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Re-Enacting History: Swordfighting And Samurais In Mt. Fuji's Shadow

June 23, 2009 at 4:44 PM | 0 Comments

Along with the tasty barbeques and popping fireworks of the middle of summer come the re-enactments of historical battles. To help you plan fun excursions to watch guns go off, we're listing our favorite battle re-enactment sites all this week. Any suggestions or questions? Let us know.

Back in the 16th century when warlords Shingen and Kenshin were fighting for territory around the area which is currently Nagano prefecture near Tokyo, a series of deadly battles took place at Kawanakajima, killing over 7,000 samurai by both sword and gun—or seppuku ritual suicide for the wounded.

These days, a battle is re-enacted every April with over 900 volunteer warriors dressed in armor and costumes of the period, but the battle grounds have moved further inland to Yamanashi prefecture. It's actually an area of popular natural spas, so bring your swimsuit and prepare for a weekend of relaxation and watching fake disembowelment.

To reach Yamanashi, take the JR Chuo Line train for 90 minutes from Shinjuku Station to Isawa Onsen Station. If you love historical re-enactments, sushi and long plane flights, this would be the battle for you.

Related Stories:
· Isawa Onsen [att-Japan]
· Historical Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Japan Today]

Creepy Travel: Japan's Abandoned Hashima Island Now Open for Tourists

June 20, 2009 at 2:24 PM | 0 Comments

Abandoned towns are always fun to visit, and they're even more enticing if they've been off-limits for decades. Such is the case with Japan's Hashima Island, more commonly known as Battleship Island. This speck of an island about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki was once home to the densest population in the world, housing thousands of workers between 1887 and 1974 who harvested coal from the sea floor for the massive Mitsubishi company.

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The New Robotic Cooks From Japan Will Give You Haunting Nightmares

June 18, 2009 at 5:08 PM | 0 Comments

We've been pretty good about welcoming our new robotic overlords, up to and including thanking them for making travel-related customer service less of a nightmare. But there's something disquieting about a robot that can verbally take our order, independently interpret our request, and then cut up sushi rolls and serve them to us. Without getting into too many details, that something has to do with the words "fish" and "poison" and the phrase "robot revolution."

In any case, several cutting-edge lines of cooking robots debuted last week at the Tokyo International Food Machinery and Technology Expo last week. The one in the picture, a product of Japanese company Toyo Riki, can prepare and flip pancakes. Really neat! This next one, more of a serving robot, can pick up fruit without bruising it and serve delicate pastries. Insanely creepy!

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In Japan, Come For The Baseball Game, Stay For The Toilets

May 6, 2009 at 9:36 AM | 1 Comment

Baseball is one of the best spectator sports in the world. The cheer of the crowd, the crack of the bat, the hot dogs, and even the public restrooms make the whole experience that much better. Well, maybe not the restroom part, unless you are lucky enough to take in a game at the Seibu Dome just outside of Tokyo.

It all started a couple of years ago when the Boston Red Sox seduced star pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka away from the Seibu Lions. Through MLB’s agreement with the professional league in Japan, US teams had a precious few days to make an offer on Matsuzaka through something known as the posting system. Basically, the Red Sox won this type of auction, and paid about $50 million through the nose for the rights to the popular pitcher. As a result, the Lions were swimming in an udon soup of hot new cash.

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Pretty Seat Doilies Decorate the Limousine Airport Buses in Japan

April 15, 2009 at 2:56 PM | 1 Comment

Airport transfers can be a bit of a nightmare, and if you're heading off to a first class flight you really should be in a limousine, right? Japan has a good compromise that even those without first class tickets can afford: the Airport Limousine Bus service.

Running at both the major Japanese airports--Tokyo's Narita airport and Osaka's Kansai hub--as well as at regional spots, the Japanese seem to have got this transport thing figured out well. Limousine buses are, as you'd expect, pretty comfortable buses, and they pick you up from major train stations around town to transport you relatively hassle-free to the airport.

The bonus is that by Japanese standards they're definitely not too pricey. For example, a typical fare from central Tokyo all the way out to Narita is 3,000 yen ($30). Compared to battling the subway crush or negotiating an expensive taxi ride, the Limousine Bus idea seems like a good choice. Plus you get to see these pretty crocheted seat covers close up (we never said the décor was great).

Related Stories:
· Airport Limousine Bus Japan [Official Site]
· Narita International Airport Is In The Future [Jaunted]
· Japan Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: s.yume]

WiFi Coming To Japanese Bullet Trains

December 18, 2008 at 1:00 PM | 2 Comments

Americans may have WiFi-equipped buses and planes, but the Japanese are still leading the way when it comes to futuristic train travel: Soon you'll be able to log on at broadband speed while screaming between Tokyo and Osaka at 168 mph.

