Japan.. A Trip to Remember.. Part 2

Day 2

Our itinerary for 2nd day was quite ambitious. We tried to cover Nara, Kyoto (some part of the area) and Kobe in one day. Surprisingly, we managed to get to all the three places but there were slight changes in our itinerary in Kyoto since we need to catch the train to Kobe and need to make sure we're not missing the last train back to Osaka. 

Location 1: Nara

Things that you wouldn't want to miss out in Nara:

1. Feeding the tame deer
Nara is famous for its Deer Park. Believe me when I say, that you can find deer everywhere in Nara.. Not only in the park, you can find them around the temple, along the road, almost everywhere.. And they are not afraid of human.. You can buy the deer food (biscuit?) at small stalls along the street and next to Nara Park.

2. Eating local fruits and ice cream in the park
When the weather gets cold, eat ice cream.. Your ice cream will taste better and your body won't feel cold anymore..

3. Observing monks from Nara's monastery area.. Visit Japan's 2nd tallest pagoda (Kofuku-ji temple) and being amazed by world's largest wooden building (Todai-ji Temple)

Bronze statue in front of the train station

Season plucks fruits.. A must eat during harvest season

World's largest wooden building, Todai-ji Temple

Common view in Nara..

He insisted to join us during brunch at Nara Park..:)

Kofuku-ji temple, Japan's 2nd tallest Pagoda

Location 2: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto

Fushimi Inari shrine is a Shinto Shrine dedicated to God of Rice (Inari).. Famous for its 1000 of Torii gates, creates a pathway to a wooded forest in the sacred Mount Inari.

Fushimi Inari 

And on the second thought, the girl next to me looks kind of scary..

Fox, messenger of Inari .. Watching over the hill..

Location 3: Kobe

I'm not a  fan of the big city when travelling, but Kobe and Osaka are currently in my exception list. We took a train to Kobe from Kyoto and went straight to Kobe Port Tower area. The night view from the Kobe Port Tower at 108 m (354 feet) high is superb, and the tower lit up in the night sky is a symbol of Kobe. After enjoying our midnight snack at Kobe Port Tower revolving restaurant, we went to our last destination for that night, to see Tetsujin 28-go, a robot statue. It is full size, 60 feet tall and weighing in at more than 50 tons.

View from Kobe Port Tower 

Trying to pose like Tetsujin!

Japan.. A trip to remember...Part 1

It's been a while since the last time I wrote in this blog. This year had been a hectic year, busy with works and trips as well.. But till today, year of 2013  indeed is a good year for me.. :)

10 days and 9 night trip to Japan was indeed one of the best trip that I had ever been. November 1st, 2013, me and my travel buddy, boarding on the midnight flight to Kansai International Airport and started our journey exploring Japanese culture, history and beauty.

How to survive when travelling to Japan?

1. Internet connection

 The internet is a must when you are travelling in a country that you will have a language barrier with the local. We rent a mobile wifi router from Japan-wireless ( http://japan-wireless.com/products.html#mobilewifi router ) during our 10 day trip to Japan. Japan-wireless offer the cheapest price among other competitors and provide good coverage in almost all the places that we went. You can check the coverage area on the website before you make any decision. It is indeed very convenient to be able to connect through the internet all the time during travelling since you will need them to check on the train schedule and the train route.

2. Subway and train map.

You can get the map from the tourism center available in an international airport, main train station in every city and  most of the hotel provide a city map guide (subway, tourist attraction, etc.) for their guest.

3. Travel light

If you plan to cover a lot of places in a short time, you can make use of the locker storage that's available at the train station or you  can post your luggage to your next destination in order to make your travel easier.

 4. Transportation arrangement.

Decide on transportation arrangement before you travel. I personally prefer to travel by train cause it is cheaper and convenient. You can refer to http://www.japan-guide.com/and http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ before choosing the ideal transportation mode for your trip. You can check the train  (Shinkansen, JR, subway, private railway) schedule, cost, travel duration, and route by using http://www.hyperdia.com/en/.

For this trip, we went with JR 7 Days Rail Pass (¥28,300),1 Day Osaka Unlimited Pass (¥2,000) and 2 Days Kansai Thru Pass (¥5,000).

The JR Rail Pass was really convenient during our trip. We booked the seat for almost all seated train/ bullet train for free at the JR train station. Travelling in Japan by train is really simple (despite the super confusing train route in almost every city). Once you get to the train station, you can just ask any of the staff about the train departure platform number and the time of departure. Even though not all the staff can speak English, they will try  to help you to get on the right train. 

