Destination: Japan
Don George: ‘Anticipation is one of Travel’s Great Gifts’
by Eva Holland | 11.11.09 | 1:22 PM ET
In the latest issue of Recce, Don George looks back at his first trip to Japan, and realizes—as he prepares to board another flight for Tokyo—that the pre-trip excitement still hasn’t waned, thirty-two years later.
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Yahoo! Buzz‘Is Japanese Getting Simpler, Easier or Just Worse?’
by Eva Holland | 11.09.09 | 2:09 PM ET
Writing in the New York Times, Emily Parker ponders the changes being wrought on the Japanese language by the internet and cell phones:
Americans may fret over the ways digital communications encourage sloppy grammar and spelling, but in Japan these changes are much more wrenching. A vertically written language seems to be becoming increasingly horizontal. Novels are being written and read on little screens. People have gotten so used to typing on computers that they can no longer write characters by hand. And English words continue to infiltrate the language.
‘Ivory Coast = France = Japan’
by Michael Yessis | 11.06.09 | 10:02 AM ET
That equation comes from a James Fallows post in the Atlantic, and he’s talking about language habits.
That is: in France and Japan, the deep-down assumption is that the language is pure and difficult, that foreigners can’t really learn it, and that one’s attitude toward their attempts is either French hauteur or the elaborately over-polite and therefore inevitably patronizing Japanese response to even a word or two in their language. “Nihongo jouzu! Your Japanese is so good!”
Fall Foliage Around the World
by Alicia Imbody | 11.03.09 | 10:16 AM ET
From Osaka to Chicago, seven photos of turning leaves around the shrinking planet
Photo You Must See: Tokyo Punk Parasol
by World Hum | 10.26.09 | 5:10 PM ET
REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao Japanese girls in punk fashion sit under a parasol in Harajuku, Tokyo’s fashion district.
The Mystery of the Kashiwa Mystery Cafe
by Michael Yessis | 10.16.09 | 12:43 PM ET
Cabel Maxfield Sasser calls his visit to the Ogori Cafe in Kashiwa, Japan, an unforgettable travel moment. I agree. Read to the end for the payoff. (Thanks for the tip, @sophiadembling)
Kyoto Joins Tokyo Near the Top of the Michelin Heap
by Eva Holland | 10.15.09 | 10:36 AM ET
Brace yourselves, foodies of the Western hemisphere: If you were disgruntled about Tokyo landing top Michelin honors last year—receiving more stars than Paris and New York combined in its debut guide—then you probably won’t be happy to hear that Kyoto is following close behind. The city received 110 stars in its first-ever Michelin treatment, including six three-star restaurants—one more than New York City.
Paul Theroux: ‘The Cross-Country Trip is the Supreme Example of the Journey as the Destination’
by Michael Yessis | 08.24.09 | 2:37 PM ET
Yet one of the most intrepid travel writers alive had never driven across the U.S. So when the Smithsonian asked him and five other travel writers to take on their dream assignments, he picked the cross-country trip. He delivered a beautiful story. He writes:
In my life, I had sought out other parts of the world—Patagonia, Assam, the Yangtze; I had not realized that the dramatic desert I had imagined Patagonia to be was visible on my way from Sedona to Santa Fe, that the rolling hills of West Virginia were reminiscent of Assam and that my sight of the Mississippi recalled other great rivers. I’m glad I saw the rest of the world before I drove across America. I have traveled so often in other countries and am so accustomed to other landscapes, I sometimes felt on my trip that I was seeing America, coast to coast, with the eyes of a foreigner, feeling overwhelmed, humbled and grateful.
The other five writers involved are Susan Orlean (Destination: Morocco), Francine Prose (Japan), Geoffrey C. Ward (India), Caroline Alexander (Jamaica) and Frances Mayes (Poland). Here’s Jan Morris’s introduction to the project.
Why Japan Hearts the Amish
by Michael Yessis | 08.19.09 | 9:26 AM ET
Blame Harrison Ford. At least a bit. The movie Witness “stoked the trend” of Japanese fascination with the Amish, according to an intriguing story Jon Rutter.
Beyond that, he writes, the societies have “deep parallel currents.” Among them: “Both espouse collectivism, religious faith, hard work and frugality.” He adds: “Both exhibit marked deference to elders and have deliberately distanced themselves from the outside world.” (Via The Morning News)
‘The Cove’ Takes Aim at Dolphin Encounters
by Eva Holland | 08.10.09 | 2:00 PM ET
A new documentary hopes to dampen the demand for “dolphin encounters,” the ever-popular swim-with-dolphins attractions found worldwide. “The Cove,” which won the Audience Award at Sundance before opening in theaters this past weekend, examines the killing and capture of dolphins in coastal Japan—and its star, Ric O’Barry, says explicitly that one of the filmmakers’ goals is to make tourists “think twice before buying a ticket.”
Picturing a staid moralizing tale? Think again. The movie is being billed as part “Flipper” and part “Bourne Identity”—here’s the surprisingly dramatic trailer:
Moon-Gazing Around the Globe
by Alicia Imbody | 08.03.09 | 10:32 AM ET
From Puebla to Paris, 12 photos by moonstruck world travelers
See the full photo slideshow »
Living Among Incompatibles
by Pico Iyer | 07.20.09 | 10:46 AM ET
Why Japan has the best mind Pico Iyer has encountered in a lifetime of traveling
How to Stay at a Love Hotel in Japan
by Lisa Gay | 07.17.09 | 11:20 AM ET
Want a memorable pay-by-the-hour experience? Lisa Gay explains the ins and outs of a stay at the famous Japanese love nests.
Parking Fees Around the World
by Jim Benning | 07.16.09 | 3:22 PM ET
The Economist has a great chart on parking fees around the globe. Among the highlights from its report: “European cities have some of the highest daily parking rates, with Amsterdam and London coming out on top. Tokyo is the most expensive place to leave your car outside Europe.”
Cheap travel tip: You’ll find great rates in Chennai, India. Um, road trip!
(Via the Idea of the Day blog)
Moving Sushi: The Internet’s Best Kaiten Sushi Video
by World Hum | 07.16.09 | 12:58 PM ET
Conveyor belt sushi videos abound online. Here's our favorite.