The Travel Expo runs every year, urging the people of Melbourne possessed by wanderlust to gather and learn about their potential travel destinations for the year or even the next. Whether you are wondering about popular tourist attractions, hotels, tours, you name it, there’s plenty of information available.
While the Japan booths were among the more popular tourist destinations, there were tons of locations to choose from with booths dedicated to popular travel areas from all over the world. Whether you were after solo travel, group travel, guided tours or cruises, each of the booths had something for you. Even better, Flight Centre had little booths set up all over the exhibition hall so that if you wanted to get a good price on your flights then and there, you could! Many attendees nabbed great prices on their flights and hotels!
Each booth was beautifully decorated, regardless of their size, with many of the booth attendants wearing the traditional dress of the country that they were advertising for.
Not only was the Japan booth a big hit, but the surrounding Okinawa, Tokyo and Hokkaido booths as well! The Japan booth was run by the JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organisation) and provided general information on all of Japan. They provided maps, travel brochures, the lot! Each of the staff was able to help you make your journey to Japan an enjoyable one!
The Okinawa booth situated directly next to the overall Japan booth was also quite popular. Okinawa is a great place to go nearly all year round due to its warm climate and beautiful clear waters. It is a place full of natural beauty and many Australians were said to have asked about snorkelling and scuba diving tours or packages to try out while they were there. Okinawa also has a very unique food culture to the rest of Japan, so it is also a delight for gourmet connoisseurs. Okinawa is famous for its abundance of marine life and aquatic activities, so if you love the ocean, this is definitely a destination you can’t miss!
Just around the corner was a booth advertising Hokkaido’s Hoshino Resort Tomamu. This resort has plenty of family activities and facilities. You can get lessons on how to snowboard or ski, but if that’s not your thing, there are plenty of other activities you can enjoy on the slopes! Some of these activities include snowshoe hiking, snow sledding, riding snow mobiles and more! If you’re into more extreme winter sports, they have you covered as well, with expert snowboarding and snow activity courses.
For ice skating and activities the whole family can enjoy, the ice village is a must. They have an ice bar and café, activities for kids and seasonal events that run all through early December to mid-March.
Being a resort, Tomamu also has hotels and restaurants in the resort area, making everything very close and convenient! It positioned in the heart of Hokkaido, so it’s easily accessible via New Chitose Airport, Obihiro and Asahikawa.
The last Japan booth was sat right next to the Hoshino Resorts booth, “& Tokyo” had a big display wall where you could take pictures to enter a competition to win flights from Melbourne to Tokyo, many attendees were getting in on the photo taking and posting it up on their Instagram accounts. This booth was your go-to for everything Tokyo, whether it be food, wine, culture or shopping. Many people think that Tokyo’s only merit is the shopping, however, you can experience amazing food and culture here, you just have to look! The Tokyo Handy Guide is perfect for finding all those hidden spots or if you are looking for something specific!
Tokyo also has amazing natural sights such as the Ogasawara Islands, the islands have been deemed a World Natural Heritage sight and is a great spot if you’re in Japan for a short amount of time and you aren’t able to travel far out of Tokyo.
If you happened to miss the Travel Expo this year, I hope you can make it next year! It’s very helpful when planning your next trip!
