Travel Tour

Free Stock Photos for websites - FreeDigitalPhotos.net Japan is made up of 4 main islands: Honshu (Largest Island) Kyushu Shikoku Hokkaido cities . For the places to visit in Japan, visit this guide or this JNTO guide now!

Free Stock Photos for websites - FreeDigitalPhotos.net If you are planning for a visit to Hokkaido, let me give you a list of all the places of interest in Hokkaido which are inside the travel itineraries of most travel agencies that may be of interest to you!

On the last day of my Hokkaido tour with my wife on 28 Sep 09, our group visited the Hokkaido Jingu Shrine . The shrine is a Shinto Shrine. Shinto is a native religion of the Japanese which worships the god in the universe as symbolized by the sun. Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan before Buddhism and other religions set foot in Japan.

My wife and I set foot on the town of Otaru one bright afternoon in our tour after a hearty lunch. Otaru is a habour town in Hokkaido with the Otaru canal a famous landmark there. I have read so much of Otaru in the travel itineraries and coming to this picturesque town, we were not disappointed!

Shopping around in Hokkaido, Japan, you will find many memorabilia related to bears and foxes. Bears and foxes are the indigenous animals in Hokkaido and they still exist in the jungles of Hokkaido. The two animals have become the emblems of Hokkaido! The great brown bear of Hokkaido has spawned a number of memorabilia, with cups, T-shirts, keychains and more products ‘fronted’ by the animal itself. I believe Japanese and tourists alike have grown enamored of these two animals as they are always portrayed as cute in the many illustrations you see in the souvenir shops.

As part of my series of posts on my recent Hokkaido tour with my wife, today, let me give you a list of things to buy from Hokkaido! As all of you might have known, the White Lovers' Chocolate is the most famous chocolate in Japan, and if you are in Hokkaido, you must definitely buy at least one box of these chocolates as the White Lover Chocolate factory is located none other than Hokkaido!

While I was at Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, I saw this photo of a criminal plastered on the noticeboard in the airport, immediately I recalled similar such posters of Singapore's Mas Selamat.

Loyal readers of my blog would have read it here on my encounter to Uniqlo’s Singapore flagship outlet at Tampines One shopping centre on its opening day. Uniqlo is the leading Japanese casual wear retail chain.

Japonism? This term first came to my knowledge when I visited the Tampines Regional Library last Sunday. I only know the word "Japan', "Japanese' but 'Japonism'? As I found out from the exhibition, Japonism is not a Japan word but an original French term, which is also used in English, this is a term used to describe the influence of the arts of Japan on Western arts.

I spotted these bloodtype bath powder bags in a store during my tour with my wife in Hokkaido about two months back. The letters on these packagings should be obvious to you: they denote the different blood groups of man.

Did you see the photo of the colourful plane below? If you take a closer look, you would have noticed that the plane is decked out in 'Pokemon' style, with the pictures of the cartoon characters adorning the facade of the plane. This was the plane my Dear and I travelled in when we made our return journey from the Chitose airport in Hokkaido back to Haneda airport in Tokyo. As such, this plane is a domestic-flight plane. Not all the domestic-flight planes in Chitose are similarly adorned with Pokemon characters. My Dear and I were lucky to travel in this lovely plane. Even the seat covers depict these Pokemon characters as well! There are some cool and beautiful models of these "Pokemon" planes on display at the airport. Domestic planes in Japan are of no-frill types. There is only a centralized projector screening screening movies for interested passengers to pass time as there is no individual TV station for each individual. It only makes sense. What I love ...

There is no longer anymore Pandas in the Singapore Zoological Gardens. Thus, imagine my excitement when I witnessed the two Pandas in Ocean Park with my Dear last weekend!

This is the highest point on Hong Kong Island: Victoria Peak! My Dear and I were high up on the peak last Saturday night and words just could not describe the magnificent scenery which unfolded in front of us! We felt like the TOP OF THE WORLD and looking down on creation….. (as the song goes). The whole peak was smoggy and my Dear and I could no longer differentiate whether these are smog, fog or clouds but we believe that these are layers of clouds, top layers of clouds to be exact! The fog flew like wind, everywhere, the mist, fog or clouds were just breezing past us and it was chilly cold!

Nestled in Tung Choi Street, MongKok, Hong Kong are dozens of shops selling a diverse buffet of Gold Fishes, so much so that this street of MongKok has been affectionately called ‘Gold Fish Market’. Now, you may ask, what is so special about the Gold Fish Market, isn’t it just a street with many shops selling Gold Fishes? Well, this is what I have thought prior to coming to this street with my Dear. I have thought that this will be just a street cluttered with shophouses selling a dozen variety of Gold Fishes. However, I was only partially right. What my Dear and I saw in the Gold Fish Market really opened our eyes! What we witnessed were really, what I call, “Art Fishes”! Most of the gold fishes that greeted our eyes have bodies that come with a natural design which seems almost man-made. But these are not. These gold fishes bodies are carved with natural wonderful stripes and botches which are really really fascinating. If you see these fishes, you must have thought that someone ...

