Personal Fad: Hamasaki Ayumi the Japanese Pop Goddess

Hamsaki Ayumi is the Japanese equivalent of Britney Spears: she is THE female pop star that's been around for the longest time (eclipsed, perhaps, only by Amuro Namie). Honestly, though, the only thing she's got going is her really cute look. As a former model, her body is skinny as hell without any trace of voluptuous sexiness that I associate with porn stars and Western celebrities. Her singing isn't all that powerful (like Aoyama Teruma or Misia). She might, though, have something to say about fashion as her clothes are immediately imitated by every Japanese girl.

Traveling in Japan: Hot Springs in Gunma-ken Part III

At Ikaho Hot Springs, located at the top of a mountain where air was pure and roads were covered in snow, we decided to spend the night there, but after eating the famous Mizusawa Udon (水沢うどん) in Mizusawa, which is about five minutes on the bus from Ikaho (NB: the bus stop is next to a large hotel called Todoroki, or 轟).

Traveling in Japan: Hot Springs in Gunma-ken Part II

Here are some hilarious knickknacks we found at Yamada-ya :

What the...?

Traveling in Japan: Hot Springs in Gunma-ken Part I

Going to hot springs, or onsen (温泉) in Japanese, is one of the favorite national pastimes of us the Japanese.

For those of you who don't know what's so special about hot springs in Japan, you get to stay at a very traditional Japanese hotel called ryokan (旅館) where you can gorge yourself on traditional Japanese cuisine cooked with SUPER fresh ingredients (usually locally grown) and bathe in these really cool, picturesque baths with hot spring water that makes your skin supple like pudding and drives away all physical tiredness.

Best Pancakes in Japan: Bills

Located in Shichirigahama - about 1.5 hours away from central Tokyo on the train, and one stop before the (in)famous Enoshima, THE beach located to the south of Tokyo, to which Tokyoites schlep to enjoy the expanses of volcanic sand, dirty water, and occasional view of Mt. Fuji (see below) during the hot and humid Japanese summer - Bills offers probably the best pancakes and scrambled eggs in the whole of Japan, period.