Destination: Japan
Japanese Exchange Student Taken to Japanese Restaurant
by Michael Yessis | 04.10.02 | 5:05 PM ET
The Onion reports from Iowa that 16-year-old Japanese exchange student Takashi Miyazawa was taken by Bobbie and Bill Tucker, his host parents, to a restaurant named Edo in order to experience some authentic Japanese culture. The outing marked the first time any of the Tuckers had eaten Japanese food. It was Miyazawa’s 18,358th time.
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Yahoo! BuzzI Admire Eggs. They Teach Travelers About Packing in One Container, With No Loose Ends Hanging Out.
by Michael Yessis | 04.02.02 | 7:43 PM ET
Susan Spano has eaten eggs in Scotland, Scandinavia, Japan, France, Spain, China and many other countries near and far. Even at fancy resorts or on a cruise ship known for magnificent breakfast spreads, she goes straight for the eggs. Spano likes them for their nutritional punch, sure, but that’s not the only reason why. “I love finding the egg in some of the most outlandish places and seeing how differently it is prepared and served,” she writes in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times. “The egg is global but no instrument of globalization.”
The Magnetic Pull of a Purple Umbrella
by Michael Yessis | 03.06.02 | 1:31 AM ET
It was raining in Japan and Karin Muller lacked an umbrella. The omission was conscious. Muller was already hauling enough in her backpack, and she wasn’t afraid of a little water. So when a generous pension owner gave her a four-pound purple “wooden paper ceiling,” she tried to “lose it.” But whenever she tried to leave it on a train, she says in a Savvy Traveler audio postcard concerned Japanese locals wouldn’t let her get rid of it.
What Will Lure Wary Japanese Tourists Back to America? Ishii! Ishii!
by Jim Benning | 02.27.02 | 11:41 PM ET
Japanese tourists wary of traveling to the U.S. since September 11 just might make the haul again—not to see the state’s famed beaches or Yosemite National Park—but to see the newest member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kazuhisa Ishii. Japan views its athletes playing in the U.S. as rock stars, according an article in the Los Angeles Times. Said Ko Ueno, director of Japanese travel for the California Division of Tourism: “If it plays out the way we’re hoping, baseball will be our savior in this tourism slump.”
The Misery of Being Far Away
by Michael Yessis | 02.21.02 | 12:08 AM ET
Thomas Dillon lives in Tokyo. When his stepfather fell into a coma during the holidays, Dillon had to endure a few maddening days before he could get to his bedside in Minnesota. He writes about his experience and the fate of those who live far away from loved ones in a recent story for the Japan Times. “[W]hen people make a commitment to living abroad, they also sign up for the inevitable—that sad and mad dash home, hopefully to catch one final moment with a fading loved one,” he writes.
Moors, Mosques and Mendieta
by Michael Yessis | 02.21.02 | 12:05 AM ET
Two writers for the Independent recently attended soccer games in Senegal and Spain. Each returned with a travel story illustrating that local sporting events are excellent ways to immerse yourself in a local culture. “At the foot of each terrace, a posse of drummers with their barrel-shaped djembe covered in goat hide competed with the distorted mbalax rhythms of Youssou N’Dour blaring out over the loud speakers,” writes Ann Noon, who visited Bamako, Senegal for the African Nations’ Cup final between Senegal and Cameroon. “Coins went flying as ambulant vendors threw bags of fresh peanuts up and down the rows of spectators packed tight like peas in a pod.” In the second story, David Angel attended the Spain-Japan friendly in Cordoba, the first time the Spanish city had hosted an International soccer match.
Checking In: Americans Living Abroad
by Michael Yessis | 10.29.01 | 8:39 PM ET
The New York Times tracks down U.S. residents in Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico and other countries to find out how lives of ex-pats have changed in the six weeks since the terrorist attacks. Some anecdotes sound like benevolent urban legends: “Most Americans in Saudi Arabia live on enclosed compounds…At one recent dinner the conversation inevitably turned to security concerns. The couples traded stories, like the one about two Americans whose car broke down on a stretch of desert highway. They were immediately wary of two Saudi men who stopped to offer help. Sensing their unease, one Saudi turned to the Americans and said, ‘By the way, we hate Osama bin Laden.’ ” Other stories are a bit creepy and, possibly, paranoid: “Not long ago, [24-year-old English teacher Gabrielle Parnes] said, she was with two girlfriends [in Paris], giggling and talking loudly when a group of Arab-looking men walked by and purposely elbowed each of them. ‘I can’t be sure they knew we were American,’ she said. ‘But I think so. Before I might have thought they were just nasty guys. But now I can’t help thinking it was because we were American.’”
Iowa Man Takes Road Trip to See His Orange Boxer Shorts, Jesus Night Light and Wal-Mart Jeans
by Michael Yessis | 08.14.01 | 9:13 PM ET
The idea came to John Freyer as he drove from New York to graduate school in Iowa: He would sell all his worldly goods on eBay. With the proceeds, he would then travel around the world to see his former possessions. “I want to figure out what happens to me when I no longer have all these items that supposedly define us,” Freyer, a 28-year-old fine arts student at the University of Iowa, told Washington Post writer Leslie Walker in a recent story. “I also want to know what happens to the people who buy them. I’m going on a road trip to find out.”
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