Hotel Review - Park Hyatt Tokyo

October 31, 2013

On our latest journey to Japan, we stayed at one of Japan’s grandest hotels, the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which is located in Shinjuku, towering above the city with breathtaking views. Today Japlanning will take you through the hotel and how we found our stay.

The Park Hyatt Tokyo is considered by many to be Tokyo’s premier hotel experience, perched on Shinjuku's business district, just a few blocks from Shinjuku station and sitting opposite Shinjuku Central Park. The hotel sits atop the three towers of Shinjuku Park Tower.

Japlanning 101 - 100 ¥en Stores

October 22, 2013

While Japan can be considered an expensive place to visit, there are many ways to cut costs and save Yen while traveling. One of the big things you save for is shopping while in Japan, and the souvenirs you want to bring back. Today Japlanning is letting you in on a great secret to shop big and spend small on great souvenirs in Japan. It's time to look at the 100 Yen Stores.

Japan is one of the shopping meccas in the world, but sometimes you don't want to spend too much, especially on all those trinkets and typical gifts you bring home from another country for your work colleges, friends and family. Japan has thousands of 100 Yen stores where you can buy a huge range of items, and especially things that are perfect to take home for gifts; all just 100 Yen per item! The stores range in size from small corner shops to large multi-story department stores.

Beating Your Fears... and Climbing a Tree to the Sky

October 19, 2013

Last November, while venturing around Asakusa, the Japlanning team and I ventured out to the Tokyo SkyTree. After wandering around the grounds for a bit, we decided to go wait in line and perhaps make the “climb” to the top, and check out the view.

Japlanning 101 - Kappadashi-dori "Kitchen Street"

October 10, 2013

Tokyo is a shopper’s paradise, but not everyone wants to spend days shopping for the latest fashion or tech items. Well don't fret, Tokyo is the world’s shopping capital for a reason, and today Japlanning are taking you to Kappabashi-dori, or, as it is more commonly known, Kitchen Street. It's one of the largest areas in the world to buy all things for your personal or big industrial kitchen, from the best knife you will ever get for your kitchen, to the plastic food models you see in countless restaurants windows in Japan, you’re guaranteed to get a great souvenir here that will revolutionize your home kitchen, and, it’s cheap too!

Japlanning The Menu - Kobe Beef

September 29, 2013

Welcome to our new weekly series, dedicated to the vast variety and range of Japanese food. Each week we will be bringing a little information on some Japanese specialties, when and where they originate from, and the best and most accessible places in Japan to try them out. Today we are starting with what is considered the best beef in the world -- Kobe Beef.

Okay, let’s talk about food, and why not start with the best. Kobe Beef is widely considered to be the best beef you can eat in the world, and for the most part, you can only get it in Japan, and will pay a pretty penny for the privilege, however, we can tell you from experience, it is worth every last yen.

Flight Review - Thai Airways Part 1

September 22, 2013

Today Japlanning have our latest flight review for you, with our flight to Tokyo via Bangkok with Thai Airways. Thailand’s national airline has been flying since 1960, and has multiple flights per day to Bangkok from Melbourne and onwards to Tokyo. Read on to see our first part of the review, the Melbourne to Bangkok leg on a Boeing 777 aircraft. See what we loved, didn’t care for, and what Thai stood out in.

We just flew to Tokyo from Melbourne, Australia in late August, and decided to try Thai for the first time with a transit through Bangkok before heading onwards to Narita Airport, Tokyo. The 16-hour travel time was a little longer than usual direct flights from Australia, however the chance to go with a full service airline was worth the change. Thai Airways is one of the few airlines that fly out of Melbourne with a stopover with minimal wait before your flight on to Japan. Where many other airlines transit flights through other south-east Asia countries, and can leave you waiting up to 12-hours for your next flight, Thai is a convenient 90 mins between flights.