I would liken this place to the Alcatraz Island in San Francisco where it’s main attraction is a prison museum. The Abashiri Prison a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the city’s new maximum security prison is still in use. It is an important local port city and railroad terminal. This little city has some mini attractions that will make the trip worth your while. Since the area is a fishing port, you can expect to find some of the freshest catch, in particular crab. Gastronomically, Abashiri would be a great place to have seafood.

Also, like every city in Hokkaido, Abashiri has it’s own brewery that churns out bottles of Abashiri Beer. You can take a tour in the brewery and do some beer sampling.

There are two other museums around the city to check out Museum of Northern Peoples (北方民族博物館 Hoppō minzoku hakubutsukan) and Museum of Northern Peoples (北方民族博物館 Hoppō minzoku hakubutsukan). The latter is a museum devoted to pack ice, a strangely devoted skill which is oddly a subject of fascination for the Japanese.

To get to Abashiri, here are some options:

By plane
The nearest airport is Memanbetsu, 16 km south of Abashiri. Buses connect to/from the JR station before and after flights (25 minutes, ¥720).

By train
Abashiri is the terminus/junction of the JR Sekihoku Line (石北本線) from Asahikawa and the Senmo Line (釧網本線) to Kushiro via the Akan National Park.
Okhotsk Limited Express trains run from Sapporo to Abashiri. There are four daily departures, reaching Abashiri in 5 1/2 hours at a cost of ¥9440 each way. There is no charge for the service with the Japan Rail Pass.

By bus
Night buses from Sapporo (around ¥8000) are the cheapest way to get to Abashiri. Buses arrive and depart from Abashiri Bus Terminal, a short walk east from the JR Abashiri station.

For all you sake fanatic out there in Japan, you’ll be happy to know that there will be a sake fair this coming March on the 15th and 16th. This annual fair includes well over 100 sake brewers from across the Niigata region. As you might have heard, Niigata region is well known for their good quality rice and rice wine.

Like a wine tasting fair, everyone above the age of 20 is welcome to join the sake fair and in tasting the various sakes blends from the Niigata region. Admissions for viewing is free however, if you want to go on a sake tasting spree, you would need to exchange 1000yen for a cup whereby you could go from stand to stand tasting their alcoholic wares. There will be performances scheduled to entertain guests and specialty food from Niigata will also be available.

How to get there come 15th March?

By train from Tokyo

Niigata Station can be reached from Tokyo Station in about two hours by Toki trains along the Joetsu Shinkansen. The one way journey costs around 10,000 yen and is fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass and JR East Pass.

The JR East “View” travel agency also offers special roundtrip packages for the Sake no jin event from Tokyo. They are available either for a daytrip (only 12,000 yen) or a two-day excursion packaged with hotel accommodation (from 21,500 yen).

By bus from Tokyo

There are hourly highway bus connections and an overnight bus between Tokyo (Ikebukuro Station) and Niigata. The one way trip takes about 5.5 hours and costs 5250 yen. A round trip ticket is available for 9450 yen.

From Niigata Station to Toki Messe

The Toki Messe convention center can be reached from Niigata Station by bus (about 10 minutes, 200 yen), by taxi (about 5 minutes, approx. 700 yen) or on foot (two kilometers, about 30 minutes).

Japan Guide.

A kind reminder that there is always a sun shining after these bitter cold months. Ok, i know it’s in Okinawa where it’s perpetually warm almost but hey, sun, sea and sand always reminds me of summer although the video is not about the beach only but it’s about the town, Naha.

The Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge (明石海峡大橋, Akashi Kaikyō Ō-hashi?), also known as Pearl Bridge in Japan was completed in 1998 and is the world’s longest suspension bridge (measure by the length of the centre span of 1,991 metres (6,532 ft). It links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshū to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait. It carries the part of the Honshū-Shikoku Highway.

It was planned to be one of three Honshū-Shikoku connecting bridges, annexing two borders of the Inland Sea.

Before the Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge was built, ferries carried passengers across the Akashi Strait in Japan. This dangerous waterway often experiences severe storms, and in 1955, two ferries sank in the strait during a storm, killing 168 children. The ensuing shock and public outrage convinced the Japanese government to develop plans for a suspension bridge to cross the strait. The original plan called for a mixed railway-road bridge, but when construction on the bridge began in April 1986, the construction was restricted to road only, with six lanes. Actual construction did not begin until May 1986, and the bridge was opened for traffic on April 5, 1998. The Akashi Strait is an international waterway and required a 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) wide shipping lane.

