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Kyoto's Nijo Station 2008-02-11 01:27:00 Japan Railway (JR)'s Nijo Station is two stops from Kyoto Station on the Saiin Line, which heads west out of the city towards rural Kyoto Prefecture. It is a short walk from here to Nijo Castle.The Station was rebuilt in 1996 when the tracks were elevated. It now is best known for its distinctive hat-like roof.The former station building is still intact and can be seen just down line at the the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum, which was opened in 1972 to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of railway operation in Japan. The former station house was built in 1904 and is a Meiji Period wooden structure that is warm and cozy--everything in other words the new building is not.What the new building may lack in coziness, however, it makes up in scale. The sloping roof moreover evokes an ancient straw Japanese hat.Both the JR line and the Tozai subway line stop here. The JR line is convenient for Kyoto Station and points west, including Arashiyama. The subway runs under the northern edge ...

Japan This Week 2/10/08 2008-02-09 21:07:00 ?????China and Japan agree to work on poisoned dumplings issue.People's Daily OnlinePackaging the cause of poisoning?Mainichi ShinbunSumo stable boss arrested over murder.GuardianAfter medical mishap resulting in death, female physician and nurse get it on--and eventually begin servicing male patients.Mainichi ShinbunJapan's "research whaling" facing domestic problems: slow sales.Asahi.comAustralia releases Japanese whaling photos.BBCJapanese paper aeroplanes to fly in space.BBC"Japan passing" - Japan set for long, slow economic declne.Washington Post66-year-old to make come back at Beijing Olympics.BBCLast week's Japan newsJapan StatisticsLegal professionals per 1,000 people:US: 327Britain: 223Germany: 204France: 86Japan: 21Source: The Daily YomiuriWind powered electricity (rank, as measured by 10,000 kilowatts):Germany: 2,062 (1)Spain: 1,162 (2)US: 1,160 (3)India: 627 (4)Japan: 139 (13)Source: Asahi ShinbunSolar powered electricity (rank, as measured by 10,000 kilowatts) ...

Japan in Small Town America 2008-02-09 00:23:00 ?????, ?????Even in the smallest of small-town America, Corvallis, Oregon (population 53,900), Japan has a presence, it seems.I was surprised to discover not one but two Japanese-themed restaurants and an aikido center.Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar250 SW Third St. (3rd & Jefferson)Corvallis, OR 97333Tel: 541 754 7508Ki Aikido115 NW 2nd StCorvallis, OR 97330Tel: 541 757 2746oregonki.orgAomatsu Japanese Restaurant122 NW 3rd St, CorvallisTel: 541 752 1410Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Corvallis Oregon aikido USA ... America

Nagahama Castle 2008-02-07 22:55:00 ???????Nagahama, a small town on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, is a popular swimming and sailing resort in summer.In winter, Nagahama and its marinas are virtually deserted, but the reconstructed Nagahama Castle is worth a visit if you happen to be in town or are passing through.The original Nagahama Castle was constructed on the orders of the local warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) in the 16th century. Nagahama was Hideyoshi's first fief and he also resided in the castle for certain periods of time. The castle was demolished by the Tokugawa regime in 1615 due to the "one province, one castle" regulation enforced to reduce the power of local feudal magnates (daimyo). Nearby Hikone Castle survived and some of Nagahama Castle's building materials were transported from Nagahama to reinforce Hikone Castle.The current structure was reconstructed in 1983 following the advice of a professor of historical architecture from Tokyo Kogyo University (Toky ...

Kansai Dialect 2008-02-07 01:23:00 ???Spoken by roughly 20 million people (greater than the population of either Belgium or Holland) Kansai dialect is the standard form of speech in western Japan. This area includes Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Shiga, Wakayama, and Mie Prefectures. It is the main linguistic and cultural counter balance to "hyojungo," or standard Japanese, which is spoken in the Tokyo area of eastern Japan.Kansai dialect is highly influential because of its association with Osaka comedians, Kobe mobsters, and Kyoto geisha--and can be heard frequently on television.The rivalry and tension, linguistic and otherwise, between Tokyo and Osaka is one of the great dramas in Japanese life.The basic difference between the language of Tokyo and, say, Osaka has to do in part with word endings.In Tokyo, "ikanai" ??????equals "I/you/he don't/doesn't go." In the West of Japan, you would say "ikahen" or "ikimahen." In the past tense, too, things are different in Kansai. In Tokyo: "tabenakatta" ???? ...

