Hemispheres is the in-flight magazine for United AIrlines, and the first airline magazine in the world, launched in 1947. With a readership of approximately 12 million per month, it is the most-read, as well as the most-decorated in-flight magazine in the United States, winning more awards than any other. United Airlines flies 711 aircraft to 373 destinations. Hemispheres is also available online.
“How’s my photo?” chirps a young woman holding up a Polaroid selfie to her friend. They are huddled in an aisle at a basement consignment shop on Tokyo’s tree-lined avenue Omotesando, surrounded by clothes, furniture and sundry knick-knacks, preparing a vintage handbag for display.
“Cute!” the friend replies. “I think you can sell the bag for much more with that smile pinned on it.”
Japan’s third city may not have the gloss of Tokyo or the timelessness of Kyoto, but it’s second to none in terms of its food, energy and an unflagging sense of fun.
A NEON MAN RUNS ALONG A neon blue track on the iconic Glico candy billboard above Dotonbori Street, one of Osaka’s more garish tourist destinations. But just below this busy thoroughfare, reflections of chochin lanterns ripple in the canal as a parade of boats drift lazily by. These contrasting images say a lot about Japan’s third city. Unlike other destinations, Osaka doesn’t come with a neat, prepackaged tagline for the tourist guides.
Nissan's all-electric, zero-emissions Leaf is tailor-made for city driving. But what happens when it's taken out of its urban comfort zone for a joyride along the Japanese coast?
THE NISSAN LEAF IS QUIET. It’s so quiet, in fact, that it has to play a little tune to let you know it’s awake. I step inside a light-blue SL model outside its place of birth, Nissan’s Yokohama HQ, and push a button that illuminates the deep-blue LED dashboard, which alerts me that I have 84 miles’ worth of charge and cues a musical snippet reminiscent of “The Jetsons.” And after that, silence: the sound of the automotive future.
Japan's capital is a place of unfathomable size, endless variety and constant movement, but just below the surface of this futuristic megalopolis is a surprising and delightful sense of calm.
In May, Tokyo became home to the world’s tallest freestanding broadcasting tower, the minaret like Skytree, atop which people gather to look out over this vast, teeming metropolis. It’s a collective hobby here, gazing out from on high, because of the peace, perhaps, the sense that one is removed from the crush of daily life.