It Could Be Years Before You Can Visit Japan

Above, the Kachidoki Bridge over the Sumida River in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

People around the world, including students, business people and tourists are wondering when Japan will be open to foreigners again.

That is the $10,000 question. Nobody knows, not even the Japanese government, apparently.

The is an article in The Telegraph (U.K.) that says it "could be years before you can visit Japan." That not good.

The article starts with (and some snippets):

Japan, Telegraph Travel readers’ second favourite country, will shortly be pretty in pink – its cities and parks awash with sakura, or cherry blossom. Vanishingly few international visitors, however, will enjoy the spectacle. This will be the third springtime since the country’s stringent Covid-19 travel ban was put in place, and – unlike fellow Australia and New Zealand – a reopening plan has not been revealed.   

Japan’s travel ban stretches back to early April 2020. Only returning Japanese citizens and permanent residents (and, briefly, Olympians) have been permitted to enter, and they are currently subjected to hotel quarantine for six days upon arrival. There was a flicker of optimism that the ban might be eased late last year but omicron’s rise quickly put paid to this. In 2019, a record 31.9 million visitors entered Japan but by 2021 this had collapsed to 245,000, largely those with an exemption to visit. 

No date has been given by the Japanese government for relaxing the ban and some commentators have suggested the continued exclusion of foreigners taps into a siege mentality reminiscent of Sakoku (meaning “locked country”) – the isolationist period that characterised Japan’s Edo period from 1603-1867 under largely xenophobic shogunate rule. Yet the travel ban is looking increasingly futile as omicron cases surge despite the absence of foreign nationals. The 104,000 new daily infections recorded on February 3 was its highest since the pandemic began.  

 

To read more, go here. 

Hotels That Capture The Spirit of Japan

Above, a view looking towards Shinjuku from Tokyo Tower. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In Japan, as in everywhere else, there are hotels and then there are HOTELS.

For me, I usually stay at budget hotels. I just need a room to sleep in, not spend my vacation time inside.

But for those who prefer to splurge, The Telegraph (U.K.) has ten hotels spotlighted that "best capture the spirit of Japan". Included is the Park Hyatt Hotel in Shinjuku that was made famous in the Bill Murray comedy, Lost In Translation.

They begin with:

Between them, these stylish retreats encapsulate all that makes Japan so special, whether it's the simplicity of a country ryokan, the inspirational creativity of an art house, or the utter bliss of an onsen spring.

To see them, go here. 

Tokyo Hotels By District

Above, a stay at Shinjuku's Hotel Gracery will put guests up close to Godzilla. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Remember that scene in National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) where the Griswold family pulled off the freeway in a city and found themselves in a "not-too-nice" neighborhood?

Fortunately, when it comes to Tokyo, I have not seen any bad neighborhoods.

When looking for a hotel to stay in Tokyo, I generally look for price and the close proximity to a train or subway station. I have my favorite hotels in Tokyo, such as the Hotel Asia Center of Japan and the Hotel Sunroute in Asakusa.

But if you are a newbie making your first trip to Japan and want to see what different areas of Tokyo have to offer in accommodations, the U.K.'s Telegraph has an article on just that.

They begin with:

A neighbourhood guide to the best places to stay in Tokyo, as chosen by our resident expert, including the best hotels in Shibuya, Shinjuku, Roppongi and more. 

They also provide prices, but they are in English pounds. You'll have to convert them to dollars in an online currency converter.

To read more, go here. 

16 Reasons Why You Must Visit Japan

Above, the price list of an Osaka love hotel. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Do you need a reason for visiting Japan? Probably not. But just in case you need reasons for going, on the other side of "the pond", the United Kingdom's The Telegraph has provided 16 reasons "why you must visit Japan."

They start with:

More people visited Japan last year than ever before: 24.04 million. Combining ancient culture with exquisite natural landscapes and dazzling modernity, the Asian nation is stirring an increasing number of travellers’ souls, and, over the last three years, the number of visitors here has more than doubled. Here’s why that might be.

To see what the 16 reasons are, go here. 

Amelia Earhart Mystery Solved?

It appears that the 80-year-old mystery of what happened to famed aviator Amelia Earhart may have been solved.

A photograph has been discovered in the National Archives that purportedly is of Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan in the Marshall Islands in 1937.

Here's the photograph:

Above, Fred Noonan may be the man at the far left and Amelia Earhart may be the person sitting with back to the camera.

According to The Telegraph:

A newly discovered photograph proves that Amelia Earhart did not die in a plane crash but was captured by the Japanese, experts have claimed 80 years after her disappearance. 

The photograph was found in a former “top secret” file at the US National Archives and is believed to have been taken in 1937 - the same year Earhart disappeared during her round-the-world flight attempt. 

