11-Days of Free and Easy: Japan (Tokyo Highlights), Tokyo, Japan

With its deep cultural heritage inter-weaved with technology advancements, Japan is an extremely dynamic country with many self-contradictory aspects.

Japan is one of the most desirable travel addresses in Asia though its relatively high cost means that it would burn a rather big hole in the pocket.

Thus, when the Japanese Yen started weakening from late-2012, it was the trigger for budget conscious travellers like myself to embark on our Japanese adventures. In addition, Japan being a safe and organised environment, I figured it’ll make my job of “baby-sitting” the kids easier.

The language barrier used to be a reason why some visitors to Japan chooses to visit via guided tours; as compared going “free & easy”. However, as I realised from my recently concluded trip, this concern is generally unfounded.

Most tourism related businesses and public transportation entities have staffs that are able to converse in basic English. Almost all tourist attractions and stations/stops that I’ve come across are clearly labelled in English. In fact, many public transport modes (e.g trains, buses) announces their stations/stops in both languages; albeit via recordings. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).