Japan quake drives tourist numbers to rock bottom
January 26, 2012 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Given the knock-on effects of the March 11 earthquake, it’s hardly unexpected, but the news that the number of tourists visiting Japan in 2011 was down by almost 30 percent still came as something of a blow to the country’s travel industry.
The figures, compiled by the Japan National Tourist Organization, show the biggest annual fall in visitors since it began keeping records.
Just 6.2 million foreign travelers visited Japan [Japanese, scroll down for English] in the whole of 2011 — down 27.8 percent on 2010.
While the impact of the earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear accident are all implicated, JNTO also says the historically strong Japanese yen has caused many potential visitors to stay away.
Country breakdown
By country, the numbers show South Koreans shunned the usually popular Japan trips in their droves. Korea has long accounted for the largest number of incoming tourists to its near neighbor.
12 reasons to visit Japan in 2012
January 19, 2012 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
1. January: Lashings of good luck
Hey little fella — you get both eyes only if I have a great year, ok?
Bright red daruma dolls are a symbol of good luck in Japan, due to their unique shape that allows them to right themselves when knocked over. Apparently, that’s a good thing.
The tradition of the daruma can be traced back centuries to Takasaki’s Shorizan Daruma Temple in Gunma Prefecture, which allegedly asked farmers suffering from famine to make the papier-mâché dolls to sell at the temple for extra income.
Today, the city of Takasaki remains Japan’s largest producer of daruma dolls, accounting for roughly 80 percent of total production. It also hosts the yearly Daruma Ichi (market) on January 6 and 7, although the little red critters can be found right through the early months of the year.
Visitors flock to the town to select their daruma from mounds of the things — from thimble-sized tiny ones up to dolls you’d need a truck to get home.
Video: Is this the weirdest sushi in Japan?
December 19, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at making sushi — but just haven’t had a decade of training with a top Tokyo chef — pharmaceutical company Kracie may have an alternative for you in the form of DIY candy sushi.
Popin’ Cookin’ is a range of products for anyone with a sweet tooth who needs to improve their creative culinary skills. And, perhaps, fool their friends.
Smokin’ hot: The American barbecue sizzling up Japan
December 15, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Craig White, the owner and pit master of White Smoke, has a non-cooking resumé so impressive you wonder how he’s found time to become a barbecue supremo and open one of Tokyo’s most innovative new restaurants.
Playing by ear: Blind tennis, the smash from Japan
November 24, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
For Miyoshi Takei, being blind turned out to be just a minor obstacle when it came to playing tennis. In fact, it’s what impelled him to try in the first place.
“I wanted to hit a ball that was flying through space as hard as I could, even though I couldn’t see it,” he once said. If only there was some way he could hear it.
Visit Japan expo highlights bid to win back tourists
November 22, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
The people who work in Japan’s tourism industry have the post-disaster script committed to memory by now. Wander around the Visit Japan Travel Mart 2011 in Yokohama, where geisha greet guests and people bow and trade whole forests’ worth of business cards, and you’ll hear different iterations of it.
Beyond the temples: Touring arty Japan
November 20, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
When it comes to visiting or touring Japan, we tend to read (and write) an inordinate amount about the historical and traditional sides of the country — from temples and rituals to festivals and food, and rightly so; their variety is frankly amazing.
Still, the fact that so many travelers are first attracted to Japan by its art and design makes it clear the more disparate, artistic aspects of the country deserve closer inspection. Here are half a dozen (very free-form) alternative tours for the artistically inclined visitor or cultural explorer.
Museums and galleries
Airlines drop prices for year-end Japan flights
November 17, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
For once, there’s some good news for air travelers heading to and from Japan, as it appears airlines are acting in unison in setting their holiday-season ticket prices substantially lower than last year.
According to the Nikkei Shimbun newspaper, round-trip flights to Europe, for example, are clocking in at up to 40 percent lower than 2010.
Airlines drop prices for year-end Japan flights
November 17, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
For once, there’s some good news for air travelers heading to and from Japan, as it appears airlines are acting in unison in setting their holiday-season ticket prices substantially lower than last year.
According to the Nikkei Shimbun newspaper, round-trip flights to Europe, for example, are clocking in at up to 40 percent lower than 2010.
War games on new turf as Japan takes on North Korea in tense soccer match
November 15, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
In one of the odder travel stories we’ve come across recently, a group of 200 from Japan is braving a Cold-War-like frost and heading to the Hermit State of North Korea for a soccer match between the two feuding nations.
The occasion is a qualifier for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Japan is already through to the next qualifying stage, while the Koreans have been eliminated, but there’s a lot more at stake than the result.
