Tokyo's Koto ward is, like most of the city east of Ginza, far from glam and not renowned for its overall beauty. However, it is home to the Fukagawa district which is rich in historical significance and offers some aesthetically unforgettable experiences.

One spot of particular beauty in Koto ward's Fukagawa district is the Kiyosumi Teien Gardens. These relatively small gardens date from Japan's feudal era, and were once owned by the founder of the Mitsubishi corporation. They offer a feeling of languid spaciousness beyond their mere square meterage, with their large calm pond teeming with carp, tortoises and waterfowl, their immaculately maintained lawns, the elegant tea house built out over the pond, and the stone monuments that dot it, for the visitor to stop and ponder.

See a YouTube video of Kiyosumi Teien Gardens above. And read more about Kiyosumi Teien Gardens the surrounding Fukagawa district.


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小沢一郎

The decision of Ichiro Ozawa to run in the upcoming DPJ leadership contest against Naoto Kan may split the ruling party, many political observers believe.


After receiving the backing of former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Ozawa decided to enter the race against the incumbent Prime Minister, no doubt spurred by Kan's refusal to offer him a place in government.

A lingering money scandal seems likely to damage the 68-year-old's changes of taking the top job and an Ozawa win may not be popular with the majority of the Japanese electorate, though Ozawa's strong hand on the tiller could be welcomed by the business community, struggling with falling stock prices and the surge in the value of the yen.

Ozawa was in the news earlier this week for labeling Americans as "simple-minded" and "monocellular" in a speech to fellow lawmakers.

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ジェリーのパイ屋さん

A five-minute walk from JR Saga Arashiyama Station there is a bit of Britain smack in the heart of west Kyoto.

A one-man pie factory run by Gerry O'Donnell is on a side street not far from Marutamachi Dori a short distance from the tourist area of Arashiyama. Piemaster Gerry himself is originally from rural northern England.

Prior to arriving in Japan, he spent 23 years in Canada. He has now been in Kyoto 14 years; much of that time has been spent teaching English.

One night, though, he made a few pies for a friend - who said they were indeed lovely and that he should sell them.

Gerry didn't know quite what to make of this, but at the behest of the friend they took a few samples to a local cafe. The reaction was the same. And thus a business idea was born.

While still working days at the English language school grind, Gerry cooked at night.

His client base expanded to pubs, department stores, and cafes. His side business was becoming more and more of a real business.

When he was told of an impending - but undesired - transfer to another branch of the language school, he took the plunge and became a full-time piemaster.

With funding from his brother and a Japanese source, he set up the factory where he still works six days a week.

He began with a basic menu of pub pies, which included beef and beer, curry meat, meat & onion, chicken mushroom, vegetable and cheese.

In recent years, though, Gerry has moved on to dessert pies as well. If the above list does not have your mouth watering, read on:

blueberry & custard
strawberry & custard
peach & custard & vanilla

Other new pies include quiche lorraine, beef and portwine, and tandoori chicken.

Online/fax ordering and delivery are possible.

Address

Crystal Court Saga,1F 6-7 Setogawa-cho
Saga,Tenryuji, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto
Open: 9AM-6PM (Closed on Sun.)
TEL/FAX: 075-862-3321

Jerry's Pies

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A five-minute walk from JR Saga Arashiyama Station.

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Photos:  ©Trevor Mogg

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Source: Yomiuri Shinbun


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ベッキー・クルーエル

Beckii Cruel, aka Rebecca Flint, was the subject of an interesting BBC 3 documentary this month. The Isle of Man-born schoolgirl became a hit in Japan after posting videos of herself on YouTube dancing to J-pop songs in her bedroom. Long a fan of Japanese manga and anime, Beckii's doe-eyed looks fit perfectly the stereotype of a shojo manga character.

Spotted by a talent scout, Beckii was taken over to Tokyo for her 15 minutes of fame as a moe idol.


The documentary probes the Lolicon (Lolita complex) aspect of young girls dancing for the "entertainment" of a mainly older male audience, the pressures of making it big in Japan and the support Beckii has received from her policeman father, Derek, who clearly has one eye firmly on her earning potential.

Now with a Twitter page and a website, Beckii is hoping to go mainstream and we wish her well.


