Japan Set To Waive Tourist Restrictions

Above, yours truly at Tokyo City View in Roppongi Hills. 

Japan is being forced to allow visa-free tourists into the country due to the collapse of the yen and the lifting of COVID restrictions.

It has yet to announce the change, but it is expected to go into effect in October.

According to Fox Business:

The Japanese government is walking back years of harsh travel restrictions as the yen collapses in value due to a stagnant economy and weak trade.

Japan will allow all travelers with at least three COVID-19 vaccine injections or a negative test result to enter the country without the need for a visa.

Japan until recently has all but completely rejected foreigners seeking entry or re-entry into the country.

The dramatic reversal was announced as the Japanese government struggles to keep the yen from further collapse.

From Reuters:

Sept 15 (Reuters) - Japan is expected to waive visa requirements for certain tourists and remove a limit on daily arrivals in October as it aims to benefit from a rebound in global tourism, Nikkei reported on Thursday.

Following the change, Japan will not require visas for short-term travelers from the United States and certain other countries, and will scrap the daily entry cap of 50,000 people, the media outlet said.

From The Guardian: 

Japan could return to unfettered tourism by the end of next month as pressure builds on the government to end Covid-19 travel restrictions and cash in on a weak yen.

Officials are reportedly considering removing the current daily cap of 50,000 arrivals, which includes returning residents, and a return to visa-free travel. A rule requiring individual travellers to make bookings through travel agencies could also be lifted, according to media reports.

Tacos? Jill Biden Criticized Over Latino Americans Remark

His Fraudulency Joe Biden isn't the only member of the Biden family who can't speak without thinking first.

Her Fraudulency Jill Biden (I refuse to call her First Lady as I refuse to refer to her husband as president) made a major gaffe on Monday, for which she apologized.

The Guardian reported:

Jill Biden has apologized for remarks in a speech to the civil rights and advocacy organization UnidosUS in which she likened the diversity of Latino Americans to breakfast tacos.

Speaking in Texas on Monday, the first lady said: “The diversity of this community – as distinct as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio, is your strength.”

Amid condemnation of the statement and her mispronunciation of the word “bodegas”, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists said: “We are not tacos. Our heritage as Latinos is shaped by various diasporas, cultures and food traditions. Do not reduce us to stereotypes.”

Biden’s press secretary, Michael LaRosa, responded: “The first lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community.”

Republicans, however, were quick to seize on the remarks.

The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, tweeted: “Breakfast tacos? This is why Texas Hispanics are turning away from the Democratic party.”

To read more, go here. 

Transgender Women Turned Away At Ukraine’s Borders, Have To Fight

The Russia-Ukraine war is causing interesting situations outside of the fight itself.

Many Ukrainians are fleeing the country as refugees to other countries, but some are being stopped at the border and told to go back and fight. Herein lies the problem. 

From The Gateway Pundit:

Meanwhile in the Ukraine…

Ukraine is blocking transgender women (biological males) from fleeing to neighboring countries as refugees.

Last month Ukraine ordered all men ages 18 to 60 to stay behind and fight Russian troops as women and children seek refuge in Poland, Moldova and Romania.

Trans ‘women’ in Ukraine are being turned away by border guards because their passports still identify them as “males.”

According to Ukraine’s martial law, all males must stay and fight.

And, some are being physically checked.

From The Guardian:

“Ukrainian border guards undress you and touch you everywhere,” Judis says. “You can see on their faces they’re wondering ‘what are you?’ like you’re some kind of animal or something.”

By the way, Russia is transphobic.

To read more, go here. 

NOTE: I take no position on transgender issues. To each their own.

Russians Face Economic Point of No Return

Well, well, well. Look at Russian President Vladimir Putin has wrought on this people.

Since he decided to wage an unprovoked war on Ukraine, the world community has imposed severe sanctions on Russia and the effects are starting to be felt by the Russian people. 

The Guardian reported:

As markets opened in a panic on Monday, many Russians rushed to local cashpoints in Moscow to retrieve their savings before the damage got any worse.

“It said they had dollars so I came here immediately,” said Alexei Presnyakov, 32, pointing to an app for Russia’s Tinkoff Bank, indicating he could withdraw hard currency. About 20 people were queued in line. “Yesterday [the rate] was 80 [to the dollar]. Today it’s 100. Or 150.”

