A guide to Kōchi, Japan: things to do, see and eat

Things to do in Kochi, Japan | PACK THE SUITCASES

Before I get stuck into this blog post, I should point out that this is a guide to things to do in Kochi, Japan, and not the other place called Kochi that isn’t in Japan at all but in India. When I was researching Kochi before visiting it, I kept landing on pages not even about the right country, so I thought I’d better get that cleared up first off.

ANYWAY, as a total Japan addict who has been lots of times and visited lots of cities, I definitely recommend Kochi as a more off-the-beaten path city in Japan, maybe for a second or third trip. You don’t normally think of palm trees, laid-back attitudes and citrus fruits when you think of Japanese cities, but Kochi is here to turn that on its head.

Kochi (or Kōchi to be 100% correct, but there’s no way I’m copy-and-pasting that all the way through) is the capital of Kochi Prefecture on the southern coast of Shikoku. The city is relatively small by Japan’s usual standards. And it’s incredibly friendly, with a distinct lack of the normal Japanese reservedness (this may be down to Kochi’s love of drinking…). More on that later though.

I spent a few days exploring Kochi, so I feel I can give some decent tips on how best to spend your time there. Here’s my guide to the city, featuring some of the best things to do in Kochi, Japan. Yes, definitely Japan. Move along if we’re in the wrong country…

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How to visit Russia: 20 travel tips, from visas to vodka

20 Russia travel tips: from visas to vodka | PACK THE SUITCASES

Here’s a list of my top 20 Russia travel tips to get you started with planning a trip. Lots of people have asked me exactly how to visit Russia since I got back and where to start with planning a trip, so I’ve been working on this massive Russia travel blog post over the last few months. It covers everything from how to get a Russian visa, to cultural ‘must knows’, to safety and more. 

After falling in love with both Moscow and St Petersburg when I visited, I realised that although I’d blogged a lot about both cities, I’d not written more generic stuff about visiting Russia overall. It’s not somewhere most people have been to in my experience, certainly not here in the UK anyway. I’ve also not been able to find many UK-based Russia travel blog posts out there. So hopefully these Russia travel tips will help anyone planning on visiting this incredible country.

Anyway, pour yourself a vodka and get reading…

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Pack The Suitcases’ 2019 travel roundup

Pack The Suitcases’ 2019 travel roundup | PACK THE SUITCASES

Happy belated new year! Here’s my equally belated 2019 travel roundup. Yes, it’s the post no one has been waiting for.

Every January since I started blogging here on Pack The Suitcases, I’ve dished out the ‘best of’ and ‘worst of’ for all the previous year’s travel, to serve as a kind of personal reminder and a bit of amusement (usually failing at the latter) for my readers.

Only about three people read these roundups, they earn me £0, and they die a death after a day, never to be seen again. No one is ever going to Google ‘I wonder what countries that blogger went to in 2019 and her banal thoughts on them’. But I’ve got myself into doing these posts as a tradition now. I can’t stop. Soz.

So here’s the 2019 one. To be fair, it might give you some ideas about where to go (and where to avoid?) for 2020…

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17 things to do in Liverpool at Christmas

17 things to do in Liverpool at Christmas | PACK THE SUITCASES

I’ve just got back from a magical Liverpool Christmas day out and wanted to share what I got up to. I’m trying to type this up as quickly as possible because I’m very aware of how close Christmas is now and for this post to be useful for anyone planning a Liverpool Christmas trip, it needs to go live ASAP. So apologies for it being slightly shorter than my usual mammoth essays, but I hope you enjoy it anyway and that it helps you if you’re planning a Liverpool Christmas trip.

Christmas is my favourite time of year. Although I no longer live there, I usually spend Christmas back ‘home’ in a village near Liverpool, where I grew up. I always try to cram a day out in the city centre in if I can, because it’s so good for getting festive and doing some Christmas shopping. But I love it at any time of year. If you want to read more about my general Liverpool recommendations (non-festive!), have a look at my best UK city break post, which has Liverpool at the top.

Anyway, let’s pour a hot chocolate and start planning a Liverpool Christmas trip with these festive things to do…

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18 ideas for gifts for travel lovers

I’ve put together this list of gifts for travel lovers. As someone who loves travel, I’d be made up with any of these things. In fact, I already have quite a few of them, so I can vouch that they actually are nice things to have.

Before you settle in to peruse my travel-themed present ideas, I just want to assure you that this list does not contain scratch maps, novelty passport cases or any other useless stuff that’s been done to death… Enjoy!

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3 days in St Petersburg, Russia: a complete city guide and itinerary

3 days in St Petersburg, Russia: itinerary | PACK THE SUITCASES

This mammoth 3 days in St Petersburg itinerary (and city guide in general) has taken me ages to write up. But it’s been so worth it to share all of my recommendations on what to do, see and eat in this gorgeous Russian city. Having spent an incredible 2 weeks in Russia this year and absolutely LOVING it, I’m now ready to convince everyone I know that they have to go. 

I actually spent nearly a week in St Petersburg after visiting Moscow, but only had a solid 3 days of full-on itinerary blocked in. The rest of the time, we winged it and found extra things as we went. So although you could cram all of this into 3 days and whiz through the city using it, you could also spread it out over longer. St Petersburg involves a lot of walking and you might want a few ‘rest days’.

Anyway, enough waffle from me. Get your glass of vodka and get reading the St Petersburg itinerary and city guide…

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