I just got a warning from the United States Embassy for foreigners in Japan to be careful when drinking in Roppongi bars. There have been recent incidents of foreigners having their drinks spiked, then waking up without without their money or with exuberant credit card charges. Although Japan is still a relatively safe country for tourists, please be careful when out drinking.
There are two very large travel companies in Japan, JTB and HIS. JTB stands for Japan Travel Bureau . Sounds official, doesn’t it? It was originally called the Japan Tourist Bureau, and established by the Japanese government. It is currently the largest travel agency in Japan and quite easy to find around larger train stations,…
If there is ONE place my friends who have visited Japan did not want to go when visiting Japan, it’s McDonald’s. Although I’m not a great fan of McDonald’s food, and too much of it tends to make me feel pretty bad, there are several reasons to go to McDonald’s in Japan. It occurred to…
It’s Hanami season again. Hanami is the traditional viewing of cherry blossoms in Japan. The season is just about starting out now with the earliest bloom scheduled for about March 14th in Fukuoka and the latest cherry blossom blooming scheduled for Sapporo and above, starting in the first few days of May. If you don’t…
More Korean budget airlines are offering service to Japan’s airports, including Kansai International (KIX). This could mean cheaper airfares to and from Japan if you are willing to go through Korea. The airport in Seoul is really nice so that should not be a big problem if you are willing to have a long layover….
Just a brief post about the Golden Week holidays this year… In general it should look like this: Wednesday May 29th is a holiday. Thursday May 30th is a weekday. Friday May 1st is a weekday. Saturday May 2nd is a Saturday (meaning some people in Japan work and others don’t although because of Golden…
There was recently an internet poll of three thousand people in Japan asking the following question: Which prefecture do you think of the least? The answer to the above question reveals a list of underrated, underappreciated, and undervisited prefectures… hence a great list of places off the beaten path to visit. The ranking of the…