Posted in: Tourism boom sends prices soaring at Niseko ski resort See in context
Why blame tourists? Why not blame those who are raising their prices to exploit tourists?
I've never been to Niseko, or known anybody who has been there, but what is so special about it? I think there are a lot of other ski resorts in Japan that offer powder snow and great skiing/snowboarding. Aomori has some great ski areas, but for some reason Niseko is the magnet, but not sure why?
And now that they are being gouged these tourists should find other places to visit.
with a private lodging operator in Rankoshi, a town in the Niseko area, saying he raised his nightly rates by more than 10 percent from 88,000 yen to 99,000 yen due to the weaker yen.
He raised his prices just to get more money, it has nothing to do with the weak yen!
Full of Aussies trying hard to make the place Aussie.
I have been to the Niseko and Rankoshi areas. There is a simple explanation here. Niseko has great powder snow that is fine for skiing. The explanation is that Japan is open to foreign ownership of land and foreign investment, and Niseko is a victim of a large influx of foreign ownership. As John-san notes, Niseko is full of Aussies trying hard to make the place Aussie. About 33 percent of foreigners living in Niseko are Australian, and a great deal of the overseas marketing of Niseko skiing is to Australians, therefore, when private lodging operators raise their rates by more than 10 percent due to the weaker yen, it is a business decision to keep the Australian prices at the same rates, not to gouge residents of Japan with higher prices. Residents of Japan are not the targets of the Niseko marketing. Hokkaido residents know to head to Niseko as day trippers, and to stay in less expensive places if they are money-conscious. Or, to head to the powder slopes of Furano instead of going to Niseko. The Japanese who have not sold out their lands in the Niseko/Rankoshi area are critical of their compatriots who did sell out, and often complain about the numbers of foreigners in the area. I have seen figures that foreign ownership of land in the area is about 7 percent. It is certainly not being used for agriculture, like much of the area was before the foreign influx. Other ski areas in Japan are noting the experience of Niseko and considering what they can do to make sure they do not become quite the foreign havens that Niseko has become. I miss the old Niseko area with the dilapidated old hotels and hot springs that disappeared during the ski resort boom, but that era is past. Those who complain about price gouging are mostly those who didn't sell out or those who have memories of the way things were. We miss the byegone era. And the younger Australian and other foreign tourists who flock to Niseko know nothing about how isolated and country it used to be. They should not be blamed for the changes that were made as a result of foreign investment and ownership of the wonderful ski industry. It put a lot of money in the pockets of those who sold their lands for the development and for the tax base of the Niseko area governments. The infrastructure, unfortunately, has not kept pace with the tourism growth, and the roads need to be expanded for the number of tour buses plying the routes from the Chitose (Sapporo) airport to keep the tourists in the limited area if the other people of Hokkaido do not want the tourist dollars and headaches associated with them. With growth comes change.
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Posted in: Frosty face-off: Over 120 teams throw down in epic Japanese snowball tournament See in context
Yukigassen - a word I first learned when sitting in an outdoor hot spring one winter in Daisetsusan in 1989. I met a fellow and two women who were heading to the hot spring and they invited me to join them. We all sat in the rotenburo and grabbed snow from where it was gently about 50 cm deep about 10 cm from the spring, and made and gently lobbed snowballs at each other. If we were hit, we just brushed the remnants of the snowballs into the hot spring and kept on going. Hot spring yukigassen is the best way to enjoy lobbing snowballs. I wonder if Uonuma participants enjoy the Niigata hot springs after the matches.
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Posted in: Legal hurdles keep high-profile rape victim's film off Japan screens See in context
I think there is a simple way around this if Ito could fund a re-enactment of the dragging from the taxi into the hotel scene and re-enactments of the interviews in question. Then, a note in the Japanese release of the film that these events actually happened but because of Japanese domestic societial restrictions, the Japanese release contains re-enactments only for the dragging and interviews, but that they are true to the actual footage.
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Posted in: Trump pressure to boost Japan defense spending could strain alliance See in context
This is a tradeoff? Either increase your defense spending and take some of the burden off the states or pony up your share of the tariffs for running a controlled economy that keeps foreign goods out. Simple choice, really. Which will Ishiba and the LDP choose?
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Posted in: When danger strikes, how should foreign visitors to Japan be alerted? See in context
NCIS Reruns, I agree that it is sensible to advise people to be on their guards. I was questioning the opinion of the Nikkan Gendai that because tourists in general, most of whom are Japanese, were "living in fear" that this meant that foreign tourists would also be living in fear over a single incident that happened in Kyoto. It is the problem of equating tourists to foreigners that I am objecting to, not the idea that all people should be warned that there was a stabbing crime in the area.
