The Niigata Airport stained glass is some of the coolest artwork I’ve seen outside of a museum. Or a Jakarta underpass. After disembarking from my Sapporo flight and making my way to the Niigata city airport bus stop, I had a few minutes before the bus left. While stretching my legs, I came across this […]
Japan
My Top Five Eats of 2023
As usual, it was difficult to create a top five list of an entire year’s worth of eating. There could easily be numerous top five lists; after all, the periscope is always up in the search for the most clickbait-friendly of titles. But that’s tiresome. Instead, I will present you with a single list of […]
How to Reserve Train Seats in Japan
The third — and likely final — video in my Japan travel series involves a how-to for Japanese train reservations. Why final? I’m getting out of Dodge soon, so I wanted to get one more helpful video beforehand. It’s also getting tiresome, innit? Anyway, the photo below shows a variety of train tickets acquired through […]
Japan Rail Souvenir … with a Catch
O.K., so you’ve added funds to your IC card, and are using the train to your heart’s content. But how do you keep track of all the places that you’ve been? Yes, your phone is likely stalking your location, but how about a less Orwellian approach? Allow me to introduce you to the following Japan […]
Tokyo Rail Travel Hack
If you’re in the Tokyo area, and are carrying an IC card, I’ve got a Tokyo rail travel hack for you. (I mention Tokyo because I am most familiar with it. This hack may exist in other Japanese cities.) Firstly, if you’re not sure what an IC card is, I will help out. IC cards […]
Japanese Sewer Cover Trading Cards. Seriously.
Japan might be the ultimate country for hobbyists. It’s a place where the brilliant train system attracts photographers amateur and densha otaku alike, limited-edition Kit Kats are misnomers, and vending machines sell everything from raw fish to bouquets. Yet, perhaps the most unusual things to come out of Japan in the last decade are sewer […]
Tokyo Weekend Trips: Nagano Prefecture
In this installment of No Work All Travel, I will be introducing a Tokyo weekend trip to Nagano prefecture. More specifically, a voyage to the castle city of Matsumoto, and Daio Wasabi Farm, in Hotaka. The first recorded instance of wasabi, sushi’s hot-headed colleague, dates back to the year 981, during the Heian period of […]
Kurume Tonkotsu Ramen
In 2016, I visited the city of Kurume, Japan, located in the southwestern island of Kyushu. The city is notable for two major contributions to the Japanese economy: Bridgestone, the world’s largest tire and rubber company, and Kurume tonkotsu ramen, the “parent” of Hakata-style ramen. I guess that’s why the noodles were so chewy. Vocab […]
