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Japan & New Zealand Holiday Photos

Japan & New Zealand Holiday Photos

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Japan Flag

Throughout June and July I was on vacation travelling through Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam and New Zealand and as usual, with any major trip, I share the photos and stories with you.

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I posted the Cambodia & Vietnam photos a few weeks back and now I’ve finally had the chance to go through the Japan & New Zealand photos.

The Japan leg of my Asian themed holiday was spent with my mother and was a gift for my 21st birthday. It was great to spend some quality time with her while experiencing the Japanese culture and it also gave me a chance to do things that I wouldn’t have done if I was traveling with my mates.

In Japan we went to Tokyo, Shinagawa, Yokohama, Shizuoka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Hikone, Miyajima, Okayama, Hiroshima and Takayama. Click the map for a larger view of where we travelled.

Japan Travels

Enjoy the happy snaps and sorry for not being more descriptive, I’ve forgotten a lot of the names since the trip back in July.


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Update January 25th 2010:

Due to a recent outing with our hosts, we lost a lot of files. We are currently in the process of restoring the photos, please be patient while we do so. Thank you.

New Zealand Ski / Snowboard Holiday

After I returned from my Asian themed holiday I went for a ski / snowboard holiday with 16 of my mates in Cardrona, New Zealand. Below are a few snaps.

New Zealand

Top of the mountain – perfect conditions!

Chains

Believe or not this is the same day! It went from slush / chains at the bottom of the mountain, to perfect at the top.

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Jumping

Me doing a jump – I did land it for the record 😉

View

The serenity!

Paintball

We went paint balling as well, which was deadly fun.

Friends

Me on the left and some of my mates.

Lake

The lake near to our hotel. Beautiful scenery indeed.

Future Travel Plans

My original travel plan for November / December was to travel through South America however I have since decided to travel through USA instead. The reasoning for this was because of the very competitive airfares, great AUD to USD exchange rate and I thought I should get more acquainted with the USA before moving to work there.

As for the trip, I am going on another Contiki tour – this time across 22 states of USA starting from Los Angeles going East, right through to New York, where I will meet my employers, Carrot Creative, for the first time.

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I will leave mid November, travel around for 6 weeks, return to Australia for 2 weeks for a family holiday, then fly back to New York again in early January where I will have to settle down and get back to the real (working) world.

You may be interested in my photos from: Fiji, Europe, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia or me SkyDiving. Have you been to Japan? Have any stories to share?

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47 thoughts on “Japan & New Zealand Holiday Photos”

  1. Just Fantastic Jacob…..

    Great pics…the apple pic is superb

    Have any plans for visit to India???
    Do come, you will enjoy it a lot…

  2. Skippinig South America for the US? Tsk, Tsk, shame on you. I amy be biased because I was born there, Colombia. Really should try going to South America, especially Colombia 😉

  3. Hey,

    very nice trip in Japan ! I just realized I went in 2008 in the same place you where ! How long you where there ?
    Nice photos ! Sure I will return there.
    Can help you to add some name 🙂

    Fred

  4. Dude, what gives, are you a trust fund baby, independently wealthy, or have very generous parents? It seems all you do is travel!

    Looks like a great trip, by the way!

  5. Wow! Amazing! I’ve gotta go to Japan. How beautiful that you took a trip there with your Mom. Seems like you two had a wonderful time. And the ski trip pix look awesome!

  6. Nikhil,
    It would be great to get to India – my father just recently returned from there and he had many great pictures to share.

    Lambros,
    You will enjoy it for sure!

    Christine,
    Yeah, I was originally going to go with a friend but she couldn’t get out of work plus USA was a lot more economical. eg. I could get return flights for more than half the cost to go to SA.

    Frederic,
    Was in Japan for about two weeks and in New Zealand for one. Yeah I would have put names but it has been so long, I’ve since forgotten the hard to remember names.

    Greg,
    All of my travel is self funded, except in the case of this Japan trip, in which the majority of it was for my 21st birthday present which is a major occurrence here in Australia (much like USA I presume).

    Semhal,
    Indeed, it was a different experience. A different way of doing things for sure.

  7. Great photos, you certainly covered a lot of ground in Japan! What’d you think of the Shiso Pepsi? I’ve heard that Azuki (red bean) is next, should be interesting.

    The sign that you like (??????) says Daihonzan Tenryuji. Daihonzan means headquarters and Tenryuji means “Temple of the Heavenly Dragon”.

    Have a great time in the US!

  8. I was in Japan just recently myself with my wife’s family. It was really humid when we were there but I loved every moment of my trip.

    Japan’s a fascinating place and is one place you just have to visit in your lifetime. There’s just much to see and do.

  9. I’m jealous. I’ve been living in Japan for almost 3 years and it looks like you’ve been to more places than me 😀

    I recognized the Bic Camera store at Nagoya station though. I bought my Japanese electronic dictionary there…

  10. You lucky ……. ! Wow! Love the Japan set. Great pictures mate. My most sincere envies.
    Thanks for sharing 🙂

  11. Brilliant, man! Been wanting to go to Japan for ages myself. One day, one day.

    Also, that “Rising Sun” t-shirt. I MUST HAVE IT.

  12. Oh … I’m so hungry now, after seeing your photos 🙂
    And I want a big ice cream !

    Thanks for sharing your photos with us !

  13. Angela,
    Shiso Pepsi was rather different, but refreshing. Red Bean sounds rather strange for a soft drink but would still try it.

    Thanks for the translation of the sign!

