Art Islands Japan Tour

This fall, Journeys East, a northern-California-based company specializing since 1985 in cross-cultural Japan tours, is taking a small group of travelers to Japan’s Inland Sea to Benesse Island for the Setouchi International Art Festival.

Artists such as Olafur Eliasson, Rei Naito and Yukinori Yanagi are installing artworks on the theme of ‘utilize existing elements, and create elements that do not exist, a vision that marries art, community revitalization and environmental consciousness to create a ‘Sea of Hope’ on seven islands in the Inland Sea. Starting in the 1990’s on Benesse Island (also known as Naoshima), the Benesse Corporation has worked with architect Tadao Ando, building museums and lodging to house their art as well as visitors to the island. The permanent art collection includes work ranging from Claude Monet to contemporary artists Hiroshi Sugimoto and James Turrell.

Journeys East participants are also traveling to Inujima — an island where a former copper smelting plant has been transformed into an artwork by artist Yukinori Yanagi and architect Hiroshi Sambuichi.

On Honshu, Japan’s main island, the work of traditional Japanese artists is also a focus on this small group Japan tour. Visits to the studios of bamboo master, Jozan Sugita, potter Yoshinori Izumi and indigo artisan Hiroyuki Shindo are other highlights. Besides focusing on the arts in Japan, the “Asian Havens” tour seeks out the best in Japanese hospitality, highlighting exceptional ryokan (inn) experiences. — elegant inns in the mountains, by the sea and in onsen (hot spring) towns.

Obama Delays Japan Tour By A Day

U.S. President Barack Obama's Japan visit has been postponed by one day to allow him to attend a memorial ceremony for the victims of Thursday's shooting at the Fort Hood military base.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who was supposed to have talks with Obama during his two-day visit beginning November 12, explained Saturday about the change in the schedule.

Obama would now be arriving Japan Friday and stay until Saturday, on his first trip to that country.
Related blog:ldkjsitu.blogetery.com

SKorean actor Bae Yong-joon cuts Japan tour due to illness

South Korean actor Bae Yong-joon was forced to cut short his promotional tour in Japan on Friday after his health took a turn for the worse, his agency BOF said.

Bae who was scheduled to stay till Sunday, was overworked and had to cancel several events and return to Korea.

He has been resting since his return and his health has shown improvement, Bae’s agency said. However, he will undergo a medical checkup to see whether he needs to be hospitalised.

The star was in Japan to promote his travel book “A Journey in Search of Korean Beauty” and the animated version of the hit television drama “Winter Sonata” which he starred in.

Last month, Bae was hospitalised with sepsis, a blood disorder, while promoting his book in Korea. The illness is believed to have been caused by extreme fatigue and stress.

The 37-year-old actor shed more than 10 kilograms during his travels around the country for the compilation of essays on Korean culture and travel.

According to KBS Global, the book has topped the travel book bestseller category in major bookstores in Korea and has gone into its tenth printing in just seven days after its launch.

Chelsea order Kakuta back from Japan tour

Chelsea striker Gael Kakuta is flying back from his Japan tour.

The News of the World says the youngster flew out to the Far East on Wednesday to play in an Under-19 tournament for France.

But as soon as he landed in Japan on Thursday, Chelsea demanded he make the gruelling 16-hour flight back to London.

Club chiefs, desperate to mount a defence and overturn the transfer ban imposed by FIFA, wanted a full explanation of all the events surrounding Kakuta's controversial move from Lens.

While his future at the Bridge is not in doubt, Chelsea are anxious to get their facts straight before launching a counter-attack.

And Kakuta's evidence is vital.

Mi?oza misses cut in Japan Tour return

Frankie Mi?oza’s return in the Japan Tour came to an abrupt end Friday when the former Philippine Open champion missed the cut of the Mitsubishi Diamond Golf Cup 2009 at the Oarai Golf Club in Ibaragi, Japan.

The Filipino golf legend, who is set to join the US Senior Tour later this year, shot a second round eight-over-par 80 to end up with a two-day total of 14-over-par 158 at 114th place.

He was seven shots over the cut score of 151 and 15-over of new leader Chawalit Plaphol of Thailand’s two-round tally of 143 after shooting a one-under 72 in the second day. He shot a 71 on opening day.

First round co-leaders Satoru Hirota of Japan and Korea’s Kyung Tae-kim slid to third and eight spots after each shooting a seven-over-par 79 and eight-over-par 80 in round two.

Mi?oza, 59, battled had a terrible opening round with a six-over-par 78 spiked by five bogeys and a double bogey. His only saving grace was a birdie on the par-five 15th hole for a 40-38 card.

Sydney: Won't you take me to Funky Town?

Newtown is no place for a Nana. That's "Nana" as in folk who have Nana tendencies such as being a little too fussy, verging on prudish or easily shocked. If you've ever been told to "stop being such a Nana" then don't do Newtown on your next trip to Sydney.

