Expedia’s Best and Worse Tourists

My last blog post was about the Best Cities to Live.  But what about the people who visit these cities?  A study by travel company Expedia asked 4,500 hotels worldwide to rank tourists on their behavior.

Like the past 2 years, the hoteliers worldwide named that Japanese as the world’s best tourists.  They were ranked not only as the quietest and most polite, but also the cleanest and least likely to complain (which I can attest to after living in Japan for over 1.5 years now).  The top 10 are:

1. Japan
2. Britain
3. Canada
4. Germany
5. Switzerland
6. Holland
7. Australia
8. Sweden
9. USA
10. Denmark

On the flip side, French hold the unenviable reputation for being the world’s worst tourists.  According to hoteliers, as well as being the most frugal and meanest tippers, they can also lay claim to being the most impolite tourists – ouch!

For more details, read the recent BBC news article titled Rude French are worst tourists.  Who do you think are the best and worse tourists that you have encountered at home and/or in your travels?

Best Cities To Live

Late last year, I blogged about Tokyo topping the Michelin Restaurant Guide.  3 global surveys on the best cities to live were just recently published.  Obviously, we each have our own personal favorite city to live in and we are certainly free to agree or disagree with these rankings.  Which do you think is the best city to live in?

Mercer

The Mercer Consulting Quality of Living ranking covers 215 cities, using data collected between September to November 2008, evaluating local living conditions in cities it surveys worldwide.  Living conditions are analyzed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories such as political and social environment, economic environment, socio-cultural environment, health and sanitation,education, public services and transportation, recreation, consumer goods, housing, natural environment.

In 2009, Vienna, Zurich and Geneva topped the list, with Vancouver and Auckland rounding out the top 5.  Tokyo was ranked 35.  Toronto was ranked 15.  Compared to 2008, there did not seem to be any significant changes.  There were many European cities (except for cities in the UK and France) in the top 20, along with a few cities in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  Singapore was the top Asian city at 26 (Tokyo was second) while Honolulu was the highest ranking US city at 29.

Asia fared better in the cities offering the best infrastructure, with Singapore topping the list and Tokyo coming in at 12.

Economist Intelligence Unit

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Liveability Ranking covers 140 cities worldwide by assigning a score for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, infrastructure.

In 2009, 6 Canadian and Australian cities ranked in top 10, with Vancouver, Vienna, Melbourne, Toronto and Perth in the top 5.  I couldn’t tell where Tokyo was ranked unless I bought the report for US$250 – I passed.

Monocle

The Monocle Liveability Ranking is the newest survey but is similar to Mercer and EIU.  Covering only a short list of 40 cities, “in addition to looking at obvious cut-and-dried statistics such as average salaries, school performance and healthcare costs … the network of researchers to consider softer issues – physical and technological connectivity, tolerance, the strength of local media and culture and, of course, late-night eating and entertainment options.”

In 2009, Zurich was ranked 1 (was ranked 4 in 2008) with Copenhagen, Tokyo, Munich and Helsinki rounding out the top 5.   There were several European, Australian and Canadian cities in the top 25, with 3 Japanese cities (Tokyo, Kyoto and Fukuoka).  Honolulu was the top US city at 11.

Shonan Tanabata (Star) Festival

This time of the year, you will see decorated bamboo poles throughout Japan.  These decorated bamboo are called Tanabata Kazari, representing the Japanese star festival called Tanabata (“Evening of the seventh”) celebrated on July 7th.  Even Google Japan updated their image on their search page.

The day celebrates the legend of the couple, Orihime (represented by the star Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair) who are separated by the Milky Way, and are allowed to meet only once a year by crossing the river of the Milky Way.  People celebrate this day by holding festivals, writing wishes on small pieces of paper called tanzaku and hanging them on bamboo.

One of the largest festivals of the summer in Japan is the Shonan Tanabata Festival in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, about a 70 minute train ride from Tokyo Station. 

Streets are decorated with Tanabata ornaments and strips of rainbow-colored paper, and many other glittering oddities of fanciful design are lit up at night.

 

There are over 3,000 decorated bamboo posts in the area, with 500 in the city center and 90 luxury posts in the Shonan Star Mall main venue.

