Yesterday I went up the Tokyo Sky Tree.
634 meters tall … the tallest tower in the world!
First of all, the elevators move at 600 meters per minute! But they’re so smooth, I could hardly feel them move!
The sky was clear, blue and sunny … so I could clearly see Mt. Fuji, Tokyo Tower, Shinjuku, Tokyo Disneyland, the Tokyo Dome…all of Tokyo and beyond!
The shadow of Tokyo Sky Tree
I like photo exhibits.
I usually go to the annual Press Photos Exhibit in downtown Tokyo every December.
There is currently another photo exhibit in Tokyo that I want to see.
The 「警視庁カメラマンが撮った昭和モダンの情景 ・ 石川光陽写真展」 (“Koyo Ishikawa – Documentary Photographs of the Showa Era by a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Cameraman”) exhibit.
石川光陽 (Koyo Ishikawa) was a photographer with the Tokyo Police Department and was tasked with taking photographs of the city just prior to, during, and after World War II.
Tokyo Police photographer, Koyo Ishikawa
The period of time that Mr. Ishikawa lived and photographed is called the 昭和時代 (Showa Era) in Japan. This period was from late 1926 until early 1989.
I came to Japan in 1990…just after the Showa Era ended, but I’m very interested in this period of Japan’s history. So I’m planning to go to this photo exhibit.
The 「警視庁カメラマンが撮った昭和モダンの情景 ・ 石川光陽写真展」 (“Koyo Ishikawa – Documentary Photographs of the Showa Era by a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Cameraman”) photo exhibit is currently at the “Old Shinbashi Station” which is near 新橋駅 (Shinbashi train station) in Tokyo.
It will be there until 2011 March 21st. The hours are 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM and is open everyday except Mondays.
Admission is free of charge.
Here are some of the photos that were taken by Koyo Ishikawa:
Asakusa, Tokyo in 1937
Ginza, Tokyo in 1933.
Tokyo train station in 1936
Ueno, Tokyo in 1935
Tokyo looks so very different today!
I wrote about the new broadcast tower being built in Tokyo called the 「東京スカイツリー」 (“Tokyo Sky Tree“) last summer. (Click here to read that post. I compare the new tower to the original 「東京タワー」 (Tokyo Tower) in that post).
A promo ad showing what the skyline will look like in 2011 with the completed tower.
The 「東京スカイツリー」 (“Tokyo Sky Tree“) is scheduled to be completed in late 2011 and stand 634 meters tall (making it the tallest structure in Japan, and one of the world’s tallest). The tower’s observatory will be open to the public in the spring of 2012.
Once this tower is completed it will stand out in Tokyo’s skyline. Far above the current 「東京タワー」 (Tokyo Tower), which is 333 meters tall. The 「東京スカイツリー」 (“Tokyo Sky Tree“) will replace the 「東京タワー」 (Tokyo Tower) as the Tokyo area’s broadcast tower and at that point all TV broadcasts will be digital (because all analog waves will be used for cellular phone service).
The "Tokyo Sky Tree" will tower above all else.
The construction of the 「東京スカイツリー」 (“Tokyo Sky Tree“) began last year. Right now, it stands at 191 meters (less than 30% complete).
Here’s a recent photo of the tower’s construction:
"Tokyo Sky Tree", autumn 2009
Unlike the 「東京タワー」 (Tokyo Tower), which stands in Tokyo’s upscale 港区 (Minato Ward)…the 「東京スカイツリー」 (“Tokyo Sky Tree“) is being built in the blue-collar, 下町 (down-town) area of 浅草 (Asakusa).
It will stand very close to the Asahi Beer headquarters. So, that probably explains why Asahi Beer sold their beer last summer in commemorative 「東京スカイツリー」 (“Tokyo Sky Tree“) cans.
Asahi Beer's commemorative "Tokyo Sky Tree" can
Here’s a promotional video for the 「東京スカイツリー」 (“Tokyo Sky Tree“):
The weather has been very nice these days in Tokyo.
And it’s forecast to continue like this…until Sunday.
The 天気予報 (weather forecast) says it’ll rain on Sunday, August 30th.
Weather forecast for Tokyo from August 26 - Sept 1
It says:
So, if you’re in Tokyo and plan to do some outdoor activities this weekend, doing them on Saturday rather than Sunday, if possible, would probably be a good idea.
If you’re looking for an idea for something to do this weekend in Tokyo…there’ll be the annual Brazilian Samba Fesival in 浅草 (Asakusa, Tokyo) on Saturday.
梅雨 (The rainy season) will be over soon in the Tokyo area and then the rest of summer will be filled with hot, humid, sunny days.
In Japan, 夏 (summer) means スイカ (watermelon), 祭 (festivals), 海 (the beach), 小鳥線香 (mosquito repellent coil)…
and 花火 (fireworks)!
宮島水中花火大会 in Hiroshima.
In the evenings of July and August (usually on the weekends), there are summer 花火大会 (fireworks shows) all over Japan.
