Obscure, semi-useful practical information for budding diehard Japanophiles: Did you know that Japan is now the cheapest country in Asia to send stuff home if your home is called California? It costs 1080 yen (US$10.50) to send a small packet … Continue reading
Tag Archives: japan
Hey, what are you doing for the rest of your life? No plans? Nothing? Then why not settle down in a 10-room mountain lodge in the Japanese Alps? It’s called Hoshi Boshi Lodge, or HBL. You can of course change … Continue reading
This is my 12th time in Japan. 12th time! Who visits Japan twelve times?! By now I should be Japan Travel Ambassador. 11 times I was here as a tourist, and once I worked for a couple of months in … Continue reading
First things first. This is the greatest music video ever, which just happens to be Japanese. Note the three seconds from 1:19-1:22. So good. If you can’t see it below, the link is here. The first and last thirty seconds … Continue reading
Dear good people of JNTO, Japan’s tourism development board, You need me. Sorry to be so blunt. It is very un-Japanese of me. I am bowing a hundred times as I type this as an apology for my boldness. Tomorrow … Continue reading
What about the most northern part where there was damage? Aomori-ken? Isn’t it away from prevailing radiation winds? What if I brought a tent and a sleeping bag, maybe a little camping stove, a few jugs of water, and box … Continue reading
Now that I am back in Gonder I’m learning about the earthquake in Japan. It takes forever to open links on slow internet connections here, so I only glimpse at headlines for now. I’ve traveled in that area twice. A … Continue reading
I’m contemplating where to stay when I go to Amman, Jordan next week to start my trip. My last time waaaaaay back in the 90’s I stayed where everyone stayed, the Cliff Hotel. It’s one of those places where you … Continue reading
In this restaurant if you could eat a gyoza (dumpling) this big within 30 minutes, you get it free. If not, 9600 yen ($115). Japanese ultra nationalists drive around in vans and buses looking like this and blast propaganda. Somehow … Continue reading
I know a pretty famous person of letters in Japan by the name of Mitsuyo Kakuta. She’s written over a dozen books, the last two translated into English, and the present one is being made into a big movie next … Continue reading