Places that we covered during our 10 day trip

Day 1

We arrived at Kansai International Airport (KIX) at 8am. We took a train to Weekly Green in Namba. Check in to the hotel. Then, we left for Osaka Castle. We spend our evening in the Osaka Bay area, had dinner there  before going to Minami (Namba) and Dotonbori area until midnight. Dotonbori area famous for its food stall. Your trip to Osaka will not complete if you aren't going to this area. 

Bird view from the plane

Kansai Airport train station

Osaka Castle

Sunset at Osaka Castle

Tempozan Park, covered by Osaka Unlimited Pass

View from the Ferris Wheel

Dotonbori Area

The famous street food in Osaka.. Takoyaki! And there's a quote says "You can eat until you drop in Dotonbori! "

Minami (Namba) area

Sabah, Negeri di bawah bayu..Part Finale

Day 5

Hari ke lima kami di Sabah, kami plan untuk ke Klias untuk melihat proboscis monkey dan juga fireflies pada malamnya. Since tour kami ke sana akan bermula jam 2 petang, kami mengambil peluang untuk mengisi waktu pagi kami ke salah satu tarikan baru di Sabah iaitu Rumah Terbalik yang terletak di Tamparuli, Sabah.

Location: Rumah Terbalik, Tamparuli, Sabah (Upside down/inverted house)
Entrance Fee: RM15 (tidak dibenarkan bergambar di dalam rumah terbalik)

Kami ke Rumah Terbalik di Tamparuli dengan menaiki taxi yang diambil di depan hotel kami.. Setelah nego dengan brader teksi tu untuk bawa kami pergi dan pulang dengan harga RM100, kami pun meneruskan perjalanan dari Kota Kinabalu ke Rumah Terbalik di Tamparuli mengambil masa lebih kurang 40 minit.

Terdapat 10 buah rumah terbalik di seluruh dunia ni iaitu di Jepun, USA, Turkey, Russia, Austria, Poland dan kini rumah terbalik (upside down house) boleh dilihat di Malaysia.

Welcome to Rumah Terbalik, Sabah!

Basikal...baju kat ampaian...sumer pun terbalik...

Pintu belakang rumah terbalik

Dengan menggunakan satu jari....:D

 Lokasi: Kampung Weston, Weston Wetland
Activities: Wildlife watching, fireflies, sunset ..

Plan kami yang asalnya mau ke Klias di divert kan ke Weston Wetland atas suggestion tour guide kami. Menurut tour guide kami, ada beberapa lokasi di selatan Sabah untuk melihat fireflies dan proboscis monkey iaitu Klias, Weston Wetland dan juga Garama. Klias memang merupakan tempat yang terkenal untuk melihat fireflies dan wildlife tapi mungkin akan agak crowded sedikit dengan tourist. Kami memilih Weston Wetland kerana menurut tour guide kami, di Weston wetland kurang tourist dan merupakan one of the best places untuk tengok sunset since Weston wetland terletak berhampiran muara sungai. 

Selamat datang ke Kampung Weston

Antara bekas tinggalan tentera British di jeti kampung ni

Proboscis Monkey..banyak di sepanjang sungai..

Sunset di muara Sungai Padas.

Kampung Weston di waktu senja.

Day 6

Location: Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (Pulau Sapi, Manukan dan Mamutik Island)
Activities: Island hopping, water sport, snorkelling

Hari terakhir kami di Sabah, pagi kami dimulakan dengan ekspedisi pulau-pulau di Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. Kami dibawa ke jeti Jesselton, sebelum menaiki bot ke pulau-pulau yang terdapat di taman  laut Tunku Abdul Rahman.

First impression kami... memang pulau-pulau di marine park ni cantik! Dengan crystal clear water ditambah dengan banyak hidupan marin memang terbaik! Jejak je kaki ke jeti pulau, gigil je kaki ni nak cepat2 masuk dalam air..hehe.. Memang x rugi kalau ke marine park sini..dah la dekat dengan dengan bandar.. bot pun murah..kalau x salah dalam RM15-30 kot..(trip island hopping ni dah termasuk dalam tour package kami sebab tu x tau harga yg sebenar)

Crystal blue water... memang membuatkan kitorang x nak keluar dari laut..;p

Kami ber para sailing..^^