I spent my last day yesterday walking the streets of Tokyo. The city has changed a lot since I was last here but some things never change.

The thing that has changed the most from my point of view is how the city feels like a ghost town in many areas.

I did manage to find a Mexican restaurant that was actually quite good.

But Tokyo can’t decide between being fully cashless or cash only. Half the restaurants only want cash, the others want cashless transactions.

When I first visited Tokyo about a decade ago, I thought it was a technological marvel but now I think it’s falling behind. The Tokyo train card machines (SUICA) seems like they are the exact same devices I first used 10 years ago. I read an article that the train system is just now hoping to roll out a system where you can use any bank card (credit/debit) to pay for the train booths, most countries around the world have already deployed such a system.

A second observation is when I first came here a decade ago most of the workers we encountered at hotels, restaurants and other places were Japanese, today they seem to be foreigners from Nepal, India or other places. There is considerable backlash from Japanese people about the whole thing and you can read about it here: Record number of babies born to foreign parents in Japan.

The worst part of Tokyo now however is the barren city scape in many areas. There is a recent documentary called the Birth Gap that features Japan as a case study in demographic declines and the fallout from low birth rates.

I hope to be back in Tokyo someday but I wonder how much more it will change in the future.

Categories: Tokyo 2025
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With overcast and rainy forecast, I opted to go to the Yumenoshima Botanical Gardens because it is indoors in a giant greenhouse.

But before we get to that, one observation I have made moving about is the disappearance of traffic in Tokyo.

There were no cars or people on the road since I have been here. Monday is a holiday so that would make sense but the whole time I have been here has been like these photos.

On my walk to the gardens, I came across these dinosaurs exercising in the park.

Orchids!

After the gardens, I wondered the nearby marina and stopped for lunch.

This whole setup was 2850 yen ($18.75)

The marina near Yumenoshima.

Back near the hotel, I went for a walk in the evening to find a place to eat dinner and came across this elaborate animated clock.

Then I found this ramen place.

I order by taking a picture of what I want and…

Presto!

It was a long day and I change hotels tomorrow…my time here is coming to and end.

Categories: Tokyo 2025
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Time to get to the heart of Tokyo – Shibuya!

Had lunch at a little place in Tokyo, well they are all small places…heh!

Fried Shrimp

Fried chicken

Total bill was about $11.50

The image below is of Shibuya, notice the large number of people walking about and remember that most are tourists.

Because the street traffic is like a ghost town.

Lots of people out and about but I think they are mostly tourists.

Was walking to a restaurant to meet up with a group of people for dinner and came across this art piece.

Then I came across this farmer’s market in front of the UN building.

I picked up some peanut butter from Nepal and raw honey from a local farm.

And finally the Indian restaurant where we dined and had great conversations about Tokyo, the US, politics, and the future.

It was a long day and it’s time to call it an evening.

Categories: Tokyo 2025
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It’s a cold and rainy day in Tokyo because there is a typhoon off the coast of Japan so what better way to spend the morning but in a laundry mat?

400 yen to wash ($2.65) – 300 yen to dry ($2)

After laundry day, time to head to a nearby museum.

Hamaguchi Museum (600 yen)

Photography not allowed so here is a YT video of someone flipping thru some of his works. Yozo Hamaguchi is a famous artists specializing in printing with copper blocks.

For lunch, a quick stop to McDonalds to have a Samurai Mac.

And only 820 yen ($5.42)

Dinner

For dinner, headed out with a friend for Sushi but ended up with sashimi…

Fish was fabulous.

And wash it all down with more sake and more sashimi…

The tab was 20,000 Yen (about $120).

I wish I could tell you that was the end of the evening but we stopped by a Yakitori place to wash all that fish down with a chicken chaser.

You can tell this place is amazing by all the grease accumulating on the bamboo overhead.

The tab here was only 6000 yen so quite a bargain.

We walked back with umbrellas overhead to the hotel to call it a night.

