A view of Miyama, Kayabuki No Sato with moss covered roofs The Japanese countryside holds many gems that most international tourists don’t even know exist. This is understandable, because Japan holds such a sheer wealth of outstanding sites that many outside of the main centers manage to remain in the shadows. For me, stumbling across some of these places has been the highlights of my Japanese experiences. It often strikes me as somehow miraculous that so many of these places exist and are not more famous outside of the country. Miyama is one of those places. Miyama offers a window into Japan ..read more

The most popular tourist attraction in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, is the “Hell Tour” 「Jigoku Meguri, 地獄巡遊」. There are 8 jigoku hot springs, all with unique features. This is Umi-jigoku 「海地獄」, known as “Ocean” or “Sea” Hell. Technically it’s a hot spring, but you’re not going to be swimming in it… The blue water of this onsen looks cool, but is bubbling away at 98°C. Umi-jigoku is a National Site of Scenic Beauty. Umi-jigoku 「海地獄」 of Beppu… don’t swim in this onsen! There is another smaller red/orange hot spring within the Umi-jigoku site called Akaike Hell. The site isn’t too big, but there is ..read more

Usa Jingu Shrine 「Usa Shrine, 宇佐神宮」 is the head shrine of about 40,000 Hachiman Shrines in Japan. Hachiman Shrines are literally all over Japan, all the way up to Hokkaido. These shrines are dedicated to the deity of archery and war, and became popular with samurai and peasants. In this article: Explore Usa Jingu Shrine (photos and info) How to get to Usa Jingu Shrine Opening hours and admission cost Traveler’s tips The shrine is said to be the first shrine-temple ever, and is a mixture of Shintoism and Buddhism. Usa Shrine is said to have been founded in 571 AD. Within the Shrine precints a ..read more

Tourism in Japan is at an all-time high. In 2016 over 24 million people were attracted to the Land of the Rising Sun from all over the world. In fact, the huge cultural differences that are found in the country, especially in relation to the Western world, are a large part of the appeal that attracts visitors. One of the biggest draw for tourists is an incredible mix of the modern and the traditional and the natural and the man-made, not to mention the sort of culture shock that so befuddled Bill Murray’s character in Sofia Coppola’s “Lost In Translation”. For example, there’s the sensory over ..read more

デジタルメディアの普及に伴い、消費者の行動や価値観が急激に変化しています。ネットショップ起業・運営している事業者は、その進化に対応した対策を考えなくてはなりません。   スマートフォンが私たちの生活に浸透したことにより、オンラインストア・実店舗だけでの販売活動だけでは生き残るのが難しい時代です。事業者は常にプレゼンスを維持するだけでなく、顧客がいつでもどこでも購入できるよう販売チャネルを多様化する必要があります。   マーケットプレイス、ウェブ、モバイル、ソーシャルメディア、実店舗などの複数販売チャネルを立ち上げ最適化を実現できるECサイト作成プラットフォームが「Shopify」です。世界シェアNo.1を誇るカナダ発のプラットフォームです。現在、中小企業から世界的大企業まで世界175カ国・60万以上のネットショップで利用されています。2017年に日本法人を設立しローカライズを進めています。   今まで複雑だったマルチチャネル販売を、Shopifyで簡単に行うことができます。事業者にとって在庫管理はとても重要です。在庫数・在庫場所・発注数など把握していないと販売の収益を上げることができません。Shopify ..read more

When planning to gо on a rоаd trір in Japan, іt іѕ important nоt only to have all the nесеѕѕаrу items уоu nееd tо trаvеl, but also hаvе your саr rеаdу fоr аn еmеrgеnсу situation. While уоu саn’t аlwауѕ prevent еvеrу situation that may arise, thеrе are ѕоmе basic things you can do to hаvе a ѕаfе аnd rewarding trір. You can try these interesting 50 things to see and do in Japan. Taking a road trip in Japan can be a great wау, you should tаkе thе tіmе tо thіnk about уоur dеѕtіnаtіоn, your rоutе аnd уоu ѕhоuld еvеn prepare your car fоr the journey. Hоwеvеr рrіоr рlаnnіng соmеѕ in rеаl handy ..read more

So you want to become a ski instructor and you’ve done some research into becoming one by doing a ski instructor internship (get put into a job once qualified) course. But you now have a choice to make. Where do you do it? There are companies in both areas that offer instructor courses and you’re now feeling stuck on how exactly to choose over Japan or Canada to get your qualification and start instructing. Right? To make this exercise easier, let’s pretend for a minute there are only two existing Northern Hemisphere places to ski – Japan and Canada.   How do you choose? It’s no secret Japan i ..read more

Japan is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. And it is also one that’s listed on most people’s must-go-to places. But traveling around Japan has its challenges. One of the hurdles people have to overcome is the language barrier. If you’ve ever been to Japan, or are planning to go, the second you get there, there’s one thing you’ll notice. The people are incredibly kind, polite and organized. But the second thing you’ll realize is that not everyone can understand or speak English. This is the challenge. Luckily for us, there are a few ways you can overcome this with a few language ..read more

Akita Prefecture, in the far north of Japan on the west coast, is full of culture, history, natural beauty and friendly people. As our flight from Tokyo to Akita descended for landing, an endless snow covered mountain range welcomed us to this prefecture. Met at the airport by Akita Prefecture’s tourism officials, a whirlwind 2 days was about to commence. We set out into the snow to explore areas around Akita City. This article is an overview of 2 full days and 1 night in Akita Prefecture. Follow us for the upcoming detailed Akita travel articles about each location visited. Inaniwa Udon, Yuza ..read more

The nation of Japan has been an attractive vacation spot for many over the years due to their unique culture and culinary experiences. Some travellers like to choose their destination based on a certain activity such as gambling. For many years, this wasn’t an option In Japan but with recent legislative changes, gambling enthusiasts can now seek this type of holiday here. While casino gambling wasn’t legalized until the latter part of 2016, there have been other forms of gambling that are permitted and quite popular with the Japanese. One of these is horse racing. However, unlike other parts o ..read more