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こちらのレジはお客様に袋詰めにしていただきます


Shopping in Tokyo offers everything from the glamor of Ginza to the bling of Shibuya shopping. Yet don't forget the rather bleaker sections of town where the flashest thing around is old Mr. Tanaka's panama or Mrs. Kato's new tricycle. East Tokyo's Asakusa area is one such quarter, and, living not far from there, I was in the Takeya supermarket there this weekend.

English in Tokyo: everything from the linguistics department of Tokyo University, to ... Takeya supermarket. Even the worst "Japlish" generally manages to make, at worst, tenuous sense. But for the first time in a long time, this poster hanging above a check-out aisle in Takeya supermarket had me at a complete loss.

"I will not do the bag staff."

It sounded like a the pledge of a Boy Scout group prone to committing acts of sexual violence. Raise right hand. "I will not do the bag staff (however worked up they may get me)." Daring myself to lay eyes on the bag staff, I repeated it a couple of times for good measure, "I will not do the bag staff," "I will not do the bag staff!"

Baffled, breathing heavily, and blood racing, I raised my eyes to the Japanese text:

こちらのレジはお客様に袋詰めにしていただきます。(Kochira no reji wa o-kyaku-sama ni fukurozume ni shite itadakimasu), or, "Customers for this check out should fill their own bags."

In other words, the cashiers at such check outs just do the till, and the customer looks after putting his or her own purchases in the plastic bag provided.

I looked around guiltily, mopping my brow, hoping no one had noticed.

I figured out, firstly, the word "staff" is probably a mistaken transliteration of the word "stuff" (there being no short "a" sound in Japanese), "stuff" in turn being a strange vocabulary alternative for the meaning "pack."

We now have "I will not do the bag pack(ing)," or, "I won't pack your bags," i.e. an instance of reported speech put in the mouth of the cashier him/herself.


All impure connotations now swept from my mind, I exited with my bag (which, incidentally, the cashier DID kindly pack for me) only to be accosted by a poster on the wall outside featuring what at first glance struck me as a pink fleshy cartoon rendition of a curvacious, voluptuous Henry Moore objet d'art. Again, completely wrong - and tellingly filthy minded of me.

It was the bulbous, nail-varnished fist of a angry yet bambi-eyed Japanese policewoman yelling at me "痴漢は犯罪です！”(Chikan wa hanzai desu!), or "Sexual harassment is a crime!"　Subtitle: あなたの一生台無しに！　(Anata no isshou o dainashi ni!) "It will ruin your life forever!"

OK, I get it! I get it! I was just here to shop - for godsake.

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ビデオ

Visit JapanVisitor's channel on YouTube for our latest videos on Japan.


JapanFilms has videos on Japanese festivals, Japanese trains, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and an off-the-wall section.

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Canal City in Fukuoka takes the "city-within-a-city" theme that has been prevalent recently in Japan and combines it with a shopping complex to create what its creators call a "city theatre" in downtown Fukuoka.


Canal City is home to over 250 shops ranging from cosmetics to sporting goods and houses a movie theater and duty-free shops as well. There are also a number of restaurants featuring a wide variety of cuisines.

One of the main aesthetic features of the complex is the 180-meter long canal that runs through the middles of the site. There are also fountain shows which take place every 30 minutes. Shows at the top of the hour feature music while the others have no music.



Canal City is separated into five areas, Sea Court, Earth Walk, Sun Plaza Stage, and Moon Walk, each with its own specific design and colorization.

The complex is also dressed up with decorations from the various seasons, such as special Christmas designs in the winter and Halloween decor in autumn among others.

In addition to the multitude of ways to amuse oneself, live performances are held on the Sun Plaza Stage almost daily.

Canal City rests between Tenjin and Hakata stations and is easily accessed on foot or by public transport from both stations. Canal Town is also in the vicinity of other Fukuoka attractions such as the Kushida Shrine and Hakata Machiya Folk Museum.

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福岡ドーム

Sitting in a picturesque setting beside a river is Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome, Japan's first multi-purpose stadium with a retractable roof.


Most commonly referred to as Fukuoka Dome, it's original name, or Yahoo Dome, the facility was opened on April 2, 1993.

