Japan is expected to reopen to foreign travellers in months. If you are planning to travel to Japan anytime soon and don’t know where to go, here are suggestions of where to go in this historic and wonderful country.
Osaka, Japan
Osaka
The charming metropolitan city of Osaka is a metropolitan city and home to most of country’s outgoing citizens. While first-time travellers mostly skip this place but for those who have been to Japan, the second largest metropolitan is a much-loved city by repeat visitors for its great food and nightlife.
Hiroshima
Hiroshima is a historic site because the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped at the end of World War II and destroying the city in an instant. Visitors can go to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum that is located in the Peace Park near the A-Bomb Dome.
Tokyo
Japan’s capital is considered the world’s most exciting and eclectic city. It doesn’t need a further introduction as Tokyo is a known tourist introduction. When you visit the country, you will be able to visit great restaurants, amazing architecture, beautiful backstreets, and neon-filled cityscape.
Kumano Kodo
Take a walk in the Kumano Kodo. The place is filled with spirituality and history where beautiful landscapes and charming villages are blended. Walking along the pilgrimage route can be one of the most enchanting walks visitors can have. Kumano Kodo is part of a Dual Pilgrim program known as Camino de Santiago.
Mount Koya
Mount Koya is considered one of the best places in Japan to experience a Buddhist temple stay. Visitors can stay in a temple lodging known as shukubo and visit one of their famous landmark Okunoin Cemetery.
Are you thinking to travel without a companion? What are your goals as you travel by yourself? If you plan to travel alone, here are some recommended places where you can go on singles vacations.
Planning for a singles vacation?
Resorts for singles
If you’re a single man or woman and are ready to plan a solo, you can find great resorts offering unforgettable singles escape. For instance, Transat’s Solo Collection and Mistral Hotel in Greece each won a Solo Travel Award for the packages they provided this group of people.
Solo cruises
A single cruise vacation is ideal as many cruises these days have single cabins. They are mostly booked out quickly so you might need to book and plan beforehand if you want to see what a cruise can give you.
Scheduled tours for solo travellers
Another ideal option for solo travellers is self-guided tours or un-tour where the tour company will do all the planning for you. You can just be there on the tour time and enjoy the destination on your own schedule.
Slow travel tours
Book a relaxing vacation on a slow tour to one or two cities. Since this will not require you to move around too much, you have the opportunity to meet more people easier. If you are a physically active traveller, you can search for tours with biking and hiking.
Health retreats for solo travellers
You may want to take charge of your health and well-being by going to a solo wellness retreat. Get a good break from your busy schedule, you may go for a week yoga.
Learn something new
Solo travellers can learn something new. Why not test yourself and learn something new such as stand up paddleboarding, surfing, kayaking, and more? Your vacation time can be a good learning experience for you. Learning new things while on travel help relaxes mentally and fun experience.
Taking on a home renovation is no easy task. For the inexperienced, they will definitely find it to be an overwhelming project. Like any large project or task, the best way to attack a renovation is with a well laid out plan, broken down into smaller, bite-size steps.
This often starts with gathering some inspiration from other homes you see. When you can visualise the end result you’re looking for, it can make it much easier to reverse engineer your goals.
If you’re looking for a modern feel to your home, why not start by locating some local display home villages in your area? These are a great way to look & touch the real thing, and get an idea on some products and concepts that may be useful to you.
For something more traditional, you may want to visit some open homes for sale, or start collecting Homes & Garden magazines, where you should definitely find some properties that will resonate with you.
The next step may be to bring in an Architect or Designer to refine your ideas into a more solid plan. These professionals usually have many contacts for products and services you’re going to need to get the renovation completed with minimal fuss. Be sure when researching to check out the Designers previous work and if you can, have a chat to some previous customers to find out what type of experience they had when utilising their services.
Your concepts and ideas should be used to form a brief of the project. This is really just a fancy word for gathering your ideas and inspiration, and then also creating a prioritised list of the features and your goals for the project. Your Designer will then have a clear idea of your priorities, which is extremely important during this planning stage.
Something else that needs to be discussed at this point is finances. You will also need to discuss and outline your financial budget to the Designer or Architect, as this will form an integral basis for other decisions moving forward.
A lack of planning and open discussion on the brief and the budget can spell disaster further down the track, with budget blowouts being a common occurrence when not enough attention is given to this early on.
You may now look towards having some Concept Drawings created. These will help to visualise your renovation before commencing any works. Sometimes these can be costly, but trust me, you need to be 100% clear on the end result before doing anything else. It also gives the opportunity to see potential issues and make amendments accordingly.
Once you’ve nailed down the concept, it’s time to prepare what is commonly referred to as Working Drawings. This is where the nitty gritty is, laying out all dimensions, products etc to be used, and in most cases you will need to submit these to your local council for approval. Don’t skip this step. You may find there will be alterations that need to be made before commencing work.
Alright, now you need a Builder. Definitely talk to people you know in the area who have previously completed a renovation, and get some referrals if you can. Make sure your Builder has all correct licences and insurances in place. Your builder should have plenty of good contacts with all trades needed like plumbers and electricians.
Be sure to fully vett any building contracts, in particular any terms and conditions that allow for variance in quoted pricing. Have some legal advice on this one.
Even if you feel you have a handle on these options, be sure to consult professionals & satisfy yourself that the people you’re working with are the best for the job. There’s no second chances here, and renovating is a large investment in most cases, so do your due diligence ahead of time and save yourself the headache of a poorly planned project.
