Born to Shop

[schooltchr]

Would someone like to share their great finds, restaurants or shops in Beijing (besides Pearl Market), Shanghai, Hiroshima, Kyoto or any other cities in the Mar.16 Beijing-HK itinerary? :o

[Jancruz]

There is a great book that I used in Asia..called "Born to Shop" check out the bookstores

Jan

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[schooltchr]

susie gershman did the born to shop beijing-hong kong.........we used it when in asia last time and found it to be so so............not great, her other books are better, especially BTS London- we know London inside and out, so it was interesting to see if she "got it right"....she did, even knew about Neals Yard!

was looking for ASIA info from passengers, but so far, no one has come forward. Usually the info gathered on CC is great, so I am surprised.......but still, we:D are hopeful!

[Shirleya53]

When I was in Beijing five years ago, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Lido. There is a great market across the street from the hotel. And it is indoors.

[Jancruz]

Hi schoolteacher..I think the problem here is that Oceania has not been to Asia before so manyof the people are going for the first time..you might try the Orient Cruise Line board ..

Jan

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[Fetchpeople]

We are Japanophiles and have been there a number of times. Our interest is in crafts, so here are a few suggestions:

1. In Kyoto, the Handicrafts Center has a wide variety at prevailing retails. It also comes with a nice added benefit: free shuttle ride back to your hotel. There are also a wide variety of stores selling legitimate antiques in one district, with textile shops close by. Look for Fukusa (try that one on ebay to see what they are) and Tsutsugacki (futon covers, usually indigo dyed) that quite collectable. The walkway up to the Kyomizo Shrine has many shops selling crafts.

 

2. In Tokyo, the best place for crafts, I think, are the traditional stores around the Asakusa Shrine, a sure stop on your intinerary. These shops are the last bastion for those seeking the best of Japanese traditional handicrafts such as fans, paper, dolls, hair ornaments etc.

 

3. For me, one of the delights in being in Japan is to avoid the packaged tours and take trains and subways. They are particularly easy to navigate, faster, and offer intersting experiences. Underneath the streets and part of the larger stations are often shopping worlds that are extensive. The large stations have exit signs in English showing which key builf=dings and businesses are at which exit. It's simple to learn if you should exit at D4 or A1 or anything in between.

 

4. Food, our favorite is okonmiyake, which best resembles a kind of stuffed pancake. It is often cooked right in front of you at restaurants that specialize exclusively in that kind of food. Stuff it with ramen, shrimp, you name it. A soy based sauce of your choice of spiciness is usually put on top. The food is considered a peasant one, so the price is often very reasonable, perhaps $10 or less. The last time I was there, it ran from 600 to 1200 yen at 135 to the dollar, depending on the ingredients and how plain the surroundings.

 

5. More on food, you won't go wrong if you avoid the hotels and stick to the food halls of the major Department stores (which rival Harrods, by the way) and Chinese restaurants. The Department stores all or almost all have one floor devoted to a variety of restaurants, which are a minimum quite acceptable. There is also customarily another floor used for exhibitions. Your hotel concierge can help you with whtat are the current shows.

 

6. Japanese honesty will not remind you of NYC taxi drivers. They are reliable and trustworthy. For example, how about being chased 20 minutes after a purchase in a Dept store because I was overcharged 6 yen? Or the taxi driver who insisted he gave me the correct change only to prostrate himself in front of me deep in the Kyoto train station apologizing for an overcharge of about a dollar or 2.

 

7. One or 2 things about China:

You must, repeat must, try on everything even if 2 items are labeled the same size. If the item(s) not for you, you must still open up the packaging or risk disappointment. The Grape Restaurant in Shanghai is more than decent, with modewst pricing by US standards, but expensive for Chinese. Lunch for 2 was $27 including a round of drinks and 5 main courses plus soup for all, including service. I was lat there in 2004, and I beleive you can still google that restaurant to read the reviews, as I did.

 

Have a terrific trip, I envy you.

[shoshona2]

Hi Schooltchr,

 

Scroll down to the "Ports" Section on this board and hit on "Asia". A lot of people have posted on that section. Crystal, Silversea and Princess have been doing Asia for years -- you can also go to those boards.

 

Sheila

 

P.S. Glad you got a cabin on this sold-out cruise. We're going also.

[pacmom]

Thanks so much, Fetchpeople. My husbnd and I are taking a Cruise West trip in Oct. 06. We will start in Tokyo, go by train to the west coast, board the ship, travel the west coast with a detour to Pusan. The up the Inland Sea to Kobe. I have printed out your shopping suggestions and will save them. We have cruised with O and would go again as soon as we see a must do itinerary. Pat

[Fetchpeople]

If you send me your e-mail address, I'll be glad to give you a host of other ideas and places of interest.

 

Let me know all of your stops in Japan, by the way.

[meow!]

If you stay in Tokyo, try the Renaissance Ginza, it is right at the centre of the Ginza shopping district. When we visited Tokyo in 1996, we stayed in that hotel for eight days. It is nice and clean and costs some $200 per day at present, well worth it considering its location. It even had an American hostess at the lobby to help at the time.

 

When you shop in Japan, the sales person will automatically show you the price (in yens) on a calculator. What we did was to give them the correct bills, and let the sales person pick the remaining coins from our wallet (those coins could be confusing). Once, the male cat saw a tie with cat pictures on it in the show case just outside the door at one of the department stores, but nobody could speak English. So the male cat said "tie, tie, meow, meow, meow", trying to make up with "international sign language". Still, nobody could understand, so the male cat had to take one of them right outside the door and point out the item. "Oh, ....", then we managed to buy it afterall.

 

After eight days, when we finally went to the airport, the female cat found a "local looking" flight attendant at the check-in counter. "You are the first person we have met who speaks real English here", with a sigh of relief. "But I live in Vancouver", so she replied!

[pacmom]

Fetchpeople,

Give me a few days to compile a list of cities. Then I'l give you my e-mail address. THANK YOU Pat