Category Archives: Japan

Terminal Report: Fukuoka Airport (FUK) International Terminal, Japan

Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is by far the busiest international gateway on Kyūshū, and one of the busiest in Japan. Even so, it’s hard to believe how close this airport is to the city it serves, with the downtown area just a short bus or train ride away. Today, we’ll see if using the international terminalContinue reading “Terminal Report: Fukuoka Airport (FUK) International Terminal, Japan”

Flight Report:  MNL-FUK on Philippine Airlines Flight PR426 (22 September 2018)

In today’s report, we’ll see what it’s like to fly with the Philippine flag carrier on one of its busy Japan routes: a journey that will take us from Manila to Fukuoka in less than four hours. Welcome aboard PR426.

Terminal Report: Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) T2, Metro Manila, Philippines

Terminal 2 (T2) of Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) was originally designed to serve only domestic flights. However, the great majority of international routes operated by flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PR) are currently based at the terminal’s northern wing. In today’s report, we’ll see what it’s like to fly out of the country fromContinue reading “Terminal Report: Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) T2, Metro Manila, Philippines”

Rail Report: From the Shinkansen to the City on the Hakodate Liner, Japan (02 October 2017)

The long journey from Tōkyō to Hakodate isn’t as time-consuming as it used to be, thanks to the newly opened first segment of the Hokkaidō Shinkansen. That said, the shinkansen terminus serving one of the biggest urban centres in Japan’s northernmost prefecture is located about 16 kilometres from the heart of the city: hardly aContinue reading “Rail Report: From the Shinkansen to the City on the Hakodate Liner, Japan (02 October 2017)”

Rail Report: Tōkyō to Hakodate on the Tōhoku and Hokkaidō Shinkansen, Japan (02 October 2017)

Travelling between Tōkyō and Hokkaidō has never been easier, with new high-speed rail services whisking passengers from the Japanese capital to Hakodate in under four and a half hours. Today, let’s see what it’s like to zoom all the way up to the great big north on an unbroken run along two shinkansen lines: oneContinue reading “Rail Report: Tōkyō to Hakodate on the Tōhoku and Hokkaidō Shinkansen, Japan (02 October 2017)”

Field Report: Sunpu Castle, Shizuoka, Japan (01 October 2017)

Think about the sort of house you’d like to live in after retirement. Will it be a beach-side bungalow, or perhaps a small cottage out in the country? Whatever form your post-employment residential dream might take, it’s not likely to be on quite the same scale as the sprawling fortress that Tokugawa Ieyasu moved intoContinue reading “Field Report: Sunpu Castle, Shizuoka, Japan (01 October 2017)”

(Mini-)Food Report: Coffee and Dessert at Hands Cafe (Naha, Okinawa, Japan)

This quick café stop in the Okinawan capital almost didn’t make the cut – in blogging terms, anyway – as I didn’t gather quite enough material to compose a proper Food Report with. That said, I’ve already rolled out a couple of (Mini-)Food Reports in recent weeks, so why not one more? (Besides, I’m sureContinue reading “(Mini-)Food Report: Coffee and Dessert at Hands Cafe (Naha, Okinawa, Japan)”

Field Report: Shikina-en Royal Garden, Naha, Japan (08 May 2018)

For the moment, let’s skip over our second full day in Okinawa – though I do hope to tell that tale in due course – and move straight into the third, when we visited a large garden that was the setting for a secondary palace of the Ryūkyūan royal family. Not a place where EastContinue reading “Field Report: Shikina-en Royal Garden, Naha, Japan (08 May 2018)”

Field Report: Nakijin Castle, Okinawa, Japan (07 May 2018)

The islands of Okinawa Prefecture are sprinkled with the remains of gusuku: massive stone-walled castles that are in some ways similar to, and yet in many other ways different from, the classic Edo Period castles of the Japanese mainland. Whilst none are as well preserved (or at least as well rebuilt) as Shuri Castle inContinue reading “Field Report: Nakijin Castle, Okinawa, Japan (07 May 2018)”