Japan Websites and Travel Stuff
Upstairs for thinking has a post linking to the Japan Land and Transport Ministry’s “Japan Tourism Policy” website which makes for an interesting read, answering such puzzling questions as:
Q: Is all the Japanese land urbanized like Tokyo? Is there no natural landscape left anywhere in Japan?
Q: Please tell me where Japan is located. Can I go from Tokyo to Hong Kong by Shinkansen bullet train?
or my personal favourite,
Q: Are there samurai in today’s Japan?
The answers to those questions and more can be found here. Is it just me, or are they taking the piss? Of course there are samurai. Here is a picture of one taken in Nagoya:
(credit: Rumpleteaser 
)
And you have to be very careful and stop and bow when they pass by or they will chop your head off. Actually I was late for work yesterday because this happened!
Some other interesting posts about Japan around the net recently include: Things About America I Didn’t Know While I Lived There from Life Nomadic’s blog. They have been doing a bit of travelling recently and one their travels came to Japan. Their post compares life in Japan, the United States and Panama and makes for a good read. You can check it out here. And, Hacking Japan: Inside Tokyo for Less than New York from Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour Work Week reminisces about his time in Japan. His unusual top four is a good little list of places to visit in Japan (although listing Akihabara is perhaps not the most timely):
The Most Unusual Top 4
Ghibli Museum: This is the real-life Alice in Wonderland. The most incredible museum I have ever visited, hidden in a park and designed by animation powerhouse Ghibli Studios, this gem is a home run. Get tickets at a Lawson convenience store well in advance.
Tsukiji Fish Market: Get up EARLY (around 5am) and see the largest fish market in the world. A single tuna for $40,000 USD? That’s low-end. Wrap up eating the best sushi in the world for breakfast in the outer market. Unforgettable.
Takeshita Doori: The kids and fashion here must be seen to be believed. Indescribable, especially sitting right next one of the most beautiful shrines in Tokyo. Red contacts and outfits that make Marilyn Manson look like Pokemon? Prepare to be amused.
Akihabara: From “maid cafes” (you can sit in a mock living room and have maids at your beck-and-call for food, newspaper, coffee, etc.) to electronics years ahead of the US, this “computer city” is the mecca of geekdom. Otaku central. Moe moe kyuuuuu!
You can check out his post here - along with a beautiful photo from Kyushu!
Finally I found a new blog about Japan that has a nice magazine style layout: check out the sevententotokyo.com blog!
