Vancouver and Squamish 2025
- tinygynie
- Oct 22
- 7 min read
Arrival to Vancouver was uneventful. Train system from airport is easy to navigate and quicker than taxi. I stayed at fairmont waterfront as it was next to the conference center and therefore easy.
The highlight of the day was dinner with old friends and colleagues at Kissa Tanto. This is a Michelin star restaurant situated in Japan town. The ride there was through some ‘interesting’ neighborhoods not unlike post apocalyptic terminator status so I recommend public transportation or uber.
Like with many fancy restaurants, there’s a fairly confusing menu with a lot of options. It is often a better idea to ask your waitstaff to choose things for you or do a tasting menu to highlight chefs best dishes. Even better idea when you and your colleagues started with a couple cocktails. Speaking of booze, Kissa tanto has extensive sake so if you’re curious, ask for a good recommendation or flight. The retro bar beneath it is a lovely place to get things rolling
Highlights for sure: oysters, tuna crudo, this omelet that was so delicious I can’t find the words, and charcoal udon with dungeoness crab. Absolutely incredible and my pictures were definitely not sufficient.
Day 2: more conference fun, but that’s not why you’re reading. I took a nice walk around waterfront, gastown, and coal harbor after my brain stopped working around 3p.
After happy hour with friends, I needed a social break to dine by myself. Choosing a restaurant in Vancouver can be challenging. There’s just too much to choose. But, in search of sushi, I read a couple local articles about places in walking distance and chose Miku, which specializes in Aburi sushi (chopped, hit with a hot flame, and pressed on a rice cake). I again asked the waiter to pick out guest favorites and was not disappointed by shrimp balls in a miso mustard, salmon aburi, and surf and turf roll with A5 Waygu. The cocktails are artful and lovely including the origami that is served with the paper crane.
Day 3: more lectures, my favorite so far including a sobering account of femicide and violence against women worldwide. I’m aware that this is not something that people really want to think about, but it is actually 100% part of my job to advocate for women’s rights. Sometimes we need a kick in the ass. Actually, Americans really need one about now. I also interviewed for Canadian citizenship while there. Because: Murica
My husband arrived mid afternoon so I bailed out for the later lectures in favor of a British pub where ACLS playoffs were featured.
That evening we visited iDen Quanju Chinese restaurant which is another Michelin rated experience that specializes in Beijing roast duck. Get the duck. Do not skip it. We also ordered a fois gras scented crunchy rice and veggies as well as signature cocktails from a menu longer than the Ming dynasty. But, GET the duck.
Décor here is gorgeous btw, pictures don’t do justice. It is very very real Chinese. It is not Americanized shite, so if you aren’t sure about something, ask please. Oh and maybe skip the buijjio. I’m protecting you here…imagine a strong moonshine where the aftertaste won’t go away and is reminiscent of the undercarriage of really unbathed farm animals. Or some bruhs out there that think showering is weak…what is up with that yo? Wash your ass and don’t drink biujjio.
I know that it was not a very exciting description Vancouver, but that was not the point of my trip this time. Sometimes you really just have to do the academic stuff and try to enjoy some food. I will make a list of prior don’t misses for you.
Off to Squamish:
Squamish is situated on the sea to sky Highway about halfway between Vancouver and Whistler ski resort. I don’t think that they are used to getting a huge amount of tourists that are staying there rather than just driving through town. This is based on some other questions that we got as people just assumed that we lived there or nearby. In saying that, it is a lovely town in the shadow of stawamus chief, an imposing monolith hovering overhead.
On clear days, you can see every mountain around Howe sound, Whistler, and several other impressive peaks in British Columbia. We stayed at August Jack motorinn out of curiosity. It used to be a shady dive motel but new ownership has spruced it up with the goal of highlighting local artists. It is still quite ‘in progress’, but the rooms are well equipped with a mini stovetop and fridge and really lacks nothing other than comfy seating. Tim did manually fix the toilet but he’s a toilet master and we didn’t say anything to the front desk. It is close to all town attractions, hikes, sea to sky gondola, and the estuary. Give this family some love and give them a try rather than the bigger resorts north of town. Unless you require 5 star luxury of course… but then again maybe you should not be reading my blog if that is the case since I rarely do that kind of thing.
