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Japan

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Having been to both Japan and China, i would have to say that Japan does have the edge for Westerners assuming they want a comfortable middle-priced holiday. In August 2004, i travelled to China with a school based group and in September/October to Japan, with a different school based group. Both trips were great and i would recommend either (bearing in mind that i was no seasoned traveller by any stretch of the imagination)but for comfort, definitely Japan.

Despite finding myself quite well off in China, with the yuan being so low, and, consequently buying an excess of souveniers that took up most of both my friend and my own baggage limits, i found the facilities quite surprising. Our accommodation was sponsored by the Chinese Government(we were participating in an international high school students Beijing Olympics event) and we stayed in what appeared to be quite a decent hotel. The lobby was all gold, mirrored with those massive flower arrangements that shriek class, and a huge sweeping staircase, but the rooms! Naturally, we wouldn't have been staying in the most expensive rooms, but let's face it, when holidaying how many of us are first class the whole way? So we stayed twin share. Standard rooms, western style toilet thankfully but the fixtures were loose and our shower didn't work. All the larger department stores were heinously expensive and the back alley stalls ridiculously cheap. The bargaining was a great experience and the finds amazing but the stall holders can get very persistent and even abusive if you refuse their wares, and the smells are not what Westerners would be accustomed to.

Some might argue that it is all part of the experience, but as a vegetarian it was quite overpowering and almost all the food contained meat, a very different cuisine to the Chinese take-out we are used to. The sightseeing is good, but although we didn't take public transport there were no obvious signs for tourists and public toilets were disgraceful; filthy, pungent traditional style holes in the ground with no soap.The fruits were not to be trusted. While this account comes across as very negative, it was still great fun, just not what you sign up for when you are staying in a nations capital or even in one of the larger cities.

Which brings me to Japan, equally fun but a far easier experience. We stayed with host families, not a hotel obviously but we did go touring for a week or so where we stayed in both hotels and traditional style inns, complete

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