Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Kawasaki Halloween Parade Video
I previously posted some pictures from the 2008 Halloween Parade in Kawasaki. However, I forgot to post a short video that we took at the time. Here you go:
Labels: attraction, event, halloween, japan, kawasaki, parade
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Forest Adventure Park In Onna, Okinawa
I have posted some pictures from my April 12 visit to Forest Adventure Park in Onna, Okinawa.
Labels: activity, adventure, forest adventure park, japan, okinawa, outdoor
Monday, April 13, 2009
Visiting Mother Farm In Chiba
I have posted some pictures from a April 4 visit to Mother Farm.
Labels: animals, chiba, japan, mother farm, one day, park, trip
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
First 2009 Trip To The US
I usually travel to the US a couple of times a year to attend conferences, and this time the conference was being held in Las Vegas. NWA kindly upgraded me on my flight through Portland, thus I got to enjoy the wonders of business class.
While I have had limited opportunities to fly business class in the past, I also enjoyed business class round trip to Europe during Christmas. I flew Scandinavian Airlines to Europe and Austrian Airways on the way back, and what surprised me the most was the poor entertainment systems. Austrian Airways does not offer on-demand entertainment in business class, which was a surprise as on-demand entertainment is becoming standard even in economy class on many airlines. The food on Austrian Airways completely blew me away, however, and in the morning I could choose from approximately 10 different styles of coffee. Scandinavian Airlines, on the other hand, did not offer any excitement in terms of either entertainment or food. Travelling in economy class on a good Asian airline is probably comparable to business class on a poor European airline. The plus in business class is of course the extra leg space and food, but in economy class on an Asian airline you can expect on-demand entertainment and sexy stewardesses (yes, luckily they still exist!).
Business class on NWA offers a great entertainment system, though the food is less than stellar. I have discovered that the secret of flying NWA is to pick one of its routes served by an Airbus, as these flights offer on-demand entertainment in both economy and business class. Seatguru.com is a site I always check prior to picking my flights and seating.
The first hotel I stayed at in Las Vegas was the Planet Hollywood, which is part of the Starwood chain. I got a room for just over $100 per night, and Starwood kindly offered a complimentary upgrade. The hotel is located on the strip, and each room has some interesting movie memorabilia. While not extremely exciting, the Planet Hollywood rooms are at least more memorable than your average hotel room.
On my first day in Las Vegas, I joined a tour to the Grand Canyon. A shuttle picked me up at 6:30 in the morning and brought me to a nearby airport, from which we boarded a small plane to the Grand Canyon. Since I was travelling by myself, I got to sit next to the pilot. Interestingly, the pilot only flew planes as a part-time gig, apparently he had discovered that the entertainment industry could make him more money. He had quit his airline job (previously he worked for a regular airline) due to the low salary and now managed several music bands in Las Vegas, but this day and he agreed to step in as the regular pilot was sick.
While I booked my trip through a company online, it seems like most online tour companies simply act as resellers for one or two companies in Las Vegas that actually organize the tours. I am not sure if there is any way to book directly with the tour company and if money can be saved that way, but there is certainly money to be saved by searching online for good deals.
After landing in Las Vegas, we jumped on a tour bus and visited a couple of sites with nice views of the Canyon. The skywalk was not disappointing, though not as exhilarating as I had expected it to be. Honestly, I find it scarier to look down to the fjord from Prekestolen in Norway, but each to his own.
The conference was held at the Rio Hotel and Casino, which is a crappy resort outside the strip. The hotel is gigantic, and just walking from my hotel room to the conference room provided more exercise than I would ever need. The hotel rooms are huge; though everything is old and run down (I stayed in a tower that had not been refurnished). Anyone going to Vegas should pay the extra cash needed to stay on the strip, only stay at the Rio if you absolutely have to.
In Seattle, I stayed at the absolutely fantastic Pan Pacific Hotel. On the hotel website, I found a deal for $149 per night with the third night free (when paying with an Amex card), and for some reason the hotel decided to upgrade me to a suite. While located a short walk from downtown Seattle, the slight inconvenience is made up for by the Wholefoods Market that is located just next to the hotel. While essentially a huge grocery store specializing in organic food, they also serve breakfast and a wide variety of hot food during the day. While I read that the food at the Pan Pacific is fantastic as well, I ended up having all my breakfasts at the Wholefoods Market. I suspect many visitors to Pan Pacific do the same thing, so it is probably not great for the hotel business.
