Tourists can go to Owakudani by taking a ride via a funitel, the Hakone Ropeway, or by road to a visitor’s centre below the Kuro-tamago hot springs site. Visitors using the funitel can experience a stunning view of Mount Fuji (if the sky’s clear) and an aerial view of the crater with the sulphur vents. The short walking trail, from the ropeway station to the volcanic zone of steam vents and hot springs, takes about 10mins. The black eggs can be purchased from the actual site where they are boiled. Due to constant volcanic activity, landslides may occur at the area. Hence, the walkways may be closed during times when dangerous conditions arise.

Tourists can go to Owakudani by taking a ride via a funitel, the Hakone Ropeway, or by road to a visitor’s centre below the Kuro-tamago hot springs site. Visitors using the funitel can experience a stunning view of Mount Fuji (if the sky’s clear) and an aerial view of the crater with the sulphur vents. The short walking trail, from the ropeway station to the volcanic zone of steam vents and hot springs, takes about 10mins. The black eggs can be purchased from the actual site where they are boiled. Due to constant volcanic activity, landslides may occur at the area. Hence, the walkways may be closed during times when dangerous conditions arise.

Due to frequent cloudy and misty atmosphere, the chances of viewing Mount Fuji are quite low. Usually, the visibility of Mount Fuji is better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer and in the early morning than late evening. Visitors who came to Lake Ashi can choose to stay at the many beautiful resorts located around the area so that they can spend more time enjoying the surroundings.

Many tourists come to Hakone mainly for leisure and relaxation. The place has ryokan (Japanese styled inns and resorts), onsen (hot springs and bath-houses) and golf courses. There are many organised tours from Tokyo to Hakone. Most tourists would not want to miss visiting Lake Ashi when they come to Hakone. Indeed, a visit to Lake Ashi is a real must for those who want to have the best of Hakone.

Due to frequent cloudy and misty atmosphere, the chances of viewing Mount Fuji are quite low. Usually, the visibility of Mount Fuji is better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer and in the early morning than late evening. Visitors who came to Lake Ashi can choose to stay at the many beautiful resorts located around the area so that they can spend more time enjoying the surroundings.

Many tourists come to Hakone mainly for leisure and relaxation. The place has ryokan (Japanese styled inns and resorts), onsen (hot springs and bath-houses) and golf courses. There are many organised tours from Tokyo to Hakone. Most tourists would not want to miss visiting Lake Ashi when they come to Hakone. Indeed, a visit to Lake Ashi is a real must for those who want to have the best of Hakone.

Due to frequent cloudy and misty atmosphere, the chances of viewing Mount Fuji are quite low. Usually, the visibility of Mount Fuji is better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer and in the early morning than late evening. Visitors who came to Lake Ashi can choose to stay at the many beautiful resorts located around the area so that they can spend more time enjoying the surroundings.

Many tourists come to Hakone mainly for leisure and relaxation. The place has ryokan (Japanese styled inns and resorts), onsen (hot springs and bath-houses) and golf courses. There are many organised tours from Tokyo to Hakone. Most tourists would not want to miss visiting Lake Ashi when they come to Hakone. Indeed, a visit to Lake Ashi is a real must for those who want to have the best of Hakone.

This remarkable city is also where the old meets the young. You can be in the most modern place such as Roppongi in one minute and you can wonder down the street to experience a traditional old shrine or town the next moment. This is the beauty of exploring the City of Tokyo.

Greater Tokyo has 23 wards (ku), 26 smaller cities, 7 towns and 8 villages. To have an appreciation of its size, the distance from the east to west is 88 km (55 mil) while it is 24km (15 mil) from north to south. The way Tokyo City is organized seems to be a bit complicated in terms of finding a place even with address. You are not alone as the local themselves find it difficult as well. The best way to go about it is to ask for direction. In Tokyo city, there are numerous koban (local police box) where you can approach for help. Believe it or not, the policemen spent most of their time helping people finding their destination. The lesson here is to always bring along the location map of your accommodation. You can get it from your hotel.

The City of Tokyo is really a big place and the best way to know this city is to have an introductory city tour. You can start your day by visiting the Meiji Shrine at Shibuya ku. The Meiji Shrine sits in Yoyoji Park.  This is one of the must-see religious sites in Tokyo which was dedicated to Emperor Meiji, the first emperor of modern Japan. During New Year, it draws a million-plus of crowds. This gives you enough good reasons to pay a visit.

