Tokyo Eight

Almost four years ago I wrote a post when my first grandchild was born.

She’s already almost four years old now…and she’s a perfect angel!

Well, yesterday she became a big sister! My second grandchild (and first grandson) was born yesterday.

One hundred years ago today

Exactly one hundred years ago today (September 1st, 1923), Tokyo was hit by a massive earthquake.

It’s called 「関東大地震」(“The Great Kanto Earthquake“).

It was at about noon on that Saturday when the powerful earthquake suddenly struck. Many buildings collapsed and many people died. But the earthquake itself isn’t what caused most of the death and destruction, actually. As it was lunchtime, most people were cooking (with gas stoves), and because of that, the strong jolting of the earth caused massive fires to break out and spread throughout the city. More homes were destroyed and more people died from the fires than the earthquake itself.

The earthquake also broke water lines and caused water wells to become contaminated.

And, another tragic consequence of the Great Kanto Earthquake was the panic caused by the false rumors that spread that said the fires, the broken water lines, and the contaminated water were caused by intentional sabotage by Koreans living in Japan.

Those rumors were false, but, unfortunately, they led some people to become vigilantes and actually kill many Koreans living in Tokyo.

Nowadays in Japan, September 1st has become “Disaster Prevention Day” to remember the tragic losses of the Great Kanto Earthquake and to learn what to do when an earthquake or other natural disaster strikes.

I, of course, wasn’t alive in 1923. But I have been through many earthquakes in Japan. Most notably, the Great Hanshin Earthquake that struck Kobe, Japan on January 17th, 1995, and the Great Tohoku Earthquake that struck north-east Japan on March 11th, 2011. That one shook buildings even down here in Tokyo. And, like the Great Kanto Earthquake a hundred years ago, most of the death and destruction on the March 11th, 2011 distaster wasn’t caused by the earthquake itself…on that day, it was mostly caused by the terrible tsunami wave that came right after the earthquake.

Interview with Anvil

As I wrote in this post, I’ve basically stopped blogging. I occasionally add a new post…but very rarely. But Steve “Lips” Kudlow of the heavy-metal band “Anvil” agreed to do a short interview with me.

Click here to read the interview.

End Of The Road

As I wrote in this post, I stopped blogging a few years ago…but, I wanted to write a special post because I saw a KISS show on their current Japan tour.　(Here is another blog post I wrote about a KISS concert I went to six years ago).

(I still use  Instagram. Please feel free to follow and comment on my account there (you can comment on any of this blog’s posts too, and I will reply!)

I titled this post “End Of The Road” because it’s the name of KISS‘s current tour (coincidentally, I titled my “official” final blog post “End Of The Line“, which is similar).

I saw KISS at the Tokyo Dome on December 11th, 2019 on this tour.

This was the setlist:

1. Detroit Rock City
2. Shout It Out Loud
3. Deuce
4. Say Yeah
5. I Love It Loud
6. Heaven’s On Fire
7. War Machine (Gene Simmons breathes fire)
8. Lick It Up
9. Calling Dr. Love
10. 100,000 Years (w/ Eric Singer’s drum solo)
11. Cold Gin (Gene Simmons bass solo & blood spitting)
12. God Of Thunder
13. Psycho Circus
14. Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll
15. (Sukiyaki)
16. Love Gun (Paul “flies” to mini-stage)
17. I Was Made For Lovin’ You (Paul “flies” back to main stage)
18. Crazy, Crazy Nights
19. Black Diamond

20. Beth (special guest Yoshiki (of X-Japan) on piano.)

21. Rock And Roll All Nite (Yoshiki on drums)

Here are some photos I took:

Tokyo Six? Tokyo Seven?

My blog is titled “Tokyo Five” because my wife and I have three children (who have all become adults)…(My “About Me” page).

My oldest daughter has gotten married earlier this year.

My new son-in-law is “Tokyo Six” now!

And…the day before yesterday they had a baby!

I’m a grandfather now! 🙂

My new granddaughter is so beautiful!! ♥

My lovely granddaughter makes it “Tokyo Seven”!

Another interview

I used to post on this blog regularly…but three years ago I began to get tired of it and wrote a final post that I was retiring this blog.

But recently, someone requested I do an interview with them (actually I have gotten a number of similar requests over the years…and normally decline), and I decided to add a “one time” post.

As of now, I’m still not returning to blogging…but I did this interview today.

Click here to read the interview.

End of the line

I started this blog almost exactly eight years ago.
It receives, at this time, an average of 1,000 visitors a day.

I appreciate all of the visitors to this blog…especially the ones who leave comments.
That’s what makes blogging enjoyable and is the reason I continued this blog for so long.

It was fun for me to blog…and I’m happy that my blog was fairly popular.

But recently it has become a bit of a chore to write blog posts…and, as this was meant as a hobby, it shouldn’t be like that.

So, for this reason, I have decided to retire this blog.

By all means, please read the blog posts that I have written from 2008 March 26th (when I started this blog) to today (2016 February 14th)!

I am, of course, still living in Tokyo with my family. So, if you leave a comment on any of the posts on this blog…or if you Contact me, I will continue to reply as I always have.

Thank you for your understanding.

Exhibit of retro Japanese tourism posters

Today is Setsubun

Tokyo Five

今日は「節分」。(Today is “Setsubun“).

Google’s Japanese page has a “Setsubun” logo today.

Setsubun is a day to cast out bad luck and bring in good luck. It involves an old tradition of throwing beans at someone wearing a demon mask representing bad luck.

It’s mostly done in homes with young children, in which the children throw the beans at their father wearing the oni (demon) mask.

Click here to read about this, and other Japanese customs and holidays in February.

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Book Review & Giveaway 25: Beyond The Tiger Mom

I have received another book from Tuttle Books!
And, as always, they have agreed to give (given) one free copy to a random visitor to my blog!

The book I’m reviewing today is titled “Beyond The Tiger Mom: East-West Parenting for the Global Age” by Maya Thiagarajan.

“Beyond The Tiger Mom”

I will put the details of the free drawing for this book at the end of this post.

Ms. Thiagarajan was born in India and then moved to America after she graduated from high school. She went to college in America and, afterwards, became a school teacher there.  Eventually, she moved to Singapore with her husband and their children and she became a teacher there.

From this, she has become familiar with the American way, the Indian way and the Chinese way of parenting and teaching children.

With her knowledge and experience of what works and what doesn’t work best for children’s education, she has written this extensive, easy-to-read guide.

“Beyond The Tiger Mom: East-West Parenting for the Global Age” can be purchased through Amazon here.

But, as I said above, Tuttle Books has agreed to give (given) one random visitor to my blog a free copy of this book.

***** Updated February 14th, 2016 *****

This special promo ended on 2016 February 14th. One random winner was selected and contacted directly by Tuttle Publishers (via email) with the details about the free book.

Thank you to all who entered, but only the winner was contacted.
*****