HOTEL NEW OTANI OSAKA

KOBE TO OSAKA, JAPAN

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April 1st 2013
Well Murphy’s Law strikes again! I’m on a cruise ship between China and Korea; I get an email from American Express asking me to verify I bought gasoline in Canada. After a thirty-five minute satellite telephone call (which they said they will reimburse me for the charges), they issued me a new card making the one I was carrying invalid. Good thing I had another card. Moral: carry two. The fi ... read more

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka

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In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more