Categories: Tokyo 2025
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What a day! I wanted to experience the digital euphoria known as teamLab so I took an Uber from my hotel ($25) to get to this place only to be told that tickets can only be purchased online and they were sold out.

Not to be deterred, I found the website and found 1 final ticket available for 11:30 entry.

Cost: 5000 yen ($34)

Gas Museum (Free)

Since I needed to kill an hour, I discovered the Gas Museum a few blocks down from the teamLab and it is free!

The movie below features an earthquake where the picture frame and light above shakes and moves. The purpose is to show how each gas meter has an earthquake detection system and shuts down the flow of gas.

Everything you ever wanted to know about a gas meter.

This contraption had liquids and gases moving about to create cooling.

The attendant seemed eager to show me how all the interactive things worked so she cranked this magnet to generate electricity.

Giant on button that turns this bulb on.

LNG vessel.

It is an interesting museum about energy products, the highlight is the garden rooftop which features a nice view of the surrounding area.

teamLab Planets

One of the most visual effects stunning museum I have ever been too. It is well worth the cost and trip out but be sure to buy your tickets online before going!

While photography is allowed, use of flash is not and most of the museum is dark.

You take your shoes and socks off in parts of the museum because there is running water and some areas have knee high water. The image above has an incline you walk along that has flowing water down toward you. A large waterfall is at top.

And then there are these 4-D spaces that are visually stunning.

Giant floating ball room.

Cascading light room.

The egg garden.

The hanging orchid garden, these move up and down and are real orchids growing in the garden.

Climbing on light.

Swimming in light.

Immersed in light.

The museum was fun and I would visit again on my next trip to Tokyo.

After the museum, I went to Ginza Six looking for some items to take back home but all I found was Wagyu beef.

Wagyu lunch special. For this low price, you grill the meat yourself. It melts in your mouth, flavor is off the charts.

This was the restaurant on six floor of Ginza Six.

Spent the rest of the evening with an old friend in Tokyo walking the streets of Japan at night for some late night photography.

Late night yakitori.

And perhaps a bit of sake.

More tomorrow!

Categories: Tokyo 2025
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After leaving Malaysia, it was time to move on so I have landed in Tokyo.

First stop is the Museum of Contemprary Tokyo Art.

The fee for the three museums is 3000 yen ($20)

Sadly, you are not allowed to take photos in most areas of the museum so here are a few.

Below is a list of some of the artists you can find here. You can search online to get an idea of what to expect. This isnt all inclusive, just my favorites.

Tsuruoka Masao

Suzuki Kenni

Abe Gosei

Wada Kanae

Terada Masaaki

Sato Teruo

Katsura Yuki

Bito Yutaka

Tateishi Keichi

Shinohara Ushui

Morimura Yasumasa

Asai Yusuke

Sasanoto – kinetic art

Thorniture

After the Contemporary Museum, I walked over to the nearby Kiyosumi Gardens.

The fee is 150 Yen for the Gardens.

The gardens have long pathways all around the garden.

After the gardens, I headed over to the Sumda Hokusai Museum.

The fee here is 1500 yen and the museum is fairly small and you cant take photos but does feature the early art of Japan.

This is the lone photo you are allowed to take.

And I took this shot whole no one was looking.

Oddly enough, the descriptions of the art is in Japanese and you need a permit to use transaltion apps for some reason!

Aftet two museums and gardens it was off to find some food. I was in the mood for Sushi but couldnt find anything so I settled for Indian food.

It was amazing but better than the food was a fellow American traveler who told me he was leaving the US and moving to India to retire. Seems he doesnt have much hopes for a good life in the US anymore so he is retiring overseas.

After a busy day, headed back to the hotel for a quick stop at the lounge for tea thime then a long soak in the tub and preperation for the next day.

The hotel had an executive lounge and offers an array of beverages and light food in the evening.

Categories: Tokyo 2025
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It has been an epic journey of discovery but as the Autumn festival comes to an end here in Kuching so does my stay. I spent my last day looking at cars. I had heard the cars here are very inexpensive and some cost a whole lot less than in the U.S. The Proton car below is an EV and sells for about $30k USD.

