Owner: Japan Visitor URL:http://japanvisitor.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:13:04 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Tourist and resident information on Japan - what's on in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Kyoto Site statistics:Click here
Ome - a Tokyo daytrip 2007-05-13 14:01:42 青梅 － 東京からの日帰りOme (pronounced Oh-may) is an hour west out of Tokyo
on the JR Chuo line - the last stop. It's a friend of mine's favorite hot weather haunt, and he invited me to join him for a hike out there this weekend.Ome City is in the foothills of the mountainous area that starts proper in neighboring Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures, and which, in the latter prefecture, Mt Fuji forms a part of. Historically it was a station on the road between east and west Japan.We left from Nakano station at 10.15am and got a seat after the train had passed the biggest station between Nakano and Ome, Tachikawa. Ome Station sets the tone for the whole city. The town's history is reflected in the antique style of the station with old-style station clocks, painted movie posters from the early 20th century, wooden waiting stalls on the platform with stained glass windows, and signs done in fonts of yesteryear.Once we'd stocked up on lunch goods and water at the nearby
Japan This Week 13/05/07 2007-05-13 13:15:42 今週の日本Five Chinese nationals arrested in Tokyo for smuggling 50 kg of stimulants.YomiuriNew weight loss method discovered in Japan
: pull the pubes.MainichiJapanese police force confessions, put the innocent behind bars.NY TimesTokyo to name nameless streets, ease confusion in the metropolis.The GuardianWind delays trains, injures woman.AsahiJapan's working poor sleeping in Internet cafes.CNNLast Week's Japan NewsJapanese Art - Geisha FansJapanese Art BooksTagsJapan Tokyo News Japanese Police Weight Loss
Horai Bridge 2007-05-19 05:59:06 蓬莱橋、静岡Horai Bridge in Shimada near Shizuoka is the world's longest wooden bridge and has the Guinness Book of Records plaque to prove it.The bridge was first built in 1879 in the early Meiji Period to span the Oi River. The wooden supports were washed away in repeated floods and were replaced with concrete in 1965.The bridge is 987m in length. There is a 100 yen toll to walk the bridge. Be careful as the rail is low and strong winds can whip down the river valley. Horai Bridge has featured in a number of Japanese movies and is illuminated at night.Shimada stands on the old Tokaido highway between Kyoto and Tokyo, now National Highway Route 1. During the Edo-period, before the building of the Horai Bridge across the river, travellers would cross the river carried in a sedan chair (rendai) or for a cheaper price on the back of a waterman. The woodblock artist Hiroshige (1787-1858) depicts this scene in one of his famous works. The river was left without a bridge on the order
Shooting 2007-05-18 17:03:59 銃撃Yesterday in Nagakute-cho near Nagoya an ex-yakuza took his wife hostage, shot and wounded his son and daughter, both in their early 20s, as well as two policemen, one of whom later died.Check out the NHK TV news report of the incident, subtitled by JapanVisitor in English and posted to YouTube.Japanese Art - byobu screensJapanese Art BooksTagsJapan Aichi Nagakute nagoya yakuza
Nagakute 2007-05-18 17:01:13 長久手、愛知県Visited the "town" of Nagakute to the north east of Nagoya. Though technically a town in its own right, Nagakute is now basically a spacious and upmarket suburb engulfed by Nagoya city.Nagakute was the site of a vicious skirmish between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1584 but has been put more on the map in recent times by the Aichi Expo held nearby in 2005.Nagakute is also more accessible by public transport since the Linimo service was built from Fujigaoka subway station on the Higashiyama Line out to the old Expo site.The Linimo was the world's first commercially-operated magnetic levitation train or Maglev and is a beautiful sight in smooth motion.I cycled, as I need the exercise and it was a lovely warm day, in what is supposed to be mid-winter with the Setsubun festival approaching.First port of call was a Nepali friend's new restaurant - Annapurna.Annapurna does some fine Asian curries for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike and has a varied salad
