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travel (Page 84)
When it comes to regional cuisines, Japan has a lot to offer. But what if you are short on time and can’t make it to far-flung parts of the archipelago to sample artisan cheeses or gut-burning awamori? Not to worry, you can get a taste of most prefectures in the heart of Tokyo at so-called satellite shops, supermarkets which specialize in food and products from a particular region.
We’ve picked out five of our favorites for you to enjoy, with a not-to-be-missed item from each.
You would think that a country like Japan, rich as it is in both traditional culture and technical innovation, as well as plenty of weird and wacky things you’ll never see elsewhere, would be a huge hit with tourists. But as it turns out, Japan is actually not such a popular destination for people traveling abroad. Join us after the jump to find out why.
One of the hardest parts about visiting Japan is deciding where to go, especially if you have only a limited time. Obviously, everyone wants to hit up Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, but that often means missing out on places like Nara and Aomori. If only there were a way you could get on a bus and just let someone take to every prefecture in the country…
Well, if you have about US$5,000 and 22 days, pack your bags, because that’s exactly what Club Tourism is offering this year!
Wassup young people, I’m speaking your language today to tell you about to totally tubular deal from JR Kyushu! They’re offering some super-rad discounts of up to 40% off on train fares around the island of Kyushu for a seriously limited time.
It’s called the Gachi Ticket, where “gachi” is a new word the kids in Japan are using that’s hard to translate to English but somewhere along the lines of “for realz!” and “aww psssht it’s on!”
For decades people have been trying to determine the existence of the supernatural. While science is inclined towards denying the actuality of subjects such as ghosts, psychic powers or celestial beings, I was taught at a young age that it’s better to believe in them than to not. After all, it’s undeniable that there have been spine-tingling events that science has yet to explain even to this today.
If your New Year’s resolution is to certify the existence or inexistence of supernatural spookies, to lead an exciting spook-busting lifestyle like Scooby-Doo and friends, or more simply, to visit an exotic Asian country, this list of haunted locations in India might just be the thing to get your plans started.
Every year at the end of December, something magical happens to Japan’s tallest mountain. As the sun descends in the sky bringing a close to another day, it meets with the summit of Mount Fuji for a few brief moments, making it appear as if the peak is topped with a glistening diamond. Thousands of people flock to vantage points around the area for a chance to see this special phenomenon, dubbed “Diamond Fuji.”
To both fuel and satisfy its intense interest in celebrities, Japan is always on the lookout for its newest “it girl.” In the case of the nation’s newest sweetheart, the “girl” portion of the title is pretty appropriate, seeing as how the popularity of 16-year-old actress Suzu Hirose is soaring. But while her tender age lies squarely in the period associated with puppy love, Japan is apparently serious about its affections for Miss Hirose, as her highest profile gig to date is appearing in ads for the country’s most popular marriage planning magazine.
If there’s one thing we know, it’s that you should always wash your hands after going to the bathroom. If there’re two things we know, though, the second is that you’ll never get anywhere in life being fixated on the past. So while 2014 was a pretty good year for us, we’re already looking to the year ahead, which is already promising seven cool happenings for Japan in 2015.
Especially during this hectic holiday season it sure would be nice to get away from it all. Everyone needs a chance to refresh and get a new perspective on things. And what better way to get a new perspective than to visit an upside down house?
You might be thinking “What, are you high? There are no upside down houses where I live.” Well, you might be right about the high part, but couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to upside down houses because they can be found all over the world it seems. Here is just a small sampling of these dizzying monuments, perhaps one of them is in your very own backyard – or over it.
Shintoism has such a large pantheon of gods that the religion even has a structured way in which they all keep in touch with each other. Every October, the deities enshrined across the nation are said to gather in Shimane Prefecture’s Izumo Taisha Shrine, where they convene for their annual divine meeting.
We imagine it’s a busy conference, considering that some eight million deities are thought to attend. So we’re sure several of them were happy to find Izumo City now has a Starbucks, with the same tasty beverages the chain serves all over Japan, but with Japanese décor that’s unique to Izumo.
For most travelers in Japan, the highlight of a trip to the hot springs is the rotenburo, or open-air bath. The idea of an alfresco dip is so appealing that drawing visitors to your hot spring inn or hotel becomes several degrees harder if you don’t have outdoor tubs.
But you shouldn’t write off indoor hot springs entirely, as they boast a couple of advantages. Having a roof over your head makes them a good choice for a rainy day, and being climate controlled means less shivering once you step out of the water. Plus, if you’re heading to Gunma Prefecture, soon one indoor hot spring will give you the chance to soak in the company of Hello Kitty.
As we close in on the end of the year, it can be hard to remember all the places we went and all the things we did over the past 12 months. By “we,” I don’t mean just the RocketNews24 staff, since our website acts as written evidence of most of our year’s worth of frequent escapades and occasional shenanigans. Instead, I’m talking about all of the people who lived in or visited Japan during 2014.
Since we don’t have all of you under surveillance (just the half-dozen or so that Mr. Sato regularly tails throughout the day), we’re instead turning to photo-sharing site Instagram to be our judge, with its list of the top 10 Japanese photo locations that users shared over the course of the year.
During this time of the year, a lot of cities like to bring out elaborate light decorations to warm up their otherwise ice cold streets. Whether it’s for Christmas, New Year’s or just the heck of it, as the days grow darker the streets tend to go brighter.
