Have you ever thought you would like to visit Japan? No? You may be surprised that most people who don't know what Japan is like would love to visit it once they knew what was there worth seeing. Japan is a large country with a lot of places to see. And like so many other places one cannot possibly see everything in one trip. So sit back and let's explore some places and things in this unfamiliar yet wonderful country of Japan.

First you will want to decide where you want to spend time. Whether it's in the big city or in some small quaint traditional settings. The larger cities like Tokyo and Osaka are amazing in the diversity of how the Japanese have been able to integrate their ancient traditions into their lives even though they are a high tech society. Someone once said Japan has "Sophisticated elegance in an exotic setting". It is truly the perfect mix of new and old.

Maybe you want to spend time in the mountains. Some of earth's most breathtaking views are in the mountains of Japan. You can lose yourself for a night at a mountaintop Buddhist temple. If you like temples and shrines you will want to see Meiji Jungu and Asakusa Kannon. You can go to Kamakura to the famous often photographed, huge statue of Buddha. And while there visit many other cultural and historical sites of great interest.

Perhaps you are one who enjoys beautiful gardens. If so you don't want to leave Japan without going to the middle of Tokyo to the see the garden next to the Imperial Palace. This garden is open to the public as long as it's not being uses by some guest of the Emperor. Shinjuku (Shinjuku Gyouen) has another very beautiful garden with greenhouses full of fascinating plants.

Maybe you want to see where the Geisha live and work. How about climbing to the top of samurai castle. You can walk through farmers markets. Visit one of largest fish markets on earth. Or experience a delicious Japanese meal in one of a thousand family run restaurants and much, much more.

Sources:
https://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/
http://www.japanskiexperience.com/
http://www.japanrailpass.net/
https://www.gotokyo.org/

A one day layover in the new "global crossroad" is definitely worth experiencing. Traveling from Africa to Asia, I seized the opportunity to explore a culture in between, an old accumulation of tradition and spirituality all sun-scorched under Earth's broiler. It is a strange city that rose from the absolute flattest of terrains, from the deadest looking soil, but the abundance of gas-guzzling road monsters and multiple, simultaneously-growing high-rises will reveal to even the dimmest mind that Doha is a power now and will still be after a million tomorrows.

As a young girl from Indiana, I was skittish about being in the Gulf zone without a mimicking costume or male companion. But, never fret, for as much as the media love to portray Muslims as villains, they know hospitality better than Paula Dean knows butter.

This may become your brain under the Middle Eastern sun. As a sleep deprived, dehydrated Midwesterner in the Middle East, it was too hot for me to conjure complete thoughts or sentences. These were my real time thoughts from Doha, Qatar.

"A far too classy condo complex cafe where Darjeeling tea sprang out from the tea bag collection, possibly foreshadowing a trip I definitely wanted and had to experience. A tall North African doorman, reminiscent of the "Green Mile" miracle worker, smiles at me in pajamas.

"Walking from one massive building past the rest on barren sidewalks, it's 8am, and the sun has catapulted into the hazy sky. A manicured park and an empty playground, I lie on the grass and become a spectacle to children and men alike. There are enough Westerners around to make me think I stick out for other reasons. I'm fully covered from chin to toe, but my clothes may be too clingy for ultimate modesty.

"The harbor is gorgeous, and the buildings fall into the ocean; but I feel like the sun is taking my life away from me. It only makes me angrier at the hundreds of men who stare and photograph without shame at my passing presence. I have had no water, and I sweat like death is stalking me. Roughly ten other women are out and about and never alone. I'm alone. I wonder what that implies in Doha.

"Big water bottles are mere cents, and a cross-eyed old man finally shows me the smiles I miss. I have to wipe my visage dry, and my sleeve comes back sopping.

