今週の日本
Japan: Nuclear Contamination Cleanup Near Stricken Plant to Start in Spring
New York Times
Japan did not keep records of nuclear disaster meetings
BBC
Japan reports first trade deficit in 32 years after tsunami
Guardian
Nuclear foes defy order to remove tents from the grounds of METI
Japan Times
Japón sufre su primer déficit comercial en tres décadas
El Pais
« La Fissure », un webdocu sur le Japon de l'après-Fukushima
Rue 89
伊恩•坎贝尔：日本贸易逆差不只意味着不幸
Caijing
Henoko and the U.S. Military: A History of Dependence and Resistance
Japan Focus
Oakland manager Melvin excited about Japan series
Yahoo Sports
Last Week's News
Statistics
Of the nine attacks involving a firearm in 2011 that are suspected to be the work of the Japanese mafia (yakuza), eight took place in Fukuoka Prefecture. The one other was an attack on an entertainment company office in Tokyo.
In 2012 to date, the one attack was the January 17 shooting of a construction company president in Fukuoka.
Source: Asahi Shinbun
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Japan News This Week 29 January 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Flea Market Toji Temple Kyoto
初弘法
Toji Temple in south Kyoto is best known for the large pagoda that can be seen from the bullet train as it pulls into Kyoto Station.
Toji was created in 796 C.E. and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Toji Temple is also famous for its monthly flea market.
On the 21st of each month, the temple hosts a large outdoor market known as "Kobo-san."
The market is held in honor of Kukai, the founder the temple.
Kukai's full name was Kobo Daishi. He died on the 21st of March; therefore, the flea market is held on the 21st. Stalls are set up and sell antiques, food, pottery, crafts, art, clothes, etc.
On the first flea market of 2012, it was cold and rainy. However, over 100,000 people showed up.
Information
Kujo Subway Station (Karasuma Line).
1 Kujo, Minami-ku, Kyoto.
Tel: 075 691 3325
Free Admission. (9am-4.30pm).
Toji is a short walk or cycle ride west from Kujo subway station along Kujo Street or from Toji Station, one stop south of Kyoto Station on the Kintetsu Line. Buses #202, #207, #208 and #19 pass by the main entrance to the temple.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
The Big Issue Comes to a Station Near Me
ビッグイシュー
The Japanese edition of The Big Issue is, indeed, big in Japan. And from yesterday it just got a little bigger: I was coming out of Asakusabashi station, my station, on Tokyo's Sobu Line, went down the stairs onto the street, and just to the left of the little mobile lottery booth was the sight, familiar in much of Tokyo, but not in Asakusabashi, of a man selling The Big Issue.
I walked past, thought, looked in my wallet, found I had coins, went back, and bought a copy. It featured the Japanese pop artist Yayoi Kusama on the cover, and an interview with her inside.
The vendor told me that this was the first day for The Big Issue to go on sale in Asakusabashi, and that he would be a regular fixture from hereon in.
160 yen of the 300 yen you buy the 30-page Big Issue for goes to the vendor. He was also selling Big Issue merchandise, notably fabric shopping bags.
The issue I bought was number 183. The Big Issue being a monthly, that makes this year the 15th year of The Big Issue in Japan.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru
メモリアル・シップ 八甲田丸
The Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru, located in Mutsu Bay near Aomori Station in Aomori is Japan's first railroad ferry museum.
From 1966 until 1988 the Hakkoda Maru transported trains 113km from Aomori in Honshu to Hakodate in Hokkaido. The opening of the Seikan Tunnel linking the two towns made this journey redundant and the ship was transformed into a floating museum dedicated to the history of the historic crossing.
The Seikan Ferry crossing between Aomori and Hokkaido had been in operation since 1908, with the first train ferry going into service in 1924. In 1954, five ferries including the Toya Maru were sunk in the Tsugaru Strait by Typhoon Marie, with over 1,400 deaths.
On display are models of other Japanese ships, uniforms of the crew, historic documents and panel displays showing how the trains were loaded onto the ship.
The Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru also offers a full bar and restaurant service and the rear of the ship serves as a beer garden in summer.
The Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru is a short walk from Aomori Station under Aomori Bay Bridge.
Other attractions in Aomori include the reproduction of Showa-era food stalls at Yatai Mura, the Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum, the Aomori Contemporary Art Center, A-Factory, ASPAM, Wa-Rasse, Aomori Machinaka Baths and the fish market in the basement of the AUGA department store.
Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru (Official site in Japanese)
112-15 Yanagawa
Aomori
Tel: 017 735 8150
Hours: 9am-7pm; 9am-5pm November-March
Admission: 500 yen
Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru map
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Snow in Tokyo
東京に雪
It snowed in Tokyo on Monday night. I happened to look outside at about 11pm, and witnessed a full-on snowstorm: masses of huge snowflakes whirling through the air coating the railing, the plants - everything, and even flying in through the open door.
Tuesday morning, the whole of Tokyo was frosted under a layer of about 3cm of glistening, crunching snow. The trains were late, pedestrians lost their footing, and shopkeepers were bent over shovels scraping snow off the sidewalk in front of their store, as were the kids from the nearest junior high school off the promenade alongside the Sumida River where they go for their morning group jog.
