My friend Juergen Sprecht's collection of Japanese warning signs is making the various blogs:
http://www.juergenspecht.com/documentations/?number=1
Blog - Links to other blogs: February 2005 Archives
Wayne Yang (who has a very nice website of his own at http://www.wayneyang.com) let me know about Stacy Oborn's blog title The space in between. The site has in depth discussions of various photographs, some famous, some obscure, some Japanese, most Western.
The space in between (http://punctum.typepad.com/)
Engrossing. A must visit.
Marmotbaby sent me a link to Memoranda, a daily photoblog from Japan. Every day, a different B&W photo (often taken with very classic cameras) is posted to the site. While the explanatory text is all in Japanese, you can use Google's translation tool to hilarious effect. Or you can just enjoy the photos in their own right as very evocative and beautiful.
The World Press Photo organization has announced the winners of its annual contest:
Unlike my bug-eating, backpacking brethren, I am known as an anthropologist who likes her creature comforts. Nonetheless, even the most softened anthropologist has had to occasionally spend the night in an airport. I found a fantastically funny and informative website that ranks the various airports for their sleepfulness, gives tips on where to catch some zzzzs and useful hints about what and what not to do in the process.
http://www.sleepinginairports.com/
My own personal favorite, Singapore Changi, is listed there at #3. They have a mini-hotel where you can shower and sleep for the few hours between a layover. And you can literally spend half a day wandering the shopping arcades or catch a bus to town and enjoy the "Night Safari" at the zoo. My second favorite is Amsterdam's Schipol. The best thing is its proximity to the city. This made in simple to dash in, explore a couple of museums, and dash back all in time for your departing flight.
No Japanese airport makes the top ten. It's odd that we -- the creators of the capsule hotel, the "unit bath," and the Washlet -- cannot design an airport that you'd want to spend a few hours -- or build an airport with easy and inexpensive transport access to the city. Although to be fair, I just read a news clipping in Asahi Shimbun yesterday that the new Nagoya International Airport will have an onsen bath with a view of the runway. No mention was made whether departing passengers will be able to catch a final glimpse of naked Japan at its best.
