experience Archive

Food in Japanese Kombinis cries “grab me!”


Japanese Kombinis, from the english “convenience store”, are small everything-you-might-ever-ever-need shops spread all around Japan (more than 40.000 according to Japan Guide) and usually open 24hs. There are many of them, 7 eleven, AM/PM, Sunkus, Family Mart, Heart-in, Lawson (my fav) and often you find several in the same block. I read somewhere (can’t find [...]

(good) Airport Experience: no english but courtesy and smiles


It has been long since I last had a good airport experience, apart from the shiatsu massage (I paid for) in JFK last January.
Airports in western countries have become hostile territory for travelers. I can understand strict rules and thorough controls due to a tense international situation (although I think they wouldn’t be too useful [...]

Tokyo vs Shanghai - first impressions


Don’t expect some serious philosophical or sociological analysis here! This is just a brief report of the first impressions I have after being for a bit more than two weeks in Tokyo and a similar time spent in Shanghai some years ago. I know that chinese and japanese cultures and societies are very different. [...]