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More than an airport, Narita is a must-see city

Lisa Jardine — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:55:50 +0000

A quick stop in London, then on to New York for a few days, before that final stretch in Tokyo -- it sounds like a typical travel itinerary for any modern, jet-setting CEO or a particularly unimaginative traveler.

They are the world’s three busiest cities in terms of air traffic for a reason, after all.

But which of them offers an overnight layover right beside a major airport that’s so accessible and enjoyable you’ll look forward to each takeoff or touchdown there?

If you’ve done London and NYC to death, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s Tokyo.

More specifically, Narita; Japan’s best-known airport, attracting upwards of 35 million fliers annually, but also one of our favorite pre-flight overnighters in any major city.

The New iPad Contest

Wed, 02 May 2012 08:13:01 +0000

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How to make a mint at Japan's antique markets

Lisa Jardine — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:55:52 +0000

by Lisa Jardine

If you’ve been to an antiques market in Tokyo or one of the area’s many shrine sales in the past few years, it’s likely you’ve come across Jacqueline Wein -- or Tokyo Jinja as she’s known to her dedicated band of online followers.

She often draws small crowds waiting to see what gem she will pick up and examine. Selections made, it’s not unusual to find her making several trips between the market and her car, loading up purchases she’s made on behalf of her customers around the globe.

Jacqueline Wein runs the numbers at another sale.Wein’s fascination with treasure hunting started at a young age in flea markets and garage sales in the United States. This fascination led to Princeton where she studied history and art.

From there she went on to deal in 19th-century silver -- a period directly influenced by the “opening” of Japan -- and spent several years in the 1990s in Hong Kong studying Chinese and Japanese antiques.

Helping clients integrate the quintessential piece into their home, regardless of their particular style, is her specialty. Wein prides herself in finding the one valuable object in a crowd of junk.

Japan -- it's all about the hair

C. James Dale — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:55:05 +0000

by C. James Dale

Anyone who’s come to Tokyo -- either for business, pleasure or to settle down -- no doubt has the memories of their first hours and days burned into their brain.

Snapshots of the schizophrenic streets of Shibuya and Shinjuku. Unspoken commentary about the curious cosplay of Harajuku. Unspeakably busy, but efficient, trains. Recollections of hand cramps suffered after chop-sticking through a dizzying array of sushi and noodle restaurants.

Then there are the temples, shrines, drunk salarymen, kimono-clad women, cherry blossoms, and all the things you see in guidebooks.

However, Tokyo’s true obsession often gets less attention. If you’re thinking porn, think again. Go for a walk and look past the myriad signs for restaurants, retail outlets and pachinko parlors.

You too will pick up on the trend. And trust me -- like the chorus of a bad 1980s song or the lines from an old commercial, it will stick in your head and you won’t be able to shake it. Tokyo’s true obsession is -- wait for it -- hair.

Forget Ginza: Osaka is Japan's real class retail act

Alena Eckelmann — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:55:08 +0000

by Alena Eckelmann

As huge and sprawling as it is, Kansai’s largest city, Osaka, rarely features in tourist plans. Sure, visitors may pencil in a quick spin round Kyoto or Nara, but the region typically lags far, far behind Tokyo in terms of international recognition.

That, however, could be set to change if the city’s trade bodies and tourist organizations achieve their latest goals of promoting Osaka as the destination they reckon it deserves to be.

Among the most prominent of the newly highlighted attractions is the retail therapy on offer in Osaka’s many and varied shopping districts.

The sheer number of trendy retail areas are a living testimony to the fact that Osaka is a shopping paradise that is slowly but surely becoming as hip as the capital’s.

Considering Osaka’s traditional shopping arcades, like Tenjinmachisuji or Shinsaibashi Suji, each boasting hundreds of stores, there has never been a shortage of great shopping in Osaka anyway.

Insider Guide: What to do in Tokyo

C. James Dale — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:43:21 +0000

by C. James Dale

Tokyo is a city that can roar one moment and whisper at the next, a place where almost anything seems possible. And sometimes is.

After all, 13 million people share this 2,188-square-kilometer piece of the planet, which is home to some of the world’s top restaurants, stores and cafés.

It's also a one-stop mecca for the best of Japan -- culture, quality products and impeccable service. For the visitor wondering what to do in Tokyo, the choices are limitless.

The city has endured the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, bombings of World War II, the implosion of its housing bubble in the 1990s and heavy effects of the March 2011 tsunami/earthquake that hit Japan. Each time, its people have dusted themselves off and rebuilt.

Many tourists already feel an affinity with Tokyo thanks to Hollywood -- 1978’s “Bad News Bears Go To Japan,” for example (what film were you thinking of?).

50 reasons Tokyo is the world's greatest city

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:55:49 +0000

By Steve Trautlein, Matt Alt, Hiroko Yoda, Melinda Joe, Andrew Szymanski and W. David Marx.