“I just made a spontaneous decision today that I would ask [out of work] and go around until I took out all my money,” he said. “Before it was worth zero.”

Within minutes, however, the word traveled down the queue: the dollars were gone.

Nearly half the queue walked off. “Who needs roubles?” one woman said sarcastically as she walked away.

From shopping malls to corporate boardrooms, Russians were trying to find their footing on Monday in what the Kremlin described as the “altered economic reality” that the country was now facing following sanctions on Russia’s Central Bank and other key financial institutions. There were signs that something extraordinary was taking place: the Moscow Exchange, Russia’s largest stock market, has halted trading until 5 March.  

For many Russians, who felt themselves to be European by the food they ate and the way they lived, it’s clear that Monday marked a moment when the war came home.

The Russian people had better start seriously thinking about ousting Putin from office before the Russian economy totally collapses.

To read more, go here.

Covid Robbed Kyoto of Foreign Tourists

Above, our 2015 Kyoto tour group at Kiyomizu-dera. 

Back before the pandemic struck, people of Kyoto, Japan were complaining about the hordes of foreign visitors clogging up the streets and temples, many of them ill-mannered. It was called overtourism.

Today, many vendors in Kyoto are missing those hordes from different countries, especially their spending money.

The Guardian has posted an article on how some in Kyoto are missing the free-spending foreigners, while others are enjoying the more quieter times of today.

They begin with:

Until a couple of years ago, negotiating the hill leading to one of Kyoto’s most popular temples would have tested the patience of a Buddhist saint. The arrival of yet another coachload of sightseers would send pedestrians fleeing to narrow paths already clogged with meandering visitors on their way to Kiyomizu-dera.

That was before Covid-19. Today, the cacophony of English and Chinese, and a smattering of other European and Asian languages, has been replaced by the chatter of Japanese children on school excursions. Shops selling souvenirs and wagashi sweets are almost empty, their unoccupied staff perhaps reminiscing about more lucrative times.

Two years into the pandemic, some of the ancient capital’s residents admit that they have learned to embrace life without foreign visitors, who were once welcomed for the money they ploughed into the local economy and resented for their cultural faux pas and, in some cases, staggering bad manners.

Above, Kyoto before the pandemic. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

Dotonbori, Osaka's "Eat Street"

Above, interesting restaurant signs are plentiful in Osaka's Dotonbori. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Three years ago, I visited Osaka's restaurant district, Dotonbori, and partook in a hearty meal. This was one of the things I wanted to see and do while in Osaka. It was well worth the trip.

Dotonbori is an interesting place to visit. Along with enjoying aromas coming from its restaurants, looking at the signs is also a lot of fun.

Osaka is known for its culinary delights and The Guardian has an article on taking a "foodie tour" of the city.

They begin with:

The woman on the early morning train from Osaka station made swift work of a large noodle-stuffed omelette, and just as I was thinking that was a substantial breakfast for a far from substantial person, it was out with the chopsticks again as she set about a generous bento box, its nine compartments filled with rice, fish, veg and pickled bits and bobs. 

But that’s Osakans for you: prodigious appetites for food and, in marked contrast to Tokyoites, also for drinking and general fun. You have to love a city that has a word for “scoff till you drop”. Kuidaore literally means “eat to ruin” (whether that’s financial or physical is not specified).

To feed those appetites, the eating opportunities in central Osaka are many, hugely varied and, for those with only very basic Japanese, mystifying. So we asked Ayako “Aya” Kiyono, an Osaka-born tour guide whose hobby is restaurants, to take us on a night out.

Above, the counter of one Dotonbori eatery. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

UFO Sightings In Decline

Above, an alien and UFO display at the International UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It appears that reports of UFO sightings are in decline, at least according to an article in The Guardian (U.K.).

They wrote:

This month, the two major online sites for reporting UFOs – the National UFO Reporting Center and the Mutual UFO Network – both documented steep drops in worldwide sightings. The declines started around 2014, when reports were at a peak. They have since reduced drastically to 55% of that year’s combined total, many UFO interest groups have folded, and numerous previously classified government documents have been disclosed. 

Do these declines reveal that UFO interest is becoming a blip on the human cultural radar? Perhaps UFO and alien lore is seeming more like a reflection of human culture, tied to the space age, motivated by conquering new existential frontiers. 

