Hong Kong and Macau are suitable for Japanese travelers.
Because these countries are near Japan and can be reached at a reasonable price.
And the biggest attraction for the Japanese is to enjoy overseas travel even on short breaks.
These attractions of their trip are called in Japanese "An-Kin-Tan" that means reasonable price, near Japan and short trip.
"An-Kin-Tan" style trip has recently been popular among the Japanese because they have suffered a cut in income during the current Japan's recession.

Travelers can enjoy eating and shopping in Hong Kong; in addition, gambling in Macau is sure to please them.
By the way, Japan's group tours for Hong Kong have mainly two schedules that tour fare is different; one is leaving from Japan in the morning, another is in the afternoon.
Which do you choose?
The latter is always low price than the former, and both of the quality time of traveling may not be different from what you expected.
Please don't be wheedled by sales talk of travel agencies, "you can enjoy to go sightseeing on the same day to your arrival in Hong Kong and before leaving for home."
Because will of adamant is necessary to do such a thing.
I chose to leave for Hong Kong in the afternoon, but how about you?

Nothing costs so much as what is given us.

Japan's group tourist are often obliged to join guided tour in Hong Kong on the day after your arrival.
In such cases, local guides mainly take you to souvenir shops and their companies are supposed to receive some kickback.
Hence such tours go down in price and they are generally cheaper than things without guided tour in Hong Kong.
Well, it's no problem if you are satisfied to be taken to only Victoria Peak, where is the biggest tourist attraction in Hong Kong; Wong Tai Sin Temple and Repulse Bay.

Wong Tai Sin Temple is an excellent example of a traditional Chinese (Taoism) temple and mecca of fortune-telling in Hong Kong.
Most people who visit the temple want their fortune told, but most of foreign tourists don't understand it because it is written in Cantonese.
In addition to that, since such tourist guide wasn't very devoted to sightseeing, we only took a picture of this temple.
  Repulse Bay is Hong Kong's beach area, and a pair of large statues of two goddesses, Kwun Yum and Tin Hau stand The Life Guard Club's terraces.
Hence you may only do shopping unless in summer.
But a picture of the statues is worth taking, right?

  Yum cha is a Chinese dining experience where dim sum (small quantities of food) are pushed around on trolleys and brought to your circular table.
The offers you the food by whispering its name and if you accept, a small card is stamped outlining what you have consumed.
If you don't know its name, especially in Cantonese, you might point a finger at food or ask about their recommendation.
Therefore Chinese tea is served without a fee.
It is said that tables on the aisle are higher rank, but group tourists may sometimes get a cold reception.
In the final analysis, unless you can stand to be devoted your time to shopping better part of duration, you shouldn't choose a budget package tour without much thought.

We ventured to join English tour, and the result was...

We took tram and buses for getting to Aw Boon Haw (Tiger Balm) Garden and Stanley.
I think it is easy for travelers to take a subway (MTR), but not so easy to take a tram because they often upset the timing for getting down.
When you take buses, it is important to not be disappointed in failure and to try while there is still time.
I felt that though many Japanese tourists ought to have come here, they seldom took public transportation.
Why?

Aw Boon Haw (Tiger Balm) Garden was no big deal what we had expected.
Even its famous tourist attraction brought us such impression, it can't be helped that many Japanese tourists put eating and shopping first.
By the way, it would be better to go to Stanley Market unless you want to buy some brand articles.
Because English is spoken and you can bargain there.
This market is suitable for lesson in bargaining before you leave for other Asian countries, I guess.

It might have been unnecessary for us to dare to join English guided tour because there was Japanese guided tour, for example by Pandabus Travel, in Hong Kong.
However, I thought we had the advantage of application for English guided tour against reason in terms of tour fare by my Singapore experience last year.
Consequently my choice obtained success more than what I had expected.
But only it would be established in the following year.

