Travel opportunity

[jHop]

So I ran across this news blurb just a moment ago, and wondered.

How many woodworkers can we organize to take advantage of this for an East hosts West woodworking conference? Maybe Stu in Japan can put us all up in his workshop?

For those who are not clicking on the news link, or don't use Yahoo, or already heard more about it than the news blurb, the government in Japan is contemplating offering 10,000 free round trip tickets to them, provided you detail your trip in blog and web format, and submit an itinerary in advance. While this is not a finalized deal, I think this would be a fantastic opportunity should it come up. (I'm posting it in off topic because it's more about the news story than anything else.)

If you were given the opportunity to visit Japan, what would you like to see?

And if you had a free set of tickets anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

Me, I'd like to check out some of the tool makers in Japan, and visit a few of the temples that might offer tours so that I could get a better look at joinery. But if I could go anywhere, and I'm not ruling Japan out of the "master list" of places, I'd like to see the museum in Norway that they built around a Viking longboat they found. It was too large to move, so they built a museum around it.

[Southwood]

I wouldn't mind going. I would like to see the #7 I sent Stu and see if it looks as good in person as in the pictures.

[PaulMarcel]

Been to Japan 3 times within a year and a half; I would have gone again end of last year except the exchange was bad then, too. The whole place is a joy to visit although next trip, I'll make it to Hokkaido the northern island, the one I haven't visited.

I'll miss Sendai, which was leveled with the tsunami. Was a nice city and some of the best sashimi around (fishing boats in the area flash-freeze the catch at sea then it is shipped from Sendai to Tsukigi market in Tokyo, but the last catch is left fresh for Sendai restaurants). Also miss Matsushima bay, just north of Sendai, which is where my first travels landed me. Befriended the hotel owners; between my crappy Japanese and their Engrish, we shared a lot. After the tsunami, a friend posted a YouTube link to a news video from Japan; it was a helicopter hovering about Matsushima and the first wave hit tossing aside a large white building. All my photos say that was the hotel. Hope they had left.

[duckkisser]

i would like to visit there if i had my choice i would go up to the norther japan there are some great folk stories and folk artist that i wold love to see.