Now your toddler can have their own study exchange in Japan… you can come, too
Three-year-old Australian girl Kinga doesn't speak Japanese, but that hasn't stopped her from thriving in a tiny town in southern Japan's Wakayama Prefecture. Her family, part of a growing number of digital nomads, joined a preschool exchange that's giving them an immersive, kid-first window into Japanese culture.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Wire
6 hours ago
- Business Wire
mesm Tokyo, Autograph Collection: Afternoon Exhibition Chapter 14 "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, First half" from June 1 to August 31, 2025
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--mesm Tokyo, Autograph Collection: mesm Tokyo offers a new take on afternoon tea with our 'Afternoon Exhibition' series, featuring playful sweets, carefully selected savory dishes, and pairing mocktails. The hotel will offer a special afternoon tea program 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, First half' in the first collaboration with Sumida Hokusai Museum at the 16th floor bar and lounge 'Whisk' from June 1 (Sun), 2025. This program, the 14th in the 'TOKYO WAVES' series of Afternoon Exhibitions, is based on the theme of 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji', a masterpiece by Hokusai Katsushika, the famous Japanese ukiyoe woodblock print artist, and offers a gastronomic experience that lets guests experience scenery and history through their five senses. Focusing on Hokusai's creative background and character, guests can enjoy appetizers that express Edo life in a modern way and sweets inspired by 11 of his masterpieces. Inspired by the 'Tokyo Waterfront Line' that connects the Hamarikyu Gardens and the Ryogoku area, we will offer a special moment unique to the intersection of Tokyo's landscape and history. The first half of the exhibition will be held in two parts from June 1 (Sun) to August 31 (Sun), 2025, and the second half from September 1 (Mon) to November 30 (Sun), 2025. Afternoon Exhibition Overview Period (first half) Available on from June 1 to August 31, 2025 Serving Hours Weekday: 2:00 pm / 2:30 pm / 3:00 pm / 6:00 pm Weekend and National Holiday: / 2:00 pm / 2:30 pm / 3:00 pm Venue mesm Tokyo 16th Floor Bar & Lounge "Whisk" Price From JPY 7,000 (inclusive of consumption tax and 15% service charge) Cancellation Policy 50% charge for cancellations made the day before / 100% charge for same-day cancellations Reservation Make your reservation here. *Reservations must be made by 9:00 pm the day before. mesm Tokyo, Autograph Collection, conveniently accessible from the international airport, offers easy access to Tokyo's charming landmarks such as Ginza, Tsukiji, Asakusa, Shinjuku, and Shibuya. Make your stay truly memorable at mesm Tokyo. Reservations available online Hotel Reservations: For entertainment enthusiasts: Reservation at Chef's Theater -
Business Insider
7 hours ago
- Business Insider
My first trip to Japan left me feeling rude and underdressed. I wish I'd known better before I left.
As an American, I made several travel mistakes during my first trip to Japan. There was train etiquette I wasn't aware of and I often felt underdressed in Tokyo. I didn't realize I couldn't wear my slippers on tatami mats or how much fish I'd eat for breakfast. As a professional travel writer, I rarely experience culture shock and I adore the wild unknown of exploring a new country. However, on my first trip to Japan, I may have bitten off more than I could chew. My two-week trip started with a group trek along the Nakasendo Way, led by Walk Japan. I stayed at an assortment of centuries-old ryokans (historic Japanese inns) and ate traditional foods. After that, I embarked on a budget-minded, three-day, self-guided tour of Tokyo. Going from hikes through rural towns to the major city made me feel like I'd been blasted into outer space. In hindsight, as an American, there are loads of cultural expectations and fashion norms that I wish I'd researched before I even got on the plane. Here are a few mistakes I wish I avoided on my trip to Japan. Wearing the wrong slippers On my first night in a ryokan, I removed my hiking boots, put on a pair of house slippers, walked approximately 15 feet, and then stepped onto a floor lined with delicate tatami mats. I figured that these traditional Japanese floor coverings were like carpet in the US, and that these slippers would be perfectly fine to wear in any room. Immediately, I was scolded by the lady running our ryokan. Since tatami mats are made out of natural materials, like rice straw and woven rush grass, that they can actually be damaged by slippers. It's better to walk on them barefoot or in socks. As my trip continued, I realized many spaces in Japan require visitors to wear several pairs of indoor slippers. For example, most restaurants and cafés I visited had a special set of slippers you're supposed to wear to the restroom. Not knowing the local train rules and etiquette Japan has some etiquette on its trains and subways that I haven't seen elsewhere in the world. For example, any person I saw talking or making noise on the train seemed to be a tourist. Throughout the start of the trip, it was hard for my group to adjust to the expected silence. Although it would've been perfectly acceptable in Chicago or NYC, we felt a bit rude and out of place even just asking our guide questions on the train. Once I got to Tokyo, I found the trains seemed to have even more unspoken social rules. I learned to pay special attention to where people are lining up to get into (and out of) a certain train car. If you find yourself waiting near a pink mat in a line full of women, you're likely in line for an all-female train car. Some of these cultural norms might seem counterintuitive to those of us from a more Western world, but many of them are designed to keep things polite, safe, and orderly in densely populated Japan. Trying to read with a tablet in the bathhouse I'm a big fan of reading when I soak in the bath or a hot tub, but I don't want to get a paper book wet. As