Travel

If you have been in Aomori Prefecture but not its capital city of the same name, you may imagine it has all the rural charm of its surroundings – choc-full of old wooden houses and historical monuments. But like me, you’d be surprised.

Iriomote Island seems rather empty and it is nature pure. It is covered in sub-tropical jungle said to be the last remaining rain forest in Japan. Approaching by ferry from neighboring Ishigaki Island, it seems that you are about to set foot on Jurassic Park island.

Travelogue: Tokyo to Misawa via open road
An eight-hour road trip covering 400 miles from Tokyo to Misawa Air Base offers various views of rural Japan: Green rice fields, snaking rivers, snowcapped mountains and farming villages dotted with tile-roofed wooden houses.

If you only had one chance to visit the gastronomical paradise once known as the Sandwich Islands, here is what I would recommend for your trip to Hawai’i. No, I am not suggesting a sandwich.

Once limited to those with an uncanny spirit for peril and excitement, Sumatra is slowly joining the ranks of Indonesian islands that are famous for their bountiful opportunities for vacationers.

With a number of stores dotted around Naha, Ramayana is the place to go for fun, colorful housewares and fashion from around Asia. They have curtains and cushions, furniture and ornaments, bags and clothes, imported from Thailand, India, Indonesia and other countries around the region.