Lock Up & Leave – Japan offers a cool change

If we could just drag ourselves out of holiday mode – we are in Fiji, after all – and maybe get you in the mood for a vacation of your own, we have a Christmas cracker of an idea for a cool change.

If you dream of a white Christmas, or just want to get your skis into some real snow, Japan is a hugely tempting option, especially with exchange rates favouring the Aussie, for once.

So zoosh on over to Mildrover.com where our Pick of the Trips is a special feature on all the ski resorts in Japan currently laden with the white stuff – some of them only two hours from major cities like Tokyo and Sapporo. That’s HERE.

If you’re one of those travellers that enjoys a little history or mystery, you can get both with Jimmy’s feature on the mythical Soul Alley in Saigon, a wartime haven for African-American soldiers.

CHOOSY CRUISE: England to Rome, via 11 ports. That’s HERE.

REAL DEAL: Majestic Heritage Hotel Escape. That’s HERE.