Some are as large at 10 meters incorporating decorative features such as major characters, animals, athletes and trendy ornaments.  Very colorful and creative indeed.

As with any Japanese festival, there are many food and drink stalls, games such as goldfish scooping and local items for sale.

There were also marching bands, baton twirlers, dancers and various performers during the festival event.

Aoyama Gujo Odori

The Gujo Odori dance festival is one of the three most important traditional dance festivals in Japan and is designated a Significant Intangible Cultural Folk Asset by the Japanese government.  The Aoyama Gujo Odori festival was held at the Baisoin Temple in Minami-Aoyama on June 27-28, 2009.

Endo Yoshitaka started the Gujo Odori festival in the Tokugawa Period over 400 years ago in an attempt to encourage all the town’s citizens to get together, regardless of social level or position. This spirit remains today as the heart and soul of this popular summer dance festival.

Participants wear the light cotton, traditional yukata and wooden geta sandals, but regular street or casual clothes are just as welcome.

There are ten Gujo Odori songs. Songs are danced in a specific order, however, not every song is danced every night.

Local specialties of the Gujo-Hachiman area were also on sale during the period.

Japan in the News: Emperor and Empress Visit to Canada

On July 1, Canadians celebrated Canada Day.  A few days later, the Emperor and Empress of Japan began their historic 12 day visit to Canada, as no head of the Japanese monarchy has ever been to Canada.

Please read the full Globe and Mail article (Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper) written by Bill Curry.

According to the article, a number of Japanese media have traveled to cover the tour.  Aside from the obvious political reasons, hopefully, this visit gives more visibility about Canada to the local Japanese people.

 

Picture above is from the the Globe and Mail article.

Japan Love Hotels

CNN recently reported that love hotels are thriving despite the recession in Japan.  Rooms can be rented for three to 24 hours and some hotels have an occupancy rate of over 250%.

Fellow Japan blogger Quirky Japan Blog wrote a book about Love Hotels in Japan.  Please visit his site.

Below are a few pictures of love hotels that I took in Shinkuju.

Trip to Bali – Part 2

… continued from Part 1. 

Although we stayed in our resort hotel for most of the time, we did manage to do a little bit of sightseeing during our visit to Bali. 

We hired a driver from the hotel (costing about US$13/hour) to take us to a few places near Nusa Dua.  There were lots of motorcycles on the road as you can see from the video below (Did you see the family of 3 riding a motorcycle at 00:17?)

Garuda Wisnu Kencana

Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK for short) is a private cultural park devoted to the Hindu god Vishnu, and his mount, Garuda, the mythical bird who is his companion. 

According to Wikipedia, the statue of Vishnu is 23 m high, “although the original plan was for a 146 meter gold plated Vishnu riding Garuda on top of an 11 storey entertainment complex.”  Apparently, the developers ran out of money to finish building this complex.

Uluwatu Temple

Uluwatu Temple (Pura Uluwatu) is one of Bali’s six directional temples, perched on a steep cliff 70 meters above the roaring ocean waves. 

There are more steep headlands on either side, and sunsets over Uluwatu are a sight to behold, one of the most popular and photographed Bali tourist attractions (you don’t believe me, just do a Flickr search).

Kecak Ramayana and Fire dance (aka "monkey dance") performances are held at the temple daily between 6-7 pm.  It is a combination of ancient ritual, dance and drama, held at sunset.  Entrance fee is an additional Rp 50,000 (about US$5).

Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot is one of the most famous temples in Bali and is very popular with tourists especially at the sunset.  The temple (currently closed for renovations) sits on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide.  Tanah Lot means "Land in the middle of the sea" in Balinese.

Jimbaran

Jimbaran is a fishing village and tourist resort in Bali, widely known for the fresh seafood restaurants that are scattered along the beach.  It was also the site of the 2005 Bali bombings, where a bomb exploded in one of the restaurants killing a number of tourists.

Trip to Bali – Part 1

Bali is an island in Indonesia, a very popular tourist destination.  With a population of over 3 million, it is approximately 8 degrees south of the equator.  East to west, the island is about 153 km (95 mi) wide and spans about 112 km (69 mi) north to south.