So what about cities that are already known for their abundance of colorful lights? Do they to amp it up even more for the end of the year? Our reporter FelixSayaka went to Hong Kongto find out, a city that is said to have one of the most stunning skylines in the world. She came back with this handy list of places you should check out if in Hong Kong during the holiday season, or if you’re just into pretty pictures.
While it’s often referred to in travel literature as Tokyo Narita Airport, Japan’s busiest international air hub is actually located in Chiba Prefecture, making it about a one-hour train ride away from downtown Tokyo (and you can tack an extra 30 minutes or so onto that if you’re not willing to shell out the extra cash for the express train). This makes Narita sort of inconvenient if you’ve got an early departure, or if you arrive late and don’t feel like spending two hours in transit before you can collapse in your hotel bed.
So our interest was piqued when we found out about a bed and breakfast built so close to the airport it’s actually inside the runway area, and once we heard the rumors that it costs just 1,000 yen (US $8.50) a night, we decided to go searching for the mysterious hotel ourselves.
While I don’t think of myself as the world’s most patient person, I generally don’t get too riled up about air travel. Part of that is thanks to my strategy of getting to the airport early enough to enjoy enough beer that I’m sleepy and relaxed, yet not so much that I’m surly and combative. Mainly, though, it’s because living in Japan and having family in the U.S. means I’ve been on plenty of long flights, and after a while you learn to roll with the punches of a few inconveniences along the way.
So you’d think someone with even more experience flying, like, say, the vice president of Korean Air, who is also the daughter of its owner, would be even more serene when taking a plane from point A to point B. Maybe she ordinarily is, but that certainly wasn’t the case last week, when Cho Hyun-ah went nuts over a bag of nuts.
There’s a lot to be seen and learned from your car seat while driving on the roads around Japan. While cat-patterned tail-lights, unique modes of communication and building your own Batman bike are some of the more obvious ways to get noticed, there are also more subtle yet equally effective ways to create an impact in traffic, and do a bit of advertising while you’re at it!
On 30 June, 2008 Yasushi Takahashi, or Yassan for short, quit his job and set out on a trek across Japan. He took with him a GPS logger to document the journey as he experienced the “Japan that [he knows] only in books.”
That might seem like a reckless choice for a man in his thirties, but as we can see, along with Japan he was also mapping out his future during this half-year travel. Yassan also recorded parts of the trip on video and uploaded it to YouTube in a video titled Tegami-Letter.
Temperatures are dropping here in Japan and that means it’s prime time for one of my favorite Japanese foods. Sure, I love sushi and a nice hot bowl of udon sure doesn’t go amiss come December, but in winter nothing holds a candle to the old-fashioned Japanese communal cooking experience called irori. It’s like cooking ’round a campfire from the comfort of your home!
Ask any member of the RocketNews24 team, and we’ll tell you: Japan is awesome. A lot of people seem to agree, too, seeing as how Japan gets more and more visitors from abroad every year.
But as much as we love all of our readers, and hope you all get a chance to come visit, our staff doesn’t quite have the collective living room floor space for you to crash at our apartments. Thankfully, the country has plenty of amazing accommodation, as shown by this list of the top 10 inns and hotels in Japan, as picked by foreign travelers.
They’re often overshadowed by the sakura, but Japan’s fall colors make the country a beautiful place to be at this time of year. Maples and gingkos even have a few advantages over cherry trees. They tend to hold their color a little longer, and the cooler weather is less conducive to large outdoor parties, meaning your appreciation of the beauty of nature is less likely to be disturbed by the carousing of drunks.
In contrast to Tokyo’s many cherry tree-lined parks and boulevards, though, getting a good view of crimson and yellow leaves often means having to head out of the city and up into the mountains. That’s not always the case, though. Historic Rikugien Garden has plenty of fall color, is located right in the middle of Tokyo, and right now is so beautiful it’s staying open after dark.
How to make a secret rice bowl at Ichiran ramen
Japan has nearly 4 million abandoned homes, but where and why?
FUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking name
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
We save money on crotchless jeans from Japanese brand Beams by making our own
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Daiso can help you beat the heat this summer with DIY fruity Suika and Melon Bars【Taste test】
Is the all-you-can-eat KFC buffet in Tokyo really as good as they say it is?
Is Japan’s massive Shizuoka steak sandwich really as delicious as it looks in promo photos?
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of societyBad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensationOne of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese innFUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking nameStudio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
Starbucks at Shibuya Scramble Crossing reopens, but is it really bigger and better than before?
Japanese-style accommodation at the new Premium Dormy Inn hotel in Asakusa will blow your mind
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky loungeBad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last monthMcDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutionsMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950sForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Daiso can help you beat the heat this summer with DIY fruity Suika and Melon Bars【Taste test】
Is the all-you-can-eat KFC buffet in Tokyo really as good as they say it is?
Is Japan’s massive Shizuoka steak sandwich really as delicious as it looks in promo photos?
Mikado Coffee is a 76-year-old coffee chain with a major celebrity connection
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
Awesome new Gundam manhole covers coming to Japanese prefecture for first time
Eating Tokyo’s most expensive pancakes required us to go through a security check
Sanrio’s 2022 popularity ranking brings fans to tears after character’s shock return to top ten
The Gentleman’s Cheese Beef Bowl, invented by Mr. Sato
Studio Ghibli releases The Boy and the Heron merchandise in Japan【Pics】
W.T.F. Japan: Top 5 strangest kanji ever 【Weird Top Five】