The stadium has thousands of movable seats which allows it to host a variety of sporting events, such as American football games and has even hosted motor cross races.



Like the Tokyo Dome, a number of musicians, including the late Michael Jackson, have held concerts at Fukuoka Dome.

Mostly, the stadium is used as the home of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks baseball team and also hosted the first game of the 2010 NPB All-Star series. Games are played with the roof closed, though it is opened on occasion following Hawks' wins.



As a baseball stadium, Fukuoka Dome has a capacity of 36,253. The facility is surrounded by Hawks Town, which is a resort style area in Fukuoka that also features a hotel, mall and restaurants.

Hawks Town, also offers a Dome Tour, which is a tour that takes attendees onto the field, locker rooms and dugouts.

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ファイナルファンタジー

Drinks are a popular tie-in, with Japanese companies selling real-life counterparts to in-game items.


Many convience stores stock "potions" drinks made famous in the Final Fantasy series.

In the game the drink is used to heal wounds, etc. It won't heal any real-world ailments, but is a treat for fans of the series.

Following along the same lines Square Enix and Suntory recently released a drink tied into the mega-popular Dragon Quest Series, made to look like the game's famous slimes.


The Slimes come in two flavors and are modeled after spells in the series.

Dragon Quest is a wildly popular role-playing series that has had installments released - usually to rabid fanfare in Japan - across a variety of platforms including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Playstation, Playstation 2 and the more recent Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS among others.

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今週の日本

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The market for foreign language education shrank by 5.8% to 502 billion yen (586 million USD) in 2009.

One result was that Geos, one of the largest language schools in Japan, filed for bankruptcy.

Source: Yomiuri Shinbun

4.3 billion yen (50 million USD) is still left in some 19 million postal savings accounts opened in former Japanese colonies, such as South Korea and Taiwan.

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東京都庁舎

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building or Tocho in Shinjuku is a prominent Tokyo skyscraper and landmark.

The two top-floor observation decks are free and are a popular place to look out over the sprawling metropolis below. They are open from 9.30am.


The building is also impressive at night with its orange colored lights illuminating the twin towers and the middle section of the building.


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フェイスブック

Visit Japan Visitor on Facebook to get the latest updates on Japan through the popular social media Facebook.


Keep in contact with JapanVisitor through Facebook by liking what you see or writing on our wall.

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携帯電話

If your mobile phone happens to run out of power, don't despair. Japan's convenience stores and hotel lobbies will usually have a machine that can charge your phone whether you have the charging cord or not.



Look up the model of your phone on the machine plug it in to the right slot and in about 20 minutes you'll have enough juice to make that important call.

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ペットの仏壇




Where does Fido go when he dies? A pet cemetery? Well, just in case there is a doggy heaven, get him an altar too! This product was spotted in a Tokyo department store, and in a country that is pet-crazy, has to be one of the more way-out pet accessories on the market.

This pet altar was on sale in the Buddhist accoutrement section of the department store, along with the sutra books, candles, incense, prayer beads, and small altars for humans.

Buddhism is one of the two main religions in Japan, native Shinto being the other one.

Most Japanese do not consider themselves to be exclusively one or the other, but generally identify themselves as Buddhists who practice Shinto rites at the times and occasions when Shinto rites are traditionally called for, such as births and weddings.

In many ways, Shinto is less a religion than a historically accrued body of rites to appease and beseech gods of the traditional Japanese pantheon. Although, even here things become confused and the provenance of the respective Buddhist and Shinto gods can be uncertain, or at least not considered discrete. (Read more about the Buddhist/Shinto distinction/confusion here.)

But the Buddhist idea of the soul has it inhabiting every living thing, and transmigrating once the body it inhabited has gone. In this sense, having an altar for your pet makes perfect sense, if your lavishing of care on, and entreating heaven on behalf of, its soul will ensure it as least as good a life, hopefully better, in its next incarnation.

And for only 1,000 yen plus goods and services tax of 50 yen - what's that in the context of eternity?