According to an AI source on the Internet, In 2023, about 5.36 million foreign visitors visited Kyoto, Japan, which was the highest number since 1958. This was part of a total of 81.19 million tourists visiting Kyoto Prefecture in 2023, with most visitors being domestic. If these figures are still the case, it indicates that over 93 percent of the tourists visiting Kyoto are Japanese, and slightly less than seven percent are foreign.
Tourists visiting Kyoto should not be conflated to foreign tourists to Kyoto. Yet, when the Kyoto residents express their concerns about being overrun by tourists in other articles that are posted in Japan Today and other media targetting non-Japanese readers/listeners, the stories invariably feed the perception that Kyoto is being overrun by foreign visitors. 5.4 million foreigners is a bunch, for sure, but 76 million Japanese tourists are so much more. When we have Japanese on foreigner stabbing crimes, this story will become much more significant to the foreign tourist community. Even then, one of 5.4 million is not statistically significant unless that one is you or me.
Totally unrelated, though, I wonder what happened in 1958 for it to be such a peak year for foreign tourists in Kyoto. All I can easily find is that some 50 colorfully-garbed Buddhist monks march from the Buddhist goddess of Mercy Statue in Kyoto, Japan on May 11, 1958, after the unveiling of a memorial to Allied dead of World War II on June 8, 1958. Surely that did not cause such a spike in foreign tourism that it took over 60 years to replicate.
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Posted in: When danger strikes, how should foreign visitors to Japan be alerted? See in context
But what Nikkan Gendai wanted to know was, what sort of action, if any, was taken to warn out-of-town visitors following the stabbings? "The number of staff at the tourist service counter inside Nagano station was boosted, and the state of alert was raised for visitors," said a worker at the Nagano Tourist Convention Bureau. In 2023, noted Nikkan Gendai, some 1.41 million foreign tourists spent at least one night in Nagano Prefecture.
"Even local residents are living in fear," the reporter opined, "so tourists in an unfamiliar place, who don't understand the language, must also be frightened to learn of such a heinous crime -- no matter how much they have been assured that Japan is safe." The article ends by asking, in an ironic tone, "Since when did Japan become such an unsafe country?"
What a dofus repoprter! A single stabbing in Nagano near the bus center. I don't imagine foreign tourists were concerned at all if they heard about it. BETSUNI, it doesn't concern me is the probable attitude amongst tourists. If several incidents occured in the same area, and if foreigners were the targets, foreigners might take note.
The real question should be, what was the reaction of Japanese tourists to the increased police activity around the area of the stabbin? But to conflate Japanese tourist attitudes to foreign attitudes is a major problem not only for the Nikkan Gendai, but for many Japanese organizations, newspapers, and governments.
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Posted in: Massive sinkhole in Saitama highlights risk of old pipes See in context
Are we to take this as subterranean rivers of sewage could swallow up anyone anywhere at anytime?
Yes, and it will continue to happen in Japan and other parts of the world. Stuff of nightmares and infastructure engineers. Perhaps it will be come a new horror movie topic, like the old movies of the swamp creatures in lagoons, and scifi type movies like the 1966 Fantastic Voyage, except in this case it might be a submarine crew who is shrunk to microscopic size and sent forth to scope out aging pipes. Who knows what evil lies in the pipes under Tokyo and other cities?
Outmoded infrastructure lies beneath many major cities in the world, and sinkholes will become more common, unfortunately.
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Posted in: Trump says Japanese PM will visit him next week; talks about Abe See in context
That's because he doesn't even know what the PM's name is.
ten to one that President Trump calls him Prtime Minister Babushika, it sounds close enough to Ishiba to Trump's ears. Ishiba/Babushika/Ishiba/Babushika, yup, it could be ingrained easily.
Harder to remember than Honest Abe, Trumps old friend.
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Posted in: Taiwan actress Barbie Hsu dies in Japan after contracting pneumonia triggered by flu See in context
Uncommon to hear of people dying of flu. No it isn't, just not covered as a hot topic on the news. Flu vaccines only 40 percent effective. Other opinions ad infinitim. Gotta wear masks because of all those foreigners coming to Japan, especially the Chinese who don't wear masks. China bashing, heartless racist garbage.
Certainly is that 100 percent of people die from life. We should be enjoying life and respecting other people doing the same. Good luck to all and do your best to keep physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy and contribute to others efforts to do the same.
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Posted in: How AI chatbots 'talk people' into committing suicide See in context
It is not bad parenting, it is bad programming.
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Posted in: Credit card ticketing on public transport nationwide planned for 2026 See in context
Wow, is the rest of Japan this slow? Backwaters Kagoshima streetcars and buses are so convenient because foreign credit cards work well, just touch and pass through.