It might not be a coincidence that the term UFO (unidentified flying object) and some of the phenomena that surrounds it – abductions and impossible technologies – are relatively recent. Before the 1940s, reports of sightings of objects in the sky were extremely rare. Centuries of recorded history give no clear indication of any such activity. Then, at the predawn of the space-age, around the time of the Roswell conspiracy, UFO culture was born, giving rise to everything from Space Invaders to The X-Files.

To read more, go here. 

Route 66 On National Endangered List

Above, a section of Route 66 near the Arizona-New Mexico border. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Life takes many strange turns, it seems.

While I am basking in my RV's air conditioned splendor at the Route 66 RV Resort in Albuquerque, New Mexico, The Guardian (U.K.) has posted an article on efforts to save what remains of Route 66.

They wrote:

Believe it or not, there is a way for Donald Trump to unite the country – by saving the famous Route 66, which has been placed on a list of America’s most endangered historic places.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a heritage charity, has placed the famed highway on its 2018 list of the 11 most at-risk sites. The Trust highlights architectural and cultural spots it deems in danger from development or neglect. 

Route 66 is up for designation as a national historic trail, which the Trust says would bring “recognition and economic development” to historic sites along the famous road. In order to declare the road a national historic trail, and therefore officially protected, the US Senate would have to pass legislation and Trump would have to sign it. 

But time is running out: Trump must sign any bill – something surely everyone could get behind in these divided days – before the end of the year.

To read more, go here. 

Starbucks Opens In Yosemite National Park

Above, Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. The falls are within earshot
 of the new Starbucks in Yosemite Village. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Despite a petition (or two) campaign, Starbucks has opened in Yosemite National Park.

The news Starbucks is located in the food court in Yosemite Village and it is most noteworthy that there is a lack of signage.

According to The Guardian (U.K.):

It looks and feels just like any of the other roughly 27,000 Starbucks locations that have opened around the world. The green apron-clad barista makes tall, grande and venti coffee concoctions that are handed over in familiar mermaid-endowed cups. 

But from the parking lot outside – where there is an intentional lack of Starbucks signage - the world-famous Yosemite falls can be heard through the patter of an early spring rainstorm. 

The Starbucks is part of a major remodel inside the 128-year-old Yosemite national park. It was built to provide comfort, convenience and caffeine to the 4 to 5 million visitors who arrive each year. To many, however, the Starbucks represents a trend of encroaching commercialism inside one of the nation’s most beloved natural landmarks.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with having a familiar brand as a vendor in Yosemite. Starbucks is not the first such vendor in a national park. For example, next to the Grand Canyon Village market is a Chase bank branch. It came in very handy the last time I visited Grand Canyon National Park.

To read more, go here.

The Ryokan: The Ancient Japanese Inn

Above, our main room at the Atami Shinkadoya ryokan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To enjoy a total "Japanese experience", visitors should stay at a Japanese ryokan at least once during their visit to Japan.

I've stayed in four ryokans (Tokyo, Sendai, Kumamoto and Atami) over the years and enjoyed each one.

The Guardian (U.K.) has an article on ryokans.

It begins with:

Hundreds of years ago, they were a place for Japan’s nomadic samurai to rest their limbs and reflect. But these days, the ryokan – a traditional, family-run Japanese inn that is usually close to a hot spring – seems to be the buzzword on trendy travellers’ lips. Many of them feature modern spins such as onsite Michelin-starred restaurants, robotic toilets and luxury spas, and they are proving a hit with both Japanese tourists and international visitors. 

Airbnb’s annual travel trends report identified the ryokan as one of the most popular alternative accommodations desired by its users in 2018, with a reported 600% rise in bookings (yurt bookings increased by 155%, while nature lodges had a 700% growth). The accuracy of the figures is unclear: last year, Airbnb was accused of misrepresenting data in New York by removing more than 1,000 listings to rig its survey, while another report misleadingly highlighted that outer London boroughs such as Barnet were more popular than Westminster and Kensington. 

Still, what does seem clear is that travellers are eschewing conventional lodgings for places that focus on unusual experiences and “de-plugging”.

To read more, go here. 

