The Roads to Sata

I often think that some first time travelers to Japan suffer from a condition of Japan-can-do-no-wrong. When I came back from Japan the first time all doe-eyed and with wonderlust, I certainly felt that Japan was as close to perfection as I could find. For months after I was constantly comparing everything in Canada to the way things went down in Japan. “That worker in Wendy’s didn’t say hello when I entered the store…hmmm.” “These people are not queuing up orderly AT ALL!” “Why is this toilet not shooting water at my bum?”

I had become a Japanophile.

Since I could see the signs of Japanophilia developing, I tried to find more books that covered the other side of the coin. That’s not to say that I went looking for the dark underbelly of Japan, I just wanted a more balanced look at the Japanese culture and people.

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Safety Tips for Travelling to Japan

I woke up this morning to news of another tragic bombing in Jakarta where several tourists lost their lives. It’s a sad reality that travel is no longer as safe as it once was.

When my wife and I planned our first Asian trip, we decided on picking up one of Cathay Airlines All Asian passes, as it would allow us to travel to several Asian destinations. As I sat down with big plans to jump from country to country and enjoy as many cultures as I could – reality gave me wake up call.

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Tokyo Fireworks – July 25, 2009

If you’re going to be in Tokyo at the end of July, you’ll definitely want to check out the Tokyo fireworks that are held every year on the last Saturday of of the month.

Over a million people usually turn out to watch the approximately 22,000 fireworks lighting up the sky over a period of 1 and a half hours.

For directions and information check out the TokyoTopia web site.

Japanese Roundup – July 09

There’s always new and often bizarre things coming our way from Japan. Sometimes the things we stumble across build up and we’re forced to do a Japanese Roundup =)

A Japanese Roundup a collection of the new, funny, and strange things that we’ve come across while researching our articles. So without further delay, here’s our very first Japanese Roundup!

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Shopping in Japan – Asking “How much?”

Japan is a shopper’s paradise. From electronic super stores, to strange and bizarre curios, there seems to be something for everyone in Japan.

But what do you do when come across a great product with no price listed?

For cases like this you’ll want to learn to say “How much is this” in Japanese!

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Speak Fluent Japanese in Two Short Lessons

OK, so that headline is a little bit of a misnomer. Actually, we’re sharing a comedic video from Ken Tanaka (David Ury) and his sidekick Remi February on how you can answer any Japanese questions using either “iiiisshhh” or “errrrrr.”

I’m also having trouble deciding if David is just fun-silly or if he needs a slap up the back of the head :P

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Tokyo Trendspotting

No matter where you live, the economic downturn has effected tourism. Here in Canada I’ve been seeing a lot more advertising encouraging Canadians to stay at home this summer and tour Canada. Japan, however, is taking a different route.

Trend tourism is one of the newer ideas that has taken hold of Tokyo. The premise is to encourage business and individuals to check out what’s new on the technology horizon, from cell phones to toilets.

BBC just posted a 10 minute spot on how Tokyo is using its art and technology to attract the next generation of tourists.

What’s coming down the pipes for cell phone and RFID technology is both remarkable and somewhat scary.