Japan
10,000 People To Be Given Free Trips To Japan
In an effort to boost tourism to Japan following a 50 percent decline in visitors since the March 11 earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster, the Japan Tourism Agency announced it will be offering 10,000 free trips to the country beginning next April. It appears that this offer covers flights only, and visitors will […]
5 Best Places To Scuba Dive In The World That Have Nothing To Do With Fish
It’s hard to imagine that someone would get bored limiting their diving experiences to coral reefs, but for those looking for a little variety in their underwater adventures, why not try exploring some of the world’s best places to dive that have absolutely nothing to do with animals that could populate a Disney movie? For […]
The 5 Most Frightening “Dancing Squid” Videos
Odori-don, which literally means “dancing squid rice bowl,” is a dish popular in the Japanese port city of Hakodate, as well as a newly-popular viral video craze. As FoodJapan.net describes the dish, Odori-don consists of a live squid with its head removed and served on top of a bowl of sushi rice, accompanied by sashimi […]
Are The Japanese Anti-Traveler?
There’s been some buzz lately here in New York about fake signs cropping up in the NYC subway system. Designed to look like official decrees from the MTA, these posters instruct riders to avoid doing those ever-so-annoying things you’d be surprised people actually do, and quite often I might add, such as clipping their nails […]
Japan’s Ramen-mania And The Perfect Bowl
My last step on Asian soil was at Tokyo’s Narita Airport. The week before I headed home, I was soaking up as much as I could of the Japanese culture, history, sake, and food. It wasn’t long into the wide-eyed lostness of trying to find my hostel that I noticed a grumble in my belly and a waft of ramen in […]
Video: Addicting Aquarium
This short video of the world’s second largest aquarium in the world — Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan (the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta is the record holder, for now, until this beast in Dubai opens next year) — is strangely hypnotic given that it’s a single-shot of a bunch of marine life swimming by at […]
Kyoto: The Japanese Neverland
Not long ago I wandered wide-eyed through the glory that is Kyoto. The ultra-modern Kyoto station gives way to an incomprehensible density of temples and shrines. It makes it feel like the steel and concrete city fell away, as if it never sprouted in the first place. Kyoto, I learned, isn’t a city or a […]
Learn The Language? No, Just Get A Pair Of Smart Glasses Instead
This BBC article actually made me tilt my head a little and sigh, “wow,” under my breath (that hasn’t happened in a while). A company has just announced the invention of a pair of glasses that, when paired with a microphone and translation software, will project real-time translations into your eyes. There is also a […]
Sumo Wrestling 101
If there was one thing I could have changed about my recent trip to Japan, it would have to be the date. I say that only for the sole reason that it wasn’t sumo tournament season. The ancient form of wrestling holds tournaments at specific times of year; specifically, not while I’m there. Lucky for me, I can […]
Japan In Pictures
By Jon Wick To see more shots of my recent adventures through Japan, Vietnam (and once I have some free time, Korea), please visit my Flickr photostream.