Noh Theater, Part 1

An Incubus "dreams-nightmare" by The Public Domain Review is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. This is the fourth entry in our series on marketing Japan to affluent tourists. This week we turn our attention to theater. Kabuki—that song-and-dance act featuring crossdressers and makeup that lays it on thick—is for many foreigners the most emblematic of Japanese theatrical … Continue reading Noh Theater, Part 1 →

Nara City, Nara Prefecture

Yakushi-ji's East Pagoda is a Japan's National Treasure in Nara, Nara prefecture, Japan.* This is the second entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. Our story begins in Nara, a city that attracts more than a few tourists, to be sure, but punches way below its weight when one considers its historical and cultural … Continue reading Nara City, Nara Prefecture →

Attracting Upmarket Tourists to Japan: High Time for High-End

This is the first entry of our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. We will look at this topic from a number of perspectives and give considerable attention to a recently opened “Luxury Collection Hotel.” We will also, on occasion, make use of our characteristic and somewhat unconventional sense of humor, but … Continue reading Attracting Upmarket Tourists to Japan: High Time for High-End →

Trick or Treating with the Nuuttipukki

A Nuuttipukki, Toivo Kaukoranta, Finnish Heritage Agency We continue with our upcycling theme this week by considering the nearly extinct nuuttipukki, essentially an ambulatory carpet-cum-mendicant in search of beer and leftover grub--like in food: this is not an eat-the-bugs reference--in Finland.  We recently learned of this creature from The Public Domain Review, an excellent publication … Continue reading Trick or Treating with the Nuuttipukki →

Brand X + Denki Bran v. Brand X + Calvados

We do quite a bit of tasting here at drinkingjapan.org, and we, understandably, do not like everything we imbibe. However, longtime readers of this blog will know that we have never maligned a product. Occasionally, we have made comments about what a beverage lacks or has an excessive of, but such critiques are not disparaging. … Continue reading Brand X + Denki Bran v. Brand X + Calvados →