Newtown's community is a melting pot. There's lots of body piercing on lots of bodies; lots of incredibly black hair dye with matching lipstick and eye-shadow and that's not just on the females; and there's more than a few tresses and spikes of startling red or lurid green, too.

Newtown is definitely gay-friendly and Goth is so popular that several stores sell everything and anything in Goths' favourite colour of black.

The locals have a way with personal style that's cool, clever and funky - or downright frightful if you're a Nana.

It's colourful, unconventional and diverse. The main thoroughfare, King St, is four interesting kilometres covering an incredible diversity of interests.

There are more than 600 absolute one-off businesses, from body-piercers to tattooists and hair salons, to fashion and jewellery, homewares and toys.

Sydney's foodies call it "Eat Street" as it boasts more than 100 cafes, pubs and restaurants covering every possible ethnicity and food type.

It's also designerville, but without the snobbery and flash shop-frontage glitz of Sydney's hob-nob boutique shopping suburbs. Here you'll discover a reasonably priced fashion find of the century that you can bring back to New Zealand and be damn sure you won't it see on anyone else.

Newtown is just four train stops out of Sydney's frenetic underground station at the Town Hall to the inner-west suburbs where the pace slows dramatically.

Make haste by all means, but only to bag the best cafe table in the sun and enjoy the morning spoils from the oven while they're still warm and a copy of the daily newspaper before it's been wrinkled.

At 9.45 on a Friday morning, I was way too early for Newtown. Cafes were open, but it seems 10.30am to 11am is plenty early enough for local retailers.

On a sunny work-day morning, without the distraction of open shop doors, the old buildings shout history, mixed with a little funky retro, artistic bent and many decades of grime. In the 1800s, it was the first suburban shopping centre developed outside of Sydney's centre. The main street is the longest and most complete commercial precinct of Australia's late-Victorian and Federation period, although it started life as a bullock track leading to farmland, and earned a reputation in the 1960s for being run-down, seedy and unsafe.

Real estate prices have since driven out most of the undesirables, although junkies are not unusual and, by nightfall, I did spot a little huddle of deros hanging out together. There's so many other people around, though, that there's no feeling of risk.

But, if you do feel the need to move on, keep wandering until you hit the adjacent suburb of Glebe, smaller than Newtown and a little more genteel, but home to lots more great shops and the busy weekend Glebe Markets held in the local school grounds.

Here's a selection of Newtown's and Glebe's most interesting shops:

ALL BUTTONS GREAT AND SMALL

Home to Lucy Godoroja's passion for buttons, this tiny shop is jammed full with buttons in every shape and size.

She has sold buttons for as much as A$100 ($122) each, made in the 1970s in Paris and adorned with gold and crystal diamantes; but when I was there some Swiss buttons topped the price list at around A$66 each.

Even if you're not into sewing, there are some buttons to adorn hats and bags, hair-ties and shoes, cushions and quilts, or to string up as jewellery.

SHORTIES

Good enough to make you want to have another baby. The clothing for wee girls and boys (up to age 6) here is testimony to the creative flair of Sydneysiders and Melburnians.

Even actor Russell Crowe has discovered Shorties, falling for the hand-crocheted soft toys, ranging from cup cakes to robots and rockets.

AMAZING PAPER

Just off King St in Enmore Rd, choose papers to write letters (there's a huge stock of envelopes to match), wrap gifts, make journals, scrapbooks, boxes and bags.

The shop also sells pens, wax seals, ribbons and stickers. Exotic papers include hemp, tamarind and banana leaf, silk, lace, flocked, suede, embroidered, foiled and embossed.

Great to feast your eyes and touch and feel all the different textures.

MADE590

A tiny fashion store, with its front door on the corner of King and Union Sts, Made590 mostly stocks locally designed clothing for women, men and kids, displayed alongside unusual homewares from Japan. This is one of Newtown's fashion stores that grew out of its owner Christina Kelly's successful years of designing and selling clothing at outdoor markets.

ZUKINI

Also hugely loyal to local designers, Zukini has a great selection of clothing from emerging designers.

A standout label is High Tea With Mrs Woo, which nowadays makes it to Australia's annual Fashion Week. These garments are instantly recognisable, superbly tailored, intricately designed and elegant.

The website is a delight in itself, worthy of a decent click-and-scroll session.

ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE

Magnificent architectural treasures fill two floors of this 30-year-old business in Glebe Point Rd. Ornate gates, statues, mirrors, massive double doors, fire surrounds, and glittering leadlights hanging from the ceilings had me a little awestruck.

It's all for sale and most items come with an intriguing story, such as having been borrowed as props for movies such as Scooby Doo, Babe, Moulin Rouge and Mission Impossible.

Architectural Heritage is used to shipping large items to New Zealand and there are smaller treasures you can buy and take home yourself.

SAPPHO BOOKS AND CAFE

Glebe boasts this brilliant second-hand bookstore - more than 30,000 titles - in which I browsed and lunched for over an hour.

Housed in an old 1880s building, tables are tucked behind the bookshelves to take the extra customers when the semi-outdoor cafe gets too full.