Sprinkled around Hong Kong are desserts shops called ‘Xu Liu Shan’! You will not be able to miss these shops for they seem to be in every corner of major shopping districts, even in Hong Kong Airport. ‘Xu Liu Shan’ in Cantonese is called ‘Hui Lau Shan’. ‘Xu’ is a Chinese surname, for which the Hokkien version is ‘Koh’ and the Cantonese counterpart is ‘Hui’. Okay, enough of history here, lets talk about the real stuff here. So what is the real stuff in ‘Xu Liu Shan’? It is none other than mangoes, and yes, fresh mangoes to be exact! From the very first day of our Hong Kong trip right to the last day, my Dear and I were practically ‘Xu Liu Shan’ –ing (means eating the desserts in these excellent dessert shops) everyday of our tour! So that must attest to something great about the desserts in ‘Xu Liu Shan’ right? We tried many signature mango drink desserts in the shops, each with a slightly different flavour, catering to the myriad of tastebuds of different customers! For instan...

It was with the greatest excitement that my Dear and I arrived at Hong Kong Disneyland for a day of FUN! We have heard so much about Disneyland and all the lively and colourful characters which live on this fantasy land, however the actual coming to Disneyland is really one of the wishes come true for both of us! It was raining cats and dogs as we arrived at Disneyland; however the rains never fail to dampen our spirits as we were raring to go and to have an attempt at all the rides and shows right here in Disneyland!

Its BIG, its nutritious, its Cockles Congee! Every spoon of the piping hot, sweet congee is laden with your favorite congee, chicken meat and a dose of healthy vegetables!

Seated magnificently on a mountain of Lantau Island, Hong Kong , overlooking the whole of Hong Kong island is the majestic Tian Tan Buddha! To reach this giant Buddha at Ngong Ping Village, one can choose to take either Bus 23 or the more exciting option of the cable car from Tung Chung cable car terminal; my Dear and I choose the latter! The cable car ride took all of 25 minutes. It was definite not a draggy journey as it was a scenic ride. We took in all the sights the ride could afford us: from the beaches, to the mountains and to the seas! Take a look at this photo! The many coloured dots are not debris strewn on the shores, these are actually human! : farmers hard at work, harvesting oysters! Some of these could land up in your dishes the next time you eat Char Kway Teow! Midway up the ride, when the cable car cabin reached higher altitudes, we could not see a thing from our cabin as the cable car cabin was engulfed in clouds and fog! Luckily, my Dear and I did not choose the p...

It is customary for Hong Kong restaurants and cafés to serve customers with cups of water or hot tea upon sitting at the tables. Coming from Singapore, I was at a loss of what to do with the water or tea. I have presumed these tea and water is free and is served for consumption purposes. That was what I have always supposed until I saw a couple of Hong Kongers washing their utensils with the water and tea. Upon seeing it, I thought of vomiting what I have drunk as I was unsure whether the fluids I have downed my throat was potable in the first place! Anyway, I have not bothered to ask the waiters in the restaurant on the purpose of the fluids served free for customers. Anyway, I believe these fluids are for drinking but these could be used for the washing of utensils if the customers want … correct me if I am wrong.

Splendid skyscrapers in Central, Hong Kong Having walked almost the whole of Hong Kong with my Dear in our recent trip, we were marveled by the great weather, scenery, people and food in Hong Kong. However, there were still some light similarities between Hong Kong and our country, Singapore in the cityscape planning of the two countries. I would just list down some of these light similarities between the two countries for sharing: a) MTR of Hong Kong is akin to MRT of Singapore, it is just so easy to navigate your way in the two countries with this convenient mass rapid transport system. Both countries have their airports linked by the MTR (or MRT) too. Buses are similar too, except Hong Kong has electric trams on streets too! b) Octopus Card = EZ link card (almost) c) Star ferry akin to River cruise along Clarke Quay d) The sea scenery at the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui reminds me of our Marina Promenade at the Esplanade, though Hong Kong’s one is much grander. e) L...

