Tokyo Midtown

If you are looking for the newest and hippest place to stay, shop and dine in Japan then you’d better head for Tokyo Midtown. Tokyo Midtown, located in Akasaka was completed just this March. New as it is, it is already very popular and is especially well-known for having the tallest building in Tokyo as well as Tokyo’s newest park and the Suntory Museum.

Tokyo Midtown is as stylish as it can get and is made of six buildings amidst lush greenery. The “town” features facilities such as stores, restaurants, offices, hotels, museums and even its own hospital. It was built with the goal of making the most out of the last remaining 10 hectares of land located in the very heart of Tokyo. It seems that the developers were indeed successful at realizing their goals and has made Tokyo Midtown a place where one can dwell, relax, have fun, shop, and even work. They have indeed created a town of functional diversity.

Bear Watching Trip

Not that you will lack of things to do if you are in Japan but if you love the place so much and are running out of some fun ideas I suggest that you go on a Bear Watching Trip just outside Tokyo.

Bear watching trips are run in association with the Shinshu Bear Research Organisation. The guide, Oscar Huyens, is known for being first person in Japan to obtain a PHD from studying Asiatic black bears, hence ensuring that you not only get to catch a glimpse of the wonderful bers but that you willl also get an earful of knowledge.

The tour isn’t for lazy people since you will need to go to the town of Matsumoto and from there travel into the mountains by car before hiking on foot to go to the mountain lodge to stay overnight and hike back down the valley in the morning while being led by the tour guide. If the visitor doesn’t see a bear during the tour the person gets his money back.

Kapuseru Hoteru (Capsule Hotels)

A capsule hotel is a type of hotel accommodation popular mostly among travelers stranded for the night and those who are on a tight budget. Capsules are usually about 2m by 1m by 1.5m in dimension and so is unsuitable for those above six feet tall and, of course, for a claustrophobic. Despite the very limited space you will be surprised at how well equipped these hotels are. Each capsule usually comes with a built in mini TV, radio, and alarm clock, plus fresh bedding of course. You can also use the hotel’s lockers, shower rooms, laundry facilities, restaurants, vending machines, and clothes shop. An overnight stay costs ¥2000-4000 while an afternoon nap is usually even cheaper.

Capsule hotels have been around since 1979 and is pretty common in Japan. However the concept still hasn’t spread to other countries despite the convenience they bring.

Takayama Festival

The Takayama Festival being held today until tomorrow at the Hie-Jinja Shrine in Shiroyama,Takayama City is considered to be one of the most beautiful festivals is Japan. The festival is most known for its Tokeiraku parade wherein people wearing costumes and bells drum a beat for dancers who dance the shishimai lion dance. The parade of people is followed by an equally if not more spectacular sight as the yatais (floats), featuring clever contrivances like marionettes, come into view. The contrivances showcased by the yatais are not ordinary ones since they make use of the technologies that existed in Japan during the Edo Period (from the 17th to the 19th century).

For those interested in catching up to watch the festival tomorrow you can go the the Hie-Jinja Shrine via train. The shrine is a 25-minute walk from Takayama Station. Takayama Station is on the JR Takayama Honsen Line.

Scuba Diving in Japan

This popular leisure activity is not normally associated with Japan yet if you just take a deeper look, there are in fact wonderful places wherein you can scuba dive. From the last count, there are over 2,000 diving spots all over the country, many of them world class. Here are a few spots which you should consider.

Izu Peninsula
This is the most popular dive spot in the mainland. Only a train ride away from Tokyo, the Izu Peninsula is home to many different kinds of diving activities as well as the onsen. In fact, it is more popular for the latter.

Ogasawara Islands
Also part of Tokyo, these islands have a warmer temperature and thus warmer waters. It is quite far though – at 1,850 km to the south. It is perfect for those who are looking for a longer diving trip.

Okinawa
A familiar name to many, Okinawa is actually the Japanese tropical paradise. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Okinawa offers the best scuba diving in all of Japan.
[tags]Japan, scuba diving, onsen, Okinawa, Izu Peninsula, Ogasawara Islands, Tokyo[/tags]

Minamata

Minamata in southern Kumamoto once hit the international headlines when a local factory disposed of its wastes into Minamata Bay. As a result of this reckless act, thousands of its inhabitants fell prey to mercury poisoning. The disease which resulted from mercury poisoning has since then been termed as Minamata Disease. This occurred way back in the 1950s and 1960s.

