It’s almost that time of the year again! Japanese sakura, or cherry blossoms, bloom only on March/April. Japan Guide’s forecast is that the flowers will bloom several days earlier than the last, with Tokyo opening on March 21, Kyoto on March 22, and Osaka on March 23.

A hanami is a cherry blossom viewing party. It’s usually held during lunchtime, and they bring their food to have picnics under the cherry trees.

Popular cherry blossom spots include Ueno Park, Shinjuku Goen, Sankeien Garden, Sumida Park, Nagoya Castle, Maruyama Park, Daigoji Temple, Osaka Castle, EXpo 70 Commemorative Park, and Yamazakigawa Riverside.

Non-Japanese gamers may already be acquainted with Shibuya through games like “The World Ends with You” and “Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor”. It’s no wonder that it’s become one of the most popular locations used in games, because the district boasts of a lot of tourist attractions that would appeal to people, no matter what the age, gender, or race. 

The statue of Hachikō, the famous Akita dog loyal to his master, remains one of the most popular spots of the area. Fashion-forward women need to look no further than Shibuya 109 for their shopping needs. Harajuku always has something to offer for the youth looking for new things. Want a taste of culture? Drop by the Bunkamura building to catch a play or a concert! However, if you’re looking for a quiet place to be at, the Meiji Shrine is open to visitors for meditation. The scramble crossing is yet another famous landmark of Shibuya, its large TV screens and busy pedestrian crossings known even to the non-residents of Shibuya.

Original image from Siliconera.

All these and more can be found in Shibuya, so if you’re looking for an adventure, hop on a plane and visit there now!

82-year-old Hello Kitty creator, Shintaro Tsuji shares his philosophy on life and business on FT.com. This rare interview with the successful businessman includes some of his success stories that will surely become an inspiration to all.

Find out more at FT.com.

If you are heading to Japan and looking for cute Hello Kitty merchandise, don’t miss the below link! You will find the shop list of Sanrio in Japan (with addresses and maps) and even the eight recommended shops with pictures! Make sure you bookmark it!

http://www.sanrio.co.jp/shoppinginjapan/english/shop/index.html

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading the Hello Kitty’s Travel Japan Blog! It is very common for tourists to visit Tokyo, Hokkaido and even Okinawa nowadays, but have you ever visited Tohoku?

Tohoku actually consists of six provinces including the famous Aomori. Tohoku is not a cosmopolitan area but it has its breathtaking scenery – including the Autumn’s red leaves…Hope you like our photos below!

Niseko2000 Blog

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/cywbetty

It was ok to travel Japan with my son, so I think I will even go with my younger son next time. I didn’t buy a lot of clothes as things were not on sale. You can see what I bought below:

snacks

See the black box? The sesame cake was very yummy!

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Niseko2000 Blog

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/cywbetty

December 25th

I was going back to Hong Kong today. We took the airport bus at 1pm. There was one thing that I didn’t like about Sunroute Hotel – the bus schedule was not good! We didn’t have to go to the airport early like this. What’s more, the airport bus only allowed us to have two luggages each.

We were running short of time so we went to Odakyu Department Store. I bought something in Agnis b, including some tees for kids, some clothes for men and a handbag.

Sunroute Hotel Shinjuku

Lucky draw at Sanrio

Barbie

You can see that he didn’t like this…

The airport restaurant – the food was not bad

The stores at the aiport

Niseko2000 Blog

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/cywbetty

December 25th

Recommended by Miss To, we went to eat chicken wings at night. The wings were yummy but we weren’t enough for us so we went to eat sushi after that.

The salad dressing was good

Entree – 400Yen per head but it was really nice

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Niseko2000 Blog

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/cywbetty

December 25th

We went shopping  at Harajuku and Shibuya today.

This photo was taken at Takeshita Dori street.

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Niseko2000 Blog

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/cywbetty

Dec 24th Silent Night

We left Kidzania and went shopping at Lalaport. I found that a large number of people went to Kidzania during the afternoon – maybe we were quite late in the morning so we didn’t see the long queue. I got an email from my sister and we would meet at Marui Building (0101 Department Store). We then went to Agnis b and surprisingly, there were some discounted merchandise. As I remembered, sale usually started after January 2nd and it was just late December at that time! The discounted items were not good though. I only bought a recycle bag and some accessories as gifts. After that, we went to H & M, museum and Burberry Blue Label. It was dinner time then. My kid was so tired so he slept in the car, though he didn’t sleep long. He kept crying whenever he woke up. We went back to hotel by cap. It cost us 2,700 Yen.

Christmas tree and artificial snow outside 0101 Department Store

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