Jaunted - Tokyo

Drinking Travel: Robert Downey Jr. Hammers One Out

egw — 2008-09-05T09:15:22-05:00

Look, Ma, a robot! Robert Downey Jr. and a man wearing a robotic suit hammer open a barrel of sake to celebrate the premiere of "Iron Man" in Japan this weekend. We're just dying to try this at home.

Downey Jr. has had a blockbuster year between "Iron Man" and his critically acclaimed role in "Tropic Thunder."

He wrapped his movie "The Soloist" (by "Atonement" director Joe Wright) in Los Angeles this spring before the press blitz began but is rumored to be in casting for a new "Sherlock Holmes" movie, in which he would star as the deerstalkered one opposite Russell Crowe as Moriarty.

[Photo: Socialite Life]

Travel Snapshot: Weary in Japan

pbb — 2008-07-17T15:15:18-05:00

Jaunted reader ultraclay! has just dropped more photos in our Flickr pool, and we love, love, love this shot.

While this picture was made on the sly--so we don't know this guy's backstory--we like to think that he's been on a super-bender in Tokyo that's just coming to an end. To snap in your own candid shot, hang around bustling Shiodome with your camera on the ready.

Related Stories:
· Travel Snapshots: Baseball in Japan [Jaunted]
· Travel Snapshots coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: ultraclay!]

Travel Snapshot: Baseball in Japan

pbb — 2008-07-11T12:30:14-05:00

Flickr user ultraclay! just dropped a bunch of photos into the Jaunted Photo Pool, and we were particularly taken by this snap from a Yomiuri Giants game in Tokyo. What makes Japanese baseball so special?

The entire experience was fun and culturally very interesting, but the best part has to have been the beer girls. Unlike stadiums in the US where pisswater beer is poured and then carried around until you finally get it, warm and flat, this beer is always fresh. That's because they pour it in front of you... from a keg... on their back! Yeah, really.

Why are we still going to games in the states?

Have your own travel snapshots? We'd love to see 'em.

Related Stories:
· Japanese Baseball [Ultraclay.com]
· Travel Snapshots coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: ultraclay!]

Naptime in Tokyo McDonald's

Hunter Walker — 2008-06-10T15:01:13-05:00

This Youtube video shows what happens at a McDonald's restaurant in the Akasaka, Tokyo after the bars close. The clip shows at least seven people sleeping off a night of heavy drinking in the booths at Mickey D's. Some of these sleepyheads were probably stranded when the Tokyo Metro closed down for the evening.

Miraculously, the staff doesn't seem to care that their restaurant is being used as a flophouse. This type of thing would never happen in the States. When we used to work at Starbucks in Manhattan, junkies and drunks would pass out in the bathrooms and we'd chase them out with mops. Guess foreign fast food joints are just a haven for assorted weirdness. For more proof, check out our clip of the dancing waiters at Pizza Hut in India.

Related Stories:
· Japan Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Dancing Waiters Travel: India's the Place [Jaunted]
· Videos coverage [Jaunted]

Stabbing Spree Shocks Tokyo's "Electric City"

Hunter Walker — 2008-06-09T11:00:01-05:00

Seven people are dead in Tokyo after a twenty-five year old man went on a rampage with a rented truck and a survival knife. The killer, Tomohiro Kato, struck in the Akihabara district, where tourists shop for the latest electronics and Japanese nerds visit arcades in manga inspired costumes. The neighborhood is known as the mecca for the obsessive anime and video game fandom known as "otaku" culture.

In the hours leading up to the attack, Kato wrote postings on an online messageboard that revealed his murderous intentions. The first post, written at 5:21 am Tokyo time warned:

I'll crash my vehicle into people and if the vehicle becomes useless, I'll get out a knife. Goodbye everyone.

Though Japan has a reputation as a relatively safe country, CNN notes that "stabbing attacks have become more frequent in Japan in recent years as violent crime has increased." Just three months ago a man killed one person and hurt at least seven others after going on a "slashing spree" outside a Japanese mall, and seven years to the day before Tomohiro Kato lost it in Akihabara, a man stabbed eight people at an elementary school on June 9, 2001.

It might be a good idea to bring along some chain mail if you're headed to Tokyo any time soon. You can tell the anime nerds in Akihabara that you're just joining in on the cosplay fun.

Related Stories:
· Tragedy Strikes Tokyo's Geeks [Times SA]
· Man on "Murder Mission" Stabs 17 in Tokyo [CNN]
· Japan Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Hunter Walker]

Tokyo: Where the Planes Run on Time

amandak — 2008-05-12T09:50:01-05:00

List-loving Forbes has just figured out which airports around the world are the most punctual. They checked into the 50 busiest airports and then looked at their on-time arrival and departure data to figure out who's on top.

The moral of their story is that if you want your plane to leave on time, fly out of Tokyo. Haneda and Narita airports hold the top two spots: At Haneda, 93 percent of flights departed within 15 minutes of the planned time and 87 percent arrived on time. We know Japan well, so this result doesn't surprise us--but it does impress us.

A little surprisingly, the laid back Aussies come in fourth with Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport; the organized Germans get their first rating in the ninth spot with Munich. An airport we consider a big mover on the international scene, Dubai International, came in a disappointing 49th.

Stateside, Orlando was the most punctual (8th) with Houston's George Bush Intercontinental close behind (10th). The US also gets the wooden spoon with LaGuardia coming in last.

Related Stories:
· 10 Most On-Time Airports [Forbes Traveler]
· Japan Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Airports coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: jpellgen]

Tokyo Disneyland Getting Older, Not So Gracefully

amandak — 2008-04-22T09:15:02-05:00

Happy belated birthday to Tokyo's very own Disneyland, which turned 25 last week. In a country where even grown women are allowed to go manic about Mickey, Tokyo Disneyland has long been attracting Japanese visitors, many of whom go dozens or even hundreds of times throughout their lives.

But the bosses of Tokyo Disneyland can see change coming. Japan's aging population means there will be fewer and fewer visitors for Disneyland, so they're looking further afield to keep their company going strong. Various sites in Southeast Asia are in the shortlist at the moment so you never know where the culture of Disney will strike next.

In the meantime, Tokyo Disneyland is adjusting for its elderly customers. They've started a special "Flowers and Trees Tour" because that's what gray-haired Japanese like to look at, and some of their current special packages focus on couples in their 60s. Perhaps they'll even let Mickey go gray?

Related Stories:
· Magic Goes On, Tokyo Disneyland 25 [AFP]
· Tokyo Offers Free Pizza to Pensioners [Independent]
· Disneyland coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: aida]