A little over two years ago, my family had the opportunity to visit Japan. The definates included Tokyo and a wonderful coastal town, Kochi. The rest was up to us. After weeks of exploring travel options, including trains schedules and accommodations, our trip looked as follows: 4 days in Tokyo, 2 days in Kochi, 3 days in Kyoto and back to Tokyo for 3 additional days. This required some serious planning and advanced details. If we had more time in each city, we could have allowed more to chance. However, with such brief stays in each place, we had to have certain things in place and be well versed in our travel cities to make the most of our time. So the research began.

Although I have written specific posts about Tokyo and Kyoto, I am writing four posts that will provide some important background information (and some cost savings). The four posts are: (1) transportation; (2) accommodations; (3) language; and, (4) food. There are just a few tips that will help you organize your travels, create a unique experience and enable you to take MANY 1wrongturns.

The following three links are to sites that I found really helpful in understanding and navigating Japan, as a whole.

Japan National Tourism Organization was my first stop. It provides a very thoughtful understanding of Japan culture, food/dining, transportation and accommodations. I highly recommend that you download the brochure Your Guide to Japan.

Japan-guide.com is rather commercial but has a tremendous amount of information.

Wikitravel: Japan – I like Wikitravel – get over it!

Useful tips:

• Dialing Code – the international dialling code for Japan is +81.
• Time – Japan is +9 hours GMT.
• Capital: Tokyo
• Religions: observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)

The Tokaido Shinkansen connects Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, while its extension, the Sanyo Shinkansen the Shin-Osaka Station to Hakata Station in Fukuoka. The trains operating on the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen are of the following three categories:

• Nozomi: Nozomi trains stop only at the most important stations, and reach Osaka from Tokyo in about two and a half hours. The JR nozomi cannot be used with the JR pass.
• Hikari: Hikari trains stop a little bit more frequently than nozomi trains, and need roughly three hours to reach Osaka from Tokyo.
• Kodama: The slowest category. Kodama trains stop at all stations.

The JR pass is highly, cost effective way for temporary foreign visitors to tour Japan. If you plan on visiting more than one region in Japan, you will DEFINITELY want to purchase a JR pass. It provides unlimited travel on the nationwide network of Japan railways and many urban JR trains. Here are a few details – The JR Pass:

• Must be purchased and arrive to you in advance of your departure to Japan
• Is available for periods of one, two or three weeks and for either ordinary cars or first-class “Green Cars”
• Can be used to reserve seats
• Is valid on urban JR train and bus lines
• It is not valid for couchettes and private rooms or night trains
• When riding on such a non-JR owned section, pass holders will have to pay the fare for it on board of the train or at the station

When you purchase the JR pass in advance, you will receive an exchange order that has to be exchanged into an actual rail pass after your arrival in Japan and within three months of the purchase. The exchange can be done at various major railway stations, including Narita and Kansai Airports. It is not until the time of exchange, when you determine the starting date of validity of your Japan Rail Pass.

Few tips:

• The ordinary cars are very similar to the Green Cars. It is really not necessary to purchase the higher price Green Card passes – all you get for the extra cost is a little leg room.
• Purchase Bento boxes at the train stations to eat on the train.
• Train attendants pass around these wonderful little carts with drinks and snacks that you can purchase on the train.

Seishun 18 Ticket is another option for travel in Japan, offering five days of unlimited train travel. There are 2 main limitations: (1) tickets are only valid on local trains; and, (2) tickets are valid only during school holidays (March-April, July-September, December-January). Unlike the JR Pass, the days do not have to be consecutive and you can split a ticket so that one person uses it for two days and another for three days. So, timing is important with the Seishun 18.