"A coffee shop is no mirage as I follow a city arch's shadow across seven lanes of traffic to its air-conditioned wonders. Massive screens showing the TV programs I know and miss, and a man cranks the volume to accompany harmoniously the wall's waterfall. I sit with my bag off to receive the mighty wind, and it chills me back to life. I cannot move for hours, and my thumbs recount the story of my heated day to all with e-mails. I can think no more.

"To ask and to wander brings about what I needed and wanted to my stomach; whatever they say, so I shall have. And it sprawls the plate, a chicken on her bed, with veggies and spices to bear. I am drained and filled, and my heart beats in my stomach.

"I braved a new world in the Middle East I knew little truth about, and though all the men were watching intensely, never did I feel afraid. Our movies don't show the good people in civvies."

Recommended adventure tours from Doha, Qatar:
https://www.ub-cool.com/adventure/Qatar/Try-Scuba-Diving-in-the-Arabian-Gulf-Sea
https://www.ub-cool.com/adventure/Qatar/Full-day-desert-safari
https://www.ub-cool.com/adventure/Qatar/Half-day-desert-safari-and-camel-ride-

INfamous as “the Land of the Swallows”, Cozumel is the largest island in Mexico with one existing town called San Miguel. It is also renowned for having the second largest reef in the world and offers some of the most spectacular diving and snorkeling in Mexico. Cozumel all inclusive resorts review at http://www.luxury-resort-guide.com/central-america/all-inclusive-resorts-in-cozumel/
Cozumel is a great alternative to many Caribbean island honeymoon and vacation destinations. Cozumel Island offers supreme guest facilities, land and water activities, and natural beauty that will cause you to catch your breath.
Whether you're a diver or non-diver, Cozumel is a great place for those looking for fun, sun and relaxation. Families avid for exciting adventures will find numerous tours, trips and activities: snorkeling tours, fishing, swimming with dolphins, catamaran tours, just to name a few.

When people find the time to travel, they cannot wait until they start the search for their vacationing spot. Many have done their shopping online, and others have done theirs through the airlines. Nowadays, there are many ways to go about looking for some of the best deals when it comes to traveling. A very popular vacationing spot has always been Puerto Rico, an island not too far located from California, offers tourists with a sense of enjoyment that is deserved when going on a vacation. It is also a popular and beneficial way of traveling when people stay in all-inclusive hotels. These hotels take every activity a person could indulge themselves with and present it to you in their hotel. The best part, you only have to pay one price.


Popular hotels in Puerto Rico 
See where others are staying...

3 stars ESJ Towers Very good 8.2 
3 stars San Juan Airport Hotel Good 7.6 
4 stars Copamarina Beach Resort Excellent 8.8 
2 stars Fajardo Inn Very good 8.1 
2 stars Parador Maunacaribe - Maunabo Very good 8.5 
3 stars Rincon of the Seas Gran Caribbean Hotel Good 7.9 
3 stars Parador Villas Del Mar Hau Very good 8.3 
3 stars Parador Combate Beach Very good 8.2 
3 stars Verdanza Hotel Very good 8 
3 stars Howard Johnson Isla Verde Good 7.7 
2 stars Parador Boquemar Very good 8 
2 stars Villa Cofresi Excellent 8.7 
4 stars Mayagüez Resort & Casino Good 7.3 
3 stars Hyatt House San Juan Wonderful 9 


Going to Puerto Rico for a vacation is can be a very enjoyable experience. Visiting the glorious spot has created repeat vacationers for all occasions. Puerto Rico has attracted college students for spring break, couples for destination weddings, and newlyweds for their honeymoon. These Puerto Rico all inclusive resorts have also become a great getaway for families to get away from their everyday lives and create fun family filled memories.

