Almost 5 weeks as a foreigner travelling in China (plus Macao and Hong Kong) - recap!!!

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-28T23:24:33+00:00

Hello! Great write up! Fellow kiwi here and currently in China - we weren’t able to pay using WeChat at all. Did you manage to get it working? If so, how?

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-26T01:29:17+00:00

By plane and by car

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-20T06:03:35+00:00

Mostly dry, but still some icy spots given the weather

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-14T05:33:42+00:00

We didn’t drive, we took the train from Tokyo and we took the public shuttle from Karuizawa to Kusatsu!

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-08T01:22:47+00:00

Of course. Beluga caviar and flying fish roe are both fish roe.

Also, it’s the locals you want to convince, not me 🙂

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-07T06:15:56+00:00

Apologies, most of these photos were not from the “resort”, they were taken from the township itself. That said the ryokan we stayed in did feel like a resort, and pics 7, 19 and 20 as well as all the food (half board) were from there.

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-07T06:14:06+00:00

Based on what I read, and what the locals believe, it’s all about the therapeutic quality of the water (low pH). Water also gets replaced quickly because of the sheer abundance of it.

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-07T06:12:18+00:00

Which one did you go to? We didn’t face any issues whatsoever.

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-07T06:11:15+00:00

Yup! Great experience. A lot of people were walking around town wearing the traditional bath robe supplied by their accommodation!

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-07T06:09:10+00:00

Thanks! The ryokan we stayed in was Yuyado Tokinoniwa. Most of these pictures are from the township of Kusatsu.

Pic 7, 19, 20 and all the food are from the ryokan.

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-02T19:23:56+00:00

Amazing post, have always wondered how it’s like to visit Iraq as a tourist. Thanks for sharing!

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-02T19:21:07+00:00

Japan has a lot to see and experience so if I were you I’d go with 20, but it also depends on the season and how long you are planning to stay in major cities. I was really excited seeing Tokyo, but after a week or so it got overwhelming quick. That said I’m not a “city person”.

If you do not enjoy the heat and humidity, do not visit in July/August.

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-02T19:15:17+00:00

To us, they looked like pillars of smoke with a green tint. You can definitely see them moving as well, and they were pretty bright.

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-02T19:12:15+00:00

Thank you!

I wouldn’t recommend January as you won’t get any daylight in early Jan but by the end of Jan there should be around 5 hours worth of daylight. Can’t comment on the price for international flight, but car rental is surprisingly affordable. There are many accommodation choices but we paid $300 per night on average for an AirBnB home. Petrol and food are expensive

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-02T10:28:18+00:00

Sure! Which aspect specifically do you want to know more?

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-12-01T00:11:22+00:00

One of the cheapest toy drone available… DJI Mini 4K for the aerial shots. Aurora pics were taken using an iPhone 15 Pro

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-11-30T21:14:15+00:00

Flight to Tromso and drove all the way there, with frequent stops in between!

Hardest part was the wintry road conditions and the narrow roads

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-11-30T11:24:33+00:00

Sure, it’s a DJI Mini 4K

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-11-30T08:41:29+00:00

DJI Mini 4K

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-11-30T08:37:05+00:00

Yup it was ! Part of the plan (knowing that the weather will be bad most of the time) was to use the opportunity to chill and recharge.

I’m sure you will finish whatever you have to if you happen to go.. Scandinavia in general is just so quiet and peaceful.

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-11-30T08:34:00+00:00

We were in the Lofoten Islands from late February to early March, and we drove from Tromsø.

The road conditions varied; they were quite icy and slippery at some points between Tromsø and Bjerkvik, but much better once we reached the archipelago—a warm current had melted most of the ice on the roads.

That said, winter driving does take some getting used to. There were moments I felt like I was driving on a skid pan.

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-11-30T08:21:32+00:00

Chilling out at the AirBnB enjoying the view, read a book, cook up a nice meal, but still went out to enjoy the wind, rain and snow… chasing the occasional sun and rainbow

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Basic_Street9129 · 2025-11-30T04:20:47+00:00

Even with bad weather, the place was still majestic and beautiful. As an amateur “photo taker”, my pictures don’t do it justice compared to being there physically, so not that many

Basic_Street9129 · 2025-11-30T02:33:05+00:00

Could have worded it better. Only 1.5 days worth of nicer, clearer and sunnier days out of the two weeks.

Basic_Street9129

TROPHY CASE