Experience the Australian Alps from the comfort of a movie theater

Film, at its best, has the ability to transport us to a different time, place or state of mind. The great leisure of cinematic travel is that you do so parked in a plush theater chair for two or so hours, with a jumbo pack of Milk Duds and Red Vines by your side. The Fifth Annual Backcountry Film Festival aims to take theatergoers on a tour of wintry locations the world over, from Vermont to Japan.

Your lift ticket to mountainous and blistering-cold regions comes in the form of films shot in the backcountry of different nations, including unlikely places such as Australia. It's a little-known fact that there is snowboarding along with surfing down under. ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-11-02T15:34:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/4/26/91253/2071
For relaxing times, make it Suntory time. Bill Murray was forced to repeat this line over and over in the movie "Lost in Translation," so you'll have to forgive us for having it stuck in our noggins. Now art aficionados can make it Suntory time during daylight hours in Tokyo with the new home of the Suntory Museum of Art.

Scenesters who know the museum's home district of Roppongi as nightclub central might be surprised to see kimonos and lacquered plates in the new modernist building, whose architect Kengo Kuma told Bloomberg News he wanted to create an "urban living room" for the artifacts. According to this week's Newsweek, it's part of a city revitalization plan called Tokyo Midtown patterned after New York City (there's even a Dean and Deluca) and hoping to draw more cultural attractions into Tokyo's city center.

Developers turned down chain stores and international names in favor of encouraging small business owners to move in to the bamboo-and-washi-paper-decorated stores, while a nearby apartment complex entices would-be shoppers to pursue their retail passions full time. So let's raise a glass to Suntory and the Tokyo Midtown project.

[Photo: Yamaguchi.net]]]> egw 2007-04-26T13:16:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/1/17/25257/3246

Heading to Japan for a spot of English teaching has been a popular pastime for a couple of decades now, but those who go still find things a bit surprising. Nearly nothing is as you'd expect, from bathing naked to bad Japanese soda like SMAP and really weird flavors of ice cream.

A couple of gals who are currently finding this all out for themselves are running a nice blog called Japan Nomads, and this week Emily explained some of the intricacies of using Japanese toilets. Of course, mastering the "squat" toilet (and what to do with your clothing while you do) is a trick that helps you out in many parts of Asia, but some of the technology that Emily points out seems a bit more Japan-specific:

Perhaps even more exciting than different styles of toilets, Japanese toilets often have four or five buttons ... One button, labeled with a music note, creates a flushing sound when pushed to cover any embarrassing bathroom noises, which for many Japanese women, is any bathroom noise. The others mostly relate to the integrated bidet, which both sprays clean water and blow dries, right from the toilet. Travelers beware, the shock of pressing a strange button and suddenly feeling a jet of water can lead to jumping and soaked pants.

So you can't say we haven't warned you.

[Photo: AmiSng]]]> amandak 2007-01-17T10:15:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/1/1/23249/75199
The Japanese are the experts at recreating the world within their own borders--after all, they often don't have time to leave. There's their recreation of the Netherlands at Huis Ten Bosch near Nagasaki, little Denmark in the Tivoli park at Kurashiki, and even their own copy of the Eiffel Tower in Tokyo.

You'd think that natural phenomena would be exempt from this copy-cat syndrome, but in the northern island of Hokkaido, this is definitely not the case. If you've ever wanted to see the Aurora or Northern Lights but had bad timing or bad weather when you traveled north, then head to Shiretoko, Hokkaido instead. This year from February 5 to March 21, seeing the Aurora is guaranteed: there's a laser imitation of it running every evening from 8 p.m. The wonders of all the world in just one country: what a great idea for saving on emissions.

[Photo: Eva&Kjartan] ]]> amandak 2007-01-05T10:15:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/12/27/204254/16
If you missed out on this September's Grand Sumo tournament, you'll want to pay close attention to the information on the 2007 Sumo schedule in Japan. During 2007 there'll be the usual six grand sumo championships, each lasting 15 days, with the first kicking off on January 7 in Tokyo.

In fact, the Sumo organization's website, especially its English version, is really improving, and you can now read pre-tournament interviews with sumo luminaries like champion big-guy-in-a-diaper Asashoryu, who says "I want to do my best to go after the next championship while extending my undefeated streak."

Did you misread that too? We thought he was talking about steak. If you want to feel thin without going on your on diet, get to Japan and a sumo tournament in 2007 and you'll be happy and content for months.

[Photo: we-make-money-not-art]

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· Sumo Surprise [Jaunted]]]> amandak 2007-01-03T10:05:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/11/28/231040/43
Billboards and flashing neon advertising are on their way out in Japan's tourist-laden ancient city of Kyoto. New council regulations, to be phased in over the next 6 years, will ban all rooftop advertising and flashing ads and will also tighten restrictions on building heights, especially near the main tourist sites.

Rules around Kiyomizu Temple--one of the sites nominated as a New Wonder of the World--are especially strict. Within a 500 meter radius, colors and shapes must all fit the "natural harmony" of the World Heritage site. A Kyoto official gave the government's reasoning: without the new rules,

We will fail to pass on the distinguished scenery of the ancient city to future generations.