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Posted in: 6 things I wish someone had told me about job hunting in Japan See in context
Reading the above article leaves me with the question, why do foreigners want to come to Japan to live and work? What is it that makes a foreigner think he or she would enjoy living in Japan and fit into the Japanese business culture? What unique skills does a foreigner bring that would be a plus to a Japanese firm? The answers to these questions would be helpful in determining whether the foreign worker would be successful working in a Japanese environment. I have lived in Japan for 19 years out of the past 50, but have only worked in a Japanese office (the city hall where I live now) for the past two years. All the other times I was working for non-Japanese entities where the work environment is not like a Japanese business or government office. I bring a breadth of international experience to my current job, but it and my age still do not make me fit into the Japanese work environment. With my experience, though, I know better than to expect that it would.
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Posted in: Two boys arrested for throwing raw eggs at police box in Shizuoka Prefecture See in context
Now, this was an educational experience for the two boys, and now they know that there are cameras around the koban. They will be more careful if there is a next time. Perhaps target practice from longer distances.
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Posted in: Orderly line-up See in context
It doesn't pay to be subtle in these posters. The largest print should be in English, Chinese, and Korean, with the Japanese print smaller. PLEASE FORM A LINE AND BOARD AFTER OTHERS GET OFF THE TRAIN would be more explicit. And the poster could show the lines where the passengers line up so that they don't block the doors. The signs in the trains could also read THESE SEATS ARE RESERVED FOR THE ELDERLY, PREGNANT, OR THOSE WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS. PLEASE YIELD SEATS WITHOUT BEING ASKED (or given the evil eye.)
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Posted in: Trucker still stuck in sinkhole after 24 hours See in context
Desert tortiose....I googled "how much can a helicopter lift " and the answer was, for light helicopters, 1200 to 4000 pounds. Bigger helicopters lift much more. I remembered the scene in Apocalypse Now when the river boat was helicoptered downstream Maybe if the authorities "got a bigger helicopter " ?
More cowbell, please /s. Prayers for the families of the deceased and injured rescue workers, too.
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Posted in: Sticking with tradition: Vietnam's glutinous 12-hour Tet cake See in context
Way better than mochi
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Posted in: Large sinkhole swallows truck in Saitama Prefecture; man still trapped See in context
thank goodness I’m downstream
and thank goodness that many gases escape upward. still, makes us wonder about plenty of older infrastructure in place. I remember a couple of years ago, probably close to the beginning of Corona, when a large sinkhole (compared to this so far) opened up in Fukuoka near Hakata Station. Still no word on the driver? In this case, no news is probably bad news.
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Posted in: Osaka bans street smoking ahead of World Expo See in context
I don't think most smoking bans are widely enforced with fines in Japan. I would welcome a story with the data on correlation between fines and compliance with the law. Smoking has certainly gone down in many places where it has been banned. I remember when there was plenty of smoking on the platforms when waiting for trains and subways; now there is none. The cities where smoking is not banned in the downtown areas are now noticable because so many major cities have banned smoking. I am surprised that it has not been banned in Osaka until now. It takes a while after things are banned before behaviour catches up. I can still remember the big push to stop taxi drivers to stop uninating in public in front of Umeda station where there was a bit of grass beside the taxi parking lot in about 1990. Now, I don't think there are any taxi drivers or pedistrians relieving themselves in public in front of the station. Hurray for the smoking ban.
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Posted in: U.S. Marine in Okinawa not indicted for alleged sexual assault See in context
This guy was just lucky. He would be kicked out of military soon. Military worries about such a crime again there. That is a big headache for military. He is back home and would do same crime again. Most criminals did it again in the past
No way jose, this isn't a crime in todays US defence department. His daddy owns him Hegseth Junior.
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Posted in: Participate or keep it quiet? Recent sing-alongs tap into larger discussion on moviegoing etiquette See in context
Yall are just too young to remember the Rocky Horror Picture Show, aren't you? The ultimate audience participation film.
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Posted in: Tsunami alert lifted after M6.7 earthquake rattles southwestern Japan See in context
Yes, we felt it here in eastern Kagoshima prefecture, too, but I didn't jump out of bed and run outside in my PJs. My phone started squaking "Earthquake alert, earthquake alert" about 2 seconds before we felt it, and it lasted about 15 seconds, which seems like a long time. It took about ten to 15 minutes before it registered on the Japanese and USG Earthquake websites. I was surprised b/c I thought they were as automated as the cell phone alert system.
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Posted in: Man arrested for abandoning body of 85-year-old mother who possibly committed suicide See in context
Maybe the landlord tried to revive her and moved her body? As this information came from the police, what additional information can they provide to the news services to shed light on what little is contained in this article?