Matsuo Shrine 2008-02-05 20:33:00 ????Matsuo Taisha, sometimes known as Matsunoo, is an interesting ancient shrine on the outskirts of Kyoto that offers a little more to see and do than most of the often visited shrines in the area. It is also less crowded.Located near Arashiyama, it was founded in 701, almost 100 years before the founding of Kyoto. It was founded by the head of the Hata clan, an immigrant clan that ruled the area before the moving of the capital from Nara. The Hata also founded the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine.The Hata were instrumental in bringing Sake brewing techniques from Korea, and the shrine has a deep and long association with sake brewers, who still take water from the sacred well Kame no I, located in the shrine.The shrine grounds are home to 3,000 rose bushes which are in bloom during April and May.About 30 years ago, the famous landscape designer and painter, Mirei Shigemori, built (at great expense) three gardens at the shrine, the Iwakura Garden, in ancient style, the Horai Garden ...

Change in Cigarette Vending Machine Law 2008-02-04 22:35:00 ????????From March to July this year smart cards will be introduced for use of cigarette vending machines across the country.Smokers will have to apply for an age-verification card to purchase cigarettes from Japan's estimated 520,000 cigarette vending machines.To apply for the new IC smart card, smokers will need to send in a passport size photograph and a copy of a document showing the applicants age, such as a driving license.The application card, which is free of charge, can be obtained from shops selling tobacco, convenience stores or downloaded from the taspo website.The new regulations are a move to cut under-age smoking. People in Japan are legally able to smoke from 20 years of age.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Smoking Convenience Stores tobacco vending machines ...

Maiko at Kyoto's Yasaka Shrine 2008-02-03 20:49:00 ??????????????On a cold overcast Sunday in early February, crowds flocked to Kyoto's Yasaka Shrine to witness the annual "mame maki" (bean throwing) ceremony to welcome spring.At one pm, the assembled maiko, or apprentice geisha, tossed out small packets towards the crowd as part of "setsubun" holiday. According to the lunar calendar, "setsubun" falls on the day before spring. Ceremonies are held every year on February 3rd.The three women pictured at right are exiting following the end of the ceremony. They are about to make their way through a crush of tourists and photographers as they head back to their homes in Gion.The woman pictured below is about to throw out one of the packets (you can just make it out in her right hand). Hands outstretched, a shriek goes up every time one of the "flowers of the night" scatters her gifts to the crowd waiting below.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommod ...

Japan This Week 2/03/08 2008-02-03 04:54:00 ????? Insecticide-tainted gyoza dumplings from China sicken 175 people in Japan.NY TimesHuge Hello Kitty statue goes on view in Tokyo store.The Daily YomiuriThe Strange Kinoko Dance Company, on tour in the US, often dispenses with the stage.Washington PostDirty doctor and kinky nurse serve up sexual favors for patients.Mainichi ShinbunJapanese police pay tribute to anonymous donor.Christian Science MonitorLast week's Japan newsJapan Statistics1,060,741 new houses were built in Japan in 2007, a 17.8% fall from 2006, following tough new building codes introduced in June.Source: Construction and Transport MinistryPeople over the age of 65 accounted for 47.5% of those killed in traffic accidents in 2007. Overall there were 5,774 traffic deaths in 2007,a drop of 9.6% from 2006. 35% perished in cars, 33.8% died while walking and 17.9% were killed riding motorbikes.Source: National Police AgencyThe average monthly wage of salaried workers dropped 0.7% in 2007 to 330,212 yen. Regual ...

