Japan being a “foodie” destination, a culinary tour on day 1 was a must to get an overview of the food scene. So, we went to our “go to” tour operator which we loved in Istanbul, (took two of their tours), Culinary Backstreets, and once again, they lived up to our high expectations. The tour we took was “Small Town in the Big City: Tasting Tokyo’s Kichijoji.”  This is a largely residential area with blocks and blocks of the kind of small owner operated eating spots, cultural offerings and stylish shops from individual designers. Here’s an overview of the nine stops in our six-hour tour and a fascinating interview I did with our tour guide, Ken Kawabata, things about sushi that I bet you never knew. (I sure didn’t!)