The bridge has three spans. The central span is 1,991 meters (6,532 ft), with the two other sections each 960 meters (3,150 ft). The bridge is 3,911 meters (12,831 ft) long overall. The central span was originally only 1,990 meters (6,529 ft), but the Kobe earthquake on January 17, 1995 moved the two towers sufficiently so that it had to be increased by 1 meter (only the towers had been erected at the time).

The bridge was designed with a two-hinged stiffening girder system, allowing the structure to withstand winds of 286 kilometers per hour (178 mph), earthquakes measuring to 8.5 on the Richter scale, and harsh sea currents. The bridge also contains pendulums which are designed to operate at the resonance frequency of the bridge to damp forces. The two main supporting towers are 298 meters (978 ft) above sea level, and the bridge can expand up to two meters in one day.

Ruins can still be seen since the atomic bomb landed and killed hundreds of thousands. This is a park that every human being’s responsibility to visit so that something this vile and terrible will never happen again.

Shinchi Chinatown in Nagasaki is the oldest Chinatown in the world. It started during the 17th century when it was the only port open to China during the era of isolation. Needless to say, this part of Nagasaki feels like China. Everything is in Chinese and not a hint of Japanese can be traced here, which makes it really cool. Like a world within another world.

You can find lots of Asian ingredients in Chinatown. Like all Chinatowns in the world, everything stocked are not only from china but from various other asian countries as well. This is why, going to Shinchi Chinatown would be a great experience for those of you who wants to experience true Chinese culture without forking out a fortune to go to China.

Nagasaki Chinatown

How to get there?

Nagasaki’s Chinatown is a short walk from the “Tsukimachi” tram stop on the tram lines number 1 and 5. Check out the map at Japan-Guide.

Do visit Japan’s Disneyland as well now because the Christmas Illuminati celebration is festive and entertaining for both young and the young in the heart :D

So pretty!

In this season there is nothing better than savoring the beautiful display of christmas in your city. Big and small glimmering lights, and trees with mock presents and doves. It would make a perfect postcard picture. In Japan, there are spectacular light shows during this time of the year. And the one that is most popular is the Kobe Luminarie. You can check out the Kobe Luminarie at Dec 6-17, 2007. But below is a list of Luminarie spots in Tokyo, taken from Japan-Guide.com:

Shiodome (more details)
“Caretta Ocean Xmas” is one of Tokyo’s most spectacular illuminations this year. 10 minute shows with music are held every 30 minutes (Nov 30 to Dec 25, 2007; from 17:00 to 23:30). Nearby Nihon TV has its own illuminations.

Roppongi Hills (more details)
The illumination at Roppongi Hills is called “Artelligent Christmas 2007″ and is most spectacular along Roppongi Keyakizaka Street (Nov 8 to Dec 25, 2007; from 17:00 to 23:00). Furthermore, a German style Christmas Market is held (Dec 1-25, 2007; 11:00 to 21:00).

Tokyo Midtown (more details)
Opened in spring 2007, Tokyo Midtown celebrates its “First Christmas” this year with various illuminations (Nov 15 to Dec 25, 16:00 to 0:00).

Odaiba (more details)
“Daiba Memorial Tree” is a large illuminated tree in Odaiba Kaihin Park in front of the Decks shopping center (Nov 10 to Dec 25, 2007 and Jan 1-14, 2008; from 17:00 to 0:00). Several other places on Odaiba, such as Venusfort, have illumination events, as well.

Tokyo Dome City (more details)
“Happy Christmas 2007″ is the name of the beautiful illuminations around Tokyo Dome and adjacent amusement park (Nov 8 to Dec 25, 2007; 17:00 to 1:00).

Ginza (more details)
Christmas trees along Chuo Street and illuminations by many individual stores, including the “Mikimoto Jumbo Christmas Tree”, make the popular shopping and entertainment district even more colorful than it is anyway.

Marunouchi (more details)
Marunouchi’s Naka Dori is lit up (Nov 16, 2007 to Feb 17, 2008; 17:30 to 23:00) and several buildings in the district, including the Marubiru, have their own displays.

Yebisu Garden Place (more details)
The central plaza is illuminated and a huge crystal chandelier will be displayed during the “Baccarat Eternal Lights” event (Nov 3, 2007 to Jan 14, 2008; from 16:00 to 23:00)

Shinjuku Southern Terrace (more details)
“Shinjuku Southern Lights” is the illumination display on the Shinjuku Southern Terrace, south of JR Shinjuku Station (Nov 9, 2007 to Feb 14; from 17:00 to 0:00).