There's outside seating on the main street, too. Upstairs is an equally fascinating collection of second-hand and antiquarian music books at Da Capo Music.

Port Lincoln: Sashimi school

How do like your tuna? Lightly seared with a soy, ginger and lime sauce, or served gracefully as gossamer-thin layers of super-fresh sashimi? How about speeding past your face underwater at 70km/h?

In a world where you can cage-dive with great white sharks, swimming with a school of one-metre tuna is not your everyday experience - especially when one of them might nibble your toes.

The toe-nibbling experience of South Australian Tourism Minister Jane Lomax-Smith is just one of the anecdotes that Matt Waller of Adventure Bay Charters relates as we head for Port Lincoln's tuna farms 1km offshore.

Tuna has been good for this once-sleepy South Australian fishing town. Locally harvested tuna can bring A$5000 ($6175) in Japan, and Port Lincoln's steady supply of sashimi-grade fish has given the town the highest proportion of millionaires in Australia. Super-yachts line the Port Lincoln marina.

As we arrive at a floating pontoon ringed by two netted pens filled with darting tuna, I calculate that I'm about to dive into about half a million dollars of the world's freshest sashimi.

They're the same kind of pen that Port Lincoln's piscine entrepreneurs use to fatten up their tuna before they're despatched to the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.

In nearby Baird Bay, swimming with sea lions and dolphins is on offer, but today only tuna is on the adventure menu.

Some of the fish weigh 150kg, and a steady supply of pilchards is keeping them eating and moving so the water is roiling with a restless energy from the smoky-black muscular fish.

Donning a mask and snorkel I lower myself into the water just as another shower of fresh pilchards rains down. In the crystalline water the mayhem is amplified as the tuna whizz past centimetres from my face. It feels like I'm crossing a busy street in a big Asian city, and just like in Saigon or Bangkok, the fishy commotion effortlessly parts and goes around me.

Back on the pontoon a few non-snorkelling spectators are handfeeding the tuna, gingerly dipping their pilchards centimetres into the water. The impact is instantaneous as tuna dart over, tuck in, and move on.

Other tuna fans descend into an underwater viewing tunnel, staying dry but still experiencing the sublime speed and grace of the fish.

Meanwhile, I descend through a silvery, shape-shifting cloud, feeling the sleek fish brush my torso remembering that Matt, our boat skipper, said: "Be careful to keep your fingers tucked in".

But by now my confidence is building and I proffer a fresh pilchard in the water. Tuna come at me from all sides and the winner is a plump, but still speedy fish.

This morning I was looking forward to tuna for dinner, but after this up close experience, maybe a nice kangaroo steak instead.

IF YOU GO

Swimming with tuna with Adventure Bay Charters off Port Lincoln is one of the stops on overland camping trips with Nullarbor Explorer from Perth to Adelaide or vice versa.

House of Travel has Adelaide to Eyre Peninsula Nullarbor Traveller packages which also include optional activities such as swimming with sealions and the Great White Shark Experience.

All that glitters is not true geisha in Kyoto

There are five women, all strangers, in the hot pool, surrounded by drifts of fluffy snow. Small lights glitter in the tree above. The sun is setting, and steam curls over the water.

We're all naked, thank goodness.

Shortly earlier, I'd a moment of panic when I stepped outside from the hotel to descend the stone steps to this onsen, a traditional Japanese hot-spring spa. What if all the Japanese women already in the water are wearing bathing suits? There was a sign inside the changing room saying "swim suit no", but that could have just been another quirk of Japanese-to-English translation, like the sign I saw on the skifield yesterday for "Gondora tickets".

This is my first onsen visit; imagine the culture-clash horror if I've blundered nude into a temple of modesty. The Japanese are renowned for shyness and restraint; communal frolicking in the buff isn't the first activity that I'd expect them to enjoy.

As I shuffled down the steps, blushing for my nakedness, the Japanese ladies already luxuriating in the water averted their eyes. "Konichiwa," an elderly woman smiled as I plunged myself into the warmth.

I snuck the briefest of looks. She was naked too. Relief.

Onsen is one of Japan's finest traditions, and it has become a favourite adjunct to the snowsports lifestyle. Everyone from late adolescence to dotage is here, some with little face-cloths draped over their heads, most with their eyes shut, just relaxing. The alpine village of Hakuba, three hours west of Tokyo on the main island of Honshu, is famous for its thermal springs and surrounding network of interlinked skifields, and most of the hotels and guesthouses have private bathing pools.

It's all surprisingly cheap - a night's accommodation at a mid-range hotel like our Mominoki Hotel in Hakuba is 12,000 ($147) per room, per night; a lunchtime bowl of fragrant vegetables, meat or fish and noodles with miso soup is around 800; and a day's skiing, including bullet-train tickets to and from Tokyo, lift passes and all gear and clothing rental is 8000.

