http://www.tartoaujapon.com Tarto's blog - Travels, culture, customs, society,... en http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-143-miyako.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:46:00 GMT Most visitors of Okinawa make their first stop on the main archipelago. But since I knew what to expect and I didn't have much time on my hands, I skipped that part and went straight to Miyako, the central archipelago... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-143-miyako.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-141-okinawa-introduction.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:17:00 GMT It's already the end of october and temperatures have dropped. Last year at the same period, I spent my last ten days of vacations visiting the Ryukyu archipelago, more commonly known as Okinawa... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-141-okinawa-introduction.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-140-gassho.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:58:00 GMT There is a very charming place not too far from Nagoya, which I only discovered last week. In a country where everything is new and shiny, where modern urbanism is tasteless and disrespectful of nature, places with old and charming architectures and atmosphere are rare. Ogimachi village, north of Nagoya in Gifu area, is one of them... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-140-gassho.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-139-tobacco.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 28 Sep 2008 08:34:00 GMT Culturally speaking, Japan is by most aspects the opposite of France and this also goes for the anti-tobacco policy. In France, smoking is forbidden in inside areas but allowed outside, whereas Japan does it almost the opposite way... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-139-tobacco.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-138-hanabi.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 14 Sep 2008 05:17:00 GMT Today, let's talk about fireworks! As in most countries, they are very popular in Japan, but they have some specificities which I would like to introduce... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-138-hanabi.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-137-gocart.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:25:00 GMT Last saturday, I had a go-cart session near Nagoya. I've had quite a few in France and even one, memorable, in Cambodia, but this was my first time in Japan... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-137-gocart.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-136-shikotsuko.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 10 Aug 2008 05:10:00 GMT The sun finally came back out after several days of cloudy weather, right on time for my plans. I had indeed decided to do my third and last hike of that trip, right next to Shikotsu lake... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-136-shikotsuko.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-135-week-end-tokyo.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 27 Jul 2008 05:45:00 GMT Three weeks ago, I went to Tokyo to visit Stéphane, a friend who lives there... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-135-week-end-tokyo.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-134-niseko.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:25:00 GMT I hesitated before writing this post...As I was expecting the sun, I went to Niseko, a ski and hiking resort not very far from Sapporo, where I spent a night and did one of the numerous hiking trails available in the area... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-134-niseko.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-133-hakodate.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:15:00 GMT As the weather wasn't showing any sign of improvement, I decided to stop with the lakes, onsen and parks and spent one day in Hakodate, a port town located at the southwestern tip of the island... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-133-hakodate.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-131-shiretoko.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT Shiretoko national park is located at the northeastern tip of Hokkaido and is one of the most remote areas in Japan. The nature is intact, and most of the park is completely pristine... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-131-shiretoko.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-130-akan-to-shiretoko.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:00:00 GMT After leaving lake Akan, I headed north towards the national park of Shiretoko at the northeastern tip of Hokkaido. The weather was bad so I had to postpone part of my plans to the next day... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-130-akan-to-shiretoko.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-129-akan.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 08 Jun 2008 05:00:00 GMT Right after Sapporo, I decided to head towards the east, as the weather forecasts were mentioning a typhoon coming from the opposite direction. My destination was Akan lake... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-129-akan.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-128-sapporo.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Mon, 19 May 2008 15:00:00 GMT I beginned my trip to Hokkaido with Sapporo. You may have heard that name...indeed,... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-128-sapporo.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-126-hokkaido-introduction.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Mon, 12 May 2008 12:30:00 GMT Summer is approaching, and since summer usually means travel and considering it's been a while since I talked about my trips, I've decided to start relating my "Hokkaido tour" of last september... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-126-hokkaido-introduction.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-125-paid-vacations.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Mon, 05 May 2008 08:30:00 GMT I've been working for six months and just received my first paid vacations. Seen from abroad, Japan seems to be a country that has very few vacation days, which people usually don't even take. But does it match the reality?... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-125-paid-vacations.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-124-new-entry-procedures.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:10:00 GMT After a 10-day business trip to France (or to be more accurate, 4 days of work and 6 of vacations), I came back to Japan a week ago and had to go through the new entry procedure in place since november 2007... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-124-new-entry-procedures.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-123-sakura2008-kyoto.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:40:00 GMT About ten days ago, we spent a day in Kyoto to see the cherry blossoms. The conditions were just perfect: a saturday, a very nice weather and full blooming... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-123-sakura2008-kyoto.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-122-sakura2008-nagoya.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:30:00 GMT About two weeks ago, it was the cherry blossom season in central Japan. That season doesn't last long and no matter where, one has approximately a week to enjoy the best blooming and this can be much shorter if the weather conditions are not favorable... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-122-sakura2008-nagoya.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-121-a-couple-parties.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:00:00 GMT I've had quite a few parties lately so let me share some of those moments with you... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-121-a-couple-parties.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-120-japanese-insults.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:00:00 GMT I think I've already mentioned it: the Japanese people have a strong interest in France. This includes French politics as well. That said... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-120-japanese-insults.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-119-house-of-first.