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Posted in: 2,663 people died in traffic accidents in 2024, National Police Agency says See in context
I tried looking for the number of deaths that were of pedestrians hit by cars, as Japan's pedestiran deaths from being hit is usually much higher than the rest of the world at large, and more of the elderly being hit than other ages, but was unable to find it. Here is the mainichi article that gives more details.
https://mainichi.jp/articles/20250107/k00/00m/040/240000c
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Posted in: Japanese actor dropped from beer ad campaign after drunken escapade See in context
Yet at Daiso and at grocery stores, 'children's beverages' in amber and rose shades are sold in bottles the shape of beer bottles, seemingly designed to allow children to pretend they are drinking along with adults. Like the old candy cigarettes, these seemingly innocent beverages are designed to whet children's appetites for habit forming substances that are best left alone. Low alcohol drinks are just things to prime the pump for higher alcohol substances.
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Posted in: Blooming hard: Taiwan's persimmon growers struggle See in context
I have stopped at abondoned trees and harvested the fruits, and also stopped at houses with a tree full and asked if they are going to eat them. Many people say, no, go ahead and take all you want. I have some shibugaki (the sour type until they turn really soft) that are ripening in my kitchen right now. Persimmon are great fruits, full of antioxidants.
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Posted in: 81-year-old man arrested for attempted murder of wife with hammer See in context
Reminds me of Paul McCartney's song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" about Maxwell who goes about plunking people with a hammer. 1969 Abbey Road song, perhaps this guy was a Beatles fan.
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Posted in: The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people See in context
I've seen Japanese doing most if not all of these things. Glad that the Japanese don't list chikan (groping) and sleeping on the next person's shoulder as as annoying foreign behaviour on trains - but foreigners can list these as things Japanese riders do to foreigners on Japanese trains. I've had women sleeping on my shoulder countless times, and some of my friends have been groped on crowded commuter trains without any recourse other than screaming 'chikan' so that everyone around them moves a couple of centimeters away and looking at each other to find the perp. I am 70 now, and often find the elderly seats crowded with young Japanese who don't get up for me or any other senior, and when someone gets up from the elderly seats, it always seems like someone with young legs can move faster to get to the seat than any slow moving elderly person who is standing in front of the seat hoping that it will open and they can finally sit down for a few stops and rest.
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Posted in: Hanoi declared world's most polluted city See in context
I spent five days in Hanoi this week and the city is nice to visit except for this smog. Í, too, expected the fog to burn away the first two days, but it never did. No blue skies and no starry nights. Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh were the same way. It is pretty bad when the air is dirtier than the ground. Hope the government is successful in getting things cleaned up.
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Posted in: Worried that your kids could be losing tradition after living abroad? See in context
Good luck in Australia for Christmas. I recall when my children were young and we skipped Christmas at home (We were living in Ghana) and took off for a national park in northern Ghana. We spent Christmas morning without a tree, and with few presents and instead went out to watch the elephants and wart hogs. My children took a long time to get over the trama of this adventure because they felt they were cheated of the traditions of Christmas, and my 38 yo daughter still talks of it, although she admits now that it was an interesting and perhaps fun vacation. She is big on kitsch and tradition. This comes up in our family because I am living in Kagoshima and separate from my family this year. I am taking advantage of Christmas and the New Year break to travel to Taiwan, Vietnam, and Cambodia. My daughter has reminded me that I am traveling again like we did in Ghana in 2001, rather than participating in Christmas traditions. I envy you your Australian adventure.
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Posted in: Japan unveils new passport with plastic photo page to prevent forgery See in context
Probably Japan has much less counterfeit cases than some countries that had to adopt the plastic stuff a decade ago.
My thoughts too. I recall zero reports about the counterfeiting of Japanese passports or of Japanese visas, for that matter. These will be more expensive to produce than the older Japanese passports, and, unfortunatley for Japanese living abroad who have to renew passports, will cause a longer wait as the passports will have to be produced at the National Printing Bureau rather than at the embassies overseas. The United States got out of making the identity page of the passports at our embassies in about 1999 or so. I was working at the US embassy in Nepal at the time. It was a sad day as when people wanted to renew their passports, we accepted the applications and sent them to Washington digitally and had to wait for the physical passport to be sent to us to distribute to the Americans applying for renewal in Nepal. It is a big pain all around, especially for the counterfeiters.
Japan has had biometrics for a good while. Now with the extra counterfeiting measures, it will cost more and take more time to get renewed passports. For those who lose their passports overseas, it can mean they have to either wait several weeks for newly issued passports in the country where they lost their old passports, or get a special limited validity emergency passport (still takes a bit of time) from the embassy that will guarantee them additional scrutiny wherever they go until they get it replaced with a new passport.
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Posted in: Frozen in time: Hospital room preserved since 1945 Tokyo firebombing
Posted in: Death of S Korean actor at 24 sparks discussion about social media and internet culture
Posted in: Japan targets 60% emissions cut by 2035 from 2013 levels
Posted in: Death of S Korean actor at 24 sparks discussion about social media and internet culture