leads you there. I visited Pokolbin, a quaint little town in Hunter Valley. Unfortunately, I did not manage to get an accommodation there as I booked my holiday only a month before. Also, as I visited Hunter Valley in Winter, most of the vineyards were barren and I was definitely missing out on the hot air balloons - a common sight in Hunter Valley. I made a booking a day in advance over at Cafe Enzo for lunch after reading the rave reviews on TripAdvisior. Cafe Enzo was also situated right next to the wine cellars I wanted to visit. We were a little late on our schedule because we were stuck in a slow traffic while bypassing another town in Hunter Valley. I phoned in to make changes to my reservation and the staff was courteous. I'm a budget traveler but I could not miss out on tasting some of the best foods in Hunter Valley. Cafe Enzo is set in a Tuscan inspired village, picturesque from every angle. It overlooks a vine yard and a pond. Even though it was winter, the weather was a perfect 25 degree Celsius, which made it perfect for al fresco dining. I had the linguine with tiger prawns while my partner had the smoked lamb with mushroom risotto. Both were truly amazing and the ingredients used were really fresh. We both agreed that we would definitely return to Cafe Enzo the next time we visit Australia.

We began our wine tasting tour after the sumptuous lunch. I handpicked wine cellars from reviews across the Internet and narrowed it down to three, Tyrell's Wine, Scarborough Wine Co, and McGuigan Wines.
My favourite was Scarborough Wine Co. The service was excellent and I had a really fun time tasting the wine and the staff was knowledgeable and approachable. We ended up spending most of our travel baggage wine limit from there. Do note that there is a wine limit that you can bring back to Singapore. Out of all three wine cellars, only Tyrell sold travel bags for the wine. Here I'm tasting a Shiraz from Tyrell. However, Hunter Valley is well-known for her Semillon. Semillon is a dry and sweet white wine made of golden skinned grapes. We ended up opening a bottle during one of our dinners at Byron Bay and it was so good. Scarborough Wine Co has the perfect backdrop for photo taking. It would have been much better if it wasn't winter, but I'm not complaining because the weather on that day was perfect. I never had to put on my jacket throughout the entire day. Some of the wine cellars do charge for wine tasting. I do know that Tyrell and McGuigan don't but I can't be sure for Scarbourough because we ended up buying lots of wine from them. Also, Hunter Valley is home to chocolate and cheese tasting. We did not make it in time for the chocolate but the cheese tasting do charge. Next stop: Byron Bay!

I love London. It's a cultural melting pot. And that makes the food in London amazing because you can get all kinds of food in this city. However, it can be pricey to eat in London but here are some of the better deals and food you can get in this beautiful city.

The Breakfast Club

33 D'Arblay Street The Breakfast Club is so popular among tourists that you have to queue for at least an hour and half to get a table. On the both occasions when I visited the branch in Soho, the service was quick. However, the interior is really small and cramped, which might have contributed to the long queues. The food was good. It’s the perfect way to start a weekend morning. However, I wouldn't queue another hour and half for the place again. Once is enough.

Flat Iron

17 Beak Street
Another place in Soho. A good friend of mine recommended this place. The deal with this place is that they serve pretty good steak for only £10. £10 may not be really cheap when you convert it into Singapore currency but it's going to be hard to find a place this decent to beat the price.

Patty and Bun

54 James Street I visited this place on two occasions. It's just right outside Liverpool station which makes it really convenient. The place is really tiny but they serve up really delicious burgers. I've heard of the long queues forming outside this place but on both occasions, I must have been really lucky. They also have a vegetarian option on the menu.

Four Seasons

12 Gerrard St | 84 Queensway
The only Asian food on this list. Famous of their roast duck, it has been crowned "Best Roast Duck in the world". I get that Singaporeans don't really opt for Asian food when they're overseas in an angmoh country. However, after a week of travelling, our Asian mouths were dying and screaming for some rice. A fellow Singaporean recommended this place to us.

They actually have two branches in Chinatown itself which we went to one day after another. That was how good it was, or rather we really missed rice. During my 5 months stay in London, I also visited the other branch in Bayswater, which was within walking distance from the station.

They've recently opened a branch in Singapore so I guess you can always give this a miss if you're on a tight schedule. However, if you are ever craving for some Asian food, keep this place at the back of your heads.

