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…
Harajuku (原宿) is an area north of Shibuya (next to Meiji Shrine) which is renowned as the center of Japan’s extreme teenage fashion styles where young people gather on Sundays to socialise and show-off. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to visit on a Sunday but I did wander around the adjacent shopping district and came across a few interesting places of note.
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.
Arriving at Haneda airport on a slightly overcast Wednesday morning was not the most auspicious way to enter Japan for the first time but even in my severely sleep-deprived state there was still a sense of excitement in the air. I had made it. Finally after literally years of false starts I was in Tokyo and ready to lap up the experience.
It had turned into a bit of a running joke that every time I planned to visit Japan in the past few years I have somehow been diverted to China or Korea – but no longer – after many false starts I’ve finally booked a return flight to Tokyo for 1 week at the end of the month (Sept 29 – Oct 6)!
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.
I spent my final few days in Seoul exploring a few areas I hadn’t been to before. First up was Samcheong-dong (삼청동) which lies north of Insadong and east of Gyeongbokgung Palace. The hilly neighborhood is characterized by numerous small art galleries, coffee shops, and many beautiful old residential houses.