A Ham-booger By Any Other Name...

Above, the loco moco burger can only be bought at a McDonald's in Japan, like this one in Asakusa. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This little item came across my screen.

It is about some Hawaiian-styled foods being offered exclusively in Japan's McDonald's. One burger sounds good, but the name leaves much to be desired.

According to KHON Channel 2 in Honolulu:

The good news: McDonald’s has added Hawaiian-themed items to its menu. Think Hawaiian BBQ pork burger, loco moco burger [italics mine] and pineapple pie. 

The bad news: You can only get them in Japan. 

The specialty items launched Feb. 10 at more than 3,000 restaurants as part of a World Mac Hawaii campaign to keep Hawaii top of mind for millions of Japanese residents. 

The campaign runs through late March and includes a trip giveaway contest, conducted in partnership with Hawaii Tourism Japan and the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Really? Loco moco burger. In some cultures, the word moco means something that comes out of one's nose.

To read more, go here.

Eating Cheap In Japan

Above, when you can't afford sushi, Gaijinpot has some tips to eat cheaply. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If you're in Japan and the end of your vacation stay is only days away, but you still need to eat but are running out of cash, five tips to eating cheap in Japan have been provided by Gaijinpot.com.

The five tips are geared toward those who are working at an ESL (or Eikaiwa) school, but they can apply to anyone.

Before going into the five tips, they wrote:

As many English teachers will tell you, the declining yen and prevailing economic stagnation in Japan these days are a pretty potent combination that can wreak havoc on your social life and finances. For many teachers new to Japan, who haven’t had time to build up a decent bank balance, those last few days before payday can be a real grind. So here are my top 5 places to eat on the cheap as you await that eventual, life-saving pay check.

Personally, I have used their second tip when I found myself running a little short on cash while in Japan. I've never completely ran out of cash there, I managed to always bring back a few hundred dollars.

To read more, go here.

Japan Saw Record Number of 1.22 Million Foreign Visitors In January

Above, Osaka Castle. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

2015 is off to a roaring start as far as foreign tourism to Japan is concerned.

The Japan Times reported:

The estimated number of foreign passengers arriving in Japan soared 29.1 percent in January from a year earlier to 1,218,400, hitting a record high for the month, government data showed on Wednesday. 

The Japan National Tourism Organization said the increase was due partly to the popularity of skiing and snow-related leisure activities. Relaxed visa requirements for visitors from Southeast Asia, the yen’s depreciation and the expansion of a list of duty-free products for foreign tourists also contributed to the rise, the agency said.

 To read more, go here.

Salute To Jim Nolt; Happy 95th Birthday, Curt Swan!

If I didn't know better, I'd swear that Curt Swan included Jim Nolt (the one getting jack-hammered on the noggin) in this Superman cover from 1961:

Here's Jim Nolt with Jack Larson and yours truly from last summer's Superman Celebration:

Special thanks to Lee Pecue for spotting "Jim Nolt" on the Superman cover!

********************

Speaking of Curt Swan, today would have been his 95th birthday. He was born on February 17, 1920 in Willmar, Minnesota.

Below is a video of the offices of DC Comics. Swan can be seen drawing Superman towards the end.

Obama Gets Bitch-slapped By Texas Federal Judge On Immigration

Above, nice to wake up to a great headline, for a number of reasons.

President Obama got himself bitch-slapped yesterday when a federal judge in Texas put a preliminary injunction on his illegal alien executive amnesty action.

According to KHOU.com:

HOUSTON (AP) - A federal judge has granted a request by a coalition of 26 states to temporarily block President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration while its lawsuit to permanently stop the order goes through the courts. 

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen granted a preliminary injunction Monday, after hearing arguments at a hearing in Brownsville, Texas, in January.

Texas officials hailed the move.

Also by KHOU.com:

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Texas attorney general is hailing a federal judge's decision to temporarily block President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration.
Attorney General Ken Paxton says U.S. District Judge Hanen's Monday ruling is a win for "the rule of law in America." 

Hanen's decision gives a coalition of 26 states led by Texas time to pursue a lawsuit that aims to permanently stop the orders, which could spare up to five million people in the U.S. from deportation.