1. The world's most sophisticated railways

With 13 subway lines and more than 100 surface routes run by Japan Railways and other private companies, Tokyo's railway system seems like it was designed to win world records. It's rare to find a location in the metropolitan area that can’t be reached with a train ride and a short walk. Now, if only the government could devise a way to keep middle-aged salarymen from groping women onboard.

Tokyo Sky Tree. (Tim Hornyak/CNNGo)2. Sky-high one-upmanship

When officials in Tokyo learned that the new Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower in China would be 610 meters tall -- the same height that was planned for Tokyo Sky Tree, then under construction -- they did what any rational person would do: They added 24 meters to the top of Sky Tree to preserve its claim as the world’s tallest tower. Now complete and scheduled to open in May, the Guinness-certified structure features shops, restaurants and an observation deck that lets you see almost all the way to Guangzhou.

3. Tongue-gasmic food porn

You could spend hours drooling over the elaborate pastries and picture-perfect sushi rolls at Isetan’s recently refurbished, super-stylish depachika. Square watermelons and ¥50,000 matsutake mushrooms are displayed with gallery-like reverence. Other highlights: Eat-in counters run by some of Tokyo’s snazziest restaurants and free samples of food and booze on weekends.

My frugal Valentine: Romance in a recession

Jessica Ocheltree — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:55:49 +0000

by Jessica Ocheltree

Ugh. Valentine's Day in one of the most commercialized holidays of the year in one of the most expensive cities in the world in the middle of a global recession?

Relax. These ideas should turn up the romance factor while leaving your wallet relatively unscathed.

Perhaps not the ring she was imaging, but still pretty.4. Give your partner the stars

Star gazing is always nice, but at this time of year, you're likely to be thinking more about the temperature than the view.

You'll also have trouble seeing anything through Tokyo's notorious light pollution.

At the Katsushika City Museum Planetarium, though, you can see the stars up close without risking hypothermia.

The best sushi restaurants in Tokyo

Kelly Wetherille — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:55:24 +0000

by Kelly Wetherille

Ask five Tokyoites to name the best sushi restaurants in the city, and you’re likely to get five different answers -- the old "how long is a piece of string?" quandary.

That's because the sushi experience is a very personal one that can include not only raw seafood, but also things like unmatched service, chefs whose skills were honed by years of apprenticeship, an atmosphere that screams “traditional Japan” and, in many cases, a whopping bill.

Because of all this, any one traveler’s favorite sushi experience is going to largely depend on budget, interests and previous experience with the cuisine.

But the great thing about Tokyo is its sheer breadth and depth of choice when it comes to eating out.

Sushi is no exception, and at least one of these five restaurants or chains is sure to please just about any hungry visitor.

Tokyo's stunning palace for the printed word

C. James Dale — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:55:05 +0000

by C. James Dale

The duo that designed Tokyo’s latest architectural wonder is turning an age-old phrase by that quintessential Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, on its head. “Art is never finished,” said the Italian painter, sculptor, architect and you-name-it-he-did-it. “Only abandoned.”

Sure, if you visit Daikanyama T-Site [Japanese], an upscale retail complex that opened last December 5 in the city’s trendy Daikanyama neighborhood, you might notice that Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein’s creation is not quite done.

On a sunny January morning inside Anjin [Japanese], a chic and comfy café-lounge that sits atop one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, the founders of Klein Dytham architecture (KDa) are told -- with polite words and bows -- they’ll have to sip their cappuccinos at a different table.

The lighting guy’s arrived. Apparently one of the fixtures is hanging too low.

But while Dytham and Klein might be playing musical chairs (or in this case, musical designer couches), they aren’t planning on abandoning their chef d'oeuvre. They like it too much. Plus, it’s just down the street from their office.

A brand-new village in the heart of Tokyo

Robert Michael Poole — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:55:17 +0000

by Robert Michael Poole

Yoyogi is rarely (well, never) highlighted on tourist maps of Tokyo, but one man is on a mission to bring new life to an area that until 1889 was actually known as Yoyogi Village.

Music producer Takeshi Kobayashi is opening up his own, all-new Yoyogi Village and in the spirit of the literal translation of Yoyogi -- "generations of trees" -- it is an eco-park filled with shops, eateries and event spaces around a central landscaped garden.

Despite being a stone’s throw from the station, Yoyogi Village is actually tricky to find, with no signage to its side-street main entrance.

But once stumbled upon, it can't be mistaken, as the entrance itself has the feeling of entering a theme park -- or at least a green oasis within an otherwise standard Tokyo shopping district.

A hull-shaped wooden walkways offer an initial choice inside the mostly open-air complex -- either explore the upper decking and terrace, or walk through a street of cafés to the greenery in the center.

Jack Sparrow takes the helm of a Tokyo cake store

Jessica Ocheltree — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:55:27 +0000

by Jessica Ocheltree

One of the best things about living in Japan is that there’s always some completely surreal surprise waiting around the corner.

This week, it’s Captain Jack Sparrow, decked out in full swashbuckling garb, behind the counter of a cake shop in Nakano. Really.

The sight of the grizzled sea dog schlepping tarts around a decidedly pink and princessy shop is enough to stop most passersby in their tracks.

