Well, it’s finally time for the April edition of the Japan Blog Matsuri, so gather around the glowing monitor, kids. I’ve been granted the hosting privileges this month. For this month, I chose the theme of tourism due to the timing of the matsuri. Surprisingly, we actually did get a couple of good articles and posts about tourism and Japan. By a few, I mean precisely 3. Golden Week proved to be a bigger attraction than writing about tourism in the end, which took not a soul by surprise. I hunted around for some extra stuff to round out the collection and pulled out a few good, but unrelated posts. In then end, I hope you all enjoy the collection of links that this round has brought. Let’s hit it.
1) First up, a bit of shameful shameless self promotion. I wrote a piece on Virtual Tourism. In it, I talk about technologies that make it possible for us to take trips through the internet in lieu of real world travel. It’s really cool to see the possibilities that are just around the corner. Take a look to see what I mean.
2) What Japan Thinks has some interesting tourism-related poll results. What is it that homeward bound Japanese folks harbor hankerings for? He lists the foods that they want to eat the most after returning from an overseas trip. I learn so many things from this site. As a brief aside, I noticed one thing that did not make the chart. 
3) Next up is Japanprobe, which also featured some culinary curiousities related to travel – only these were Shinzo Abe Omiyage. That’s right, folks, there is a market for omiyage bearing the likeness of Shinzo Abe, the new Prime Minister of Japan. Is it weird? Yes. Would you not buy some just to prove that it exists? I would. It probably tastes the same as all other omiyage, but the novelty is worth it. Find out where to get your hands on some.
4) Alex over at Victory Manual has written a post about the lines between Tourists, Hosts, Overstaying Your Welcome. It’s similar to a classic “dating” and “after the honeymoon” pattern. Are you a long term or short term visitor to Japan?
5) He said I could, so I am including this vlog entry from Clay(tonian) – our friendly neighborhood Hopeless Romantic. In it he goes over his Golden Week shenanigans (like encountering a ginormous statue at a temple) and translates part of a theme song for our enjoyment. It’s worth a watch – if you like it, check out his other vlog entries – I hear his YouTube subscriber count continues to climb.
6) Around the corner at Q-Taro, Roy talks touring car dealerships for free stuff. Learn about how to make car salesmen seem like Santa Claus thanks to Golden Week.
7) Japanprobe proves that Cool Tourism is easy to come by in Japan. The bulleted list on the post says it all. It includes an earthquake simulator, an onsen for man’s best four-legged friends (dogs, people, sheesh), and a capsule hotel.
Japundit wrote about Travel During GW, and linked us to the Kyodo News Agency’s coverage.
9) Japanprobe pulls off a hat trick this month thanks to a video about Otaku Tourism, a quickly growing industry in urban Japan. Lately this “subculture tourism” has been attracting more and more foreign tourists. ‘Tis a fire that Japan intends to feed.
10) Lastly, Jon at Life is Random has put together a nice entry serving the dual purposes of recording his own personal Golden Week escapades as well as providing some cool random facts about his Golden Week to the reader. He took his free time as an opportunity to play pachinko, for instance.
There you have it folks, a few stretches there, but I wanted to include a couple of buddies. (If you host you’re allowed to do that. I’m pretty sure.) I hope that this month’s was as good as last month’s – I’ve got to say that Bill did a nice job, even though his oyaji gag made me wince. For those who missed them, here are links to the first, second, and third Japan Blog Matsuris. That ought to do it for this month.
It was not what I expected, but I want to offer my thanks to those that I drafted as well as the few who actually submitted your entries. There is no word yet on a volunteer for next month. If you’re stoked about hosting the matsuri and you have an idea for a theme floating about in your head, please contact Ken Y-N and volunteer. If we can get more people to participate, we’ll have greater quality in the articles, and a tighter Japan-blogging community. I’ll retire from the soapbox now, and let you read in peace. Thanks for stopping by my site. Feel free to leave me links back to your sites in the comments. I’m always looking for new online haunts. That’s what this whole thing is about, after all.
お疲れ様でした！
Deas Announcements, Customary Drivel, JBMatsuri
