Toppy Jetfoil Yakushima

Toppy jetfoil Yakushimaトッピフェリー屋久島

There are several ways of getting to Yakushima, an island that is a World Heritage Site located off the coast of Kyushu.

From Kagoshima, perhaps the most pleasant option is a two-hour ride on the "Toppy" jetfoil.

"Toppy" means flying fish in the local dialect, and the boat does indeed "fly."

On the day we rode across the bay to Yakushima, the seas were rough but the ride smooth once the jetfoil kicked in and the boat lifted up and out of the water as it glided forward.

The fee is 7,000 yen one way.

For those who prefer a slower, cheaper, and possibly rougher ride, regular ferry service is also available. The Yakushima Ferry 2 departs Kagoshima New Port in the morning, and costs 5,000 one way for a four-hour ride to the island. For an extra fee, you can bring your car as well.

(Flights are available from Kagoshima Airport, but as the airport is so far outside the city this is not a good option. If you are coming , however, from Kansai - Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara - flights from Itami Airport take one hour and 15 minutes.)


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24 Kaikan Sauna: Gay Shinjuku

24会館

24 Kaikan, gay sauna, Shinjuku Nichome, Tokyo.


24-Hour Kaikan is a gay sauna, part of a chain, located at the back of Shinjuku Ni-Chome, and, with 8 floors, is the biggest cruising premises in the area. As the name indicates, 24-Hour Kaikan is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Foreigners are welcome, and staff speak limited English.

The 2,600 yen entrance fee, payable by vending machine in the entrance, is for a 13-hour stay: 200 yen-per-hour after that. (A 6-hour “short stay” on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. is also possible for 2,000 yen: 200 yen-per-hour after that.)

The procedure is: put shoes in locker and change into slippers, buy admission ticket from vending machine, take shoe locker key and ticket to the front desk, and receive a clothes locker key and a bag with robe, face cloth, and bath towel. The reception floor also has a snack room.

There is parking on the first floor (600 yen for first 3 hours). There is a dry sauna, steam room, communal bath, and tanning beds on the 3rd floor. There is a video room on the 4th floor, and private rooms on the 5th, 6th, and 7th floors.

Private rooms are expensive (from 3,800 yen to 21,000 yen depending on numbers and time slot) so most action takes place in the common rooms on the 4th, 5th, and 6th floors - so much action in fact that if on weekends you manage to find a space on a futon to lie down, sleep is often difficult. Being a roomful of scores of guys, there is naturally a lot of snoring. Being a roomful of guys there for hooking up, there is also naturally a lot of moaning and groaning, huffing and puffing, and those on the cruising front lines scouring the scene for hookups with subtle groping of likely looking sleeping forms.

Foreigners are not all uncommon at 24 Kaikan Shinjuku, and, while most Japanese guys are not very forthcoming and are unlikely to make the first move, if you know what you want and stay tuned, your chances are as good as anywhere else in the world. The easiest Japanese guys to hook up with are gaisen, i.e. those into foreign guys, but they do not necessarily form the limits of your cruising experience in Japan. Those who don't think of themselves as gaisen might just need a little more effort on your part.

24 Kaikan also has a rooftop floor, equipped with another suntan room and a cold bathtub.

Condoms (kondomu in Japanese) are available free of charge.

Upon entry, you may be asked to show your passport or alien registration card.

Read more about gay Japan

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Food Poisoning Chihana Kyoto Three-Star Restaurant

食中毒千花

One of Kyoto's most revered kaiseki restaurants Chihana, a recipient of three stars from the Michelin Guide, was recently cited in a food poisoning case.

On February 26th, a party of eight suffered high fever and diarrhea after dining at the world famous restaurant.

As a result, Kyoto city ordered the restaurant closed for business for three days from March 4 - 6.

The eight patrons ranged in age from 32 to 58, and all were from the Kyoto area.

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Kyoto National Museum Treasures of the Hapsburg Monarchy

Kyoto  National Museum京都国立博物館ハプスブルク

The Kyoto National Museum, the wonderful Meiji Era brick pile across the street from Sanjusangendo and a high-end Hyatt Hotel, is currently showing a fantastic series of paintings and other items until March 14.

2010 marks the 140th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Japan and Austria-Hungary.

