region: Asia

Art we can get around

Now this is art we can get around.

A second teamLab Borderless has opened in Tokyo at Azabudai Hills, another immersive visual art installation showcase from the absolute weapons who brought you the first.

Technically, this is art, but it’s not like you’re sniffing someones armpit trying to get a half-decent shot of the Mona Lisa, nor is it staring at a picture of an apple which is apparently worth US$274,000, which just quietly, you reckon you could have painted.

At teamLab Borderless, you don’t so much as move from room to room but flow that way.

Each room is an experience, designed to make you feel a certain way. Mirrors, lights, cutting-edge technology and plants alike are used to create different universes, blowing your mind constantly from one room to the next.

In the new edition, one room features countless wobbling lights which run continuously through a space that infinitely expands, meaning you can’t really get your head around depth perception. The lights also shimmer beautifully, just managing to straddle the line between trippy and incredible.

If you went to the old teamLabs borderless at Odaiba, there’s a couple of things you should know. The first is that this new site at Azabudai Hills in the city’s south is bigger…way bigger. No less than 50 (!)  the world renowned independent installations are featured in the 8.1 hectare site (where tf did they find eight hectares in Tokyo from?). One of these is an adaptation from the room of lamps that featured in teamLab mark I, which has evolved into a room of light bubbles.

How to celebrate Mt. Fuji Day

Is there a more aesthetically pleasing mountain than Mount Fuji?

Forever a landmark of the Land of the Rising Sun, Fuji’s snow-capped peak is an active stratovolcano that raises it’s head majestically above mist, or on a clearer day standing in full visibility from the capital Tokyo.

Japan is the number one trending global destination for 2024 according to Tripadvisor, aptly crowned ahead of this year’s Mt. Fuji Day on Friday 23rd February.

Fuji Day commemorates and promotes the iconic mountain, with towns surrounding the 3,776-metre mountain getting ready to party. Lake Kawaguchiko Winter Fireworks have been happening through January and February but are set to go out with the biggest bang on Mt. Fuji Day.

And yeh sure, you could climb it…OR you could go full get lost and paraglide around it, taking the Big Boy in from mid-air.

For more adrenaline, there’s a half-day rafting experience. Fly along the Fuji River you’ll get to splash your way through the 6km course and maybe even tip one of your mates out hold on for dear life. For those who prefer to stay dry, there’s a few cycling tours that allow you to take in the views of Japan’s tallest mountain as well as the stunning countryside.

Images courtesy of Explore Shizuoka.

Three Fukuoka pilgrimages to conquer

Tucked away in the southwest of Japan, Fukuoka offers the best the country has to offer in one intriguing package. The largest city on Kyushu Island, Fukuoka is famous for teasing visitors with the intoxicating aromas of street food at ‘yatai’ stalls, world-class shopping, culture and nightlife.

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It also has something for lovers of the outdoors—built on the shores of Hakata Bay, Fukuoka offers easy access to beaches and the stunning mountains that embrace it on three sides. Those mountains have beckoned pilgrims for centuries. Now it’s your turn. 

Whether you’re searching for enlightenment, a life partner or a demon slayer, Japan’s Fukuoka prefecture has a pilgrimage to suit. Just don’t get your mountains confused.

Love mountain 

Before Tinder, there was Mount Hōman. The mountain was known for being able to help the unlucky in love, with pilgrims praying to find their life partner as they headed up the trail. Its profile has been raised even more thanks to its starring role in a popular manga series. 

The trail through lush forest includes several small waterfalls with cascading crystal-clear waters en route to the summit, 829 metres above sea level, where you’ll enjoy sweeping views of Fukuoka City—from the coastline and city in the north, to the mountains in the south.

Tamayorihime no Mikoto, enshrined in the main hall of Houman-gu Kamado Shrine, is famous as the god of matchmaking. It is said to bring together not only romantic relationships but also all kinds of connections such as family, friends, and work.

There are two rocks on the right side of the main hall called Aikei no Iwa, or ‘Charming Rocks.’

It is believed that if you walk from one rock to the other while closing your eyes and thinking of the person you love, your love will come true. Worth a crack.