The weather in Seattle was foggy during my entire stay, so I spent two whole days basically working from my hotel room. On my third and final day in Seattle, I joined a Coffee Walking Tour. The tour takes you to several different third wave coffee stores, which basically refer to coffee stores that supposedly serve even better coffee than Starbucks. Presumably it is no longer hip to drink Starbucks coffee, and in the small coffee stores you can spend time discussing whether the coffee is mild bodied or not. We actually had several coffee tastings, and the discussion surrounding the coffee was similar to a wine tasting debate. I previously did not know that coffee could have an earthy flavor or interesting complexity, but now I will think again the next time I order coffee.
Personally I am more interested in the business aspect of the coffee industry as opposed to tasting various types of coffee, and I actually did not know that Seattle’s Best Coffee (cool people in Seattle refer to it as SBC) is owned by Starbucks. In Tokyo, SBC only has a very small number of stores, and I actually thought SBC was a small coffee retailer trying to take on Starbucks. In particular, they have a very nice store located nearby Time’s Square in Shinjuku, which I have often enjoyed visiting as it provides a difference ambiance than Starbucks. Now my illusion has been ruined. Luckily I still believe in Santa Claus.
Tully’s, on the other hand, is another Seattle coffee chain that is competing head to head with Starbucks. Since Starbucks spends significant resources in determining where to open a store, rumor has that Tully’s strategy is to open a store opposite the street of Starbucks. Consequently, the best way to find a Starbucks in Seattle is to locate a Tully’s store and then to turn around. Try it when in Seattle, it often works.
I have a weak spot for the coffee industry, so let us continue. While Starbucks is having a rough time now due to the poor economy, Tully’s Coffee has apparently only had one quarter in the black. The reason for actually making money one quarter was that they sold their licensing rights in Japan, and thus gained a tidy profit. Tully’s Coffee in Japan has managed to become one of the leading high end coffee stores, though Starbucks clearly dominates the market. When Starbucks opened its first Japan store in Ginza in 1996, they were one of the first stores ever to offer a complete non-smoking concept. Since then, the anti-smoking movement in Japan has increased in strength, and I give Starbucks a lot of credit for being a pioneer in this area.
While I have had limited opportunities to fly business class in the past, I also enjoyed business class round trip to Europe during Christmas. I flew Scandinavian Airlines to Europe and Austrian Airways on the way back, and what surprised me the most was the poor entertainment systems. Austrian Airways does not offer on-demand entertainment in business class, which was a surprise as on-demand entertainment is becoming standard even in economy class on many airlines. The food on Austrian Airways completely blew me away, however, and in the morning I could choose from approximately 10 different styles of coffee. Scandinavian Airlines, on the other hand, did not offer any excitement in terms of either entertainment or food. Travelling in economy class on a good Asian airline is probably comparable to business class on a poor European airline. The plus in business class is of course the extra leg space and food, but in economy class on an Asian airline you can expect on-demand entertainment and sexy stewardesses (yes, luckily they still exist!).
Business class on NWA offers a great entertainment system, though the food is less than stellar. I have discovered that the secret of flying NWA is to pick one of its routes served by an Airbus, as these flights offer on-demand entertainment in both economy and business class. Seatguru.com is a site I always check prior to picking my flights and seating.
The first hotel I stayed at in Las Vegas was the Planet Hollywood, which is part of the Starwood chain. I got a room for just over $100 per night, and Starwood kindly offered a complimentary upgrade. The hotel is located on the strip, and each room has some interesting movie memorabilia. While not extremely exciting, the Planet Hollywood rooms are at least more memorable than your average hotel room.
