Highlights of Japan

It's been a long while since I last did any recommendations for a city/country, which can prove to be more useful summaries of my trips. I've created a new tag for trip recommendations and will slowly add more entries to them. I realised I've only done summaries for Seoul and Venice so far, so there's probably alot more work to be done. I will do it in point form like what I did for Venice so that it can be a guide that is easier for reading.

Here are some of my experiences/recommendations in general:

• It is probably cheaper to go to Hokkaido by flying to Osaka/Tokyo and then flying to Sapporo via Jetstar. Jetstar's domestic flights can cost below ¥8,000 one-way inclusive of taxes!
• Feast lots! I love sushi, sashimi, crabs, scallops, prawns, ramen, udon, soba, tonkotsu, tempura, shabu shabu, and the list can go on and on. Japan has so much to offer for feasting. Throughout my 19 days in Japan, I hardly get to try all the kinds of food I listed down to try.
• Visit the public bath houses or hot springs. It's quite an experience.
• When you take the JR trains, do consider hopping on to the Limited Express trains. The fare is the same as the normal trains. By waiting just a little longer for the Limited Express trains, you might still end up reaching your destination earlier. It's faster because they stop at significantly less stations.
• If you love seafood, you MUST visit Hokkaido.

Day 16 [10th June]: Otaru

Part of my itinerary in Hokkaido is to go to Otaru, so I took the train to Otaru at 10am+ hoping to grab my brunch in Otaru. After about 45 minutes of normal train ride and enjoying the nice scenic journey, I reached Otaru Station and collected some brochures at the train station before proceeding to search for food.

Day 15 [9th June]: Sapporo

I started my day by making my way to Nijo Market for my late breakfast. Along the way, I passed by the lovely Tokeidai (aka Sapporo Clock Tower) and also Sapporo TV Tower.

 

Day 13 [7th June]: Tokyo

I left the hotel slightly later today to avoid the peak hour train crowd and went to Tsukiji Fish Market again for my breakfast. I decided to buy the 1-day pass for Tokyo metro and Toei subway at ¥1,000 since I figured I will be visiting many places today. When I reached Tsukiji Fish Market, I decided to try the egg omelete which costs ¥100 and the taste was just great! Along the way, I was thinking of trying one of the popular sushi restaurants but the queues still scare me off. So, I ended up trying a random restaurant that had a promotion of ¥2,000 for a sushi set. Unfortunately, they do not allow photo taking so I had to take photos very discretely and secretively using my phone. Compared to Yamazaki, the quality of food here seems very average only. The chef also didn't ask me if I wanted wasabi, so I didn't really enjoy my food as I disliked wasabi.

Day 10 [4th June]: Tokyo

I woke up in the morning and birthday greetings were starting to come in via Whatsapp and also my Facebook timeline. For my first breakfast in Tokyo, I went with my plan to visit Tsukiji Fish Market and enjoy some fresh sushi. I bought the one-day Tokyo metro pass at ¥710 and took the subway to Tsukiji Station. I managed to find my way to the Outer Market with the help of a map just outside the subway station and Google Maps. Along the way, I visited Tsukiji Honganji, which has a design that is somewhat European influenced in my opinion.

Day 8 [2nd June]: Osaka + Arima Onsen

For my last day in Osaka, I was toying with the idea of going to Arima Onsen in the afternoon. For the morning, I went to Kuromon Market in Osaka for a brunch at about 11am. Surprisingly, the market is not too crowded at this time.

Day 5 [30th May]: Kyoto

I made an online reservation for a guided tour in Kyoto Imperial Palace for 30th May, so I made my way to Kyoto in the morning as planned. I didn't want to reach too early, but somehow I underestimated the time needed to take the subway from Kyoto station and walk to the palace from the subway station. So I ended up reaching the palace about 10 to 15 minutes later than the scheduled time. I managed to catch up with the group inside the palace and the guided tour duration is about 1 hour.

 
   
 

Sydney (March 2011)

Photos from my biz trip in March 2011....



Airline: Qantas Airlines
Accomodation: Star City
Places visited: Sydney Aquarium, Wild Life Sydney, Taronga Zoo, Sydney Tower, Circular Quay, Opera House, Darling Habour, Bondi Beach, St Andrew's Cathedral, Hillsong Church (City Campus), St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney Fish Market

And I really really loved fresh seafood at the Fish Market and chocolate spread from Guylian cafe! There are only 3 Guylian cafes in the world, and 2 of them are in Sydney! And I was fortunate enough to stay in Star City's serviced apartment and the location was fantastic!