It had been generally accepted that Earhart, and her navigator Fred Noonan, died on July 2, 1937, when their plane crashed close to Howland Island in the central Pacific Ocean, amid poor visibility and low fuel levels.

To read more, go here.

Everything You Need To Know About Kyoto

Above, Kyoto Tower. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For a great change of pace from the hustle & bustle of Tokyo, a trip down to Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto is just the thing.

I have been in Kyoto twice and enjoyed it both times. I definitely recommend a visit.

The Telegraph (U.K.) has an article on everything you need to known about Kyoto.

It begins with;

A red-lipped, kimono-clad geisha vanishing around a corner. Riverside cherry trees bursting into cloudlike bloom. Zen gardens with raked sand and haiku-inspiring rock formations. There are perhaps few more evocative city names than “Kyoto”. While Tokyo is all high-speed trains, flashes of neon and skyscrapers, Kyoto moves to an altogether different rhythm. 

A calming antidote to the futuristic capital, Kyoto is synonymous with ancient temples, tea ceremony masters, traditional ryokan inns and centuries-old craftsmanship.

For monster fans, an additional reason to visit Kyoto is to see places featured in the movies. Kyoto Tower was blasted by Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1984) and Kiyomizu-dera was featured briefly in the same movie. In Gamera 3 (1999), JR Kyoto Station was the battleground of Gamera and Irys.

Above, the cavernous interior of the JR Kyoto Station. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.

Kilauea "Firehose of Lava"

Above, lava inside a Kilauea vent crater. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the highlights of my trip to Hawaii last May was a helicopter tour of Kilauea volcano.

We were treated to some spectacular views during the tour. Those pale in comparison to a video shot of a "firehose of lava" from Kilauea into the sea.

According to The Telegraph:

Researchers from the USGS’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory captured dramatic footage showing a ‘firehose’ of lava flowing from the Kilauea Volcano and into the sea. 

The video also captures littoral explosions as the super hot lava makes contact with the cold sea water at the Kamokuna lava tube.

To see the video, go here. 

Trial To Bring The Dead 'Back To Life' Okayed

An interesting project to "bring the dead back to life" has won approval.

The Telegraph reported:

A groundbreaking trial to see if it is possible to regenerate the brains of dead people, has won approval from health watchdogs. 

A biotech company in the US has been granted ethical permission to recruit 20 patients who have been declared clinically dead from a traumatic brain injury, to test whether parts of their central nervous system can be brought back to life. 

To read more, go here. 

Sir Christopher Lee Dies At 93

Above, Sir Christopher Lee at the U.K. premiere of Skyfall.

We lost a great!

Sir Christopher Lee, who took on the Dracula mantle in a series of Hammer films, has died at the age of 93.

According to Fox News:

Sir Christopher Lee, the deep-voiced dramatic actor known to several generations for his portrayal of villains in "Dracula," "James Bond" and "Lord of the Rings" movies, has died. He was 93. 

The news of Lee’s June 7 death was first reported by the U.K.’s Telegraph, which published his death certificate. His wife waited to go public with the news of his death in order to have time to inform family members, according to The Guardian.

One of Lee's most recent films was the Tim Burton and Johnny Depp Dark Shadows, in which Lee played a sea captain who falls under the thrall of Barnabas Collins (Depp). He also appeared in two Star Wars movies.

To read more, go here.

Global Warming Fraud: Scandalous Fiddling With Data

Things are now coming out proving that the proponents of "global warming" or "climate change" will do anything and stop at nothing to feed us data that supports their contentions which, as they are turning out, are nothing but pure bullshit.

According to an article in the Telegraph, data showing that the Earth was actually in a cooling trend were doctored to make it look like the planet had been warming and the polar ice caps had been shrinking. All lies.

The article states:

When future generations look back on the global-warming scare of the past 30 years, nothing will shock them more than the extent to which the official temperature records – on which the entire panic ultimately rested – were systematically “adjusted” to show the Earth as having warmed much more than the actual data justified. 

Two weeks ago, under the headline “How we are being tricked by flawed data on global warming," I wrote about Paul Homewood, who, on his Notalotofpeopleknowthat blog, had checked the published temperature graphs for three weather stations in Paraguay against the temperatures that had originally been recorded. In each instance, the actual trend of 60 years of data had been dramatically reversed, so that a cooling trend was changed to one that showed a marked warming.

 To read more, go here.

Who Stays In A Japanese Love Hotel?

Above, a cigarette lighter advertising a Tokyo love hotel. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Who stays in Japan's love hotels? 

The United Kingdom's Telegraph has an article on a documentary that will answer that question.

Their article begins with:

Love Hotel is a film documentary set in the Angelo Love Hotel in Osaka, offering a fascinating insight into the lives of the eponymous manager, his staff and the guests that spend time there. 

We asked Phil Cox, one of the film’s directors, what sort of person stays at a love hotel and how they became so popular in Japan.