The Guardian Reviews "Shin Godzilla"

Above, Shin Godzilla is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Across a couple of rather sizeable "ponds" and continents, the United Kingdom's The Guardian has posed a review of Shin Godzilla, Toho's latest Godzilla flick from last year.

Their review begins with:

The myth of Gojira or Godzilla is revived again in this watchable entertainment: the gigantic Japanese sea monster rises once more from the deep to terrify humanity and destroy whole cities. 

In the original 1954 movie, it was awakened from its sleep by America’s nuclear testing in the Pacific: a symbolically transformed vision of the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a complex, ambiguous expression of Japan’s own potential for rage – and retribution. In this movie, its rebirth is caused by the dumping of nuclear waste. There are lots of very shrewd and amusing scenes showing Japan’s bickering and sclerotic bureaucracy.

The Guardian has also posted an obituary on the original Godzilla actor, Haruo Nakajima. A link is included with the Shin Godzilla review article.

To read it, go here. 

Japan Making Going To The Loo Easier

Above, a Japanese high-tech toilet. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Quite often, foreign visitors to Japan are amazed and, in some cases, intimidated by Japan's fabled modern toilets.

Some have even been confused with what each push button is for (I've never had any difficulty). With the 2020 Olympics coming to Tokyo, Japan has decided to standardize the symbols used on their high-tech toilets to make going to the loo easier for foreign visitors.

The Guardian (U.K.) reports:

Navigating the array of buttons on Japan’s high-tech toilets can be a disconcerting experience for the uninitiated, who, expecting to hear a familiar flushing sound, are instead subjected to a sudden, and unwanted, cleansing of the nether regions. 

As Japan prepares for an influx of overseas visitors during the 2019 rugby World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics the following year, the country’s sanitation industry has agreed to standardise pictograms on toilets so users know for certain if they are about to receive a blast of warm air or a jet of water. 

Nine manufacturers belonging to the Japan sanitary equipment industry association will soon start using the same eight symbols to explain the buttons found on their state-of-the-art WCs.

To read more, go here. 

Sir Christopher Lee Dies At 93

Above, Sir Christopher Lee at the U.K. premiere of Skyfall.

We lost a great!

Sir Christopher Lee, who took on the Dracula mantle in a series of Hammer films, has died at the age of 93.

According to Fox News:

Sir Christopher Lee, the deep-voiced dramatic actor known to several generations for his portrayal of villains in "Dracula," "James Bond" and "Lord of the Rings" movies, has died. He was 93. 

The news of Lee’s June 7 death was first reported by the U.K.’s Telegraph, which published his death certificate. His wife waited to go public with the news of his death in order to have time to inform family members, according to The Guardian.

One of Lee's most recent films was the Tim Burton and Johnny Depp Dark Shadows, in which Lee played a sea captain who falls under the thrall of Barnabas Collins (Depp). He also appeared in two Star Wars movies.

To read more, go here.

Japan's Maglev Train Sets New Speed Record

Japan's new maglev train has set a new world's speed record during a test run.

According to The Guardian (U.K.):

Japan has again demonstrated its prowess in high-speed rail travel after its state-of-the-art maglev train set a world record of just over 600km/h (373mph), just days after it broke its previous 12-year-old record. 

The seven-car maglev – short for “magnetic levitation” – reached a top speed of 603km/h on Tuesday during what officials described as a “comfortable” zip along a test track near Mount Fuji. 

The Lo Series train, carrying 49 Central Japan Railway employees, managed nearly 11 seconds at over 600km/h during its 1.8km journey, the company said.

To read more, go here. 

King Kong and Godzilla In The News

Godzilla and King Kong have made some news in the media.

First, King Kong:

Legendary Pictures has adjusted their upcoming schedule, retitling Skull Island to Kong: Skull Island and moving the release from November 4, 2016 to March 10, 2017. The previously undated Untitled Great Wall Project will now see release on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 domestically.

To read more, go here.

Next, is Godzilla's return in Japan:

Since the giant lizard first tore through Japan’s capital in 1954, there have been dozens of home-made follow-ups and a few efforts from Hollywood, including Warner Bros’ $160m (£100m) incarnation this year. But the King of Monsters – originally a man in a latex suit – has not been sighted on Japanese shores since 2004, leaving its legions of fans crying out for more fire-breathing destruction, the film studio Toho Co said.

To read more, go here.