To read more, go here. 

Latest Blog Post Pick-ups

The fine folks at The Japan Daily have picked up several of yesterday's blog posts for sharing with their readers.

They include:

To read The Japan Daily, go here.

Tokyo Without Billboards and Neon

Above, Akihabara's electric town would look barren without its clutter of signs. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tokyo is one city overloaded with giant video monitors, neon signs and billboards.

Rocket News 24 has an interesting post on what Tokyo would look like if all those were eliminated. It would look pretty drab. They have a number of GIF photos with and without signage posted.

They wrote:

If you’ve ever walked the streets of Tokyo, you’ll know how the buzz of people, street signs and giant screens can heighten all your senses and fill you with a rush of excitement that stays with you well after you’ve returned back home. While travel brochure photos can never truly prepare you for the dense onslaught of visual and aural stimuli that envelop you when you visit the megalopolis, one creative photographer has come up with a clever way of highlighting the main features of the city by showing us just how bare the city landscape looks without them there.

 To read more, go here.

Time To Rein In Greedy Airlines

Above, United Airlines jets at Los Angeles International Airport. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There's an old saying:

You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip.

Well, if there's an industry on this planet that can find a way to "squeeze blood out of a turnip," it is the airline industry.

Today, in order to fly from Point A to Point B, travelers are being gouged and nickel & dimed to death with an assortment of fees and a ticket-pricing system that is abusive.

Ken Rafferty, in an opinion piece in The Japan Times, feels that it is "time to rein in greedy airlines."

He wrote (in part):

OSAKA – Economic reform is surely a good thing for any self-respecting country seeking to provide jobs and opportunities for its people. Deregulation is often essential to get rid of tedious and tired rules and bureaucratic hang-ups (and bypass bureaucrats who play petty tyrant). 

Capitalism — properly regulated — is a superior economic system to help achieve the best results from reforms. The market offers the acid test in helping to sort out sound and good ideas and projects from harebrained ones. 

Unfortunately, when governments put these elements together they don’t add up. That is happening today in aviation, with increasing concentration of power in the hands of greedy oligopolistic airlines. Hundreds of millions of airline passengers are facing unnecessary turbulence as airlines squeeze as much money as possible from them, and governments look away rather than see that passengers get a fair deal. 

Airlines have become adept at slicing and dicing, charging for checked luggage, sometimes for carryon luggage, for seat selection, for letting children sit next to their parents, for boarding early, food and drink, for blankets and pillows on some airlines, for any changes to flights. Airline ancillary revenue, so coyly called, came to almost $50 billion last year, and is rising with each money-grabbing new wheeze.

I am as big a supporter of the free market system as you can find, but even I can see when greed and abuse comes before customer service, common sense and decency. That is when I see the need for some regulation.

My first flight to Japan in 2001 only cost me $550 plus tax. Now that amount has skyrocketed due to the addition of the "fuel surcharge" which will often double (or more) the cost of a plane ticket. Some airlines (such as Singapore Air are reducing their "fuel surcharge" due to the worldwide drop in oil prices. I haven't yet heard of any announcement of lowering of the "fuel surcharge" by any U.S. airline. Surprise!

To read more, go here.

Latest Blog Post Pick-ups

The fine folks at The Japan Daily has picked up several blog posts from yesterday for sharing with their readers.

They include:

To read The Japan Daily, go here.

L.A. To Tokyo Airfares, A Mixed Bag

Above, a rainy day in Asakusa. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

At the beginning of the month, the Los Angeles Times Travel section reported that airfares between Los Angeles and Tokyo (round-trip) were at $824 on the low end and $1,502 on the high end. These are before any taxes and fees were added in.

Yesterday's Los Angeles Times Travel section showed a shift in airfares. On the low end, the fare they found was $959. On the high end, prices did come down. The price they found was at $1,311. These, again are before any taxes or fees are added in.

I'd have expected that airfares would have remained steady, and not rise. At least fares on the high end dropped almost $200.

If there's any change of significance next week, I'll report it.

