http://www.seekjapan.jp/on-japan Sally Griffith is an Australian living, working and writing in Nagoya. She also writes hot spring and sento reviews under the name of The Naked Gaijin. GMT en-us http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1653/Nagoya+Hikes:+Sekigahara+ http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1653/Nagoya+Hikes:+Sekigahara+ Sun,1 Jun 2008 GMT The sight of a bloodthirsty battle and the beginning of the Tokugawa period is now a peaceful agricultural town. The Battle of Sekigahara is one of the most famous battles in Japanese history and is seen as the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa era, which went from 1600 to the coming of Commodore Perry's black ships in the 1850s. What makes Sekigahara even more interesting is that it hasn't greatly changed since those days. A sleepy, slightly down at heel rice farming community, Sekigahara ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1652/Nagoya+Hikes:+Kamado+waterfall+hike http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1652/Nagoya+Hikes:+Kamado+waterfall+hike Sun,1 Jun 2008 GMT Waterfalls, rice fields and an Edo period stone path through the mountains It seems that the life of a foreigner in Japan falls into two basic categories. Either you are completely cut off from the outside world and the most exciting thing that happens is the mayors weekly announcements over the public PA systems, or you are in the middle of a big city and so overstimulated that you drink coffee to calm down. I've tried both, and usually I'd say they both have their points – except, ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1625/Cheap+Eats+Nagoya:+Chapeau+Blanc+(Osu+Kannon) http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1625/Cheap+Eats+Nagoya:+Chapeau+Blanc+(Osu+Kannon) Sat,3 May 2008 GMT All you can eat breakfast for the price of a drink. All you can eat places tend to attract a certain type of person, especially when they're cheap. The kind of person who considers that if the quantity is enough, the quality isn't that important. The kind of person who regards fellow diners as competitors. The kind of person who can carry a plate piled so high with food that there is a real and present danger of the whole lot toppling over, and who can do so without blushing at their own greed ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1624/Get+Out+in+the+Sunshine! http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1624/Get+Out+in+the+Sunshine! Sat,3 May 2008 GMT There are plenty of great parks to explore in Nagoya. Some days are just too good to spend all day indoors, and if you are in Nagoya it is very easy to get some fresh air and exercise surrounded by trees. The best place go is Shonai Park, about fifteen minutes by subway from Nagoya. This is a huge park by Japanese standards, and the people of Nagoya certainly make good use of the space. On weekends it is full of children cycling, joggers, sport teams, picnickers, people enjoying a barbecue and ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1596/Nagoya+Pubs:+The+Glass+Onion http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1596/Nagoya+Pubs:+The+Glass+Onion Mon,21 Apr 2008 GMT Nagoya's newest Irish pub does not disappoint. Heaven knows how they did it, but somehow Irish pubs have become the international drinking holes of choice. Wherever you live in the world (with the possible exception of Ireland) you know exactly what to expect before you walk in the door. Red painted ceiling? Yep, someone has been stuck on their back painting for a couple of days at the Glass Onion. Wooden fixtures? Absolutely. Quaint, olde worlde souveniers and posters? You can hardly see the ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1588/Cheap+Eats+Nagoya:+Spaghetti+Como http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1588/Cheap+Eats+Nagoya:+Spaghetti+Como Thu,10 Apr 2008 GMT 500 yen for so much lunch you won't be able to walk out again. Even though Spaghetti Como is near the top of a high rise department store and in the center of lively Sakae, every time I go there I am reminded of small town restaurants. The men sitting hunched along the snaking bar all look like regulars, and the waitresses serve them with the easy familiarity of people who have seen each other over and over for years – cheerful but to the point. They even serve us as if they knew our ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1550/Dezato+Oukoku+(Dessert+Kingdom)+Nagoya http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1550/Dezato+Oukoku+(Dessert+Kingdom)+Nagoya Sun,30 Mar 2008 GMT  Why save room for dessert when you can make it your main meal? To be honest, I don't think that the Japanese really get dessert. Oh, they have their moments - the incredible things they do to crepes, for example. And their sweets always look pretty. The trouble is that they only seem to come in one flavour - sweet cream – and one texture – fluffy. It's as none of the patissiers were ever weaned. That said, when a young Japanese friend of ours had her birthday ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1546/Sakura+with+a+difference http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1546/Sakura+with+a+difference Wed,19 Mar 2008 GMT Cherry blossom time is coming to the Tokaido area, and even the gaijin know that that means long, boozy picnics under the glorious pink and white blossoms.  There’s barely a park in Japan without a sakura tree, so participating in this (ahem) cultural event is not difficult. But as the weather is only this good for a short time, why not take your flower viewing to the next level? How does viewing the blossoms from a helicopter sound? If you like to appreciate nature from a ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1545/Bullet+Train+on+the+Cheap http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1545/Bullet+Train+on+the+Cheap Wed,19 Mar 2008 GMT Tired of watching visiting friends zip about everywhere on their JR Train passes? If you want a taste of the bullet train lifestyle it can be done cheaply. Well, cheapishly. Do you live in Nagoya but long for Kyoto? Are you sick of Tokyo and want to be in Osaka? Do you want to get there fast but are a tightwad? Then what you need is something called a Puratto ticket (Or the Puratto Kodama Economy Plan, to give it its full title). This gives you a reserved seat on the Kodama Shinkansen and a ... http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1532/The+recalled+cakes+are+always+the+sweetest. http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1532/The+recalled+cakes+are+always+the+sweetest. Wed,5 Mar 2008 GMT All publicity is good publicity for the scandal tainted sweet-maker Akafuku. At the beginning of 2008, it did not look like it was going to be a good year for Akafuku. Famed for their rice and sweet bean paste confections, they had been serving visitors to Ise for 300 years. That is, up until the revelation in late 2007 that they had incorrectly dated their products, and in some cases had even recycled the bean jam from unsold cakes onto fresh ones. Production was suspended, and their ...