To celebrate this event, some 120 paintings and decorative art works from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the Szépmüvészati Múzeum in Budapest are on display.

These works were formerly owned by the Hapsburgs, who ruled much of Europe for over six hundred years.

They were in addition patrons of many painters, such as Durer, Velazquez, Rubens, Raphael, Titian, and Goya.

There is also an album of one hundred Japanese paintings and two lacquered shelves decorated with makie (sprinkled metal design) presented by Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) to Emperor Franz Joseph (1830-1916) as a token of their friendship.

The details are stunning. The birds and insects in particular are wonderful.

Treasures of the Hapsburg Monarchy
Until March 14
9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (Entrance Until 5:30 p.m.)
Fridays 9:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. (Entrance Until 7:30 p.m.)
1500 yen for adults

Suggestion: Go towards the end of the day. You will have Durer and Rembrandt almost all to yourself.

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Japan Newsletter Spring 2010

ジャパンニュースレター

Please join our Japan Visitor newsletter if you are planning a trip to Japan AND to win some great prizes this month.

Even if you may never visit the country but are just interested in things Japanese please subscribe to our monthly newsletter to keep up with the latest travel and cultural news from Japan.

Take a look at March's Japan Visitor newsletter to see what you will receive in your email inbox.

Japan Newsletter Spring 2010

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Nagoya Friends at Harry's Diner in Sakae THIS SAT!! 3/13


83rd party in Nagoya!
at

featuring food from Charlie’s

  • Date: Saturday March 13th, 2010
  • Time: 7pm-9:30pm
  • Bar is open till 2am and party guests can stay on for the live set at no extra charge!!!
  • Drinks will be served between 7:00pm-9:15pm.
  • Place: Harry’s Diner (very close to Sakae Station)
  • Fee: 3000 Yen
  • Dress code: Anything (Casual, etc)
  • Reservations: Not necessary but recommended and appreciated. Just show up to the party!

There will be free food along with free drinks (beers, wine, cocktail drinks and juices). Our party is not a dinner party, but we will have light food & snacks. Quantities are limited, so please come early! Please free to come alone or bring your friends. EVERYBODY is welcome to join regardless of nationality/gender. Reservation is greatly appreciated. About 125-150+ people are expected to attend. Approximately 55% female and 45% male, 70% Japanese and 30% non-Japanese. Pictures from previous Nagoya Friends Parties.

Map & Directions

Contact: 080-3648-1666(Japanese) 080-5469-6317(English)

Get off at Sakae Station [Exit #12 or 13]

Harry’s Diner (M-COT (エムコット) Sakae B1
4-4-17 Sakae, Nagoya (very close to Sakae Station)

Harry’s Diner is located in the Sakae business/shopping district.

Subway access from Sakae Station (serving the yellow and purple lines) Exit 12 or 13. It’s a big station connected to a huge underground shopping mall so you’ll need to do a little underground walking.

We’re also just a couple of minutes’ walk from the Tokyu and Precede hotels, and a 10 minute walk up Hirokoji Street from the Hilton Hotel in Fushimi.

Train Directions
  • From Nagoya Stn. take the Higashiyama Subway line to Sakae Station (GET OFF at Sakae Station!!) Take exit #13 and then walk straight AWAY from Hirokoji-Dori for about 3/4 of a block. TURN LEFT Harry’s diner is three and a half blocks down on the left side of the street in the middle of the block.

Sakae Station
Higashiyama Line


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The Nichiyu Truck

ニチユウ



In Tokyo and looking for beetroot, Italian rucola, fresh cassava, Amazon fruits like acai and cupuacu?

Nichiyu International is a company in Tokyo that started as a foodstuffs provider for the sizeable Brazilian Japanese community here. The company runs a fleet of truck-stores that vend foodstuffs around the Tokyo area.

However, not long ago Nichiyu discovered that there was a bigger market than just the Brazilian one. There are also Philippine, Turkish, Russian, and other ethnicities in Tokyo each with their own special culinary demands. Therefore, the Nichiyu truck now caters to a range of non-Japanese communities in the greater Tokyo area.



Not only that, but the company’s diversification has taken it beyond foodstuffs. While in the truck buying groceries, you can also buy Brazilian weekly magazines, exotic beauty products or a homemade Brazilian-style lunchbox.

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