    Max,
    It was pretty nice weather when we were there except for the 2 days it rained. Would love to go back with my mates and see the other side of Japan along with the ski fields.

    Lloyd,
    It’s strange like that hey? It’s even more like that down here in Oz because when tourists come this far, they tend to see a lot of the country.

    Callum,
    What about the pigs head?

    Sasha, Rick,
    The rising sun tshirt I got about 2 years ago off eBay. I’ve had a number of people ask about it though I can not find the seller’s name as it so long ago. Sorry!

  14. hola
    wow ur pics very nice and fun! nice place it look. is new for me it of engrish lol. i think me do it sometimes.well if u plan south america in the future at least for me, Ecuador is amazing!!

  15. WOW man! Looks like you had a blast! Oh how i wish i could pack up my bags and live in Japan for a least a month! Kudos on all the photos!

  16. Jacob, looks like you went to all the right spots in Japan 🙂 Awesome pics.

    If you come down to Los Angeles, do let me know! We should set up a meetup!

    -Soh

  17. Hey JC! No way I’ve just got back from Japan a few days ago after a 3 month trip round Indonesia, Oz and Japan. Crazy, I didn’t realise you were headed there.

    Hope you had a great time, I certainly did – it’s such an insane country. What did you think of the manic crossing at Shibuya in Tokyo? I went to see a Kabuki play and a sumo tournament which was amazing.

    Do you reckon you’ll go back some day? I guess it’s not as far for you from Newcastle instead of from England for me.

    I stopped by your hometown actually, what a lovely place, like most places along the East Coast I guess – all beaches and good weather.

    I’ve missed your blog for 3 months so I’ll have to catch up. Keep up with everything here and on your travels – as always you’re doing a great job!

    Nathan

  18. I went to Japan last year. Absolutely amazing place. I sent this article to my sister who lives there (4 years now, in Osaka). She loves the article and I do too.

  19. Xozan,
    Nepal looks like a great place to visit and certainly hope to get to that part of the world sometime throughout my life.

    Nathan,
    Wow, that would have been brilliant to go for 3 months. Hard to settle back down?

    It is indeed a crazy country, quite fascinating with very friendly people. I’ve found the Japanese are more akin to Aussies than Americans though. How did they take to the British?

    I would certainly go back… would love to do the snow fields and more of Tokyo.

    And yeah Newcastle (Aus) is a nice place – a great lifestyle though it is getting a lot busier of late.

    Enjoy catching up with the blog but no pressure 😛

    Soh,
    I am actually going to LA in mid November though only for a few days. Not sure of plans just of yet though.

  20. I always tried to avoid Contiki tours. It’s usually a bunch of ignorant Americans, Brits or Australians ruining the authenticity of a place by flooding it with money and cameras. 🙁

  21. Did you use the bath Japanese style? (Wash yourself outside the tub, then sit and relax in the tub after you’re clean).

  22. Pete,
    From my experiences on Contiki I wouldn’t agree with you there though you do get some like that but it’s only a small minority.

    Elsa,
    Not in this particular bath but when we stayed in ryokans we did.

  23. Wow! You really did enjoy your travel. The photos are amazing. I wish I could exeprience that too. Thank you for sharing! I enjoyed it.:)

  24. Amazing pictures ! looks like you enjoyed a lot this trip 🙂
    I really like your Japanese shirt, it’s awesome!
    thanx for sharing 🙂

  25. Man I want to visit Japan so bad I am jealous! I would consider moving there if it wasn’t so hard to adjust to an entire new culture. =/

  26. Eating the black egg in black and white did not escape my humor-radar.

    What do you do when you eat a black egg by the Red Sea?

    You must have weighed the egg on your gray scale, no doubt. I also hear that black eggs don’t have yolks, just 20% blacks instead 🙂

  27. Really fantastic photos, thanks for sharing! It looks like you had a great trip…. Hopefully I can get myself out there sometime very soon.

  28. Glad you enjoyed Japan. It is truly an incredible experience to travel there. While your Rising Sun shirt looked sharp, I have to admit to being a little shocked at seeing you wearing it in front of the palace… Do you know what it means?
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_Flag
    I am a subscriber to your blog for your thoughts on design, which are always valuable. I understand your good nature and realize you are a very positive, level-headed person.
    A little brushing up on chopstick etiquette would be good before your next trip, too 😉 These things have meaning, and speak loudly to those around you when ‘in country’. All the best on your travels and blog. Thanks!

    • Hello Kib,
      I wasn’t aware of the whole meaning behind the Rising Sun however I knew it was a symbol of the Japanese army… why would it be considered offensive in front of the palace? Did I miss something? I do try to cover most my etiquette bases when traveling so any advice would be appreciated. As for the chopstick etiquette, are you referring to me holding the chopsticks up in that cheesy pose? Hehe, anyway thanks for your comments!

  29. hey, nice pictures. i’ve only been as far into asia as south korea. i follow this website from time to time and enjoy the reads and designs (impressed). if you’re moving to new york, keep in touch.

    before you (may or may not) ask, no, i’m not the duchess of york.

  30. Thank you for those pictures that have a particular cultural interest.

    It would be great if you could come to San Francisco for your U.S. trip. You have a fan there! 🙂

    Feel free to contact me if you plan to go there.

    Sincerely

  31. That is one extensive Japan trip. I usually visit Tokyo and Osaka for the food. But this next trip im taking my partner and planning to do a similar trip to yours so that map will help us out.

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