Most snow in Japan's main island of Honshu falls on the Japan Sea side, where the winds that make it over the mountains have usually left most of their moisture. However, very occasionally, maybe once or twice ever winter, they are still laden with sufficient water to deposit a coat of snow on the Pacific side.
A snowfall is rare enough phenomenon with Tokyo weather to send a bit of a thrill through the city, but bothersome enough to make Tokyoites glad that it's not regular.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Kisogawa Station
木曽川駅
JR Kisogawa Station is on the JR Tokaido Line with trains to Nagoya Station, Okazaki, Ogaki and Gifu.
The nearby Kiso River is known for its cherry blossoms in spring. The first train from Kisogawa Station on weekdays to Nagoya is 5.26am with the last train at 11.55pm.
Shin-Kisogawa is a nearby station on the Meitetsu Line.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Beauty - a kanji lesson
美 漢字レッスン
One of the best words to learn in any language is that which stands for one of the best concepts in any language: beauty, beautiful. Who can be offended, who cannot be charmed, if you point at something or someone and say just the word "Beautiful"? (Well, exceptions do come to mind!) Let's have a look at how to write the word "beauty" or "beautiful" in the Japanese language.
The character for beauty is particularly appealing one in that, in its symmetry, it is, indeed, beautiful. The roots of the character might make you think twice, though. The upper part, 羊, is the character for "sheep," and the bottom part, 大, for "big." Old China, pastoral idylls, shepherdly musings - and the imagination starts to race. Enough! Whatever its provenance, beauty is beauty.
In Japanese, the character alone is pronounced bi (its onyomi, or "sound reading", and as an everyday word it is pronounced "utsukushii" (its kunyomi, or "meaning reading"), the final "shii" being adended in hiragana like so: 美しい.
Aesthetics in Japanese is 美学 (bigaku), literally "beauty study"). You get your hair done at a 美容室 (biyoshitsu), literally "beuatiful looks room," or, in normal English "beauty salon." Your mother-in-law is (at least upon first meeting) a 美人 (bijin), literally "beautiful person," or, in normal English, a "beauty." Beautification or glorification is, in Japanese, 美化, (bika), literally "beauty transformation." And 審美眼 (shinbigan), literally "judging beauty eye," is to have aesthetic sense, or an eye for beauty.
So, remember this symbol of beauty whose form reflects so faithfully its meaning, and its Japanese pronunciation, utsukushii, that will so often come buoyantly to your rescue when conversation has started to sink.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Japan News This Week 22 January 2012
今週の日本
Japan’s Prime Minister Shuffles Cabinet in a Bid for Tax Support
New York Times
New video of Fukushima nuclear reactor interior
BBC
How a Japanese paper rose to the occasion in tsunami disaster
Guardian
New Kimigayo ruling
Japan Times
Japón permitirá a sus nucleares funcionar hasta los 60 años como máximo
El Pais
Nucléaire au Japon : « L'Etat est un traître pour les travailleurs »
Rue 89
日本将试验开采海底“可燃冰”
Caijing
Megasolar Japan: The Prospects for Green Alternatives to Nuclear Power
Japan Focus
Texas spent time getting to know Yu before $107M
Yahoo Sports
Last Week's News
Statistics
The number of tourists who visited Japan in 2011 declined by 27.8% compared with the previous year.
6.2 million tourists visited Japan in 2011, which was a large drop from the 8.6 million in 2010.
Source: Kyodo News
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
Crazy English on Japanese Clothing
Japan is rightly famous for its crazy English used to give a touch of the exotic to clothes and accessories.
We all have our own particular favorites of misspelled and grammatically incorrect English as well as the plain bizarre.
Here's a recent example which takes song lyrics from Minute By Minute by the Doobie Brothers:
Does the wearer know he is sporting Doobie Brothers' lyrics? Does he care? Is it copyright infringement?
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Japanese Supermarkets
スーパーマーケット
Japanese supermarkets look pretty much like their counterparts elsewhere around the world. Though as fish and seafood is so much part of the Japanese diet, the fresh fish counter in Japanese supermarkets is prominent and a specialized butcher's counter is usually noted for its absence or small size.
Japanese supermarkets usually open around 10am until 8pm though some supermarkets in Japan are 24 hours. Credit cards can be used and many supermarkets offer a points card and a variety of vouchers for deductions on future purchases.
Service at the checkout at japanese supermarkets is speedy and polite. Plastic bags often cost an extra 5 yen to encourage customers to bring their own bags.
Goods stocked in Japanese supermarkets include fruit and vegetables, dairy products, dried goods, canned food, snacks, beer, wines and Japanese sake, non-alcoholic drinks, toiletries and ready-to-eat, pre-prepared foods including a variety of often excellent salads, yakitori and grilled fish. If you can't cook Japanese food, you can buy most of the classic dishes pre-prepared and just reheat them in the microwave and serve with rice prepared in a rice-cooker.
Large supermarket chains in Japan include Aeon, Valor and Daiei along with Costco from the US with several stores in Japan including those in Kobe, Sapporo, Kawasaki and Machida-shi near Tokyo.
French supermarket Carrefour sold its operation in Japan to Aeon in 2005 and left the Japanese market.
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