Old Los Angeles

A kind person posted this photo of the Civic Center of Los Angeles on Facebook. It is a view of Hill Street near Temple Street. The photo was taken around 1926 to 1928.

The Hall of Justice is plainly visible and City Hall at this point was only framework:

Here's a shot of City Hall under construction in 1927:

Here's a similar view of the Civic Center to the one at top that was taken around 1948 when the Hollywood Freeway was being built:

Fast Skytree Ticket For International Visitors

Above, the Tokyo Skytree. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It is becoming more and more advantageous to be a foreign visitor to Japan these days.

The latest comes from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).

The have announced that international visitors to the Tokyo Skytree will be able to get a Fast Skytree Ticket from a special counter. This will allow visitors to get smooth admission without having to wait in line.

All international visitors have to do is present their passport or other form of identification. If an international visitor is with a Japanese national, the Fast Skytree Ticket is available to them as well.

The new system begins Thursday, February 19.

For more information, go here.

Singapore Air To Lower Fuel Surcharges

Above, a Singapore Air Airbus A380.

There's more good news for air travelers.

Japan Today reported:

SINGAPORE —Singapore Airlines will reduce its fuel surcharges for tickets issued on or after Feb 26. 

The new fuel surcharge levels, which represent a decrease of between U.S.$5 and $83 per sector, depending on the distance and class of travel, will apply to Singapore Airlines and SilkAir flights.

Singapore Airlines was the air carrier for the first G-TOUR to Japan in 2004. I found their service and food to be excellent. I would not hesitate flying to Japan with them again.

To read more, go here. 

Japan Out of Recession, Although Growth Disappointing

Above, the National Diet Building in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan came out of its recession during the third quarter of 2014, but the rate of growth was disappointing.

According to the BBC:

The economy expanded by an annualised 2.2% in the three months to December in a preliminary reading, compared to forecasts for a 3.7% increase.

The recession did not affect Japan's tourism industry as they posted record numbers of foreign visitors in 2014.

To read more, go here.

Latest Blog Post Pick-ups

The good folks at The Japan Daily have picked up several of yesterday's blog posts for sharing with their readers.

They include:

To read The Japan Daily, go here.

9 Tips For Traveling In Japan

Above, the giant lantern at the Kaminarimon gate at Nakamise-dori. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

People not studying the cultural ways of another country could find themselves making etiquette goofs without intending to. That is why that one should study a country's basic customs before visiting.

Thankfully, many websites have posted tips on how to avoid mistakes. The latest is from the Nassau News Live. They posted "9 Tips For Traveling In Japan."

Before providing their 9 tips they wrote:

Anytime you visit a new place, it takes a while to adjust to the new culture. Paying attention to even the slightest behavioral differences is key to understanding the way people operate in a different country. In Japan, distinctions in accepting business cards and greeting strangers can make un-informed visitors stand out. These nine travel tips will help you easily navigate Japanese culture on your next trip. 

 To read the nine tips, go here.

Why You Should Get A Real Camera

This...

Above, a photo of the space shuttle Endeavour taken with my Canon camera with existing light. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

...Or This

Above, a photo of the space shuttle Endeavour with my old Samsung cell phone camera. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Cellphone and smartphone cameras come in handy at times, but they really don't take the place or a
real, honest-to-goodness camera.

For the best photographs of family and other events, vacations or if you happen upon a traffic accident where photographs of the scene will come in handy for accident insurance investigators and attorneys (most will even pay you for your photos), get yourself a real camera.

According to an article at Bloomberg.com:

The best camera is the one you have with you, as the old chestnut goes. 

And if you're anything like me, just the thought of leaving your home (or even the room you're sitting in) without your trusted glass rectangle is enough to cause hyperventilation—and by that, I mean your phone, which doubles as most people's camera these days. Since 2013, Apple has touted that more photos are taken with the iPhone each day than any other camera. But no matter how much you love add-on semi-pro apps like VSCO Cam and Litely, your very capable smartphone camera does have its limitations. 

Cameras—actual cameras—are better, more stylish, and cheaper than ever. It might feel like a relic of the past, but here are five reasons why you need to get a real camera, right now. Just in time for the holiday weekend.

