{"id":6794,"date":"2013-12-10T23:12:09","date_gmt":"2013-12-10T15:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mytwogirls.net\/?p=6794"},"modified":"2014-06-18T12:58:30","modified_gmt":"2014-06-18T04:58:30","slug":"japan-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mytwogirls.net\/?p=6794","title":{"rendered":"Japan 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

We just got back from our holidays to Japan.<\/p>\n

We bought our tickets to fly to Kansai International Airport early this year when Air Asia was doing a promotion, thinking it was a great deal. A couple of months later, MAS had their promotion, and tickets were even cheaper. A few of my neighbours actually managed to grab the tickets and theirs cost less than ours! Bummer!<\/p>\n

Due to the busy schedule this whole year, we only started to plan for the trip 2 months before our holidays. We decided to only focus on a couple of places around Osaka and Kyoto area even though we have 12 days there, preferring to take things slowly.<\/p>\n

This is the map of where we’d been.
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Did the girls enjoy Japan? They sure did! They asked us to extend our stay, they wanted to go there again; and we have to keep reminding them Japan is an expensive holiday destination. Accommodation, transport, entrance fee are all very expensive! It’s not some where we can go every other year. <\/p>\n

Here is Zara’s thought about Japan written in her journal.
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Note :
\n1) Travelling around Japan.<\/strong>
\nWe traveled around Kyoto using the bus and train. The (bus and train) maps available are quite easy to read\/understand.
\nIn Osaka, we took mainly the subway, it looks complex, but lines are clearly coloured with station numbered, see this<\/a>; i.e. Y15, S16, M20 for Namba \u96e3\u6ce2\u99c5, \u306a\u3093\u3070\u99c5 (as it can be reaced by 3 subway lines)
\nWe rented a car for 4 days and requested for an English GPS. To get to a place, we only needed to enter the phone number. Traffic updates however were announced in Japanese.<\/p>\n

2) People<\/strong> are extremely friendly and courteous in Japan, even if they don’t understand you, if you asked for help, they will patiently listen to you and try their very best to help you. We seek a lot of help from people at subway stations, bus stops, convenient stores. A couple of times, we asked for directions at shops, and they whipped a copy of maps, charted out the route, and gave us the map. Amazing people!<\/p>\n

3) Chin Nee<\/a> asked how do we read menu in Japanese. Usually, they have English menu. When they don’t, they will have some pictures\/photos of what they served. I read Chinese, so I look for key words as well in menu, e.g. \u8c5a (pork), \u9d8f (chicken), \u9b5a (fish), \u713c (grill), \u63da (deep fried), \u91ce\u83dc (vege) etc etc. <\/p>\n

And posts will be added below as and when I’d finished writing them.
\nPart 1 : Day 1 \u2013 Nara \u5948\u826f<\/a>
\nPart 2 : Day 2 – Takao \u9ad8\u96c4<\/a>
\nPart 3 : Day 3 – Arashiyama and Sagano \u5d6f\u5ce8\u5d50\u5c71<\/a>
\nPart 4 : Day 4 – Nijo Castle \u4e8c\u6761\u57ce and Nishiki Market \u9326\u5e02\u5834<\/a>
\nPart 5 : Day 5 \u2013 Eikando \u6c38\u89b3\u5802, Kiyomizu-dera \u6e05\u6c34\u5bfa, Higashiyama District<\/a>
\nPart 6 : Day 6 \u2013 Fushimi Inari Shrine \u4f0f\u898b\u7a32\u8377\u5927\u793e, Tofukuji \u6771\u798f\u5bfa, Gion \u7947\u5712<\/a>
\nPart 7 : Day 7 and 8 \u2013 Road Trip, Exploring Takayama \u9ad8\u5c71 and Epic Lunch at Turuturutei \u3064\u308b\u3064\u308b\u4ead<\/a>
\nPart 8 : Day 8 and 9 \u2013 Snow at Shirakawa-go \u767d\u5ddd\u90f7 And Gokayama \u4e94\u7b87\u5c71<\/a>
\nPart 9 : Day 10 \u2013 Gero \u4e0b\u5442 Friends Making and Osaka \u5927\u962a Takoyaki Making <\/a>
\nPart 10 : Day 11 \u2013 Osaka Castle \u5927\u962a\u57ce Dotonbori \u9053\u9813\u5800 Shinsaibashi \u5fc3\u658e\u6a4b<\/a>
\nPart 11 : Day 12 \u2013 Osaka Doguyasuji \u5343\u65e5\u524d\u9053\u5177\u5c4b\u7b4b\u5546\u5e97\u8857 and Shinsekai \u65b0\u4e16\u754c<\/a>
\nUseful links :
\nJapan Guide<\/a> – I refer to this a lot when planning the trip
\nKyoto Tourist Guide Book<\/a> – I printed this out to bring along as a quick guide.
\nFrommer’s Japan Guide<\/a><\/p>\n

Maps:
\nOfficial Kyoto bus map – here<\/a>, and here<\/a> This is a must have if you took the bus in Kyoto, hotels will be able to give you a copy too.<\/p>\n

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