Nathan's Insights

World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas

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  • World Trip 2015: Japan Express Tour Review

    Tour Title: Japan Express 
    Tour Company: G Adventures
    Tour Leader:     Tetsuji (Ted) Watanabe 

    Cities Visited:     Osaka, Koyasan (Mt Koya), Hiroshima, Kyoto, Hakone (Mt Fuji), Tokyo

    Dates: 7 May to 15 May 2015 (Duration 9 days)

    Tour Type
    This tour is listed as one of G Adventures Classic tours. In short the hotels you stay at will be good to very good, there will be some included activities but also a bit of free time for optional activities recommendation by the Tour Leader and/or the Tour Leader will help organisation events you want to do.

    Tour Members
    This tour had 15 tour members which is the maximum;     Aoife Smyth, Alex Schembri, Andrea Pyatt, Maximilian Pyatt, Nicole Hedley, Wai-Yee Phuah, France’s Evans, Ashley Rowes, Claire Roberts, Vivienne Mahon, Paul Tripp, Catherine Scott, Helen Heath, Alexander Taplin.

    Included Activities
    Stay in a temple on Mt Koya, Hiroshima Peace Park and Museum visit, Miyajima Island excursion, Nijo Castle visit, Kinaku-ji Golden Pavilion visit, Daisen-in Temple and Zen garden visit, Mt Owakudani cable car ride (cancelled to volcanic activity), Lake Ashino-ko boat ride, Traditional ryokan stay with kaiseki meal, and Japan Rail (JR) pass (7-day).

    Optional Activities
    Our Tour Leader offered optional activities in every location except Osaka and optional group meals at Osaka, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Tokyo.  The main optional activities I undertook were; 

    1. Ceremony Night Walk with local monk at Koyasan (1,200 Yen)
    2. Tea Ceremony at Kyoto (2,000 Yen)
    3. Ninja Show at Kyoto (3,200 Yen)
    4. Karaoke at Hakone (1,000 Yen)
    5. Robot Show at Tokyo (6,000 Yen)

    I used approximately $500 AUD or 50,000 Yen for food and optional activities during the nine days.  The 7 day JR Rail Pass saves a lot of money and on the last offical day of the tour covered the travel back to the airport on the Narita Express.  

    The Amazing Mt Fuji

     Accommodation
    The hotels and temple stay were all around 4 star level.  Wifi was available in rooms at all locations other than Hakone which was available at reception.  A traditional diner and breakfast was included at Hakone and Koyasan.  Hotels were;     Osaka Namba Washington Hotel, Ekoin Temple , Hotel New Hiroden, Ibis Styles Kyoto Station, Pax Yoshino (Ryokan), and Shibuya Tokyu Inn.

    Tour Leader
    Tetsuji (Ted)     Watanabe is an experienced Chief Experiemce Officer (CEO) or Tour Leader with G Adventures and other companies.  ted was a very funny guy and went out of his way to ensure everyone was happy, this included  organising a surprise birthday cake for Nicole, everyone’s post tour train trips to the airport and the large number of excellent optional events.   

    Highlights
    The express trip is just that express and packed with events everyday so you need energy.  We actually walked over 20,000 on four days with the  Miyajima Island excursion around 26,000 due to hiking down the mountain.  A major highlight was seeing Mt Fuji, having traditional Japanese meals sitting on the floor, karaoke, the Ninja Show, the Robot Show, sleeping in a temple, the night ceremony walk with the thousand lanterns in Koyasan.  Really a lot of other things I could have listed.  Japan compares to Australia for the cost of things, the people are polite and the temples and shrines we visited are amazing, particular the Golden Temple.  

    Tradition Tea Ceremony at Kyoto
     Daily Journal Entries 

    Trip Photos

  • World Trip 2015: Day 29 – Tokyo, Japan

    Friday 15 May 2015
    Highlights: Skyscraper District, Akihabara electronic district

    A nice sleep in on my final day in Japan, using all the possible time until the 10 am check out since I didn’t originally have anything planned but that didn’t stop my roommate Alex from adding me to his plans for the day.  With the hotel storing my bags we were off for one last Japan experience using the last day of the G Adventure supplied JR Rail Pass.

    This started with a visit to Starbucks to watch from the second floor the famous multiple crossing paths in Shibuya.  People heading from every direction at the major street crossing, one of the first sights I saw on my arrival into Tokyo last week. (more…)

  • World Trip 2015: Day 28 – Hakone to Tokyo, Japan

    Thursday 14 May 2015
    Highlights:     Robot Show, Harajuku Takeshita Street, Tsukiji Fish Market, Farewell Dinner.

    After a relaxing nights sleep in our traditional ryokan room and a Western style included buffet breakfast it was time to say goodbye to Hakone and Mt Fuji and head to Tokyo which at least for me was a return to were I started.  

    (more…)

  • World Trip 2015: Day 27 – Kyoto to Hakone, Japan

    Wednesday 13 May 2015
    Highlights:     Mt Fuji, Lake Ashino-Ko, Hakone Gore Park, Kaiseki meal, Karaoke.

    We left Kyoto early to a beautiful morning, it seems we have seen the last of the rain. We gain send our main bags onto Tokyo and packed our day bags for one night’s stay.

    To get to Hakone we used several forms of transportation, a bullet train, a normal local train and local buses.  Our accomandation was at ryokan style, very traditional with bamboo flooring in the room.

    With volcanic activity in the area we had to miss the ‘ropeway’ climb / cable car up Mt Owakudani to get a better view of Mt Fuji. Luckily for us Mt Fuji was visible today and not hidden by clouds. (more…)

  • World Trip 2015: Day 26 – Kyoto, Japan

    Tuesday 12 may 2015
    Highlights:     Tea Ceremony, Ninja Show, Golden Pavilion.

    Well the forecasters were right today was rain with more rain.  Luckily the hotel provided umbrellas for those that needed it otherwise we would have drowned. 

    First up was a visit to the Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji, also known as Rokuon-ji, which is a Zen Buddhist temple established in the 1600s.  Luckily the rain stayed away for this visit which gave us a chance to enjoy this temple as it shined in the fading light.  I also noticed some locals wearing traditional Japanese clothing, something I was to encounter a lot more in Kyoto compared to the rest of Japan.  (more…)