·    Hagi- it is a nice historic archaic Samurai and castle town in the rural Japan. It is located near the western tip of the Honshu Island. Hagi has some of the wonderful museums and beaches. The Joka- Machi old samurai quarter is worth visitng in Hagi. Besides this the Kumaya Art Mueseum, the Kasuga Shrine near Joka Machi and the Sho-in Shrine are the must visit sites in Hagi.

·    Idzumo is one amongst the four most important Shinto shrines of Japan. It is also called the home of gods. The shrine has tremendous historical significance.

·    Sekigane is also an amazing Japanese getaway. It is a small village that has hot water springs and coastal mountains. At the end of this small but calm and amazing village is a walk up through bamboo groves to Kamei Park.

·    The Kyoto Fu peninsula is a small peninsula that makes a great getaway. In order to reach this peninsula you need to drive from Kumihama to Mineyama, Omiya and Miyazu. On the south of Omiya there is a small shrine that too is religiously and historically quite significant.

·    The Wakasa Wan (Bay) is another brilliant getaway. The Wakasa Wan National Park is quite popular here.

·    The Obama Bay that stretches to the Oshima Peninsula is also a brilliant getaway. Similarly the Tsunegami Hanto Peninsula that has Rocky Mountains is also worth visiting.

·    You can also go to see the Tojimbo Cliffs. These are located on a point of the Echi-zen Kaigan (coast) National Park. It is a popular tourist attraction because of its exotic beauty. If you visit here don’t forget to go to the small fishing village, Anto nearby.

·    The Central Mountains of Honshu Island are a big lure to visitors. This island has a collection of various mountains known as Central Alps. It is a great delight and lifetime opportunity to see these world famous ice-capped mountains.
·    The Shiwaku Shoto Islands are a group of islands near Oakayama that has many small collections of islands in the Inland Sea. Hon-Jima and Mukkuchi-Jima islands make desirous getaways.

·    Apart from these the place of Hokkaido in Japan is recognized as a top romantic getaway. Similarly there are other passionate getaways such as Ikspiari, Vinus Fort, Lover’s Cape and Kobe Portpia.

But this is just the tip of an iceberg for there are many other known and waiting to be discovered getaways in Japan.

1. Yangon is the capital city of Myanmar and is a typical Asian city with it’s beautiful green tropical trees and beautiful lakes. The wonderful thing about Yangon is that it has not been spoilt by modern development although it is progressing gently at it’s own pace. The city is the main entrance to the country and also houses the principle seaport.
Yangon is home to many stunning pagodas, one of the most stunning being The Shwedagon Pagoda which stands on Theingottara hill. This golden shrine is gilded from top to bottom which makes it glisten in the sun an absolutely awesome spectacle.

Not as ancient but of no less beauty is the 20 year young is Karaweik Hall stands in the Royal Lake (Kandawgyi Lake). A mythical creature known as the Karaweik bird is what this structure has been based on and as it too is gilded from top to bottom it is a beautiful sight to behold as it shimmers on the lake.

2. Located in Bagan and erected in the 1100’s is the Dhammayangyi Temple which is a Buddhist temple.The temple remains unfinished to this day. There are other temples in Bagan but the Dhammayangyi is the most popular because of its mass which makes it unique. It is shaped like a pyramid which features very fine brickwork. Some people believe that the temple was built by an evil king.

3. Mandalay is Burma’s second biggest capital and is also the  cultural and religious centre of Buddhism. This is displayed by more than 700 pagodas.

In Manadalay you will find over 700 stone slabs located at the foot of Mandalay Hill. Together they are inscribed with the entire Buddhist scriptures which are better known as the Pali Canon. This has earned the reputation as the biggest book in the world and is known as the official “Buddhist Bible.

Mandalay Palace is a place not to be missed on a visit to Mandalay. There is an 8 meter high brick wall surrrounding the palace and a wide moat  which has plenty of goldfish. Considering that the palace was completely destroyed by fire in World War II and completely rebuilt it remains a popular attraction for many tourists every year.

4.In the Mon State you will find the Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda. What helps to make this pagoda very intriguing is the story that accompanies this amazing feat of nature. The pagoda is  7.3 and is perched atop a golden rock. The rock itself is right on top of the Kyaikhto mountain.

The story that accompanies the rocks precarious balance and how it can stay in this position is because of a Buddha hair which has been placed precisely inside the pagoda.
Apparently it is believed that a King who had received the Buddha’s hair from a hermit was told to hunt for a rock that looked like the hermits head. The hermit instructed the King to search for a boulder whose shape resembled the hermit’s head. Once the right rock was discovered the hair was placed into the pagoda on top of it.  Legend has it that the King had supernatural powers as his mother was a dragon princess and his father was an alchemist.

This is considered to be a highly sacred place and people come from all over to visit this unusual pagoda.

Forbidden City

Constructed during the Ming and Qing dynasty eras, native Chinese call it Gu Gong while the tourism board and guests alike now call it the Palace Museum. It holds the record for being the largest palace complex in the world, sprawling over 74 hectares of property located at the very heart of Beijing.

A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site since 1987, it served both as a residence and as a seat of power to a total of 24 emperors, fourteen from the Ming dynasty and ten from the Qing dynasty. An imperial palace for a period of almost five centuries, it is composed of two divisions, namely, the Inner Court and the Outer Court. The former is located in the northern half of the compound and used as the royal residence of the emperor and his family while the latter is the southern half and served as the seat of imperial power of the ruler of China.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is an ancient fortress with its own history of construction that spans across dynasties from the Western Zhou dynasty in 1100 BC to the Qin dynasty in 206 BC. The citadel that meanders through 6,700 kilometers of mountains and valleys, and grasslands and deserts from west to east, was refurbished and fortified by the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644.
A UNESCO World Heritage since 1987, it is one of the world’s greatest wonders and believed to be the only human construction on earth that is visible from outer space. A tourist who has never set foot on the Great Wall has never been to China.

Stone forest

Sculpted by nature’s own hands, the enchanting Stone Forest located in Lunan Yi Nationality Autonomous County is acclaimed as the First Wonder of the World. It is a group of several patches of limestone formations interspersed with scenic oasis spots covering an area of 96,000 acres.The fabled Stone Forest has a rich collection of legends and myths pertaining to its origin. However, geologists simply say that it used to be an expansive sea which dried up and the result of millions of years of erosion.