TOKYO – When looking for affordable places to dine in Japan’s capital, it helps to have tunnel vision. That’s because many of Tokyo’s cheapest and best “neighbourhood” restaurants can be found tucked away in the tunneled archways beneath the elevated portions of the city’s main rail line, the one on which the super-fast Shinkansen (bullet train) I’m aboard is travelling.

KYOTO, JAPAN - The gardens of Shunko-in Temple are oases of ordered calm … stately trees, manicured shrubs, sands etched with concentric circles rippling across the surface. The only sounds are the gentle chirping of birds and the rustle of the breeze through the leaves.

TOKYO - From a vantage point 50 stories above Tokyo in the lounge of the Park Hyatt Hotel, it becomes clear that this is a city that sprawls endlessly in every direction. Like Bill Murray’s character Bob Harris in the 2003 film Lost in Translation, I have only a few days to understand not only the city, but local culture, as well.Like that character, I’m also based in the luxurious Park Hyatt in Tokyo’s Shinjuku business district.

KYOTO, JAPAN - I was led to believe Japan is a male-dominated world. So why is the tiny woman wrapped in silk wrappings, complete with a bow at the back, ordering me to take my shoes off before entering a hotel in this ancient city. Well, as I soon discover, this is no ordinary hotel. And the grandmotherly figure shouting orders is no ordinary woman. “We have slipper for you,” says the diminutive Akemi Nishimura as she glances down at my size 10 feet before shuffling off in search of footwear.

KAGOSHIMA CITY, JAPAN - It rains pink petals in this southern Japanese city. Each year, when the cherry trees shed their pink coats and a gentle wind blows off the surrounding sea, the pedals flutter about like snow flakes and the people of this charming city celebrate the event by gathering in parks to picnic.

TOKYO – In a country renowned for its high-speed trains, it was two slow moving versions - one known as the “Romance Car” - that made us fall in love with rail service here.

NAHA CITY, OKINAWA - We open our umbrellas in what's supposed to be the sunniest place in Japan. Just my luck. I pick the rainy season to visit a place where, on average, it rains 30-60 days a year.

KYOTO, JAPAN - The young rickshaw driver doesn't wince when the supersized Canadian approaches and asks to be taken for a ride in Japan's traditional two-wheel hand-pulled cab.