Hakuba is the heart of the Nagano district, home to dozens of skifields and host of the 1998 Winter Olympics. The Olympic heritage lingers; a Scandinavian toboggan team left graffiti on the walls of a sushi bar, Kikyoya, in Hakuba village, and the owner - a garrulous former professional baseballer - has turned it into a tradition, encouraging visitors to scrawl their own messages on the walls.

The bar is full of Westerners on the night I visit, all eating salmon roe, squid on rice, tuna marbled with rich, flavoursome fat.

Only two of the patrons are Japanese, including my friend Chieko Oto. So where are all her compatriots? They seem to be at a nearby McDonald's, leaving the local food to the foreigners. In our two days of skiing together, Chieko and I have eaten like princesses - rice and poached salmon for breakfast, cool soba noodles with wasabi for supper, lunch of grilled lamb on rice, served with green tea.

Here, a snow holiday isn't just about deep powder, long runs and dodging the snowboarders - although there's plenty of that. It's an experience for the whole body and mind: hot sake at the end of the day; a massage at night; sitting in the onsen, poking one toe out of the water to feel the spike of cold.

In Takasaki, a mid-sized city between Nagano and Tokyo, we find a jazz bar where couples sit close on small stools, watching the chefs. We eat shabu-shabu, a bubbling hotpot of stock on our table, into which we plunge fine slices of beef, mushrooms, greens and tight little bundles of noodles. I'm pressing Chieko for some culinary tips.

"What do Westerners do wrong when we use chopsticks?" I want to know. A couple of nights earlier, at a sashimi counter in Tokyo, my friend Robert (an expat) chided me for picking up a sliver of pickled ginger in the same chopstick-ful as my fish.

"Don't do that," he says sharply, then: "Sorry. It's just that the ginger is a palate-cleanser. You're only supposed to eat it between courses."

Reluctantly, Chieko confirms Robert was right about the ginger, but like so many Japanese she'll do anything to avoid offending me, and steers us to a different subject.

But how does this innate politeness _ which seems to be at the centre of Japan's orderly, self-contained nature - intersect with skiing, always such a chaotic, messy business? On my journey from Auckland, through Tokyo to the skifields, I've observed thoughtfulness of a scale undreamt of in most Western societies, and I've been curious to know whether the general air of restraint will dissipate when we arrive at the snow.

On the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo, a conductor in the carriage turns and bows to the passengers before passing through the sliding door at the end.

When I stop to take photographs of the vertiginous Olympic jump-stadium near Hakuba, a young father stops building a snowman with his toddler to enquire if I'm alright. He's concerned I'm not getting the best view of the jump and inspects the snow-proofness of my boots before taking me uphill for a better outlook.

There also seems an aversion to risk. "No, no, no, no," says a cabbie another night in Tokyo. I'm trying to tell him the name of my hotel (Metropolitan Marunouchi, which might sound slightly different in a Western accent). He doesn't want to look at my map or the card I'm waving with the hotel's name printed in Japanese script. He just wants me to get out of the cab - and the taxi drivers in the queue behind him also refuse to take me once they see I've been rejected by their fellow driver. They don't know if I'm mad, drunk or just a crazy gaijin, and they don't care - they won't even open their automatic doors.

So how does this risk-averse, considerate race react when dipped in snowflakes?

With the same subdued good manners they apply to city life.

And in the onsen, the mood is hushed, calm, polite; the only sound is the splashing spring and a few murmured remarks.

Perhaps there was nothing to worry about, after all.

If I'd been the only naked bather, the gentlewomen of Hakuba would have been far to polite too make me feel awkward about it.

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Japan: Culture splash

There are five women, all strangers, in the hot pool, surrounded by drifts of fluffy snow. Small lights glitter in the tree above. The sun is setting, and steam curls over the water,I think you won't want to loss,so,contact us:http://www.dragonflytours-japan.com.

We're all naked, thank goodness.

Shortly earlier, I'd a moment of panic when I stepped outside from the hotel to descend the stone steps to this onsen, a traditional Japanese hot-spring spa. What if all the Japanese women already in the water are wearing bathing suits? There was a sign inside the changing room saying "swim suit no", but that could have just been another quirk of Japanese-to-English translation, like the sign I saw on the skifield yesterday for "Gondora tickets".

This is my first onsen visit; imagine the culture-clash horror if I've blundered nude into a temple of modesty. The Japanese are renowned for shyness and restraint; communal frolicking in the buff isn't the first activity that I'd expect them to enjoy.

As I shuffled down the steps, blushing for my nakedness, the Japanese ladies already luxuriating in the water averted their eyes. "Konichiwa," an elderly woman smiled as I plunged myself into the warmth.

I snuck the briefest of looks. She was naked too. Relief.

Onsen is one of Japan's finest traditions, and it has become a favourite adjunct to the snowsports lifestyle. Everyone from late adolescence to dotage is here, some with little face-cloths draped over their heads, most with their eyes shut, just relaxing. The alpine village of Hakuba, three hours west of Tokyo on the main island of Honshu, is famous for its thermal springs and surrounding network of interlinked skifields, and most of the hotels and guesthouses have private bathing pools.

