The One about Daikokuten Kyooji Temple in Yanaka
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 …
The One about Discovering Japanese Music: Nogizaka46 – “Kimi no Na wa Kibo”
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 …
The One about Chomyoji Temple in Yanaka and the Copper Bell
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 …
The One about Niku no Suzuki in Yanaka Ginza
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 …
The One about Emmei-in Temple in Yanaka
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 …
The One about the Geidai Taito Sumida Sightseeing Art Project
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 …
The One about Getting Oil, Battery or Tire Changes in Tokyo
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 …
VIDEOS: Dennis A. Amith’s Random Musings (February 2017 – May 2017)
The following are my Random Musing videos (February 2017 – May 2017): The following are my Random Musing videos (February 2017 – 2017):
The One about Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins’ “West Side Story”
“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 …
U.S. Embassy Tokyo Security Message: Safe Night in Tokyo June 30, 2017
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 …
The One about SHIPS in Harajuku
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 …
The One about Marc Jacobs’ Bookmarc
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 …
The One about Rainbow Pancake in Harajuku
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 …
The One about Graffiti in Japan
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 …
The One about the Visalia Obon Festival 2017
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 …
The One about High Heat and Dead Vegetable Plants
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 …
The One about Andrzej Wajda’s “Korczak”
“Korczak” is a powerful film that highlights one of the well-known humanitarians of the holocaust. Where monuments of Dr. Janusz Korczak is seen in Warsaw, of him holding the hands of children. He has left a legacy showcasing one man’s refusal to adapt to the Read More …
The One about Tsuri Yoka Desho aiming for an expensive fish but instead they caught a monstrosity
One of the most popular fishing YouTube channels, with over 1.75 million subscribers and over ten years of content, 釣りよかでしょう “Tsuri Yoka Desho” (which translates to “Fishing is Great, Isn’t It?”) continues to rake over a fifty thousand viewers per video, with many reaching over Read More …
The One about the Tomb of Kano Hogai in Yanaka
In yesterday’s post, I discussed the Okakura Tenshin Memorial Site in Yanaka and how he started the Japan Art Institute (Nihon Bijutsuin). But not far from the Memorial Site is the Tomb of Kano Hogai, a famouse Japanese painter of the early Meiji era. A Read More …
The One about the Okakura Tenshin Memorial Park Site of Okakura Tenshin’s Residence in Yanaka
Okakura Kakuzo (a.k.a. Okakura Tenshin) was a Japanese scholar who is known for the development of arts in Japan. Best known for his book “The Book of Tea”, Okakura was a scholar who learned English while attending a school which was operated by a Christian Read More …