Friday, May 16, 2008
Japan is G8 Summit-Happy
Japan is preparing to host the 34th G8 Summit, to be held at beautiful Lake Toya in Hokkaido this July. One thing you learn early on about Japan is that it's extremely pleased to receive recognition from the nations of the West, and whenever events like the Nagano Olympics or the 2004 World Cup draw near, there's a flurry of construction as Japan makes itself look good for all the foreign visitors. Japan is extremely pleased to be hosting the other major nations at the summit this year, so much so that it's issuing commemorative 500 and 1000 yen coins to mark the occasion -- you'd think it was a World Expo all over again. The summit will be held in one of the most beautiful and least-spoiled parts of Japan, a decision the government no doubt made to help bring attention to the environment.
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2 comments:
do you have to pay a toll each time you get on an expressway, like the ones on the map you featured?
Yes, sadly. The cheapest trip is about $6, for us to go to from Isesaki to Takasaki, turning a 40 minute trip into 15 minutes, so it's worth it overall. The other day we came back from Karuizawa to Isesaki (Karuizawa is the little town in the mountains that appears in Please Twins and Genshiken), a 40 min drive that cost around $30.
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