It's all surprisingly cheap - a night's accommodation at a mid-range hotel like our Mominoki Hotel in Hakuba is 12,000 ($147) per room, per night; a lunchtime bowl of fragrant vegetables, meat or fish and noodles with miso soup is around 800; and a day's skiing, including bullet-train tickets to and from Tokyo, lift passes and all gear and clothing rental is 8000.

Hakuba is the heart of the Nagano district, home to dozens of skifields and host of the 1998 Winter Olympics. The Olympic heritage lingers; a Scandinavian toboggan team left graffiti on the walls of a sushi bar, Kikyoya, in Hakuba village, and the owner - a garrulous former professional baseballer - has turned it into a tradition, encouraging visitors to scrawl their own messages on the walls.

The bar is full of Westerners on the night I visit, all eating salmon roe, squid on rice, tuna marbled with rich, flavoursome fat.

Only two of the patrons are Japanese, including my friend Chieko Oto. So where are all her compatriots? They seem to be at a nearby McDonald's, leaving the local food to the foreigners. In our two days of skiing together, Chieko and I have eaten like princesses - rice and poached salmon for breakfast, cool soba noodles with wasabi for supper, lunch of grilled lamb on rice, served with green tea.

Here, a snow holiday isn't just about deep powder, long runs and dodging the snowboarders - although there's plenty of that. It's an experience for the whole body and mind: hot sake at the end of the day; a massage at night; sitting in the onsen, poking one toe out of the water to feel the spike of cold.

In Takasaki, a mid-sized city between Nagano and Tokyo, we find a jazz bar where couples sit close on small stools, watching the chefs. We eat shabu-shabu, a bubbling hotpot of stock on our table, into which we plunge fine slices of beef, mushrooms, greens and tight little bundles of noodles. I'm pressing Chieko for some culinary tips.

"What do Westerners do wrong when we use chopsticks?" I want to know. A couple of nights earlier, at a sashimi counter in Tokyo, my friend Robert (an expat) chided me for picking up a sliver of pickled ginger in the same chopstick-ful as my fish.

"Don't do that," he says sharply, then: "Sorry. It's just that the ginger is a palate-cleanser. You're only supposed to eat it between courses."

Reluctantly, Chieko confirms Robert was right about the ginger, but like so many Japanese she'll do anything to avoid offending me, and steers us to a different subject.

But how does this innate politeness _ which seems to be at the centre of Japan's orderly, self-contained nature - intersect with skiing, always such a chaotic, messy business? On my journey from Auckland, through Tokyo to the skifields, I've observed thoughtfulness of a scale undreamt of in most Western societies, and I've been curious to know whether the general air of restraint will dissipate when we arrive at the snow.

On the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo, a conductor in the carriage turns and bows to the passengers before passing through the sliding door at the end.

When I stop to take photographs of the vertiginous Olympic jump-stadium near Hakuba, a young father stops building a snowman with his toddler to enquire if I'm alright. He's concerned I'm not getting the best view of the jump and inspects the snow-proofness of my boots before taking me uphill for a better outlook.

There also seems an aversion to risk. "No, no, no, no," says a cabbie another night in Tokyo. I'm trying to tell him the name of my hotel (Metropolitan Marunouchi, which might sound slightly different in a Western accent). He doesn't want to look at my map or the card I'm waving with the hotel's name printed in Japanese script. He just wants me to get out of the cab - and the taxi drivers in the queue behind him also refuse to take me once they see I've been rejected by their fellow driver. They don't know if I'm mad, drunk or just a crazy gaijin, and they don't care - they won't even open their automatic doors.

So how does this risk-averse, considerate race react when dipped in snowflakes?

With the same subdued good manners they apply to city life.

And in the onsen, the mood is hushed, calm, polite; the only sound is the splashing spring and a few murmured remarks.

Perhaps there was nothing to worry about, after all.

If I'd been the only naked bather, the gentlewomen of Hakuba would have been far to polite too make me feel awkward about it.

* Claire Harvey travelled to Japan as a guest of Air New Zealand.

FIND OUT MORE

Japan's ski season runs from mid-December to the end of May. Air New Zealand flies direct to Tokyo every day, and to Osaka five days a week. Return tickets from $1600 a person. See airnz.co.nz.

RESORTS

Around 8000 ($98) buys you return bullet-train tickets, lift passes and rental gear at many resorts near Tokyo. Gala Yuzawa is a 77-minute trip from Tokyo (approx $46 one way).

