The Tokyo Traveler

Combine some bourbon, amaretto and a little cranberry juice and you have the award winning Red Carpet Cocktail created by Takahiro Watanabe of the Keio Plaza Hotel’s Polestar Skybar.  Sounds like a tasty drink to sip while overlooking the Tokyo skyline from the hotels’ 45th floor in Shinkjuku, and it’s only one of the award winning drinks created by Watanabe over the years!

In honor of the award, the staff of the Polestar Skybar have teamed up with the Liquid Culture team at The Japan Times to offer an afternoon workshop in the art of the cocktail.
Reserve your Red Carpet …read more

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Do you love money? At the Banknote and Postage Stamp Museum in Shinjuku you can see a lot of money, and it’s old money!
The National Printing Bureau was founded in 1871 as the Paper Money Office (Shiheishi) under the Ministry of Finance and they have engaged in the manufacture of banknotes and postage stamps since that time.  The Banknote and Postage Stamp Museum was created by the National Printing Bureau to preserve the history of the Japanese currency and offers exhibits of historical and current banknotes, postage stamps and securities along with the equipment and technologies utilized in making …read more

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Forbes has put together a list of Japan’s 10 Most Popular Tourist Attractions and a companion slide show with some great images.  According to Forbes,
“When foreigners go to Japan, Tokyo tops their list of places to see. Seven of the 10 most-visited destinations in the country are in the capital, according to the Japan National Tourist Organization.”

The article offers a brief overview of Asakusa, Ginza, Harajuku, Shinjuku and other areas that have been mentioned here at The Tokyo Traveler and it is worth a read if you are planning a trip to Japan.
Photo Credit:  Personal Collection

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The Kagurazaka district is located in the center of Tokyo, in the middle of JR Yamanote Line. The area is famous for its lively main street, Kagurazaka-Dori (Dori means “street.”) and it’s winding cobblestone alleyways. The name Kagurazaka is a combination of kagura (a shrine-dance to music) and saka (hill) and evokes the sites and topography of this beautiful part of Tokyo. The layout of the area is much the same as it was when the town was built in the 17th century despite the fact that most of the area was burned down as the …read more

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So your significant other came home and told that you have an opportunity to move to Japan.  What’s your first thought? I was excited but after the excitement wears off the questions start to swarm through your head like a tornado. Where will we live? What resources are available to me as a foreigner living or visiting Tokyo? These questions may also come up if you are coming to Tokyo on business or even if you have booked a much needed vacation to the land of the rising sun. Where is my hotel? How close …read more

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