Our last stop on this trip was Tokyo, where we spent two quick nights before flying home. This was our 2nd time in Tokyo so we didn’t do any sightseeing and just concentrated on eating and shopping! We flew from Sapporo to Tokyo Haneda (the airport much closer to Tokyo center) and took an Uber/taxi… Read More Tokyo – All You Can Eat Waygu Beef, Tsukiji Outer Market, and Capsule Toys
From Bali, we stopped in Japan before heading home thanks to Alaska Airlines’ generous free stopover even on a one-way award flight. Most of us had previously been to Tokyo and Osaka, so we decided to go to Hokkaido. It wasn’t easy to get to Hokkaido, it involved 3 flight changes: Bali to Jakarta, Jakarta… Read More Sapporo, Hokkaido – First Oversea Getting Medical Help Experience
Having been to Japan, it’s one of the friendliest, cleanest, and safest countries I visited. I couldn’t recommend enough to experience the Japanese culture even though language might be a barrier but all the locals are so friendly to help you out anytime! My stay in Japan was mostly in Tokyo and Kyoto area so… Read More Guest Post – 4 of the most unique experiences in Japan
After a few days in the busy and crowded Tokyo and Kyoto, I was looking for some peace and quietness so I decided to take a day trip to Nara first thing in the morning. In less than an hour train ride, we arrived at Nara by 8 am and took a long walk to the… Read More Avoid the Crowds – Day Trip to Nara
After a good night sleep on the very comfortable bed of ANA Crowne Plaza Kyoto Hotel, we were refreshed and ready to explore more of the beautiful city of Kyoto. We walked toward Nijō Castle to catch the train to Fushimi Inari Shrine ad passed the castle wall: It took a little more than half an hour… Read More Kyoto – Infinite Torii Gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Famous Wagyu and Hirai Steaks!
Our first experience of the famous bullet train (Shinkansen) from Tokyo’s Shinagawa Station to Kyoto in 2 hours 10 minutes! It was an expensive ride nevertheless: 14,110 yen with seat reservation per person, ouch! This was our only long-distance train ride as we only visit Tokyo and Kyoto, flying out of Osaka, so I did the… Read More Sightseeing in Style: Kimono in Kyoto
We made our journey from Mount Etna to Mount Fuji for the Shibazakura Festival where a carpet of “Pink Moss” covered the ground with Mount Fuji as the backdrop. When I accidentally came across the flower festivals in Japan and saw photos of Shibazakura Festival, I was like “wow!” I never ever heard of it and I guess… Read More From Mount Etna to Mount Fuji for the “Pink Moss”
We finally saw Mount Enta cleared up but that was the moment we were about to leave the hotel for our 3.5 hours journey to Palermo Airport. The drive to Palermo was okay until we almost reach the city – traffic! Our flight was at 12:45 pm and we returned the car, walked into the… Read More From Sicily to Tokyo: The Morning Commute Challenge