The next place to visit is the Imperial Palace East Garden. Along the way, you will travel past the National Diet Building recognized by its pyramid-shaped dome. This building houses the Japanese parliament. There is a free 60-minute tour of the Sangi-in or House of Councillors or Lower House when the Diet is not in session. If you are interested and have sufficient time, do come back here again.

The Imperial Palace East Garden (Higashi-Gyoen) is open to public but not everyday. It is close on Monday and Friday.  If you happen to be there on these two days, can visit the Imperial Palace Plaza instead. In the garden, you can have a closed up view on the massive stones that built the castle walls, visit the Museum of Imperial Collections and enjoy a stroll on the typical Japanese garden. There are three gates to the garden and the most commonly used gate is the Ote-mon on the east. The Ote-mon is closed to the Tokyo Station and this was the principal entrance to Edo Castle for more than 200 years.

After visiting the Imperial Place East Garden, it will be almost half a day gone and is a good time take a rest and have lunch. If you are with a tour group, your lunch will mostly be included.  However, if you are on you own, do not worry.  There are plenty of eateries in the city of Tokyo, ranging from restaurant to fast food outlet.  One of the best bet is to get into the basement of a department stores where you can find food in the basement food hall. You can visit the nearby Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo’s Gina district where you can eat to your hearts content. Finding suitable choices of food to suit you appetite is never a problem in Tokyo because there are simply too many to chose from. If you are not in for Japanese food, then go for a simple burger.

The next stop will probable be the most celebrated district of Asakusa.  Do you know what, I visited this place twice when I was in the City of Tokyo. This place is famous for the Sensoji Temple (Asakusa Kannon Temple) and the colorful Nakamise walkway leading to the temple. The Nakamise walkway is lined with many colorful stores leading up to Sensoji Temple, Tokyo’s oldest and most famous Buddhist temple. This is where you can get all your souvenirs.

The last visit on your agenda might be the futuristic Odaiba which has become one of Tokyo’s most popular areas.  You can cross over to this island via the Rainbow Bridge and enjoy the view of Tokyo bay. At Odiba you can visit places like the Palette Town, the Aqua City and the unusual shopping mall of Venus Fort.  It is rather a big place with some wonderful parks to stroll.  

That is about all for an introductory day tour for Tokyo City. To fully enjoy the beauty of this city, you should pick one or more places to explore.

Kyoto Japan was founded in 794 as Heian-kyo (which means the capital of peace and tranquility). Kyoto City was built based on the layout of the Tang Chinese city of Chang-an.

Interesting, Kyoto City was bounded by mountains on its three sides and bisected by a river flowing from north to south. Indeed, this is an extraordinary natural formation. Perhaps it is for this very reason, this site was chosen by then Emperor Kanmu’s geomancers as an ideal place to be came the capital. Logically speaking, any city that is well protected is not easily conquered. I believed, this is also one of the reasons why this site is chosen by the Emperor.

So what can Kyoto Japan Travel brings you? As you are aware, this majestic Kyoto City is bounded by mountains and naturally, many of the best monuments and garden can be found at the foothills, especially the Higashiyama (Eastern Mountains) district east of the Kamo River.

So how do you truly appreciate Kyoto City then? You really need to navigate and spend enough time in the backstreet of the old imperial capital, shops and townhouses. Only then, you will be able to get a taste of the Kyoto City’s cultural riches.

Does Kyoto Japan Travel is a must? Believe it or not, about more than 30 million tourists a year visited Kyoto City. The numbers speak for itself. There are nearly 2,000 temples and shrines alone.  And the major attractions not to be missed are the Kyoto Imperial Palace, Nijo Castle and gardens, Diatokuji Temple (together with its many sub-temple), Ginkakuji (Temple of the Silver Pavilion), Kinkakuji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion), the sand and rock Zen garden at Ryoanji Temple, the Heian Shrine and Kiyomizudera Temple.  In addition, Kyoto city also has several museums and a botanical and zoological garden.

Apart from the places of interest, Kyoto City also boasts its many festivals and crafts. There are many popular annual festivals held in Kyoto City and is also a place renowned for traditional Japanese crafts, especially pottery, lacquerware, woodblock prints, fans, Yuzen sikl-dyeing and Nishijin silk-weaving.

Also, not to forget to visit the charming Pontocho Alley and take a pleasant walk at the Philosopher’s Walk, which is the best-loved spots.

Kyoto City is famous throughout Japan for the quality of its crafts and food products. As such, you will have an unforgettable shopping experience here and will never feel boring.  Needless to say, you will surely find some local specialty souvenirs here.

