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More photos from Tokyo, Japan and the Philippines, coming soon…
Some friends’ recommendations of must-sees or -dos:
First off, I love Tokyo. Really, one of my favorite cities. Period. Up there with Prague and Paris. It’s like New York in the sense that you could spend a shitload of time there and still not see all there is to see and experience. In Tokyo, you gotta go to the Meiji shrine, the Imperial Palace, and the Tsukiji fish market. Akihabara is the center for all things electronic, and that’s a bit wild to see. I also really liked the area of town called Asakusa. There’s a cool temple there, and some nice old streets you can walk through.
If you saw Lost in Translation, you can hit up the Park Hyatt hotel for a couple of (very expensive) drinks in the bar where a bunch of the movie was filmed, and get a beautiful view of Tokyo in the process.
If you can, I definitely recommend a stop in Kyoto. A very different kind of city than Tokyo, and really gives you a sense of older, more traditional Japan than Tokyo does. The two cities are a 2.5-hour train ride apart. And also Mount Fuji. I didn’t have much luck with seeing, or hiking, the mountain, but if you’re going to Japan, that’s a must. Also, the “official” hiking season is July 1 – August 31. But even if you can’t hike it, hopefully you’ll be able to get some great pictures of it.
I’m not aware of any budget airlines. But try Korean Air, ANA (All Nippon Airways), and JAL.
also, check out his blogs: Tokyo, Prague and 1st year as a Boston teacher
Greg:
The Ha Long and Cat Long (same thing but is less touristy) are amazing in northern vietname, I highly recommend doing a 2 day boat trip there. And the Angkor Wat complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia – it’s an easy flight from Bangkok, and they have several flights a day – is an absolute must see. You could probably do it almost as a day trip, but it’s one day hiking up and around these amazing temples jutting out of the jungles that will blow your mind. I liked the presidential complex in bangkok too, but not much else – it’s a really big noisy city. To be honest I didn’t really like Thailand much, it’s kind of westernized and corrupt. Lots of brothels, drugs, and gross old white men walking around with 15yr old thai women as escorts. Yuck. Chiang Mai in northern Thailand is fairly cool, and might be interesting for a day or two – there’s an amazing temple on top of this mountain outside the city, that on a clear day has amazing views. I can put you in touch with caroline if you have specific questions about anywhere in SE Asia, she’s been all over, or need help getting around (she’s in phenom phen now, but knows lots of people in Hanoi and Laos).
Stay tuned for more updates!