Few helpful websites:
Kintestu.com and JTB USA are two great resources for the JR pass – both info and purchasing.
JapanRailPass.net provides step-by-step directions to use the JR pass.
JNTO.go.jp has information on the different train routes.
Wikitravel: Japan – Get Around has great information on:

We spent 7 incredible days in Tokyo. Despite the hustle & bustle of a crowded, vertical city, Tokyo is extremely manageable and easy to navigate. Street signs and public transportation are easily identifiable and restaurants always have pictures/plastic models of the food they serve.  Ultimately, Tokyo set a new standard upon which I judge all other cities.  This is what Tokyo offers that I want: clean, well-maintained public spaces, easy-to-use public transportation, great street food, extremely helpful people and public baths.  Tokyo has all of this, plus magnificent ancient structures that co-exist with uber-modern architecture.

Tokyo is a city of neighborhoods, each with its unique character and personality.  If you are the meandering type, visit the Yanaka district where you can wind through the streets, enjoy lovely little gardens, explore the shops and stumble onto amazing temples and/or shrines every few blocks.  On the other hand, if neon, technology and cute girls in maid costumes are your thing, Akihabara is the place for you.  Like shopping???? Try Ginza for the high end and Harajuku for the funky – do one in the morning and one in the afternoon to experience the contrast of cultures and generations in modern day Tokyo.

The Yanaka area is not as well known as some of the other neighborhoods but definitely worth a visit as it has retained its historical ambiance and character.  Yanaka was developed as a temple town in the Edo period (1603-1867) and prominent temples like the Tenouji and the Kaneiji still exist in the area.   Yanaka is next to two neighborhoods, Sendagi and Nezu are collectively they are called Yanesen: Ya (Yanaka) Ne (Nezu) Sen (Sendagi).  In addition to the temples, there are beautiful cemeteries, little stores with exquisite crafts, and amazing shrines.

Taito Culture is a wonderful website that contains all kinds of information on this area.  Don’t miss the walking tour page!  Here is a Yanaka Map.

Here are a few places that I missed but want to see next time:

Asakura Choso Museum was the Fumio (1883-1964), famous for his statues of statesmen, women, and cats, many of which are on display here.  I have read that the house combines modern and traditional architecture and, wraps around an inner courtyard pond fed by a natural spring, and contains some furniture and antiques in its many tatami rooms, including a beautiful library, a tearoom, a room for enjoying the morning sun and a rooftop garden.  The museum was closed when I was there due to renovations and is scheduled to re-open in 2013.

Meguro Parasite Museum.  Really, the name says it all.  In addition, I read that the Parasite Museum is a popular spot for lunch dates!  I don’t know about you, but parasites always put me in the mood for love.

The Ghibli Museum was designed by Hayao Miyazaki, the incredibly creative, Oscar award-winning director of My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Ponyo. The Ghibli Museum, which opened in 2001, was designed to present the studio’s works and is built as both a fantasyland and an art museum.

The following links are to sites that I found really helpful in understanding and navigating Tokyo and Japan, as a whole.

• Tokyo Tourism Info is a great source of information and very easy to navigate.  You can sort by neighborhood, interest, videos, etc.  This site has great Self-Guided Walking Tours and suggested tours.
• Tokyo Essentials is GREAT.  It has everything from how to get from Narita airport into the city to “Quirky Tokyo.”
• Tokyo Metro also offers a GREAT feature that provides 6 Sightseeing plans, each with several attractions, mapped out station to station.
• Wikitravels is also a terrific resource.
• Narita Express: Gets you from the Narita airport into Tokyo city.  It is included with the JR Rail Pass.
• Tokyo Metro map can seem daunting.  But, most of the neighborhoods and “major” sites are on the circular JR Yamamote line.

My husband and I spent two weeks in Barcelona in a lovely apartment at the Placa de Catalunya end of Las Ramblas. We had been warned that it would be really loud and pick pockets would steal our wallets. People recommended that we eat paella and go see flamenco. This was NOT the Barcelona that we would come to experience. Perhaps it was the time of year – it was the end of spring and it was still rather chilly for the musicians to play their stringed instruments. Perhaps it was too early for tourists such that the pick pockets saw no point of rambling on Las Ramblas. Perhaps it was the lure of the tapas bars and late night clubs that prevented us from eating paella and watching flamenco. Maybe we found a different side of Barcelona because we took many wrong turns (and did not get our pockets picked).