The Sumiya Motenashi Art Museum, Kyoto 2007-05-17 08:59:23 角屋もてなしの文化美術館Sumiya is a two-story building that served as a very high-end restaurant/brothel during the Edo Period; its history dates from more than 350 years ago. Located in a former red-light district known as Shimabara, in central Kyoto
, Sumiya is now a museum open to the public.Officially known as The Sumiya Motenashi Art Museum
, Sumiya is the only remaining “ageya” in Kyoto. Ageya were elegant restaurants where Geisha and Taiyu performed and lived. In 1952 the building was designated as an Important Cultural Property.Sumiya was a place for well-heeled to come to be entertained—but to label it to a "brothel" is to limit its significance and function. It was a meeting place and salon where elite and powerful men gathered. It was for example the meeting place of Shimabara Haidan, a well-known haiku group. It was also a showcase for some of the most talented artists and artisans of the era.There are no other comparable buildings surviving in Tokyo or Osak
57 - Fifty-Seven, the best of New York in Roppongi 2007-05-21 19:54:05 フィフティ・セブン、六本木I was honored with an invitation to the opening of Tokyo's newest New York
-style dining bar: 57. It was on Thursday, May 10, when floor manager Patrick Bommarito and manager Shogo Izaki turned on a night that spelt panache.Wine and champagne flowed, the DJ (all the way from, of course, New York) spun, saxophonists wandering amongst the crowd wailed, and girls danced.It was at times an almost unnavigably well attended function and set an adult, upper tone that the venue promises to keep.57 is a true collaboration between two cities involving, from New York, Glen Coben as architect; Stephen Hall of the restaurant-focussed PR company, The Hall Company; menu designer Shane McBride; and, on the Tokyo side, restaurant designers Metromet.For Tokyo, the space is immense, yet is designed with a variety of possibilities in mind, from large company groups, to circles of friends, to couples. This is reflected in the variety of spaces available - all of them Read more:Fifty
, Seven
Shizuoka Hobby Show 2007 2007-05-20 17:19:15 第４６回静岡ホビーショーI attended the 46th Shizuoka Hobby
Show last Friday, one of the biggest toy fairs in Japan.The event was held at the Twin Messe in Shizuoka from 17-20 May. The first two days are trade only with the last two days open to the general public.The big names in Japanese toy production - Bandai, Tamiya, FineMolds, Diorama - exhibit their new lines to a large domestic and international group of buyers.It was great to feel like a kid for the first hour among all the model trains, planes, helicopters and cars.Bandai's Gundam was big as always but what caught my eye was the number of erotic fantasy toys on display. I spent my early youth building and painting Airfix Stukas and Spitfires with my Dad, not sure how I would have got on with some slim-hipped, busty Amazons on display here.AccessThere are free shuttle buses to Twin Messe from Shizuoka Station South Exit. Shizuoka Twin Messe〒422-8006 静岡市駿河区曲金3丁目1番10号Tel: 054-285-3111 FA
Japan This Week 5/20/07 2007-05-20 12:49:14 今週の日本Mobster caught in rubber ball extortion case.YomiuriMinor severs then delivers mother's head to police station.GuardianFormer yakuza surrenders after daylong standoff--and the murder of a cop.Japan
TimesTokyo to name nameless streets, ease confusion in the metropolis.The GuardianInterview with film director Hiromasa Hirosue.Midnight EyeJapanese women devouring boy love manga.MainichiJapanese schools to teach patriotism.BBCLast Week's Japan NewsJapan StatsRegistered foreigners in Japan 2006 - 2,084,900Koreans 598,000 (28.7%)Chinese (26.9%)Brazilians (15%)Filipinos (9.3%)Source: Japan Justice MinistryJapanese Art - Geisha FansJapanese Art BooksBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsTagsJapan Tokyo News Japanese Police Crime
Sanja Matsuri, Asakusa, Tokyo. 2007-05-19 14:03:37 三社祭Today I headed for that most renowned of Tokyo
