Our three day stay in Tokyo was short for such a big city but we had other places in Japan to explore such as Kyoto, Koyasan, and Osaka. To get a little local taste of Tokyo in such a short time we enlisted the help of a Tokyo resident to give us a local’s guide to Tokyo the capital city of Japan via Tokyo Free Guide. In a packed half day we visited districts off the beaten path such as Shimokitazawa, Nippori, and Yanaka.
Golden Gai is in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo known for its nightlife and brilliant little bars to drink in.
Surrounded by skyscrapers and bright lights, Golden Gai (Golden District) is a small area of alleyways packed full of tiny bars in little old buildings. This place has character and you’ll find yourself wondering around the intriguing area for a while before even stepping into a bar for a drink.
Istanbul has gone through a few hardships of late but it’s an amazing city to explore that is buzzing with culture and flavours making a visit to this beautiful capital city of Turkey most enjoyable.
Istanbul exists over Europe and Asia, divided by the Bosphorus strait and connected by two suspension bridges.
The European side of Istanbul is considered the old city because of its historical significance and you’ll find most of the famous tourist attractions here. The Asian side is more residential, with high street shopping, markets and nightlife.
Here are just 10 of the many top things to do in Istanbul:
A big thanks to Steve and Sacha for publishing this article. Their site is an inspiration for anyone wanting to leave their job for a life of freedom and travel, and they offer many great anecdotes and tips and tricks to help you on the way. After reading this, be sure to check out their post on the best websites for planning your trip.
There seem to be endless articles cropping up recently about the realities of life as a digital nomad. They address the raised stress levels, uncertainty and potential disasters of this sort of lifestyle, but they barely ever point out that, despite the challenges, it’s easily doable—no matter who you are.
Sure, there are some downfalls of life on the road, but every choice you make will always have its drawbacks. In reality, there are many reasons why choosing to quit your 9-5, pack up and travel the world, is much easier than you’d first imagine.
We recently previewed some of the best festivals around the world in 2016. There are just so many that here is another post previewing eight upcoming European dance festivals across 2016, including AVA Festival and Conference, Love Family Park, Eastern Electrics Festival, Sonus Festival, Dimensions Festival, Outlook Festival, Field Maneuvers and Bugged Out! in Dreamland. From one-day techno adventures to hip-hop on the Adriatic and everything in between
AVA FESTIVAL AND CONFERENCE (NI) | 4th June 2016
AVA (Audio Visual Arts) Festival and Conference is a first of it’s kind electronic music festival, a pioneering event breaking new ground by shining a light on emerging and established artists in Ireland. After last year’s success, AVA will return on Saturday June 4th 2016, where they’ll takeover T13 Belfast, on the Titanic Docks for a day and night session.
Round two sees heavyweight RØDHÅD joining, the debut live show from Bicep, the return of Boiler Room, plus Mano Le Tough, Gerd Janson, Optimo, Phil Kieran, Timmy Stewart and more. On top of this, AVA’s free conference will expand to help to educate and inspire. With tickets available now from just £22 with flights from the UK from just £40, AVA 2016 should not be missed.
Sushi is of course one of Japan’s most famous exports. For lovers of fish, sushi is a beautiful way to enjoy the fresh delicate flavours that only seafood can provide. I love fish and I love sushi, but what if you don’t like fish or sushi? Japanese food has something to offer everyone, pretty much all of which is tasty, some a bit weird, but you’ll be sure to enjoy an amazing adventure of food in Japan.
Japanese food is probably the most palatable of all Asian foods to the west. Simple fresh flavours seasoned with salt and sugar to boost umami. Japanese food is perhaps the Italian cuisine of the Far East in terms of highlighting the flavours of the natural ingredients rather than overpowering them with herbs and spices (although you’ll probably find a bottle of 7 flavour chilli powder – Shichimi containing chilli, sansho, orange peel, black sesame, white sesame, hemp, ginger, and nori) on most restaurant tables for those after a healthy spicy kick).
Japan is a wonderful place to have a food adventure and experience amazing tastes and flavours. Here are some great food options to try in Japan other than sushi.
The Gerber Shard is a brilliant multi-tool that is small and compact. In fact it’s so small that it easily fits on your keychain without digging into your thighs when you’re walking around. It’s about 3cm long, and only weighs 9g. It’s also coated in titanium nitride for corrosion resistance and it looks pretty cool too in a slick matte black.
The size is brilliant for travellers, but more importantly it’s airline safe meaning you can carry it across airport security and onto planes without any trouble.
It might be small, but it’s a proper multi-tool too with 7 of the most useful tools:
Yep, the all important bottle opener for that beer that is begging to be opened. Also a great way to be a hero when someone else doesn’t have one.
I don’t carry around a big bulk Swiss Army knife or wonder what those 20 other things are on my other multi-tool any more. This little powerful and useful beauty is more than enough and a brilliant travel companion that doesn’t take up much space or weight.
Get it on Amazon for a super cheap price.
Thank you so much to Global Debauchery for nominating us for the Liebster Award after less than two months of launching our travel blog. Also thank you to Travel Experia who nominated us for the Liebster Award shortly afterwards.
As is customary for the Liebster Award that celebrates up and coming blogs we have been asked 11 questions so that we can share a little bit more about ourselves.
We will also nominate some great new travel blogs that are doing a sterling job inspiring people to travel. We’ll ask them 11 questions so they can share their personal views and experiences on the wonderful world of travel.
Cherry Blossom season in Japan is upon us for 2016. Cities further towards the south such as Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are already experiencing first blooms of the beautiful Sakura tree and it will be time to have fun at Hanami outdoor parties enjoying the views of the Cherry Blossom trees in Japan.
Whilst Cherry Blossoms live across the northern hemisphere including the USA and Europe, the Sakura is probably not as appreciated anywhere as much as in Japan. Last year we were lucky enough to see our first Cherry Blossom tree right outside our hotel which was on the edge of the lovely Ueno Park in Tokyo. Seeing it at night for the first time under the lights only highlighted the natural and beautiful brightness of the Cherry Blossom.
During the day tonnes of people were taking selfies in front of the trees whether they were tourists or locals. The Sakuras in Japan brought genuine joy and happiness to people everyday which you could see with the big wide smiles and eyes gazing at this beautiful example of nature. No wonder the Sakura is the national flower of Japan.
Travel and food go hand in hand. There is no more accessible way to discover a country’s culture, history and environment than food. We love travel and we love food. I love food so much I jacked in my nicely paid job in digital marketing to become a chef (or try to become a chef) at a lovely London restaurant. Maybe my dream job would be to be a chef travelling the world sampling the diverse flavours the world has to offer. In the meantime I’m still enthralled by travel cooking TV shows where chefs and presenters immerse themselves into local culture and cuisine. Here we round up our favourites and what we think are the best travel cooking TV shows.