Attractions are everywhere in Japan,

Following our last post, I would like to give you more examples of interesting things that you can find anywhere in Japan. All you have to do, is to pay attention around you while you are in Japan.

For some Japanese to play with costumes is a real life style, here is a very cute butterfly. To see some "cosplay" in Osaka, the best place is in Americamura, near Namba.

For some costume, they really make huge efforts and probably take hours to be ready. At least they bring some colors and smile,...

If you are in Japan now, you know that it is really hot. Good news, Japanese have many great ideas ! The bar on the above picture, will welcome you with a temperature of -2 degrees Celsius (about 28 degrees Fahrenheit) ! This bar, in Shinsaibashi (Osaka) opened in June and will keep its business until September. The only problem, is that you would have to wait for about 1 hour outside, because it's so popular.

Sightseeing with your eyes open

While you are in Japan, of course you will have to visit popular landmarks such as Mt Fuji, temples in Kyoto, Miyajima… Those places are a must; but your travel is not restricted to the touristic spots, there are plenty of surprising things in Japan, everywhere, you just need to look around you.

The staff of Rediscover Japan lives around Osaka, so we would like to show you some examples of interesting things that we found near Osaka.

High-school baseball tournament in Koshien.

If you are in Kansai now, or within Sunday August 14^th, why don’t you go to see a baseball game at Koshien. They are now holding the National high-school baseball tournament. This tournament is one of the most popular even in Japan. Games are on the air on two different national channels; great atmosphere; 40,000 people in the stadium everyday for 2 weeks…and some seats are free !

Square watermelon

If you like fruits, you might be surprised by the price of fruits in Japan. To grow a fruit in Japan is more or less an Art. How about this square watermelon, for 130 US Dollars!! I hope they guarantee the taste for this price.

Nice bicycle !

This bicycle is probably not easy to ride, but looks great. If you cannot afford a real Harley-Davidson this might be a good alternative...

Japanese Guest Houses phone guide

Most tourists want to call home at least one time while they are traveling in Japan but this is not always easy or cheap. Below are 5 options but we recommend either option numbers 4 or 5 as they are the least expensive.

Option 1,
Use your cell phone in Japan...
Most of the foreign phones do not work in Japan and the ones that do can be very expensive to you. If you have a smart phone like an iPhone or Android you may have better luck but due to data charges this can also be a very expensive option. In fact, we recommend you to keep your smart phone on “airplane mode” and only use it to connect to the Internet by WIFI. Japan is famous for new technologies but free WIFI spots are not as common as it can be in other countries. Please ask your hotel front desk where you can access free WIFI.

Note: Even your cell phone provider says your phone will work in Japan please read all the fine print and understand what the actual costs are.

Option 2,
Use your hotel phone…
Nowadays the in-room phones are mostly used for room service, wake up calls and emergencies. For an international phone call this option would work but this will be very expensive and I do not recommend it.

Option 3,
Renting a Cell Phone in Japan...
This is a very convenient alternative, you just pick up the rental phone at the airport when you arrive in Japan and drop it off on the way back home. However please be careful as the rental fee is usually very attractive but the calls can be very expensive and its not ideal for calling overseas. Many rent a phone companies charge over 100 yen per minute for outgoing domestic calls. Here is a list of rental cell phone companies:
http://www.rentafonejapan.com/
http://www.myjapanphone.com/
http://www.jcrcorp.com/
http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/guide/service/list/svc_19.html
(These are just listed for your convenience and not a recommendation of service, please research carefully.)

Option 4,
International Phone Cards...
This is one of the best and most reasonable solutions for calling home and is one of the two options that we recommend. You can use International Phone Cards with a very competitive rate to call overseas. Depending on the Phone Cards, they can be used from public phones or rental mobile phones. Phone cards are sold at convenience stores, kiosks, on the Internet and vending machines.
http://www.callingcards.com/index_japan.asp?origsel=Japan
http://www.nobelcom.com/
http://www.rebtel.com/
(These are just listed for your convenience and not a recommendation of service, please research carefully.)

Option 5,
Use Skype to call...
If you are at a WIFI spot you can use your computer, smart phone (iPhone, Blackberry, Android...), or iPad to make free calls to others while on Skype. You can also use Skype to make cheap calls to land lines around the world. At Japanese Guest Houses and Japan Roads we use Skype to contact each other between the US and Japan. It works great and if the person you are calling has Skype then it is all free. Once you are away from the WIFI area make sure that you put your smart phone or other device on airplane mode.
http://www.skype.com