There were a few things that we knew we wanted to do in Barcelona: (1) eat tapas at a bar; (2) see Gaudi architecture; (3) drink Suizo de la Granja Viader; and (4) stay up ALL NIGHT because if we couldn’t stay up all night in Barcelona – then we were real losers (Note – #1 & #2 were my husband’s goals and #3 & #4 – mine)! Those were the non-negotiables. I am proud to say that we successfully achieved our four goals. Of course, goals like that are easy to achieve. In addition, we visited amazing museums and galleries, shopped at the wonderful markets, discovered great local fashion designers, wound our way through endless streets and alleys, had delicious meals and drank LOTS of cava (at least I did – lunch and dinner).

Street outside our window in El Raval

As always, the thing that I like to do most is walk, walk, walk, eat, walk some more, stop at a café, walk some more, go home & rest, have a glass of wine (or cava, in Barcelona) then have dinner. Barcelona is perfect for that. We would spend a day or two in each barrio/neighborhood, exploring the sites, finding small shops, sitting on benches and watching the people walk by (my husband was crazy about the way women in Barcelona wear their hair – great haircuts with baby bangs and cool haircolors). On the last day, we were walking around and realized that we had landed in a barrio that we had not yet discovered. What did this mean? We would just have to return to Barcelona because there is so much more walking, eating, visiting, exploring to be done.

I can remember one day, it was a Sunday, and we had decided to explore the Barri Gotic. As we started out the day, we realized that the stores had changed their window displays to reflect the arrival of spring. Winter browns, blacks and grays were replaced with vibrant, whimsical colors. We turned the corner and came upon a group of singers performing opera in a square. After watching for about 20 minutes, we headed on our way. Just around the corner, there was another square in which the city was holding an environmental awareness festival with games, performances, crafts, and information. Within the span of an hour and a few blocks, we experienced the richness and complexity of Barcelona that continues to beckon me back.

The following are some websites that I find to be really for trip planning. Although there is some overlap, I have found it best to look at a few different sites in order to create a full picture.

General Guides and Information

• Barcelona Turisme is an amazing site that I just discovered after researching for several days!
• Barcelona Yellow
• Barcelona Tourist Guide Basic Facts
• Safety Tips
• Barcelona Card I am not one who purchases these cards but it is always a good option.
• Metro Map and Metro info

Neigborhoods and Maps

• Barcelona Tourist Guide Neighborhood descriptions
• Barcelona Tourist Guide Neighborhood map</em>
• Barcelona Tourist Guide Street map
• Frommer’s neighborhoods – I am a huge fan of Frommer’s, which I find to be very clear and easy to navigate. I also love their walking tours and itineraries, which are always a great starting point and resource.
• Streets & squares by Europe-cities.com

To provide an amazing context for your visit to Barcelona, I highly recommend the following book!

Of course, you can admire this beauty on the way to one of the MANY amazing galleries, museums, or buildings for which Barcelona is famous. Here are just a few:

Gaudi architecture – this is a must. The most famous of the Gaudi buildings are:
Casa Batlló at Passeig de Gràcia 43 (map). Gaudí’s genius transformed a terraced house, characteristic of the district of the Eixample of the 19th century, into one of the most outstanding buildings in Barcelona’s architecture.

Casa Mila, commonly known as La Pedrera, was built between 1906 and 1912. It is located at Carrer de Provença 261, (map). Visitors to the building can see the patios, the Espai Gaudi (attic and roof-terrace) and The Pedrera Apartment.

La Sagrada Familia, located at Plaza de la Sagrada Familia, nearest metro stop L2 & L5 (map). Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia is Barcelona’s most significant symbol, and the most visited building in Barcelona. In 1883, the architect agreed to continue a cathedral project that was already under way. Gaudi redesigned it completely and he worked on it until his death in 1926. La Sagrada Familia presents a wonderful juxtaposition of artistic styles and periods.

Parc Guell is a whimsical and beautiful architectural park situated on the hill of Carmel in the Gràcia district http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Olot%2C+7+Barcelona++08024 (map). The nearest metro is L3 Vallcarca. The Parc is home to many of the iconic Gaudi artistic elements.

