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Last year in April, I visited Kansai region for the second time. The first time I visited the Japan was almost 10 years ago with a guided tour. This time, I'm back on my own (with a friend), traveling through Kyoto, Otsu, Nara, Kobe, and Osaka for 10 days. I arrived at the end of the cherry blossom season and right before Japan's big holiday, Golden Week. Yes, it was intentional, I wanted to avoid the crowd of tourist coming to see the cherry blossom in the area and also avoid the crowd of locals traveling on their holiday. About Kansai Region (http://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1105.html) Kansai Region is located to the southwest of Tokyo. It consist of 7 prefecture (equivalent of a district). The 4 biggest cities in the region are Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Nara. Kyoto was the old capital of Japan from 794 to 1868 until it was moved to Tokyo. Osaka is the second largest area second to Tokyo. Nara was Japan's first permanent capital, established in the year 710. Be

Colorful house of Alfama District Day 3 Today is my last full day in Lisbon. The last area we explored was the Alfama district, the oldest district in Lisbon. There are many important buildings in this district including: Lisbon Cathedral, Castelo de S. Jorge, National Panthenon, and St. Antony's Church. The district can be reached in 2 ways. One, taking tram 15E or the famous 28 tram. The other way is by your own will-power walking up the steep hill of the district. I took tram 15E from Paça Figueira square, located near Rossio Train Station, to Largo das Portas do Sol Station. Don't worry if you don't know where to get off, just get off at the station everyone else gets off. 💡Tip: Start your day early, especially during the weekends. Tram 28 tends to be more popular than 15E. Both takes you to the same location.       Alfama district panoramic view from Portas Do Sol  After getting off the tram (15E) at the top of the hill, you will be struck with the a

Day 2 Today we're heading west toward the end of continental Europe. We're spending our day in Sintra and Cascais.  We started off our morning trying another egg tart bakery. Manteigaria Fábrica de Pastéis de Nata. This place was recommended by a friend who has visited Lisbon before. We bought a total of 8 egg tarts (2 for each person) to take on our journey to Sintra . We actually missed the train and had an hour to spare. It was a 20 minute trip from Rossio Train Station . Manteigaria Fábrica de Pastéis de Nata egg tarts To get to the Sintra  we had to take the Linha de Sintra line, which departs from Rossio Train Station. Because we plan to visit both Sintra and Cascais , we bought a one day ticket which include return train ticket from Lisbon to and from  Sintra or Cascais, and unlimited ride on the local buses. The one-day ticket cost €15. You could also choose to purchase the train and bus ticket separately. Round trip train ticket to and from Sintra cost €4.30.

Right after our brutal 2 week exam period, me and my friend hop on a flight to Lisbon. My main motive for visiting Lisbon was for my initial love for egg tart ( Pastel de Nata ). We escaped the 3℃ (37℉) weather of Manchester, UK to the lovely 16℃ (60℉) winter in Lisbon. Day 1 After getting through the airport we got ourselves a rechargeable transportation card and hop on the bus heading to city center. The airport was only about 6 miles from city center and it can be reached through either bus, city bus, or the metro. In our case, bus was the cheapest (€1.40) and the fastest (around 15 minutes). After finishing lunch we visited Miradouro de Sãopedro de Alcântara, one of the many view point in Lisbon. Here you can get a clear view of the whole city specially the Alfama Neighbourhood.  We were greeted by a rainbow upon arrival at the view point São George Castle up on the hill surrounded by Alfama neighbourhood  💡Tip: For those planning to use public transportation to g