World Top 5 City Destinations

This post is just my personal opinion based on the place that I have visited so far. Some of the places maybe better than the places that I mentioned below but just because I haven't visit the place, doesn't mean the place is not nice. Each places below are rated based on 5 major criteria namely place of attraction, food, shopping options, cultural uniqueness and ease of travelling by public transport.

No 5: Munich (Score:38)

Awesome attractions which includes castle and concentration camp. Much history to learn from the city especially during the Nazi era. Being the largest city in Bavaria, the city is also the richest in Germany. Munich is well known for its annual Oktoberfest. The city has among the tastiest beer in the world. Munich always ranked high on the most liveable city list. The food with famous pork knuckles with beautiful historical architecture and people are polite as well.

Place of attraction:8/10
Food:8/10
Shopping:6/10
Cultural:8/10
Transportation:8/10


Marienplatz during sunset.

Crispy pork knuckles with beer and Sauerkraut. Eating at English garten in hot sun.

BMW city.

Neuschwanstein Castle is just 2 hours trip away via train.

Water rafting in the middle of Munich. Heavy flow of water inside English Garten.

No 4: San Francisco (Score:41)

San Francisco is a city which have fantastic view as the surrounding area hilly. Its walkable from one attraction to the others as the city small size. Famous for the Golden Gate Bridge, the weather in San Francisco is always foggy and it have a nickname of city by the bay. As the location near the sea and hilly, there is always constant breeze around the city makes travelling very comfortable in San Francisco. Food wise is delicious and good quality. Its also a city which is very liberal with many gay and lesbian restaurants.

Place of attraction:8/10
Food:9/10
Shopping:7/10
Cultural:9/10
Transportation:8/10


Pier 39 of San Francisco.

Delicious lamb shank at Olea San Francisco.

Balmy Street Murals. Virtual outdoor art gallery featuring colourful murals featuring expression of outrage over human rights and political abuse in central America.

Should not miss the icon of San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge.

No 3: Kyoto (Score:42)

Kyoto was Japan capital for more than 10 decades. The city have many historical attractions which is currently listed in UNESCO World Heritage sites. You will be amazed that more than 10 sites listed as World Heritage sites. Besides many old and historical buildings, it have a full functional Gion district which you still can watch working geisha walking around. During spring and autumn, this city boast the best cherry blossom and autumn foliage respectively in the World. You will be amazed at how beautiful it is during spring and autumn in Kyoto. The city is not as busy as Tokyo and very suitable for those who like to travel on slower pace to enjoy the scenery and learn about Japan traditional culture.

Place of attraction:10/10
Food:8/10
Shopping:6/10
Cultural:10/10
Transportation:8/10


Famous Fushimi Inari temple.

Beautiful autumn foliage at Maruyama park Kyoto.

Autumn foliage red colours at Nanzenji temple.

Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji). Its one of the UNESCO World Heritage site in Kyoto.

No 2: Paris (Score:45)

Paris itself is full of attraction. From the famous Eiffel tower to world class art museums. The city also have unique cafes which you can have a seat to enjoy the view while having tea or snacks. People here seems to relax and enjoying their life with spurge of luxury shops and high end dining places. Famous landmarks such as Louvre Museum and Notre Dame are in Paris. Do enjoy this city of romance.

Place of attraction:10/10
Food:9/10
Shopping:9/10
Cultural:10/10
Transportation:8/10


Inside Notre-Dame.

Paris at night.

Love lock bridge.

Luxury shopping and ladies heaven of Louis Vuitton.

Impressive architecture inside Palace of Versailles.

