Usually the last thing you want to be doing while on holiday is waking at 4am in the morning but that’s exactly what I did on chilly Saturday morning in order to pay a visit to Tsukiji fish market (築地市場) in Tokyo, famed for its daily tuna auctions. If you’re not a fan of eating animals then you’ll probably want to give this post a miss.
After visiting Tokyo’s Imperial Palace I took a train to Ginza (銀座) which is recognized as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world. Shopping holds little interest to me but I did want to get a feel for the area and pay homage to a couple of places, namely Japans flagship Apple and MUJI stores.
Marunouchi (丸の内) is an upscale commercial district in Chiyoda (千代田区) ward between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. It’s the center of Japan’s financial industry and is packed with glistening skyscrapers and identical-looking men wearing dark suites. After a night of heavy rain I visited on a bright Friday morning and wandered through the business district to the outer edges of Tokyo Imperial Palace (皇居).
If you ever want to experience the worlds busiest train station then head to Shinjuku (新宿区) in Tokyo which handles a staggering three million+ passengers a day with 35 tracks and over 200 exits! Around rush hour you’d be lucky to ever find your way out the station such is the labyrinth of passages leading in all directions. I visited the area a couple of time during my trip and below is a roundup of some of the sights I encountered…
Tokyo’s urban sprawl appears almost endless when viewed from the Metropolitan Government Offices except for one oasis of green in the south. The forest here is home to the Meiji Shrine (明治神宮) which is dedicated to the first Emperor of modern Japan and it was here that I went on my first afternoon in Japan.
After arriving in Tokyo my first port of call was the area where I would be staying; Shibuya (渋谷) in the southwest on the city on the Yamanote line. If you’ve ever watched a travel documentary about Tokyo before then you will have undoubtedly seen the iconic “scramble crossing” directly outside the station with its enormous video screens and neon advertisements.
For the last few weeks in Shenzhen we’ve been experiencing bouts of torrential rain almost daily and when you add to this the occasional typhoon then you’re in for a fun ride. As an Englishman I’m not usually caught without an umbrella but on the odd occasion I do forget there’s not much to do but find shelter.
Sometimes in life you have to pinch yourself to check what you’re experiencing is real. I had one such moment last weekend when I had the chance to visit the Presidential Suite of Le Royal Meridien in Shanghai. It just so happened to coincide with my birthday so was a pretty special occasion. Read on for the gory details.
Given the number of times I’ve been to Hong Kong over the past two years to show friends around I’m pretty sure that I could be an official tour guide by now. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy going there but there’s a limit to how many time you want to visit the same places. Here are some more of my favourite Hong Kong moments…
Last week I continued my quest to stay at the worlds most amazing hotels for free with a visit to the W in Hong Kong (for previous escapades see W Seoul, Park Hyatt Shanghai, and Hotel Éclat Taipei). The hotel is located alongside the relatively new Elements shopping mall in Kowloon right above the MTR station.