tenchired: Travel articles and stories from the south and beyond

I am lucky to have siblings living in Calgary, Canada. Every time I visit, I always take a side trip to Banff National Park , about 78 miles west of the city. It is one of my favorite national parks in North America. As I write this article, my brothers and my dad are spending some time, male bonding at Banff National Park. I wish I were there with them. My last visit to the park was almost a dozen years ago. The first time I set foot on the resort town of Banff, I was surprised to find the cute little town dotted with shops and restaurants owned mostly by Japanese. I loved the unique shops, the sushi and the noodle restaurants. I thought I had gone to Japan! Even though Banff is nowhere near the coast, it served up some of the freshest sushi and sashimi, and everything was cheaper here than in Japan. According to my brother, there were less Japanese stores and tourists these days. As a matter of fact, he noticed the crowd was thinner than in previous years. A blessing for the park.