Well? I have visited Japan fourteen times now. Not meant as bragging, but as an indicator of how much I like the country. My Japanese blogger acquaintance who lives in Fukuoka says I should receive a medal from the Japanese Bureau of Tourism. (But wait - my daughter has been to Japan fifteen times!)

Friends continue to ask me why I travel to Japan every chance I am given. Perhaps these friends are innocently making conversation, but, in any case, I wonder why. I just like Japan for its own sake. Do I have to have a relative over there or some kind of scheduled business conference" Isn?t it good enough for them that I love the country" Hey, I?m even learning Japanese on Memrise. ("Amanda, isn?t that the kanji for 'cow"'" "That person said 'Watashi wa!'") So if you love Japan too, come on over your own reason.
I am not an expert on any subject, but I have had the experience of 14 round trip flights and this is what I think about the airlines. If you can, try to book a flight on a non-American airline. Singapore and Korean Air are fine. I think ANA is the best, hands down. The service is outstanding and they nearly always run on time. If the schedule is altered by five minutes, they will notify you. I have flown both economy and, for the past three visits, Business Class (I'm getting old and can?t manage 11 hours upright anymore) and the quality of the service holds for both.

We leave from LAX at the Tom Bradley Inte...