’s downtown areas, Asakusa, for the district’s famous big annual festival, the Sanja Matsuri. (Listen here to the sounds of it.)Asakusa is most famous for Sensoji (‘senso’ simply being another reading of the characters that make up ‘asakusa’). It is said to have been founded in 628AD when fishermen caught in their nets and landed a small statue of the Buddha. The village headman took it as a sign, became a priest, and built the temple that is now Sensoji. It is now one of Tokyo’s biggest traditional events, drawing tens of thousands of people to feel the supercharged atmosphere of the festival. Everything is centered, of course, on the temple, but the immediate focus of the action is three floats that different neighborhood groups carry around the neighborhood on three different pre-planned routes. There are incidental floats as well, but the big three form the core. Things get underway late-morning, and the beating o
Gifu Cormorant Fishing 2007-05-24 11:19:46 岐阜の鵜飼Gifu is famous for its cormorant fishing (ukai) on the Nagara River. After dark from mid-May to mid-October, excursion boats can be hired, from hotels and at the booking office just below Nagara Bridge, to participate in a traditional practice of catching Japanese sweetfish (ayu) using comorants.Tethered by rings around the neck so that they don't swallow their catch, the birds are released in to the water in search of Japanese trout (ayu) from long, covered, wooden fishing boats with braziers out front to attract the fish.The captured fish are grilled and traditionally served up with Japanese beer and sake.Ukai cormorant fishing from river boats also takes place in Arashiyama in Kyoto and other river towns around Japan.The best view for spectators is the far bank of the Nagara river. Gifu Castle is clearly visible on the hill above.Cormorant fishing has been employed in Japan since at least the 8th century. Traditionally each fishing boat is manned by four men, the cap Read more:Fishing
Gifu Castle 2007-05-23 07:24:58 岐阜城Gifu Castle
stands proudly on top of the 300m-high Mount Kinka. There has been a fortress on this spot since the 13th century.Previously known as Inabayama Castle, Gifu Castle is associated with the life of local Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), who strengthened the castle's fortifications and was responsible for the name change.The present concrete structure dates from the 1950s and includes collections of Edo-Period weapons and armor. There are tremendous views from the top observation deck down over Gifu city and the Nagara River below. There is also a small museum just below the castle which contains musical instruments and other period artefacts and is included in the price of admission.AccessGifu CastleTel: 058 263 4853Admission: Adults 200 yen; children (4-15 years) 100 yenGifu Castle is in Gifu Park. Take a bus 15 minutes from JR Gifu Station (Platform 11) or Meitetsu Gifu Station (Platform 4). Get off at Gifu Koen Rekishi Hakubutsukan-mae. Walking to the ca
Kawadoko (outdoor deck) Dining, Kyoto 2007-05-22 03:38:49 川床、京都Kyoto
is unique among Japanese cities in that it has embraced its rivers. It has not avoided the Ministry of Construction-sponsored concreting of its waterways; however, unlike Tokyo and Osaka and other cities, Kyoto never turned away from its waters.The Kamogawa River, which flows through central Kyoto, is where Kyotoites go to play and enjoy, romance and dine. From just south of the downtown area all the way north of Imadegawa Street, the river banks are thronged with people.Lovers sit at intervals a stone's throw from the bars and nightlife of Shijo and Sanjo. Young mothers bring their children to play in the shallow waters near Imadegawa. Medical students relax and play tennis behind the Kyoto Prefectural Hospital.And, from early May until September, residents and tourists eat and drink on decks set up overlooking the river.Restaurants along Pontocho and, farther north and south, Kiyamachi face the Kamogawa River. From about Gojo (fifth street) up until Oike, all re Read more:outdoor
, Dining
Design Festa 07, Tokyo 2007-05-27 11:17:28 デザイン・フェスタ07 東京The Tokyo
