HEART & WORSHIP

Our first stop in Tokyo was Nihonbashi. The subway ride there was a breeze and once you get off at Tokyo Station, take the Yaesu Exit (near Daimaru) to hop onto the free shuttle that does a loop to Nihonbashi and back. Nihonbashi used to be known as the centre of Japan because of its geographical location and a lot of merchants have been doing business there for centuries. Some have gone contemporary like those at Coredo Muromachi, a modern shopping centre. You can easily spend hours there shopping for traditional Japanese gifts and tasting the local cuisine.

Next stop is Sugamo, which the locals affectionately nickname Harajuku for senior citzens because of the age of the people who shop there. The street food is amazing and you'll smell it while walking down the bustling street. Need another reason to visit Sugamo? Tsuta, the world's first Michelin-star ramen shop is also there but be warned, it's incredibly popular so you need to go queue up early in the morning to take a number before coming back later in the day to slurp your delicious bowl of noodles.

Time for lunch and we stopped by a very crowded local eatery on the main Sugamo shopping strip called Tokiwa Shokudo. There was so much local fare to try including tonkatsu and sashimi which I ordered for myself. Oishii!

From Sugamo, it was another smooth and short train ride to Ueno. It was nice to walk through the leafy park and we stopped to watch a busker perform a very entertaining balancing trick with chairs. There are many museums around the park if you want to soak in some culture as well.

At the end of the park, we reached Ameyoko, a very popular shopping street selling everything from clothes to snacks and even fruits. There is plenty to see, taste and buy so it's a real treat for the senses. Make sure you give yourself enough time to visit Ameyoko which is conveniently located at the main exit of Ueno JR station.

Final stop of of the day was at Roppongi Hills City View. From the observatory, you get a 360-degrees bird's eye view of Tokyo. A picture is worth a thousand words and you can see how pretty Tokyo looks at sunset as the neon lights slowly take over to light up the city.

Don't forget to check out the world famous Mori Art Museum as well at Roppongi Hills City View. While we were there, they were showing Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami's mind-bending The 500 Arhats. You can even take home a Murakami souvenir from the gift shop.

Roppongi is known for its nightlife and there are plenty of restaurants and bars there for you to eat and drink to your heart's content. But if you prefer a quiet evening, try Hassan, a nice shabu shabu restaurant tucked away underground that has an impressive and very delicious menu.

Hotel Tokyu, located at the domestic terminal of Haneda airport. The quiet room has a view too as I discovered the next morning when I opened the window.

Rise and shine. Time to catch a domestic flight to Yamagata's Shonai Airport this morning. There is no rush as the departure gate is only about two minutes' walk from the hotel. I even had time for nice breakfast before checking out and taking a short stroll to catch my flight.

The ride from Tokyo to Yamagata takes only one hour and from Shonai Airport, we boarded a shuttle bus that took us to the heart of Sakata city. It was snowing so the cold temperature kept many people indoors and some shops were closed. However, we stumbled upon this confectionery that was open and run by a friendly local whose smile and hospitality gave us a warm welcome to Yamagata.

Quick stop for lunch at Daruma-Sushi in Sakata City. The friendly chef told us his uncle used to work in Singapore. I hope he comes to Singapore one day to open a sushi restaurant too because the sushi platter he served us was absolutely delicious and filling.

Our first tourist stop in Sakata was at Somaro where you can have a bento and watch Maikos (apprentice geishas) dancing. Formerly known as Somaya, it used to be a famous with Sakata merchants and their business partners going there after a hard day's work to wind down.

These days, Somaro also doubles as a museum and a Maiko training school. Here are some of the young girls practicing their dance routines.

A short walk away is the famous Kaikou-ji Temple which has two flesh icons enshrined inside. Essentially, it's the corpses of two priests who starved themselves to death while meditating and became naturally mummified because of a special diet they consumed.

Next to the temple is an obata (old-fashioned restaurant) which has also become a popular tourist attraction after it was used for filming the Oscar-winning Japanese comedy-drama Departures.

Our last stop of the day in Yamagata was the Ken Domon Museum of Photography. As the first honorary citizen of Sakata, the renowned Japanese photojournalist donated his entire collection of works to the town and the museum holds about 70,000 prints. On display are some of the more spiritual works of this avid photographer of Buddhist temples and religious statues.

We call it a night at Kameya Ryokan in next door Tsuruoka city. The sea-front hot-spring inn looked even more tranquil in the snow.

The traditional Japanese room at Kameya was spacious.

The omakase dinner had a bit of everything and was a great way to experience a taste of Yamagata and its fresh produce.

The food was almost too pretty to eat. And it tasted as yummy as it looked. What a perfect way to wind down our first day in Yamagata.

We hop onto the local bus and a short ride away is Kamo Aquarium, often called the world's best jelly fish aquarium. It's easy to see why – you will never find more varieties of jellyfish anywhere in the world.

During the summer, the queue to enter the aquarium can be as long as three hours. It's really that popular!

Watching the jellyfish float around the tank is both mesmerising and relaxing.

From Kamo, we take another short bus ride to the centre of Tsuruoka City. It looks like a winter wonderland with the frozen river and snow covered streets.

We stop by Chido Museum, which was once part of the Tsurugaoka Castle and home to the Sakai family, a Shonai feudal clan.

There are several restored residences there with each transformed into a mini museum showcasing a different period of Tsuruoka culture and history.

Lunch was next door at Shirukecchano, which served food sourced from local farmers. You can't beat that for freshness!

Tsuruoka's Dewa Sanzan area is made of three sacred mountains: Mount Gassan, Mount Haguro and Mount Yudono. A popular trail is the one-mile cedar-tree-lined trek from Zuishin Gate to the top of Mount Haguro which has been awarded three stars by the Michelin Green Guide Japan in 2009. Along the way, you'll pass by the imposing 30-metre-tall, 600-year-old Hagurosan Goju-no-to(five storied pagoda).

We say goodbye to Tsuruoka by popping into the family-run Togashi Candle Shop, which sells a popular souvenir for tourists to take home.

Painted candles used to be prestigious gifts for feudal governments but now, it replaces flowers during the winter time. You can buy a ready-made candle or hand-paint one like we did as a reminder of the wonderful time we spent in Yamagata.