Three Great Items For Your Next Trip to Japan

During the Spring of 2017, I traveled to Japan for three weeks. I had traveled to Tokyo back in 2013 and I wanted to make a return trip ever since. Below are in my opinion, three great items for your next trip to Japan.

Prepaid Sim

I have been to Japan twice. During my first trip to Japan, I quickly found out that access to free WiFi is almost nonexistent. There are some areas which you may find free access, but gaining that access is a tremendous effort. For my second trip to Japan, I decided to get a prepaid sim card for my cell phone.Most of the mobile internet companies offer either a prepaid sim or a wifi hotspot. I decided to go with the prepaid sim because I did not want the concern of needing to charge the wifi device. My recommendation is to research internet companies before going to Japan. I choose to go with a company called Sakura Mobile.The great thing about Sakura Mobile is that they offer options to deliver the prepaid sim right to your hotel room. I like this because you don't have to walk around the airport and compare prepaid data plans on the fly. A couple of things that I thought were annoying about the prepaid sim was needing to fill out several forms in order to use it. Also, you will need to return the sim after the end of your trip to Japan. But I thought the negatives were more than worth it. Your first trip to Japan you will get lost. Having WiFi on my phone ensured that I'd at least find my way back.

Google Translate

I wrote early last year about the using the Yomiwa app as a quick translator for Japan. I learned however that the Google Translate app is probably a much better fit for travel in Japan. This was primarily because of the new feature that allows you to point your camera at text and have it translated into English. I found this tremendously helpful on the Shinkansen (Bullet train) as they sometimes will not have an English menu. The Translations in Google's app aren't 100% accurate, but they provide you a hint if you're not fluent in the native language.

Medicine

Lastly, I would recommend bringing medicine with you on your trip. I always used to take this for granted until I caught a cold during my last week in Japan. Because medicine in the in pharmacy stores are written in another language, you're not sure what you could be purchasing. Make sure you pack both headache and cold medicine along with your trip.

Summary: Three Great Items For Your Next Trip to Japan

In conclusion, I found these three items for your next trip to Japan great to have. They also come in handy if you're traveling to overseas in general.

Top 10 Photography Blogs

I am always searching for new ideas and inspiration for projects & photography. Because design and photography work utilize a creative aspect, having inspiration is very helpful. Some of my inspiration & ideas come from blogs from photographers and creative. Therefore, I decided to share a list of my Top 10 Photography Blogs that I follow:

Top 10 Photography Blogs

Itchban

Itchban is run by Australian photographer & content creator Benjamin Lee. In addition to photography, also included are product reviews and photography tutorials.

Pat Kay

Pat Kay is another photographer & content creator based in Australia. He writes about product reviews, travel, and photography tips.

Bontravler

Bontravler is a blog run by Jessica Wright and focuses on travel. In addition to travel guides, Jessica's blog features breathtaking photos.

CP Collectives

Run by group of photographers, CP Collectives features interviews, tutorials, and tips about photography. They also manage a popular instagram page called Canon Photos.

Joe Allam

Joe Allam is a photographer/content creator based in the United Kingdom. His blog touches on subjects such as photography, design, filmmaking, and more.

Shotkit

If you're looking for inspiration on what gear to use in photography, Shotkit is the ultimate blog. Featuring gear from automotive, wedding, and street photographers, Shotkit displays camera kits from world known photographers.

The Camera Store

TheCameraStoreTV is a photography and video store based out of Calgary, Canada. I became aware of TheCameraStoreTV from their popular channel on Youtube. Their blog features news, product reviews, and advice about photography and filmmaking.

Alex Garcia

Alex Garcia is a photographer who specializes in photojournalism and commercial photography. His blog covers a variety of topics on photography but his blog manly covers photojournalism.

Kiyah Crittendon

Kiyah Crittendon is a wedding photographer based out of New York. Her blog features her latest work from wedding shoots to engagement photos. Most noticeably are her posts on working as a freelancer. Furthermore, how she schedules her day and prepares for her photography shoots.