Design Festa 2007 happened over this weekend: May 26 and 27. It was my third in as many years. As always, it took place at the massive Tokyo Big Sight venue, and was very well attended.Being my third time, it didn't hold as much charm as the first two times. Of the hundreds of booths, the majority are devoted to the graphic arts in the form of illustrations, paintings, photographs, and the like. The majority of those, while usually in possession of certain merits, are largely lost in the great sea of amateur artistry and inevitably get a sameness about them that makes them pretty easy to pass by.So for this slightly jaded visitor, there were only two booths that gave this year's Design Festa a bit of a twist - or should I say, kink. One featured a young woman with her face framed in a board with the words 'Hit Me' (see photos below). It was a pie-throwing booth and for a couple of hundred yen you could hurl a shaving foam pie at her.The
Japan This Week 5/27/07 2007-05-27 06:47:07 今週の日本North Korea tests missiles in Sea of Japan
.GuardianDiet passes revised law that stiffens penalties for crimes committed by minors.Japan TimesJapan's busybodies digging through their neighbors' trash.MainichiMongolian Hakuho wins spring sumo tournament.MainichiJapanese whaling research.BBCLast Week's Japan NewsJapan StatsJapanese investment in the USA 2000 US$14.1 billionJapanese investment in the USA 2006 US$12.1 billionJapanese investment in Asia 2000 US$2.1 billionJapanese investment in Asia 2006 US$16.2 billionJapanese Art - Geisha FansSex in JapanBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese SumoTagsJapan Tokyo News Sumo WhalesBook a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionHappi CoatsTagsJapan Tokyo Kyoto Nagoya Kyushu
Four Stories -- Osaka 2007-05-26 01:10:36 The Four Stories
Japan Summer '07 season will kick off in Osaka
on Sunday, June 17, with "East and West: Tales from two hemispheres."FEATURING prose readings from:* Juliet Winters Carpenter, Kyoto professor; acclaimed translator of Ryotaro Shiba's The Last Shogun, Kobo Abe's Beyond the Curve, and Miyuki Miyabe's Shadow Family; and author of Seeing Kyoto* Jessica Goodfellow, author of A Pilgrim's Guide to Chaos in the Heartland; recipient of the Chad Walsh Poetry Prize from The Beloit Poetry Journal and three-time Pushcart nominee, with work featured in Best New Poets 2006 and on Garrison Keillor’s NPR program The Writer’s Almanac* Roland Kelts, Lecturer at the University of Tokyo; co-editor of the New York-based literary journal A Public Space; author of JapanAmerica; and writer with work in Zoetrope, Playboy, Doubletake, Salon, The Village Voice, Newsday, Cosmopolitan, Vogue and The Japan Times* Lou Rowan, author of the story collection Sweet Potatoes and critica
PingPong in Ryogoku 2007-05-25 04:19:08 両国を回るピンポンPingPong is a comic team of two women (well, one woman, and what I presume must be a man that dresses and acts like a woman) that feature on daytime Japanese TV doing light documentary coverage of the generally weird and wonderful.Today they went to Ryogoku in Tokyo, the home of sumo in Japan. It was a long show, but this clip was the most interesting bit. Watch PingPong visit a cakeshop that includes among its clientele someone you'd never expect. Good Japanese daytime TV grotesquery!Book a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionHappi CoatsTagsJapan Tokyo Ryogoku Ping Pong TV
Jakuchu Exhibit, Shokokuji Temple 2007-05-30 21:22:24 若冲展覧会相国寺京都30 scroll paintings by Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800) are currently on display at Shokokuji Temple
, in Kyoto. This is the first time in 120 years that they have been shown together. The best known of them is "The Colorful Realm of Living Beings," along with the "Sakyamuni Triad."It took Jakuchu 10 years to complete the series, which he donated to Shokokuji in the hopes of eternal salvation for himself and his family.In 1889, the 30 scrolls of "The Colorful Realm of Living Beings" were given to the Imperial Family. They are normally housed in the Sannomaru Shozokan Museum on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The "Triad" series is kept at Shokokuji.The Shokokuji exhibition was organized to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the death of the temple's founder, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.On the day we went, guards with bullhorns at the main gate guided taxis to a turnaround, stopped local traffic, and warned of "delays." As we walked in, more bullhorns awaited. Read more:Exhibit
