The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is a pretty common bird around Asia. It’s a cute bird, a small bird… I’d use many words to describe them, but delicious is not one of them. Many Japanese people (most?) have not tried the grilled sparrow served on a stick at certain restaurants. I have even seen questions on…
I previously recommended Curry House Coco Ichibanya as a great inexpensive restaurant to try on a trip to Japan. Well, if you live in the right place, you may be able to save the price of an airline ticket to Japan soon. The continental United States’ Coco Ichibanya has opened in Torrance, California. The address…
Sometimes the cheapest airline tickets to Japan require someone to go through Narita airport, even if you come from a major airport such as Kansai International. At first thought, a 7 or 8 hour layover in Narita Airport can seem like a daunting pile of steaming boredom. However, there are some really great ways to…
In comments on my previous post, people seemed interested in “Yozakura” or night hanami. Viewing cherry blossoms at night can be a nice evening outing and also a good contrast to cherry blossom viewing in the daytime. There are tons of places, and if you stay in a hotel, I’m sure the staff can guide…
UPDATE (FEB 4, 2011): tenki.jp has reduced it’s annual Japan cherry blossom forecast for 2011, a screenshot of which is below. It looks like Tokyo is on the line for blooming in March, and we are looking at the turn of the month for most of Japan. Fukuoka, Kochi, and warmer climates seem to have…
Monday, January 10th will be Coming of Age Day, also known as Adult’s Day in Japan. It is the day that young people celebrate officially becoming adults. Traditionally they gather at their hometown City Hall wearing very fine kimonos, suits, or other fashionable clothing. In larger cities, they gather at local ward offices. Since new…
I am sure that one of the last things most travelers to Japan would want to do is eat at McDonalds… however, the Big America Series might make it worth it. This series is a special limited time only set of burgers inspired by different places in the United States. The Big America 2 series…
UPDATE: The entry form in Japanese is up and running. Here is the link Ultra Trail Mt Fuji Registration. There is a blue button with a pencil mark on it near the top of the article. That’s where you click to get to the application. When I clicked, there was a message saying that it…
There is a lot of good news for people looking to travel to Japan during February. Tickets tend to be cheaper because it’s the off season for travel. Also, if you time it right you can get up to Sapporo for the annual ice festival which is to be held from February 7th to February…
Fans of the new Space Battleship Yamato movie who are lucky enough to be in the Tokyo area this winter holiday can take a trip to Tokyo Tower and check out a display of actual props and costumes from the movie. The event is scheduled to run from December 18th, 2010 to January 5th, 2011….
There was recently a story in the news about a U.S. soldier who, misunderstanding the fees for international calls (or possibly having them misrepresented) raked up over $16,000 in fees. The soldier speaks English as his second language, as well as young and somewhat naive about international travel. He mistakenly believed that AT&T had a…
This is an awesome video I came across while flipping through some of the videos nominated for YouTube Video Awards in Japan for 2010. This was taken in Hokkaido and is one of the most beautiful scenes one could see. I really love Hokkaido and all the beauty and nature that really separates it from…