The summer has been ruling Tokyo for awhile and along with it all the summer festivals! Usually, other bloggers write about all the major festivals, so sometimes it’s easy to forget the not-so-major-yet-unique local summer festivals. There is this cool place located in Shinagawa, called Shinagawa Shrine, though not so widely known, it boasts a few unique features, including the Shinagawa Mt. Fuji, an artificial mountain built to imitate Mt. Fuji! The view from the top of the shrine is truly breathtaking! (Check out my video blog Part 2 for the walkthrough the festival.) Of course, summer festivals in Japan are associated with colorful traditional yukatas, really, you shouldn’t attend…
MORI ART MUSEUM: SAILOR MOON EXHIBIT
The entire history of world-renown animation series, Sailor Moon, created by Naoko Takeuchi was made into an exhibit that opened last month at Mori Museum in Roppongi. Though the Sailor Moon exhibit has already closed, the Mori Museum itself is famous for holding many incredible exhibits so make sure to check them out when you are in Tokyo. http://www.mori.art.museum/eng/ The Sailor Moon exhibit featured the story from its earlier roots in manga, idea boards, earliest sketches, character designs, transitioning into anime, all of the official merchandise ever released, life-sized characters replicas and videos from each of the anime opening themes. To me, growing up watching these series in the States,…
Nico Nico Super Conference 2016
So let me talk to you about something very fun – Nico Nico Super Conference! It’s very much like a Japanese culture conventions outside Japan (anime cons and etc) but it’s also so much more than that! So what’s Nico Nico? It’s a video-sharing website in Japan, similar to YouTube except for comments are overlaid directly onto the video in sync with the viewers during playback. Nico Nico Super Conference is a convention taking place once every year with an idea of recreating the “Nico Nico Video” in real time with not only the users but also various exhibitors, such as Guinness World Record, Karaoke competitions, Kabuki theater, Rock concerts,…
Intro to Japanese Sake: The Basics
I think it’s about time that we talked about Japanese sake! Since there are so many varieties in Japan and most of them are written completely in Japanese, it might get overwhelming when we try to decide which one would suit our palate. Let me introduce you to a few basic sake readily available at convenience stores and liquor stores here in Japan! Liquor Store Sake ■Jozen Mizunogotoshi An ideal introduction sake. Smoot, light and fruity with a pleasant aftertaste. Alcohol content 14% ■Sawanoi Daikaraikuchi A true dry sake(+10 dryness). Super dry and light. Alcohol content 15% ■Urakasumi Junmai A smooth and fruity sake with a hint of roasted nuts.…
Baseball Games in Japan：Giants vs Tigers
So let’s talk about baseball, one of Japan’s favorite sports. Pastime is very important in life of the hardworking Japanese society and going to sport events is one of the most popular pastimes. Today I am taking you to one of the legendary baseball games in Japan’s history. Hanshin Tigers from Osaka vs Yomiuri Giants from Tokyo! Since we are located in Tokyo, we are going to see this legendary game on the home field of Giants, Tokyo Dome! Though I personally have never been to a baseball game, I had a lot of fun watching my first one here at Tokyo Dome. Let’s talk about food! The food at…
Cherry Blossom Viewing (Hanami) in Tokyo
Famous all around the world, cherry blossom viewing or hanami (in Japanese) is the highlight of the spring season here in Japan. Usually cherry trees start blooming around the end of March and through April, with myriad spots all around Tokyo. For Japanese people, cherry blossom viewing (hanami) signifies the beginning of Spring and is great cause for celebration. There are many types of hanami including the traditional picnic-style, walk-style, restaurant-style, temple/shrine style and etc. I will introduce you to each type, but mainly, for the purpose of this blog, I will focus on the walk-style hanami at the famous local spot Meguro River. Walk-style Hanami To get to Meguro…
Exploring Japan: FUJI-Q HIGHLAND
The summer is finally here! The season of fun in the sun, at the beach, in the mountains, at the theme parks, beneath the night skies lit up by fireworks and pretty much anything and everything that Japan has to offer. This summer we decided to start out with the theme parks! Due to the high popularity of the large theme parks like Universal Studios and Disney Land, the local parks are often forgotten or even unknown to many visitors of Japan. We thought it would be great to introduce you to some of the local theme parks of Japan, starting with Fuji Q Highland, located at the famous Japanese…
Music of Japan: VAMPS
As a part of entertainment industry in Japan, I would like to introduce you to its music and all of its amazing musicians that many of you might not be aware of. This time I would like to start with a Japanese rock band that is active both in Japan and all around the world – VAMPS! VAMPS are a rock duo consisting of HYDE (vocal) and K.A.Z.(guitar), formed in 2008 and aggressively rising in popularity all across Japan and Asia, Europe and the US. This spring, as well as performing at various rock festivals across the US, VAMPS went on the US tour with the legendary American rocker Nikki…