Japan Visitor Blog JapanVisitor is a new and rapidly expanding English-language portal to all things Japanese. A huge range of Japan related content from instant useful info to in-depth articles. Hundreds of Japan images and sounds. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 98 0 34 4721

Articles from Japan Visitor Blog

Toyokawa Inari 2007-09-10 21:56:00 ????Toyokawa Inari along with Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto and Yutoku Inari Shrine in Saga Prefecture in Kyushu are the three big inari shrines in Japan. Inari is primarily the god of the harvest, but as with most of the Shinto kami (gods), it has been adopted and worshipped in towns and cities as the god of commerce and good fortune. The fox is the messenger of Inari.The complex is a mix of Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine buildings. The Zen temple Myogonji came first and dates from 1441, though it was moved to the present location in 1689. The building visitors see today is actually from the 1830s as the original was destroyed in a fire. There is a stone monolith on the left dedicated to Taneda Santoka (1882-1940) a latter-day Basho - a wandering haiku poet and dedicated sake drinker who hit the road and the bottle after his family's sake business hit the wall.Other features of note on the site are the Toyokawa Inari Honden (main hall) made completely of zelkova wood and n ...

Miyajima Island (Itsukushima Shrine) 2007-09-10 13:22:00 ???????Miyajima is a sacred island just off the coast of Hiroshima City and makes a great day trip from the city.The island is best known for Itsukushima Shrine and its massive torii gates that, depending upon the time of day, are partially under water. The shrine is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the island is one of Japan's “three most scenic spots” (the other two being Matsushima, near Sendai; and Aminohashidate, which is on the Japan Sea in Kyoto Prefecture).The shrine was founded in the seventh century and then rebuilt in 1168—taking on the form that it still has—thanks to the generosity of warlord Taira no Kiyamori.Itsukushima Shrine is built on top of a dock, jutting into a bay. Though much closer to shore than the torii gate, the shrine itself is exposed to the elements; when the tide comes in waters lap at the giant poles supporting the shrine.The torii gate was also built in 1168 and is roughly 16 meters (50 feet) high. When the tide goes out, you ca ...

Hope For Africa Charity Concert, Nagoya 2007-09-09 19:44:00 ?????????????????A charity concert and auction to benefit Sudan will take place in Nagoya at Shooters Sports Bar & Grill from 1 - 7 on Sunday, September 30th. There will be two stages, many bands, and celebrity memorabilia auction that includes a signed Bruce Springsteen Fender.The event is sponsored by Hope International Development Agency Japan, and proceeds from the event will be used to drill a well for a community of 120,000 people in southern Sudan to gain access to safe water.Contact InformationHope International Development Agency JapanMaison Nenohana 302, 2-8-7 Nenohana-choOwariasahi-shi, Aichi, Japan, 488-0002TEL: 0561-54-5560FAX: 0561-51-4660Email: info@hope-international.jpConcert DetailsShooters Sports Bar & GrillSunday, September 30, 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm1,000 yen/500 for full-time studentsGoodsFromJapan.Click here for Japan book Reviews.Happi CoatsTagsJapan Tokyo Kyoto Nagoya Charity ...

Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park in Hiro-o 2007-09-09 08:04:00 ????????I went to Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park today, in Hiro-o. It has to be one of Tokyo's most "enchanted" parks: not all that traditional in layout, in fact not overtly "Japanese" at all, but beautiful all the same in a wilder and less organized way than a lot of the other parks in the city, in particular those you have to pay to enter.Arisugawa Park is free, and is open 24 hours. Being that accessible, like any neighhorhood park, it is as much a place for the locals to chill out in as it is for tourists to wander through. There seemed to be roughly equal numbers of both.The main wooded part of the park is nestled in a large dell. A stream flows down from the most densely wooded top end, down over waterfalls and under bridges, down to a large, irregularly shaped pond at the bottom. People are fishing in the pond.The density of the flora is stunning. There is a huge variety of species of trees and plants. The amount of wildlife is amazing too. A large part of the ...

Japan This Week 9/09/07 2007-09-09 07:01:00 ?????21.1 billion yen in Japanese pension assets left unmanaged.YomiuriJapan thrashed in Rugby World Cup opener.BBC NewsJapanese schoolchildren fed toxic dolphin meat in Wakayama.GuardianThe history of the condom in Japan's brothels.MainichiDice-K slumps as his ERA balloons with over 20 HRs hit off his pitching.Washington PostJapan ponders moving ASDF mission in aid of US to Afghanistan from Kuwait.Japan TimesJapan StatisticsAccording to a survey undertaken by Kirin Holdings Inc, a Japanese beer manufacturer, Japanese salarymen pay an average of 4,851 Yen (USD 42.77) each time they go out with colleagues after work. The average frequency of after-work drinking sessions is 1.8 times a month.30% of Japan's officially recorded homeless population of 18,564 people lives on the banks of rivers according to a survey of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. This practice of the poor residing on river banks goes back to the Edo Period in Japanese history.The same Health, Labor an ...

