London Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Vienna have airport supermarkets. Singapore Changi, a butterfly garden, swimming pool and jacuzzi, and yes, they, too have a supermarket. But Oita Airport in Japan? Try a foot bath. Oita Airport is the sole commercial airport in Oita prefecture, whose primary destinations include the eponymous capital, and a pair of hot […]
Japan
Restaurant Review: Daily Social at the Sheraton Kagoshima, Japan
Disclaimer: I was invited to have lunch at Daily Social at the Sheraton Kagoshima. As many of you know, Japan is one of my food paradises. One good reason for that is substantial pride in locally- and regionally-grown ingredients. For instance, if nihonshu (what most of the world calls “sake”) is your thing, visit Nada in […]
Autumn JR Rail Pass
I’ve written a number of posts about Japanese train travel. Here’s another one, albeit with a more urgent tone: the autumn JR rail pass, or 秋の乗り放題パス (aki no norihoudai pasu). On sale until 18 October, this particular autumn JR rail pass was introduced to coincide with Japan’s “Railroad Day” which takes place on 14 October. […]
JR West Kansai Area Rail Pass
I’ve written a lot about Japanese rail passes, but never about one in the Kansai region, which includes Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Nara. A short visit last month helped change that– let’s take a look at the JR West Kansai Area Rail Pass. I want to skip the JR backgrounder, and go right to the […]
The World’s Smallest Escalator
After all, the world’s smallest escalator still involves travel. As usual, there’s an unrelated backstory involved. While studying abroad in Hong Kong in 2005, I used to walk around Kowloon Walled City Park. The park was built on the foundation of the infamous Kowloon Walled City, which was entirely demolished in 1994. Then, after having […]
Retro Milk Stand at Akihabara Train Station (Tokyo)
There’s more to Akihabara train station than bags of electronics on their way to be resold abroad. But to enjoy this post, you will first need to get a train ticket.* *Well, I should clarify that requirement. In Japan, there’s something called a platform ticket (入場券 にゅうじょうけん nyuujouken) that you can buy, allowing you to […]
Plaza Premium to Debut Lounge in Downtown Osaka
Tourism to Japan is booming, so why not get creative? That’s where the Plaza Premium lounge downtown Osaka comes into play. Having only entered the Japanese market last year, at Nagoya’s Chubu International Airport (NGO), the Hong Kong-based airport lounge operator will be presenting its new urban lounge concept at some point this summer. The […]
JR Tokyo Wide Pass
Are you a big fan of Tokyo, but want to get away from the unabashedly urban side of things? Then the JR Tokyo Wide Pass might have your name on it. Might.* Who Can Buy the Pass? Just like the JR Tohoku-South Hokkaido, and the JR East (Tohoku Area), rail passes, this one can only […]