If you do not know where you should visit for your next vocation, you can consider Kyoto Japan.

Wait a minute, don’t go first, let me explain. The stretch of reclaimed was the past and it now boast the latest mega development with amazing collection of entertainment, shopping, exhibition facilities and its own beaches.

Yes, I am speaking of the futuristic Odaiba which has become one of Tokyo’s most popular areas and newest district.

The Odaiba is connected to the mainland by the Rainbow Bridge, the Yurikamome monorail Line, the JR Saikyo Line, the Rinkai line and a vehicular harbor tunnel.  So, to get there is very easy and you have different modes of transportation. Oh yes, not forgetting the river bus as well. 

You can start your exploration of Odaiba by visiting the Palette Town Complex. Over here, visit the Mega Web.  This is a huge hands-on museum show casing the latest in automotive technology. Next, visit the Future World, to have a taste of future transportation with a 3D coaster ride, and also view the display of classic cars from the 1950s to 1970s. A short distance away, you can hop into the Giant Sky Wheel and catch the fantastic view to Tokyo Bay.  If you need some shopping, go into the Sun Walk shopping complex where you can enjoy a meal at the restaurants, and shop at the women’s mega mall, and the 18th-entury style VenusFort. Pay a visit to the nearby National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation as well. 

Your next stop should be the Decks, Joypolis and the Seaside park. This place is built in resemblance to a giant passenger liner. At the Decks shopping and entertainment complex, it has an array of boutiques including the Tokyo Joypolis, which is a virtual reality center with thrilling rides and video games. After all the entertainment, shopping and eating, you may wish to take a stroll at the Seaside Park for relaxation. If you wise, you can do some sunbathing here which is popular. As this place is a habor, it is not suitable for swimming.

The next area of interest will be the Mediage, Aqua City and Fuji Headquarters. Apart from the cinemas at Mediage, you will find the mini funparks such as “Where the wild Things Are, Airtight Garage and the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine Adventure”.  The Aqua City next door, which is another huge retail complex is another shopping haven. Next, pay a visit to the futuristic Fuji Television building which is near the Diaba Station and is has an observation deck.

Odaiba is a huge place with so many to do and see. You really need to spend time here if you to see all the things. This is indeed Tokyo’s newest district and also is one of the Tokyo’s hottest date spots for the young Japanese.  How about a date with Odaiba when you visit Tokyo City?

As you walk in the garden, you will be able to have a closed up view on the massive stones that built the castle walls. These stones are perfectly fit together without mortar and there were designed to withstand earthquakes.  

Also visit the Museum of Imperial Collections where you can view some exhibits from the imperial collections.  Oh yes, when you are outside the museum, you will be hearing shouting in the garden and may be wondering where the sound come from. Do not be alarmed, it is the police martial arts class in the hall next to the guard house.

There are always blossom in the garden. In spring, you will see the azaleas and the cheer blossom and irises in summer.

Believe it or not, the Imperial East Garden is hardly crowded as the number of visitors going into the garden is controlled by the guard. Before you enter the garden, you will be given a token and when you leave, you will have to return it to the guard. This is how they regulate the number visiting the garden.

The Imperial East Garden Tokyo is a good place to retreat from the city’s crowd.

Let me say a bit about this Tokyo Tower first.  This orange-white tower was built in 1958 as a broadcast tower with a height of 333m. It was reported that it is actually 13m taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.   It opens daily from 9am to 10pm with admission charge.

There is an observatory deck where you can have an excellent view of the city.  At the base of the Tower, it has an aquarium, wax museum and trick art gallery.

While the tower is quite dated, it stills remains the most recognizable and tallest structure in Tokyo City. During the night, when the tower is illuminated, it is quite remarkable.

I was there during both the day and night.  While I must say that it is not truly a piece of masterpiece, a brief visit as part of the overall tour package is ok. 

The Tokyo Tower stands on the eastern side of Shiba-koen (park). If youhave some time, you can walk to the near by Zojo-ji. This is a family temple of the Tokugawa clan. It is said that Zojo-ji remains one of the most monumental temples in Tokyo City. There is a giant bell made of metal. It was reported that the bell was made from the melted metal hairpins donated by the ladies of the shougun’s court.

While the Shiba park area does not have the most attractions, nonetheless, it is a good place to stay as the base. It is a city-within-a-city itself. Train station and sub-way stations are all near-by for you to take to any to the designations. The nearest JR station is the Hamamatsucho station. The two nearest sub-way are the Onarimon station and the Diamon Station. There are many eateries and convenient shows as well.