Explore Osaka-Kyoto 'power spots'

Ramada Osaka offers an accommodation plan that encourages guests to see historic sites in Osaka and Kyoto and visit trendy, faddish "power spots."

Going to so-called power spots — places believed to give visitors some special energy, healing or refreshing, spiritual feeling — has been a popular activity among some Japanese of late. The places are usually religious, historic or natural.

The accommodation plan at the Ramada Osaka for guests wishing to join this fad comes with a one-day tourist ticket, which allows unlimited use of local subways, city buses and some trains, as well as free entrance to 26 tourist spots and facilities, such as Osaka Castle. An original leaflet produced by the hotel introduces power spots and historic places in Osaka and Kyoto, including Shoman-in Aizen-do Temple, Omokaru Jizo at Shitennoji Temple, Honnoji and Osaka Castle.

The plan starts at ¥11,000 per room for double occupancy and ¥16,500 per room for triple occupancy.

The Ramada Osaka is connected to Nakatsu Station on the Midosuji Subway Line and is a five-minute walk from Hankyu Umeda Station. For more information, call (06) 6372-8181.

Chic summer disco fever returns

Responding to customers who said that "there is no night spot for adults," the Grand Hyatt Tokyo in Roppongi started an event in 2005 that has become a popular semiannual tradition.

Club Chic 2010 Summer — Greatest '70s Disco Hits and Classics will be held Aug. 27. The event features soulful dance numbers once dominant on the world's dance scene revisited in the hotel's spacious 1,000-sq.-meter Grand Ballroom, dynamically transformed into a gorgeous dance floor.

The party starts at 8 p.m. and runs until midnight (last entry 11:30 p.m.). General tickets are ¥11,000 and VIP tickets are ¥21,000. Both include a free drink. Guests are asked not to wear jeans or sneakers.

The Grand Hyatt Tokyo is a three-minute walk from Roppongi Station. For reservations, call (03) 4333-8838 between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Beer terrace shows Asian taste

Summer is the season when beer gardens sprout all around. The beer terrace at the newly opened Choice! restaurant in the Ark Hills complex in Tokyo takes on an Asian spin through Sept. 30. A special ¥4,500 plan comes with eight Asian dishes and two hours of unlimited drinks, available only at the terrace area, where the breeze and refreshing sounds of the waterfall in Ark Karajan Place add a pleasing touch.

Select Asian dishes, such as black pepper edamame (soy beans), Thai-style fresh spring rolls, prawn toast, satay and Indonesian nasi goreng (a rice dish), go well with cool drinks such as beer, wine, a selection of shochu, cocktails and soft drinks.

The beer terrace course menu is available daily from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Choice! is on the third floor of the Ark Mori Building (1-12-32, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo), a one-minute walk from Roppongi-itchome or Tameike-Sanno stations. For further information, call (03) 3585-2900.