Of course, it's not the real Jack Sparrow, though they look so similar you might be hard pressed to tell the difference.

This pirate proprietor calls himself Koenji Jack Sparrow, after the nearby hipster neighborhood, and he specializes in pastries, not plunder.

2k540: There's more to Akihabara than nerds and maids

Tim Hornyak — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:55:35 +0000

by Tim Hornyak

After about an hour in Akihabara, it always hits me. My senses get saturated with the saucer-eyed anime girls, maid café touts and plastic figurines, and it’s time to split. Tokyo’s electronics shopping district is always fascinating but the AKB48 overload can pull you down like a Vegas hangover.

It was a welcome surprise, then, to find a retail experience that’s worlds away from Akiba, yet just off its northern fringe.

After dropping in at my favorite robot shop Technologia, past the UDX Building, I stumbled upon a gem of a mall tucked under the JR train tracks.

Urban renewal

Akihabara, but not as we know it, at the entrance to 2k540.

Opened about a year ago, 2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan is positively futuristic compared to the dowdy surrounds of Ueno 5-chome. I entered a long tunnel of thick white columns sprouting from fresh asphalt, with small white shops stretching into the distance.

Setagaya Boro-Ichi

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:30:08 +0000

Only in Japan would shopping be considered one of the country’s treasured intangible cultural assets. Well, okay, the Setagaya Boro-Ichi is more than just shopping.

The fair dates back 433 years when fabric scraps known as “boro” were the main item of trade. Today, the lively event features over 700 stalls crammed along the narrow and aptly named Bori-Ichi Dori. Vendors sell everything from antiques, shrubs and pottery to clothing, food and home décor accessories.

Be sure to grab some daikan-mochi, a type of rice cake that has been the fair’s specialty snack for hundreds of years.

January 15 - 16. Around Kamimachi station. More info online.

Japanese stores offering foreigner-only discounts

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:28:48 +0000

In the latest in a very long line of moves designed to encourage overseas tourists to return to Japan post-March 11, several major retailers have decided to offer discounts to shoppers based on the color of their passports.

According to today’s Nikkei newspaper, department-store giant Isetan Mitsukoshi is knocking off 5 percent at the register for shoppers from “China, Taiwan and other foreign markets.”

Oddly, said folk have to hold one of a selection of credit cards from their home countries, but must pay cash in Japan, as their cards won’t work when they’re overseas anyway.

Shopping in Singapore is better than Paris

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:04:20 +0000

How many shopping trips truly turn out to to be the idyllic experiences your friends promised they would be?

Presence Mystery Shopping, a Paris-based market consulting company, thinks it has found 30 places that really truly can offer shopping heaven. It has published a report ranking the welcome and service for the world’s most famous shopping streets.

“We surveyed the quality of retail service on iconic shopping streets that tourists are told they just need to visit,” says Presence Business Development Manager, Leslie Kambourian.

Over 30 main avenues were visited, and nearly 400 individual retail outlets were observed, including perfume shops, restaurants, ready-to-wear outlets and showrooms.

Orchard Road in Singapore came out in first place, Avenue de la Liberté in Luxembourg followed in second and PC Hooftstraat in Amsterdam took third spot.

Conrad Tokyo: Tranquility Ritual spa treatment

Robert Michael Poole — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

by Robert Michael Poole

As the name implies, the Mizuki Spa is themed on two of nature's powerful and calming symbols, water, and the moon. The spa is the largest hotel spa in Tokyo with a central circular relaxation room and panoramic views.

The 90-minute ritual Tranquility (¥30,000) includes a choice of oils followed by a full body skin-hydrating massage, notable for some particularly effective arm and leg bending that gets to the joints.

The picturesque Hinoki bath is the only one in Tokyo made from Hinoki cypress, which has a subtle scent as well as being incredibly smooth to touch.

The spa also features some pretty nifty individual bathtubs with built-in jacuzzis and air-jets to lie-in after the treatment, surrounded by a choice of saunas and showers.

The great circular lights that surround the mirror inside the glass-encased bathrooms of every room are the most visually impressive signature of the Conrad.

Park Hyatt Tokyo: Winter Ease spa treatment

Robert Michael Poole — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

by Robert Michael Poole

The Winter Ease treatment (¥22,000) lasts 90 minutes and begins with a foot treatment in a hot bowl of treated water to get the senses tingling. The massage that follows uses hot stones carefully placed in known tension spots after a firm rub.

Together with spiced oils, the massage is designed to improve blood circulation and takes care of all parts of the body, leaving you feeling kneaded and rubbed all over.

Park Hyatt's Club on the Park Spa is open only to staying guests and the Winter Ease treatment is an addition to the Winter at the Park package (from ¥50,820 per night).

The rooms are perhaps the largest of all the hotels, and the beds are also the sturdiest. Our favorite element, though, is the bathroom.

The tub sits in the center with a TV screen mounted above to match the incline, and the walk-in shower and toilet on either side. Just like a resort room -- we could spend hours here.