Tales of travel, humor, sarcasm and other nonsense.

Will our old friend Pikachu make an appearance?

Given Osaka’s size and commercial prowess, not to mention its reputation as a breeding ground for Japanese organized crime, the best American analogy might be Chicago.

Hiroshima today is a vibrant, bustling city. If you didn’t know an atomic bomb completely destroyed it, killing hundreds of thousands of people near the end of a war three-quarters of a century ago, you might not believe it actually happened.

Once upon a time, Kyoto was the largest and richest city in Japan; the seat of imperial power. Then the shoguns took over.

Though Kanazawa is only about 70 miles from Takayama, the difference is night and day. Or more like several centuries.

One of the old-era experiences that Takayama tourists can enjoy is a stay in a ryokan, a unique kind of hotel in which the guests follow certain rigid traditions of Japanese life long ago.

It takes about 30 minutes by train to get to Yokohama from central Tokyo. Yokohama could easily be considered a Tokyo suburb if it wasn’t Japan’s second-largest city.

I highly doubt U2 were referring to Tokyo in their famous hit song. It just seemed like a good title to steal.

It seems the Japanese prefer smaller things. Sometimes really creepy smaller things.