Advantages: Exotic for people from the west, it is a very safe place, toilets :-)
Disadvantages: Expensive accommodation, language barrier can cause problems, a bit crowded

...This trip report has also been posted on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com. Here it is displayed with pictures, videos and links. So please feel free to visit my site. Millions of men in dark suits, crowded subway trains, sushi, taxi drivers with white gloves, neon lights, earth quakes, capsule hotels, sake, sumo wrestling, samurais, geisha, bullet trains, toilets so advanced that you need an instruction manual to use them, manga, polite people, Lost in Translation….this is our trip report from JAPAN. A short summary The dream team Nikki and Gard on another adventure :-) This time we headed for Japan and we traveled in the period May 15th to May 28th 2005. We started out in Tokyo where we stayed for about a week. We used a Japan Rail Pass to get to Nagoya (the World Expo) and after that we went to Kyoto where we stayed 5 nights... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Very nice trip, worth going back again
Disadvantages: No

...Japan is always one of my favourite country to visit in Asia. Let me share with you my itinery in my last trip. This tour took place when I last visited my parents in Hong Kong. Day 1: Got up at 6 to get to the airport for the flight at 9am. After 3 and a half hours, finally arrived at Tokyo. Went to the toilet straight after, there are still two types of toilet(the Western and Japanese styles), like the way it was when i came a few years ago. Weather was not too bad, a bit cloudy but not too hot. Arrived at hotel at around 6 and started my Tokyo adventure after a brief break. Last time I stayed in the Ginza area which is quite commercial. This time, I stayed in Shinjuku, which is like the Soho of Tokyo. much more exciting, with lots of department stores and restaurant. One of the places that I would definitely go when... Read review

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Advantages: Traditional, lively
Disadvantages: Crowded

...If you can fight your way through the crowds A visit to the temple Sensoji is worth it. The area of Asakusa has many temples and is potentially a cheaper area to stay in than most parts of Tokyo as it has many Ryokan, which makes for a nice traditional place to stay in Japan, rather than a hotel. Walk your way down through the markets (take note of the signs warning you of pickpockets, it really is a very busy area) towards the temple. The markets sell all your standard temple stall things, Souvineers, kimonos (of the cheaper variety of course), food (try out the mitarashi dango, little round balls on a stick covered in sweet sauce) As you enter the temple wave the incense over your body, it is believed this will cure what ails you, if you aim it at the particular spot that has a problem. Most of the temple was destroyed... Read review

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Advantages: GREAT ALBUM
Disadvantages: Don't know all the translations

...So one day I’m on Myspace chatting to a few friends. It was about August time in 2006. When I noticed some guy had added me on myspace. I sent him an email simply just saying Hi and asking how he was and he replied. He was about a year younger than I am, had totally different music taste and was from Germany. However still we got chatting and arguing over mostly music. We argued over such things as Justin Timberlake (with him saying he liked the music and myself not liking It.) and other sort of arguments over music from him liking pop/R&B and myself like metal/rock music. However it was fun arguing. One day we started arguing over some random boring R&B artist with Him saying “well at least they are better than bands like tokio hotel” I replied “Umm sorry but I have no idea who Tokio Hotel are. Ummm who are they?” He told me... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Cheap as chips, great quality
Disadvantages: Funky bathroom smell

...Well, some of the more observant of you may of noticed that I tend to travel a far bit. In fact, going through my old reviews from 2000 / 01, it appears that I have some review updating to do also! However for now, I'll concentrate on my recent experiences. I'm what you would call a mileage whore. Before you all go off complaining the Ciao that there is a sex pest in your midst, the term is used widely in the US, and means a person that is brand loyal for the benefits you get off the company you are loyal to. I'm certainly very loyal to the Hilton chain, as you may see.... So, I've spent some time in Korea, and, as I was flying Virgin from Tokyo, spent a night at the Hilton Narita.... From the airport..... -------------------------- Well, as with many hotels close the airports, there is a courtesy bus from the airport. Whilst... Read review

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Advantages: It's amazing
Disadvantages: It's too short

...Almost a year ago, I was on holiday in Crete during the September weekend. To alleviate the general everyday boredom, I would go to the shop nearest our hotel every afternoon and come back laden down with yesterdays newspapers, to read basking in the sun. Half way through the week, though, I passed a magazine rack and the cover of a German magazine caught my eye. Oh the front was a picture of a... person? Is it a boy, or is it a girl? The writing on the cover read "Tokio Hotel versexen die Fans"... My German's far from fluent but it was enough for me to get the gist. Afraid of forgetting the name of the band, I bought the magazine and brought it back to the UK with me (I still have it, determined to learn enough German to read it all one day). Upon my return I went to YouTube and had my first Tokio Hotel experience (That's what it is... Read review

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Advantages: The world within a city
Disadvantages: Easy to get lost,

...I recently took a spur of the moment trip to Japan when i had 5 days spare. As a student i wanted to get the most out of the few days i was spending in Japan, but when i arrived i realised that Tokyo was only the beginning. From the plane the terrain was incredible varying from beautiful mountaineous peaks to forests and rice fields. Then arriving in Narita Aiport, (60Km from centre of Tokyo) I realised i would have to go back. On a budget the best way to get into Tokyo i have been told was the Narita Express which takes you from the Airport directly to Tokyo. I did not use this route however and instead used the train (Rapid - Sobu Line) which took over an hour, but gave an insight into the countryside between the town of Narita and Tokyo. I decided once in Tokyo to split up my travel into 3 sections and spent Day 1 in Central... Read review

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Advantages: Everything you could want under one (massive) roof
Disadvantages: Located at the southern end of "The Strip" - so a bit of a walk to some attractions...

...We stayed at the MASSIVE MGM Grand for a few days this time last year. The MGM Grand, guarded by a 45-foot-tall bronze lion statue has 5,005 rooms and used to be the largest hotel in the world, a claim recently stolen by the Ambassador City Jomtien hotel in Thailand with 5,100 rooms. It's still the largest hotel in North America, although I think this will soon be stolen by George Clooney's Vegas hotel development... (While we're on the subject of large hotels, 17 of the 20 largest hotels in the world are in Las Vegas ! So even if you don't stay at The MGM Grand, odds are you'll be staying somewhere big...) The MGM Grand is part of the MGM Mirage group, that also owns, among others, The Bellagio, The Mirage, Treasure Island, New York-New York (just across the street) and Beau Rivage hotels/casinos in Vegas. The first thing... Read review