Even though Japan is generally such an orderly country, there are many warning signs telling people how to be careful and how to behave. I found this sign at the entrance to Kita-in Temple in Kawagoe last weekend. It says to be careful of chikan (perverts) and bag snatchers – but apparently, only the ones with sharp claws. … Continue reading Beware of chikan with claws
Category: Japan
Old Edo streetscape survives in Kawagoe
Kawagoe promotes itself as “Little Edo”, with a streetscape that lets us imagine what a town in the Edo period might have looked like. One key stretch of the main street even comes without power lines, which are so often a blight on the Japanese cityscape. This might sound like only a small attention to… Continue reading Old Edo streetscape survives in Kawagoe
Mini Fluoro Jellyfish!
At a restaurant at the Red Brick Warehouses (Aka Renga Soko) at Minato Mirai, Yokohama, last weekend, it was mesmerising to watch a tank of fluoro coloured mini jellyfish floating around.
Summer excursion to Kamakura & Yokohama
My sister Cathy was visiting Japan for nearly a week, and we had a great time catching up in Tokyo while she was here. Unfortunately, she’s already gone home to Australia, but on Sunday, we had a really fun, although rather hot, summer’s day exploring a few sites in Kamakura, followed by Yokohama for dinner.
Japan’s most colourful election candidate
Mac Akasaka (マック赤坂) is no regular Japanese political candidate. He’s standing in the general election on 30 August for his own 日本スマイル党 (Japan Smile Party), with the intention of making us all a little bit happier. I found him at Shibuya Crossing this evening, poking out of the sunroof of his white Rolls Royce, shaking… Continue reading Japan’s most colourful election candidate
The min min sound of summer
One of the quintessential Japanese summer sounds is the cicada chorus coming from the greenery of the local park on a hot, humid day. Ever wondered what the creatures that make that min min sound look like? I got close enough to a cicada (semi 蝉) to find out that they’re not exactly tiny. Nor… Continue reading The min min sound of summer
The Sound Princess
This is the Otohime (音姫), literally translated into English as the Sound Princess. As a male, this is something that I’ve sometimes heard about, but rarely come across. The Sound Princess inhabits women’s bathrooms in Japan, or in the case of a cafe I went to on the weekend, the unisex bathroom.
Shaky Tokyo shakes again
Tokyo’s been a bit shaky this last week. We had three sizeable earthquakes between Sunday night and Thursday morning.
BBQ, fireworks and an earthquake under the Tamagawa bridge
For many, summer in Japan means BBQs and do-it-yourself fireworks at the coast or along a river. So when I received an invitation to a BBQ on the banks of the Tamagawa, I didn’t want to miss out. This BBQ had an unexpected additional feature – a fairly large earthquake.
Kiyosato
Wet weather, magnificent mountain scenery covered in by clouds, a terse exchange with a vacuous local who treated the foreigner like an exhibit in the zoo, and a railway signal breakdown causing an almost unheard of 2 hour train delay. That sounds like a bad weekend, but a getaway to Kiyosato was actually not a bad escape from Tokyo.