Burger & Lobster

Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge | 36-38 Dean Street Keeping the best for the last. If you can only have one meal in London, this is it. The highly raved Burger & Lobster serves only 3 dishes. Lobster (grilled or steamed), lobster roll, and a burger. Each costing £20. What? That's almost $42! Hold your horses. You'll have to understand in London, £20 is the norm for a meal in London. So instead of spending it on any other meal, why not eat a lobster? Besides, a lobster meal at Pince and Pints cost a lot more than £20.

Be prepared to wait really really long for this place. If you don't want to wait, come before the dinner crowd. Also, avoid the branch in Soho because that's going to be really crowded. I would personally recommend the steamed lobster over the grilled because it's juicer.

I love Korean fried chicken wings and can never have enough of them. Decided to drop by Tanjong Pagar and visited Twins Korean Restaurant for some fried chicken wings and beer the other day. Apparently their specialty is their ice-cream beer which we gave a miss because the hite beer was on promotion.
The place was quiet for a Saturday afternoon, which made the ambience really welcoming. We had an enjoyable lunch with fast service.
We had the Soy & Garlic and Yangnyum chicken wings which blew our minds. They were finger licking good and literally left us licking our fingers after indulging in the wings. And you definitely can't go wrong having beer with anything, what more fried chicken wings. We left Twins with tummies, feeling satisfied with the meal. I don't normally do up a food blog post but this place was really good and left me lingering.

Amsterdam, best known for its canals and narrow houses. Putting the famous red light district and coffee shops aside, the capital of the Netherlands has many other attractions.

I stayed at the Central Station Hostel, a tiny hostel right smack in the middle of all the buzz in Amsterdam. We had a 6 bed mixed dorm en suite, so no complaints there. It was convenient, cheap and clean.

The first stop of the trip was Anne Frank House. It is a biographical museum dedicated to Anne Frank, a Jewish who was in hiding during the World War II. The queue for Anne Frank House can get really long so we started queuing before the museum even opens. Either come early to queue, or prebook the tickets.

The Anne Frank House was thought provoking and solemn. Even the wait may be long, I felt that it was worth the visit because it was an eye-opener.

After the trip to Anne Frank House, we hopped by The Pancake Bakery which is just within walking distance from the museum. I ordered a savoury pancake and realised I pretty much prefer my pancakes sweet. Fret not those with a sweet tooth, The Pancake Bakery do have pancakes for you too.
After a hearty meal, we made our way to the Heineken Experience. Heineken Experience is an interactive tour around the history of Heineken. My expectation for this attraction wasn't high because after all, we only went for it for the free tasting after the tour (FREE ALCOHOL).

However, the tour turned out a lot more fun than expected. All of us enjoyed it tremendously because there was so many things to do in there. Even the people who don't drink enjoyed the tour. We even played a football match on the xbox in one of the interaction rooms.

You'll get to customise your very own Heineken bottle by printing your name on it. It will make the perfect gift for a friend.

After the tour, you'll get a free boat ride. How can you say no to ride a boat along the canals of Amsterdam. I may have slept throughout the boat ride because I drank a tiny bit too much beer back in the experience (blame it on friends giving me their free drinks & also because I'm a bad drinker).
When the night falls, Amsterdam changes into a city of lights. The famous red light district comes to life. Girls in lingerie, standing behind the glass door, waiting for a customer to approach her. Sex stores at every corner, and even sex shows going at 2 euros for 2 minutes. In a dark box, drop 2 euros into the machine and the curtain in front of you will open, revealing the act, and closing shut after 2 minutes.

After a tour around, we walked to Winkel 43, which was said to have the best apple pie in the world. Two thumbs up! I would say you have to definitely give the apple pie a try if you're in Amsterdam!

The rest of the night was spent looking for coffee shops. The Bulldog Cafe is one of the more popular coffee shops in Amsterdam, and the moment you enter, you'll see photos of celebrities who have visited the place.

The next morning, head over to Van Gogh Museum . I walked there from the hostel, so it was a good morning walk! After which, the famous IAMSTERDAM sign is just nearby the museum. It is impossible to take a proper photo of the sign without anyone spoiling your photo.
Hi from the top of the T! :)

The next trip was to Zaanse Schans! We took a train to Koog-Zaandijk from Amsterdam Central Station before walking approximately 10 minutes to this lovely place. There weren't many visitors so you really had the space to yourself.
You don't get to see many of these windmills around anymore. This place is the close to Amsterdam so most visitors visit this place for a taste of The Netherlands. There's also shops there that sell cheese and stuffs.
That's it for my short trip to Amsterdam! Stay tuned for more posts on my trip to Europe!

