TOYOTA LEXUS Factory Tour @Kyushu

August 20, 2007 - 1:52 pm by akko@hakata in Travel  

Kyushu Toyota is one of the two factory, producing LEXUS, the premium brand of Toyota(Another one is in Tahara, Aichi), and the only one making LEXUS RX350.
It organizes Factory Tour!
- You can see LEXUS RX manufacturing flow!
- The whole factory tour take 1 hour and 25 minutes.
- Foreign visitors need to be accompanied by an [...]

Hello Kitty’s got a suntan! @ Canal City Hakata

- 9:06 am by akko@hakata in Others, Travel  

Forgot sunscreen?
Sunbaked Hello Kitty visited Canal City Hakata yesterday to amuse little children, and also, grown-ups!

If you have no time (or money!) to go all the way to Sanrio Puroland, a Hello Kitty theme park in Tokyo, this would be the perfect place to satisfy children.
Character show is held every other Sunday, with different characters.
This [...]

Get over heatwave! Outdoor air-conditioner @ Canal City Hakata

August 17, 2007 - 7:01 pm by akko@hakata in Others, Travel  

There’s a way to escape from the crazy heatwave of Japan (hit above 40 degrees centigrade (more than 120 degrees) in several cities!), other than to stay at home, whicih may be to go to Canal City Hakata.

Just touch it!

It’s being foggy now.

This is what makes Canal visitors cool and comfortable, let’s say, outdoor [...]

Tokyo ramen reviews in English!

August 15, 2007 - 9:05 pm by kamiosaki in Culture, Food, Travel  

http://www.ramentokyo.com
For reviews of Tokyo ramen shops in English, by a native, I definitely recommend that you check out this site. Frequently, foreigners in Tokyo (residents or visitors), are hesitant to go after “real” ramen, as opposed to the stand up 400 yen noodle shops on the train platforms. If you are concerned about not finding [...]

Hanging around Town Late at Night

August 11, 2007 - 10:11 pm by kiokitok in Food, Travel  

Once called a sleepless town, more shops and restaurants open until late or never close, as the demand toward them increases since a lot of people in Tokyo work at night and go to bed in the morning. Almost all of the convenience stores open 24 hours a day, of course. They used [...]

With the Style, Artistic Californian Resort Hotel in Hakata/Fukuoka

- 11:39 am by akko@hakata in Food, Travel  

If you’re seeking a most sophisticated hotel in Hakata (Fukuoka), my recommendation would be With the Style, an artistic Californians style resort hotel near Hakata Station. You can stay or just visit for lunch to escape from the city’s heat wave.

Food is wonderful, with the Western look and Japanese taste.
(Hakata/Fukuoka is on the sea, gifted [...]

World Peace Praying Sites of Nagasaki; as one of the two A-bombed cities following Hiroshima & `White Light/Black Rain’

August 8, 2007 - 6:27 pm by akko@hakata in Travel  

August 9th is the special memorial day for Nagasaki, for it is one of the two A-bombed city in the world, following Hiroshima in 1945, at the end of WW2.
To remember the tragedy of war, to decide not to make that happen again, praying for the eternal world peace, there are two memorial parks, [...]

Sweets Theme Parks

August 7, 2007 - 6:34 am by akko@hakata in Culture, Food, Others, Travel  

For many women in Japan, Sweets Theme Parks are paradice! It’s like an amusement park of sweets, offering not only cakes and puddings, but also the place to relax and talk!
During summer season (-Aug.31), they offer special varieties to cool us. Each shop is competing very hard to attract customers, with beautiful looking, delicious sweets, [...]

Shibamata

August 4, 2007 - 10:16 pm by kiokitok in Travel  

Located in the northeast of Ueno, Shibamata still preserves the atmosphere of old Tokyo. Getting off the Keisei line at Shibamata station, you walk through Sando, a tiny street leading you to the major temple or shrine. A lot of old buildings, most of them from the 1950s, are preserved along the street. [...]

Antenna Shops of Hakata; foods, cup-sake, Glico @ Canal City Hakata

- 12:43 pm by akko@hakata in Food, Travel  

Here’s another Antenna Shop. It’s in Canal City Hakata, the largest and fashionable shopping mall in Fukuoka, Kyushu.
It deals with, of course, Hakata local foods,

Not only that.
Glico sweets, and variety of Japanese specialities are also available,

including fashionably bottled sake.

We call the transparent ones especially `cup-sake‘.
It used to remind us of tired businessmen, for [...]