The prominent economy of Tokyo attracts millions of business persons annually. The city being a hub for banking, finance and industry is completely geared to cater for those travelling for commercial purposes. The city is amazing. It’s a blend of style, glamour, success and interesting culture. It is also very much abuzz with activity but […]
Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Fallout
My heart goes out to the people of Japan. In 1970 I was a member of a hula troupe and we performed at The Narugo Hotel in Nagoya for three months. After landing in Tokyo, our troupe boarded the ‘bullet train’ to Sendai (the northern capital of Japan). Then we rode by car for a […]
Things to Do and Food to Eat in Fukuoka, Japan
Fukuoka isn’t that small of a place. Actual numbers bring the population to about the 5 million mark, with the city having roughly 1.3 million people. With that amount of people around, you know there has got to be something to do. On any day of the week if you look you will be able […]
Shibuya Hotels – Finding a Good, Cheap Shibuya Hotel
Shibuya Hotels are a great place to stay when you are visiting Tokyo. One of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Shibuya is known for its shopping and youthful vibe. It is easy to get to, has a lot of shopping, and plenty of attractions. Shibuya is also known as one of the places where […]
A Memory of Kyoto
It’s often that chance encounters, the unplanned events, linger, long after the excursions and the sights of a particular trip have faded. It was in 1998 when my wife and I visited central Japan, basing ourselves in Kyoto, having availed ourselves of cheap flights from Bandar Seri Begawan, courtesy of Royal Brunei. I can place […]
The Japanese Diet and Cold Noodles in the Summer
Noodles are a major part of the Japanese diet, hot and cold. Ramen, soba, and udon are probably the three most popular types of noodles served hot with a broth, or cold without one. Wikipedia tells us that most ramen is made from wheat flour, salt, water and kansui. Kansui is an alkaline mineral water […]
Japanese and Australian Sister City Relationship Suspended Due to Dolphin Hunting
Interesting article from September 2009 The Japan Times recently covered the suspended sister city relationship between the coastal towns of Broome in Western Australia and Taiji, in Wakayama prefecture, Japan. Their ties date back at least 100 years to the pearling industry in Broome. At that time, Broome was the biggest pearling center in the […]
Best Way to Learn Japanese – a Tale of Two Cities
Living in Japan is the best way to learn how to speak Japanese because you have the bonuses of having first hand experience of Japanese culture, the country and its people. But before you leave, you need to get your brain ready to take on Japanese and Japan. To lessen culture shock and fortify your […]
Not all you see is Sushi
Recently, after not having returned to Australia for 5 years, we made a trip home to celebrate Christmas and New Year with our families. After so long away, it was great to see all the various fare that I had loved, growing up on the Gold Coast. My sister cooked up her delicious recipe of […]
Living in the Land of the Rising Sun
A friend recently asked me what it’s actually like for a non-Japanese person to live in Japan, (knowing that my wife and I have lived here for 14 years). The hardest part about answering that question is fitting it into the length of an article, but as the Japanese say, “Ganbarimasu!” (I’ll do my best!) […]
Climbing Fuji-san
In the year 2000, my wife Mandy and I celebrated the new millennium by climbing Mt Fuji, which straddles the border of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures in central Japan. When we arrived back home two days later, every muscle in our body ached, our feet had blisters, and our toes were bruised, but it was […]
Summer Customs in Japan
Japanese summers are usually introduced by a warm, sunny spring season, but this year, the temperatures and conditions have been wildly erratic. However, ‘Tsuyu’ (the rainy season) has arrived on schedule as usual, bringing with it the typical heat and humidity that can be expected at this time of the year, and the realization that […]
Japanese Year in Sync with the Seasons
One of the first things I noticed, as a schoolteacher in Japan, is that so many countries start their school year in a different month. I come from Australia, where the school year is the same as the calendar year, and so the students begin their classes in January. Being in the southern hemisphere, Australia’s […]
Explore the Land of the Rising Sun
Japan, known as the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’, is the most developed country in entire Asia. Most of Japan’s terrain is mountainous and is dotted with numerous dormant and active volcanoes. Situated on eastern most point of the continent, Japan is an archipelago nation which comprises of more than 3000 islands. Japan is a […]
Baseball in Japan
This article is a few years old but still interesting for the history of baseball in Japan In recent years, the arrival in the United States of players like Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui has enlightened Americans about the popularity of the sport in Japan. But most Americans don’t know that Japan has almost as […]
Japanese View of the Second World War
Nations, culture and what we are told act as kinds of lenses that greatly influence how we see events. We can gain a better appreciation of this by looking at how people from other cultures look at the same events in history and the world today. When working in Japan a few years back, I […]
Comfortable, Home-Away-From-Home and Cheap Tokyo Hotels
Tokyo is one of Japan’s forty-seven prefectures. It is situated near the eastern section of the Honshu main island. It is not only the most populous metro area in the world with 35-39 million people, it also has the largest metro economy in the world at $US 1.479 trillion. Matter of fact, Tokyo is regarded […]
Interesting Okinawa Hotels to Book During Your Stay in Japan
Okinawa is a great area to visit if you make a trip to Japan. Okinawa is a series of islands in the southern region of Japan. There are a variety of Okinawa hotels you could select from with luxurious and exotic ambiences. To narrow down your search here is a list of the most prominent […]
The Yakuza and the Use of Fear
Fear is a natural human response. It is as natural as breathing air or eating food to live. In fact, fear is a part of survival instinct. But in some parts of the world, fear is simply not acceptable. Anxiety and fear are seen as a weaknesses that cannot be allowed. In some cultures, ruthlessness […]
Child Fatalities And Gambling In Japan
On a business trip to Kobe, Fred and I went out for a drink. I wondered aloud if there were any statistics on pachinko fatalities. I was talking about the small children who suffered and died because of their parents’ gambling problems, not the gamblers who played pachinko. Immediately understanding exactly what I was talking […]