It's a lot cheaper to travel to Japan nowadays with the help of budget airlines. I got my return tickets to Tokyo for slightly less than $300. So my week in Japan began on the 10th May. We missed the sakura season by a week so it was kind of a disappointment.

It was a packed week and we tried to cover quite a few places, but I felt it was just nice and we managed to cover most of the places we wanted to.

Before the trip we ordered our Japan Rail Pass online and got it delivered over. It is highly recommended if you're planning to take the shinkansen, which we did. The Japan Rail Pass covers some of the shinkansen lines and the JR lines in Japan.
After the 10 hours flight (with a layover in Taipei), we finally reached Narita Airport. We were starving so we quickly went to the train station to get our Narita express tickets (which the Japan Rail Pass covers) and some onigiri before boarding the train. The train frequency is approximately half an hour but there are certain hours with limited trains.

The Narita express ride took approximately an hour to get to Tokyo. There are a few stops in Tokyo, including Shinjuku.

Tokyo

We stopped at Shibuya because I wanted to see the famous Shibuya crossing. We got off the wrong exit though, so we were lost for a bit in Shibuya. But we managed to find a conveyor belt sushi place selling each plate at only 100yen (118 yen inclusive of tax) What a steal! We were hesitant initially because there weren't any gaijin but once they know we are not Japanese, they brought us a menu.



The guy beside us was really friendly and even though he couldn't communicate in Japanese, he gestured to us to get ourselves a cup of green tea and a plate of soy sauce. The chefs are in the middle of the place and basically you just tell what you want to the chefs and they'll slice up some sushi for you immediately. Or you can be like us and just take things off the belt because we were too shy to order directly.

Our bill was only 1,500 yen for two satisfied and full tummies. We left the place feeling over the moon with our first meal in Japan. And we decided to ask an elderly policeman for directions to the crossing. Apparently saying words like "Shibuya" and "Yuumei" (有名) doesn't get us the directions to the famous crossing. But he was being really helpful and told us the directions to where he thought we were going, in JAPANESE. Thank goodness we understood Japanese.


So we crossed a few overhead bridges, and walked for a distance till we finally reached the Hachiko statue (which was where the famous crossing was). Nothing special, in my opinion. There are other junctions in Tokyo that have the same diagonal crossing. If you want to go there, exit from the Hachiko Exit.


But I guess a photo at the crossing is always a must. We walked back and forth for about 6 times before returning back onto the JR line. Our next stop was Meiji Shrine, which was at Harajuku, which was one stop away from Shibuya, on the Yamanote Line (the line which most tourists will take because it covers all the famous spots in Japan).


Takeshita Street sits directly outside the Harajuku JR station and if you walk down to your right, you'll be able to find Meiji Shrine. Or you can just follow the crowd blindly because everyone will be going to the same place.


The walk in to reach the shrine is pretty deep and it's a nice walk away from the bustling Tokyo city life. The road is kind of dusty though, and our shoes were covered in thick layers of dust.

I noticed the Japanese always turn towards the shrine and bow whenever they pass a Torii gate, both when they are entering and exiting, and of course, I followed suit without understanding why.

Before entering the shrines in Japan, there will be this cleansing area. You are encouraged to cleanse and purify yourself before entering but then again, nobody can fault you for not doing so because you're a gaijin.


Instructions will be given (if you're at a tourist area).

1. Scoop some water with right hand and rinse your left hand.
2. Switch over to the left hand and rinse your right hand.
3. Switch back to the right hand and pour some water into your left hand. Use it to cleanse your mouth.
4. Tilt the scoop upwards and let the water flow down the handle to clean the handle.



Another point to note is that there are weddings held at the shrine on Sundays so you'll get a glimpse of them in their wedding costumes.

After the trip to Meiji Shrine, we made our way to Takeshita Street which is where youths gather. There, you can find a really big Daiso store.

Our airbnb host was the kindest. The rooms were cheap and well furnished so no complaints there. Moreover, when our host found out that we wanted to go down to Omoide Yokocho for dinner, he walked us there. We had ramen and then yakitori over at Omoide Yokocho. It was definitely cheap, but not the best we had in Japan so far.

