TrevorPeace comments

Every time I travelled to Japan (yearly from 2011-2019) I've landed at Haneda, caught the monorail to Hamamatsucho station, stayed at the same hotel for one night and buggered off into the countryside using my JR pass. I may be 'familiar' with the country I love to visit, but every trip has taken me to different places, small and remote, mostly, because that's where and when the culture shines. And that's what international travel is all about - culture. Same thing will happen starting October 8, when I return for a month into the Japanese Alps.

@bass4funk - once a crook, always a crook. Why do you mindlessly go on perpetuating the myth that the guy's respectable? He was an egotistical narcissist as a fake 'president'. You a member of his family?

One word - hideous.

How can they 'scramble' to help a mere handful of students? Sounds like tabloid panic, to me.

Wanted to visit it the last time I was in Sendai, but got to the closest rail station and discovered the walk was a bit too far. And no taxis anywhere near the that really small station platform. But it's an impressive sight, that's for sure.

I wouldn't spend my tourism dollars on any place like Thailand.

@Keepyer Internetpoints: Chilean and Russian salmon? That's one of the dumbest things I've ever read about salmon. Try some wild-caught from Alaska or British Columbia. I fish for them. I eat them. Never, ever would I buy one from Chile or Russia. Or a fish farm for that matter. But, go ahead and pick what you want to eat. It's your life.

They're not the highest-level representatives but they have to start somewhere.

No link in the article. And as a Canadian coming to visit in about ten days for the month of October, I don't need to apply online. Pretty dumb article.

A couple of juveniles that should be expelled from the country. After a hefty fine and confiscation of whatever equipment they're using for their pranks.

If the ladies aren't finished with their (very serious) protest, and they're forced to be called up, they should simply throw the games with substandard performances.

And no mention of Tokyo's night-time light pollution?

¥3-billion? That's about $30-million, plus or minus a few bucks. Not even a drop in the bucket. A nuclear-armed ICBM costs more.

They're both just over-hyped celebrities, and covering either of them with an 'exclusive reporter' (if I can call such an unprofessional journalist that) simply shows how low the tabloid press goes. i don't live in a celebrity world, so why should I bother reading the tripe about them that's published? Anyone who does really needs to get a life.

Who really cares? Let the Hermit Kingdom live up to its name. It'll come out of its shell eventually, and until then it doesn't really matter, excepting of course it's military threats.

And here I am thinking about packing my small athletic bag for my October trip to Japan. No change from past trips - one bag, extra pair of jeans, 6-7 pairs of socks, one or two t-shirts (I always buy more of those in Japan), small bag of toiletries (hotels have razors and shaving cream, and toothpaste and toothbrushes) and a few prescriptions. And my camera bag, which goes under the seat in front of me. The whole 'luggage' bag can easily be crunched down to half its size and take up less space than my desktop printer. Keep it light, and it's a piece of cake. And all of my trips to Japan have lasted 4-6 weeks. Hotels have laundry facilities. No problem there. And travelling light sure makes it easy to walk through terminals. Never could understand those people with two or three wheeled hard-cased pieces of expensive luggage. Who needs their entire home wardrobe while on holiday?

The story says a 15-ton beam collapsed. Before blaming the construction company, ask these two questions: Where did the beam come from? Who made it?

It's time to process those scallops in Japan. It's really not that tough.

Sink 'em all. Without Russian ships in the Black Sea it will be up to the other nations with coastal waters there. Sadly, that includes Turkey, which should be expelled from NATO.

Photo makes the decorative door fixtures in the background look like her headdress. In other words, lousy.

Nothing like bookies stealing money from the stupid.

Just a bunch of CCP weenies. No backbone. Xi's pets.

If they work a 40-hour week, more power to them. But I somehow doubt that's the case.

That photo blows me away. You mean there's a village at the fifth stage of the climb? That's not mountain climbing.

I didn't know a person had to 'graduate' to become a maid.

I don't know how they can call that photo 'farmland'.

Tennis spectators should shut the hell up while play is going on. Cheer after a point, but give some respect to those of us who appreciate the game. I would certainly smack a rabble-rouser sitting next to me, even if it got me thrown out of the stands.

Took them long enough.

One might think that all the Okinawan government needs to do is promote to its citizens the idea of turning their backs on American military personnel and refusing to acknowledge or serve them when they're off-base. But, of course, there's too much cash involved. And we certainly can't have the prostitutes going out of business.

VrethToday 01:09 pm JST

If any of the Fukushima fish trigger a worldwide pandemic that lasts several years then they can talk.

I can understand your sentiment relative to China's cause of Covid, but a 'worldwide pandemic'? Choose better words.