Starting in March, telecom giant NTT Communications will provide its HotSpot service--already in effect at Japanese airports, restaurants and hotels--on certain Shinkansen by stringing wires alongside the tracks. Those coax cables will then beam the internet inside 700-series bullet trains. WiFi will also be added to 17 stations along the Tokaido line.

Day passes will cost $6 while a monthly subscription to HotSpot is $19 at current exchange rates.

Related Stories:
· Wi-Fi Coming to Japan's Bullet Trains Next Year [PC World]
· NTT HotSpot [Official Site]
· WiFi coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]

Have A Scary New Year!

December 15, 2008 at 5:00 PM | 0 Comments

Have you been good this year? American kids get this question from a fat man in a red suit at the mall, but their counterparts in Oga, Japan are accountable to the Namahage demons who run rampant through the town on New Year's Eve.

The Namahage Festival welcomes in the demons--er, dancers dressed as demons in straw skirts with cooking knives and pails--who scare children into their houses. There, while the parents comfort their probably freaked out children, the demons are appeased with rice cakes and sake and bring good luck on the town. Oga's celebration is the most famous, but New Year's Eve Namahage celebrations take place all over Japan... if you dare.

Related Stories:
· Holidays in New York: Heavy Breathing on New Year's Eve [Jaunted]
· Sexy Japanese Cartoons Coming To Singapore [Jaunted]
· Japan Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: rowdies_akiraman]

Over-Polite Japanese Fish Auctioneers Hit Back (Gently)

December 5, 2008 at 9:05 AM | 0 Comments

The Japanese truly are an overly polite people. Remember back in April, they decided to limit tourist access to Tokyo's famous Tsukiji Fish Markets? The new rules were that tourists had to show up before 6.15am and were meant to be confined to one designated spot during the big tuna auctions.

This obviously didn't work out. The poor fishmongers and tuna auctioneers have still had to put up with a blitzkrieg of camera flashes and tuna-touching tourists--not what you want if the tuna's headed to a classy sushi restaurant.

From December 15, tourists will be banned entirely from the early morning auctions, a decision that's probably quite fair. But the Japanese are still too polite to ban us forever, so it's just for a month--perhaps after that any tourists who've completed Fish Auction Etiquette 101 will be allowed back in.

Related Stories:
· Too Many Foreigners Forces Ban on Tourists [Mainichi Daily News]
· We've Annoyed the Tsukiji Fishmongers Too Long [Jaunted]
· Other Things To Do In Tokyo [Jaunted]

[Photo: esp22]

Sushi Travel: Tuna Sashimi Joins Economic Meltdown

October 13, 2008 at 8:45 AM | 0 Comments

Economic crisis, environmental crisis, there's bad news everywhere we turn and in Tokyo the bad news is smelly, too.

We're talking tuna. Tuna that once went for ¥20 million (US$200,000) for a 445-pound fish at the Tsukiji Fish Markets in Tokyo is going to have to get even more expensive, say the experts, or it'll simply run out because of over-fishing.

We're sensing conspiracy here. Remember that the management at Tsukiji have now strictly limited tourist access to the famous markets? Are the Japanese planning to keep all the tuna for themselves and just feed us the line that it's all been fished out?

Soon we'll only have YouTube videos like the one above of the Japanese fish market to sustain us.

Related Stories:
· Tuna's Just Too Cheap [Japan Times]
· We've Annoyed the Tsukiji Fishmongers Too Long [Jaunted]
· Tokyo Travel Guide [Jaunted]

Adorable Fall Travel: Public Transit Pet Pays Off

October 8, 2008 at 4:00 PM | 0 Comments

While at least one Brit is determined to give tourists a bad name in Tokyo, a city southwest of Osaka is drawing in the masses with the world's most adorable train attendant.

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Comic Book Driving Wine Sales in Asia

September 25, 2008 at 4:35 PM | 1 Comment

A comic book series in Japan is turning into the biggest deal in the wine industry there. As the story goes, the son of a deceased wine critic has to travel the globe, looking for great vino. (Seems much more pleasant than fighting The Joker!)

The mere mention of a bottling in the books can drive outrageous sales, says The Telegraph:

The comic is read by 500,000 Japanese each week and [its] sway over the wine market is spreading throughout Asia. Some wine importers say they have never seen such a powerful single influence on their business.

In Taiwan a single reference to a relatively obscure French terroir led to dozens of cases of the wine being sold within a few days.

Maybe it's getting bought up by those wine spas?

Related Stories:
· Character Drives up Wine Sales in Japan [Telegraph, via]
· Wine Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: PSFK]

Drinking Travel: Robert Downey Jr. Hammers One Out

September 5, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

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.

Related Stories:
· A Star's Life: Last-Minute Trip to Hawaii, Check! [Jaunted]
· Movie Set Hotel: "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" at the Downtown Standard LA [HC]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Socialite Life]