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TSA / Full-Body Scanners / Full-Body Scanning / Japan / Airport Security / DCA / → All Tags

Japan Explains 'Grope and Change' TSA Policy

On one hand, it's a little bold for Japanese comics to be spoofing American behavior on the same week that Japanese scientists are showcasing their hilariously disturbing pregnancy simulator vest around the country. Japan doesn't have a lock on Jaunted's weird travel category, but they're not exactly under-represented either (not one but two separate posts just about weird bras!) So a little bit of cross-cultural modesty is called for here.

On the other hand, the Washington Post did just publish a story about a TSA agent who got somewhat flummoxed by something "shiny." Literally. Too sparkly!

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Japan Airlines / JAL / American Airlines / Delta / Airlines / Airline News / Japan / Japan Travel / → All Tags

More JAL Rumors, and This Time They're In American's Favor

Remember when we told you about those rumors trickling out of Japanese media outlets, to the effect that JAL was dumping American/oneworld and embracing Delta/SkyTeam? Remember how we told you that the story made sense because, the shadiness of the sourcing aside, switching probably makes the most financial sense for the bankrupt Japanese airline? Turns out we may have called that putt a little too early:

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Film Festival Travel / Australia / Skiing / Vermont Travel / Japan / → All Tags

Baby, It's Cold Outside, Especially at the Backcountry Film Festival

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.

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Museums / Tokyo / Japan / → All Tags

Tokyo: Whiskey Magnate Museum Moves Into New Digs

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]

Blogs / Toilets / Japan / Culture / → All Tags

The Fake Flush

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]

Sightseeing / Japan / Nature / → All Tags

Catch the Northern Lights (Without Going North)

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]

Sports / Japan / → All Tags

Fat Guys Keep Fighting in 2007

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]

Related Stories:
· Sumo Surprise [Jaunted]

Japan / Temples / Tourist Attractions / → All Tags

No Flashing in Kyoto

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.

Enough said. Just don't expect to see flashing Coca Cola signs or any of the Tokyo lights we love so much if you head to Kyoto's most prized sights. Arigatou.

[Photo: P F C]

Related Stories:
· Kyoto To Ban Flashing Neon [Daily Yomiuri]
· The New 7 Wonders [Jaunted]

Airlines / AeroMexico / Japan / → All Tags

AeroMexico Cashes in on College Lushes

Hats off to AeroMexico for getting in on one of the world's most random air routes. The airline just launched its non-stop service from Tijuana to Tokyo (Narita). In the interest of full disclosure, the flight originates in Mexico City before stopping in Tijuana and continuing on, but make no mistake about it: AM is full-on promoting its Tijuana to Narita service.

AeroMexico flies a 2-class 777 on the route, with business-class and economy cabins. Flights depart Tijuana on Tuesdays and Fridays, and Narita on Wednesdays on Saturdays. Like that's not a sheisty plan...catch those SDSU students at the beginning of their extended weekend benders and let them ship themselves off to Japan before they come to. Friday departures (which are really late-late-night Thursday) arrive in Narita in the early morning, with enough time to catch AeroMexico's Saturday afternoon return flight once you've processed your mistake. We suppose this could also be used for honest vacations and business trips too.

[Photo: Enrique Gracia]

Japan / Sightseeing / Tourist Attractions / → All Tags

Nagasaki's Non-Japan Tour

Traveling to Nagasaki might start out as an homage to atomic bomb victims, but there's no need for your trip to stay serious the entire time. In fact it's a city full of unusual-for-Japan sightseeing spots existing from the times when it was basically the only part of the nation open to the West.

Take, for example, the Glover Garden outdoor museum. It's home to a few mansions of British merchants, and gardens just like we're used to seeing. The entertaining part is making all the effort to go sightseeing in Japan and not seeing anything different from what you're used to; normally that's hard to do in this unique land.

Back near the center of town, you might head down the Dutch Slope before finding a spot where the Japanese were copying China instead of the West: the Spectacles Bridge, so named because of the two arches that produce a reflection that looks like a pair of glasses. But don't worry about the un-Japaneseness of it all: stray around any corner and you'll find the real Japan again. Complete with enough unknown foods that you could wish yourself back in the bad food days of Britain, after all.

[Photo: GiantRadish]

Related Stories:
· Nagasaki Famous For Strange Pizza [HotelChatter]
· Nagasaki Sightseeing [TripAdvisor]

YouTube / Japan / Drinking / Technology / → All Tags

Beer on Demand

This Asahi beer robot from Japan has got to be the greatest, most unecessary invention ever. Watching it in action is actually more fun if you don't speak Japanese; who knows what it's saying? Be mesmerized as the beer-bot obediently poors its master a can. Sure, you could do the same thing in about twenty seconds, but if you had a beer-bot...would you really want to?

Automation and beer were clearly meant to be together, so we're not surprised that beer dispensers at Narita Airport are popular among travelers. In fact, we're so unsurprised that we're nearly comatose over the bore of it all. Send us a test model, please, so that the knock on the door from UPS might wake us up.

Paris / Japan / Tourists / → All Tags

Paris Stresses Japanese Tourists

The sad fact of Japanese working life is they're lucky to string together a week's holiday every few years, so when the good people of Japan get the chance to travel, they want it to be good (and photographically memorable). Many Japanese dream of romantic holidays in Paris but have their dreams shattered when it doesn't quite meet their high expectations.

And that's why Paris syndrome exists. At the moment, about a dozen Japanese a year are struck by this psychological reaction to their less-than-perfect experiences in Paris. Some of the problems arise because:

People using public transport all look stern, and handbag snatchers increase the ill feeling.

The worst cases of psychological scarring have included a pair of women who thought their rooms were bugged, and another who was certain she was being attacked by microwaves. All this when some French are making a big effort to make friends with foreigners. Of course the best way to avoid this syndrome is simply to stay home, or at least to travel with lower expectations. So anyone headed to Paris soon: the Eiffel Tower's only 2 storeys high and genuine croissants taste terrible. Now you're well prepared.

[Photo: mindync]

Related Stories:
· Paris Leaves Japanese Tourists Ill [The Australian]

· Makin' French Mates [Jaunted]