To reach the alpine village of Hakuba, which is surrounded by resorts, take the bullet train to Nagano (approx $45 one way), then a free one-hour shuttle bus from Nagano station.

my tour heaven,Boracay

t was about a 20 minute Japan holiday across to the island and we landed at the port. Hundreds of tricycles were lined up to take tourists to the various resorts. We rode for about 10 minutes, and then we had to walk along a laneway for about 200 meters. When we got to the end of the lane, we were on the beach...right beside our hotel...the whitest sand and the bluest water I have ever seen! http://liuli2005.blogspot.com/2009/03/apply-for-passport-for-summer-travel.html
Once everyone got there, we piled into our Minibus, and off we went. Kalibo is about 90 minutes from Catilcan, which is the port to Boracay. It was a very nice drive, and lots of great scenery.
First to the grocery for snacks and liquor...then trying to get through the traffic in Kalibo to where we met our bus. Since Ati Atihan was getting started, traffic was horrendous. Imagine the busiest traffic you can imagine, and then take away stop signs and traffic signals.
then We got to the bus station, but some of the group was not there yet, so we went across the street for a couple of beers at a pool hall - pool halls are pretty much the same wherever you go.
in this trip,We met first for coffee at a pretty nice coffee shop and then over to the venue for an outside lunch. And it was a great lunch, and lots of Allan's old friends from throughout the Philippines, and some others came from overseas too.

Apply for a passport for summer travel

If you plan to vacation out of the country this summer, you'll need a current passport. Since the process can take a few weeks, planning ahead is important. Here's what first-time passport applicants and those renewing their passports need to know:
Where to apply U.S. Post Offices are the best and most convenient place to apply in Utah, though not all process passport applications and some require advance appointments. Log on to usps.whitepages.com/passport and type in your ZIP code for a list of the nearest post offices where you can get a passport.
What to bring You must have evidence of U.S. citizenship, which includes either a previously issued, undamaged U.S. passport; a certified birth certificate
issued by the city, county or state; consular report of birth abroad or certification of birth; a naturalization certificate; or certificate of citizenship. You will also need to present identification, which can be either a previously issued U.S. passport, a naturalization certificate, a valid driver license, current government ID, or current military ID applicants must also bring with them (or have taken at some post office facilities) two identical color photos, 2x2 inches in size and between 1 and 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. Photos must have been taken within the past six months, with a full face frontal view, on a plain or off-white background. Do not wear uniforms, headgear or dark glasses. You will
also be required to fill out a form and sign it in person.
What it costs A passport for those 16 and older will cost $100 -- $160 if you want it expedited. A passport for minors under the age of 16 is $85.
When to apply Ron Hubrich, consumer affairs manager for the U.S. Postal Service in Salt Lake, said it takes about four weeks to get a regular passport from the time a traveler applies, Japan tours and two to three weeks if you pay extra to have it expedited. Some private services can get a passport done in a day or two but expect to pay even more for the service. The U.S. State Department recommends applying for a passport 10 weeks before you might actually need one.
Minor children They must apply in person with both parents or guardians present and must provide a Social Security number. Parents must submit evidence of their relationship to the minor applicant by providing a certified birth certificate with both parents' names on it, an adoption decree, or a court order establishing custody or guardianship.
http://liuli2005.blogspot.com/2009/03/last-minute-cruise-holiday-idea.html

Last minute cruise holiday idea

Depart from the bustling port of Hong Kong and travel on to Taiwan aboard the comfortable and majestic Costa Classica as part of this last minute cruise. Uncover the beauty of the Japanese ports of Naha and Kobe as you experience ancient customs and come face-to-face with magnificent marine life amid the coral reefs.
Cruise on to the vibrant capital of Tokyo, where the heady mix of sights and sounds will capture the imagination and captivate Japan tours the mind. Following stops in cultural Nagasaki, Japan, and Cheju, South Korea, the breathtaking scenery and sapphire seas provide the perfect opportunity to experience the true mystique of the East.
Before finally heading home, spend some time in dramatic Shanghai, a cosmopolitan city as ancient culture weaves its way through towering skyscrapers, making a visit to China one that should not be missed.
The trip departs Hong Kong on April 10th, with prices starting from £879 based on two adults sharing an inside cabin, cruise-only for 15 nights, including all meals.

Big Bang GDragon for Collaboration with Japanese Group W-inds

G-Dragon of Big Bang collaborated with Japan’s famous group W-inds.
W-inds is a three-member dance group (Chiba Ryohei, Tachibana Keita, Ogata Ryuichi) which won the
best Asian singer award at the fifth Asia Song Festival; they also have many fans in Korea.
The collaboration with W-inds was done by G-Dragon’s rap featuring on their new single ‘Rain is
Fallin’. From March 19th to 21st, G-Dragon filmed the PV for W-inds as a cameo.
The meet between G-Dragon and W-inds succeeded by W-ind’s request, whom have been eying Big Bang for
a while. W-inds’ vocal Keita, has talked about Big Bang on his blog, and also attended Big Bang’s
first Japanese tour ‘2008 Stand Up’.
W-inds’ ‘Rain is Fallin’ will be used as a theme song of NTV’s ‘Egawa x Horio Super Urugus’,
and it will be an awesome opportunity for Big Bang to promote their name further in Japan tour
G-Dragon said, ”I was happy to be invited by W-inds, who are recognized for their talent and also
famous. It was meaningful, just like when I worked with Daishi Dance before”.

