I can now understand why thousands of travelers flock to Kyoto during autumn, foreigners and locals. The leaves were golden and there was so much energy and life released from the vibrant colours of the maple leaves. They were simply awesome. I marvelled at the creation of the Almighty! The culture in Kyoto is rich with any traditional architecture echoing this beauty. Though I only spent a few days in Kyoto and Osaka, I had fond memories of this lovely city.

I have the habit of checking out travel and life insurance quote before my travel holiday. This is on top of those tedious search on best accommodation deals in the destination city I am planning to travel to. I have no plans for any vacation yet to date but I know it will be happening soon.

For the shopper, there is much to behold and enjoy. You can find from luxury labels to quirky stuff. The Japanese appreciates details and the fine things of life. Green shopping seemed to be the ‘in thing’ in many countries and Japan is not excluded. Navigating around the train stations was probably the most interesting challenge but it was fun.

The only thing I’m hoping for is that there are cheaper accommodation rates in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto the next time I plan my visit. This would mean I could have more for my shopping expenses and be too conscious on what I spent on!

Hong Kong is one of the greatest shopping centers of the world. Due to its status as a free port, tourists traveling to China and Hong Kong can find the best deals anywhere in the world. Hong Kong hosts a lot of different items from all over the world. For me, Nathan Road in Kowloon is a popular Hong Kong shopping street that is known for its various boutiques that are popular to night shoppers. In The Nathan Road, your most valuable asset is your money and your ability to haggle. If you win, you can find the greatest deals. But if you lose, you will find yourself with overpriced pieces. In this street, the haggling is part of the shopping experience that is hard to replace.

What I missed last year was the Stanley Market, which is also known for the excitement and local charm. Home to the best Chinese artworks and souvenirs, you can find lots of Mao items that you can take home. This experience is literally a drive to the jungle. If haggling is the unique experience in Nathan, then the journey is the featured experience here.

Best to the best accommodation deals in Hong Kong, you can search hotels and compare prices first before making any reservation. For me, I’m hoping to find a nice hotel with good exercise equipment so that I can work out to shed those pounds during our vacation.

When I was in Gion last December, I enjoyed walking into the local gift and accessory stores. You can expect to find lots of cultural and local stuff and much to my delight, there were alot of beauty buys as well. I bought a handmade gift card and some beauty accessories from this famous cosmetics store known as Yojiya. It’s not hard to find Yojiya cos this is the only cosmetics store that is packed with women (and men!).

It is easy to fall in love with Kyoto during autumn and I hope to visit this cultural place again in spring next time. Looking for cheap accommodation rates in Kyoto? Search right here for your best accommodation deals:

In the last few weeks, my little boy had been telling me how much he wanted to be back in Japan again! I find myself liking kyoto and osaka a little more than tokyo. Tokyo can be very crowded in certain places and though kyoto isn’t that big in terms of land space, it is a very pretty city.

Shopping in kyoto and osaka is just as great. You can find a wide array of cultural and most modern stuff all in one place! From shopping for sexy lingerie to japanese silk to the latest electronic gadgets, you can count on a wide choice of styles and designs in kyoto and osaka. Let me just warn you that if you are geared to shop in any japan city, make sure you bring enough cash and put on good walk shoes. Be expected to shop for hours in the busy malls and be ready for the tight crowds during the weekends.

Take a trip to kyoto and osaka, you won’t be disappointed.

What we miss most was the stay in the Japanese ryokan in Hakone… it was a perfect experience. Though it was a splurge but we were treated like dukes and queens during that one night stay, from the moment we entered the ryokan to the moment we left.

I only wish we had stayed in Hakone for an extra night and spent another night in Hakone Ginyu… how I miss those autumn colours and beautiful mountain mist in the morning!

We stayed at the Swissotel Nankai Namba which is well situated near the malls and above the Namba train station. It took a little while before we got familiar with the train lines and surroundings. We have two more nights before moving back to Tokyo and then to HOng Kong.

I won’t be able to post our trip in details since I have a preschooler to entertain at this hour. In brief, I am enjoy winter in Japan and I am thankful to God for this trip.

First of all, I must tell you that if you are planning to come to tokyo and you are not planning to join any tour – do your research properly. Tokyo is not a difficult place to get around but it isn’t as easy as some other countries like europe and australia or even singapore. The main barrier is the language and you really need to do your travel research to ensure a smooth and happy vacation!

If possible, get a good and light luggage as you will be planning transferring from train to train, subway to subway. Within each train line, there are many steps to climb in some stations so a light luggage can make things easier.

Since this is only our third day, I will be posting more when I find time. For now, I gotta go to bed as we are taking an early train to Hakone tomorrow… I can’t wait to visit Hakone Ginyu – it better be good!