All Posts in "Places to visit in Japan"

Located towards the North of Tokyo in the Nagano Prefecture is Shinshu Ueda [信州上田[しんしゅううえだ]] - the home of Summer Wars and Sengoku Basara. After leaving Tateshina, wifey and I drove up to Shinshu Ueda to explore.

Managed to take a day off to get out of Tokyo and went to a town called Karuizawa [軽井沢] in the Nagao prefecture. Karuizawa has a population of 17,833 and is recognized particularly as a summer retreat spot.

Spent last Sunday near Mount Fuji doing some filming. Been living in Japan for about 13 years and realized that we should have done this more often! Was a gorgeous sunny day and we were just in time for the Shibazakura (Moss Pink) season at the Shiba...

As its name suggests - Super Potato is a fortress filled with retro games covering all eras - everything from Nintendo Game Watch to PC Engine, Megadrive, Super Famicom, Dreamcast and more. Today we are back at Super Potato filming once again - this...

The last time I visited Ameyoko was a couple O years ago - should probably visit more often as the food is great and there is lots (and lots) to see. Also wrote up a post on Ameyoko back in 2008 which lives here - going to cheat and copy/paste bits o...

Located in Nagano about 200km North of Tokyo are the Tateshina Kougen Heights [蓼科高原[たてしなこうげん]] - this Google image search will give you an idea of the type of nature and scenery that can be enjoyed up there. Tateshina is where one would g...

Its the Cherry Blossom Hanami season in Japan and the whole nation is out n about enjoying the sights. The photos in this post taken around the Meguro River and Onarimon area in Tokyo. First photo was taken at Onarimon with Tokyo Tower in the backgro...

Photos taken a few weeks ago in the holy land - Akihabara. Some of these snapped just before the Good Smile Company Broadcast and the Hobby Maker Show 2012 Winter event. I've asked this question before but that was a while ago - if you was to recomme...

Conveyor Belt Sushi - also known as Kaiten Sushi [回転寿司[かいてんすし]]. "Kaiten" means "to rotate" or "go round in a circle." As the name suggests, a load of sushi goes round on a conveyor belt and the customer takes what she wants for om noms.

The next Tokyo CGM Night will be held at the blood donation facility Akiba:F which you may recall is actually a crash landed spacecraft which is currently stuck in the side of a building. The outer hull has a Trans-Ion Kryptonian shield around it mea...

Was out n about in Akihabara last week giving a lecture at Digital Hollywood University. I dont go that often of late but when I do, everything seems so different. Many shops disappear while many new ones spring up. One of the things that I'm happy...

Today we are going on a tour of Tokyo - not all of Tokyo mind you but on one of my favorite routes from Lalaport in Toyosu down the river on to Asakusa - a nice blend of the modern and the traditional past.

When I first came to Japan, I asked my comrades where they recommend me visit. One of the places they said was Harajuku [原宿[はらじゅく]] because it had a load of school girls ^^; There is lots to see and do at Harajuku - especially on a Sunday. Yo...

Takeshita Dori [竹下通り] - a pedestrianized street (between the hours of 11am and 6pm) in Harajuku Tokyo that is filled with restaurants, cafes, fashion and accessory stores and a lot of people. Most of the stores are aimed at the younger generation...

Located in the Chuo ward in Tokyo, Ginza is where one would go to find department stores, fashion boutiques, restaurants and brand names such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Gucci. On a Sunday or national holiday, the main wide street that runs through...

Venus Fort - designed to resemble a 17th - 18th century European city, the place opened back in 1999 inside Palette Town and the original concept was that it was to be a theme park for ladies. These days however, Venus Fort is filled with not only st...

Update on the free tickets to Japan. Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Hiroshi Mizohata yesterday confirmed his plans to invite 10000 foreigners to japan and pay for their tickets. However - the reason they are doing this is because they expect those...

You've probably seen a few photos of Lalaport in the A Week in Tokyo series and those who keep tabs on my Twitter or Facebook will have seen me live broadcasting from my iPhone at Lalaport too. Have been meaning to make a separate post on Lalaport bu...

Took some time out to visit an outlet mall in Machida called Grandberry Mall. Have only been to one outlet mall on my previous visit to Los Angeles and was my first time to visit one in Japan. Zooming ahead in time in late afternoon to have some yu...

Last year we had a look at the steps needed to become a ninja. Today we take a look at what it takes to become a ninja girl otherwise known as Kunoichi (くノ一). The training ground is same as last year - Edo Wonderland in Nikko. But before I continu...

Back at Edo Wonderland in Nikko to build up upon my current Ninja skills - can anybody guess the name of this leaning ninja skill? Brought along Elly with me to train her as Kunoichi.

The iconic Shibuya 109 building. The name originates from the Tokyu Group who built the facility. "Tokyu" [東急] (とうきゅう) is converted to the reading for "10" as "To" and "9" as "Kyu". Its also called "Ichi Maru Kyu". Back in 1979 when the facili...

Went to check out the Futako Tamagawa Rise shopping complex that opened earlier on this year - filled with restaurants, fashion, entertainment and is a nice place to walk around on a Sunday afternoon.

Otaroad [オタロード] - Osaka's equivalent of Akihabara. There seems to be quite a large population of otaku in Osaka and because Otaroad is on a much smaller scale than Akihabara, most of the shops seem to have a load of human traffic most of the tim...