Day Trips From Tokyo – Kamakura, the Kyoto of the East
Apr 17, 2017 By Bert Wishart
When tourist destinations claim to 'have it all', you can generally presume that this is short hand for 'there are a few things that are okay, but nothing of particular great note'. However, when it comes to Kamakura, a city with abundant nature, fantastic food, sports and an illustrious historical heritage, it is...[ Click to read more ]
Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers – a Great Baseball Rivalry
Mar 26, 2017 By Bert Wishart
When the Tokugawa Shogunate finally wrested political control from Osaka and moved the seat of power to Edo in 1615, few could have imagined that four hundred years later animosity and hostilities between the two cities would remain. However each spring, the battle recommences in the form of the perennial contest...[ Click to read more ]
No More Mamachari! Where to get Good Bikes in Tokyo
Mar 23, 2017 By Bert Wishart
Tokyo is such a marvelous city to explore, which is why it is a shame that we spend so much time on trains and subways being ferried from one place to another, never really getting to understand the lay of the land. The best way to really understand the city...[ Click to read more ]
Baseball in Hiroshima with The Toyo Carp
Mar 22, 2017 By Justin Hanus
Baseball in Japan Nippon Professional Baseball (an organization similar to the USA's MLB) consists of two leagues, the Central League (Chunichi Dragons, Hanshin Tigers, Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Yokohama DeNA BayStars, and the Yomiuri Giants) and the Pacific League (Chiba Lotte Marines, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Orix Buffaloes, Saitama Seibu Lions, and...[ Click to read more ]
Getting Fit – Ex-pat Friendly Gyms Around Nagoya
Mar 15, 2017 By Bert Wishart
If like me you have gained a few extra pounds over the winter – Christmas and the various new year festivities will do that to you – you may be thinking of the coming summer months and wanting to get back into shape. One of the best ways to do...[ Click to read more ]
Nagoya’s Best Bicycle Shops
Feb 24, 2017 By Bert Wishart
Nagoya, with its wide roads and ample cycle paths, is a marvelous city to cycle around, so it is such a shame that so many people choose to clog up the sidewalks with their 'mamachari' bicycles. According to the Japanese National Police Agency, there were 71.551 million bicycles in Japan in...[ Click to read more ]
Ice Skating Around Aichi and Nagoya
Dec 27, 2016 By Bert Wishart
When it comes to winter sports, Japan is a little bit ice crazy. Hosting the Winter Olympics in 1964 (Sapporo) and most recently in 1998 (Nagano) has helped fuel a love for all things snow related. Although Nagoya may not be a winter wonderland like Sapporo or Nagano, however that doesn't mean...[ Click to read more ]
Bicycle tours of Kyoto
Jul 27, 2016 By Bert Wishart
Kyoto, in summer, is famed for its stifling humidity, but now as we head towards autumn and the weather cools it is a good time to visit the Imperial City and see some of the many sights - seventeen of which being UNESCO World Heritage Sites - for which it...[ Click to read more ]
Outdoor Pools Around Tokyo
Jul 23, 2016 By Bert Wishart
As you are probably by now only too well aware, summer certainly swelters here in Japan. This of course brings a multitude of problems, such as how to deal with with hot and sticky public transport, which isotonic sports drink to chug to replace lost minerals due to continuous sweating, and how...[ Click to read more ]
Koshien – Where Japanese Culture Plays Out Before Your Eyes
Jul 21, 2016 By Justin Hanus
"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." Liverpool football coach Bill Shankly said that long ago but many in Japan would find it hard to believe the...[ Click to read more ]