Half-price Condoms, Kyoto 2007-05-30 08:45:44 半額コンドーム京都People in Kansai, or western Japan, are known for their business prowess. Osaka was the center of business in Japan for centuries until Tokyo usurped that role in the 1960s. Kyoto
too is full of creative entrepreneurs. The ancient city has spawned Nintendo, Kyocera, Wacoal, Rohm, Omron and many other companies and brands known worldwide.In spite of a reputation for being a bit aloof--and the city itself being better known for temples and geisha--Kyotoites are very practical and down to earth when it comes to making a buck.Cycling through downtown the other day, I passed a large metal sign advertising "half price
condoms." The same sign has been in front of a mom-and-pop drug store for the 8 years that I have been riding in the neighborhood.The sign is bolted to a metal stand that sits in front of a neighborhood drug store on a narrow downtown street. The red and blue combination is quite eye-catching, and I have always wanted to go in and ask the ancient man Read more:Condoms
Rikugien Gardens 2007-05-28 21:16:02 六義園、東京Rikugien Gardens
, an Edo-period, landscaped, strolling garden, was created in the early 18th century by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, an associate of the shogun of the day, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. The name refers to the "Six Principles or Categories" (六義) of classical Chinese and Chinese-influenced, Japanese poetry.The garden later became the property of Iwasaki Yatoro, the founder of the Mitsubishi group, a Meiji-era business tycoon who also owned the Kyu-Iwasaki-tei house and gardens in Tokyo designed by British architect Josiah Conder. Rikugien was donated to the city of Tokyo in 1953.The layout of the strolling gardens, with a 35m high "mountain", pond, teahouses, stone lanterns and bridges are based on the theme of Waka (和歌 lit. "Japanese" + "song") poetry. 88 scenes from famous poems are recreated in the gardens and stone markers (sekichu) indicate these special views. 32 of the original 88 markers still remain.Rikugien has some areas of dense wood and the stroll
Japanese Cabinet Minister Kills Himself 2007-05-28 06:58:50 松岡大臣の自殺Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japan's Minister
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 62 years old, killed himself in Tokyo today. He was due to appear a few hours after the time of his death before a parliamentary committee for questioning, and opposition parties were calling for his resignation.The scandal he was embroiled in was over 28m yen (USD236,600) that he claimed as water and electricity fees at his parliamentary office. However, parliamentary offices in Japan are not charged for utility costs.He had been refusing to explain the situation to a parliamentary committee, and his innocence was being staunchly defended by Shinzo Abe, the prime minister.He is the seventh Japanese
member of parliament to commit suicide since 1945. Click on the above movie posted on YouTube for news clips regarding the scandal as broadcast today on Japanese TV. Subtitled in English by JapanVisitor.Book a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionHappi CoatsTagsJapan Tokyo Matsuoka pol Read more:Cabinet
, Kills
Tokyo Design Festa Vol.23 2007-05-27 21:14:33 デザイン・フェスタ ２３ Today I went to the 23rd Tokyo
Design Festa: a helter-skelter of creativity that takes place every spring and autumn in the massive Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo International Exhibition Center).Tokyo Design Festa provides an opportunity to anyone who isn’t ‘big’ (yet), to display virtually whatever s/he likes to do or make. 80% of it is pass-byable, being booths dedicated to mawkish adolescent cutsieness, something like watching cherry blossom: pleasant enough for a while in the aggregate but not something you stop at each tree to study.However, there is, of course, a vanguard of true talent in design, music, and art that make it memorable. Below are a few snaps from today’s Tokyo Design Festa, Vol.23. On the train. Tokyo Design Festa is nothing if not on the young and whacky side. While not exactly typical, these kids on the same train as I on their way there looked by no means out of place when I saw them again inside Tokyo Big Sight later. This
