The key facts

  • In Singapore, the Royal Albatross sailing ship is moored off the coast of Sentosa Island; it appeared in the film The Dark Knight as Batman's yacht
  • In Japan, besides the Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka–Nara route, the expert recommends Hokkaido and the Nagano region
  • In Nagano, snow monkeys spend the winter in hot springs, while in Kyoto tourists are offered dinner with a geisha

Unusual vacation formats in Singapore

Director of the sales office of the travel company Sodis Irina Manuilskaya told Gazeta.Ru about unusual places and vacation formats in Asia. According to her, Singapore's standard set of attractions is available to any tourist, yet the city knows how to surprise even those who have seen a lot.

Batman's sailing ship and the Formula 1 race

Among the less obvious options, the expert named Sentosa Island: moored off its coast is the Royal Albatross sailing ship — the very one that appeared in the film The Dark Knight as Batman's personal yacht. The vessel can be rented for a birthday or a romantic evening, and an evening yacht outing is sometimes timed to drone shows during city festivities. Another unconventional format is attending a Formula 1 race: the show can be watched from different vantage points — at the fastest section of the track, at the pit lane where tires are changed at speed, or from a VIP box overlooking the entire circuit.

Japan: Hokkaido, Nagano and rituals

Manuilskaya called a trip to Japan a chance to touch a mystery. Most tourists, in her observation, limit themselves to the Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka–Nara route, but those visiting the country for the second time or later should take a closer look at Hokkaido Island with its natural beauty and abundance of national parks: in winter you can ski there and enjoy the scenery. Among the must-see routes she also highlighted the Nagano region, where in a national park snow monkeys spend the winter in hot springs, and tourists can attend a sumo tournament with a guide, have breakfast with the athletes, and hear stories about choosing a path, training and traditions. Among the rituals, the expert named the tea ceremony, ikebana lessons and a puppet theater in which legends come to life.

Dinner with a geisha as a culture lesson

In Kyoto, according to Manuilskaya, tourists are offered dinner with a geisha, which 'breaks stereotypes.' In her assessment, it is not entertainment in the usual sense but a culture lesson: guests learn how deep and complex the role of a geisha is and how much work lies behind every gesture, word and detail of the image. Such an evening, the expert concluded, helps one see geishas as keepers of art and traditions.