Puerto Rico is filled with beautiful tourist attractions. For starters, the beaches. Their white sandy beaches lined on one end with illustrious palm trees, and on the other an attractive view of the clear ocean water. The island is filled with historical landmarks and buildings that leave a persons heart beating with awe. The local areas are filled with markets where travelers can find anything from unique souvenirs to authentic Puerto Rican food. At night, the island turns into a place of calm with a romantic walk along the beach. Inland, the beat changes to an uplifting, energetic feel with the ever going street festivals and parties. Some would say that this would be what they would have pictured paradise to be if they had to guess. Last, but not least, many a tourist have made sure never to miss the islands breath-taking sunsets!

In Rome, Nero fiddled, Mark Antony praised Caesar, and Charlemagne was crowned. Today, you can walk in their footsteps past the masterpieces of Michelangelo, sip your caffè in the shadow of Mussolini, and dodge Vespas speeding by Baroque palazzi and Egyptian obelisks. The ages of history live on in this, the Eternal City. 

However you arrive in Rome, you can tell by the traffic that you are entering a grand nexus: all roads lead to Rome. As you enter the city proper, edifices, icons, and images to match your expectations take shape: a bridge with heroic statues along its parapets; a towering cake of ornate marble decorated with allegorical figures in extravagant poses; a piazza and an obelisk under an umbrella of pine trees; a massive stone arena, even bigger than you imagined, that you realize with awe is the fabled Colosseum. 

More than Florence, more than Venice, Rome is Italy's treasure trove, packed with masterpieces from more than two millennia of artistic achievement - for this is where Republican Rome once bustled around the buildings of the Roman Forum, centuries later Michelangelo Buonarroti painted the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, and in modern times, Federico Fellini filmed La Dolce Vita and 8½ at Cinecittà Studios. 

Rome's 2,700 years of history are laid open with every step. Ancient Rome rubs shoulders with the medieval, the modern runs into the Renaissance, and the result is like nothing so much as an open-air museum, a city that glories in its glories and is a monument to itself. Ancient Romans, Vandals, Popes and the Borgias, Michelangelo and Bernini, Napoléon, and Mussolini all left their physical, cultural, and spiritual marks on the city. 

Today, Rome's formidable legacy is upheld by its people. Students walk dogs in the park that was once the mausoleum of the family of the Emperor Augustus; Raphaelesque madonnas line up for buses on busy corners; a priest in flowing robes walks through a medieval piazza talking on a cell phone. Modern Rome has one foot in the past, one in the present - a delightful stance that allows you to have an espresso in a square designed by Bernini, then take the Metro back to your hotel room in a renovated Renaissance palace. 

"When you first come here you assume that you must burrow about in ruins and prowl in museums to get back to the days of Numa Pompilius or Mark Antony," Maud Howe observes in her book Roma Beata. "It is not necessary; you only have to live, and the common happenings of daily life - yes, even the trolley car and your bicycle - carry you back in turn to the Dark Ages, to the early Christians, even to prehistoric Rome." 

Life wouldn't be the same without Florence - literally. The city gave birth to the Renaissance and, with it, to the spirit of the modern Western world. The city, which graces the Arno River in central Italy's Tuscany region, has captured the hearts and minds of just about every visitor who has ever made his or her way here. It casts a spell in the way that few cities can - perhaps because it's an artistic treasure trove of incomparable proportions; perhaps because of the views of the Ponte Vecchio and the Arno at sunset; perhaps because Florentine food and wine delight the palate. Maybe it's because the city has not changed all that much since the 15th century.

Though ostensibly a republic, Florence was blessed (or cursed, depending on point of view) with one very powerful family, the Medici, who came into power in the 1430s under Cosimo il Vecchio (1389-1464) and became the de facto rulers of Florence for several hundred years. Florence's golden age occurred during the reign of his grandson Lorenzo de' Medici (1449-92), who was not only an astute politician but a highly educated man and a great patron of the arts. Called "Il Magnifico" ("the Magnificent"), he gathered around him poets, artists, philosophers, architects, and musicians and organized all manner of cultural events, festivals, and tournaments. 