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• Date: Sunday August 22nd, 2010
• Time: 18:00 - 22:00 4 hours!!!
• Drinks will be served between 6:30pm-9:00pm.
• Place: WINC AICHI Building 5F　〒450-0002
  4　Cho-me　4-38 Meieki Nakamura-ku Nagoya (very close to Nagoya Station)
• Fee: First 30 foreigners ￥2,000, Pre-Reserved ￥2,500, @ the Door￥3,000
• Dress code: Anything (Casual, etc)
• Reservations: Not necessary but recommended and appreciated. Just show up to the party!

There will be free food along with free drinks (beers, wine, cocktail drinks and juices).
Our party is not a dinner party, but we will have light food & snacks.
Quantities are limited, so please come early! Please free to come alone or bring your friends.
EVERYBODY is welcome to join regardless of nationality/gender. Reservation is greatly appreciated.
About 125-150+ people are expected to attend. Approximately 55% female and 45% male, 70% Japanese and 30% non-Japanese.
Pictures from previous Nagoya Friends Parties.

Get off at Nagoya Station [Exit #5 or #6]

WINC AICHI 〒450-0002 4 Cho-me　4-38 Meieki Nakamura-ku Nagoya (very close to Nagoya Station)

Train Directions

From Nagoya Station 2 minutes by foot

Nagoya Station

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マンホールの蓋

These manhole covers are from Hisai in Mie Prefecture, Mitake and Sekigahara in Gifu Prefecture, Hagi in Yamaguchi, Toyokawa, Tokoname and Inazawa, all in Aichi.



Manhole covers in Japan differ from region to region and often the motif of the manhole cover reflects a regional characteristic or well-known local product. Thus the Hagi manhole cover shows its famous and delicious citrus oranges, which are used in the production of jams, jiuce, marmalade and sweets.









The manhole from Tokoname shows a brick chimney from a kiln as the area is well-known for its ceramics.






If you have a manhole cover shot and wish to show it on this blog please contact us if you'd like us to display it.


Manhole Covers in Japan

More Manhole Covers - Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Shimane, Hiroshima

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今週の日本

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餃子の王将

Gyoza no Osho is a cheap and cheerful Chinese-style Japanese fast food restaurant chain specializing in such classic Chinese dishes as fried dumplings (gyoza), noodles (ramen) and sweet and sour pork (subutta).

You may well be served by someone wearing white Wellington boots, but prices are cheap so never mind the MSG, tuck in!


Osho began life in 1967 in Kyoto and now the company operates over 500 restaurants in 29 of Japan's 47 prefectures, even managing to weather the seemingly-endless slump in Japan's economy. Osho has even re-exported Chinese food to China with the opening of its three eateries in Dalian, north eastern China.

Osho restaurants normally open between 11am and 11pm or even later.

Gyoza no Osho

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福禄寿

Fukurokuju is one of the seven lucky gods called Shichifukujin, that can be seen in temples throughout Japan.


Fukurokuju originated in China and is generally depicted in the garments of ancient Chinese scholars with a long white beard. His head takes up nearly half his height and so it is no surprise that Fukurokuju is the patron deity of chess players and scientists. More surprisingly Fukurokuju is also the go-to demi-god for athletes, gardeners, jewelers, magicians and miners. Fukurokuju symbolizes wealth, happiness and longevity.


Alone among the Shichifukujin, Fukurokuju is credited with being able to raise the dead.

The images of Fukurokuju were taken at Sekizanzenin Temple in north eastern Kyoto at the foot of Mt. Hiei.

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日比谷公園

Tokyo's Hibiya Park in Chiyoda ward occupies an area once owned by the Mori clan of Hagi during feudal times.


The park's tennis courts are the most popular in Tokyo due to their location in the heart of the city.

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看板

Japanese public information signs are nothing if not graphic.

Usually manga-style in conception, the plethora of signs in Japanese public spaces warn people to urinate properly, not allow their dogs to foul the sidewalks and to take their litter home with them.


Public information signs really got going in the Meiji Period (1868-1912) as the new government sought to inculcate "modern" norms of behaviour on a seemingly unwilling and uncaring populace.


The overwhelming incidence of public announcements and signs telling people not to do certain things in Japan points to the intrinsic nature of rebellion among a nation long-seen as blindly law-abiding by the rest of the world.



