Toronto, Canada’s largest city
Toronto is Canada’s largest city and the fourth largest city in the world with the most skyscrapers over 100 meters. The 553-meter-tall CN Tower was completed in 1976 and was the tallest tower in the world until 2007. By the way, the Tokyo Skytree, which was completed in 2012, is 665 meters. Considering the observation deck, CN Tower has a Sky Pod at 447 meters, which is only 3 meters away from the Skytree Observation Corridor 450 meters.
Toronto
is home to a variety of professional league teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs ( NHL ) , Toronto Blue Jays ( MLB ), Toronto Raptors ( NBA ), Toronto Argonauts ( CFL ), and Toronto FC ( MLS ). When we visited in early September, we were able to watch a game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Milwaukee Brewers. With the team leading the American League East at the end of the season, the stadium (Rogers Centre) was packed. Tickets were available online for around $95 Canadian for seats in the back. Although they lost, they continued to hold on to their lead and are already confirmed for the postseason as of late September 2025.
Canada is a microbrewery paradise.
Beer Town Public House Toronto , a beer restaurant near Union Station , offers a wide selection of beers from local microbreweries, and you can choose from four beers in a beer flight set. The fish fry tacos were also delicious.
Fort York National Historic Site
: Toronto was called York in 1793, and John Graves Simcoe, the first governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario) during the British colonial period, built Fort York to defend Toronto Harbor.
In the War of 1813, the Americans won the war. The British, retreating to Kingston (apparently abandoning the Upper Canada militia and Native American soldiers who had fought alongside them), blew up the fort’s munitions storehouse, destroying the fort. After burning and destroying the city, the Americans withdrew, deciding that York was not an important base. The fort was rebuilt in 1815. It is now open to the public as a historic landmark. Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
The Distillery District, where whiskey distilleries once
stood Located a short distance from downtown Toronto, the Distillery District was originally a row of whiskey distilleries, but after the distilleries closed, it became a tourist destination with restaurants and shops reusing the brick buildings.
Toronto
Islands is a chain of 15 small islands that can be reached by ferry from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal in about 15 minutes. It’s like a natural park, brimming with greenery. It offers bicycle rentals, water sports (although it’s not the ocean, but the vast Lake Ontario), casual outdoor restaurants, an amusement park, and other leisure facilities. It’s a small island that can be walked around in half a day. The skyscrapers of Toronto visible on the opposite shore are also beautiful. Some people even pitched tents and had picnics.
Niagara-on-the-Lake: Wineries and stylish townscapes
Forty Creek Distillery:
About an hour’s drive from Toronto along Queen Elizabeth Way toward Niagara-on-the-Lake is the Forty Creek Whisky Distillery . Facility tours have not resumed since being suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, but tastings are available if you make a reservation in advance online.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is home to many wineries producing wines, including icewine, and is characterized by its stylish streets lined with villas and hotels. This time, I took guided tours with tastings at Pillitelli Estate Winery , Jackson Triggs Winery , Reif Estate Winery , and Inniskillin Winery . All can be booked online. Pillitelli Estate Winery and Reif Estate Winery also have open-air restaurants that serve pizza, salads, and other drinks along with wine, making them perfect for lunch.
Niagara Falls (Canadian Side) Boat Tour
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Tickets for the boat tour can be purchased online. When boarding the boat, staff will hand you a red vinyl poncho. The sight of a group of people wearing red ponchos boarding the boat in a line was a strange sight, as if they were taking part in a religious pilgrimage.
As the boat approached the falls, the waterfall was very powerful and we got soaked by the strong wind and spray.
Cave of the Winds, Niagara Falls (US side)
To get from Canada to the US side of Niagara Falls, you need to cross the Rainbow Bridge. This article summarizes the necessary procedures for crossing the border on foot. This applies to tourists visiting Canada or the US.
1. Bridge toll (insert it into the ticket gate yourself)
For Canadian dollars: 1 dollar coin and 25 cent coin, or 5 25 cent coins
For US dollars: 4 25 cent coins
*There are also change machines that give you 1 US dollar bills and 5 and 10 Canadian dollar bills.
2. US immigration inspection
: Answer questions (length of stay, purpose of visit, etc.)
, take a photo,
take fingerprints of all fingers on your hands, and get
an ESTA-approved passport (from September 30, 2025, the ESTA application fee will increase from 21 US dollars to 40 US dollars).
I-94 fee: 6 US dollars (separately required for entry by land border. Credit card payment accepted. From September 30, 2025, the fee will increase to 30 US dollars).
When returning to Canada, all you need to do is answer questions about the length of stay, purpose, etc., and show your passport.
Once you pass the inspection, it seems to be valid for 30 days. When I went to the US by ship three days later, the inspection was over just by showing my passport.
At the Cave of the Winds, you’ll be given a yellow poncho and climb the stairs to get closer to the falls. As you get closer, you’ll get soaked, just like being hit by the waterfall.
There are also boats that depart from the same location to the American Falls, and tickets can be purchased as a set with the Cave of the Winds. Since you’ll get soaked in both the boat tour and the Cave of the Winds, we recommend visiting from summer to early September.
This is the illuminated Niagara Falls as seen from the Canadian side. The rainbow-colored part is the American side of the falls, and the orange part is the Canadian side. Every night starting at 10pm, fireworks are launched near the American side of the falls for about five minutes.
Niagara Falls Power Station and the genius Nikola Tesla feared by Thomas Edison
While Thomas Edison is well-known for his inventions of electricity, there was another American genius, Nikola Tesla, who invented alternating current (AC) electricity. The electric car company he founded is named after him. Edison argued that his own direct current (DC, or direct current; currently used in batteries and solar power generation) was safer, leading to conflicts with Tesla. However, Tesla’s alternating current (AC, or alternative current; currently used in homes and offices by plugging into electrical outlets) was more efficient at transmitting electricity and was adopted for the Niagara Falls Power Station in 1895. The Niagara Falls Power Station is now closed and open to the public as a tourist attraction, the Niagara Parks Power Station . Visitors can see the actual power generation equipment and walk through the massive drainage tunnel. Guided tours are also available. Tickets are available online , and we recommend the combined tour and tunnel walk (CAD 32). It is about a 4-minute walk from Niagara Falls Lookout, a viewing spot for the falls.
The later years of Tesla and Edison were stark contrasts. Despite being tall and handsome, Tesla remained single his entire life. While Edison founded the large company General Motors and achieved great success as an entrepreneur, Tesla was penniless and eventually died quietly in a hotel where he was staying. However, the alternating current electricity system that Tesla invented still undoubtedly plays an important role in our lives today.
Niagara Beer
Craft beer production by microbreweries is very popular in Canada. Niagara Brewery, which also has a restaurant, is located in Niagara. There are both indoor and outdoor seating, and as of early September, the weather was perfect for drinking outdoors. Across the street is Niagara Distillery, which also has a restaurant.
Ottawa and the World Heritage Site of the Rideau Canal
Ottawa, Canada’s capital, is the sixth most populous city in the country and is famous for the Rideau Canal, which was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2002. Opened in 1832, it is the oldest canal in North America, stretching approximately 202 km in length and connecting Ottawa with Kingston on Lake Ontario. There are also boat cruises that take you around Ottawa on the canal.
