Destination: Tokyo
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.
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Yahoo! BuzzKyoto 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.
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
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)
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 »
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 »
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.
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
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.
The Telegraph’s Top Hotels on Film
by Eva Holland | 04.03.09 | 10:16 AM ET
The Telegraph rounds up 10 real-life hotels that have taken starring turns in major films—and from where I’m sitting, it’s a very good list, with a nice mix of classics and more modern fare. My favorite? Tokyo’s Park Hyatt, which played such a crucial role in creating that bang-on sense of travel’s isolation and disconnectedness in “Lost in Translation.”
A Global Rite of Spring
by Julia Ross | 03.27.09 | 12:31 PM ET
Ah, springtime in the nation’s capital. I saw my first cherry blossom of the season near the Washington National Cathedral a couple weeks ago, and it immediately lifted my will-winter-never-end mood. The blossoms are right on schedule here—peak period is expected to be April 1-4—but over in Tokyo, the much admired sakura are early for the fourth year in a row, prompting hand-wringing about the effects of global warming. According to the Telegraph, Japan’s national “blossoming line”—the latitude at which the trees start to flower—has shifted 125 miles north over the last 40 years. Kind of alarming.
If you missed the window in Tokyo, I’d recommend a visit to Washington’s National Arboretum instead of the Tidal Basin (way too crowded) or a virtual viewing via this web cam. Of course, there are plenty of pink wonderlands unfolding beyond the Beltway. Check out the cherry blossom festivals in San Francisco, Philadelphia or Brooklyn. And don’t forget the sake.
Heard on the Tokyo Street: ‘Yes, We Can’
by Julia Ross | 02.23.09 | 10:27 AM ET
They loved him in Canada last week for buying maple leaf cookies, but in Japan, they’re hanging on Barack Obama’s every word. It seems the President’s speeches have kicked off the latest language-learning trend among English-crazy Japanese. In the country’s ubiquitous English schools, teachers are urging students to memorize Obama’s speeches line by line, with a passion to match. Reports the Wall Street Journal: “‘The Speeches of Barack Obama,’ a best-selling book that comes with a CD and a glossary for phrases like ‘spin master’ and ‘stop-gap measures,’ sold 480,000 copies in Japan in three months.” I think that qualifies as a trend.
Funny, I haven’t tried this approach in my long struggle to learn Mandarin. Hu Jintao’s speeches somehow lack equivalent ... charisma.
Morning Links: John Lloyd Stephens, the Bob Marley Suitcase and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.12.09 | 10:04 AM ET
- Is slave history being “whitewashed” at some Southern plantations and museums?
- The Virginia Quarterly Review has opened its archives from 1975 through 2003. Among the stories unearthed: Richard O’Mara’s profile of “American Traveller” John Lloyd Stephens. (via Kottke)
- Here’s the story behind the shrinking of the Norman Foster-designed Harmon hotel in Las Vegas.
- Compared: Commuting in London, Delhi, Tokyo and Homer, Alaska.
- World Hum contributor Tom Bissell talks video games with Heather Chaplin.
- Several airlines are trying to take control of an upcoming emissions pact.
- Jossip is planning a cross-country tour of Bernie Madoff victims using the Madoff Map. Worst road trip ever?
- Can you imagine trying to clear customs with the Bob Marley suitcase?
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Hillary Clinton’s Peace Corps Bid
by Julia Ross | 02.09.09 | 1:57 PM ET
Hillary Clinton embarks on her first foreign trip as Secretary of State next Sunday, breaking with tradition by visiting Asia rather than Europe or the Middle East. The Japanese are thrilled that they’re first on the itinerary, and the Chinese are eager to talk climate change, but it’s her stop in Jakarta that’s got me interested. The State Department confirms Clinton wants to discuss reestablishing the Peace Corps program in Indonesia, which shut down in the 1960s after only two years in operation. If Indonesia supports the idea, the move would certainly bolster President Obama’s strategy to improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world and would open another valuable avenue for person-to-person exchange.
Clinton’s stop in Beijing will likely get the lion’s share of media attention next week, but I’ll be watching the Jakarta coverage to see if she scores a small victory for public diplomacy.
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