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東京プライドパレード

Japanese gay, lesbian, and transgender pride is here again this weekend, with the 7th Tokyo Pride Parade, happening on Saturday, August 14, 2010 (see Tokyo Events, Gay & Lesbian).

Tokyo was the first city in Japan to have a public gay/lesbian pride event, in 1994. It inspired a similar event that began in Sapporo City, Hokkaido, two years later: what is now known as the Rainbow Parade, Japan's longest-lived annual gay and lesbian parade.

Tokyo's gay lesbian pride parade has a rather convoluted history that - perhaps appropriately for being in Japan's political center of Tokyo - much reflects the nature of Japanese history itself, with at least a modicum of infighting that has seen the event stop and start and change names more than once.

Despite what goes on behind the scenes, the Tokyo Pride Parade, as it is now known, is Tokyo's biggest gay and lesbian and transgender party where the boys and girls party with flamboyance and style, the outrageous gleefully outweighing the chic.

The 7th Tokyo Pride Parade, like those that have preceded it, is officially classified as a "demonstration" rather than a festival, so anyone wishing to participate in the parade itself - that circles the streets of Shibuya ward - must register to participate by 10.30am on the day.

The organizers are expecting a crowd of about 5,000. Go on, make it 5,001! See you there.

Read more about the history of Tokyo Pride.

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Non-existent old folks

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萩焼

Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture is well known for its fine ceramics - Hagi-ware or in Japanese hagiyaki.

Pottery production in Hagi dates back to the Heian Period but it wasn't until the late sixteenth century that the distinctive Hagi-ware of simple forms and a translucent white glaze were born.




The late sixteenth century was a period of intense interest in the tea ceremony inspired by the influence of the tea master Sen-no-rikyu (1522-1591) and his philosophy of tea known as wabi-cha. The era also saw two invasions of Korea by warlord Hideyoshi Toyotomi, whose forces abducted a number of potters from Korea.
Two of these (the brothers Lee Jak Kwang and Lee Kyung) settled in the Hagi area under the patronage of the Mori clan and began making Korean-style tea bowls which are the origin of later Hagi-ware.



Hagiyaki is supposed to improve with age as the colors soften as the tannin from the green tea soaks through the porous glaze. However, the pottery is very fragile and easy to break.

Two of Hagi's great pottery families are the Miwas and the Sakas, some of whose members have been designated National Living Treasures for their art.

Hagi-ware can be seen in numerous galleries and museums throughout the town including the Hagi Museum (Tel: 0838 25 6447), the Ishii Teabowl Museum (Tel: 0838 25 1211) and the Hagi Pottery Museum (Tel: 0838 25 8981).



The first week of May is the annual Hagi-yaki Festival with works from over 50 local kilns on sale.

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広島

Today is the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.

Remembrance ceremonies will take place in Hiroshima's Peace Park and in other towns and cities in Japan throughout the day and night to honor the approximately 140,000 victims of the world's first atomic bomb attack. Three days later a second bomb was dropped on the historic city of Nagasaki on the western coast of Kyushu, effectively ending the Pacific War.



There is an extensive canon of literature surrounding this pivotal event in history by both Japanese and foreign writers, including such works as the comic book Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by American novelist Eleanor Coerr, which tells the tragic story of Sadako Sasaki, who died from leukemia in 1955 brought on by radiation poisoning from the Hiroshima atomic bomb and Masuji Ibuse's harrowing Black Rain, based on actual diaries kept of the event.

Other recommended books include John Hersey's excellent Hiroshima - an account of six men and women who survived against all odds and Last Train From Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino with eyewitness accounts of those who experienced the atomic explosions firsthand including Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who endured and survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.

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気象庁

If you are a weather junky like me, one of the best places to head for, especially for long-range weather forecasts, is the Japan Meteorological Society website.

Information is available in both Japanese and English including Tokyo weather forecasts, daily, weekly and seasonal forecasts for all regions of Japan, airport weather as well as news on earthquakes and tsunami warnings.



The weather maps are updated at 5am, 11am and 5pm every day.

Meteorological services in Japan began in 1875 during the Meiji Period by the Tokyo Meteorological Observatory, the forerunner of the JMS.

Japan Meteorological Society
1-3-4 Otemachi
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-8122

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