As the Asia Pacific region continues to be the growth engine for luxury travel, a new comprehensive report from the Luxury Group by Marriott International has identified new expectations and travel preferences among high-net-worth (HNW) travelers in Asia Pacific. Across the region, 68% are planning to spend more on travel over the next 12 months – 89% among Indians - with 74% planning to travel within Asia Pacific and 88% prioritizing gastronomy as the reason to travel. One in four of all holidays planned (25%) are celebrations. Three distinct new groups of luxury traveler have emerged – the ‘Venture Travelist’ who seeks business opportunities when traveling, ‘Experience Connoisseur’ Millennials who are traveling for enrichment and ‘Timeless Adventurer’, over 65s who are building their own itineraries and exploring places before they become popular.
A first time guide to Osaka, Japan
12.06.2024 - 20:17 / lonelyplanet.com
Jun 12, 2024 • 8 min read
Osaka is renowned as Japan’s friendliest city, and one of its delightfully quirkiest — all the way down to people walking and standing on the opposite sides of escalators than in Tokyo.
If you want great food, buzzing nightlife and modern Japanese skyscraper metropolis, but at a manageable size, add a few days in Osaka to your trip. Here's what you need to know.
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Short version: spring or autumn, and even into the more off-season of winter.
Long version: like much of Japan, Osaka has a humid subtropical climate with mild winters but hot and humid summers. June and July are the tsuyu, or rainy season, while September into early October brings tropical storms and sometimes typhoons. A lot of the fun of Osaka is strolling its outdoors entertainment districts, so wet weather isn’t ideal.
There’s a reason that beautiful spring blossoms and autumn leaves are the most popular seasons to visit Japan. They bring crowds, though, and while Osaka will be quieter than neighbour Kyoto, the cities do share airports and a Shinkansen line. So if your main interests are the city of Osaka itself and its nightlife, you may well find the quieter winter season a great time for your visit.
If you do pick summer, you’ll at least get to enjoy the city's festivals. Osaka’s main three are the first major summer festival Aizen Matsuri that takes place in late June to early July, Tenjin Matsuri in late July which is known for its spectacular fireworks, and Sumiyishi Matsuri in late July to early August. September and October bring the exciting Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri south of the city, with its crashing wooden floats.
Osaka has a main international airport (the new one called Kansai, airport code KIX, on the artificial island in Osaka Bay) and an old one in the city now used for domestic flights (named Itami, code ITM).
Quite a few airlines offer international flights direct to Osaka Kansai, but traveling in Japan is so easy that it’s only a minor inconvenience to transfer — either via plane or Shinkansen bullet train — via Tokyo.
Traveling around in Japan? Here's our guide to using the train network
If you fly into Kansai Airport, you have multiple options. Take one of the two “limited express” trains depending on where you want to go in town: JR West’s Haruka or Nankai Railways’ bonkers future-retro designed rapi:t (pronounced rapiito). If neither is convenient, see if one of the KATE (Kansai Airport Transportation Enterprise) Airport Limousine buses work better.
From Itami Airport, take the Osaka Monorail and connect to local railways from there.
The Shinkansen arrives at Shin-Osaka station, north of the city center, which is
I spent $38,000 to take my toy poodle on a private jet to Japan. I want to plan a trip for my other dogs next.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Gladys Tsoi, a 29-year-old dog owner and investment banker based in Hong Kong. This essay has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider verified Tsoi's receipts.
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