Have you ever been to a Japanese beer garden? Check out this video overview of Japanese beer gardens by Tokyo Journal intern Michael Tang.
Mount Fuji is 3,776 meters high and is the highest mountain in Japan, situated in the southeast part of Yamanashi at the border of Shizuoka. With unrivaled magnificence and a beautiful cone shape, Mount Fuji has often been selected as the subject of paintings and literature. It is world famous as a symbol of Japan. At the foot of Mount Fuji are Fuji-Goko (Fuji’s Five Lakes), Aoki-ga-hara-jukai (a sea of trees that is dark even during the day), and Kitaguchi-Hongu Fuji-Sengen Shrine (which was constructed to calm the eruption of Mount Fuji). The Fire Festival of Yoshida, held at the end of the summer as a ritual for closing the climbing season for Mount Fuji, is one of the three most peculiar festivals in Japan. Mount Fuji has long been the center of mountain worship of ancient Japan.
As I walked into the lobby of the Aloft Downtown Dallas hotel, I wasn’t expecting much out of the ordinary in this historic-looking, factory-type building in downtown Dallas. But I immediately did a double take. It looked like I’d wound up at a mixture of a hip nightclub, art gallery, and trendy café. Soon enough, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find I was where I wanted to be: the Aloft Downtown Dallas.
Owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the group that also has chains like Westin, Sheraton, W Group, Regis and Le Méridien, Aloft is an enjoyable change from the norm. I don’t usually wander hotel corridors to admire the interior design, but Aloft inspired me to do so. When I first checked into my room, I had to stroll around a few times to take it all in. After I sat down to relax, I walked around the room again just to see if I’d missed anything (which I had!). Then looking out my window across the street at the Dallas Convention Center, train station and City Hall, I was reminded how conveniently located the hotel is. For frequent travelers, hotels are a blur of similar designs. That’s not the case with Aloft. It is a lift for the senses.
Aloft is a “select” service hotel that does not have bellmen but caters to on-the-move business-savvy travelers who know what they want. The other primary segment of their clientele includes guests attending conferences at the convention center across the street.
The lobby has different areas to relax in: a bar, lounge and a self-serve snack and coffee area that has a “build your own” fresh and hot breakfast and complimentary coffee in the morning. All of the decor appears out of the latest interior design magazine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen rocking chairs in a hotel lobby before, but the modern-retro design made the chairs fit right in. At night, the hotel is a great place to mix and mingle by enjoying a glass of vino at the w xyz bar, or a game of pool in their re:mix lounge. Both are located in the lobby area.
There are event and meeting spaces of various sizes throughout the building. The event facilities are extremely vibrant and trendy and have been used for “After Parties” by celebrities such as Britney Spears and Jamie Foxx.
FOR a trendy stay while visiting the historic U.S. capital, consider the Aloft National Harbor or Aloft Dulles North hotels. The hotel chain’s core values are sassy, savvy and space. Sassy stands as a contrast to stuffy hotels. Savvy is because all the hotel staff (not just the bell captain or concierge) are knowledgeable of the hotel and city. Space? Well, the hotel’s public areas are just that: extremely spacious and not cramped. The hotel chain provides incentives to join in its sustainability practices. Guests who skip everyday room cleaning receive $5 towards the Re-Fuel station (food) or Starwood points. If you need a little extra motivation while on the go, stop by the Re:charge 24/7 fitness center and download easy-to-execute a-workouts onto your laptop, iPod, iPhone, Blackberry, Treo or other handheld device.
FOR a trendy stay while visiting the historic U.S. capital, consider the Aloft National Harbor or Aloft Dulles North hotels. The hotel chain’s core values are sassy, savvy and space. Sassy stands as a contrast to stuffy hotels. Savvy is because all the hotel staff (not just the bell captain or concierge) are knowledgeable of the hotel and city. Space? Well, the hotel’s public areas are just that: extremely spacious and not cramped. The hotel chain provides incentives to join in its sustainability practices. Guests who skip everyday room cleaning receive $5 towards the Re-Fuel station (food) or Starwood points. If you need a little extra motivation while on the go, stop by the Re:charge 24/7 fitness center and download easy-to-execute a-workouts onto your laptop, iPod, iPhone, Blackberry, Treo or other handheld device.
FOR a trendy stay while visiting the historic U.S. capital, consider the Aloft National Harbor or Aloft Dulles North hotels. The hotel chain’s core values are sassy, savvy and space. Sassy stands as a contrast to stuffy hotels. Savvy is because all the hotel staff (not just the bell captain or concierge) are knowledgeable of the hotel and city. Space? Well, the hotel’s public areas are just that: extremely spacious and not cramped. The hotel chain provides incentives to join in its sustainability practices. Guests who skip everyday room cleaning receive $5 towards the Re-Fuel station (food) or Starwood points. If you need a little extra motivation while on the go, stop by the Re:charge 24/7 fitness center and download easy-to-execute a-workouts onto your laptop, iPod, iPhone, Blackberry, Treo or other handheld device.
Two of South Korea’s biggest bands, TVXQ! and Super Junior, have taken their tours global as demand for K-pop grows around the world.
TVXQ!, known as Dong Bang Shin Ki in South Korea, Tong Vfang Xien Qi in China and Tohoshinki in Japan, has twice held the Guinness World Record for the largest fan club in the world, with more than 800,000 in South Korea alone. They hold the current Guinness World Record for being the Most Photographed Celebrities in the World with more than 500 million photos taken. TVXQ! launched their “TVXQ! Live World Tour ‘Catch Me’” in November 2012 in Seoul before heading to China, Taiwan and elsewhere around the world. They made history by touring 11 cities in Japan between January and April 2012, doing a total of 26 shows as part of their “TVXQ! Live Tour 2012 ~TONE” with more than 550,000 in attendance.
AS I walked into the lobby of the Aloft Downtown Dallas hotel, I wasn’t expecting much out of the ordinary in this historic-looking, factory- type building in downtown Dallas.
AS I walked into the lobby of the Aloft Downtown Dallas hotel, I wasn’t expecting much out of the ordinary in this historic-looking, factory- type building in downtown Dallas. But I immediately did a double take. It looked like I’d wound up at a mixture of a hip nightclub, art gallery, and trendy café. Soon enough, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find I was where I wanted to be: the Aloft Downtown Dallas.
Owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the group that also has chains like Westin, Sheraton, W Group, Regis and Le Méridien, Aloft is an enjoyable change from the norm. I don’t usually wander hotel corridors to admire the interior design, but Aloft inspired me to do so. When I first checked into my room, I had to stroll around a few times to take it all in. After I sat down to relax, I walked around the room again just to see if I’d missed anything (which I had!). Then looking out my window across the street at the Dallas Convention Center, train station and City Hall, I was reminded how conveniently located the hotel is. For frequent travelers, hotels are a blur of similar designs. That’s not the case with Aloft. It is a lift for the senses.
Aloft is a “select” service hotel that does not have bellmen but caters to on-the- move business-savvy travelers who know what they want. The other primary segment of their clientele includes guests attending conferences at the convention center across the street.
See TJ’s recommendations on where to stay in Tokyo – ranging from the luxurious Westin Tokyo, to the affordable Nippon Seinankan Hotel to ‘homestay’ style accommodations through www.homerent.jp