Mount Hōman loop 

Distance: 5.6km 

Elevation gain: 602 metres         

Time requirement: 3 plus hours  

AllTrails rating: Challenging  

Hard Hiko  

With AllTrails rating the summit climb as ‘challenging’, it’s no wonder followers of the Shungendo religious tradition—a combination of Buddhism, Shintoism and mountain worship—picked Hiko as one of their training mountains. The Shungendo pushed themselves to their physical and mental limits in their bid to achieve enlightenment. Lesser mortals may need to stop to rest at the awe-inspiring Hikosan shrine. A registered national historic site conveniently located about halfway up the mountain, Hikosan is thought to bring good luck and is just one of a number of significant temples and shines on the mountain.

 

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You know you are about to enter a sacred space when you spy one of iconically Japanese ‘torii’ gates, featuring upright beams supporting lintels.  

Hiko’s summit rewards your hard work with a panoramic view of the bustling Fukuoka city against a glittering Pacific Ocean backdrop.  

Mount Hiko loop 

Distance: 7.4km 

Elevation gain: 732m     

Time requirement: 3-4 hours     

AllTrails rating: Hard  

Forest bath 

The Japanese have been the brains behind many useful, and not so useful, inventions, ranging from the Bullet Train to emojis. But it is during a leisurely stroll up the gentler slopes of Mt Kubote that you appreciate one of their more off-beat creations – ‘shinrin-yoku’ or ‘forest bathing’.  

Forest bathing is now recognised internationally for its physical and mental well-being benefits. The idea is simply to spend time in densely forested areas to let the trees soothe and heal. With Mt Kubote’s ancient forests emitting the heady smell of cedar, all your troubles, including a fear of moths destroying your clothes, simply melt away.  

Along with Mount Hiko, Kubote was a key training ground for the mountain-worshipping Shungendo, who believed Gods lived in the hills and that if followers endured severe training at altitude, they would gain superhuman powers. You can see evidence of Shungendo training grounds, temple ruins, halls, and graves strewn throughout Mount Kubote, which has been declared a national historic site. 

End your adventure with a more traditional type of bathing in the natural hot springs at Kubote Onsen (assuming you haven’t gained superhuman powers, in which case you’ve probably got more important things to do)  

Kobeotesan Daiichie Parking – Mount Kubote Loop 

Distance: 5 km   

Elevation gain: 446m     

Time requirement: 2 – 3 hours     

AllTrails rating: moderately challenging 

Ultimate K-Adventure Winner

Whether you’re into K-Pop or not, we reckon South Korea should be on everyone’s bucket list.

The hectic frenzy that is Seoul, the deliciously crazy cuisine (hello, hongeo-hoe!) to the baseball games, South Korea is hit of extraordinary culture.

READ: SOUTH KOREA’S CLASH OF KULTURE 

We know South Korea is on many of your bucket lists, owing to the thousands of entries we had into our Ultimate K-Adventure competition.

We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and creativity of our readers, and there were many worthy winners. But, there can be only one.

AND THE WINNER IS

Drumroll please…

 

Trishia Jandu!

Congratulations Trishia! You’ve won return flights to Seoul, $750 cash and an extraordinary 7-day South Korean adventure for the ages!

get lost would like to thank our incredible partners in this competition, ASIANA Airlines, Inside Asia, World Nomads and Visit Korea, for their exceptional support and making all this possible – helping travellers get lost.

ARE YOU NOT TRISHIA? STILL WANT TO WIN SOMETHING?

CLICK HERE TO ENTER OUR FRAME YOUR VIEW COMPETITION, TO WIN AN OM-SYSTEM CAMERA WORTH OVER $2,000

CLICK HERE TO TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE BEACH, FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN A LONELY PLANET

THE OLD AND THE NEW IN SINGAPORE

Brand new in Singapore, 21 Carpenter is a hotel where history buffs and modern, art-deco minimalist-types can live in harmony – not always the case.

It’s blends old-world Singapore – think relics, inscriptions and phrases from the building’s history dating back to the 1930s as an old remittance house – with an exquisite, minimalistic luxury which is sure to win the hearts of architecture and design enthusiasts.

The building really is something to behold; sleek, modern art deco meets brutalist concrete, the latter inscribed with real-life messages from 1930s immigrants who would visit the building to send money home to their families.

It’s location on a busy urban street fades away when you step inside, where a rooftop pool and large open spaces remind you that you’re in a luxury hotel, and not in the 1930s (don’t think infinity pool cocktails were a thing back then).