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:00:00 GMT Japanese buildings are crap. Only the マンション (mansion) type guarantees you're not going to share your neighbor's privacy. No problem for me... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-119-house-of-first.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-118-toilet-story.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT Today, let me write about a very important topic: toilets. Don't laugh! It is at least as important as Mount Fuji, the millenary Ise temples or the symbolism in sumo fights since we all have basic needs, right?... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-118-toilet-story.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-117-back.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:30:00 GMT I've been away for nearly a month but I know you'll forgive me, january has been especially tough... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-117-back.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-116-happy-new-year-2008.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Tue, 01 Jan 2008 11:30:00 GMT Just like last year, I'm spending the New Year holidays with my family in Hita. I came yesterday with the shinkansen and I have to confirm that this train is wonderful! I usually don't sleep well in public transportations but the shinkansen is particular: just a few minutes before I get asleep... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-116-happy-new-year-2008.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-113-merry-christmas.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Tue, 25 Dec 2007 14:00:00 GMT I'll make it short today, don't want to write too much on Christmas day... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-113-merry-christmas.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-112-after-6-weeks-of-work.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:00:00 GMT After a month and a half, I'm completely satisfied with my new job! The boss seems to particularly like me and I'm not gonna complain about it... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-112-after-6-weeks-of-work.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-111-jlpt.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sat, 01 Dec 2007 03:00:00 GMT The JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) is to the Japanese language what the TOEIC is to English, a test to evaluate the ability for non native speakers to communicate in Japanese... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-111-jlpt.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-110-new-job.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Thu, 22 Nov 2007 16:00:00 GMT I've finally started my new life in the Japanese business world! As planned, I started on november 1st which gave me plenty of time to enjoy my last few weeks of vacations. I still have to write about those last trips I made, but since I'm not gonna travel again anytime soon I have enough time for that. Anyway, after about a year studying, partying and traveling, I was ready to get a new professional start... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-110-new-job.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-109-fuji.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Mon, 29 Sep 2007 01:00:00 GMT Finally, here it is, the mount Fuji hike! Let me tell you right now that this post is long and contains lots of pics, so you'll have to be patient if you have a slow Internet connection... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-109-fuji.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-108-shuzenji.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 21 Sep 2007 14:00:00 GMT Last stop in my Izu peninsula mini-tour, I spent one day in Shuzenji only to get some rest and get closer to mount Fuji... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-108-shuzenji.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-106-dogashima.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Tue, 12 Sep 2007 14:00:00 GMT Upon leaving Shimoda, I went further along the coast and stopped at Dogashima. There's not much to do there but it's really pretty, and there's a rotenburo I definitely wanted to try... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-106-dogashima.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-105-shimoda.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:00:00 GMT After Kanaya ryokan and before climbing mount Fuji, I went to Shimoda, a small town located at the south of Izu peninsula. However it's not just another town on the coast... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-105-shimoda.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-104-kanaya-ryokan.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:00:00 GMT Before climbing mount Fuji, I went to Izu peninsula for a couple days. This time, I had decided not to be cheap and stay only at higher end places than I had done so far... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-104-kanaya-ryokan.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-103-free-to-travel.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Fri, 24 Aug 2007 01:00:00 GMT Even though I had the email confirmation for the job, I was still waiting for the written confirmation. I got it yesterday, which implies that I'm now 100% free for traveling! Well almost... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-103-free-to-travel.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-102-obon.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Thu, 23 Aug 2007 07:00:00 GMT Last week was the obon, which was originally a buddhist ritual to honor the spirits of the ancestors... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-102-obon.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-101-daiseikou.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:00:00 GMT I have the pleasure to tell you that I've found a job!... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-101-daiseikou.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-100-sumo.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:15:00 GMT Dating back some 1500 years ago, sumo has a long tradition. Beyond the sport, its origins were religious. The first matches were a form of ritual dedicated to the gods for a bountiful harvest. At that time, rules were not really defined and few or no holds were barred. But, just like any other sport, rules have evolved... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-100-sumo.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-99-inkan.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 15 Jul 2007 17:40:00 GMT In Japan, one uses an inkan to sign contracts and official documents... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-99-inkan.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-98-good-calissons.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:50:00 GMT Last week-end, I had the pleasure to welcome Romain, a very good friend from Aix-en-Provence (south of France, famous for its "calissons", the local pastry specialty) and a very lucky guy!... http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-98-good-calissons.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-97-addressing-system.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Fri, 06 Jul 2007 06:50:00 GMT In Japan, it's really easy to get confused the first time you're looking for an address on a map and believe me, understanding Japanese doesn't help. I had to deal with that when I was looking for an apartment. Here's an exemple so you can understand the problem. http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-97-addressing-system.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-96-rss-atom-feeds.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:23:00 GMT I've finally implemented both RSS and ATOM feeds, and I wonder why I didn't do it before, considering how little time it took!...Please let me know if you encounter any bug while using them. http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-96-rss-atom-feeds.html http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-95-back.html tartoaujapon@gmail.com Sun, 01 Jul 2007 10:30:00 GMT I'm back and ready to start updating this site again. I'll start slowly though, and today there's no particular topic, just a quick overview of my current situation. http://www.tartoaujapon.com/en/blog-post-95-back.html