We walked around Shinjuku and spent quite a fair bit of time at the arcade before heading back to our apartment. The next day, a morning visit to Tsukiji Fish Market, where you can find the freshest sashimi.


Afterwhich, we split up and I went to Odaiba while my companion went to Ikebukuro. The reason why I went over to Odaiba was because I wanted to visit the Fuji TV building.


I've watched Japanese dramas since I was young and I've always wanted to look at the props, the studio, and the TV station. If you're not a huge fan of the Japanese dramas, you can skip this place. In the tour around the building, I saw some props from VS Arashi, SMAPxSMAP, and even Domoto Kyoudai which had ended. I even saw the studio used for recording Hey! Hey! Hey! so it was all cool.


Odaiba also offers a clear view of the Rainbow Bridge. It looks a lot better at night though. Also, I did a fair bit of shopping while at Odaiba because there were just so many shops and stores there. I left the place before lunch and headed to Hamamatsucho station to visit the Tokyo Tower!
Along the way, I spotted a standing soba store and decided to give the experience a try. The Japanese are always short on time, rushing off for work so the fastest way to finish a meal is to stand and eat. The food was really good, I guess you just can't find bad Japanese food there.


The Tokyo Tower can be seen from the Zojoji. It was a long walk from the JR station. Didn't pay to go up though. On the side note, we also did see the Skytree from afar on our first day in Tokyo.


Special mention for the Tsukemen Ramen we had because I've never had tsukemen ramen before. Why can't we find these in Singapore? It makes more sense to eat this in a hot weather as compared to bowl of hot ramen!


To catch the shinkansen to Osaka, we went to Shinagawa station because it was less confusing and was recommended to us by a staff. As the journey was 3-4 hours long, we grabbed some snacks at Shinagawa station.


There's something amazing about Kobe Croquette. Especially the kani one. I even went back on my last day to get it again. If you happen to come across it, don't forget to get one! It's a bit on the pricey side but it's definitely worth it.

Osaka

The shinkansen brings you straight to Shin Osaka station, and you can easily hop onto the JR line from there. There are two main city centers in Osaka, Umeda (which is further up north) and Namba (south of Umeda).

We chose to stay at Umeda station because it was more convenient for us. We picked Hotel Kinki which was really affordable, and had really good ratings. Moreover, it was within walking distance to Umeda station, easily accessible by the underground path, and there are plenty of food choices around the area.


Hotel Kinki is located in a tiny little road, away from the main road. It took us a while to figure out where it was because when we arrived at night, this street was filled with pubs. Still, it was a safe location. I would definitely return to stay in the hotel on my next visit (next summer?)

Did I mention the 24hour Don Quijote store is right across the road from the hotel? And you wouldn't have to squeeze with all the tourists in the outlet in Tokyo Shinjuku. Ippudo ramen is also just across the street, which we had on our last day in Osaka.


We had Osaka's famous okonomiyaki and yakisoba on our first night. Don't leave Osaka without trying these - and takoyaki too!

We had an early night after some kirin beer as we recharged for our Kyoto day trip the next day.

Kyoto

Kyoto, the most beautiful city in Japan. Did you know Kyoto was taken out from the list of cities to drop the atomic bomb in WWII? A city, rich in culture. However, it's also very expensive to stay in Kyoto, a lot more expensive as compared to Osaka. Thus, we decided to make it into a day trip (two days would have been perfect to cover everything).
At Osaka station, hop on the JR Kyoto line over to Kyoto. It's really easy and accessible. Upon arrival, we went to get the bus pass because it's a lot more accessible to travel by bus in Kyoto. Taking three bus rides would have made the all day bus pass worth it. Also, do remember to grab a bus route map from the tourist center!

Our first stop was Kiyomizudera (清水寺). It is a Buddhist temple, founded in 780. It is best known for its wooden stage. There is a direct bus that brings you from the station to the temple. But of course, you have to walk up a street to reach the temple as it is pretty high up.
Most people rent kimonos to wear in Kyoto and I'll say why not? I spotted a few stores renting our kimonos  for tourists. I didn't get any though, maybe next time when I'm not on a budget backpacking trip!

Imagine how beautiful this place will look in Spring, with all the sakura, or in Autumn, with all the crimson leaves. Parts of Kiyomizudera is currently under renovation, but it does not disrupt the visit, at least not now.

