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If you are visiting the southwestern part of Hokkaido, be sure to visit Lake Hill Farm to taste the wonderful home made ice cream. They have a wide variety of flavors. We tried the Milk (they also have Double Cream or Cream and Milk), Green Tea, Milk Tea, Chocolate, Strawberry. Hard to describe but it’s creamy yet light and refreshing. If the place wasn’t closing when we arrived, we would have probably ordered more, haha! Funny looking scoop too, for a moment there I thought it was a piece of cake on a cone :-) At the back of the ice cream shop, there is an open area where you can sit and enjoy wonderful views of Ezo Mt. Fuji (Mt. Yotei). Too bad it was already dark when we arrived. There is also a cafe on the other side of the building that sells hot coffee, and other food like curry etc. We went to get a cup of hot Hokkaido fresh milk, fresh from the farm itself. During the summer, the local guide told me that you can also pet the animals, do some other activities like ice cream making, butter making, etc. I must return :-)

You might expect austerity and modesty at a kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto, but that’s not what you’ll find at this remarkable jewel box of a place secreted away inside the South Congress Hotel. Brightly illuminated white panels with black stripes surrounding the 12-seat dining room echo Japanese shoji screens. The room looks like something out of a Stanley Kubrick film, and knife-wielding chef Yoshi Okai plays to the design with mischief and edginess. His menu of more than 20 dishes balances artistic presentation and bold flavor, from raw Japanese sea bream to jiggly mounds of Hokkaido uni. The dishes may look like something you’d get in Japan, but the colorful service from the tattooed chef (who moonlights as a rock-and-roll singer) feels uniquely Austin.

Competition among 100-yen shops, the Japanese equivalent to an American dollar store, is resulting in cool outlets filled with fun items for the home and office. Seria, in particular, has a surprising selection of tableware, kitchenware, stationery, and housewares. DIY fans will have a heyday carefully perusing the selection of things you didn’t know existed but now must have, and many items like the tableware items are surprisingly high quality and beautifully designed. Gifts that are easy on the wallet and cool for friends back home include kawaii (cute) washi tape in fun designs, organizers for home and for travel, and other souvenirs. This Seria shop is a short walk from Shinjuku Station, but there are branches throughout the city.

Le Bernardin, on 51st Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues, is one of the handful of New York restaurants that is regularly awarded four stars by the New York Times (it is also one of five restaurants in the city with three Michelin stars). Chef Eric Ripert’s specialty is fish, and the menu is divided into three categories: “almost raw,” “barely touched,” and “lightly cooked.” If you like your tuna cooked medium, this isn’t the right place for you. Ripert often finds his inspiration in Japanese cooking, with his sashimi and light broths, and adds some Latin American influences, in his ceviches and some other dishes. The fish is always allowed to take center stage, and typically any sauce is merely intended to accent its flavors. The dining room has an understated, contemporary style with light-wood walls and high ceilings. Unlike some celebrated chefs, Ripert has chosen not to build a restaurant empire, increasing the odds that on any visit he will be at Le Bernardin, presiding over its kitchen and dining room.

It would be hard to find a fashionable Parisian woman who doesn’t have a pair of Tropéziennes in her wardrobe. Originally created for the local fishermen, this Greek-style sandal has become the iconic footwear of the French Riviera, and since 1934, K. Jacques has been the go-to brand. Recently awarded the status of an EPV, or Living Heritage Company, the family-run business still makes sandals by hand, nailing the leather soles together before stitching. A variety of styles are available, including a myriad of leathers, colors, and finishes. In a decade or so, when you’ve worn out your beloved pair, ship them back to the workshop and the expert cobblers can bring them back to life.

Designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Roberto Burle Marx, this expansive park was meant to be an improvement to Central Park in New York City. Home to an impressive amphitheater, museums, water bodies, and lots of paths with some impressive landscaping, it’s well worth a visit. Come for a stroll, jog, picnic, open air concert or bike voyage on a Sunday. Various food vendors are strewn throughout with agua de coco and snacks. It’s best to check the website for events if you’ll be visiting on a weekend.

This French Concession tailor shop specializes in bespoke and made-to-measure menswear. Come here to get fitted for suits, blazers, and overcoats for a fraction of what it would cost in the States. Germain’s tailors were trained in Japan and Europe, and its fabric selection, sourced from England, Italy, China, and Japan, is expansive, with a whopping 1,000 choices of natural fibers like cotton, wool, and linen. Custom suits start from approximately $530. Bespoke shirts, in which you choose the fabric weight, pattern, and cuff and collar style, start from about $75.

Teshima’s Restaurant is a historic Japanese diner on the west coast of Hawaii Island in Kealakekua. Welcoming and reasonably priced, the diner serves Hawaiian Japanese comfort food. The set meals are the best value, a sampling of small dishes that might include sashimi, sukiyaki, fried fish, rice, and sides of cucumber, cabbage, and miso soup. The ahi is excellent (and the wasabi so soft and fresh), but the restaurant is really known for its shrimp tempura: Every local we asked about Japanese food told us to try it here. You can get it on its own, or as part of the “deep sea trio” of shrimp tempura, fried fish, and sashimi.

