Destination: Japan
Travel Headline (and Video) of the Day: ‘Monkey Stuns Japanese Commuters’
by Jim Benning | 08.20.08 | 1:47 PM ET
The stray monkey showed up at a Tokyo train station. What a scene.
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Yahoo! BuzzUnsentimental Journeys: Wrestling With Paul Theroux
by Bronwen Dickey | 08.13.08 | 11:53 AM ET
Bronwen Dickey considers "Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: 28,000 Miles in Search of the Great Railway Bazaar"
In Japan, Asian Tourists Spending Like Drunken Sailors
by Michael Yessis | 07.30.08 | 12:07 PM ET
The number of travelers from South Korea, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong to Japan has apparently doubled in five years, reflecting a new reality: “[A]s Japan’s economy stalled for the last dozen or so years, rapid development in countries like China and South Korea raised living standards there,” writes Martin Fackler. So they’re using their spending power in Japan to, among other things, “splurge at the nation’s department stores.” Sounds kinda familiar.
You Know Things Are Bad When They’re Taking Down Japanese Condom Ads
by Ben Keene | 07.18.08 | 12:15 PM ET
Disputed territories abound—there are hundreds of examples around the world—and they cause tempers to short circuit from time to time. In one, Cambodian and Thai troops nearly fired on one another yesterday. And not too far away, tensions between South Korea and Japan have been on the rise over the Dokdo Islands (known as Takeshima in Japan), a group of small volcanic islets nearly equidistant from the two countries.
Spam Conquers the World (Sort of)
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.08.08 | 11:48 AM ET
Spamburgers, Spam tacos and Spambalaya—the canned pork loaf everyone loves to hate is leaving its indelible taste on dishes around the globe. In Spam-loving Hawaii, Japanese-American chef Muriel Miura has a new cookbook, “Hawaii Cooks With Spam,” which offers recipes for Spam sushi, Spam pancit and Korean rice with Spam. Um, yum? If yes, then try Spam in ratatouille pie, curried rice, lasagna and even Heidelberg casserole.
‘Good Teachers Make for Good Journeys’
by Julia Ross | 06.30.08 | 10:53 AM ET
In over 30 years as a foreign correspondent, the New York Times’ Howard French has struggled with his fair share of language lessons, taking on everything from Haitian Creole to Japanese. He recalls these sometimes exhausting attempts in his last “Letter from China,” written as he prepares to leave his posting in Shanghai to return to the U.S.
Japanese Athletes Train Their Taste Buds at Pre-Olympics ‘Food Camp’
by Joanna Kakissis | 06.27.08 | 10:07 AM ET
The Games are all about cultures coming together, but unity’s hard to come by when it comes to food. Especially when you’re from Michelin-starred Japan, home to some of the choosiest eaters in the world. To prepare for three weeks of food in Beijing, Japanese Olympians are attending food training programs to get used to eating Chinese staples like cold spring rolls, fried catfish and noodles—and not with chopsticks but with the plastic cutlery that will be available at the Olympic village, Reuters reports.
U.S. Navy Tries Hand at ‘Propamanga’
by Julia Ross | 06.19.08 | 10:23 AM ET
The U.S. Navy is appealing to Japan’s otaku to help win hearts and minds. To ease concerns over the arrival of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington in Japan this summer, navy officials commissioned a 200-page manga depicting life aboard the ship through the eyes of fictional Japanese-American petty officer Jack O’Hara. See a PDF here.
Logging On
by Jim Benning | 06.12.08 | 5:15 PM ET
Internet access is available almost everywhere. But is that ruining travelers' experiences overseas? Jim Benning reflects on the rise of internet cafes around the globe.
See the full audio slideshow: »
Angry Esperantists to Protest G-8 Summit in Japan
by Elyse Franko | 06.06.08 | 10:53 AM ET
Speakers of the artificial international language, Esperanto, are expected to descend on Hokkaido, Japan, just in time for the G-8 summit in July. Their beef? Not unfair trade, human-rights violations or war, but the global linguistic dominance of the English language.
New Travel Book: ‘Bar Flower’
by Frank Bures | 05.21.08 | 1:40 PM ET
Full title: “Bar Flower: My Decadently Destructive Days and Nights as a Tokyo Nightclub Hostess”
Author: Lea Jacobson
Released: April 15, 2008
Travel genre: Expats behaving badly
Territory covered: Japan
Hello Kitty Named Japan’s Tourism Ambassador to China
by Jim Benning | 05.21.08 | 1:00 PM ET
Congrats, Hello Kitty. You earned it. See, Tijuana? For your tourism mascot, you went with Xuani—frankly, an unknown quantity—and look at the mess you’re in now. I suggest following Japan’s lead. Think big. Think branded multilingual animated icon with global reach. Think of someone who’s not afraid to holler, “Vamanos!” Yes, Tijuana, I’m talking Dora the Explorer. Now that’s a mascot.
Related on World Hum:
* Eva Airways Harnesses the Power of Hello Kitty
Photo by antigone78 via Flickr, (Creative Commons)
The Fugu Phenomenon*
by Michael Yessis | 05.02.08 | 9:23 AM ET
Homer Simpson may have introduced you to fugu. Or perhaps Anthony Bourdain. They’re among those who have eaten the potentially deadly blowfish and helped make it “the thrill-seeking gastronome’s equivalent to scaling Mount Everest,” writes Adam Platt in New York Magazine. It’s banned through much of Europe and available only in a few restaurants in the U.S., though the FDA-sanctioned importing process, according to Platt, renders the fugu “less toxic than a piece of mercury-saturated tuna sushi at your local Korean deli.”
Japan’s Yoshoku Menu: Hambagoo, Ketchup-Flavored Rice and Stir-Fried ‘Napolitan’ Spaghetti
by Joanna Kakissis | 03.27.08 | 4:01 PM ET
Yoshoku means “Western food” in Japanese, and it’s been a staple of the country’s cuisine for decades. Chefs have taken hamburgers, spaghetti and other dishes, and “reshaped” them for Japanese palates. Most foreigners, though, have never heard of yoshoku, writes Norimitsu Onishi in The International Herald Tribune.
Dollar Hits 12-Year Low Against Yen
by Jim Benning | 03.13.08 | 4:13 PM ET
You want bad travel news? We got your bad travel news. The dollar’s tumbling value in Japan is today’s big headline. (Japan-bound budget travelers might want to cancel that hostel reservation and book a night here.) But the dollar has been sinking around the globe, from euro-land to India, for some time now. Get this, from the AP: “At the Taj Mahal, dollars were always legal tender, alongside rupees, for entry into the palace. But because of the falling value of the dollar, the government implemented a rupees-only policy a month ago.”