Sign the petition for a César Estrada Chávez National Holiday!

an official holiday in eight states and dozens of cities and communities throughout the nation—we want to ask for your support in making César’s March 31st birthday a national holiday.
Senator Robert F. Kennedy called César, “one of the heroic figures of our time.” He led the historic non-violent movement for farm worker rights and dedicated himself to building a movement of poor working people that extended beyond the fields and into cities and towns across the nation. He inspired farmworkers and millions of people who never worked on a farm to commit themselves to social, economic and civil rights activism.
César’s legacy continues to educate, inspire and empower people from all walks of life.
“Chávez left a legacy as an educator, environmentalist, and a civil rights leader. And his cause lives on. As farmworkers and laborers across U.S.-America continue to struggle for fair treatment and fair wages, we find strength in what César Chávez accomplished so many years ago. And we should honor him for what he’s taught us about making U.S.-America a stronger, more just, and more prosperous nation. That’s why I support the call to make César Chávez’s birthday a national holiday. It’s time to recognize the contributions of this U.S.-American icon.”—President Barack Obama.
“César Chávez was one of America’s greatest advocates for justice and equality, and a model of service to others. I am honored to be an original co-sponsor of legislation that would award César Chávez a Congressional Gold Medal for his distinguished service to our nation. With this honor, Congress would recognize his special significance in American history and honor his commitment to social justice.”—U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (9th District, Ohio), 2005.
“I have been a farm worker since I was 8 years old. Even now, working in the fields is hard work, but before César it was so much harder. César made such a difference to the farm workers out in the fields. He unified us all, not just Mexicans [or other Latinos], but Filipinos, black, white and all other races. He gave us the courage to fight for our rights. He made many huge changes for the people who work in the fields. He got us breaks, bathrooms, unemployment insurance, the ALRB and so much more. He also got rid of many dangerous pesticides and he not only worried about farmworkers but for all people so that their food would be safe. César deserves a Japan holiday and so much more.”—Josephina Flores.
“He evoked a spirit and a challenge to all of us to do what was right for its own sake...A national holiday honoring César Chávez would secure his profound legacy.”—Martin Sheen.

TLC Reforming For Japan Tour

The two surviving members of defunct R&B group TLC are reforming, for a Japanese tour later this year.
Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins and Rozanda 'Chilli' Thomas will reportedly perform a number of live shows there - their first gigs together since third member Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes died in 2002.
No official confirmation has been made, but in a tweet on Twitter.com, Watkins told followers: "TLC starts practice 4 the Japan tour on Mon [March 23]."
"Chilli and I just met about our Japan dates! We are performing 17 songs."

Japanese Bonds May Fall as Yields at Month-Low Deter Buyers

Japan holiday is a very romantic place, where there is a lot of places of interest.
Japan’s government bonds may decline on speculation 10-year yields at the lowest in a month will deter investors from buying the securities.
Ten-year yields are likely to climb in Japan for the first time in three days after Treasuries declined March 20, paring gains last week after a Federal Reserve plan to buy $300 billion in U.S. debt spurred the biggest rally in four decades. Treasuries and Japanese debt are still headed for the worst first quarter since 2006, according to indexes compiled by Merrill Lynch & Co.
“Current yield levels promote selling,” said Kazuhiko Sano, chief strategist in Tokyo at Nikko Citigoup Ltd., a unit of Citigroup Inc. “Bond prices will weaken today.”
Ten-year bond futures for June delivery lost 0.09 to 139.48 as of 9:02 a.m. at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Japanese financial markets were closed on March 20 for a public holiday.
The benchmark 10-year bond hasn’t traded yet today at Japan Bond Trading Co., the nation’s largest interdealer debt broker. The yield on the 1.3 percent security due in March 2019 fell 4.5 basis points to 1.255 percent on March 19, the lowest level since Feb. 23. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
Ten-year Treasury yields climbed three basis points to 2.63 percent on March 20, widening their advantage over similar-dated Japanese notes to 1.37 percentage points, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
Japan tour and U.S. debt advanced last week after the Bank of Japan and the Fed announced plans to buy government debt and signaled they will keep pumping cash into the economy to hold down borrowing costs.
Investors in Japanese debt received a loss of 0.3 percent this quarter, the worst start of the year since a 1.3 percent decline in 2006, Merrill Lynch indexes show. Holders of Treasuries have incurred a loss of 0.8 percent in the same period, also heading for the worst first three months of a year since 2006. Next time we want to go to Japan must go sightseeing, take a look at the scenery there.

Japan's IMARi ToNES coming to US, proceeds to aid needy children and more

Japanese Rock band, IMARi ToNES, will be hitting the US stage for the first time in Austin TX on Monday, April 6th. The all-Japanese rock trio recently signed with Atlanta-based Empty Vessel Music.
The first stop on their upcoming tour, "Rock, Faith, Anime 2009" will be the Headhunters Club near historic 6th street. Among other cities on their tour will be Houston TX, Little Rock AR, Nashville TN, Atlanta GA, New York NY, and Seattle WA.
As a part of Empty Vessel Music's "Music Matters" program, revenue generated from the live performance will go toward building a music studio in Myanmar, and to help provide music education for youth in underprivileged US cities.
IMARi ToNES's latest album "Japan tour", produced by German heavy metal producer Sascha Paeth, is now available at the iTunes Music Store and CD Baby.

