Best Bars with Live Music in Kobe
Feb 28, 2024 By Justin Hanus
Despite being only a small city, Kobe has an active nightlife. In particular, it has a number of bars with live music — some with performances every night of the week. Although Kobe is best known for jazz, you’ll also find venues with many other styles of live music. 1....[ Click to read more ]
Kansai Area – Important Numbers
Feb 13, 2024 By Admin
Company Number/s Memo Relo Japan K.K. - Kobe Office 078-325-3650 Mon-Fri (excluding weekends/National Holidays) 9:00-18:00 SMBC Prestia Customer Service Desk 0120-110-330 (Toll-Free) 046-401-2100 (In Japan - charges apply) +81-46-401-2100 (From overseas - charges apply) 10:00-17:00, 365 days a year (excluding Dec 30 - Jan 3) Sumitomo Bank Credit Card...[ Click to read more ]
Volunteering in Kanto
Jan 31, 2024 By Michael Stigall
Winter is a time where we often have more time on our hands than we know what to do with. It is cold, wet, and mostly dark, so we often assume that there is not much that we can do. However, this is not true. One thing to do during...[ Click to read more ]
Skate Parks in Kumamoto
Jan 30, 2024 By Justin Hanus
Skateboarding has increased in popularity across Japan since the Tokyo Olympics a few years ago, with many purpose-built indoor and outdoor parks appearing in recent times. Kumamoto has a pretty good skateboarding community that predates the Olympics and is surprisingly big for the city and prefecture of its size. You...[ Click to read more ]
The Hiroshima Music Scene
Dec 27, 2023 By Justin Hanus
Japan has a vibrant and diverse music culture and has provided the world with top-selling exports over the years such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Babymetal. Tokyo and Osaka are the two cities with the most developed music scenes but there are many other cities with a simmering underground of...[ Click to read more ]
Packing the Right Clothes for Kobe in the Winter
By Justin Hanus
The weather varies greatly across Japan in the winter. Hokkaido is the coldest, with temperatures reaching as low as -11.4 ºC (11.5 ºF), whereas the Nanpo and Bonin Islands have a tropical climate year round. With mild winters, Kobe is somewhere in between. Using the average temperatures will help you...[ Click to read more ]
HOPE International Development Agency Japan: Hope Charity Dinner 2024
By William Farrow
Every year, the HOPE International Development Agency organizes charity dinners across Japan to help provide access and opportunities to those in developing countries. The Agency has selected a theme of "from water to self-reliance" this year and is eager to help with a plethora of projects brimming with potential like...[ Click to read more ]
Hiroshima Cinemas
Nov 30, 2023 By Matt Mangham
We’re fast approaching the peak cinema season as the weather chills, the nights draw in and this year’s big winter blockbusters hit our screens. Japan has a rich culture of film-making and its citizens love going to the movies as much as anyone else. The cinema experience in Japan is...[ Click to read more ]
All About Higo Zogan
Oct 27, 2023 By Justin Hanus
A local craft you’ll only see in Kumamoto is Higo Zogan. It involves engraving an iron base with a design and inlaying with gold, silver, or both. Designs are often ancient (such as kuyokamon — the crest of nine celestial bodies) but are sometimes modern. The History of Higo Zogan...[ Click to read more ]
How to Get an ETC Card in Japan
Oct 19, 2023 By Justin Hanus
To pay the expressway tolls in Japan, it helps to have an Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) card. This allows you to make automatic cashless payments instead of needing to stop at tollbooths and pay in cash. There are even special lanes at the tolls for holders of ETC cards, which...[ Click to read more ]
