1) Asakusa and Senso-ji Asakusa is a mostly pedestrian section of Tokyo with various stores, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. At the northern end of Asakusa is the Senso-ji temple, a large complex with food stands, cherry trees and various buildings. As with any significant shrine, there are aisles of vendors geared toward tourists. We stayed in Asakusa and found it to be a very good neighborhood to base ourselves. Above, bottom left, the pagoda and main hall of the shrine.

Ise Sueyoshi Meal Type: Traditional Kaiseki Though we had the traditional, we were excited to see that this restaurant actively welcomes gluten free, vegan, vegetarian and Muslim meals. They also had a section on the reservation form to describe a dietary need that didn’t fit neatly in those categories. Phone: 03-6427-2314 Email: info.sueyoshi@gmail.com Website: http://isesueyoshi.blog.fc2.com/ Address: 4-2-15 Nishiazabu, Mizuno Bldg. 3F, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0031 (Note the 3

Things that make sense in Japan? We've got you covered: bathrooms, restaurant reservations, transportation, visas, phone cards and more. Isn't Japan Really Expensive? Not necessarily. Even when exchange rates were seriously not in the favor of US dollars, we found some key ways to keep expenses low. Use a business hotel : our choice has usually been Toyoko Inn , but there are several brands that are similar, such as Dormy Inn , Tokyu Stay and Daiwa Roynet . These are often a

Tokyo Running Like any big city, Tokyo has its ups and downs when it comes to running. It’s hard to run in any city unless it’s very...