There’s also a sick garden terrace to hang out in, for when you need a refuge from the hustle and bustle of 2024 Singapore.

STAY THERE

Botanical Pool Club

‘The Black Pool’ is a 40 metre, 40℃ infinity pool that is arguably the highlight of the stunning Botanical Pool Club, near Chiba, Tokyo.

 

It’s amazing that a place like this could even exist in Tokyo, comprising of 21 rooms, a bunch of swimming pools and a jungle-inspired sauna stretching out over some considerable space.

Tokyo is a city of vastly variable climate, and so this is a place to come whether it’s a desert oasis or warming up you’re requiring.

It is so at odds with the Tokyo we all know and love, in fact, that we at get lost think it’s a masterstroke. A refuge from the chaotic, beeping energy, leaving you with more energy to charge this city’s weird beauty during the day and at night.

SONEVA SECRET

When the legends at Soneva sound the conch horn to announce they’ve built another stay, you listen.

The luxury chain makes accommodation so damn dreamy you’ll think it’s been dreamt up by AI. But it’s not. This place is real. Soneva Secret is the incredible, not-so-secret collection of 14 beach and over-water villas located in Haa Dhaalu Atoll, the Maldives’ most remote atoll.

The resort’s star attraction? Probably the Castaway Villa, the Maldives’ first floating villa. Floating on water, not a euphemism, this incredible master suite even boasts a roof that slides open to reveal star-strewn skies.

Transport around the resort is also done in style; going for a swim? Take the water slide. Heading to dinner? Enjoy the zipline.

Soneva opens January 10, 2024. Your move, AI.

From AU$HEAPS per person, per night

Click for SECRET’S OUT

GAL OYA LODGE

This national park isn’t like all the other national parks.

Why? Because you can find elephants swimming the waters here. Then there’s the local Vedda community, the earliest known inhabitants of Sri Lanka, who still stroll the forests as they have for thousands of years, climbing trees for food and living in harmony with crocodiles, turtles, monkeys and other animals.

There’s only nine humble bungalows at Gal Oya, so you’re not jostling with hordes of tourists in an attempt to get ‘the shot’.

Wildlife geeks will rejoice at the wildlife research centre on-site, and people who eat food will rejoice at the local dishes served up on banana leaves every day. Living.

From AU$410 per night

Click for GLORIOUS GAL OYA

GLAMPROOK HOTEL

Glamprook Hotel is a strange patchwork of things that shouldn’t really work together and yet inexplicably absolutely do.

Take the glamping domes for example, where ‘camping’ is made to feel super luxurious thanks to some incredibly comfy beds and armchairs made for kicking back and gazing at the starry night skies next to a roaring (if fake) fire.

get lost has never had access to an onsen while camping before, but we’re going to demand it from now on. Soaking, completely starkers, with people you’ve never met before, is a lot more relaxing than it sounds.

Then there’s the 10-course dinner, which is actually quite a tidy menu length for Japan. We’re not sure what cuisine to call this: traditional sashimi matched with pasta matched with an outrageous sorbet-honeycomb-brownie thing for dessert. The only common thread between the dishes is that they’re all super colourful, in complete contrast to the snow that falls here in the winter. None of this should work, but it does.

From AU$300 per person, per night

Click for JAPAN GLAM

Thai Experiential Luxury

Anantara get it.

They just get it. They get it in Mauritius, and a host of other places, and now they get it at Koh Yao Yai too.

 

The brand new Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort & Villas sits on a lush island in the middle of Phang Nga Bay, where limestone islets dot the horizon in every direction. Unfolding over a kilometre of golden beach, this is a luxury resort in every sense. But while the word ‘resort’ usually associates with sitting by a pool all day drinking cocktails (which you’re welcome to do, mind you) there is so much experiential goodness to soak up at Koh Yao Yai that you may not spend much time on the banana lounge.

Dive enthusiasts will love the abundance of underwater life. Venture off the beaten track to tranquil Hong Island to discover a small white sandy beach with a crystal-clear lagoon – our recommendation is to trek up 400 steps to a phenomenal 360-degree viewpoint.

Drift along mangrove canals in a kayak as eagles soar above. Take a boat out to a natural sand bank for a twilight candlelit dinner, or go for a vintage sidecar experience in a motorbike dashing through a rubber plantation.

There were already plenty of reasons to go to this part of the world; looks like there’s one more.