Aberdeen Night Cruise by Gray Line Tours <price 525HK$ (7,200Yen)>

Pick up from hotel and transfer to the pier where you board a traditional style Chinese junk for a relaxing cruise of the harbor, enjoy the beautiful sunset with unlimited drinks on board. After the cruise, we take you to the famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant at Aberdeen and superb Chinese dinner will be served. After dinner, you will be transferred to a vantage point half way to Victoria Peak and enjoy the twinkling light of the charming Hong Kong harbor by night. Escort you back to hotel.

Hotel pick up time: 17:15-18:30

Tour duration: 5 hours, approximately.

Chinese Dinner Menu Shark's Fin Soup Grilled Chicken with Lemon Sauce Fresh Prawn Balls Cutlet Sweet and Sour Pork Stewed Season Vegetable with Crab Meat Braised Garoupa (Fillet) Fried Rice E-FU (Chinese Egg Flour) Noodle in Soup Chinese Tea Fruit

The tour guide of Gray Line Tours might have been fed up with our poor language ability.
Because she had seldom thought that those who applied for English guided tour in Hong Kong could seldom speak English.
Actually, we behaved according to Japanese 3S characters: smile, silent and sleeping that had been bitterly criticized by foreigners.
However, we were discouraged by such a thing.
As Japan's proverb says, "A man away from home need feel no shame."

Seeing the night view of Hong Kong over drinking couldn't be better.
The twinkling light of the charming Hong Kong harbor had been emblematic of fast-growing Asian market.
For the meanwhile, the competent Japanese women who had felt ill-used in Japan's companies had flowed out of Japan that was called "Straitjacket Society" by Dr. Masao Miyamoto, ex bureaucrat of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
And their fever of being employed in Hong Kong tended to hit the full boom in those days.

Let's play at casinos and see The Crazy Paris Show!

There are two ways to get to Macau from Hong Kong; one is leaving from Macau Ferry Terminal at Sheung Wan, and another is leaving from China Ferry Terminal at Tsim Sha Tsui.
The former route is more convenient than the latter, but it is crowded even weekdays.
It is said that there is only horse racing as Hong Kong's gambling, but it was surprising that many people should have gone gambling to Macau in spite of weekdays.

  Tai-Sai is the most popular game in Macau's casinos.
The Hong Kong's people are crazy about it, and hem around game tables from daytime on weekdays.
It seems that there's no place for new comer depending on circumstances.
However, as its rule is very easy, there may not be problem even beginners.

Hotel Lisboa offers sexy entertaiment, The Crazy Paris Show (200HK$=2,740Yen) twice a day; begining from 20:00 and 21:30 daily, and extra show at 23:00 on Suturdays.
All famele dancers stripped their clothes off, but they didn't give an obscenity feeling to us.
Dance hall was almost full, and there were some Western women there.
This show may be suitable for relaxation in the interval of gambling.
Therefore, Lisboa Casino opens 24 hours a day, and ferries for Hong Kong run all through the night.
Hence visitors don't need to concern about closing time.
But I suggest you return to Hong Kong after show time while you don't get mad about gambling.

Rice Riot Today!

Taking of Japan's rice riot, "Ettyu (former name of Japan's local region, Toyama Prefecture at present) woman's riot in 1918" stands in the front rank in the Japan's history.
Such revolts, riots and civil commotions were raised by poor people who were unable to make a living; hence these affairs were often appeared in world history.
For the meanwhile, we had a poor rice crop in 1993.
And then Japanese government imported foreign rice urgently from America, Australia, Thailand and so on due to unprecedented rice deficit in this year.
After all some of the Japanese set off a chain reaction of panic for requirement of home-grown rice because these foreign rice, especially Thai rice, were unpalatable to them.
Basically, its rice riot was caused by requirement of dainty foods, but not by suffering from poverty.
What did their foreign countries think about this fact?
There are many starving people in the world.
Our ancestors had always said "you'll pay for it somebody if you do such a thing!"
Finally, there is an English proverb as following; "Travel makes a wise man better but a fool worse."
Would we make a trip for being wise?