Lucille Wong

  • Getting nude in Hakone

    My friend Ange and I were in Hakone, one hour train ride from bustling Toks. Hakone is in a volcanically active national park, surrounded by mountains. The temperature drops, the crowd disappears and the restaurants literally close at 7pm. Tokyo-ians come to escape the city life. International visitors come for the best views of Mount…

  • Lost, hungry and cold at the Tsukiji fish market

    The Tsukiji fish market features on many “must-do” lists for Tokyo. I might be missing something here but I found the fish market, unlike the rest of Japan, to be somewhat underwhelming. NOTE: I did not go at 5am to see the tuna auction because there was no guarantee that you would get in. There…

  • 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…

  • 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…