You are visiting Japan and go to a shrine or temple and you notice people going to an area which looks like a tub of water and you see people drinking from it? The thought may cross your mind… “Why are they drinking the water?”, Read More …
In Yanaka, near Nippori Station, is a temple called Daikokuten Kyooji Temple. While not a huge temple, the temple does date back from the Edo Period and inside, there is a statue of Daitokuten, one of the Seven Lucky Gods (shichifukujin). The statue is said Read More …
Nogizaka46 began year 2013 with their fifth CD single “Kimi no Na wa Kibo” (which translates to “Your Name is Hope”), one of their most popular singles to this day. Nogizaka46, the idol pop group was created by Onyanko Club and AKB48 creator Yasushi Akimoto. Read More …
While walking through Yanaka, I passed by an area that I wasn’t sure if there was anything significant inside. Yanaka is so full of tradition like for every few feet you walk, there is a temple and a shrine that you will most likely visit. Read More …
When it comes to menchi-katsu (minced meat with vegetables in a fried potato covering), people are quite selective of what’s best. From Kichijoji’s Harmonica Alley to Asakusa, there are people who have their favorites, but there is one menchi-katsu restaurant that gets a lot of Read More …
In 1648 Misawa no Tsubone, the west nurse of Tokugawa Ietsuna, 4th Shogun of the Tokugawa Dynasty, founded Emmei-in Temple in Yanaka. The Nichiren Buddhist Temple was established as a bettoji, a temple attached to a Shinto shrine (typically in Japan, temples and shrines are Read More …
If you happen to be near Sumida Park near the river with the Tokyo Skytree in the background, you will see structures for the Geidai Taito Sumida Sightseeing Art Project. The project was created by students and professors at Tokyo University of the Arts and Read More …
In Japan, for those who have their own vehicles, all have to deal with the same things that we do in the United States and around the world. And that is automobile maintenance. And often, many people moving to Tokyo wonder where they can take Read More …
The following are my Random Musing videos (February 2017 – May 2017): The following are my Random Musing videos (February 2017 – 2017):
“West Side Story”, a musical classic that has entertained and awed generation after generation. What began as a 1957 Broadway musical directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, because the storyline dealt with urban street gangs, Read More …
As peak travel season approaches, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo is offering the following security tips to help visitors stay safe while enjoying Tokyo’s world-famous nightlife. The general crime rate in Japan is well below the U.S. national average, and Tokyo, like all of Read More …
Located in Cat Street in Harajuku is the store, SHIPS. With a history that goes as far back as 1970, SHIPS began as “MIURA” which sold imported casual clothing. In 1975, MIURA & SONS opened their Shibuya store which was followed by the SHIPS Ginza Read More …
In 2013, located in Cat Street in Harajuku is fashion designer, Marc Jacobs’ “BOOKMARC”. Designed by Stephan Jaklitsch, BOOKMARC sells books specializing in art, music culture and photography. And the concept of the store happened when bookstores began to disappear from the global landscape. Marc Read More …
In America, we think of pancakes as breakfast food and food we make at home early in the morning or go to a place like IHOP or Denny’s breakfast. Typically, we are used to the thin pancakes that we put butter and syrup. But in Read More …
I’m often asked about how safe Japan is but also get asked a few times if there is graffiti and if it’s as bad as how things are in the US? Well, graffiti does exist, but not in the same manner in the US that Read More …
It’s Obon Festival time!!! I have blogged in the past about what an Obon Festival is and covered various events. And now the first Obon festival that I attended in the Central Valley for 2017 took place in the city of Visalia, California in Tulare Read More …
Vegetable garden update – June 24th. WTF!!! With the intense heat…my zucchini, bell pepper, kale and cauliflower plants which looked fantastic last weekend did not make it. With the temperatures reach between 105-110 degrees…they didn’t make it. According to this website: http://www.plantanswers.com/garden_column/june03/4.htm High temperatures speed Read More …