Japan Experience

The Kobe Eathquake

Advantages: It ensured protection for the future
Disadvantages: It was a worldwide disaster

** The Geography of Kobe ** The Kobe earthquake happened in Kobe is Japan (shown on the map to the right). Kobe has the the sea on one side of the city and big mountains on the other side creating a lovely post-card views. The most common nationality of Kobe is Korean, the second most common nationality is Chinese, third is Vietnamese and the forth is American The city has an average temperature of 17.1°C. Kobe currently now has a population of 1,533,852 ...
...to 14 years old. Kobe also has a very good economy with having one of the busiest shipping ports in that area. Kobe is also home to many headquarters of big companies such as Mitsubishi motors and industries. **Why did it happen? ** The Kobe earthquake (also refereed/known as The Great Hanshin Earthquake), happened at 5:46am on Tuesday, January 17th 1995. It had a magnitude of 7.2 which is nearly twice as powerful as the earthquake in Dover 2 years ...

mad.man.560 14.03.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Kobe

Lost in Translation

Advantages: Friendly people, good train links, plenty of interesting places to visit
Disadvantages: Nightlife options are limited, truly dreadful wine.

Japan has been on my must visit list for about eight years, however for one reason or another, I never quite got around to it until now. It was finally decided whilst on last years holiday that 2008 would be the year for Japan and I visited for two weeks in March. Getting there and around I travelled to Japan from my home in Bermuda via New York, the flight from New York is about 14 hours and I paid for it with air miles. For the benefit ...
...courtesy of expedia and a direct flight from the UK takes about 12 hours and at the moment seems to cost around £650 - £800. This seems a little expensive compared to some other Far East destinations, however I am sure there are sales from time to time and there are several carriers to choose from offering direct flights namely; BA, Virgin, JAL and ANA. I chose to fly to and from Tokyo (Narita airport), however it is also possible to fly to Osaka ...

Cat199 14.10.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of General: Japan

Mount Fuji

Advantages: Must-go place in Japan
Disadvantages: No

In my last trip to Japan, I took a day trip to the world famous Mount Fuji. It's been dormant for many years and its last eruption was over 100 years ago. The weather was very good and it was a very lovely scene. For photo tips, it's better to take pictures from distance on the way in or out , but not on the mountain itself. You need to go through eight stations to get to the top of the mountain. We can drive up to the fifth station, the highest ...
...climbers as the mountain is only open to them for two months(July and August) each year. There is a post office at the station where you can buy a post card and send back home-which can be a great souvenir for friends and family. If you don't want to drive, the best day you can do is to join the local tours. I have included the opeartaors: http://www.japanican.com/index.aspx ...

medgenie 26.06.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Mt Fuji (Japan)

Konnichiwa! Tips for Visiting Japan Part 3

Advantages: Successful communication feels like an achievement
Disadvantages: It pays to invest some time and effort

<10> Communication Welcome to the third and final part of my top ten tips for visitors to Japan. Having looked last time at the potential pitfalls for gaijin (foreigners) in blowing their noses and taking a bath amongst other hazards, this time I'm dealing with the biggest minefield of the lot - the all-important business of communication. So here is tip number 10. The Devil's Language… The brick wall up against which most foreign ...
...course the Japanese language itself. It's said that in the sixteenth century the missionary St Francis Xavier, on discovering the difficulty westerners had in deciphering a single word spoken or written by the Japanese people, concluded that Japanese had been devised by the devil to prevent Christian missionaries from doing their good works there. Consequently Japanese, which seemed impenetrable to foreigners at the time, became commonly known as ...

Mitsudan 25.02.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of General: Japan

Easy travel in Japan!

Advantages: easy to use, use as many time as you want during valid day
Disadvantages: limited location to exchange voucher

Traveling in Japan is quite costly. So having a Japan Rail (JR) Pass is an excellent way for the foreigners to see Japan. However, you want to evaluate your situation before purchasing the JR pass as if you do not use it, there will be about 20% service fee for unused ticket refund or not getting full value for the money. Confusing? It could be... but it is fairly simple. JR pass: (quick overview) 1* pre-purchased Exchange Order (voucher) outside ...
...must complete "Application form for Japan Rail Pass Exchange" per person. If you do not speak or understand Japanese, you might want to consider printing and filling the form before arrival. I hate to say it, but customer Service towards non-speakers of Japanese is not always positive. Also, not all speak English well. To be on a good side, be prepared! Do check out the website and find out how it works. Remember, you will need "passport" for each ...

mckey 21.01.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Japan Rail Pass