It was a pretty raw cold rainy day on arrival so we ventured to the Brittania beach mines for an indoor and underground adventure. Britannia was a large copper mine for nearly a century, closing down in 1974. It was responsible for a lot of the copper wiring for the bombs and other military purposes during World War II. From a historical perspective, really worth the visit. And if you need adrenaline, do the Boom show where they simulate what the mine looked and sounded like when in production. Maybe Tim and I are boring, but we just love the historical industrial backdrop.
The first evening we went to the copper coil for a beverage followed by The Salted Vine. I know most of you have not been to ennis, Montana, but it reminds me of the restaurant Continental Divide there. A lot of the food in town is small Asian dives and pub type food however this place uses a lot of local flair and ingredients as well as freshly caught seafood and a really nice wine list. Highly recommend the lomo and burrata as well as their catch of the day over crispy gnocchi. Also a word of warning, a carafe of wine is almost a full bottle so just know what you are getting into. I was a bit tired for more than a glass. This is not a complaint just an FYI.
Day 2 we got the hiking boots on and hit the road. We ventured up to whistler and did a few short hikes including the train wreck. The train wreck was a train that went off a river trestle destroying seven of the cars in the 1950s. The railroad moved the cars into the woods and graffiti artists have decorated the entire area. Super eerie and great visuals.
For the record, Whistler ski resort and Whistler Village looks similar to every large ski resort in village pretty much everywhere. That is not to say not to go, there’s a lot to do and it is very well organized. But if you think it will be different than Breck or Park City or whatever, it’s not. Just a guide y’all not a criticism, we had fun walking about.
On our way back to Squamish the rain stopped and we hopped on the sea to sky gondola. It isn’t cheap but man are the views worth it. There is an app called sea to sky trails, and once you reach the top, you can choose a variety of front country and back country trails to follow. They give you different views of Howe sound, whistler, chief, etc. At minimum, do the panorama trail. And then grab a cider from the bar and stare at the clouds and mountains. It’s relaxing and gorgeous.
Dinner that evening after a stop at cliffside cidery (the ginger cider yall, so good) was at Broken Seal, which has a sign in front that states, in neon, This Is BS. However you wanna take it it’s a great sign.
The tartare, both salmon and beef were fabulous. It is a small menu but all of it is well crafted. We also had amazing bao buns. A fun highlight is the cocktail menu, inventive mixology at its finest, incorporating a lot of colors and flavors like peaflower, lavender, etc.
Day 3: the sun really tried hard. It’s the Pacific Northwest, so therefore the sun is never going to truly win the battle. Everyone still does all the normal activities, including biking, hiking, or whatever the day may hold regardless of the lack of natural light.
We decided to venture a little bit out of town for breakfast and went to Fergies our near the tantalus lookout. Go here. Maybe stay at one of their cabins. It is a peaceful oasis of great food and scenery. I had a smoked brisket bowl with poached eggs and veggies, Tim had an egg bake with pesto, ricotta, all the good stuff.
Hikes not to miss:
Shannon falls
Stawamus chief
The split trail at Squamish estuary
See pics of the first two, but the 4 bear I saw on the way out of the estuary were way too close for me to feel comfortable sticking around and trying to get photos. I regret my wussiness here 1000% but mauled by bear was not on my 2025 bingo card.
Lastly, I would like to shout out to the lovely people at the copper coil restaurant, who tolerated football during the 7th game of the ACLS (go blue jays) and made us feel like locals.
Actually just hats off to Squamish. So friendly, so lovely, easy to navigate and outside of the crazy whistler bustle.
Comments