Konnichiwhoa

Conveyor Belt Sushi: 7 Tips to Go Wild, Cheaply

Conveyor belt sushi is famous for bringing around Japan's best-known food with no effort, but it's also one of the best ways to eat out cheaply while you're here.

Also known as revolving sushi or kaiten-zushi, the video above sets the scene pretty well. The conveyor runs in a big square. Patrons sit on the outside of the rectangle and chefs work inside the conveyor. They're not in the scene here, but waiters are running around behind the customers clearing tabs and serving drinks. On the conveyor belt are plates of sushi, obviously, but also little ads rolling by promoting seasonal items.

Here are 7 tips that let me leave stuffed for no more than 1500 yen:

Japanese Hot Springs Guide

Ah, hot springs. One of the finer parts of life in Japan. You should definitely experience one while you're there. While there can also be some very real experiences in culture shock while you're there, the onsen is absolutely worth adapting to the local culture. 

This post will hopefully prepare you mentally for the trip. Without further adieu, here's some advice from my own experiences at various hot springs all over the country:

Nudity: May as well get this one out of the way. Yeah, the overwhelming majority of hot springs involve nudity. This is why they're sex-segregated. There are non-nude places where co-ed groups of friends can go together. Still, nudity is the rule rather than the exception and for the most part you'll end up with old people who don't bother you. 

Craft Beer in Japan: Rare But Easy to Find

Beer lovers will either love or hate their trip to Japan. Fans of light lagers will find the stuff fresh and cheap anywhere they go. But real beer snobs seeking the darker, stronger or more complex brews get bored easily. Thankfully, there are remedies for travelers weary of the Asahi/Kirin/Sapporo triumvirate.

The blog LetsJapan has a pretty decent writeup of Baird Beer, one of the popular local craft brews, and the Harajuku Taproom, one of the more famous spots to go for it. Quoth our hero:

Baird Beer’s credo is “Balance + Complexity = Character.”  I’ll leave it to you to ruminate on that.  Suffice to say that I tried the Wheat King Ale. ... It was, indeed, balanced and had a rich flavor that delighted my tongue without taking me up by my shirt collar and shaking me. 

Tokyo Narita: Best Restaurants and Shopping

Have a flight out of Narita Airport? It's a huge building, and there's a lot to do. I've been through the airport bunches of times, so I've rounded it down to just a few places visitors should hit up in each terminal.

Are you Terminal 1 or Terminal 2?
A ton of airlines serve Tokyo Narita. Before you plan out your shopping trip, check the official list to see which terminal you'll be in. It's not easy to switch terminals, so you should stick to the one you arrive in (unless you have a rare airline switch for a Tokyo transfer).  

Eat/shop before passport control!
After passport control, it's just rice balls and soft drinks - and prices go up quite a bit. Once you leave this area,  you're pretty much just hanging out at your gate until departure.

Duty free is great for alcohol!
Duty free shops are very commonly not a bargain around the world for booze, cigarettes, or perfume. The exception to the rule is Japanese liquor. Personally, I don't leave Japan without a bottle of Suntory Hibiki 17, which at 6,000 yen is a solid deal for the whiskey that it is. 

The Best of Terminal 1

Can iPhone Be Used in Japan?

People love their iPhones, so I'm not surprised when visitors ask me if their phone will work in Japan.

People have heard that their cell phones won't work in Japan for a variety of reasons, but it's mostly old news. By now, just about any smartphone you buy can be made to work in Japan.

So yes, your iPhone can be used in Japan. 

Still, there are a few things to worry about if you do decide to bring your phone over, such as:

• Which models work
• Roaming fees
• Data roaming
• Changing your data usage
• Why WiFi won't do

There's a lot to cover, so let's get down to it.

Oden: a healthy Japanese food that's an acquired taste

Oden isn't the famous kind of Japanese food that tourists come to the country for, but locals and expats know it all too well.

It's a sort of cuisine - it's a collection of things that are boiled in a fishy broth. Everything that comes out is hot, and most of it is pretty heavy on the protein. So, it's really known as a winter food.

Oden is found everywhere. During the coldest winter months, you can find it in every convenience store, and the stores will even smell of the stuff during that time.

Here's a more detailed explanation from the Japan Visitor Blog:

Dashi [the broth oden is made in] is made with konbu seaweed and shaved tuna flakes (kezurikatsuo), so oden is not really vegetarian, though many of the other ingredients are staples for non-meat eaters: daikon radish, potatoes, konnyaku, kinchaku (mochi in a deep-fried tofu pouch) and tofu. Other things found in oden include boiled eggs, chikuwa fish cakes, folded seaweed, meatballs on sticks, sausages, octopus and sometimes skewered beef.

