The new and improved KFC: Kato Fried Crab in Niseko

“To have seen something, is to not have seen something else”. This quote was on the exit wall of teamLab Borderless exhibit and it struck a chord. I have a couple interpretations of this quote and would love to hear yours in the comments or by email. For me, the immediate interpretation was about what else I would be seeing or doing if I was at home. I love my travels so far, but I sometimes miss spending time with friends and family. I quickly shook off the thoughts of home and ate a delicious pastry at Ecrire.

My time in Tokyo was mostly walking and eating (though, I suppose a lot of my life is walking and eating…). The fresh seafood bites in Tsukiji market were a great start to my Japanese eating. Flame broiled scallops with butter and soy sauce were the highlight, with honorable mentions going to the shucked-in-front-of-me oyster and the fatty tuna sushi. Once full of all the fishes, I took a window-shopping walk through Ginza before heading back to the hotel to change for dinner. My first dinner was the Michelin-starred menu at Florilege, and it was lovely. Photos below.

Over the following few days, I wandered through Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya, Akasaka, etc. These felt like These neighborhoods felt “normal” to this New Yorker, with shopping and food and crowds. It was a nice return to normal but also a little exhausting. I have to give a shoutout to the Champagne and Gyoza spot I found for its great champagne selection and delicious gyoza. I mean, I couldn’t walk past without stopping in… who doesn’t like champagne and/or gyoza!? Plus, the gyoza were served with excellent dipping sauces.

After 4 nights in Tokyo, I hopped on a bullet train to Kyoto. Fortunately, Japan has this great luggage forwarding service so I didn’t have to schlep my big suitcases on the train. Highly recommend. Kyoto was a bit quieter than Tokyo, which was a welcome change for me. There were two major highlights of Kyoto for me: walking through the thousand Torii gates and exploring Arashiyama (particularly the bamboo forest). Both experiences were so peaceful and beautiful. While the Torii gates are on everyone’s must-see list and allover social media, it’s really special to be there in person.

The other notable experience during my Kyoto stay was an excursion to Nara. Nara is known for its big Buddha and the bowing deer you feed rice cookies. I have some friends who want to pet all the furry animals - but I definitely do NOT. So, I went to Nara Park expecting that I would not feed the deer. Then I was watching little kids feed deer and thought it didn’t look so scary, so I bough a bundle of the cookies to try it out. Well, a male deer immediately came over to me (probably could smell my fear), and aggressively followed me around until all my cookies were gone. People around probably thought I was crazy as I muttered “I don’t like this” to myself. Happy do be done with that experience (and only a little traumatized), I walked over to the Buddhist temple to see a(nother) big Buddha and the really cool demon statues protecting him. After that, I had some fresh, handmade mochi and quickly got back on the train to Kyoto. I treated myself to a Kobe beef skewer with caviar in the Nishiki market, and the deer thoughts disappeared.

My third stop in Japan was Niseko, Hokkaido for skiing. The legendary Japan power (Japow) is real!! I was treated to three days of great snow conditions, and the third day was a perfect bluebird day. The stay started a little rocky when only one of my two suitcases was at the hotel when I arrived - and, of course, it was not the suitcase with my ski clothes. So the next morning, the Niseko Village ski shop made a great sale so I could hit the slopes as quickly as possible. Totally worth it to ski; plus, it doesn’t hurt to have extra gear. On top of world-class skiing, Niseko has world-class food. I had amazing meals at the Barn and SushiKato, which included my new favorite KFC: Kato Fried Crab. I magically was the only diner at SushiKato that night and had an amazing evening talking to Sam, Mimi, Yuki, and the rest of the staff! The second gallery has the Niseko food photos, including Dohyo’s mini donuts, which were a great amuse bouce for SushiKato.

I spent my final two nights in Japan back in Tokyo. I bought some souvenirs, did more walking, and enjoyed a dinner at the iconic New York Grill at the Park Hyatt (as featured in Lost in Translation). Overall the dinner was good, but the steak melted in my mouth and would go back for that! But, honestly, I have many reasons to go back to Japan…