Maid cafe, Ninja house and Sumo wrestling

This is a post about the good, the great and the kooky of Tokyo life. Maid cafes For those of you unfamiliar with maid cafes the first thing to note is that there is nothing untoward or salacious about them. Whilst a kinkier version almost certainly exists in the weird and wonderful place that is…

Kyoto part 1: Bamboo-zled by beauty

Leaving Nagoya behind in the rearview mirror (it’s doubtful that trains have these but go with me on the metaphorical ride here), my shinkansen sped towards Kyoto, the former capital of Japan, some 40 mins to the southwest. Where Tokyo boasts of the present and future successes of the Japanese economy, Kyoto showcases, in poetic…