There’s no pleasing Ling sometimes. When I showed her my draft itinerary for a possible Japan trip in December to the Kansai region, she gave the sort of look that said it all “But I want to go to Hokkaido, darling… :(”
Problem is that given the timeframe of the trip – in December – the sort of spectacular sights in snowy winter is different than in say September. And unfortunately, after our skiing snafu in South Korea during our Honeymoon in 2006 – I tripped too many times and upon return back home suffered through an excruciating period of back pain – won’t really be participating in snow-centric activities. OK, so there’re still sights like dancing cranes at Tsurumidai or Ryuhyo Drift Ice Cruises so it won’t be a total loss – but still…
In any case, a colleague of mine at work was showing me his Blurb book on his Hokkaido trip, and he remarked that the SGD10K he spent on the trip was worth every cent. So, it’s back to the drawing board: created a new tab on the spreadsheet to see if I could work out another 10 day itinerary for a December-Hokkaido trip, and still keep it under budget!
Or just for kicks – I’ll also cook up an equivalent itinerary for Egypt. Just for fun.:)
hey ling, kansai/west japan (kyoto, nara, osaka, himeji, hiroshima, miyajima etc.) is REALLY nice. i have been to kyoto 6 times and i still wanna go… did u watch memoirs of a geisha on TV? u saw the bamboo grove and the last scene where she ran through traditional structures to go to the shrine??? they’re all in kyoto!!! i suggested some places to visit for my friend who went there last nov with his family for the first time and they loved it so much they want to go back again =)
ok, but hokkaido is quite nice too albeit v v cold in dec. my colleague went in dec and she said it was super cold. june/july/aug is a much better time. summer = FLOWERS GALORE! woot =)
my advice is go to kansai (if possible try nov cos autumn is AWESOME!!!) at the end of the year or hokkaido in summer.
winter will be nice in shirakawa-go, takayama and kanazawa (where i went last year but i didn’t go to kanazawa) very beautiful and the cold comfortable. i think winter in hokkaido will be too much for hannah (or me hahaha).
10 day under 10K sure can one!
ling, does it help that osaka is where the japanese crockery shop is?? =DD kyoto also has a few… near clearwater temple (kiyomizudera)… hehehe… you’d go crazy there just window-shopping (i don’t buy much cos they’re v v expensive >.<)
i <3 kansai
sheesh CY, you're getting me all excited… hahaha
Hi Ann,
You got me all excited again! :D Thanks for all the input! Will check back with you if we are decided about doing Japan :)
Ugh – you’ve given her more ideas, Ann.:(
No worries, Ann. :P I have ideas from all over the world too. Hee :)
ha? o.O? i was trying to convince ling to accept your kansai itinerary ma… sorry sorry =P