Flight: HK Express UO 898 From: Hong Kong (HKG) To: Kansai International Airport (KIX) I flew with HK Express from Hong Kong to Osaka Kansai. HK Express is a Hong Kong-based low-cost airline operating with Airbus A320 aircraft from their Hong Kong Airport base. They mostly fly to destinations in East Asia and selected Southeast […]
Green spaces of Tokyo
As the biggest city in the world (by most definitions), Tokyo is not exactly famous for its greenery. Concrete jungle, sure. Actual jungle, not so much. [Tokyo – it’s a jungle out there.] I was a guest of the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, and I spent a day visiting gardens and green spaces of […]
Visiting Aomori Prefecture in Japan
Aomori Prefecture is at the northern tip of Honshu (the largest island of Japan). Like many casual visitors to Japan with no ties to the country, I had never heard of Aomori. There are 47 prefectures (like a province or state) in Japan, and Aomori is one of the lesser visited of Japan. [Map of […]
Flight Review: ANA – Tokyo Haneda to Sydney
Flight: All Nippon Airways NH 879 From: Tokyo Haneda (HND) To: Sydney (SYD) I flew with ANA from Tokyo to Sydney. My flight was arranged by the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau who provided the flight for my trip. This was the return leg of my flight from Sydney to Tokyo. Like my SYD-HND flight, […]
Sotetsu Fresa Tokyo Kyobashi – a mid-range hotel near Tokyo Station
Hotel Name: Sotetsu Fresa Tokyo Kyobashi Address: 〒104-0031 Tokyo, Chuo, Kyobashi, ２−１１−１, Japan I stayed at Sotetsu Fresa Inn in Tokyo. I was a guest of the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau who provided the accommodation for my trip. The Fresa Inn is a mid-range hotel that is about 10 minutes walk from Tokyo main […]
Hotel Review: Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu Hotel, Towada – Japan
Hotel Name: Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu Hotel Address: 231 〒034－0398, Tochikubo Okuse, Towada, Aomori Prefecture 034-0301, Japan I stayed at Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu Hotel in Towada, Japan. I stayed here as a guest of Aomori Prefecture tourism. The Oirase Keiryu Hotel is a resort-style 4-star luxury hotel. Hoshino Resort Co., Ltd. is a Japan-based […]
Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – a landmark luxury hotel in Shinjuku Tokyo
Hotel Name: Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo Address: 2 Chome-2-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan I stayed at Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo in Tokyo. I was a guest of the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau who provided the accommodation for my trip. The Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo is in Shinjuku, which is one of best known […]
Flight Review: ANA – Sydney to Tokyo Haneda
Flight: All Nippon Airways NH 880 From: Sydney (SYD) To: Tokyo Haneda (HND) I flew with ANA from Sydney to Haneda Tokyo. My flight was arranged by the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau who provided the flight for my trip. This was my first time flying with ANA so I was looking forward to trying […]
Staying in a capsule hotel in Tokyo
[A review of my stay at Capsule Inn Akihabara from my 2007 visit to Tokyo.] Tokyo offers a wide range of accommodation options, but nothing is as quirky as a capsule hotel. The first capsule hotel opened in Osaka in 1979 and they can now be found in major cities across Japan. I stayed at […]
Notes on Tokyo: Godzilla, hi-tech toilets, packed subways, fugu fish
Notes from my visit to Tokyo in April, 2007. Godzilla and I On my city map of Tokyo I noticed a dot marked “Godzilla Statue”. In my mind’s eye I pictured a statue at least one storey high of the lizard, perhaps eating a car, with life size people statues fleeing the scene in terror. […]
