Travel: World’s Top Three Destinations for Business and Leisure

The United States, Britain, and Japan are the top destinations for business and leisure travel. This is good news for Japan, following the disasters earlier this year.

Are Hong Kong Commuters “Pushy”??? Check Out Tokyo!!!

  If you thought Hong Kong commuters were "pushy", check out commuters in Japan!!! This video shows a train arriving. Commuters on the platform wait politely, allowing those on the train to get off first. So far, so good! Then the commuters on the platform start to file on to the train in an orderly fashion - until …

Japan Registers Plunge in Tourism Arrivals

Earthquakes, tsunamis, and the on going issues with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have had a devastating impact on Japan's travel and tourism industries. Not surprisingly, inbound visitor arrivals in Japan fell by 50% in March, figures from the Japan National Tourism Organization reveal. This followed modest growth of 2% during the first two …

Japan: Backpacking My Way Around the Land of the Rising Sun

Michael Taylor was never one for backpacking - nor had he ever stayed at a youth hostel before. So it was up to his teenage travel guide to make all the arrangements and buy all the tickets. Michael just did what he was told - in halting Engish - as the two of them tentatively made their …

Japan: Traveling Around the Country in Two Weeks

Mr Yamaguchi decides that the best way for his son to learn English is to let him serve as teenage tour guide for his English tutor from the United States. He decides that the two of them should take a whirlwind trip around the country, traveling by train and bus and staying at youth hostels. The son …

Sendai: When in Japan, Do as the Americans Do

Welcoming a foreigner to her house for the first time, Mrs Yamaguchi seemed intent on making Michael Taylor feel right at home. It started with the bedroom furniture she purchased for the guest room he would occupy and continued to the smallest detail – the kind of tea he would drink in the morning and …

Sendai, Japan: Reader Feedback

What timing! The day my upbeat post on Japan's upcoming Cherry Blossom Season was scheduled to be published, I arrived at the gym, and everyone was watching TV. I have never seen such intense interest on a television programme at this gym before – unless it was a Korean soap opera. That's the first I …