www.newkoyo.com The New Koyo Hotel is doing for Tokyo what Kao Sahn Road has done for Bangkok. Beware of an influx of budget travelers. A gaijin zoo is springing up north of Ueno, and the temporary inhabitants are being attracted by room rates that start at 2,500 yen. The Web site is packed with other information and links indispensable to the backpack set.
www.raketik.com/rene.html Some middle-aged German dude in businesslike wool pants, a well-ironed button-down shirt, a power tie and a military-style hair cut demonstrates how to dance. Rene also gives a history of where styles like hip-hop, minimal techno and dub developed. He seems to be taking it all very seriously, and the text-booklike words streaming from his mouth come in ironic contrast to his highly versatile and malleable body posture.
www.ibexwear.com Ibex is an alternative outdoor clothing company touting the virtues of wool over synthetics because of the material's ability to both insulate and breathe. The Spudster's Riglos T, which feels as cottony as any Hanes, arrived in Japan in less than a week. There aren't any mountains to climb in Tokyo, but the soft wool does its thing -- drawing sweat away from the body -- on the Stairmaster as well.
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