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Tags: Airport Transportation / NRT / Tokyo / Airports / → All Tags
On the Road Again: How to Reach Tokyo-Narita
Your flight has landed, you've claimed your luggage and now you're trying to get the hell out of the airport. To erase confusion and get your on your way, all week long at Jaunted we will be detailing the various ways to get to and from major airports, and what those modes cost, from cheapest to the big blowout entrance. Got any tips or an airport suggestion? Let us know.
Tokyo's Narita is a tricky airport in terms of airport transportation; there is no one single uber-fast way, and yet the 38-mile commute to the airport can cost an arm and a leg if you don't know what you're doing. Our best advice? Avoid taxis and town cars at all costs; read below to see why.
· Keisei Railway: When in doubt as to the cheapest mode of airport transportation, just follow the locals, and chances are they'll be hopping aboard a Keisei Limited Express, which is a normal commuter train making stops along the route from Narita into town. For a bit of an upgrade and a chance at a reserved seat, the Keisei railway also runs the slightly more expensive Skyliner to Keisei Ueno station.
Total cost: 1000 on the Limited to 2000 on the Skyliner ($10 to $20) per person, each way
Total time: 75 minutes, 60 minutes
Tags: Events / New York City / Washington / Tokyo / Festivals / → All Tags
This Weekend in the World: Everything's Free
· Tokyo: To escape the bright lights, big city hubbub of downtown Tokyo, many head for a walk in the Asakusa historical neighborhood, where traditional houses instead of glass skyscrapers line the streets.
This weekend there'll be more than leisurely walking however, as the Asakusa Sanja Matsuri Festival rambles through the area with dancing, music, opulent costumes, and women and children carrying shrines from the temple. The best part is that it's totally free and lasts from today through Sunday. For more information on times and how to reach the area, check out Japan Tourism's website.
Tags: Events / Tokyo / Madrid / Paris / New York City / Brooklyn / Museums / Markets / → All Tags
This Weekend in the World: Markets and Museums, Oh My!
· New York City: Can it be true? Is New York finally going to enjoy some 70-degree weather this weekend? Since this spring will find more urbanites with less cash for indulging their al fresco fantasies, we turn to the opening weekend of the outdoor Brooklyn Flea Market in Fort Greene, Brooklyn on Saturday. From 10am to 5pm on the grounds of Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, 200 or so vendors will pitch their tents and hock everything from vintage vinyl and handmade baubles to churros and organic everything. Read all about this weekend's deals and the fun for the rest of the summer at the Brooklyn Flea's website.
Tags: Architecture Travel / Beer Travel / Tokyo / Design Travel / → All Tags
Where to Tipple in Tokyo: The Asahi Beer Hall
Twenty years old and still partying like any good Philippe Starck structure should, Tokyo's Asahi Beer Hall is known as more than just a hot piece of architectural history on the banks of the Sumida River, but also for being a damned good place to eat and imbibe. So long as you can down Asahi with the best of the office workers, some of whom wander over from the Asahi headquarters next door, then you'll feel right at home.
Outside of the beer hall, the striking modern lines of the Starck design remain an attraction, made all the more interesting by "La Fiamma," the flame, perched atop the roof like froth in a beer glass. Over the years, this gold swish, a trademark form of Starck which can be seen throughout his other works, has gained nicknames such as "the golden turd," while Asahi executives think of it as the burning soul of the company.
We tend to take a positive view of the architectural flair of it, as it truly stands out from the other grey and black office buildings that dominate Tokyo's skyline. Next time you take a drinking tour of Japan, be sure to send us a postcard; we appreciate a hearty foreign bonding experience over booze just as much as the next salaryman.
Related Stories:
· Asahi Super Dry Hall [GlassandSteelandStone]
· Japan's New Asahi Betters With Age [Jaunted]
· Architecture Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: naoyafujii]
Tags: 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]
Tags: Japan / sports / Tokyo / → All Tags
Sumo Surprise
Hurry, hurry--tickets for the September Grand Sumo Tournament are only on sale for another ten days! Running from 10 to 24 September in Tokyo, there's nothing quite like watching the chubby fat guys push each other around. You can get the cheap seats from about $30 or splash out big for ringside for just $125--see, we told you Japan isn't as expensive as everyone says.
Of course, understanding exactly why and how they're pushing each other around is an art in itself, but the Official Grand Sumo gang have helped us out by providing the Beginner's Guide to Sumo. Obviously the goal is to get the other guy out of the circle, but it's important (although a little sad, somehow) to know that:
Striking with fists, hair pulling, eye gouging, choking and kicking in the stomach or chest are prohibited. It is also against the rules to sieze the part of the band covering the vital organs.When we're speaking of sumo champions, we would've thought the vital organs were the layers of flab, but it sounds like they're referring to something else. Just get to Tokyo and watch them for yourself (but make sure a band covers your vital organs).
[Image via WMMNA/Flickr]
Related stories:
Hands Off the Melons [Jaunted]
The Sumo Fitness Regime [Mail & Guardian]
