Japan Finally Reaches 10 Million Foreign Tourists

Above, Shibuya 109 from Shibuya Crossing. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan has reached its goal of 10 million foreign tourists yesterday.

According to the Bangkok Post:

TOKYO - Japan has met its target of drawing 10 million foreign visitors in 2013, according to government data released Friday. 

The 10 millionth visitor, from Thailand, was greeted at Narita airport near Tokyo on Friday evening by Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Akihiro Ota and other officials during a celebratory event at the airport. 

"Today is a brilliant day, as we have been hoping to break 10 million visitors for a long time," Mr Ota said in an opening speech.

It was long in coming, but the goal of 10 million foreign tourists to Japan was finally reached, although a few years late. Congratulations!

To read the full story, go here.

Japan-China Tensions Cause Drop In Chinese Tourism To Japan

Above, Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The dispute over a group of islands between China and Japan have caused a drop in Chinese tourism to Japan.

According to the Japan Times:

The number of foreigners visiting Japan continues to rebound from falls following the massive earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, but Japan-China territorial tensions are casting a shadow over tourism industry hopes that the trend will continue in 2013. 

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, 8.36 million people visited Japan from abroad in 2012, the second-largest figure on record and up sharply from the previous year’s 6.21 million.

More than 200,000 people visited Japan from China in July 2012, before the bilateral dispute over the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea worsened. But after tensions rose over the islets, the monthly number plummeted below 60,000 in November and December.

Fortunately, tourists from other countries (primarily from Thailand and Taiwan) are making up for the drop in Chinese travelers to Japan.

To read the full article, go here.

David Carradine Found Dead

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me

by Armand Vaquer

The news is buzzing with word that another bizarre Hollywood death has occurred.

Actor David Carradine was found dead in his hotel suite's wardrobe closet at the Swissotel Nai Lert Park in Bangkok, Thailand by a maid. He was 72.

Carradine was in Thailand making a movie when a maid found his body with a rope around his neck.

Carradine gained fame in the television series, Kung Fu in the 1970s as Kwai Chang Caine. His father, John Carradine, was an actor who starred in many movies including House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula as Count Dracula.

Carradine won a Saturn Award for best supporting actor for his role in Kill Bill: Vol. 2.

The BBC is reporting that Thai police said a hotel maid found Carradine sitting in the closet with a cord around his neck and other parts of his body in what looks to be a suicide.

Or was it? It is not uncommon for people to have accidentally killed themselves with self-asphixiation via auto-erotic activities. It is also possible that he was murdered but it was made to look like suicide. It will be interesting to see what the investigation reveals.

UPDATE (6/5/09):

ABC News is reporting:

Carradine, 72, best known for his role in the 1970s television drama "Kung Fu," was found by a chamber maid at Bangkok's Park Nai Lert Hotel naked and dead, slumped in a closet with cords bound and connecting his neck and his genitals, Bangkok police said.