Destination: Japan
The Art of Kaiten Sushi
by World Hum | 07.16.09 | 11:32 AM ET
Conveyor-best sushi. Sushi-go-round. Sushi train. Whatever you call it, it's a beautiful thing.
See the full photo slideshow »
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Yahoo! BuzzJapan’s Love Hotels: Recession-Proof?
by Michael Yessis | 07.09.09 | 1:43 PM ET
Looks that way. Apparently Japan’s love hotels have been rocking, even in what CNN calls the country’s deepest economic recession since World War II. “Even these days, on the weekend, every love hotel is full of people—it’s hard to get in,” one woman told CNN. “You can never stop sexual desire.” Or perhaps the drawing power of the Hello Kitty-themed rooms.
Japanese Railway to Workers: Do You Pass the Smile Test?
by Jim Benning | 07.08.09 | 11:16 AM ET
I can’t count the number of times European friends and visitors to the U.S. have remarked on American workers’ penchant for wishing them a “nice day” after they make a purchase or eat a meal—wishes almost always delivered with a big smile. To Europeans I’ve met, that American custom was always regarded as either quaint or kooky or both.
I wonder what they would make of this bit of news about a Japanese railway company trying to improve customers’ experiences: Keihin Electric Express Railway Co. has begun using a scanner to assess the smiles of its employees.
From the story:
The device analyzes the facial characteristics of a person, including eye movements, lip curves and wrinkles, and rates a smile on a scale between 0 and 100 percent using a camera and computer.
Employees will be required to scan their smiles before work each day and carry around a photo of their brightest smile so they can try to repeat it. (Via FP Blog)
Michael Jackson: A Global Force in Life and Death
by World Hum | 06.26.09 | 11:07 AM ET
REUTERS/Patrick De Noirmont See the full photo slideshow »
Can We Interest You in a Whale Meat Spring Roll?
by Eva Holland | 06.24.09 | 10:22 AM ET
Uh oh. A group of restaurateurs in Yokohama, Japan, is looking to embrace the port city’s whaling heritage with a slew of new recipes—including whale dumplings, whale spring rolls and whale bacon. “Whale meat is a very important part of Japanese tradition,” one of the leading businessmen behind the push told the AFP. “If whaling is not done to excess, I think this is a great thing. ... Whale meat is delicious, high in protein, low in fat.”
Delicious or not, I can already hear the howls of protest from animal-rights activists worldwide.
T.G.I. Friday’s in Tokyo
by Eva Holland | 06.22.09 | 3:34 PM ET
In Slate, Daniel Gross goes to Tokyo and tackles the city’s “SPC ratio” (Starbucks per capita) and other oddities of the Japanese love affair with American chain food outlets.
It’s a Reality TV World, After All
by Julia Ross | 05.26.09 | 12:49 PM ET
Is reality television a viable conduit for cross-cultural understanding? It’s an interesting question now that the world has gone reality TV-mad. Global versions of “Big Brother” have sparked discussions on everything from racism to AIDS, and wacky game shows continue to fascinate foreigners trying to understand Japan.
Drink a Microbrew, Save the Planet, Taste the Culture
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.19.09 | 1:29 PM ET
I’ve said before that travelers who want to walk the talk of environmentally responsible living must also seek out sustainable food (i.e. no Chilean sea bass!) when on the road. I’m adding locally brewed beer to my list.
Making and transporting beer doesn’t produce nearly as many carbon emissions as boutique wines, which are often flown by overnight air, says Pablo Paster in his column for Treehugger. Still, Paster advises eco-imbibers to drink a local brew over that beloved German beer.
Tokyo, Japan
by World Hum | 05.13.09 | 3:03 PM ET
REUTERS/Issei Kato Visitors watch as Pacific bluefin tuna swim in a fish tank at Tokyo Sea Life Park
A Poet’s Last Words: Haikus for the Traveler
by Julia Ross | 05.12.09 | 12:05 PM ET
Sad news from the world of poetry: University of Wyoming professor and award-winning poet Craig Arnold, who disappeared last month while traveling in Japan on an arts fellowship, is now presumed dead. Japanese rescue teams have called off their search on the assumption that Arnold fell from a cliff on the volcano where he was last seen hiking.
I’m not a huge poetry reader and hadn’t heard of Arnold before his disappearance made the news in recent weeks, but I was charmed when I read some of his recent blog entries. The haikus he wrote to accompany his posts—some lighthearted, others contemplative—are a nice way to chronicle the Japanese experience and now resonate as the last impressions of a traveling poet.
Eight Great Funny Travel Stories
by World Hum | 05.01.09 | 2:23 PM ET
To mark World Hum's eighth anniversary, we've collected eight favorite travel stories from our archives that see the humor in travel
Eight Great Stories of the Shrinking Planet
by World Hum | 04.28.09 | 10:08 AM ET
To mark our eighth anniversary, we've collected stories from our archives that speak to ways people and cultures are mixing and colliding
Yokohma, Japan
by World Hum | 04.20.09 | 9:51 AM ET
REUTERS/Issei Kato A giant mechanical spider performed by French company La Machine walks along the waterfront in Yokohma, south of Tokyo.
In Tokyo’s Cafes, A Real-Life ‘Hello Kitty’
by Julia Ross | 04.09.09 | 10:59 AM ET
Looking for love in Tokyo? Why not skip the red-light district and head over to one of the city’s cat cafes, where $9 an hour will get you all the feline affection you crave. Over tea, customers can feed and play with a selection of breeds featured on “cat menus” that list name, gender and birthday. According to GlobalPost, the cafes are growing in popularity among harried urbanites, in part by marketing themselves as great date spots.
Though I’m not a cat person (I grew up with black labs and maintain a love for big dogs), I’d prefer an hour in one of Tokyo’s cat cafés over an evening at a Taiwanese toilet restaurant anytime.
Around the World in Five Dates
by Terry Ward | 04.07.09 | 12:04 PM ET
iStockphoto The language of love may be universal, but the etiquette of dating is not. Terry Ward looks at courting from Tehran to Tokyo.