Japan Is Finally A More Affordable Travel Destination

Above, Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan has been known to many as a very expensive place to visit.

I never found that this was the case. I found Japan no more expensive than anywhere else. It is comparable to the U.S. for hotel rooms, transportation (the Japan Rail Pass makes it even more affordable) and food. One just has to know where to look and go to.

HuffPost has posted an article whose premise is that the country is more affordable post-COVID than during pre-COVID times for foreign visitors. This is true since the dollar now gets more yen in foreign exchange.

They start with:

Japan, high on the bucket list for many travelers due to its popular culture, food, history and art, but often unaffordable for many or overcrowded for others, is now in a “sweet spot” to visit.

Japan was among the countries that took longer to reopen to foreign travelers after COVID pandemic closures, finally welcoming visa-free tourism in October 2022. And the first foreign tourists to return to historically expensive Japan have found a much more affordable country to visit.

To read more, go here. 

Congressman: Huge Government Cover-Up On UFOs

Above, the famous front page of the Roswell Daily Record of July 8, 1947.

The government has been covering up UFO sightings since the Roswell Incident of July 1947. That's what a Tennessee Republican lawmaker stated. He wants the government to release everything as  "America is ready." He also said there's a UFO reference in the bible.

Above, a display at the Roswell International UFO Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

An article on the cover-up of UFOs appeared on AOL News today. The story originated at HuffPost.

It begins with:

A Republican lawmaker is accusing the government of a cover-up on UFOs, days after a declassified report revealed hundreds of new encounters with what the military now prefers to call unidentified aerial phenomenon.

“This thing is a huge cover-up, for whatever reason,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told NewsNation over the weekend. “And I just feel like America is ready, we need to know, and to stop with all the shenanigans.”

Burchett, who also said there’s a reference to a UFO in the Bible, said recent UFO footage shows the objects making the kinds of maneuvers that no human could withstand.

“If you were human and make the turns that have been seen in some of this footage, you would literally turn into a ketchup package,” he said. “I mean, you would be gone.”

To read more, go here. 

Best National Parks To Visit In Winter

Above, Sequoia National Park is a good park for a winter visit. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Up front, a confession.

I have never visited a national park during the winter season. I have been to some in the spring and autumn months (and, of course, in summer). 

When I saw this article in HuffPost, I was intrigued. They have a list of the best national parks to visit during the winter. 

They begin with:

When people plan their national parks vacations, they typically don’t target the winter season. But the low-traffic cooler months are actually a perfect time to visit many parks across the U.S.

“Winter is such an underrated time of year to visit the national parks if you’re willing to put in some extra time planning around seasonal closures and packing those winter clothes,” Jim Pattiz, co-founder of the organization More Than Just Parks, told HuffPost.

Of course, some parks are better suited for winter visits than others. We asked experts to share the national parks they believe are best to explore during the winter season.

To read more, go here.