Parasol performance 2007-09-08 08:32:00 ????Typhoon Fitow has well and truly gone, leaving in its wake glorious sunshine and even a hint of cool breezes.I spent the afternoon in two parks in Tokyo’s Hamamatsu area: the immaculately manicured Kyu-Shiba-rikyu Gardens, and then, fifteen minutes walk away, the sprawling, grandiose Hama-rikyu Gardens with their moat, multitude of vistas, and teeming wildlife.Towards 3pm in Hama-rikyu Gardens, a public announcement was made about a performance taking place near the 300-Year Pine. I wandered over, past the spectacular Flower Field and over to the massive ancient pine, propped up on stilts almost like an oversize vine.There in front of it, sure enough, was a pair of young women in yukata, and a shamisen player. They were a traditional juggling act, but using parasols. Balls, metal rings, tea cups, even wooden sake box-cups, were thrown on top of whirling paper parasols and expertly manipulated to the awe of the small crowd that gathered.It was all in the spirit of humor, ...

Typhoon Fitow - and its victims 2007-09-06 10:25:00 ????Typhoon Fitow hit Tokyo yesterday afternoon - with a wallop! Having caused light injuries to a few people and cut out power to tens of thousands of homes on its way here, the typhoon (named after a Micronesian flower) is now ravaging the capital.In textbook terms, it is not a particularly savage one, rating only a 1 out of the storm categories of 1 to 5. However, because it is moving so slowly (about 9mph), it is picking up a lot of water from the ocean and dumping it in buckets on land.Naturally hundreds of airplane flights have been canceled, affecting thousands of travelers.Besides the fierce intermittent gusts that made walking home last night a bit hair raising, the most tangible evidence of the typhoon's power is the trail of trashed umbrellas it is leaving in its wake. From the station platform, to my apartment entrance, it was a battlefield of skeletal umbrellas, cruelly flayed.Still, the forecast for the weekend is sun - with just a little cloud, in memory of all ...

Tendo Home Of Shogi 2007-09-05 11:57:00 ???????The small town of Tendo in Yamagata Prefecture is dominated by its one major manufacture - Japanese chess (shogi) pieces.Tendo produces over 90% of all shogi pieces produced in Japan and evidence of this trade is everywhere: on the roofs of taxis, on bridges, above post boxes and of course on the town's manhole covers.The trade was begun by down-at-heel samurai at the end of the Edo Period. For visitors interested in the complex game, the Tendo Shogi Museum (Tel: ...

Okazaki 2007-09-04 19:05:00 ??????Okazaki, located on the old Tokaido Highway (now National Highway Route 1) 40km east of Nagoya on the Meitetsu Line to Toyohashi, is known as the birthplace of feudal warlord and founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, Ieyasu Tokugawa.Okazaki Park, a 15-minute walk west from Higashi Okazaki Meitetsu station over the Otogawa River, contains a reconstruction of Okazaki Castle (Tel: 0564 22 2122) where one of the most famous men in Japanese history was born.The castle dates from 1959 and is presently being repaired again. The original 16th century structure was demolished in the 1870s when the Tokugawa regime came to an end.The park contains the interesting Iyeyasu and Mikawa Bushi Museum (Tel: 0564 24 2204) which details the history of Ieyasu and the local Mikawa area clan to which he belonged.Visitors can try on samurai armor including a set modeled on Ieyasu's gold plated breastplate and leg-guards. There is also a diorama detailing the decisive battle of Sekigahara, whic ...

Agricultural Minister resigns - again and again! 2007-09-04 04:00:00 ??????Japan is about to get its fourth Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in less than a year! What is more, the latest incumbent, Takehiko Endo, lasted a mere 8 days before being felled by a money scandal - just like the two that went before him. This is the fifth resignation of a cabinet minister under a cloud of scandal since the present prime minister, Shinzo Abe, took over the reins a year ago.The first agricultural minister of Prime Minister Abe's cabinet, Toshikatsu Matsuoka, was in office for 8 months from September 26, 2006, to May 28, 2007. News of his swindling of the government of large sums of money by means of fraudulent office expense claims (at least USD2 million) was his undoing. He tragically ended his term on the day he was due to be officially questioned by hanging himself in his apartment.His successor, Norihiko Akagi was minister for only two months, from June 1 to August 1 this year, but fell for almost exactly the same reasons as Matsuo ...