Today, however, Minamata has overcome the catastrophe that has destroyed the lives of many. Perhaps it is the challenge that gave its citizens the drive. Yet whatever their inspiration is, the local inhabitants of Minamata have created an environmental model city – a far cry from the situation about half a century ago!

Today, Minamata welcomes tourists of all sorts – but only if they are friends of the environment. Major attractions include hot spring resorts, farms, and the eco city itself. Indeed, the locals here have shown how a community can rise above a disaster and turn it into something good.

[tags]Japan, Minamata, Minamata Disease, eco city, environment, hot springs, tourist attraction[/tags]

Kouyou Destinations

In Japan, the Koyou season is a time where the locals take the time out to enjoy the beauty of the autumn by going on nature hikes with friends and family, spending time at parks and eating at restaurants and cafes with good views of the colourful foliage.

Unlike the spring season’s Cherry Blossoms, which bring about festivals and celebration, the low key-Kouyou is a time for quiet appreciation. Aside from the activities listed above, the Japanese also have traditional snacks which only appear during this time of year. The goheimochi is one such treat, which are bunches of sticky rice broiled on sticks - sort of like a sweet yakitori.

Yes, the Kouyou season in Japan is a wonderful time. Here are some of the best places around the country to enjoy the stunning landscapes:

1. Hakone (best in November)

2. Nikko (best at the end of October)

3. Kyoto (best in November)

4. Kamakura (best at the end of November)

[tags]Kouyou, Hakone, Nikko, Kyoto[/tags]

Kouyou Season in Tokyo

As I talked about in my last post, seeing Japan in the autumn is an experience not to be missed. Indeed, many tourists as well as locals, plan a “kouyou” trip for this precise reason, which can mean that the prime sightseeing destinations at this time of the year can become overcrowded.

Planning ahead and getting a headstart before the crowds arrive is key here, and weekends can become even more hectic, with the traffic jams reaching gridlock. But if you find yourself in Tokyo or any other big city during the kouyou season, a trip out of town is not always necessary to catch a glimpse of the changing colours. In fact, a simple stroll to the nearest park, which often has a good range of trees, can be enough.

In Tokyo, the Inokashira Koen and the Hibiya Koen are good choices. The Inokashira Koen was the first park opened to the public in 1917, and bears the same name as the train station it lies adjacent to. The Hibiya Koen, on the other hand, near the Kasumigaseki subway station, is more western in style, posessing a wide range of trees whose colours change during the kouyou. Other places worth visiting is the Jingu Gaien Street near the Meiji Kaigakan art museum, the Rikugien, and the the Hama-Rikyu garden.

[tags]Tkyo, Kouyou, Autumn Tokyo, Tokyo travel[/tags]

Kouyou Season

After a hot and humid summer comes the warm, beautiful glow of the Japanese autumn, one of the best times to travel to the country to see its natural beauty through the seasonal colours.

The “Kouyou” season in Japan, which comes in October and November is literally translated into red leaves indicative of the famous Japanese maple tree or “momiji”.

All over the country, establishments are decorated with red paper garlands and travel agencies have posters of grand autumnal landscapes plastered on their shop windows. Leaves of varying shapes take on the colours of a Japanese autumn, with the most famous Kouyou trees being the bright red Japanese maple, rich golden lacquer and beech and the sunny yellow gingko.

Unlike the internationally-reknowned Cherry Blossom season, which occurs in the spring and lasts only for fleeting periods to about a week, the autumnal season is longer, and appreciated in a quiet way by the locals without the fanfare of the cherry blossom festivities.

The dazzling array of colours and their varying intensities occur according to the altitude and speed of climate change. For instance, the richest colours appear in places where the temperature has dropped at rapid rates, while slower drops in temperature create less-intensely coloured leaves.

[tags]Japan, seasons, autumn, Japanese maple[/tags]