They will even tell you what cameras you should consider buying.

As you can see from the two photos above, cell phone cameras have their limitations and why having a real camera will allow you to take photographs that will be impressive. I took the cell phone photo of the space shuttle Endeavour to send to my roomie to let her know that I arrived in Inglewood, where the shuttle was being towed through the streets.

I would never even consider going to Japan (or anywhere else while on vacation) without a real camera.

To read Bloomberg's five reasons why you need to get yourself a real camera, go here.

Japanese Trains: 12 Things To Keep In Mind

Above, the Keisei Skyliner at Narita Int. Airport Terminal One.
Do you know what the yellow line is for? Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When you're in Japan, the primary mode of transportation (especially in Tokyo) is the train, subway or commuter trains.

One may think they know all that there is to know about riding trains, but Tsunagu Japan has 12 essential things to keep in mind so that your train riding experience is an enjoyable one.

Before going into their 12 essential tips, they wrote:

Tokyo is full of trains. You can go almost everywhere on one. But there is certain etiquette that must be followed in order to use this form of transportation. Here are 12 things to keep in mind that are essential when riding Japanese trains.

To read more, go here. 

Latest Blog Post Pick-ups

The good folks at The Japan Daily have picked up several of yesterday's blog posts for sharing with their readers.

They include:

To read The Japan Daily, go here.

Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show February 21 and 22

Above, the 2013 L.A. Travel & Adventure Show at the Long Beach Convention Center. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If you are looking for ideas on where to go this year on vacation, be it Japan or anywhere else, the Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show is coming up.

According to Examiner.com:

The 2015 Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show will take place February 21 and 22 from 10 am to 5 pm at the Long Beach Convention Center, located at 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802. Tickets are available now online for $11 for one day or $17 for two days (use promo code: LAPR). Children 16 and under are free. At the door, tickets will be available, cash only, for $16 for one day and $25 for two days. For tickets and information please visit www.LATravelShow.com

I attended the 2013 show and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was there that All Nippon Airways (ANA) had quite an elaborate display of their Economy and Business Class seats. Attendees were encouraged to try them out. I couldn't resist, so I did.

There were several Japan-oriented booths at the show.

Above, the Taste of Travel Stage for culinary demonstrations. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Show features:

At the Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show, attendees will find thousands of destination experts to help plan and customize vacations and give inside knowledge to help attendees travel like pros. Exhibitors will be available to give attendees details about travel and tours to destinations from around the world including Costa Rica, Europe, India, Mexico, Australia, Ireland, Japan, Hawaii, Africa, Turkey, Thailand, and Alaska – all offering exclusive specials and trip giveaways. 

Guests of all ages can enjoy a variety of interactive, family-friendly activities including a rock climbing wall, a scuba pool, the Taste of Travel Stage – a culinary demonstration stage – and the Global Beats Stage, featuring cultural performances from around the world.

To read more, go here. 

Japan's Tourism Boom Drawing Investors

Above, the Tokyo skyline with the Tokyo Skytree in the background. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Got some spare cash? If you have a lot of it just sitting around and you don't know what to do with it, you may want to invest in a hotel in Japan.

So says an article in the Wall Street Journal.

They wrote:

TOKYO—Investors are buying Japanese hotels at the fastest pace since before the global financial crisis, attracted by high returns and strong growth prospects in a booming tourism sector. 

The rising investment also reflects growing interest in Japan’s broader, long-dormant real-estate sector as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ’s policies have weakened the yen and loosened lending conditions, while unlocking the nation’s potential as a tourist destination.

Tourism in Japan is growing at a fast pace. A record 13.4 million foreign visitors came to Japan in 2014. The Japanese government has set a goal of 20 million foreign visitors by the year 2020, just in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

To read more, go here.

Tokyo Cheapo: Is Japan Expensive?

Above, the Tsukuba Hotel in the Ueno area of Tokyo last February. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the most talked about topics when it comes to Japan and costs is that "Japan is expensive."

To put that misconception to rest, Tokyo Cheapo has an article discussing this "lie" and they also present people with the facts.