Nasca Wonder of the World - The Museum of Kyoto 2007-09-02 23:32:00 ????????????????Housed in a Meiji Period red brick pile on Sanjo Dori in downtown Kyoto, The Museum of Kyoto used to be a bit of a yawn. It has a large scale map of the city of Kyoto; otherwise, it was the kind of place to take the kids on a rainy Sunday--once.In the last couple of years, though, the rotating exhibit schedule has featured some wonderful art and artifacts.In the modern wing, which is located directly behind the main brick hall, the current exhibit is drawing in crowds. The Nasca Wonder of the World exhibition displays artifacts from the civilization that thrived from the pre-Christian period until about 700 A.D. in what is now Peru. The area and civilization are best known for the line drawings and designs that were "sketched" in the desert.The exhibit itself has brought over colorful pots, tools, textiles, and real mummies.Nasca Wonder of the World - The Museum of KyotoSanjo-Takakura, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, 604-8183 Tel: 075 222 0888August 4 ...

Japan This Week 2/09/07 2007-09-02 00:21:00 ?????Japanese 50k walker guided the wrong way in mid-race by officials at Osaka's World Track and Field Championships—and fails to finish.YomiuriJapan honors Tokyo Trials judge Radhabinod Pal.New York TimesYakuza turning to white collar crime.GuardianPhotographer proposes that Japan’s love hotels be preserved as world heritage sites.MainichiInterview with filmmaker Masao Adachi.Midnight EyeJapan leads the world in broadband speeds.Washington PostBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionHappi CoatsTagsJapan Tokyo Kyoto Nagoya Osaka ...

2 Nagoya Friends parties in September! 9/16 & 9/22 2007-09-01 19:25:00 *Nagoya Friends Open Mic Night at Misfits in Imaike* *When:* Sunday 9/16 7-9pm (registration for performers from 6:30pm*Where:* MisfitsMisfits, Imaike Bee House 3rd Floor, Imaike 4-chome 10-16*Cost:*1500 yen includes 1 free drink*What:* Anyone is welcome to perform. Music, art, poetry, drama, comedy. Sign ups are from 6:30 pm or call us beforehand at 080-5469-6317*Nagoya Friends Latin Fever Party at Shooters Salsa One in Sakae* *When:* This Saturday 9/1 6:15-9:15pm*Where:*Salsa OneOkuda Bldg 3F, 5-3-4 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya*Cost:*Men 3000yen Women 2500 yen 1st 15 foreigners in the door 2000yen!*What:* 2.5 hours of fun and excitement, all you can drink plus delicious tacos provided by Jerry's Uno. Come join the party! Reserve HereWe'll be handing out loads of door prizes along with some freepasses for our live concert in October! Don't miss out.Hope to see you at one or both of these hot events!Book a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionHappi CoatsTagsJapan Tokyo Kyoto Nagoya ... Amp

Loving the Machine launch 2007-08-31 11:45:00 ?????????????????????????Japan’s popular obsession with robots may on the surface look much like its obsession with any one of a number of things originally Western.However, with robots this is by no means the case. Pre-modern Japan, too, was fascinated by wind-up mannequins that, to all intents and purposes, were proto-robots.Karakuri, as they were called, served tea, shot arrows, and even painted Chinese characters. Furthermore, the Japanese love affair with robots has an inner, again pre-modern, aspect in the way they mirror human beings: Japan, where the inner sanctum of every Shinto shrine is home to nothing simpler and nothing profounder than a mirror.Tim Hornyak, a Canadian who has spent the best part of a decade in Japan, until last year devoted two to three years to examining and depicting the history, presence and significance of robots in Japan. The result is a book that was formally launched on Friday evening by Hornyak at ...

Higashi Mikawa Furusato-en in Ko 2007-08-31 00:12:00 ???????????Ko, a fairly non-descript town just before Toyohashi and about 35 minutes from Nagoya has nothing too much to recommend it. Located on the old Tokaido highway, now the modern National Highway Route 1, the town is a ribbon of development, convenience stores and supermarkets stretching out along the busy road in either direction from Meitetsu Ko Station.Ko's one big attraction is the recently opened Higashi Mikawa Furusato-en (Tel: 0533 87 9301) a large nature park about 20-minutes walk from the station.There's a pleasant walking course through the forested park (though rather worrying "Beware of the Snakes" signs), large play areas with slides for the children, lakes, various good picnic areas, observation towers with views of Mikawa Bay and Toyokawa City and demonstrations of local bamboo crafts.Admission is free. There were few people there when we visited probably due to the intense 37-degree Centigrade summer weather. Still, we had the whole park t ...