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Japan This Week 12/30/07 2007-12-29 19:23:00 ????? Japan presses China on pollution.NY TimesFukuda and Hu agree to work on gas exploration issue.YomiuriJapanese New Year food spotlighted.NY TimesThe business of Christmas in Japan.GuardianMichelin Guide Tokyo (Michelin Guides) sells out all 120,000 copies in three days--and, in terms of stars, Tokyo is the leading culinary city in the world, with Paris number 2.Japan TimesBlood products tainted.Asahi HeraldNew Year's sex: order in.MainichiGlobal warming threatens rice cultivation.BBCJapanese husbands join club to give wives more respect.CNNLast week's Japan newsJapan Statistics50,000 pre-war wooden buildings were destroyed in Kyoto between 1978-1988.Source: Japanese Capitals in Historical Perspective as seen in the Kansai Time Out, Dec., 200725 billion pairs of waribashi disposable chopsticks are thrown away each year in Japan.Source: Kansai Time OutDrunken driving accidents decreased 28% in the 3 months since the toughening of the law in September this year. There wer ...

Nagoya Speed Dating Feb. 2nd in Sakae! 2007-12-29 15:29:00 Nagoya International Speed Dating Returns Feb. 2nd, 2008!!Date: Saturday February 2nd, 2008Time: 6-9pm registration from 6:00 to 6:30pmPlace: STEPS, a new exciting club in the heart of SakaeHasegawa Bldg. 2F, 3-2-29 Sakae, Naka-ku, NagoyaPREPAY FEE: 2500 Yen Gentlemen, 1500 Yen Ladies Price includes 1 free drink!!30 couples only! 30 men and 30 women! Reserve and prepay to join!AT THE DOOR: Men 3000 yen, women 2000 yenDress code: Anything (Casual, etc)Reservations: Pre Paid spots are Guaranteed! only 30 men and 30 women. Reserve and prepay to secure your spot. Nagoya Speed Dating is a great way to meet new people in the Aichi, Gifu and Mie Areas! At Nagoya Speed Dating, you will receive a number, an assigned table, and a personalized Speeding Ticket form. When the host says to start you will have between 3 to 5 minutes to talk to the person at your table. When the time is up the host will give you a signal. At that time the men will change tables and the women will remain seated. All yo ...

Nagoya Friends Open Mic Night @ Misfits 1/13 2007-12-29 15:20:00 Nagoya Friends Open Mic Night @ Misfits!Date: January 13th, 2008 (2nd Saturday)Time: 19:00 - 21:00 (registration from 18:30-19:00)Place: Misfits, Imaike Bee House 3rd Floor, Imaike 4-chome 10-16Fee: 1500 yen (includes 1 free drink) ... Performers admitted free!Dress code: Anything (Casual, etc)Reservations: No Reservations Necessary. Just show up to the party!Great local musical talent, poetry, comedy, and artContact: 080-5169-1666 (Japanese) 080-5469-6317 (English)Get off at Imaike Station (Higashiyama Line [Exit #4 or #5])MisfitsImaike Bee House 3rd Floor, Imaike 4-chome 10-16 Train DirectionsFrom Nagoya Station, take the Higashiyama Line and get off at Imaike station Take Exit #4 or 5 and follow the map.ImaikeImaike StationHigashiyama LineYahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsTagsJapan Nagoya ...

Feather Museum Seki 2007-12-28 22:36:00 ?????????Listen to the sounds of the Feather MuseumJapan has some bizarre and quirky museums: a sex museum, a ninja museum and even a sand museum.The Feather Museum in Seki, north of Inuyama in Gifu Prefecture, has nothing to do with feathers or birds. The museum is sponsored by the Feather Company that makes razors, shaving and hairdressing equipment as well as surgical scalpels.The whole area of Seki is known as one of Japan's top locations for the manufacture of high quality steel knives, swords and blades. Sword-making in the area began in the Kamakura Period (1192-1333) and has been going strong ever since.The modern, two-storey Feather Museum - a "razor memorial facility" - is dedicated to the history of shaving, beards and hairdressing both in Japan and the rest of the world. There are interesting dioramas and computer-generated exhibits on men's and women's shaving through the ages, a collection of razors and razor blades from around the world, recreations ...