They begin it with:

People say Japan’s expensive, which is crazy. But then people say lots of things—like Japan’s “high-tech” and “polite,” so clearly their minds are all mixed up after their round-the-world tour … like, What country was that? Denmark? Singapore? Switzerland? Wasn’t everybody wearing lederhosen and yodeling? Drinking cocoa with mini marshmallows? Well, all right, maybe it was Japan. Ah, Harajuku, how I love your alpine ways.

Included in the article are common prices in Japan such as hotel rooms, dinners, hot spring spas and other things.

Speaking of hotel rooms, the Tsukuba Hotel (a business hotel) only charges ¥4,400/night for a single room with bath and free Wi-Fi. ¥4,400 converts to $37.02 at today's exchange rate. Expensive?

To read more, go here.

Latest Blog Post Pick-ups

The good folks at The Japan Daily have picked up several blog posts from yesterday for sharing with their readers.

They include:

To read The Japan Daily, go here.

Nut Rage Proves Costly For Korean Air Heiress

Above, Cho Hyun Ah. Associated Press photo.

The former executive of Korean Air who flew into a rage over how she was served macadamia nuts has received her sentence in a court in Seoul.

According to The Japan News:

SEOUL (AP) — A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced a former Korean Air executive to a year in prison for aviation law violations that stemmed from her inflight tantrum over how she was served macadamia nuts. 

Cho Hyun Ah, the daughter of Korean Air’s chairman, achieved worldwide notoriety after she ordered the chief flight attendant off a Dec. 5 flight, forcing it to return to the gate at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. 

Head of cabin service at the time of the incident, Cho was angered she had been offered macadamia nuts in a bag instead of in a dish. A heated and physical confrontation with members of the crew in first class ensued.

I tend to feel the sentence was a little on the harsh side. I would think a sentence of 3 to 6 months in jail would've been sufficient. I have flown on Korean Air several times to Japan and found their service to be very good.

To read more, go here.

Fodor's "Six Reasons To Visit Kyoto"

Above, the Kinkaku-ji golden pavilion. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Fodor's (one of the premier travel guides for destinations around the world) website has an article on "Six Reasons To Visit Kyoto." It is a city that should be added to one's itinerary if a vacation to Japan is being planned.

They begin it with:

Standing in stately contrast to the neon-lit adrenaline of Tokyo, Japan’s second city exudes a warm, elegant vibe that has been attracting visitors for over a millennium. For many centuries the captivating city of Kyoto has remained at the heart of traditional Japanese culture, carefully maintaining its rich legacy for future generations. Spring and fall bring the most pleasant weather for walking around, though cherry-blossom-and-foliage-viewing crowds mean packed temple sightseeing that can leave you feeling less than Zen. But there’s never really a bad time to visit this culturally rewarding city, and no Japanese itinerary should be considered complete without at least a few days in Kyoto. Here are six reasons to visit this charming city.

 To read more, go here.

4Hoteliers: Focus On Tokyo

Above, a view looking towards the Yurakucho Mullion and Ginza from Hibiya. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

4Hoteliers.com has posted some interesting foreign visitor statistics on Tokyo, Japan.

They begin their article with:

With a population of just over 13 million people, and one of the world’s highest population densities, Tokyo is known as a city creative in adapting and reusing space;  

As the political and financial capital of Japan and a global financial centre, Tokyo has received much attention from domestic and foreign investors looking for opportunistic investments or a first step into the market. 

Tourists and hoteliers have benefitted from currency shifts and economic swings, though with the country once again officially in recession it remains to be seen how long the spotlight will last. This article features the city’s tourism climate and trading performance of luxury hotels, as well as the future looking forward.

 To read the article, go here.

Japan Bashing Over Wartime Past

Above, tourists at the Great Buddha of Kamakura in 2004. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, American G.I.s visit the Great Buddha of Kamakura during The Occupation.

It seems to be in vogue to constantly bash the Japanese over their heads for the sins committed during World War II.

