Lucille Wong

  • How to spend your yen

    Shopping is a national sport in Japan, especially in the capital of Tokyo. If you can’t buy it in Toks, it probably doesn’t exist. So what should you buy? Here are my top five:  ¥100 novelty items. There are thousands of ¥100 shops all over Japan. They sell household goods and stationery. Each item is…

  • So many temples, so little time

    Kyoto has thousands of temples and shrines including 17 UNESCO world heritage sites.  According to the very handsome young man at the capsule hotel, all of them is the “most beautiful.” Unless you are a temple buff, you’re unlikely to see them all. Here are my top three: Kinkaku-ji is the distinctively gold temple surrounded…

  • Staying in a ryokan

    A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. They’re typically floored with tatami mats and equipped with sliding doors. They have rollout futons rather than beds. A high end ryokan would be made exclusively of organic materials such as wood, grass, bamboo and stone. Rooms would come with private gardens and bathtubs filled with water from…

  • Is a JR pass worth it?

    The Japan Rail (JR) pass allows unlimited travel on any JR service in Japan. This includes most shinkansen (bullet trains), JR buses and JR ferries. This pass is available to foreign tourists and Japanese overseas residents. It must be pre-purchased outside of Japan and many travellers assume it would be convenient and good value. If…

  • Staying in a ‘luxury’ capsule in Kyoto

    The ‘luxury capsule’ is perfect for the traveller who wants the capsule experience with some additional comforts. Traditionally, capsule hotels have targeted drunken Japanese businessmen who have missed the last train home. These hotels offer coffin-sized ‘rooms’ stacked on top of each other. Each capsule is generally equipped with a single mattress, power point, clock,…