Tokyo Design Festa, No.22 2007-05-27 21:13:03 東京デザイン・フェスタ ２２Going to the Tokyo
Design Festa.(Click on images to enlarge.)I went to the massive Tokyo Big Sight exhibition hall in Koto ward today to see the 22nd Tokyo Design Festa. Tokyo Design Festa is a biannual event that always takes place at Tokyo Big Sight. It provides an affordable and conspicuous opportunity for relatively (through to completely) unknown artists of various kinds to display their creations.(Left) Tokyo Big Sight, Koto ward, Tokyo.Jewelry, drama, pottery, film, sculpture, music, ornaments, lamps…virtually every art form is represented in a darkened maze of booths and spaces. I went with a Japanese acquaintance who works at the local convenience store. He has developed a huge circle of customers, myself included, and networks relentlessly. Thanks to him I was introduced another customer and fellow resident of my neighborhood, Yukinori Maru: basically a musician, but a musician who has added film to his scores, rather than the more
Design Festa Vol.24 in Tokyo 2007-05-27 21:10:24 デザインフェスタVol.24Click here for a video of a funk rock band performing at the Tokyo
Design FestaToday I visited the 24th (called 'Vol.24') of the Tokyo Design Festa. The Design Festa is a two-day extravaganza of 'design' in the very broadest sense of the word, i.e. anything that stimulates the artistic senses. Housed in the massive Big Sight (Tokyo Kokusai Tenjijo) venue in Tokyo's Koto ward, it attracts hundreds of exhibitors from Japan and abroad and tens of thousands of visitors.Most of the design is of the two-dimensional visual variety with perhaps almost half the stalls featuring posters, postcards, artwork, photography and the like. The rest is a mix of jewelry, sculpture, dolls, clothing, candlemaking, embroidery, music composition, drama, fashion shows and DJing, live performance and more. It is impossible to give most stalls anything but the most cursory glance, honing in only on what ever instantly grabs your eye or ear.The number of exhibitors who had com
Snake in Tokyo street 2007-06-02 22:31:38 東京に蛇Japan has snakes, most of them harmless. I was walking through Tokyo
's Shinjuku district on a quiet street bordering Shinjuku Gyoen Park when my eye was caught by a small snake lying near the middle of road, basking in the sun.It is not uncommon to see a snake or two when hiking in Japan, but this is the first time I had ever seen one in an urban environment.Check out the short movie I took of it, posted to YouTube.Book a hotel in Japan with BookingsJapanese FictionHappi CoatsTagsJapan Tokyo Shinjuku snake movie YouTube
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Matsue Castle 2007-06-02 09:42:31 松枝城 I had to go up to the Prefectural capital, Matsue, yesterday, and with a few hours to kill I decided to finally make a visit to the castle. Built in 1611, Matsue Castle
is one of only a handful of castles in Japan that has not been destroyed by fire or war. Most Japanese castles are replicas or reconstructions.For 230 years, until the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the castle was home to the Matsudaira Clan, a junior branch of the ruling Tokugawa.After paying the 600 yen entrance fee, a woman came running out of the office and gave me some change. Apparently thanks to the Yookoso Japan campaign there is a hefty discount for foreigners to all Matsue's tourist sites.From the top floor of the castle there are fine views over the city and surrounding area. With a population of about 150,000, Matsue is not so big, and is actually quite a pleasant city. A pleasure boat trip around the extensive castle moat is very popular with visitors. With the moat, canals, rivers, and Lake Shinji (
