Jul 12 2014

Random Japan

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Life-size Totoro FOUND! Live out your Ghibli fantasies in Tochigi Prefecture

    KK Miller

While the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka is a truly whimsical place, transporting you into the magical world of animator Hayao Miyazaki and friends, an adult may feel that their immersion is incomplete. In particular, the children-only play area that features a “life-size” cat bus practically begs you to step over the velvet rope and throw the makurokurosuke in the air like a kid on a sugar high, but to do so would likely result in your ejection from the building.

But fear not! There is one other place in Japan where even grown-ups can wander happily through the imaginary world of My Neighbor Totoro: The Teddy bear Museum in Tochigi Prefecture.

STATS

 1,602,163

Number of households on welfare as of March, a record high, according to the health ministry

81

Percent of Japanese workers who say they favor measures against secondhand smoke in their workplaces according to a survey by a health-care products manufacturer

30

Number of years it will take to dispose of contaminated soil from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, according to the environment ministry

 GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

Officials at JR West announced that they’ll end service on the Twilight Express, a sleeper train that runs from Osaka to Sapporo.

The express, which began operations in 1989 as the “longest railway journey in Japan,” features suite rooms, a bar and dining cars serving French cuisine.

But fear not, train fans: executives at JR East said they’ll debut a new luxury sleeper in 2017.

The ultra-exclusive “Cruise Train” will accommodate just 34 passengers, with 10 cars featuring “glass ceilings where passengers can enjoy the scenery.”

He Sobbed, He Cried

 He Resigned

Loopholed, Looped Out

Looped To The Hospital

> First They Complained Now They Want To Buy

Hypocrites

Beautiful new luxury train dazzles with gold leaf and lacquer interior

TRAVEL JUL. 12, 2014 – 06:00AM JST

By Casey Baseel

For the past few decades, getting around Japan has been a snap using the extremely efficient rail network that crisscrosses the country. Even better, in just a few years, not only will you be able to go anywhere on the main island of Honshu by train, but you’ll be able to do it in style, thanks to luxurious new trains servicing the Chugoku, Kanto, and Tohoku regions.

Hokuriku, the part of Japan running along the central northern coast of Honshu, isn’t about to be left out though, and its upcoming train may be the most opulent of all, with an interior decorated with traditional lacquer and gold leaf.