501 Places

Too often I read about other people’s travels and wonder about the costs involved in their trip. It’s one thing to inspire someone to visit a new country and experience its many attractions, but the information isn’t always available to tell me whether it’s something I have the money to do at a particular time. [...]

Writing this at the end of a month long trip to Japan, it’s fair to say that this has been one of our favourite trips of all time. There is a lot to like about Japan (much of which I listed in the previous post). No trip is perfect however and it would be remiss [...]

We’re coming towards the end of our month in Japan and it’s fair to say that this will be remembered as one of our best trips. As with any good trip it has had its ups and downs (my next post will list the things in Japan that I won’t miss once I’m back in [...]

“Just press the button and see what happens. You’re not going to blow anything up”. That’s the rather cavalier advice I typically offer to my wife when she asks me computer related questions. It is a philosophy that has served me well throughout my life. Until that is, I encountered the Japanese toilet. I had [...]

Perhaps our news should come with a health warning. A few weeks ago I wrote about the global media’s massive sensationalism in relation to the London riots and I was reminded of this again during our travels through Japan. I was asked by the owner of a guest house we had been staying at about [...]

The Shiretoko Peninsula on the north east tip of Hokkaido, the northernmost Japanese island, is designated a World Natural Heritage Site. The narrow spit of land that juts out into the Sea of Okhotsk is home to a huge variety of wildlife while the surrounding waters provide some of the world’s best whale watching. Sadly [...]

When touring a country it is very easy to spend so much time on the road that your entry/exit point, often the capital city, gets neglected. We made this mistake with Bangkok two years ago and were determined not to do the same with Tokyo. Having had a day and a half to look around [...]

“England is burning and you’re risking life and limb if you step out on the streets”. That’s what you may be led to believe if you listen to the media coverage of this week’s riots. I had several messages via Facebook and Twitter this week checking if we are ok and advising me to stay [...]

Something of an experiment – this post is displayed via Youtube. All the words are there – they are found on slides and set to a wonderfully atmospheric piece of music. Do let me know what you think of this as a way of presenting a post.

Have you ever stood and watched people fixed in a spiritual trance (however you define one) and wondered just who it is who is missing something? Is it they who are feeling something magical about the place you’re visiting, a mysterious power, an energy; and you just haven’t got what it takes to feel it [...]