One of the city’s oldest teahouses, Insadong Chatjip hand-makes everything on its menu, from drinks to desserts. Unlike China’s and Japan’s traditional leaf teas, many of the Korean teas on offer here feature herbs, spices, or fruits like quince and plums that are believed to have medicinal properties. Don’t be surprised if some taste sugary sweet—it’s common to add heaps of honey or syrup to the blends. If you prefer a more delicate flavor, stick to the buckwheat or Ujeon green teas. In addition to drinks, this two-level teahouse has a lovely open-air courtyard where guests can enjoy their tea alongside cookies and rice cakes.

Inside this 1876 market, you can see the footprint of 18th century Barcelona and read about what life was like before the city’s siege during the War of Spanish Succession. The airy iron and glass market, modeled on Parisian architecture is the largest covered square in Europe and marked the beginning of Modernisme in Catalan architecture. Check out seasonal exhibits or get up close and personal with the ruins on a tour (prior reservation necessary).

Though Little Tokyo‘s beginnings date back to the year 1885, this historic district is no stranger to new development. It’s the place to go for Japanese food, of course—there are plenty of delectable options, both old and new. Your can’t-miss stops are Sushi Gen, a neighborhood staple since 1980, and the luxurious Kagaya, which serves shabu-shabu like you’ve never tasted before. Little Tokyo is also home to one of the best jazz clubs in the city, Bluewhale, where patrons are encouraged to keep the talking to a minimum and simply enjoy the music. Plus, the area has a multitude of ultra-Zen Japanese gardens, such as the James Irvine Japanese Garden at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, as well as Buddhist temples like the Higashi Honganji.

The façade may be classic, the doormen crisp, and the location tony, but once inside Le Royal Monceau, you’ll feel an independent, unexpectedly edgy spirit running through this luxury hotel. Opened in 1928, the historic spot, now part of the Raffles collection, underwent a complete renovation in the mid-2000s, overseen by interiors master Phillipe Starck, who—true to form—filled the spaces with contemporary style, dramatic flair (like oversized lobby sculptures and a stairwell adorned with dozens of chandeliers), and over 350 pieces of art, many culled from the hotel’s private collection. Art is a big focus here overall: along with a well-stocked art-library-cum-bookstore (which draws a lot of gift-seeking locals) and an on-site showroom curated by local gallerists (recent shows have spotlighted street artists, from Basquiat to Banksy), there’s a resident Art Concierge—the first in Paris—who can create bespoke itineraries for guests and arrange for special access, studio tours, and VIP experiences (including, with enough notice, an after-hours visit to the Louvre).

While Japan often remains aloof to many first-time visitors, Kyoto feels intentionally difficult to get to know—even to Tokyoites who visit frequently. Getting some kind of entrée to hidden gems is especially useful here. Enter humble American-turned-Kyotoite Nemo Glassman, founder of Plus Alpha Japan. Many years living in Kyoto has given him a deep understanding of the city’s idiosyncrasies, of which there are many. Plus Alpha will arrange insider tours and intimate experiences throughout Kyoto and beyond. His tours aim to facilitate deeper engagement for travelers, whether imbibing with izakaya chefs, practicing zazen meditation with Buddhist abbots, or enjoying a tea ceremony performed by a maiko (apprentice geisha).

Built in 1928 by Asia’s oldest hotel brand, the Peninsula Hong Kong is one of the most historic properties on the Kowloon Peninsula, just across Victoria Harbour from Hong Kong Island. Designed originally as an upscale accommodation for passengers riding the adjacent Kowloon-Canton railway, the Peninsula has been a fixture of Hong Kong society throughout the region’s history. It was a magnet for Hollywood stars and dignitaries, the site of Hong Kong’s surrender to Japanese forces at the start of World War II, and temporary housing for residents following the war.

In 1994, a 30-story tower was added to house 135 additional rooms and suites as well as shops, a spa, a fitness center, twin rooftop helipads, and Felix—the hotel’s 28th-floor fine-dining restaurant, designed by Philippe Starck. The entire property was renovated in 2013 to update rooms with creamy colors, polished wood, and stitched leather and introduce high-tech extras that include a bedside control panel allowing guests to adjust the room’s light, sound, and temperature without getting out from under the covers. Today, the hotel is sleek and modern, but historic relics evoke the glory days that established the Peninsula as the “Grande Dame of the Far East.”

Situated oceanfront on Collins Avenue in the shadow of The Setai (South Beach’s tallest and most expensive hotel), Townhouse is a humble Art Deco concrete building trimmed in red with two very cool venues hidden inside, a subterranean ramen lounge and a laidback rooftop bar. K. Ramen. Burger. Beer excels in all of its eponymous categories and also serves delightful poke bowls and chicken wings, while The Cape is a surprisingly rare rooftop perch in South Beach with a laidback bungalow atmosphere playing host to live music.