CNN reports that American Poet and University of Wyoming Professor Craig Arnold is missing after setting out alone to climb a volcano known as Kuchinoerabujima. The CNN article above mentions that Arnold was on a fellowship in Japan doing research for a book on volcanoes. Not much is mentioned about Kuchinoerabujima (or Kuchinoerabu Island). The…
I love reading the little hints that float around that show the small but effective revolution Google is pulling off in Japan. If you follow the news, you know why Yahoo is bigger than Google in Japan, but I’ve also been writing about how Google has been gaining ground by approaching the Japanese market through…
Renting a car in Japan and driving around is one of the best ways to travel cheaply in Japan now. You can get a great experience, travel easily with pets and kids, stop when and where you want, eat cheaply, go camping, and see the countryside. There has never been a better time to travel…
Although renting a car in Japan can be slightly expensive, traveling in Japan by car can be a very cheap way to travel Japan. It can also be a good way to see the country, get to the rural areas, and travel with families or pets… just remember which side of the road your supposed…
OK, I don’t usually write about Japanese idols or gravure or anything like that, but I think I’ve found one worth writing about. Right not she seems like she wants to do the DVDs and everything, but she is also a talented comedian. I watch most of the comedy shows on tv here in Japan,…
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…
It’s only mildly crazy and a little captivating for the first three minutes, but please enjoy the mild craziness while it lasts for at around the three minute mark the naked guys start a-spinning. The band is called Apogee and they are a group of Japanese college students (at pretty good schools like Sophia University)….
I’ve been trying to find the cheapest way to get from the Kansai Area, leaving anywhere from Himeji to Kyoto and arrive in Tokyo. I have to go up to Tokyo for a one day trip, and I only need to be there for a few hours. Here are my options: Leave very early in…
If you are flying to the Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto or any part of the Kansai region, you may find yourself passing through KIX or Kansai International Airport. There is a lot of debate about the practicality of Kansai’s main international airport built on reclaimed land in Osaka Bay, and constantly fighting erosion. Simply put, Kansai…
This is a site about traveling in Japan, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take it light sometimes too… and parody can be a great way to look at something. This video was made by the comedy group Rahmens. They do a lot of skits that leave you thinking about Japanese culture, and leave you…
I just read some tabloid news saying that Billy Blanks of Billy’s Boot Camp has married a 39 year old Osaka woman named Tomoko Sato who works as an interpreter. A ceremony is scheduled to be held in Osaka in June. The woman is also reported to have given birth to their child in November……
I could have been way more creative with the title there, but this is the kind of story that people like to read. I’ll be very simple with it although I’m sure the story is much deeper than this… (it may not be though… it may just be the case of a bosozoku tough guy…