16 Countries from Canada to Cambodia, Japan to USA, Scandinavia to Indonesia, Iceland, Finland, New Zealand, Thailand, (and God-willing many more 'lands'!). Cities include: Bali, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Hokkaido, Kyoto, Osaka, Penang, Queensland, , Reykjavik, Siem Reap, Tokyo. Activities include: Ski lessons in Hokkaido, Self-Drive Iceland, Self-Drive Hokkaido, Farm stays in Taiwan, Northern-lights and Santa Claus Park in Finland. Theme Parks include: Disneyland (Anaheim); Tokyo … [Read more...]
Swissotel Nankai Osaka Hotel – Unsurpassed Centrality, Unparalled Hospitality
Osaka was the very last stop of our family's DIY vacation to Japan. The very last visual memory I have of this wonderful country was not a bowl of steaming Ramen or a plate of fresh succulent sashimi. Nope, given that we travelled in June, it was also not of the pretty cherry blossom trees. Instead, it was the sight of a hotel bell hop, a pint sized Japanese lady (yes, lady!) pushing our luggage from the Swissotel Nankai, Osaka Hotel lobby, accompanying us all the way … [Read more...]
DIY Japan – Maximising your day at Universal Studios Japan
This visit to Universal Studios Japan completes our ‘trilogy’ of the 3 large theme parks in Japan during our inaugural trip in the Summer of 2015. Despite having ran and screamed our way through two of the most popular Disney theme parks (namely Disneyland and DisneySea), our visit to Universal Studios Japan (USJ) still gave us some unexpected surprises in more ways than one - lots of ‘thrills, spills and excitement’ in their many movie-themed rides. In all, we conquered 8 iconic rides and … [Read more...]
DIY Japan: Osaka – Of Deers, Whales and Seriously Stunning Temples!
Exploring Nara Deer Park, Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN, Tōdai-ji Temple, Kōfuku-ji Temple. The next leg of our DIY Japan trip brings us to Osaka – the 3rd largest city in Japan and it is from here that we will fly back to one of the smallest countries in the world – Singapore. While I’m sure there are lots of eating, shopping and taking ‘KAWAII’ photos in Osaka, I made sure we incorporated some educational experiences (this is what happens when you have a teacher in the family). For this … [Read more...]