Colby Mugrabi's Japan Travel Diary

"There are a handful of restaurants in Tokyo that operate like private clubs; only repeat customers are allowed to book them and absolutely no tourists are welcome. We were lucky enough to dine at not one but two of these special eating establishments. My favorite was Amamoto, where we went for dinner on our second night. The young chef recently received two Michelin stars for his take on traditional Japanese cuisine. He served us the most delicious eel I have ever eaten as well as amazing uni and prawns that were alive when we started our meal. An interesting trend circulating in Tokyo among the new sushi chefs is the use of red vinegar in their sushi rice as opposed to white vinegar, giving the rice a brownish tint and interesting flavor."

"Shopping in Tokyo is like going on a mini architecture tour of the city. Between Ginza and Aoyama there are impressive buildings occupied by every major retailer. In Aoyama there is the world-famous Prada store by Herzog de Meuron, and just across the street there is also a very cool Issey Miyake flagship with a partially pink facade. Down the block is a beautiful glass structure with geometric lines of poured concrete which houses Tod’s. Hands down, however, my favorite retail store in all of Tokyo—and possibly the world—is the Hermès flagship in Ginza designed by Renzo Piano. While the large glass bricks give the exterior of the building an icy, silver sheen, the curved corners of the towering structure counterbalance the hard materials, making the building both beautiful and inviting."

"This was my second time dining at world-famous sushi restaurant Jiro, which is hidden behind a nondescript sliding door below street level and accessed only though a subway station. Last year when I went with my husband on our honeymoon, Jiro, who is now in his 90s, wasn't in that day, so his son served us. This year I was so excited when we walked in and saw him shuffling around in his socks and wooden sandals. I couldn't resist an opportunity to get a photo with the sushi legend!"

"A highlight of my time in Japan was visiting the Tadao Ando show at the National Art Center in Tokyo. Aside from the building and gardens being spectacular, the show itself was a knockout, a comprehensive retrospective that started at the beginning of his career and ended with a huge gallery of his beautifully intricate maquettes. The highlight of the show was a to-scale reproduction of 'Church of the Light,' Ando’s most famous structure built in 1989. The original is located in a small town outside of Osaka."

"A trip to Tokyo wouldn't be complete without a 4:15 wakeup call for a 5 a.m. visit to the fish market and tuna auction. Seeing the auction live and witnessing the mark in full swing is invigorating. There are thousands of workers, sellers, transporters, auctioneers and buyers all moving at lighting speed. Hundreds of thousands of pieces of fish filter through the market each morning, and have been for decades now. It’s no wonder that they have it down to a science!"

"On our first night in Kyoto we drove an hour outside of town to a small restaurant called Maruyasu that specializes in Japanese fugu (blowfish) cuisine. Fugu restaurants are hard to come by as chefs need special training and a specific certificate to serve the fish; fugu contains a poisonous substance and without proper preparation techniques, eating it can be deadly. Throughout the multi-course meal we were served every part of the fish except for the eyeballs! My favorite dish was fugu sashimi served on a platter with shiso flower, scallions, thin strips of collagen, and fugu liver sushi."

"I always love getting my hands a little dirty on vacation. On this trip I took that objective quite literally and made some pottery. I made three objects: a water bowl for my dog Mugi, a small bowl for jewelry, and a little sculptural pedestal. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to top each piece off with my Minnie Muse logo; I'm eager to see if the insignias survive after the pieces are fired and painted!"

"We spent one beautiful afternoon in Kyoto visiting some must-see tourist sites like the Golden Temple, a Rock Garden, and the Bamboo Forest, each one significant in its own right. The Golden Temple stands atop a large koi pond and famously burnt down in the mid-twentieth century and had to be rebuilt to exact specifications. The Rock Garden is a popular site for tourist and locals alike; my favorite part of the area is the extensive garden of moss around the corner from the rocks. The Bamboo Forest is a vast collection of towering bamboo plants; it is always a beautiful feeling to be surrounded by nature—even if there are a few hundred other tourists there thinking the same thing!"

"The variety of vendors lining the narrow alleyway of Nishiki Market can keep a visitor occupied for hours. Stores sell everything from traditional knives and copper pots to a never-ending selection of Japanese candy and plastic food, and countless stalls offer snacks like dried, packed fish and glazed eel and octopus on a stick. There is a little something—or rather, a lot of something—there for everyone."

"My favorite meal in Kyoto was at a 10-seat kaiseki restaurant called Sakagawa. Kaiseki typically refers to a multi-course meal of small, traditional, cooked dishes, although we started our meal at Sakagawa with a beautiful plate of sashimi. There were so many delicious courses it is impossible choose a favorite. One memorable takeaway from the evening was the spattering of geisha stickers directly above our seats at the tiny counter; geishas carry personalized stickers like business cards and leave them whenever they go out to eat. From the looks of the ceiling, a lot of geishas have passed through Sakagawa’s sliding wooden door."

"After dinner at Sakagawa we went down the street for drinks with two geishas. They were so beautiful in their traditional Japanese makeup and ornate kimonos. I learned that there are three levels in becoming a geisha and different characteristics on their outfits distinguish one from the other. Entry level geishas have long, exaggerated sleeves and a large bustle-like obi; as they become more advanced, the extra fabric of their sleeves disappears and the bow tying their obi shrinks. The geishas sat and spoke with us and then performed to live music on a traditional Japanese string instrument."

"We started each day with a delectable Japanese breakfast at the beautiful ryokan where we stayed in Kyoto. I want to try and bring parts of this civilized morning tradition back to New York with me. Perhaps I’ll swap the miso-glazed fish with smoked salmon, and the steamed rice and veggies with avocado toast—but same idea. It is easy to forget when you’re immersed in the hustle and bustle of the city how pleasant it is to have a relaxing start to your day."