I wonder if a love hotel has a special "Godzilla" or "kaiju room" for those couples who are monster fans?

To read more, go here.

Japan: 50 Years of the Bullet Train

Above, the interior of a shinkansen car. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As mentioned previously, 2014 (specifically October) marks 50 years since Japan's shinkansens (bullet trains) have been in service.

We have an article from the U.K. Telegraph that takes a look at the shinkansen by Joanna Symons, who took a tour of Japan aboard the shinkansen earlier this year.

She begins her article with:

Fifty years ago this October, a year after Dr Beeching’s first report had sounded the death knell for much of Britain’s railway system, a revolution in train travel was taking place on the far side of the world. 

As visitors flocked to Japan for the Olympic Games (held in October to avoid the summer heat), Japan’s first Shinkansen, or bullet train, slid out of Tokyo station and gathered speeds of up to 130mph en route for Osaka, heralding a new age of high-speed rail. 

The Japanese were well ahead of the game. It was 13 years before Italy followed suit, then France with the TGV. But although high-speed trains now glide across hills and plains from Spain to China, Japan’s futuristic-looking bullet train retains an aura that our grime-caked intercity expresses can never capture. 

To read the full article, go here. 

Putin Trying To Be The Adolf Hitler of the 21st Century, Threatens Kiev

Russian President Vladimir Putin sure seems like he's trying to be the "Adolf Hitler of the 21st Century" with his recent moves against the Ukraine, which led to the shoot-down of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet.

According to the United Kingdom's Telegraph:

Vladimir Putin has boasted to European leaders that his forces could sweep into Kiev in two weeks if he wanted. 

The Russian president reportedly made the threat to the European Commission president during talks on the Ukraine crisis. 

Mr Putin told Jose Manuel Barroso: “If I want to, I can take Kiev in two weeks,” Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper reported, implying this could be the result if the EU stepped up sanctions against Russia. 

His comments, relayed by Mr Barroso to colleagues at last weekend’s EU summit, emerged as Nato announced it would build a new “spearhead” rapid reaction force of up to 4,000 troops that can be flown into eastern Europe in 48 hours to respond to possible Russian aggression.

It appears that Putin is asking for war against the West. We can thank our pussy President Obama for being such a wimp, which has only emboldened Vlad The Invader.

To read the full Telegraph article, go here.

U.K. Telegraph's Why The Original Godzilla Is No Joke

Above, Haruo Nakajima climbing into the original Godzilla suit in 1954. Photo courtesy of Sonoe Nakajima.

It is amazing, and gratifying to us longtime Godzilla fans, that Godzilla is getting such well-deserved recognition in today's media that he was a (giant) step above those B-movie monsters of the 1950s.

The latest is from the United Kingdom's The Telegraph. They've posted an excellent article on the beginnings of Godzilla (even though Eiji Tsuburaya was captioned as Ishiro Honda in error).

The article begins with:

Western audiences have spent more than half a century thinking of Godzilla as a joke dinosaur in a rubber suit, a Japanese trash-culture ‘King of the Monsters’ locked in endless battle with giant moths, dragons, armadillos and skyscraper-sized robots. Against this camp backdrop, then, it may seem surprising to hear Gareth Edwards, the director of this summer’s Godzilla film, declare his intention to portray the monster as “a force of nature, like the wrath of God or vengeance for the way we’ve behaved”. 

But the idea of presenting Godzilla as the harbinger of man-made apocalypse isn't simply another gritty reboot for an age in which children’s franchises have become big-budget adult entertainment. It harks back 60 years to an almost forgotten chapter in the franchise’s history: the tragic story of nuclear paranoia told by the original Gojira in 1954. 

Released in the same year as Seven Samurai, directed by a colleague of Kurosawa’s and starring one of Japan’s most famous actors, the film Gojira was a far cry from its B-movie successors. It was a sober allegory of a film with ambitions as large as its thrice-normal budget, designed to shock and horrify an adult audience.

To read more, go here.

The Telegraph Reviews ANA's Business Class Seats

Above, ANA's business class seating display at the Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show.

Early last year, I attended the Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show at the Long Beach Convention Center.

At the show, All Nippon Airways (ANA) had an elaborate display of their new seats. I stopped by and tried out their new business class and premium economy seats. They were quite comfortable. The business class seats were more like cubicles (Dilbert would feel right at home) than seats.

According to an article in the United Kingdom's The Telegraph, ANA introduced new bedding to their business class seats in September and The Telegraph posted a detailed review. The business class seats can unfold (if that's the correct word) out into a bed configuration. This wasn't available at the travel show.

To see the ANA business class seats (and beds) and read their review, go here.

Tokyo 2020: The Onslaught Begins

Above, Tokyo at night.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Now that Tokyo has been selected by the IOC to be the host city for the 2020 Olympics Summer Games, the onslaught begins of media travel recommendations. They will probably increase as we get further down the seven years before the Opening Ceremonies.