Personally, it's not for me. But at least I was brave enough to try it.

via Japan Visitor Blog

More Japanese Food Not Found in America

The Japanese don't really do teriyaki chicken. Here are 6 Japanese foods not found in America.

Hello Kitty's Japan Guide

Hello Kitty is popular with small kids - and the occasional college-age girl - but who knew the Japanese character could make a good introduction to Japanese culture that appeals to all ages?

A new book, Hello Kitty's Guide to Japan, features lots of friendly illustrations that are put to good use: regions of Japan feature their iconic qualities, such as Niigata's rice fields and sake.

What's more, there are solid explanations of nuanced parts of Japanese culture - even Buddhist funerals!

The book is bilingual, with writing in English and Japanese, which makes for good cross-cultural sharing across small kids. It also makes for good fodder for Japanese-English conversation partners.

Quoth Japan Subculture, which reviewed the book:

This book is not childish at all, read it and you will learn much about Japan and its people, children, youth, adults and elderly people. And there are absolutely no pictures of green tea KitKats or high-tech toilets. We expected this book to be awful—it turns out to be awfully entertaining.

You can grab a copy at Japan's domestic airports - except Narita, sadly.

via Japan Subculture

Need more Japan books?

Check out the Japan Books section of the Konnichiwhoa Mini-Shop. You'll find books on Japanese design, decoration, history and even crime. 

6 Real Japanese Foods Not Found in America

Sure, Americans love California rolls and teriyaki, but what do the Japanese make of those foods?

The LA Times put together a handy Venn diagram that shows what Americans (specifically, Los Angeles residents, or 'Angelenos') think to be Japanese food, and it's been compared to what native Japanese include in their own cuisine.

Sushi restaurant mainstays - like California rolls and mochi ice cream - were popular votes among Americans, as was teriyaki chicken, which is often served alongside the sushi at the same place.

Look at what the Japanese include in their own cuisine, though, and you'll find a few surprises. "Hamburg" is basically a hamburger patty served on its own and topped with a sauce. "Curry" is the same in substance to the Indian variety, but the flavor is closer to a beef stew than Chicken Tikka Masala.

Where to Eat in Japan: Restaurant Week!

Tokyo is a great city for eating with the most Michelin stars in the world. Right now, you can take advantage of the opportunity during Japan Restaurant Week, a promotion for dozens of the best restaurants in Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe. 

The cuisines covered are extensive and include Japanese teppanyaki, sushi, kaiseki, Kobe beef, fugu, Italian, French, Chinese, and even a few more past that.

Even though it's called Restaurant Week, it's actually weeks - three, to be exact. 

Another important number is eight. 7 restaurants featured in the Tokyo Michelin Guide are included in the bunch, and one from Osaka.

Participating restaurants offer lunch and dinners at set prices. Lunch is by far the cheapest, when you can eat at some of Japan's finest places for just 2,100 yen.Dinners are more expensive but still a relative bargain compared to what you'd usually pay at these places.

Prices are:
Lunch: 2,100 yen
Dinner: 5,250 yen or 7,350 (depending on the place)

Japan Restaurant Week runs from now through February 19, 2012.

via Japan Restaurant Week

Find cheap restaurants!

Get $3 beers and $7 dinners for a fulfilling evening under $10. Read the Konnichiwhoa Guide to where to eat in Japan.

Where to find free WiFi in Japan

With the proliferation of smartphones and lightweight laptops, many travelers wonder where to find free WiFi in Japan. We've found a map that can show you all of the WiFi hotspots in Japan, whether you're in the middle of the city or venturing out to a remote island.

The bad news, however, is that greater Tokyo offers less than 400 free WiFi access points. That's for a metropolis serving over 30 million people. 

The point is that free WiFi in Japan is very rare, and you should come prepared for that. If you stay in an expensive Western hotel, you may get lucky. But if you plan to stay in cheap hotels, you shouldn't bet on the free Internet access.

So, that leaves you with two options. You can pay for international data roaming and bring your smartphone or iPad 3G to Japan. The cheaper option is to go to an Internet cafe. Cafes are plentiful, convenient, comfortable and serve free drinks.

If you still want to try your luck with WiFi, visit the link below.

via Visit Japan LiveMap

Need a Japanese cell phone?

WiFi in Japan is hard to come across. If you need to communicate with people, you may want to rent a cell phone. Here's how to get a cell phone in Japan.