Five Reasons Why Living in Japan is Better Than Where You Live

[Editor - We're super excited to have our first guest article. This one is from Nathan, a designer from Tokyo. Thanks again Nathan!]

Japan’s a pretty cool place.

If you’re reading this, you probably share this sentiment.

Japan is such a cool place that I decided to live here! After four years soaking it all in, I’m prepared to offer you five reasons why (I think) Japan is a better place to live than where you currently reside. No offense to you or where you are but there are just some things about this country that feel like magic.

Enough with the jibber-jabber. Here we go!

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My Experience of the Japan Earthquake

Just thought I would write a short blurb on what the earthquake was like to experience…

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Nisshoken – Japan’s Sunshine Rights

Photo Credits: mrhayata on Flickr

Recently while I was reading the book Life in Tokyo, I came across a section that described a strange building law that required every Japanese citizen a basic right to sunshine.

I’m not sure if this is still in practice or not, but here’s what it’s all about.

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Frommer’s Japan Guide – Book Review

Photo by: Stuck in Customs on Flickr

I’ve always been a fan of guide books. Before a trip I tend to devour a guide book cover-to-cover multiple times. I figure if I don’t, I’ll miss some super important site or event and my trip will be a complete waste.

Of course, basing your entire trip on guide book recommendations is not a great way to travel, either. So today we’re going to look at Frommer’s guide book to Japan to see what it has to offer the Japan traveler.

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Packing For A Long Haul Trip – Japan Survival Kit

Photo by: derajfast on Flickr

Our trip is coming up really fast now. I’ve been slowly collecting our clothing and other items in area for packing. To start though, we decided on what to take on our carry on. What will make this trip more endurable as we will be about 36 hours in the air plus time in airports.

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Winter in Japan

December to February brings on the winter season in Japan. From skiing to snow sculpture building, Japan has a ton of winter activities to enjoy (also check out our post on what to do in Japan in spring).

Here’s our rundown on things to do in Japan in winter and some outstanding winter photographs from Flickr.

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Japan Castle Explorer

I saw this really cool site tweeted last week, the Japan Castle Explorer.

The website lists all the most famous castles of Japan and allows you to click on each to find out information like who built the castle, which clans owned it as well as plenty of photos. Best of all, it’s laid out on a map of Japan, so you’ll know where each castle is located.

Funny Directions to Japan from Google Maps

Recently I’ve seen a few funny directions popping up in Google Maps. With Japan announcing that it hopes to increase its annual tourist amounts by 8.4 million by 2013, these kind of directions on how to get to Japan will probably hurt :)

Let’s take a look at a few.

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Japan Plans – Update

Back in April I went though some of our planning process for our March 2011 trip to Japan.

It’s been a few months now, so I thought I’d catch you up on how things are coming together. Some goals, as you will see, are easier to achieve than others…

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Japan Wants Your Travel Advice

Recently the Japan government announced that is what looking to recruit foreigners to help give them advice on how they can make things more travel-friendly for non-Japanese speaking visitors.

They are looking to pay for the travel allowance of 100 people for feedback on how to make it easier for travelers to use public transport, stay at local hotels and eat at local restaurants.

Sounds pretty good right?

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