Akama Shrine Shimonoseki 2007-12-28 01:19:00 ????Akama Shrine is the foremost shrine in the Shimonoseki area and enshrines the Emperor Antoku, the 8-year-old Emperor who drowned at the Battle of Dannoura on March 21st, 1185.This famous naval battle was decisive in concluding the Genpei War with the Minamoto (Genji) clan led by Yoshitsune, defeating the Heike (Taira) clan. The battle was fought in the straits directly in front of where the shrine is now.Until the early days of the Meiji Era (1868) and the almost complete make-over of the Japanese religious landscape, Akama Shrine was in fact a Buddhist Temple called Amida-ji, and the architecture reflects this. Most impressive is the entrance gate Suitenmon (Water Heaven Gate). The front area of the inner shrine (honden) is also unusual in that it is a shallow pool.The shrine looks and feels almost new because it is! The shrine was rebuilt only 50 years ago.Another legend associated with Akama is that of Hoichi the Earless, a ghostly tale known by many through its inclusi ...

Rickshaws and sailing ships 2007-12-27 04:20:00 ?????Efficiency is one quality that Japan is taken for granted as possessing. How else is Toyota, for example, world no.1? How?I took an hour's lunch break today here in Kojimachi, one of Tokyo's CBDs, to do three things: post four letters and a postcard, deposit a sterling check, and have lunch.I got to the post office at 1.10pm, filled out an EMS form for one of the items, and presented them at the desk at about 1.10. The clerk methodically went through what had to be done with the EMS item. When that was done, he looked at the other three - two in standard sized envelopes, one in a large one - and, seeing that they were addressed to the same country, asked me if I wanted to put the two smaller letters inside the large one. As they were all going to different cities in that country, I said no thanks. He then stamped each with an AIRMAIL stamp, then went away with the postcard for about half a minute to parley with another staff member about it. He came back and stamped i ...

Tokyo Christmas 2007-12-25 06:51:00 ?????????Today is Christmas, but, in keeping with the commercialization of Christmas here - at least as extreme as in the West - it's business as usual. This morning's commute to work was a little less crowded, as some businesses close early for the New Year break, and things weren't that busy at work, but other than that it was just another Tuesday.Christmas Eve, however, happened to be a holiday, but only because the Emperor's birthday, usually reason for a holiday on the 23rd, fell on Sunday this year, meaning the holiday was moved to Monday, the 24th.I went for a long walk yesterday taking in the beautiful crisp winter air and the brilliant blue skies.In Shinjuku, the girls pictured above were practicing their boogy-woogy dance moves in the window of an apartment building and obligingly posed for a shot.In Harajuku the streets were jam packed with shoppers - mainly young couples, as Christmas Eve in Japan is very much a lovers' day - over which towered this v ...

Aquas Aquarium Hamada 2007-12-24 05:21:00 ????Aquas, located in the city of Hamada, is the largest aquarium in Western Honshu. Built in 2000, the aquarium houses over 10,000 animals and fishes from over 400 species, including many Flying Fishes (the Prefectural fish of Shimane).The main attraction is a show of performing Beluga whales.There is also Aquas Land, a huge playground/amusement park for the kids. Entrance 1,500 yen, 500 yen for kids. Free parking and free audio guide in English.AquasKudai-cho, Hamada, Shimane, 687-0004Tel: 0855 28 3900Hours: 9am-5pm (till 6pm from July 20-August 31)Aquas is closed Tuesdays. (JR Hashi station)Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsTagsJapan Tokyo Kyoto Nagoya Kyushu ...

Japan News 12/23/07 2007-12-23 07:48:00 ????? Japanese Minster of Defense: OK to fire on godzilla.NY TimesJapan's sea-based anti-missile defense system works in tests with US military.GuardianPolice crack down on Yakuza (Japanese mafia).Japan TimesJapan cancels humpback whale hunt after international pressure.BBCHumping on Tokyo's Yurikamome Line: an exhibitionist reveals all.MainichiTatsuya Ichihashi, the prime suspect in the murder of Briton Lindsey AnnHawker, is still on the lam.MainichiA video look at Tokyo.Washington PostJapan's food "crisis" in pictures.BBCLast week's Japan newsJapan StatisticsFinancial assets held by Japanese households rose to 1.54 quadrillion yen by September 30, 2007. These figures include shares, insurance polices, government bonds, bank deposits and cash.Source: Bank of JapanJapan ranks third in donations to the International Development Association (a World Bank affiliate) behind the USA & UK. Japan will donate US$3.2 billion over a 3-year period beginning July 2008.Source: Fin ...