This is the Avenue of Stars along the Promenade in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong! My Dear and I have read about this place many times in Hong Kong travel books and brochures prior to our trip here. It was simply amazing that we finally set foot on this Great avenue! This place is a ‘must go’ place for first-time visitors to Hong Kong! It was chilly cold on the evening we arrived at the Avenue of Stars. The sea breezes just made it even colder. Luckily we had our thick jackets on, thus alleviating to a certain extent the coldness we felt. It was an eye-opener to us as we witnessed Hong Kongers dressing in their causal attires: bermudas, polos, etc .... for this kind of chilly weather! They were simply unaffected by the COLDNESS which still embraced my Dear and I though we were already decked in our thick jackets! So why is this avenue called the ‘Avenue of Stars’? The answer is simply that the avenue is adorned and decked with the palm imprints of famous Hong Kong stars and superstars on th...

The above picture featuring roasted goose, pork and duck indeed looks appetizing! My Dear and I savored this mouth-watering dish at one of the 'Chan Cang Ting' (Cafe restaurants) in Hong Kong during our trip there last month! The price of the dish was the most economical: just around $20+ !

On the second night of our Hong Kong tour, my Dear and I visited Victoria Peak via taking the amazing Peak Tram, which carried passengers up and down along the slope of the hill.. literally! I will describe my Peak Tram adventure in another blog post, today’s post will touch on Triple O Burgers which my Dear and I partook before taking the tram up to the top of Victoria Peak. To get to the Peak Tram terminus, the nearest MTR station to get there would be the Central MTR station. We went without dinners as we anticipated to savour some great meals from the ‘Chan Cang Teng’ in Central itself. However, how wrong we were! The part of Central where we alighted from the MTR is literally like Raffles Place in Singapore, where skyscrapers tower ahead and there is hardly any common café or ‘Chan Cang Teng’ in sight despites our ‘intensive search’.

‘Po luo bao’ is a must-try delicacy in Hong Kong. My Dear and I savoured these yummies when we visited Hong Kong last month. There is no special filling inside these ‘Po Luo bao’, however these buns are sweet and crispy in their own rights. ‘Po luo bao’ is actually nothing but a flour dough which is specially and skillfully baked to elicit the flavour from the buns. We were given butter as fillings for these buns and this combination of butter and the crispy hot buns is simply marvelous!

When I visited Hong Kong in April with my finance, Causeway Bay was not really in our itinerary as we have thought the shopping district there was just like our very own Orchard Road. And we already have Harborfront City in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon in our itinerary for day one of our tour, that would suffice for an experience of a modern Hong Kong shopping centre, that’s what we have thought.

Yesterday, I shared with readers my shopping experience in one of the most expensive shopping districts in Hong Kong and in fact the world. Today, I would like to bring you to Repulse Bay, Hong Kong, which is one of the most expensive residential areas in Hong Kong. As the name suggests, Repulse Bay is a beach and it is located at the southern end of Hong Kong Island. Just a quick note for those who are not familiar with Hong Kong geography: Hong Kong is divided into 4 main islands: Lantau (which houses the international airport and Disneyland), Hong Kong Island (which houses Ocean Park, Victoria Peak, the Central (Central Business District of Hong Kong), Kowloon (which houses shopping areas like Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok) as well as the New Territories (which is largely undeveloped).

I ate this cup of hot, steaming, spicy bowl of fish bowls in one of the stalls on the streets of MongKok with my Dear! The fishballs are unlike any fish balls tried in Singapore before. There is such a unqiue taste to the fish balls. Its simply YUMMY!

When I visited Hong Kong with my Dear in April this year, we visited Disney Land located in Lantau Island. There is a MTR station at Hong Kong Disneyland, just take a look at the photo above, you can see that even the MTR train has the windows shaped like Disney Mouse! And inside the MTR train, one can see a number of Disneyland exhibits, the flow of Disney magic is embodied in the MTR train and station! In the coming days, I will bring you the rest of the exciting highlights in our tour of Hong Kong! So stay tuned! You can click on the Hong Kong tag at the bottom of this post to read up on my exciting journey I have written too!

When my wife and I were in Hong Kong this April, we stayed in MongKok, a district nestled in Kowloon with a vibrant streetlife at night that is far more exciting than what the slew of brick-and-mortar shopping malls in Singapore could give us. Our hotel was just a stone's throw away from the popular Ladies Street which sells a myriad of accessories not limited to ladies' wear and accessories. Ladies Street, known as Tung Choi Street, is really a treasure trove for shoppers and bargainers as the cornucopia of offerings in the myriads of makeshift stalls there is just astounding!

When I was with my wife in Hong Kong, one of the most memorable place is actually the MRT station! When we were using the travellator crossing from one point to another in the underground railway station, soothing music flowed readily, invigorating our souls and making our wonderful trip even more romantic! Even more, I still had the tune of the music hardwired in my mind and heart!