There are many more Gaudi sites. Here are 2 links to websites that will provide a comprehensive listing.
Barcelona Yellow: Gaudi
Gaudi Sagrada Familia
Official site of the Gaudí year 2002 in Barcelona

Art Museums
The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, or MACBA) is located in El Raval in the Placa des Angel (map). All the art dates from the mid-20th century onward. There are three periods of modern art represented: the first one covers the forties to the sixties; the second spans the sixties and seventies; the third period is contemporary. The collections focus on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art, although some foreign art is also represented. All the art dates from the mid-20th century onward. MACBA is also known as a great skateboard park, which is a show in and of itself.

The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), located in El Raval next to MACBA (map), is an amazing cultural platform for artistic and creative experimentation. A multidisciplinary center, with exhibitions, film, courses, debates, lectures, music, dance, etc., this is a don’t miss!

The Francisco Godia Foundation, located at C/ Diputació, 250 (between Rambla Catalunya and Balmes) (map), was set up in 1998 and looks after the legacy of the businessman and collector Francisco Godia Sales. It specialises in medieval art, ceramics, Modernist drawing and painting, and 20th century art. It is a real treat. This museum is a real treat. Don’t be put off by that fact that it doesn’t “look” like a museum!

Fundació Antoni Tàpies is closed for renovations. The Fundació was created in 1984 by the artist Antoni Tàpies to promote the study and knowledge of modern and contemporary art. It combines the organisation of temporary exhibitions, symposia, lectures and film seasons with a range of publications to go with the activities and periodic shows of Antoni Tàpies’ work. If you are in the Eixample neighborhood, talk a walk by (map) because the building has an amazing façade.

City History Museum exposes the roman history of Barcelona. I am a history nut – I love historic houses and architectural ruins. The Monumental Ensemble of the Plaça del Rei is just one part of The Barcelona City History Museum collection (map). This “Monumental Ensemble” is made up of the 11th century Palau Condal (“Count’s Palace”), which later became the Royal Palace. At the beginning of the 20th century the monumental ensemble was completed when the Gothic palace of Padellàs House was moved to the Plaça del Rei. Below the Plaça del Rei square is a MUST-SEE visit to the 4,000 square meter archaeological site displaying the 1st century B.C to 8th century A.D. Roman colony ruins. THIS IS TOTALLY COOL! The official City History Museum website is in Spanish.

Barcelona Connect has a great little article about Roman Barcelona.

The National Art Museum of Catalonia (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, MNAC) is a museum of Catalan visual art housed in the Palau Nacional. Situated on the Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina (map), it was rehabilitated by the 1992 Summer Olympics. MNAC’s impressive collections reflect the reuniting of the old Museu d’Art de Catalunya (Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque art collections) and the Museu d’Art Modern (19th-and 20th-century art collections) under one roof, and declared it a national museum, incorporating the Department of Drawings and Prints, the Gabinet Numismàtic de Catalunya (coinage and medals) and the Biblioteca d’Història de l’Art (General Library of Art History) into the new museum structure. Later in 1996, the Department of Photography was created and this artistic discipline was included in the museum project.

The Joan Miró Foundation (Fundació Joan Miró, Centre d’Estudis d’Art Contemporani) is a museum of modern art honoring Joan Miró also located on Montjuïc (map) and (hours). This is a wonderful collection not to be missed.

Free museums on Sunday

Smaller museums

The Dali Museum is not in Barcelona but it’s only a short train journey away
1.5 hour (by car or train) in a small town called Figueres, Dalí’s home town. The museum houses one of the largest collections of his work and the building, itself, is worth the visit. Directions and route to the Dali Museum from Barcelona.

Galleries
Iquapop is located at c/Comerc 15 (map) in El Born. This contemporary urban gallery features exhibits of pop surrealism, graffiti and a broad-range vision of new pop art. Iguapop provides an interesting insight into modern Barcelona. Iguapop is located very close to the Museu Picasso and Mercat Santa Caterina, which is a great city market.

