The Tokyo Traveler

Tokyo is in focus at CNN.  The city is currently featured in their My City_My Life series which offers some insights from  people who call the city home.
Riyo Mori, Miss Universe 2007, has allowed cameras to follow her from her home in Shizuoka to the big city of Tokyo and talks about her love of shopping in Ginza and along Takeshita Dori in Harajuku.  Read an interview with Riyo Mori or watch the her video tour of the city. (Riyo Mori video tour Part 1 and Part 2)
Jean Snow is a Canadian who blogs about design and pop culture in …read more

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The place to go if you’ve forgotten your guidebook or want to find out what your guidebook might have missed are the Tokyo Tourist Information Offices. Officially sanctioned and supported by the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau there are offices conveniently located in Shinjuku, Ueno and at Haneda Airport. The Shinjuku Tokyo Tourist Information Office can be accessed via the stations west exit and is within close proximity to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observation Towers which offer a view of the city’s skyline from 202 meters with no admission fee.  Near Ueno Park and Ueno Zoo you will find …read more

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Summer is almost a memory and fall is fast approaching in Tokyo.  The Japanese are well known for being proud of their four seasons and autumn is no exception. In Japan the changing of the seasons are celebrated throughout the country with festivals, seasonal foods and special events.
In the fall, the harvest of new rice is celebrated at temples and shrines and moon viewing, tsukimi, is all the rage.  Residents and visitors alike head out for walks in the parks of Tokyo to take in the colorful fall foliage with almost as much delight as when they head off to …read more

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While Japan is known as a very proper country when it comes to etiquette, and most times people will go out of their way to be polite, it seems that the some of the busy residents of Tokyo, and the city’s smokers, may have forgotten some of their manners.  Tokyo Metro and Japan Tobacco have both created campaigns to remind the people of what is, or isn’t, acceptable behavior.
Tokyo Metro’s ad campaign comes in the form of eye catching yellow and white posters that feature an image and a phrase, in English and Japanese, starting with “Please do it…”.
Want to …read more

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Don’t be surprised to find that some things a just a little bit different than you are used to when you visit Tokyo for the first time.  The city is very welcoming to visitors but some of the differences that you find may surprise you, frustrate you, or amuse you but one thing is for certain, there are some differences!
Bring an open mind with you when you come and you are sure to have a great time while collecting fun travel stories to share with your friends and family when you return home.  Here are 10 practical things that you …read more

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If you are looking to keep up to date on the news from Japan there are a number of newspapers (shimbun) that publish in English.
Most of these newspapers can be found at major newsstands in Tokyo. If you are outside the city they are a little harder to come by but you can always check out the news from the comfort of your own home with these links.

The Daily Yomiuri
The Japan Times
The Asahi Shimbun
Mainichi Daily News

While I don’t subscribe to any of the papers listed above I find that The Japan Times Festival Listings page is a handy guide …read more

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If you ever make plans to meet someone in Shibuya there is a good chance that they will suggest meeting at the Hachiko statue. Located in a plaza just outside the station you will find an unassuming statue of an Akita dog named Hachiko whose story and memory is beloved by the people of Tokyo and throughout Japan.
Hachiko arrived in Tokyo with his owner, Hidesamurō Ueno, an agricultural professor at the University of Tokyo, in 1924 and each day he saw Ueno off to work and met him at Shibuya Station upon his return. For ten years …read more

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How green are the Japanese? In terms of being eco-conscious the residents of Japan are right up there but in terms of actually doing something about it they face the same challenges as many other countries. The Japan Times asks “How green are Japan’s urbanites?” and has puts together a list of 10 things that residents can do to live in a manner that is less harmful to the planet. Let’s take a look at the 10 green tips and see how you can apply them to your next visit to Tokyo:
Tip #1 – Cool Biz is …read more

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Japan will be sending a team of 339 athletes to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing which will be captained by Keiji Suzuki, the 2004 Athens Olympic Judo gold medalist.  Ai Fukuhara, a petite table tennis star has the honor of bearing the Japanese Flag, also knows as the Hinomaru, at the games.
At a traditional sendoff ceremony and gala party held for Japan’s Olympic Team last Monday, Crown Prince Naruhito, a member of the Japanese royal family and next in line to become the Emperor of Japan, passed on some words of encouragement to the athletes:
“At such a memorable event, …read more

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It’s not a bad thing to use snail mail every now and again as everyone loves to get a postcard in the mail. If you want to send one from Japan to tell all your friends and family what a great time that you are having then you will need to locate a post office. It’s not that difficult, just look for the building bearing the logo that you see on the left.
Japan Post charges Y70 (USD $.70) to send a post card from Japan to the United States. Regular letters start at about Y100 (USD $1)and …read more

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