Flying Japan Airlines (JAL), it took about 7 hours from Tokyo (Narita Airport) to Denpasar (Ngurah Rai Airport), the capital of Bali.  Upon arrival at Denpasar, we were greeted by the hotel staff who took us to a reception area in the airport, served us some light refreshments, took care of our visa and luggage, drove us to the hotel in a Mercedes Benz SUV – what a great way to start a vacation!

We stayed at the beautiful and luxurious St. Regis Bali Resort in Nusa Dua, about 40 kilometres from Denpasar.  This is a newly opened hotel (less than a year old) with 123 suites and villas.  There were many guests from Australia, Russia and China.

 

All vehicles entering the resort were subjected to a complete security inspection before passing the impressive hotel gate entrance.  Also, twice a week, between 5-7 pm, they fumigate the entire area to get rid of mosquitoes, bugs and other creepy crawlers – there are indeed a lot of bugs in Bali.

We stayed at one of the spacious Ocean View Suites, with panoramic views of the lush gardens and white-sand beaches from the balcony.

 

Included in our room rate was a la carte breakfast in the Boneka lobby restaurant. 

Renowned as one of the best breakfasts in Bali, it features a fresh, seasonal, and wonderfully varied menu embracing influences from east to west.  It was simply delicious – what a great way to start the day!

 

 

There was steak and eggs, dim sum, sashimi, crepes, fruits and porridge.

One of the resort’s most appealing features is its beach front location, with azure waters and soft white sands.

Since there are no resorts on either side of The St. Regis Bali Resort, the beach was very private, populated only with resort guests.  Every day brought clear blue skies with temperatures around 30C, low humidity and a gentle breeze.

The Swimmable Lagoon Pool featured two thatched gazebos with Jacuzzis and a splashing water fountain feature.  You can also access the lagoon pool directly from some of the villas.

In the middle of the lagoon, the wooden deck is a favorite place for sunning.

 

Lined by bale bengongs along one side and grassland and white sand beaches on another, the main pool’s setting is spectacular, with the Vista swim up bar.

 

The well renowned Remède Spa offers full relaxing massages.

The 2,800 square metre spa includes 12 treatment rooms, a salon and two beautiful Spa Suites, with a moon and butterfly theme throughout.

Other amenities on the property include a beach side restaurant, library, money changer and a deli.

Finally, a torch lighting show is held every evening at sunset – see also the video below.

  

To be continued …

Pepsi Shiso

Japan is certainly an interesting place to live.  For example, you will find many different and unique types of flavorings in various food products such as chocolates (Kit Kat), potato chips, snacks and drinks.

With fellow Japan bloggers TokyoFive and BusanKevin (also others listed recently in JapanProbe) trying out the new Pepsi Shiso (just available only a week ago in Tokyo), I thought I would also give it a try to find out what the commotion was all about.

 

According to Wikipedia, the Japanese name for perilla is shiso (紫蘇), a green leafy herb often eaten with sashimi or cut into thin strips in salads, spaghetti, and meat and fish dishes.  Interesting, but what about as a drink?

 

First problem, it’s green!  Well, it doesn’t taste like cola or any Pepsi I have tasted at all.  It tastes like a minty herbal drink.  Everyone in the family had a sip, and it was a unanimous thumbs down

Outliers: The Story of Success

Outliers: The Story of Success is the latest book written by Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point and Blink, both books I have previously read), examines why some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential.

Gladwell uses a wide variety of interesting stories as examples to prove his theory including Bill Gates (and other Silicon Valley billionaires), the Beatles, New York lawyers, Canadian hockey players and Asian math whizzes.  His main theory is that while talent and genius are needed, success is also influenced by other factors such as cultural legacy, luck, special opportunity and hard work (ie. you need over 10,000 hours of practice).

This book is very typical and similar to Gladwell’s previous books, so if you liked those, then you will probably like this one as well.  It is a short, but fairly interesting read and I would recommend it.  As with these types of books, you certainly are free to make up your own mind, to agree or disagree with the authors theories.