October 1st blogtipping

Blogtipping is a little online custom from Easton Ellsworth of the Business Blogwire; a nice way of highlighting blog discoveries on the first of the month.

I’ve found three interesting blogs in my recent wanderings:

**  Big in Japan.  This is one of several blogs on the Gadling travel site (you’ll also find Leif Pettersen’s scathingly funny My Bloody Romania there) but I’m drawn to these posts by Matthew Firestone because I lived in Japan. 

He really nails the many quirks that you might miss if you just zip through as a tourist — the weird TV shows, the very NOT staid Japanese getting down at Gas Panic in Tokyo and yummy food like shabu-shabu.

**  Amish America.  I found this blog while researching an upcoming travel article on the Amish in Jamesport, Missouri.  Amish America is written by Erik Wesner, who spends time in Amish communities when he’s not living in Krakow, Poland (what an interesting guy!)  His site is incredibly comprehensive and covers the Amish world from Pennsylvania to Oregon.  I loved his post about playing softball with the kids at an Amish school.

**  Europe String.  This blog is written by Melissa Atienza-Petri and features travel in Europe on a shoestring budget.  It’s part of the b5media Travel and Culture channel of blogs.  Recent Europe String posts include tourist traps in Verona and festive White Nights events.

I don’t quite follow Easton’s blogtipping methodology, but I’m always excited when I get my act together and remember that it’s the first of the month, and time to spread that link love.

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, blogtipping, blogging, travel blogging