The largest sci-fi franchise in Japan, Gundam could be likened to the Star Wars franchise of America. In fact, Gundam debuted in Japan in 1979, just two years after Star Wars in America. Sales of Gundam merchandise including toys, models, and video games regularly top the charts. Gundam is based on the idea of huge…
Category: Culture
Silk Moth
The late summer sees the emergence of the adult silk moth, a behemoth that can reach a wingspan of nearly 15cm (6 inches). Though the moth itself is a beautiful creature (if beauty is in the eye of the beholder), it is the child form of the moth, the silkworm, that is valued to the…
Yanaka
Yanaka is a quiet neighborhood in the northeast corner of urban Tokyo, partly because it is the last of the truly shitamachi neighborhoods of old Tokyo and partly because several thousands of its inhabitants are no longer part of the living. Yanaka Cemetery takes a large part of the neighborhood and is the permanent “home”…
Zori
Called flip-flops, slippahs and other names around the world, the zori have been a fixture of footwear in Japan for centuries. Originally made of straw and perhaps rope or fabric, you can now find zori made of modern materials like rubber or vinyl as well as more expensive materials like silk brocade, which are generally paired…
Kabutomushi
Though one may not regard the kabutomushi, or rhinoceros beetle, as cute and cuddly, they remain a favorite pet for Japanese children. These huge insects which can grow to 8cm are actually quite docile. Pitted against one another, however, they turn into powerful fighters, though many children no longer participate in beetle battles (much like you…
Ebisu Bon Odori
As July comes to a close, the bon odori season is just starting in Japan. Bon odori are festivals where entire communities come together to socialize and dance in honor of the dead. In Tokyo, the neighborhood of Ebisu seems to have made the perfect transition of bon odori from the rural village to the…
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum
The value of land in Tokyo has created some difficult decisions when it comes to preserving historic buildings. One way Tokyo has dealt with this issue is the construction of the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei Park. Historic buildings on valuable plots of land were relocated and rebuilt in this museum, which contains…
Tohoku Week – Shiogama Jinja
Topping a small hill overlooking Shiogama town in Miyagi Prefecture, this fairly large shrine complex has a history of over 1,000 years, surviving earthquakes, fires and tsunamis. It can be included as part of an itinerary containing the Shiogama and Matsushima towns and is well worth a long stroll around the picturesque buildings, pine forests…
Torigoe Matsuri
Torigoe Shrine would probably be just another obscure little shrine in Tokyo’s shitamachi (“low town” loosely interpreted as the working-class district) if not for one feature: its huge four ton mikoshi (portable shrine). Once a year, the people living around the shrine literally fight for the right to carry the shrine in a procession on…
Tanabata
Tanabata is the celebration of the myth of the two lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi, two stars separated by the Milky Way. Once each year on the 7th of July or August, they are allowed to meet. While their story represents the basis of Tanabata, the day is celebrated in many different ways. Most common is…
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