Japan & Hong Kong 2012, Wrap Up

  • Overall what we did: 21 days split into: 1 day in Tokyo, 3 days in Sapporo, 7 days in Osaka, 4 days in
  • Okinawa, 1 day in Nara, 1 day in Kyoto and 4 days Hong Kong from February 2012
  • Favourite part of Japan: Too many to mention, I loved it all. The amazing food, wonderful sights, incredibly friendly people – it was fantastic!
  • Key tip: Same as America, attempt to get to immigration as fast as possible. If you don’t hold a Japanese passport it can take a very long time to get through (about 40 minutes for me)
  • Cultural points:
    • Language: I found that in general Japanese people are very shy and cautious of a foreigner. Even if someone knows English, don’t expect them to use it – you’ll need to make sure you have some way of communicating either through a phrase book or some basic language skills.
  • Highlights: Spending time with my partners family in Osaka and seeing the ice sculptures at the Sapporo Snow Festival
  • Best City: Osaka. Not only does my partners family live there, but it’s only a short journey to some amazing places like Kyoto and Nara from Osaka
  • Worst City: Hong Kong, the smog was just a bit too overwhelming
  • Must See Attraction: The Sapporo Snow Festival. The amount of skill and work that went into each of the sculptures was incredible
  • Ice Bear, Susukino Ice Festival
    Ice Bear, Susukino Ice Festival
  • Most Over-hyped Attraction: Vegetarian lunch at the Lan Tau Buddha. Felt more like a mass kitchen then a cultural experience
  • Would I go back? Without a doubt I would go back to Japan in a heartbeat, and am already planning our next trip. Hong Kong I have to admit I’m unlikely to return to unless it’s as a transit point just because the smog was very unpleasant for our lungs.



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So where did we go? A map view:
[nwm_map id=”3″ zoom=”2″]

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