 The Otowa Waterfall! They said each stream represents a different benefit (but I'm sure those tourists queuing up for this doesn't know one bit why are they doing this).
And outside the paid area of Kiyomizudera, we went over to Zuigudo Hall and paid 100yen to enter this pitch dark basement. It was a really intense experience, walking in the dark, but yet, it was a really good experience. It said that if you touch the stone and made a wish, it will be granted :)

There's also the famous love stone in Kiyomizudera, where you have to close your eyes and successfully walk from one to another.

The crowded street leading up to Kiyomizudera! :)

After which, we returned to the bus stop where we dropped off and boarded another bus to Kawaramachi station. From there, we walked to Nishiki Market, where we had our lunch. Nishiki Market is a long stretch of road with lots of shops selling all kinds of things.

The most memorable part was when we settled on having lunch at this store. The fresh sashimi was really affordable and I can't stress how awesome it was.

The oyster was really huge too! I have never seen a larger oyster than this and this cost me only 700yen. We only ordered it after seeing the couple beside us eating, and the next person saw us eating and also ordered it!

Even though we only had bits and pieces of food along the way, we were full to the brim and decided to head off to our next stop - Nijojo (Nijo Castle). We pretty much find a random bus stop (because by then we were lost) and looked for buses passing by this attraction. You'll be surprised how easy it is to travel by bus in Kyoto.

This castle was built in 1603, in the Edo era, and my companion particularly loved this place because he missed it out the last time he was here in Kyoto. This place needs to be placed higher on the places to visit in Kyoto list.

Also, something to note is that the floors make squeaky sounds whenever you step on it and this is to alert the people living there that an intruder is around. We tried our best to walk as silently, but failed miserably.

And our next stop for the day was the Kinkakuji. The golden pavilion. The silver one was at the east side of Kyoto, which we didn't have the time to cover (and also because my companion visited that place the last time).

I was so disappointed in this place because it was overly crowded with tourist groups. So I couldn't snag a good photo with it. The architecture was beautiful though, but the experience of squeezing in the heat wasn't enjoyable.

After we were done with this place, we hopped on a bus and went back to Kyoto station before changing to a train to head towards Inari, which would be our last stop because it was getting dark soon.


And that summed our day in Kyoto! Sure, we missed out the Kinkakuji (silver pavilion), the philosopher's walk and also the famous bamboo forest - Arashiyama, but I felt we had a fruitful day travelling from East to Central to North and then to the South of Kyoto.

Nara

These deer are so well conditioned to bow for biscuits. Sometimes it seems that they are trying to headbutt you, but they are just innocently bowing for food. We met one lonely one, grazing peaceful. And the moment he looked up and saw us approaching him, he made a bow. How polite! 

We even saw some of them using the traffic crossing to cross the roads when the green man is on. How law-abiding can these deer get!


But deer aside, Nara is home to the Todaiji. Constructed in 752, it is the world's largest wooden building. More than 2 million Japanese worked on this temple (according to our Japanese guide who told us the history of this majestic building). There's a huge bronze Buddha statue inside the temple hall.



This has ought to be one of my favourite temples in Japan. It's really huge and majestic. I loved it so much, I decided to make a donation to help in the reconstruction of it. And in return, I got to write my blessing on a roof tile that will be used for the new roof.

Many of the Japanese temples have these fortune telling boxes (omikuji). I tried one in Todaiji and I got the best fortune! It was Great Blessing, which is the best of the best lucky tokens. The guy over the counter was so excited for me, even more so than me.

And I'll have to say before my Japan trip, my life wasn't going good. But after coming back, everything has been going smoothly for me. I do hope the luck doesn't run out too quickly!

We were planned to head to Kofukuji after Todaiji but it was pouring heavily. It was hard to admire the pagoda in the rain so we decided to just find somewhere to have our lunch before heading back to Osaka.

It is off to the famous Dotonbori Canal over at Namba station. This has got to be the best shopping heaven. I absolutely loved walking through the alley. My favourite place was Book Off, a second hand shop that sells books, manga, CDs, DVDs, and many other random things. We spent nearly 2 hours in the store, just browsing and looking around before leaving the store with our bags of loots. They even sell second hand clothes and bags, which I didn't have the time to explore.

Fujikawaguchiko (Mt Fuji)