Tokyo | Japan
With so much of the world still left to see we very rarely go back to a country twice unless its china as we have family there and we usually do a short trip for shopping and food, but we spend majority of our time in a neighbouring country like the Philippines or..... Japan which is a country that I am just completely in love with. Only 3 hours on a flight from Beijing airport China makes for a convenient stopover.
Our first visit to Japan we did Tokyo and Kyoto which took up 2 weeks which is nowhere near enough time to make the most of the country. On our second visit we are exploring Osaka, flying to Ishigaku Island and then back to Tokyo for the remainder of our stay.
Here is a short guide on what we did and how we planned it. Where we stayed, what we ate and our recommendations. I will post on a few experiences in more detail on a separate article so look out for those.
We landed in Tokyo Haneida airport and picked up our JR (Japan Rail) and took a 2 hour and 20 minutes
Osaka
Intercontinental Osaka
Osaka is a perfect pitstop on route to Ishigaki Island, you can get a shuttle service which is conveniently located right next to Osaka station and it will take you straight to airport. The staff here at this hotel are extremely accommodating and the hotel itself is very family friendly. We stayed in a suite on the VIP floor and had access to the private members lounge serving afternoon tea and speciality beverages.
Swiss Hotel
Swiss Hotel was booked for our accommodation for our return from Ishigaki and also because we wanted to do a day trip to Nara from here and it is well located for the train station that will take us there.
Ishigaki
Intercontinental Ishigaku Island Resort
One of my favourite features of this resort was the spa. Nominated as one of the best spas in the world for 2018 I could see why. After a week of travelling I enjoyed a much needed facial and a body scrub here. After each treatment you are greeted with local black sugar, hotel speciality tea and exotic fruit. The spa also offers yoga in the early mornings on the beach Which is exhilarating and also at a time the heat is bearable
Very family friendly hotel we took advantage of the kids club and the outdoor pool. There are also 4 restaurants on site to vhoose from
Hyatt Centric Ginza
Ginza is an area in Tokyo known as London’s equivalent of Mayfair. You will find it very family friendly here with lots of activities for kids. Food options you'll be spoilt for choice and of course if you want tax free luxury shopping the boutiques are well worth a visit as they are like beautiful art galleries with wonderfully designed buildings and decorative installations.