Road Safety 2007-12-22 22:54:00 ????The caption reads: "Please raise your hand on the crossing," followed by an ad for a clinic. Kindergarten-aged children are taught to raise their arms as they cross the road to be more visible. The old and vulnerable can often be seen doing the same as they navigate Japan's busy, vehicle-choked streets.Things are improving slightly for Japan's luckless pedestrians as the annual cull of their number by drunk and incompetent drivers is falling. In a country where sidewalks are a luxury, it pays to "be seen, be safe" and wear something bright at night. Public outrage at the number of deaths caused by drunk drivers finally forced the government to increase the penalties for such offences. Road deaths in Japan reached an all time high of 16,765 in 1970 gradually falling to 6,352 in 2006. The UK with roughly half Japan's population recorded 3,201 traffic fatalities in 2005, the USA with nearly triple Japan's population had a staggering 42,636 traffic deaths in 2004.Yahoo Japa ...

Ozu Yasujiro Seishunkan Museum 2007-12-22 02:08:00 ????????Matsusaka in Mie Prefecture is situated a little way north up the Ise coast from Toba. Matsusaka is worth visiting not only for its picturesque castle walls and former samurai houses (Gojoban Yashiki), but also for the small but fascinating Ozu Yasujiro Seishunkan Museum - dedicated to the famous film director, who spent his youth here in rural Mie Prefecture.Ozu Yasujiro, is best known for his classic film Tokyo Story which was released in 1953. His major themes of family life portray ordinary people in ordinary situations struggling to adapt to the changes of post-war Japan. Ozu's movies such as Early Spring, The End Of Summer and Early Summer are both mysterious and poignant.Ozu (1903-1963) was born in Tokyo but moved to his father's home town of Matsusaka aged 10 and lived in the town until 1923 when he returned to Tokyo to begin work for the Shochiku Film Company as a cameraman.The museum details Ozu's seemingly happy, though wild childhood with displays ...

Chofu Shimonoseki 2007-12-21 00:47:00 ?????Chofu is a small castle town of the Mori Clan just east of central Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture.It's not large and can be pleasantly explored on foot by following the free guide map available at the tourist office in the centre of town on Route 9.There are many Edo-period buildings behind the high earthen walls that line the streets and along the picturesque small river that is populated by many ducks and carp.Some of the samurai residences are open to the public as is the Chofu Mori residence, the mansion of the last Lord of the Chofu Domain. Not completed until 1903, but it has two nice gardens.Kazan-ji Temple (Tel: 0832 45 0258) was built in 1321, though much restoration was carried out in the 17th Century. The main building, the Butsu-den, is original and is designated a National Treasure.In the centre of the town is Iminomiya Shrine. August 7th to 13th is the best time to visit the shrine, during the Suhouteisai Festival. During the day the area in front of ...

Roppongi Tunnel art 2007-12-20 07:06:00 ??????????I was walking home from Roppongi last night, all the way to Nakano, about a two-hour hike, but?it was a beautiful crisp, cool winter night with stars twinkling in the crystal clear air and a yellow crescent moon low in the sky.I walked though Roppongi Tunnel, which comes out at the National Art Center Tokyo. Inside the tunnel are several murals sponsored by the Tokyo metropolitan government. One of them was the one pictured here: a series of stiched together slices of typical street scenes in Tokyo - although definitely of the city's better off areas.Anyway, I liked the clean, airy effect that comes across even in the somewhat dingy tunnel, and even after sundown. (BTW, the mural was taken as a panorama later stitched together, thus the wonkiness.)Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsTagsJapan Tokyo Roppongi Tunnel art ...

The Office Hours Are Un-Japanese 2007-12-19 02:21:00 ??????????????????????People are always telling me I work really un-Japanese hoursTo emphasis the point of un-Japaneseness the girl in this ad on a Nagoya subway is wearing a blond wig and a false nose.It's been a while since I've seen the false nose used in advertising...though buying a gaijin set of false nose and accessories is not a problem. They are lots of fun at parties and Halloween and available on Rakuten.To emphasise "nose" (hana) there is probably a play on words with hanareshita (????) and dana (??) in the copy. Cool!Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsTagsJapan Advertising gaijin Nagoya nose ...

Onizuka Mara Kannon 2007-12-18 21:50:00 ????I was driving along Route 495 from Munakata to Fukuoka City, in northern Kyushu, when I spotted what looked like a really interesting Chinese-style roof on a small roadside shrine.Turned out to be another Mara Kannon temple specializing in fertility.As well as a some fine examples of carved penises, there were a couple of sculptures very reminiscent of Hindu sculptures, including one of a couple engaging in coitus.The shrine is located right on Route 495, just outside Tsuyazaki Town.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsTagsJapan kannon Shinto shrine Kyushu ...