| A Loo |
Friday, 25 March 2005 |
Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi, The - Tokyo, Japan.
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I would recommend Hotel Senkyoro in Hakone. Great onsen, very courteous staff and best of all, there is a studio for guests to make their own Japanese ceramics. (There is an instructor there to show you how of course.) My plate is sure to win many design awards! :)
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| D Low |
Saturday, 19 March 2005 |
Stayed at New Miyako Hotel - Kyoto, Japan.
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Take advantage of the 100 yen city bus located across at the train station. You must go to the bus stop to catch this bus. The city is promoting its bus, it goes around the sights of Kyoto, from Sanju-sangen-do to Museums, to the Silver Shrine to Kiyomizu, etc. This is our third trip to Kyoto and we would come back again to enjoy the cherry blossoms, cultural and artistic venues.
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| I Marcouse |
Saturday, 19 March 2005 |
Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi, The - Tokyo, Japan.
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People watching takes a lot of beating in Tokyo. Go to Harajuku station to see the bizarre clothes of the 'Harajuku girls'. We thought that 'Electric Town' was disappointing, but really enjoyed the Sunday markets.
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| R Kelly |
Thursday, 10 February 2005 |
Stayed at Sunroute Hiroshima, Hotel - Hiroshima, Japan.
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Hiroshima should be a MUST see for anyone going to Japan - if only so that what happened in Aug 1945 will never happen again. The city has done an amazing job with the Peace Memorial and the museum is a fascinating and vivid walk through history and is quite fair in its write up on the events. The park itself is beautifully laid out with lots of things to see and contemplate. One night - two day stay would be sufficient - also worth seeing is the Miyajima Island with its floating torii shrine which is about 25 minutes by train (and a further 10 minutes by ferry) from Hiroshima main JR station.
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| D Liew |
Wednesday, 2 February 2005 |
Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi, The - Tokyo, Japan.
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Roppongi is quite a newly developed city. Just a 10min. walk will get you to TV Asahi where I enjoyed shopping for Doraemon's goods. The view around that area is a lot better at night. So if you plan for a nice stroll, go during the late evening.
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| G Kaminsky |
Tuesday, 25 January 2005 |
Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi, The - Tokyo, Japan.
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I did the tourist thing all over Tokyo for a week. I was a little dissapointed with the Sega Joypolis in Odaiba. I did the skydiving ride but it wasn't what I had hoped for. The Edo-Tokyo museum was interesting. I saw a Sumo match which I highly recommend at least once if they're going on when you're there. Shibuya and Shinjuku are interesting areas as is Asakusa. I did a Sumida Gawa river cruise down to Hinode pier and it was very relaxing and informative. If you're around Shibuya or Harajuku on a Sunday, definately go see the costume play kids on the bridge over Harajuku station in the afternoon. It's like Halloween only better.
Akihabara has tons of electronics of course but what I didn't realize was this is the place to go for DVD's as well. They have huge selections of every genre including the naughty ones. Meiji Shrine in Harajuku is a definite must, especially if there are some weddings going on. Tokyo Tower was a mediocre experience for me, I didn't go all the way to the top since I had previously gone to the top of the Tokyo Metro Gov't Building for free and got almost the same view.
Palette town with the Venus Fort and Toyota Mega web were worth visiting but my favorite on Odaiba was the Oedo Onsen. Definately go there if you get a chance. It's a traditional Japanese hot spring public bath. You change into a yukata (like a bathrobe sort of) and walk around a public area with food and gifts. The hot spring areas though are separate for males & females, each with indoor and outdoor sections. I found the hot tubs outside to be a wonderful contrast to the cold temperatures, plus you get the added benefit of walking around without clothes on along with lots of other people. Great experience though and I felt rejuvenated afterwards. I also did a day trip to Kamakura which I highly recommend if you get the time. There's a ton of shrines and temples and a big buddha too. The day I went to the shrine there was a big ceremony going on with hundreds of people and imitation samurai swords. Very exciting stuff.
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| J Reich |
Saturday, 22 January 2005 |
Stayed at New Miyako Hotel - Kyoto, Japan.
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Went to Daitokuji temple complex. There aren't too many people there during the week, so I pretty much had the tour guide to myself, which was nice. Note: most things in Japan are cash-oriented, and it's even harder to find an English ATM in Kyoto than in Tokyo-- and the one I found wasn't on Cirrus or Plus, so my ATM card didn't work anyway. But at least the streets have names and signs in English, which helps.
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| C Alafriz |
Friday, 31 December 2004 |
Stayed at Kyoto Royal Hotel - Kyoto, Japan.
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If you only have 1 day, like we did, walk around the immediate vicinity of the hotel and you will get a good feel of Kyoto. Don't miss Pontocho Street by the river (line of traditional restaurants), the streets of Gion (the old Geisha district) and Higashiyama Area where there are many temples to boast of.
If you have more time, then do the temples off the city center... I think the Kinkakuji and Ryoanji area is the next best.
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| M Tiemann |
Tuesday, 23 November 2004 |
Stayed at Mercure Hotel Ginza Tokyo - Tokyo, Japan.
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Though I stayed in Ginza, I spent most of my time in Shinjuku (having lunch at the excellent Teppanyaki restaurant in the Park Hyatt) and Shibuya (visiting the incomparable Tokyo Hands). I also always visit the SONY showroom in Ginza to see a glimpse of the future. This time, it's the Qualia 005 HDTV (not available for demo in the US).
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| S Gwee |
Thursday, 11 November 2004 |
Stayed at ANA Hotel Narita - Tokyo / Narita, Japan.
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The Aeon Shopping Mall at Narita is very modern and has lots of interesting shops - and some at very affordable prices. The ANA Narita hotel provides free shuttle service to this mall.
Our son loves Tokyo Disneyland and wants to go back again next year. Food and entrance fees are prohibitive but the experience was rich. My wife has to move around with a crutch and was pleasantly surprised to meet with lots of assistance and concern.
Overall, our visit to Tokyo this time confirms the impression from a previous visit 7 years ago - Japan is clean, rich in culture, things move like clockwork, the Japanese people are polite and customer service is first-rate - even though we cannot understand what they are saying - the smiles and friendly gestures speak for themselves.
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Traveller's Tales: Places to go and see in Japan