The latest is from The Telegraph (United Kingdom):

As Tokyo is chosen to host the 2020 Olympics, we offer a guide to the city's best sights, hotels, restaurants and bars. 

Still, it is worth a look if one is planning on visiting Tokyo a lot sooner. After all, what is said and written now may be a bit outdated by the time 2020 arrives.

To view the article, go here.

Consider An Autumn Vacation To Tokyo

Above Shibuya in autumn.  Photo by Armadn Vaquer.

It may not seem like it now, given record temperatures in Japan of late, but soon the temperatures will drop for the autumn season and the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen has been the best in years for people to consider an autumn vacation to Japan.

The U.K. Telegraph wrote:

Tokyo has long been seen as a pricey destination. Now, however, things are cooling down. Visitors may not yet find themselves swinging from chandeliers while swigging vintage champagne – but the astute will find the cost of food, transport, accommodation and shopping (that all-important Tokyo activity) considerably eased compared to last year. 

By mid-September, the summer heat and humidity will also finally give way to one of the most pleasant times of year, with blue skies, temperate climes and a cornucopia of culinary delights in restaurants, from mushrooms to persimmon.

The Telegraph's article has some good ideas on places to see, where to stay (they recommend Shibuya's Hotel Fukudaya as a budget accommodation) and where to eat.

The article does contain one error. They have a photo of Tokyo Tower that is captioned as the Tokyo Sky Tree.

To see the article, go here.

U.K. Telegraph's Tokyo Guide

Above, a view of Tokyo from Tokyo Tower.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The United Kingdom's The Telegraph has posted a Tokyo city break guide on things to do an see in Japan's capital city.

It begins with an overview of Tokyo.  It starts with:

Tokyo is a mega-metropolis of dizzying contradictions, both familiar and foreign. It has neon, skyscrapers, salaryman crowds, packed trains, cutting-edge architecture and futuristic technology. But it also has ancient shrines, plant-covered wooden houses, cycling grannies, old-school sweet shops and village-like lanes.

The guide's features include Tokyo hotels, attractions, restaurants and nightlife.  One of the hotels the article reviews is the Fukudaya Hotel (it is actually a ryokan or Japanese inn).  I stayed there during my first trip to Japan in 2001.

Above, the Hotel Fukudaya.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Although the guide's pricing is in British pounds, it is still useful for those considering a visit.

To view The Telegraph's guide to Tokyo, go here.

Japanese Etiquette For Tourists

Above, the Niigata Dormy Inn, where I heard ramen slurping in the restaurant.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The United Kingdom's The Telegraph has an article on Japanese etiquette for tourists.  It is a guide on the dos and don'ts while a tourist is Japan.

To give you an idea on what the article explains, here's one excerpt:

It may sound like common sense, but never be late for a meeting, wear a suit with a tie and never forget an ample supply of business cards – handed over and received with both hands, a shallow bow and placed carefully on the table in front of you for the duration of the meeting. It is considered dismissive if a business card is simply tucked away in one's wallet and put in a back pocket.

Thank goodness I already knew of the above when I first visited Japan in 2001.  I had an ample supply of business cards and had them in a nice brass business card holder. 

Here's another, and a fun one:

Try to ignore the loud slurping if you are in a restaurant that is serving ramen noodles as this is the accepted way to eat the dish – and great fun for children who have always been told to never slurp their meals. 

I never noticed ramen slurping until I went to Niigata in December 2010.  I was in my hotel's (the Dormy Inn) restaurant and was waiting in line for service when I heard a whole lot of slurping.  I slyly looked around and there were about 15-20 Japanese businessmen seated nearby and consuming bowls of ramen while giving off loud slurping noises.  I wasn't shocked as I knew it was customary, but I never noticed hearing it before.  It was amusing, to say the least.

To read the full article, go here.

Plight of the Japanese Inns

Above, Shibuya, Tokyo's Hotel Fukudaya, the first ryokan I stayed at.

The U.K.'s Daily Telegraph posted an article on "Japan's Battle To Rebuild."

In it, it tells of the plight of Japanese inns (ryokans) since the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and radiation problems.

The article stated:

Sliding screens, paper lanterns, tatami mat floors, kimono-clad staff and exquisite cuisine: a stay in a traditional ryokan is often an atmospheric highlight of any visit to Japan.

Now, however, the nation’s precious ryokan industry has hit hard times: 68 inns were forced to close down across Japan during the first five months of the year alone, according to new research.

The global economic crisis is seen as the main driving force behind the demise of many of the inns, though this has been compounded by the triple disaster earlier this year of an earthquake, a tsunami and a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

I've stayed in three ryokans over the past ten years and they are much more enjoyable than in business hotels.

To view the full article, go here.