No 1: Tokyo (Score:45)

Tokyo is the largest megalopolis in the world with modern living but in old fashioned manners. Super huge city but still clean and people are polite. Amazing food selection and best quality with suits every budget levels. I have been visiting Tokyo on multiple occasion but still haven't tasted anything bad yet. Book shops are everywhere and filled with manga and special interest magazines. The transportation system is unmatchable by other cities in term of punctuality and comprehensive coverage. Traditional looking shrines and stone lanterns also scattered around the cities with amazing selection of shopping malls, ramen shops, huge high tech electrical stores and brightly lited pharmacies. Weird fashion and the hippest can be found in Tokyo especially in Harajuku and Shibuya area where youngsters gather. In 2015, Monocle magazine has ranked Tokyo as the most liveable city in the world.

Place of attraction:8/10
Food:10/10
Shopping:9/10
Cultural:8/10
Transportation:10/10


Abundance of fresh and unique seafood. Here you can have fresh sea urchin and huge fresh oysters.

Fresh wasabi.

Ginza famous shopping district.

Cool leather jacket easily available.

Traditional wedding in Meiji shrine.

Kyoto kaiseki meal from Minokichi @ Tobu Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese multi-course meal. The meal originated from many centuries ago in the simple meals served at tea ceremony but later evolved into extensive dining style with multi-course items. From kaiseki meals, special skills and techniques are required to prepare the meal which are carefully presented on plates that are chosen to enhance the appearance and seasonal theme of the meal. Dishes are beautifully arranged and garnished with leaves and flowers. Edible garnishes are added to resemble natural flora and fauna. We were amazed with the service here from the time we walk in until we left which is outstanding.

Taste:8/10(Delicious. The sashimi in the bento set is the best item. The food overall were good and balanced presentation of food).
Price:5/10(Near expensive. The bento set kaiseki lunch cost 2,160 Yen including 8% consumption tax).


The meal starts off with tofu sesame as appetizer.

The meal comes in the form of bento box.


This is what the bento box contains.

Grilled fish, tamago, prawn, tofu and some seasonal ingredient.

delicate bean curd, sashimi, tofu and dessert of fruits and vegetables.

Vegetable soup.

Rice with crab meat.

Pickled vegetables.

This slice of sashimi fish is amazingly good.

Some form of fish cake wrapped using leaves.

The staff there are so concern and helpful. They even have nice cloth to cover their customer bag to avoid any food which may drop on it.


Very nice restaurant and outstanding service.

Promotional set menu.

Food model on the display. Don't know Japanese, no problem. Just order by seeing what you like here.

Coordinate/GPS: 35.730823, 139.710297
Address : Spice Ikebukuro Tobu Bldg. 15F 1-1-25 Nishi-ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0021
Phone: +81(3)3980-8855
Public transport : 3 minutes on foot from Ikebukuro Station on the JR, Subway or Tobu Tojo line. (Take the west exit).

Budget Kyoto Trip Itinerary - 5 Days 4 Night - Autumn season

Kyoto was once the capital city of Japan. With such as great long history, it has many shrines and temples around. It has become one of the Japan major tourist city. For those who like to view autumn foliage, Kyoto is the best place in the world to view that. During autumn, many parts of Kyoto has transformed into colourful surroundings. Do make sure you arrive here around November to December each year to have the best autumn foliage view. Kyoto however like many cities in Japan is not cheap. However, I have outline my trip with budget in mind. Below are the list of places that I covered during my visit to Kyoto and hope that you will find it useful.


Colourful and recognizable Fushimi Inari shrine.

Beautiful autumn foliage.

Geisha in sight...

Landmark of Kyoto.

Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Night
Day 1 (Fri)	1. Arrival 7.15am at Kansai International Airport via MH52 2. Taking bus from Kansai International Airport to Kyoto 3. Check in at Backpacker's Hostel Tour Club	1. Lunch at Nakau 2. Higashi-Hongan-ji Temple. A short walk from Kyoto Station.	1. Fushimi Inari shrine	1. Dinner. Musashi sushi 2. Shijo shopping street 3. Shin Kyogoku Shopping Arcade
Day 2 (Sat)	1. Breakfast at Nakau 2. Beautiful autumn foliage at Tofukuji temple	1. Gion - Geisha District of Kyoto 2. Yasaka Shrine 3. Maruyama Park 4. Lunch. Traditional Kyoto Tofu at Tousuiro Gion	1. Kiyomizudera temple 2. Yatsuhashi souvenir 3. Yatsuhashi cream puff (yam flavour)	1. Dinner. Oyako-Don of Hisago 2. Kodaiji temple autumn night illumination
Day 3 (Sun)	1. Kyoto station with rooftop garden	1. Arashiyama not just bamboo forest	1. Sunset view of Kinkakuji temple (Golden Pavilion)	1. Dinner. Soba dinner set at Polta food court, Kyoto Station 2. Night view of Kyoto station with Christmas feel.
Day 4 (Mon)	1. Breakfast. Beef rice at Nakau 2. Nanzenji temple 3. Eikando temple	1. Philosopher's path 2. Honen-in temple	1. Ginkakuji temple (Silver Pavilion)	1. Dinner. Rice sashimi don at Shin Kyogoku Shopping Arcade 2. Supper. Musashi sushi
Day 5 (Tue)	1. Travel to Osaka via train

Yatsuhashi - Best souvenir from Kyoto, Japan

Yatsuhashi a delicious Kyoto snack. Its also known as hijiri is made with cinnamon, but the cinnamon is mixed with bean paste and then folded into the hijiri to make a triangle-shape. Today, you can buy a wide variety of flavors, including matcha/green tea, chocolate, banana and black sesame. Yatsuhashi, meaning eight bridges. Nama Yatsuhashi has a soft triangle-shaped sweet, mochi-like texture and is often eaten wrapped around red bean paste or other fillings. As with all Japanese food, aesthetics is important. You can get this sweet anywhere in Kyoto whether in supermarkets, souvenir shops or markets.

Taste:8/10(Good. Soft and mochi like texture of sweet. I like it since I like sweet stuff).
Price:5/10(Near expensive. One box of 10 pieces of Nama Yutsuhashi will cost at least 530 Yen).


Delicious Nama Yatshuhashi from a store at the stairs towards Kiyomizu-dera temple.

Try each one to determine the flavour you like most.

Most of the Yatsuhashi shops that I went provides generous amount of samples.

Smaller packet of Yatsuhashi.

Kyoto Station with rooftop garden @ Kyoto, Japan

The building's futuristic design and atmosphere was conceived by the Japanese architect Hara Hiroshi. Hara's design attempts to convey historical Kyoto through a modern aesthetic. The station's large main hall with its exposed steel beamed roof, called the Matrix, is meant to reflect both the structure of the station and the grid like layout of Kyoto's street network. The Kyoto station building also housed a large Isetan department store and Porta shopping centre at lower ground floor. Kyoto Station is the city's transportation hub, served by Japan Railways (including the Tokaido Shinkansen), Kintetsu Railways and the Karasuma Subway Line. It is also the site of a large bus terminal for city buses and long distance and overnight highway buses. Luggage storage and takuhaibin (delivery service) counters are available in the basement of the station. Besides the station facilities, the building's 15 floors offer several other attractions and conveniences including an art museum, a theater and a vast array of shopping and dining options.


Kyoto tower. Located just opposite of Kyoto station.

Entrance to Kyoto station.

Busy and crowded even on sunday.

Super crowded Kyoto station. This is the busiest station in Kyoto and major transportation hub of Kyoto.

Its nearing Christmas. Huge Christmas tree on the display.

The same Christmas tree at night.


Kyoto Station is a huge modern looking building.

Long escalator to the roof top garden.


The escalator area at night.


Artificial garden at the roof top of the Kyoto station.

View from the roof top of Kyoto station towards the south.

View towards the north of Kyoto. As you can see, Kyoto is surrounded by mountains and that's why it has lower temperature compared to the nearby cities.

GPS/Coordinate: 34.985454, 135.757723
Public transport: Kyoto main station.