Shopping
I am not one to look for specific stores. Rather, as I walk, walk, walk and walk, I believe in stopping in any place that catches my eye.

Barcelona Tourist Guide: Shopping provides a good, overall sense of shopping. If you go to the Shopping Directory, you can find the pages with specific shopping items.

Here are a few suggestions for shopping areas and a few specific places:
5 KM Shopping walk stretches from the top of the Ramblas, through Placa de Catalunya along Passeig de Gràcia and up Avenue Diagonal. You will find most of the high end designers and stores along this walk.

El Raval was my favorite area for shopping. You can find great, young designers and interesting items on every little street. I would like to mention Giménez & Zuazo at Elisabets 20 (map), which features these Barcelona creations.

El Corte Inglés is the most famous shop in the city. In Barcelona, the biggest one is located on Plaça de Catalunya. El Corte Inglés is a full-service store, including a great supermarket and is open from Monday to Saturday, 10 am until 10 pm and also every first Sunday of the month.

We had visited Western Canada on our honeymoon and fell in love with Vancouver (a post for another day). However, we had never considered Quebec despite the obvious connections between Acadians and Cajuns. So, we planned a two week trip that encompassed one week in Montreal and one week in ville de Quebec. Those two weeks transformed our lives. We have become Montreal Junkies!

To compare Montreal to Paris is like comparing carob to chocolate – something you just shouldn’t do! Although chocolate and carob share comments elements, they offer completely different sensations. Carob offers a sweet, earthy flavor while chocolate delivers rich, smooth, and bitter notes. Although Montreal is a French speaking city and has the charm of a European city, Montreal offers a unique and wonderful experience. Montreal’s charm takes over you in a subtle fashion. Without realizing it, you are lured in the Montreal lifestyle, which is engaging and earthy, sweet yet healthy. There is a pace to Montreal that allows you to simply become part of its community.

We have returned almost every summer since our first stay in Montreal. For the first 4 years, we rented a flat in Le Plateau, the really hip and happening hub. Our days were spent exploring the diverse neighborhoods, discovering great food, looking for super-cool Montreal clothes designers, shopping at the incredible Marché Jean Talon, and visiting the many wonderful museums, galleries, parks and gardens that abound in this super-sophisticated, yet down-to-earth, city.

Last summer, we decided to live in a neighborhood that was closer to the Jean Talon market so that we could start everyday with freshly boiled sweet corn-on-the-cob swathed with butter (breakfast of champions). This allowed us to discover new neighborhoods, that were much more working class, but equally as vibrant.

Our last visit simply confirmed my belief that Montreal is a vibrant, emerging city that will always have something new to offer. However, there is also a stability to Montreal, which ensures that certain things will always be there when we return. Montreal reminds me of the corny camp song I use to sing – make new friends but keep the old!

The following links are a few of the best links to get you started with your journey to Montreal. The other posts will feature “1wrongturn” destinations and favorite spots.

General websites: When getting oriented, I use general websites. I like those that allow me to identify activities, restaurants, etc., by neighborhood. Here are a few that I like:
www.tourisme-montreal.org – à la Montréal. The following pages are really helpful:
- Travel Information/Getting Around – GREAT neighborhood maps in PDF
- What to Do – activities, events, attractions by activity type and neighborhood
- Discover – general highlights of Montreal & GREAT ITINERARIES
www.sitebits.com. I really like their choice of attractions and restaurants.

Getting around: The metro lines shut down around 12:30 a.m., after which the system shifts over to night bus lines until around 5:30 a.m. The STM ticketing system uses the Opus smart card and one-trip magnetic cards. A single fare for the bus and metro is $2.75. Bus drivers don’t make change or sell tickets, but all metro stations have manned ticket booths. There is a tourist card that gives full access; day cost – $9 and 3 day cost – $17.
www.stm.info Metro and Bus info.
www.montreal.bixi.com. I have never used this. However, Montreal is very bike friendly and this looks like a great way to get around town.

Festivals: Montreal is the city of festivals.
www.montreal.com/tourism/festivals – This is a calendar of festivals for 2010.