http://www.kanpai-japan.com Traveling to Japan & Japanese Culture Fri, 18 May 2012 09:00:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/japanese-society/nutella-in-japan.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/japanese-society/nutella-in-japan.html#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 09:00:25 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1994
In Japan, Nutella ヌテラ is quite hard to find and sold in tiny pots at a prohibitive cost. It’s quite rare to run into Nutella in a konbini, but in major cities supermarkets, it can be found on ‘world food’ shelves. In … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/japanese-society/nutella-in-japan.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/osaka-castle.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/osaka-castle.html#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 09:00:48 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1572
Like many castles in Japan, Osaka-jô (Osaka Castle) was rebuilt several times. Created during the 16th century, the last rebuilding of Osaka castle was in 1997 and its inside now has all modern conveniences. This is what explains this very modern glass railing, just next to the castle (see pictures below), which is an … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/osaka-castle.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/ginkakuji-kyoto.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/ginkakuji-kyoto.html#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 09:00:26 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1911
Among the many temples to visit in Kyoto, people seem to prefer talking about Kinkakuji, instead of 银阁寺 Ginkakuji. Less flashy, it’s also very interesting in my opinion. Located in Higashiyama (northeast of the city), it’s easily accessible from the Philosopher’s Path. Built during the fifteenth century, it’s a Buddhist temple whose name is translated as ‘silver … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/ginkakuji-kyoto.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/popular-culture/akb48-sells-sexy.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/popular-culture/akb48-sells-sexy.html#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 09:00:32 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1899
Female japanese-pop (jpop) groups have been taking serious blows for quite some time now, especially with the influx of Korean singers, who make the effort to sing in Japanese and to be very reactive in terms of regional marketing. But some … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/popular-culture/akb48-sells-sexy.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/takamatsu-shikoku.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/takamatsu-shikoku.html#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 09:00:47 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1643
I managed to organize a few days on Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands of Japan, during my latest trip in Japan. I wanted to check Takamatsu, capital of Kagawa Prefecture, by myself. With its 400,000 inhabitants, the largest city … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/takamatsu-shikoku.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/golden-week-holidays-in-japan.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/golden-week-holidays-in-japan.html#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:00:53 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1907
I’ve probably already talked about the Golden Week on Kanpai-Japan.com, but I wanted to get to the topic with more details. Hence, this dedicated article. Golden Week is a Japanese specificity, it corresponds to a sequence of several holidays during which all of Japan seems to be running in slow motion. Of course, local shops (such … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/golden-week-holidays-in-japan.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/popular-culture/yamashiroya.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/popular-culture/yamashiroya.html#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:00:53 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1786
A short walk from JR Ueno Station in Tokyo (on the Yamanote subway line), is a store well known to all fans of Japanese popular culture, called Yamashiroya. This large store consists in 6 floors of toys and many products, … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/popular-culture/yamashiroya.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/tokyo-fashion-in-harajuku.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/tokyo-fashion-in-harajuku.html#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:00:03 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1798
When I have to talk about fashion and trends in Japan, Harajuku (one of Tokyo’s districts) comes up most often. The average age of Harajuku dwellers seems to be a bit younger than in Shibuya, but Harajuku is a great fashion neighborhood in Tokyo. The … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/tokyo-fashion-in-harajuku.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/japanese-society/fastest-sushi-chef-in-japan.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/japanese-society/fastest-sushi-chef-in-japan.html#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:00:12 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1824
Here is a short video filmed inside a ‘kaiten-zushi’ restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo during my latest trip to Japan last summer. This concept, known in the West as ‘sushi bars’ or ‘conveyor belt sushi’, offers to sit around the kitchen while the chefs prepare small plates of sushi, sashimi and … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/japanese-society/fastest-sushi-chef-in-japan.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/tennoji-in-osaka.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/tennoji-in-osaka.html#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:00:23 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1699
Continuing my posts on which places to visit in Osaka, I’d recommend the Tennoji area southeast of the city. This district of Osaka is home to: an eponymous park and it Japanese garden named Keitaku-en several Buddhist temples, the main one is called Shitennoji and was … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/tennoji-in-osaka.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/sakurajima.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/sakurajima.html#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1374
The focus of Kagoshima tourism is clearly on Sakurajima, which ferries provide trips very frequently and 24/7. Such a boat trip takes 15 minutes and costs ¥150. The island of Sakurajima is no longer an island, in fact, since the great … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/sakurajima.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/kagoshima.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/kagoshima.html#comments Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:00:40 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1365
Kagoshima is the largest city in southern Kyushu. Apart from Okinawa (and its capital Naha), it is probably the southern major city in Japan. Kagoshima faces Sakurajima, a volcanic island whose last major eruption, back in 1914, has shaped its geography. Its active … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/kagoshima.html/feed 3 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/100-amazing-things-to-do-in-tokyo.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/100-amazing-things-to-do-in-tokyo.html#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:00:06 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1260
I have, of course, already mentioned Tokyo, capital of Japan, a city that never sleeps. There are so many things to say about this gigantic megalopolis of 37 million inhabitants that I wanted to know if I could name 100 … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/100-amazing-things-to-do-in-tokyo.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/japanese-society/japanese-desserts-sweets.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/japanese-society/japanese-desserts-sweets.html#comments Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:00:23 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=1285
You might think that Japanese food and society don’t leave much room for desserts: cakes, sweets, candies and such. Perhaps because a large majority of Japanese people are very slim. Yet the Japanese are quite greedy and very inventive in their production of desserts. Here are a few pictures I took during my … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/japanese-society/japanese-desserts-sweets.html/feed 0 http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/10-reasons-why-you-must-travel-in-japan.html http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/10-reasons-why-you-must-travel-in-japan.html#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 17:00:49 +0000 Gael http://www.kanpai-japan.com/?p=628
Since the events of March 11 last year (M9 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster), the number of people traveling to Japan fell sharply. Tourism in Japan fell by almost 28% in 2011. Here are 10 reasons why you have … Read more →]]> http://www.kanpai-japan.com/travel-guide/10-reasons-why-you-must-travel-in-japan.html/feed 2