Lorenzo's son, Piero (1471-1503), proved inept at handling the city's affairs. He was run out of town in 1494, and Florence briefly enjoyed its status as a republic while dominated by the demagogic Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola (1452-98). Savonarola preached against perceived pagan abuses and convinced his followers to destroy their books, art, women's wigs, and jewelry in public "bonfires of the vanities." Eventually, he so annoyed the pope that he was declared a heretic and hanged. 

After a decade of internal unrest, the republic fell and the Medici were recalled to power. But even with their return, Florence never regained its former prestige. By the 1530s all the major artistic talent had left the city - Michelangelo, for one, had settled in Rome. The now ineffectual Medici, eventually attaining the title of grand dukes, remained nominally in power until the line died out in 1737, after which time Florence passed from the Austrians to the French and back again until the unification of Italy (1865-70), when it briefly became the capital under King Vittorio Emanuele II (1820-78). 

Florence was "discovered" in the 18th century by upper-class northerners making the grand tour. It became a mecca for travelers, particularly the Romantics, who were inspired by the elegance of its palazzi and its artistic wealth. Today, millions of smitten visitors follow in their footsteps in this very walkable city. Florence's plain and sober facades - for the city eluded the exuberance of the High Renaissance and flourish of the Baroque - give nothing away, as if obsessively guarding secret treasures within. The treasures, of course, are very real.

It's easy to forgive Venice for its eternal preoccupation with its own beauty. All the picture books in the world won't prepare you for the city's exotic landmarks, among them the Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale, rising like mirages from the lagoon. With sumptuous palaces and romantic waterways, Venice is straight out of an 18th-century Canaletto masterpiece. Venice is called La Serenissima (the "most serene" one), a reference to the monstrous power, majesty, and wisdom of this city that was for centuries the unrivaled mistress of trade between Europe and the Orient and the bulwark of Christendom against the tides of Turkish expansion. The most serene also refers to the way in which those visiting have looked upon Venice, a miraculous city imperturbably floating on its calm, blue lagoon. 

Entirely built on water by men who dared defy the sea, Venice is unlike any other town. No matter how many times you have seen it in movies or TV commercials, the real thing is more surreal and dreamlike than you ever imagined. Its landmarks, the Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale, seem hardly Italian: delightfully idiosyncratic, they are exotic mélanges of Byzantine, Gothic, and Renaissance styles. Sunlight shimmers and silvery mist softens every perspective here, a city renowned in the Renaissance for its artists' rendering of color. It is full of secrets, ineffably romantic, and - at times - given over entirely to pleasure. 


Founded in the 5th century, Venice attained a peak of power and prosperity in the 15th and 16th centuries. For 400 years the powerful maritime city-republic had held sway, but after the 16th century the tide changed. The Ottoman Empire blocked Venice's Mediterranean trade routes, and newly emerging sea powers such as Britain and the Netherlands broke Venice's monopoly by opening oceanic trading routes. Like its steadily dwindling fortunes, Venice's art and culture began a prolonged decline, leaving only the splendid monuments to recall a fabled past, with the luminous paintings of Canaletto (1697-1768) and the beautiful frescoes of Giambattista Tiepolo striking a glorious swan song. 


You must walk everywhere in Venice (Venezia, in Italian) and where you cannot walk, you go by water. Occasionally, from fall to spring, you have to walk in water, when extraordinarily high tides known as acqua alta invade the lower parts of the city, flooding Piazza San Marco for a few hours. The difficulty of protecting Venice and its lagoon from dangerously high tides has generated extravagant plans and so many committee reports that the city may sink as much under the weight of paper as under water. 

In spite of these problems, Venetians have mastered the art of living well in their singular city. You'll see them going about their daily affairs in vaporetti (water buses), aboard the traghetti (traditional gondola ferries) that ply between the banks of the Grand Canal, in the campi (squares), and along the calli (narrow Venetian streets). And they are nothing if not skilled - and remarkably tolerant - in dealing with the veritable armies of tourists that at during the summer inundate their city.