The summers are quite hot and humid, and the winters are quite cold. Buy JR Pass →Īs with many destinations, the best times to go are in the Spring (March – May) and Fall (September – November). Meet & Greet service provides you with a personal pickup who will be waiting for you right after arrivals, help you exchange the Japan Rail Pass, take care of any business you might have at the airport and personally escort you to your onward method of transport. The pocket WiFi will allow you to connect your smartphone, tablet or laptop to enjoy internet connectivity throughout the country. You can also order a pocket WiFi and request the Meet & Greet service when arriving at the airport if buying a JR Pass. Essentially, if you plan to go to one more major city apart from Tokyo, it should be worth it providing you with unlimited rides on JR trains for one to three weeks.
PUBLIC TRANSIT GAY MEN CRUISING FREE
For example, if you’re looking for a good view of the city, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building has a free observatory versus paying to go up the Tokyo Tower.ĭepending on where you’re going during your visit and how long your trip is, consider getting a JR Pass because it can save you money when traveling by rail (which is a great way to travel around Japan). Though it’s undoubtedly an expensive city to visit, a bit of foresight can help to keep expenses to a minimum while visiting. As with most big cities, the sights, food, shopping, and nightlife are plentiful with more to do and see than you could cover in one trip.
Explore the unusually pristine streets despite a notable lack of garbage cans and a population of over 13 million people. It has one of the largest and most intricate public transit systems in the world as well as some of the oldest temples and historical sites. How far things have come in 27 years…Ĭheck out the video of a CNN follow-up report after the jump.Tokyo is an incredible city of contrasts where you can clearly see and admire the technological advances of tomorrow mixed with a long history and vibrant culture. It's actually kind of odd to see the word "cruising" pop up so much, and if I didn't know better, I'd think that Warner Brothers was behind all this in some elaborate viral marketing scheme leading up to the DVD release of the 1980 Al Pacino film. Why is it that this is being made into such a big deal? After all, when Senator Vitter of Louisiana was named in the DC madam case earlier this year, we didn't see a bunch of stories about how straight men frequent prostitutes. Way to bury the real issue at the bottom of the last page, after planting the seed of paranoia that every public bathroom in the country is a hotbed of gay sex. There is also the added element of danger and being discovered." There is a lot of self-hatred and shame and they can't allow themselves to come to terms with their sexuality.
PUBLIC TRANSIT GAY MEN CRUISING HOW TO
"Secret Signals: How Gay Men Cruise for Sex" is the title, and it gets right down to business in laying out exactly how to find a bathroom catering to your specific anonymous sex needs and what to do when you get there (two words: toe tap).Īt the very end, it does throw a bone to run-of-the-mill gays who prefer to have their anonymous encounters over the Internet like decent people by noting that "public cruising is practiced mainly by deeply closeted men" and providing this closing quote: This ABC News report is much more direct. I wouldn't say this is surprising, but at least he sort of made the point that not all men who engage in this activity are running back to practice their cabaret shows and fluff pillows like the public apparently expects. In this CNN video, featuring the most inspired B-roll I've ever seen ("I need three minutes of toilet close-ups!"), the reporter uncovers the "surprising" fact that many men who look for anonymous sex in public bathrooms are engaged in long-term heterosexual relationships. Rather than go for the truly interesting issues at hand (like, why does the GOP have so many deeply closeted members?), outlets like CNN and ABC News have opted for the far more accessible/sensational "gays are screwing in a public bathroom near you!" angle.
If there is any upside to the whole Larry Craig situation, it's that the media fallout has provided some reports whose bizarro factor is off the charts.