such, I always bring my Kindle to spas. Internet-connected devices are generally prohibited in onsens and bathhouses in Japan, but I thought my Kindle might be OK in airplane mode. Instead, I got reprimanded by a hotel employee when I was trying to unwind with my tablet in a fully nude, all-female bath in Tokyo. Next time, I'd just do breathing exercises or bring a magazine if I head to the baths alone. Eating too much fish for breakfast Because I'm an adventurous eater without allergies, I didn't think twice about dining on traditional Japanese cuisine for the entirety of my Nakasendo Way trek. It turns out, this meant eating salted fish for breakfast eight days in a row. As much as I love seafood in all its forms, I would've sold my soul for some toast and scrambled eggs by the time we got to a more Western-style hotel in Karuizawa. Next time I travel to Japan, I'll make a point to switch up my accommodations, vacillating between quaint, traditional inns and modern hotels. That way, I can easily have more of a variety for breakfast. Being very underdressed in Tokyo When I planned my trip to Tokyo, I knew it was a worldwide fashion mecca. However, I didn't realize how dressed-to-the-nines so many locals and visitors would be, even outside trendy districts like Harajuku. Because I had spent the previous 10 days trekking across the countryside, my suitcase was filled with outdoorsy, function-first clothing from brands like Patagonia and Kühl. I only packed two sundresses for my time in the country's capital, and I still felt horribly underdressed in them. Japanese clothing sizes are also very different and typically much smaller than those in the the US, which made it tricky for me to purchase an outfit or two to wear out in the evenings. If I return to Japan, I'll be sure to check a large suitcase with a full makeup kit, cute walking shoes, and loads of modern, fashion-forward outfits.
Business Insider
8 hours ago
- Business Insider
I used an AI platform to plan my honeymoon. It was helpful, but won't be putting travel agents out of business anytime soon.
I used an AI platform called Mindtrip to help me plan my 12-day honeymoon in Australia. Mindtrip was great at helping me keep things organized during the planning process. However, I felt the platform wasn't as good at providing personalized recommendations for our trip. Planning a 12-day itinerary for an international honeymoon is not for the faint of heart. So, when I learned about Mindtrip — an AI-powered travel planning website that promises to deliver personalized experiences complete with photos, reviews, and maps — I had high hopes it could make the process easier for me. After using it to plan my Australian honeymoon, I found it was a good starting point, but there was plenty of room for improvement. The platform was helpful for keeping things organized To start planning my trip, I opened a new chat where I was prompted to "ask anything." I asked the AI chat function to create an itinerary for our trip to Australia, and shared our flight information, the hotels we had booked, and a few activities we'd already had planned. From there, Mindtrip began building out our trip within the chat. It created an itinerary, calendar, and list of bookings I'd already made. The trip itinerary was my favorite function, as it was helpful to see all our plans in one place, listed chronologically. I input a lot of our plans manually, but also used the chat to add items. However, I had a few instances where the itinerary didn't update correctly, leaving out activities or reservation details I'd listed. I probably could've created a similar itinerary in a spreadsheet or Google doc, but it was nice to have website links and information about each activity — like photos, ratings, and a summary — all in the same place. Another aspect I enjoyed was that Mindtrip allows you to add other people to your trip. This made it easy for my husband to access the plans and make changes to the itinerary. It was also helpful for staying on the same page throughout our honeymoon. I think this feature could be great for those planning group trips remotely, such as bachelorette trips or family vacations. However, Mindtrip wasn't as good at providing personalized recommendations In addition to the organization features, Mindtrip is designed to provide personalized recommendations for things like restaurants, museums, activities, and hotels. It does this by analyzing a quiz you submit through the chat. However, there were a few times the platform seemed to glitch and not have access to my quiz responses. Other times, it suggested things that were already on my itinerary, which I found to be frustrating. When the tool did work — or, when I directly asked for recommendations in the chat — I didn't think the responses felt very personalized. For example, it recommended many of the same five restaurants to me over and over, while missing other great options I found with my own research later. When reached for comment, a representative for Mindtrip explained that the duplicate suggestions may have been due to a glitch in the system, which has since been resolved. The representative also said the company is "continuing to work on ways to incorporate more personalization into the chat experience with or without the quiz." The platform was a helpful starting point, but I wouldn't rely on it to plan everything Although I found the platform to be fun to use and somewhat helpful, I'd consider it a starting point for planning a trip. During my planning process, I still referred to travel news sites for hotel recommendations, searched for restaurants on Google, and found influencer recommendations on TikTok and Instagram to build out my itinerary. To use Mindtrip to its fullest capacity, I think you have to dedicate a lot of time to inputting and perfecting your itinerary. I could see a Google doc being just as effective — just without the aesthetic benefit of Mindtrip's layout. I also think it would be nice for the platform to have an app, which would make using the itinerary in real time much more user-friendly.