Book Review: Pink Box 2007-06-02 03:34:39 水商売、歌舞伎町、風俗Feminist, journalist, lawyer, photographer, and former English teacher Joan Sinclair has produced a fascinating work on Japan’s ubiquitous sex industry. Pink Box: Inside Japan's Sex Clubs takes the reader places most of us will never get to.In Tokyo's Shinjuku, Osaka’s Umeda, Kyoto’s Kiyamachi, and throughout the country, women dress up like “nurses, policewomen, and commuting secretaries to provide men with fantasy services acted out in elaborately decorated playrooms.”Sinclair starts in Shinjuku's Kabukicho, ground zero of the Japanese sex industry, where the fun comes in almost any shape and size and fantasy. Amazingly, Sinclair—a foreign woman—managed after being away from Japan for ten years to return and talk her way into the clubs, camera in hand.In 2005, she spent a year deep in the demi-monde of the Japanese sex industry, “befriending the women, customers, and managers who work in Japan’s entertainment industry”—and ult
Sexy 'Gothic Lolita' fashion 2007-05-31 10:02:30 ゴスロリIf fashion and ideas of style rule anywhere, they rule in Japan. The group mentality, the sense of high drama (or, if you like, hamminess!) that infuses life here, and, most of all, the dedication to looking good, or in Japanese kakko, means spending on clothes and accessories is very high on the list of most people's priorities.The highest compliment you can ever pay a Japanese is to say they are 'kakko-ii' ('stylish', 'smart', 'trendy', 'sharp', etc), and unless you have something close to a death wish, never let its opposite 'kakko-warui' ever escape your lips.Like everything, however, style has its tribes, and, again, perhaps nowhere more than in Japan. One you can see almost any day of the week, in any part of Japan - not in great numbers, but here and there if you stay on the lookout - are the gaudy, frilly Victorian 'Little Bo Peep' maids, or, in the Japanese vernacular 'gosuloli', short for goshikku loliita - a transliteration of GothicLolita
.Every
Interview: "Pink Box" Author Joan Sinclair 2007-06-06 05:40:31 水商売、風俗、ピンクボックスJapanVisitor.com recently spoke with feminist, journalist, lawyer, photographer, and former English teacher Joan Sinclair
about her work on Japan’s ubiquitous sex industry, Pink Box: Inside Japan's Sex Clubs.Can we start with a little bit about yourself. You are a lawyer? Are you also still working as a photographer?I'm actually no longer working as a lawyer. As for the photography, yes, I am still doing work in photography. I have not put down the camera yet.What brought you to Tokyo?I was teaching English on the JET program. I was in Saitama for 2 years from 1995 to 1997. Why this book?Pink Box Teachers at the middle school where I was working were talking one day about telephone clubs. My basic reaction was, What is this?! Over time, I heard more and more and realized that there was a wealth of nightlife I had never heard of. I had a friend take me on a walking tour of Kabukicho. Once I began to recognize the signs, the writing, I realiz Read more:Author
Kyu-Shiba Rikyu Garden 2007-06-06 00:35:03 旧芝離宮恩賜庭園This gem of a garden, along with Koishikawa Korakuen Garden
is one of Tokyo's few surviving clan gardens from the Edo Period. It is also only a short walk from nearby Hama Rikyu Gardens and both places can easily be seen in half a day.The garden is built on land reclaimed from Edo Bay and became the residence of an official of the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate - Okubo Tadatomo - in 1678.The original garden, called "Rakujuen", was designed by landscapers from Okubo's home fiefdom of Odawara (present-day Kanagawa Prefecture). After the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and the end of the Tokugawa regime, the garden was bought by the Imperial Household Agency in 1875 and renamed Kyu-Shiba Rikyu (Shiba Detached Palace).Kyu-Shiba Rikyu was donated to the Tokyo city authorities in 1924 after the site was devastated in the Great Kanto Earthquake of the previous year.The focal point of the garden is the large pond, Sensui, which like Hama Rikyu's pond still is, was once filled w
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