Ruben Hughes

Ruben Hughes journal is heavy on beautiful imagery. Focusing on interior architecture, travel photography, and fashion I am always inspired by from his journal.

Western Digital Launches Two New Portable SSDs at CES

Since CES is the event for consumer technology, many manufacturers gather to release new products. As a result of CES, Western Digital has launched two products aimed at photographers and drone enthusiasts. The two products from Western Digital are:

• MY PASSPORT WIRELESS SSD
• SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD

MY PASSPORT WIRELESS SSD

The My Passport Wireless SSD is specifically aimed at photographers. The product will feature:

• Built-in SD™ card reader
• Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life
• Wirelessly stream 4K videos and view photos
• Import from USB card readers
• Built-in power bank to charge mobile devices
• RAW file preview support

The Capacity of the drive will range between 250GB to 1TB with prices between $229.99 to $799.99. At the time of this writing, orders for the SSD's are expected to ship on 02/15/2018.https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=37&v=C04DDxCooBk

SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD

In addition to the Wireless SSD, Western Digital will release the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD.The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is aimed at drone enthusiasts. The product will feature:

• Storage up to 1TB
• Compact, Pocket-Sized Design
• High-speed Transfers
• Dust and Water Resistant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on0B70waoM8The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD starts at $99.99 with storage options from 250GB to 1TB. The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD are available on the SanDisk website but out of stock.Source: WDC

Writing Better Blog Posts Using YoastSEO

As someone who is more visual, I sometimes struggle with writing blog posts. For designers and photographers, content & blog posts are a valuable tool in attracting an audience to your website. One of the tools that I use in writing blog posts is a Wordpress plugin called YoastSEO. This Wordpress plugin provides a great structure for writing better blog posts using YoastSEO. The YoastSEO plugin functions as a checker that assist in getting more traffic from search engines like Google.

Price

The YoastSEO plugin for WordPress offers a free and premium versions to feature in your website. At the time of this writing, the premium version of YoastSEO cost $89 for a single license. To purchase additional licenses the rate is as follows:

• 1 site: $89 - 1 license
• 2 sites: $169.10 - Buy 2 licenses
• 3 sites: $253.65 - Buy 3 licenses
• 4 sites: $338.20 - Buy 4 licenses
• 5 sites: $400.50 - Buy 5 licenses

Benefits of Using YoastSEO

The YoastSEO plugin appears as part of your WordPress "Posts" dashboard":The most noteworthy parts about this view from the dashboard are the two tabs:

• Readibility
• Keyword

The Readability tab provides a checker to determine how well your content is readable. This tab analyzes your post in terms of Problems, Improvements, Considerations, and the Good about your posts. For example, if your sentences exceed more than 20 words, the readability tab will be highlighted as a Problem.In addition to Readability, the Keyword tab provides a checker that provides feedback for your SEO. Similar to the Readability tab, the tab analyzes your SEO Keyword use in terms of Problems, Improvements, Considerations, and the Good. This tabs purpose is to make sure your SEO Keyword appears in key areas of your posts. Most notably they recommend that the Keyword appears in the title, a subheader, and in the paragraph of your post.

What Needs Improvement

One thing I would like to see in future versions of YoastSEO is live error reporting. This would be similar to how spell check works in a word processor. In both the free & premium versions of YoastSEO you have to manual check the Readability & SEO tabs. I have found that having Grammarly installed helps in terms of having an additional readability checker. But having YoastSEO provide a similar function would be extremely helpful to its user base.

Summary: Writing Better Blog Posts Using YoastSEO

In conclusion, I recommend the YoastSEO plugin to anyone who writes regularly in WordPress. You can install the YoastSEO plugin through the WordPress dashboard. In addition to using the WordPress dashboard, you can also download the plugin through the YoastSEO website. The YoastSEO is an effective plugin to make sure you're on the right path to SEO for your website.