Here's a snippet of an article from Japan Today:

TOKYO —A push by Japan to correct perceived bias in accounts of the country’s wartime past is creating a row that risks muddling the positive message in a mammoth public relations campaign to win friends abroad. 

The PR campaign, which has a budget of over half a billion dollars, comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aims to adopt a less apologetic stance on Japan’s actions before and during World War Two and ease the fetters imposed on defense policy by Japan’s post-war, pacifist constitution. 

History is hardly the sole focus of the PR program. Many of the funds will be used for soft-power initiatives to cultivate “pro-Japan” foreigners, such as supporting Japan studies at universities and setting up “Japan House” centers to promote the “Japan Brand”. 

But the government is also targeting wartime accounts by overseas textbook publishers and others that it sees as incorrect and damaging to Japan’s image. 

One such effort has already sparked a backlash. 

Nineteen historians from U.S. universities have written a letter of protest against a recent request by the Japanese government to publisher McGraw Hill Education to revise its account of “comfort women”, the term used in Japan for those forced to work in Japanese military brothels. 

The request was rejected. 

“We stand with the many historians in Japan and elsewhere who have worked to bring to light the facts about this and other atrocities of World War II. We practice and produce history to learn from the past,” says the letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters and which will be carried in the March edition of the American Historical Association’s newsletter. 

“We therefore oppose the efforts of states or special interests to pressure publishers or historians to alter the results of their research for political purposes,” it added. 

Abe himself has signalled support for the more aggressive PR push. “Being modest does not receive recognition in the international community, and we must argue points when necessary,” he recently told a parliamentary panel. 

The effort comes at a touchy time as Asia marks the 70th anniversary of World War Two’s end with bitter memories not yet laid to rest, especially in China and North and South Korea.

Above, the double bridge at the Imperial Palace today. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, American sailors at the Imperial Palace double bridge during The Occupation.

What strikes me as unfair to Japan is the constant hammering over things that were perpetrated by the government of General Tojo onto the Japanese of today. The Japan of today is not the Japan of the 1930s and 1940s. The World War II generation of Japanese, like the same generation of Americans, are dying off. Are we to bash the current generation of Japanese for the deeds that were done over 70 years ago?

Granted, some in the current government seems feel the need to sanitize what their forefathers did. (It could be a quirk in the Japanese mindset or culture.) And, some government officials also do things that antagonize the Chinese and Koreans (such as visits to the shrine that includes the names of the worst Japanese war criminals). That is why there's a backlash. To get World War II behind them is for the government to fully acknowledge that what the Tojo government did was evil and stupid and fully apologize for it without any conditions or anything that would cause doubt of their sincerity. 

Everybody else should accept it and "get over it." 

Germany was much more forthright with their remorse over the deeds of the Nazis. They aren't being bashed like the Japanese are today as a result. Japan should have done the same ages ago. Had they done so, there would be no bashing today. 

The Japanese people are some of the nicest and most friendly people anyone would ever want to meet. I have visited Japan seven times and always felt welcome there. The vast majority of Japanese alive today did not commit the horrors of the Pacific War. They should be treated as such. 

To read more, go here.

Redevelopment Changing Ginza

Above, the former Matsuzakaya Ginza department store (center, background) site will
 house a Noh theater, tour bus depot and luxury brand shops. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The shopping district of Ginza is in the midst of a "redevelopment rush" that includes condominium towers and planned facilities for the 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympics.

According to The Yomiuri Shimbun:

It is expected that many foreign tourists and new condo dwellers will visit the newly developed places. Ginza, a historically popular shopping district that even has a specially coined word — Ginbura, or strolling around Ginza — to describe shopping there at a leisurely pace, will likely have a new look in the future. 

At least six large buildings with floor space of 5,000 square meters or more are under development in Ginza. All of these buildings are scheduled to be completed by the Tokyo Games. A building complex to be built on the former site of the Matsuzakaya Ginza department store in Ginza 6-chome aims to open in November 2016. The building, which will house a Noh theater and a tour bus depot in addition to luxury brand shops, will play a role in spreading information about Japanese culture.

Above, the Matsuzakaya Ginza department store (left center, background) in 2010. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.