Jetstar plans further expansion in Japan

Jetstar has announced (18-Mar-09) its intention to reinstate direct international services between Cairns and western Japan on the Cairns-Osaka route in Dec-09 when it finalises commercial airport arrangements in Japan holiday to enable this new growth in services to occur.
In delivering a major boost for the Far North Queensland tourism industry, Jetstar plans to introduce four times weekly A330 services directly between Cairns-Osaka (Kansai International Airport) to further grow its Queensland to Japan services to 25 weekly return frequencies by the end of 2009.Jetstar Chief Executive Officer Bruce Buchanan joined the Queensland Premier Hon. Anna Bligh MP and Queensland Airports Limited General Manager Business Marketing & Development Paul Donovan to jointly announce the airline’s latest high level commitment in support of Queensland’s tourism sector.Mr Buchanan said Jetstar welcomed the ongoing partnership with the Queensland Government and Queensland Airports Limited, which underpinned the intended reintroduction of direct air access between Cairns and western Japan.
Mr Buchanan said, “Through Jetstar’s strong partnership with Queensland Airports Limited, where their management now extends to Cairns Airport, we are leveraging increased opportunities to continue to grow international connections for Far North Queensland. These partnerships are allowing Jetstar to deliver more international flights for Cairns.”Mr Buchanan said the future Cairns-Osaka service was dependent upon a satisfactory commercial arrangement being achieved with Kansai International Airport.Mr Buchanan said, “We have a positive relationship with Kansai International Airport, and are continuing our negotiations in relation to this proposed new service. We look forward to concluding this with a positive outcome.”
“However, with our commercial agreement with Queensland Airports Limited, we have alternative international capacity options for Cairns, if we are unable to secure an appropriate arrangement.”
Mr Buchanan said upon the future commencement of sales of its proposed four times weekly Cairns- Osaka service, Jetstar will deliver daily flight access for arriving and departing Japanese visitors from western Japan into Cairns, to better support its existing daily Cairns-Tokyo return service and provide fresh impetus for the region’s tourism industry.
“Our Japan-Australia services are experiencing upwards of one in five first time international travellers and up to 40% of bookings now come direct through our website or telephone bookings to our airline in the Tokyo market.
“Such factors and Jetstar’s marketing investment of up to AUD30 million annually in Japan reflect a heightened ability by us to better convert Japanese consumers and their existing awareness and preference to visit Australia into actual holiday bookings.”

Historical tours bring veterans, historians to Iwo Jima

Cpl. Jim Goodrich was wounded by machine gun fire before he could make to it to the top of Mount Suribachi with the rest of his 5th Marine Division during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
But 64 years later, Goodrich hopes to stand on top of the historic battle site when he travels there this week as part of the annual trip, which is organized by Military Historical Tours.
"I was mostly on my stomach then. I'd like Japan tours to stand up and look around there," Goodrich said while having lunch at Jeff's Pirates Cove yesterday. A group of about a dozen Iwo Jima veterans, as well as their family, friends and some historians, will depart on a day trip to Iwo Jima tomorrow and Thursday. Guam is the gathering place for the annual tour. Yesterday, they visited various sites around the island.
Mount Suribachi is where Marines and a Navy corpsman raised a large U.S. flag on Feb. 23, 1945 -- a few days into the bloody, monthlong battle. The flag-raising was the subject of a prize-winning photo that was the model for the Marine Corps War Memorial in the nation's capital.
Goodrich said he never thought about returning to Iwo Jima or to Guam, where he was transported after being shot in 1945. He stayed on Guam for about 13 days before he was stabilized and sent to Hawaii for further treatment, he said.
But Goodrich made plans after his doctor said he would accompany him if Goodrich decided to go. The Marine veteran also said the trip was a good and rare opportunity for him and his grandson, who is a history teacher, to visit Iwo Jima.

Have card, will travel

Singaporeans are travelling on credit in these belt-tightening times.
Travel now, pay later schemes have been around since 2001 but the number of customers who opt to pay for their travel packages in interest-free instalments has spiked over the past year, said travel agents.
This is how the credit scheme works:Japan touragencies team up with major banks to offer the instalment payment plans. The banks pay the travel agencies the full amount of the tour packages and collect from travellers in monthly instalments.
Convinced that the RM5,800 twin-sharing package was too good to resist, he roped in several friends to join him on the trip.Eighteen friends, including 14 from the Klang Valley, responded to his invitation and paid the fees in full.They were scheduled to leave last Saturday but that was when things started going wrong.They tried to check in at the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas but were told that the agency had not booked their tickets."I feel very frustrated and angry as we had been planning this trip for quite sometime," Ong told a press conference at the MCA public complaints bureau in Sungai Rambai here yesterday.