Get your free February 2012 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper!  Pictured are snow monkeys soaking in the baths at Jigokudani monkey park in the Japanese Alps.  Choose the size that best fits your screen resolution. 1024×768 | 1280×800 | 1280×1024 | 1440×900 | 1600×900 | 1600×1200 | 1680×1050 | 1920×1080 | 1920×1200 | iPad | iPhone...

I knew that Hello Kitty came from Japan, but I never realized how cat-mad the Japanese were until I saw images of Maneki Neko – the lucky Beckoning Cat – all over the country.Once you notice one Maneki Neko, the white or gold cat statues that you’ll find in store fronts and restaurants,...

In Japan, I was told that there are three things that you must eat in Tokyo: Sushi, Wagyu beef and tempura. In less than 24 hours there, I managed to consume two out of three. First, beef. We had spent our first few days in the country being served gorgeous, but often inedible, kaiseki meals that contained...

This week’s Photo Friday topic (#FriFotos on Twitter) is EXOTIC. I immediately started thinking of all the exotic fish species I saw at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world.I went through the market with Shinji Nohara, the Tokyo food fixer....

I’m bad at crafts. As in famously bad. And it turns out I’m particularly bad at traditional Japanese arts that require full attention to detail, such as paper cutting.On my 12-day trip to Japan, our group made several attempts at traditional craftwork. At Hoshinoya Kyoto, we put together...

Just as 9/11 changed many aspects of American life, so, too, has 3/11 – also called March 11, the date that the tsunami decimated the Sendai coast, affected Japan.   In Tokyo, more locals, particularly young women and couples, have been seeking out places with “healing powers,” such...

Every once in a while, you come upon something in your travels that goes beyond the ordinary, something that makes you grab your camera and thank whatever deity you believe in for the life that you get to live. For me, that moment came in Jigokudani monkey park in the Japanese Alps, when I stood face...