Hanging out the radish 2008-02-02 06:49:00 ????Even in Tokyo, aspects of the countryside find their way into the landscape. Winter might be cold in here, but most days are brilliant sunshine - enough to even get a tan in if you're out in it long enough! So here was someone taking advantage of the rays to dry daikon, or giant white radish, from the railings at the top of their three story building.The daikon has been a staple of the Japanese diet from about 400 years ago. Its bland looks belie considerable nutritional value, particularly vitamin C, and, of course, it is rich in fiber. Its most common form in Japanese cuisine is grated (daikon oroshi). It is also popular boiled. Boiled, it is best known in the form of oden, a kind of vegetable stew, where it is simmered slowly for hours and hours until it falls apart easily under the chopsticks - a treat with a dab of mustard.Dried daikon, as seen here, is not so common on the Japanese table, but the drying process accentuates the vegetable's natural sweetness. The proc ...

Byobu (decorative screen) 2008-01-31 20:30:00 ??Byobu, or decorative screens, have a long and distinguished history in Japan.They are used as a backdrop for flower vases or pottery and are an essential part of the tea ceremony and ikebana (flower arranging).This byobu is hand painted and made in Kyoto from quality washi (Japanese parchment), fine wood, and gold leaf.The maker is Tomokazu Kurashima, who was born and raised in Kyoto. Using washi byobu (Japanese parchment especially made for use in byobu folding screens) he creates miniature screens in his Kyoto studio.Using only a brush and Chinese ink on Japanese paper, Kurashima paints each screen individually. This work has as its motif a Japanese maple tree.ByobuYahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Tokyo Kyoto Byobu Kyushu ...

Katakana 2008-01-30 22:12:00 ????Japanese has three alphabets: Chinese characters or kanji (??), hiragana (????) and katakana (????).Hiragana and katakana are phonetic syllabaries made up of 46 characters. The first five characters of both hiragana and katakana are the vowels a, i, u, e, o. The rest of the letters are a combination of a consonant and a vowel, for example, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko and n ? - the only singular consonant.Katakana is literally "fragmentary kana" and is square and angular in shape in comparison with the more rounded hiragana.Katakana is often taught in Japanese kindergarten and, along with hiragana, is learnt before children begin on Chinese characters in the first grade of elementary school.Katakana is usually used in the following ways:* to transliterate foreign loan words from English, Chinese and other languages such as television?(??? - terebi), radio (??? - rajio), fried rice (????? - chaahan), Chinese noodles (?-?? - raamen), ...

Todaiji Temple Nara 2008-01-29 20:58:00 ??????Todaiji in Nara is one of Japan's most famous and most-visited Buddhist temples.The main hall - Daibutsuden - is considered to be the largest wooden building in the world, though this 1709 reconstruction is a third smaller than the original structure which was completed in 752.The Daibutsuden contains the awe-inspiring Daibutsu (Great Buddha), a colossal bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana first cast in 746. Parts of the present statue were later recast during the Edo Period (1600-1868). The statue is 16.2m tall and consists of 437 tons of bronze, 130kg of gold, 75kg of mercury and 7 tons of vegetable wax.The designer of the original Buddha was a Korean artist from the Paikche Kingdom, Kuninaka-no-Kimimaro. The building is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.Todaiji is the headquarters of the Kegon sect of Japanese Buddhism and Vairocana Buddha is considered by followers of the sect to be the spiritual body of the historical Buddha - Gautama Buddha or Sakyamuni ...

Japanese monkeys in a cage 2008-01-29 03:35:00 ???????Outside of zoos and pet shops, I have rarely seen wild animals kept in cages in public spaces in Japan. I do remember bears caged in an Ainu Village in Hokkaido some years ago, but it came as something of a shock to see red-faced Japanese macaques imprisoned in a cage in Nagahama Castle Park on the shores of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture.The smell of animals' faeces and urine was strong as the wind blew in from the lake and the monkeys did not look happy nor, one of them, in the best of health.Next to the monkeys was an empty cage. The sign posted on the wire explained that the cage had held a deer in captivity for 22 years and it had recently died.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Nagahama Shiga Japanese monkeys ...

More Japanese Manhole Covers 2008-01-28 07:50:00 ???????We can't get enough of Japanese manhole covers. As committed drainspotters we hope to bring you a steady diet of Japanese manhole covers throughout the year.The following Japanese manhole covers were shot in Shimane Prefecture in the south west of Honshu.See more Japanese manhole coversYahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTokyo Serviced ApartmentsBudget accommodation in JapanHappi CoatsJapanese For Busy PeopleTagsJapan Shimane manhole manhole cover drain ...