On my first day in Las Vegas, I joined a tour to the Grand Canyon. A shuttle picked me up at 6:30 in the morning and brought me to a nearby airport, from which we boarded a small plane to the Grand Canyon. Since I was travelling by myself, I got to sit next to the pilot. Interestingly, the pilot only flew planes as a part-time gig, apparently he had discovered that the entertainment industry could make him more money. He had quit his airline job (previously he worked for a regular airline) due to the low salary and now managed several music bands in Las Vegas, but this day and he agreed to step in as the regular pilot was sick.While I booked my trip through a company online, it seems like most online tour companies simply act as resellers for one or two companies in Las Vegas that actually organize the tours. I am not sure if there is any way to book directly with the tour company and if money can be saved that way, but there is certainly money to be saved by searching online for good deals.
After landing in Las Vegas, we jumped on a tour bus and visited a couple of sites with nice views of the Canyon. The skywalk was not disappointing, though not as exhilarating as I had expected it to be. Honestly, I find it scarier to look down to the fjord from Prekestolen in Norway, but each to his own.
The conference was held at the Rio Hotel and Casino, which is a crappy resort outside the strip. The hotel is gigantic, and just walking from my hotel room to the conference room provided more exercise than I would ever need. The hotel rooms are huge; though everything is old and run down (I stayed in a tower that had not been refurnished). Anyone going to Vegas should pay the extra cash needed to stay on the strip, only stay at the Rio if you absolutely have to.
In Seattle, I stayed at the absolutely fantastic Pan Pacific Hotel. On the hotel website, I found a deal for $149 per night with the third night free (when paying with an Amex card), and for some reason the hotel decided to upgrade me to a suite. While located a short walk from downtown Seattle, the slight inconvenience is made up for by the Wholefoods Market that is located just next to the hotel. While essentially a huge grocery store specializing in organic food, they also serve breakfast and a wide variety of hot food during the day. While I read that the food at the Pan Pacific is fantastic as well, I ended up having all my breakfasts at the Wholefoods Market. I suspect many visitors to Pan Pacific do the same thing, so it is probably not great for the hotel business.
The weather in Seattle was foggy during my entire stay, so I spent two whole days basically working from my hotel room. On my third and final day in Seattle, I joined a Coffee Walking Tour. The tour takes you to several different third wave coffee stores, which basically refer to coffee stores that supposedly serve even better coffee than Starbucks. Presumably it is no longer hip to drink Starbucks coffee, and in the small coffee stores you can spend time discussing whether the coffee is mild bodied or not. We actually had several coffee tastings, and the discussion surrounding the coffee was similar to a wine tasting debate. I previously did not know that coffee could have an earthy flavor or interesting complexity, but now I will think again the next time I order coffee.
Personally I am more interested in the business aspect of the coffee industry as opposed to tasting various types of coffee, and I actually did not know that Seattle’s Best Coffee (cool people in Seattle refer to it as SBC) is owned by Starbucks. In Tokyo, SBC only has a very small number of stores, and I actually thought SBC was a small coffee retailer trying to take on Starbucks. In particular, they have a very nice store located nearby Time’s Square in Shinjuku, which I have often enjoyed visiting as it provides a difference ambiance than Starbucks. Now my illusion has been ruined. Luckily I still believe in Santa Claus.Tully’s, on the other hand, is another Seattle coffee chain that is competing head to head with Starbucks. Since Starbucks spends significant resources in determining where to open a store, rumor has that Tully’s strategy is to open a store opposite the street of Starbucks. Consequently, the best way to find a Starbucks in Seattle is to locate a Tully’s store and then to turn around. Try it when in Seattle, it often works.
I have a weak spot for the coffee industry, so let us continue. While Starbucks is having a rough time now due to the poor economy, Tully’s Coffee has apparently only had one quarter in the black. The reason for actually making money one quarter was that they sold their licensing rights in Japan, and thus gained a tidy profit. Tully’s Coffee in Japan has managed to become one of the leading high end coffee stores, though Starbucks clearly dominates the market. When Starbucks opened its first Japan store in Ginza in 1996, they were one of the first stores ever to offer a complete non-smoking concept. Since then, the anti-smoking movement in Japan has increased in strength, and I give Starbucks a lot of credit for being a pioneer in this area.
Labels: hotels, japan, las vegas, seattle, starbucks, usa
|
 |