The Chinese Jetour is a petrol car and is even cheaper in the high 20k USD and has impressive features.

This car below is from Perodua, Malaysia’s own car company, and sells for about $17k.

After the car tour, I went to pick up my custom made shirts.

The thing I love about Malaysian clothes are the bright and unique blend of color schemes often reflecting nature or Malaysian culture.

And since my journey started from Thailand in Asia, it felt appropriate to eat at a Thai restaurant with my generous hosts who drove me around and showed me all that Sarawak has to offer. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

Excellent food all around.

The dish below is coconut curry and was amazingly delectable.

For desert sticky rice, mango and coconut milk.

I finished the evening heading to the closing ceremony of the Autumn festival. Lots of people, food, festivities and fun.

The river was lit up and I’m sad to be leaving soon.

I am changing hotels tomorrow then flying to my next destination so no posts for a couple of days.

Categories: Kuching Sarawak
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I returned to the clinic in the morning to get my second round of rabies vaccination. It was an easy in and out taking no more than 10 minutes total. The cost for second dose was 235 RM.

After the vaccination, I went to the Sarawak Botanical Gardens. The gardens are huge and I only got to see a couple of areas as it started to rain lightly.

The Hanging Garden area is really nice, there are flowing plants hanging from trusses and other structures.

There is also a Limestone Forest features large limestone rocks.

The Sarawak parliament building is nearby (background) the gardens.

And if you’re in the area, you may as well stop and see this Brooke castle.

An interesting fountain cascading all the way down the hill.

I took a boat taxi back from the other side of the river.

On the other side there was a large tent with a plant and lighting festival going on.

Then I stopped by a nearby mall for lunch and much to my surprise, there was a concert going on inside the mall.

Later in the evening, I went out with my gracious host friends that took me to Gala city and we had an amazing meal at Tandoori Place, really great and fun place.

I only have a few days left here and it’s been an amazing journey. A few more loose ends to tie up before I go.

Categories: Kuching Sarawak
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I had intended on going to the botanical gardens today but got this flood alert on my phone.

Yesterday, the rain came down pretty hard while we were out looking at real estate so I assumed the same today except it never rained near me although it looked like it might have.

By the afternoon, I went over to Carpenter St to try out a few more things.

First up, the double dragon sausage that turned out to be one dragon, I’ve been had!

Next up was a grilled corn on the cob which hit the spot. The corn was unusually sweet so not sure if they add sugar to these, people here really like sugar on everything.

I finished with a Portuguese custard that was alright, would have been better if it were served warm.

Bonus: Fried Chicken.

I asked around as to who has the best fried chicken in Kuching and most agreed it was McDonalds. I went over to try it and I think why it is considered the best is because the quality of the chicken is high. I suspect it is imported from the US because it had a US flavor to it and tasted different from all othe chicken I have had here and twice the size.

The normal fried chicken pieces here are normal sized and considered small by US standards but these McDonald pieces were huge. I couldnt finish the meal I bought so I took it home and had it the following day.

I change hotels again tomorrow and hopefully my tailor will have my shirts ready.

Categories: Kuching Sarawak
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This morning started with a food tour. First stop was George Cafe and a normal breakfast dish of seafood noodles.

The dish below was quite good.

We took a walk along this market street.

And then stopped for peanut butter pancakes. They tasted just like they sound.

Next stop was a croissant that tasted like a samosa.

Then a penyaram.

It was hot and humid this morning so we had to cool off with a local ice coffee.

And finally we finished with an palm sugar ice cream.

Needless to say, the day was a sugar overload. It was all good but too much sugar. A few places we were supposed to visit were closed. Evidently some shops only open if the owner feels like opening and they didn’t feel like opening today.

Real Estate – Day 2

Visited this building in Kuching today, very nice.

BBQ pits

Salt water swimming pool.

Sadly, it began to rain heavily and werent able to see more properties today.

Categories: Kuching Sarawak
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