Current Nippon Events

Since Japanese news doesn't really get overseas (just like how most international news never gets here), I thought I would share some with you. These are the things the news people constantly talk about and beat to death like a dead horse, as forementioned. Seriously, I don't know how many news programs they have a day, but they all talk about the same thing just with different announcers.

First up we have the Kobe Airport opening. It opened yesterday in Kobe. Why it's a big deal, is that a much bigger Kansai Airport lies just 40 km (25 miles) to the east. And at 510 billion yen (about 2 and half billion dollars), that is a big investment for having two airports almost right by each other. Also it's an artificial island which causes envronmental concerns. I don't really know why, but supposedly it does. I don't even know why Japanese people are so finicky about saving the environment. They use so much plastic to inidividually wrap everything and insulation here is non-existant. But people still blast their a/c or heat.

Here is a picture to give you an idea how close the two are. Kobe is on the top of the bay, and Kansai Airport (located in Osaka) in on the bottom right. Kansai airport is the big artificial island.


The second bit of news is that the crown princess is preggers. This is a big deal since they need a male sucessor to the throne. And since obviously woman can't uphold the throne, they are hoping this next kid will be a boy. As a westerner, the obvious solution to the problem is to let a woman accsend to the throne. But years of tradition (see: sexism) won't let that happen. Aside from the point that it's completley ridiculous that woman aren't allowed to be empress, what do these people do anyway. You never hear about them on the news and no one ever sees them. I know you hear about all the royal families in europe. Charles, lizzy and all them get regular press time. But it seems here, they are puppets to uphold a imperial lineage that no longer means anything really. I suppose since America has never had royalty of the sorts (just spoiled congressmen), I can't really appreciate people having a luxorious lifestyle going around calling each other crown princess and your highness and making rules about who can and cannot be them, all payed by the tax payer.

Still Alive

I've heard that I'm not updating enough. So I decided it's about time for another entry. It's just that it's not really a trip anymore. I live here so the excitement for most things have gone down quite a lot. Everything is fun and all but I've become quite Tokyo-fied.

As mentioned in the last post I visited the Edo Museum a couple weeks ago. A good visit. Here are some pics.





The station for the museum, Ryougoku, is also where the really big sumo arena is in Tokyo. So there are lots of pictures and statues of sumo wrestlers and such all around. Like this one.



Right inside the museum is a replica of the original Nihonbashi bridge. (日本橋) Nihonbashi literally means Japan Bridge. So saying Nihonbashi Bridge is like saying ATM machine or UMB bank, but that's how the Japanese decided it should be in English. Anyway this bridge was the gateway of sorts for Edo (pre-meiji era Tokyo). But it got destroyed along with everything else three times. There is a 3rd or fourth incarnation of Nihonbashi by, appropraitely names, Nihonbashi Station, but it's supposedly really small and touristy. I probably should pay a visit sometime though.


The former was a life size replica, but they also had dioramas with people showing how the bridge looked with Edo.


These incredibly creepy things were made in Edo era for Doctors. It was a model of a human with veins and muscles and stuff. They were ten times more creepy in person.


And just incase two baby corpse things weren't enough, they also made a woman whose chest could be opened so you could see the lovely things inside.


This is a stop sign from pre war Tokyo. Right next to this was a replica (I think) of the first taxi service in Tokyo. It could take you anywhere in the city limits for one yen. To compare, the usual rate for all taxis in Tokyo is now 660 yen for the first 2km's and like 200 yen for every 248 metres.

Than last tuesday or the tuesday before that, I can't remember, I went to Omotesando to go see some art galleries. Omotesando is a really trendy district by Shibuya and Harajuku. The main street is a lot like Champs-elysees in Paris I was told by my french friend. It was raining that day though. Like the only day it has rained in 2 months. We saw some interesting art galleries, I think I enjoyed it more than everyone else. But they said they wanted to come along. We stopped for lunch in this deli-esque resturaunt and I ordered the "Taco Plate". I haven't had a taco since august probably, and I'm really starving for one. Words can't describe my dissapointment with this one. But I will let the picture speak for itself.



Yes that is correct. A wiener in a taco shell. But I ate it and was happy. With the salsa (which actually tasted quite nice) it was taco-esque flavouring. But I will just have to wait until August for a proper taco.

Also I have a new student for being an English tutor. This is seperate from my job with the kids. I had my first real session yesterday. He actually wants to learn, which is a big change from the kids who I am guessing are all in there not because of their free will. He's pretty nice though. Yesterday after we were through he wanted me to stay and have japanese sweets he got from the hot spring he visited last week and talk with him and his roomate.

The station where I meet him is Hatusdai, where Tokyo Opera City is located. It's quite an interesting place. There is a resturaunt there just called "Texas" and advertises "steak and tacos". It actually looked like a texan resturaunt though, just a lot more cramped. And no white rednecks.


In the courtyard of Opera City is this giant statue about 1 and half stories tall. Music plays and his mouth moves. Not really sure of the point but it's kind of neat looking.