Dan Traylor

At an Ito-Yokado, sat at some tables near a row of vending machines. The area is newly plastered with signs sternly warning against "resale," in English and Japanese. What manner of illicit trade unfolded here? What stories do these tables tell?

I’m nothing if not a traditional Dan.

Iran Worried U.S. Might Be Building 8,500th Nuclear Weapon

Iran Worried U.S. Might Be Building 8,500th Nuclear Weapon https://theonion.com/iran-worried-u-s-might-be-building-8-500th-nuclear-wea-1819573283/

Could someone inform the Japanese tv networks the name of the gold medal winner? And maybe we could spare them a few seconds of footage.

abandoned monkey AI slop millionaire

we need new TVs with more fanciness per inch than currently and Chuck-from-Better-Call-Saul-style curtains

Father of wanted HK activist convicted over funds linked to 'absconder' The father of HK democrat Anna Kwok has been found guilty of handling funds linked to an "absconder" - the first family member of a wanted activist to be convicted of a national security offence.

The father of HK democrat Anna Kwok has been found guilty of handling funds linked to an "absconder" - the first family member of a wanted activist to be convicted of a national security offence. In full: buff.ly/Bf7KIGh

LDP set for big win in snap election The ruling party is on track to win between 274 and 328 seats, NHK projections show, which could give it a two-thirds majority in the Lower House on its own.

LDP set for big win in snap election www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02...

Opinion | This Is Just Who Trump Is

Who Trump is. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/o...

Snow blankets Tokyo as powerful storm system tightens grip on Japan Central Tokyo recorded around 3 centimeters of snow early Sunday, while the heaviest accumulations were recorded along the Sea of Japan coast.

My snow / photo walk has been put to use. I’d like to thank the lady with the red umbrella. www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02...

Happy election day from the suburbs

Flurries is a good name for a thing. We have flurries currently.

“I write down good reasons to freeze to death
in my spiral ring notebook,
but in the long tresses of your hair
I am a babbling brook.”

Can I get on the premium plan where the train monitor showing the news offers more than the same three headlines on repeat what’s that you say I have a screen for news in my hands right now wow how much does the cost

Japan has high hopes as Winter Olympics return to Alps The Milano Cortina Games are the most widespread in the history of the Olympics, taking place in venues from Milan to the resort town of Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Team Japan is optimistic ahead of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, the first Games in the Alps since 2006, which open on Friday.

How Shinzo Abe’s Assassination Brought the Moonies Back Into the Limelight A shocking act of political violence exposed the cult’s deep influence.

Understated but exceptional line in this New Yorker piece about Moonies. 'When he was a teen-ager, he said, Jesus asked him to “take on a special mission on Earth.” He accepted this call, but first went to Tokyo to study engineering.' www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

An AI-generated blog on a tour company’s website has landed tourists in hot water — and not the kind they were looking for — after it emerged the “tranquil” northern Tasmania hot springs it recommended don’t actually exist. https://cnn.it/4t6zner

GFS forecast shows a signal of heavy snow on the Sea of Japan coasts on the election day, Feb 8th. Other wx models as well. #japan

Let me be clear, clear-eyed responses to attempts to change the status quo on public transportation are the cornerstone of peace and prosperity on the railways (1/x)

That guy who scaled the very tall tower in Taipei is very impressive. They kept noting, "Oh, he did it without ropes!" Yeah. Ropes. I mean I don't know about you but for me, I would use ropes for that. I'm a big rope guy.

grok is this true

"Honey, I can only find the elevator stroller and the garden stroller, where did you put the travel stroller?"

Weather app for Kanto: We discussed it, and we're gonna put a little snowman with a cloud for you on Feb. 1.
Me: Oh, OK. Wow cool.
App one hour later: Nah just kidding haha it's clouds. Just clouds.

I was indeed thinking this should have been a Japanese thing, why are we letting Germans take credit for opening windows

The Dear Jonas papers (2026-2027) were a series of letters from President Donald Trump to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, hailed by historians as a masterclass in diplomacy that unified Greenland with the mainland U.S. and brought forth The Good and Proper American Century (2027-2028).

Shinkansen vs. Amtrak and the lost art of small talk After years steeped in the sacred silence of the shinkansen, a Japan Times staffer returns stateside and gets his sea legs with small talk aboard Amtrak.

Amtrak may not have the speed or the cleanliness or the efficiency or the vending machines on the platforms of the shinkansen, but it does have jokes and small talk and humorous tree-branch impacts. My report from the front lines of U.S. rail travel: www.japantimes.co.jp/community/20...

YouTube video by notasfarwest The Mountain Goats and Kaki King - Black Pear Tree EP [Full]

"Somebody's gonna get hurt, somebody's gonna get hurt
I hope it's not me

But I suspect it's going to have to be"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dces...

I’ve been to a few countries. None has sought five years of my social media history. Which frankly is insulting. There were a lot of solid jokes in there, as well as some important observations. And also I love communism.

I wish John Prine was here

Cheese by the bag, I always I say.