Google maps is great but unfortunately google maps Japan is only in Japanese and without knowledge of Kanji it can be very difficult to use.

Fortunately, Mapfan (link) has started a new mapping service in English. Hopefully it will get out of beta soon and will also gain some navigation features too.

Tags: maps

Merry Christmas! - well almost. Although there are very few Christians in Japan, christmas has been widely adopted but mostly for the present-giving aspect of it. Especially young people are fond of this new-found tradition. So what better place to go than to Tokyo’s number one shopping area, Ginza. Every self-respecting company that is worth it’s salt must have a shop in Ginza. So needless to say this is also not really where you can find bargain amongst the designer bags and watches. full story ...

Tags: ginza, tokyo, shopping, stroll, architecture, theatre

Today is a national holiday, for it is the emperor’s birthday. And to mark the occasion, you can see a lot Japanese flags around. The Koban, or police box all have one and even the public buses are decorated with flags...

Tags: tokyo, ginza

Today is the Emperor’s Brithday, a public holiday in Japan and also one of the few occasions where you can enter the imperial palace. So I make my way back to central Tokyo to be there in time for when the doors open.

For his birthday the emperor invites the public onto the Kyuden plaza (map) to give a short speech. There are serveral sessions plannedfull story ...

Tags: emperor, festival, event, tokyo, imperial palace

Today I head to Kamakura (wp) for a day visit of this town. A visit to Kamakura is like a visit to the roots of old Japan. For 150 years in the 12th century this was the de-facto capital of Japan. Rivaling Kyoto, it was the 4th largest city in the world at the time. Today Kamakura is a very pleasant small town about 50km from Tokyo with a multitude of cultural sites to show for its long history.
full story ...

Tags: kamakura, daytrip, temple, history, zen

Here is one I was in Tachikawa, as you leave the station of the east exit. Unix, is indeed beautiful.

Tags: misconceptions