If you go to a fireworks show in Japan,
- you should bring a picnic style food and drinks for yourself and your group…there’s no BBQ grilling done at fireworks shows in Japan,
- bring a plastic tarp sheet for your group to sit on…but, although many people do it, you’re not supposed to use the sheet to reserve a spot for yourself ahead of time,
- if you want to use 線香花火 (sparklers), don’t wave them around…it’s considered dangerous in Japan,
- you can wear 「ゆかた」 (summer kimono) or 「じんべい」 (Japanese traditional summer shorts / shirt outfit) if you want to,
- and Japanese people call out 「たまや！かぎや！」 (“Tamaya! Kagiya!“*) when the fireworks go up…you can yell that out too, if you want. (* Long ago, Tamaya and Kagiya were competing fireworks companies in Japan. Fireworks spectators began to call out their names to egg on their competition to make bigger and bigger displays. Today it remains popular to shout it out at fireworks shows.)
There are too many fireworks shows around Japan to list them all, even just in the Tokyo area there are too many to list.
But here’s a list of the main ones in the Tokyo area and the date of the summer 2009 shows (also you can click here to see a list of some of Tokyo’s Fireworks shows on my “Festivals in Tokyo“):
If you want any more information about these or other 花火大会 (Fireworks shows) in Japan (such as how to get there, the times of the shows, etc), please feel free to post a comment (click here), or contact me with this E-mail form, and I’ll help you as much as I can:
「ようこそジャパン」 (Yokoso Japan!) means “Welcome to Japan!“, and is the Japan National Tourism Organization‘s official slogan of their campaign to attract foreign visitors to Japan.
「Yokoso Japan!」 logo
Here are some of their Yokoso Japan! campaign ads.
Most of the scenes in this first one are of Tokyo (there are a few shots of Osaka, etc…but most of it is Tokyo):
These show many parts of Japan:
Do they make you want to visit this beautiful country?
浅草 (Asakusa) is one of the many parts of Tokyo that I like alot.
It’s a 下町 (traditional downtown area). Famous for the 雷門 (Lightning Gate), 浅草寺 (Sensouji Temple), and the numerous excellent 祭 (festivals) that are held there.
(Click here to read a post I wrote about 浅草 (Asakusa)).
Starting today, for the next few weeks, there will alot going on in 浅草 (Asakusa).
「白鷺の舞い」 (White Heron Dance)
There are plenty of other great festivals in 浅草 (Asakusa) throughout the year. But these are the ones that are coming up.
Have you ever been to any of these festivals in 浅草 (Asakusa) before? Will you attend this year? Did you already know about these events?
There are many interesting statues around Japan…especially in or near train stations.
Often they are of a famous person who lived in the area, a cartoon character whose story took place in that area, or of something or someone that the area is famous for.
I have taken photos of many statues around Japan over the years…maybe oneday I’ll go through them and make a post about them all—but for now, here are just a few that I’ve taken with my ケータイ (cell-phone) camera:
両津勘吉 (Ryoutsukankichi)
At 御宿 (Onjuku, Chiba, Japan)
Tora-san
Sumo
Whale
I’ve got many more photos of statues…as I wrote above, maybe I’ll write another blog-post later about them all.
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Next Tuesday (March 3rd) is ひな祭 (Doll Festival).
On this day, families with daughters set up elaborate sets of dolls of Japanese royalty, and eat a special type of 寿司 (sushi) called ちらし寿司 (Chirashizushi).
I have three daughters, so of course we have a ひな祭の人形 (Doll Festival dolls) set.
Click here to read my FAQ about ひな祭 (Doll Festival).
ひな祭りの人形 (Doll Festival set)
Yesterday was 節分 (Setsubun).
Click here to read a post I wrote last week about it.
On this holiday (the first day of Spring in the old Lunar calendar), people (usually children) throw soy beans at someone dressed as the 鬼 (demon) (usually the father) while shouting 「鬼は外！福は内！」 (“Bad luck out! Fortune in!”).
Setsubun demon masks.
Also, many temples and shrines have festivals on 節分 (Setsubun) that often include sumo wrestlers and other celebrities throwing beans at the crowd.
Tokyo’s 増上寺 (Zoujyouji Temple) is one of the most popular places at 節分 (Setsubun).
Setsubun 2009 at Zoujyouji
This year’s celebrities at 増上寺 (Zoujyouji Temple) included Chadha, the Indian singer of Japanese Enka music and Tamao Nakamura, an actress.
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Tomorrow, the world famous annual 札幌雪祭 (Sapporo Snow Festival) begins and goes for one week.
2009 札幌雪まつり
I went to this festival in 1992. It was great! I’d like to go again one day.
A highlight of the festival are the big, elaborate snow sculptures.
Click here to visit the 札幌雪祭 (Sapporo Snow Festival) website in 日本語…or click here to visit the English version.
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横浜中華街 (Yokohama Chinatown) is having various 春節 (Chinese New Year) events until February 28.
You should check it out if you have a chance…even though the best parts (lion dance, dragon dance, etc) were on January 26, the date of Chinese New Year this year…there are still parades are other things scheduled various days this month.
Click here to visit the official 横浜中華街 (Yokohama Chinatown) website’s 春節 (Chinese New Year) page. (Japanese only).
I wrote a post about Chinese New Year (click here to see it) and I mention in that post about the difference between the Chinese dragon dance and the Japanese one.
At New Years time, both China and Japan also have lion dances…but, just like the Chinese and Japanese dragons are quite different, so are the Chinese and Japanese lions.
The Chinese one:
Chinese Lion dance
The Japanese one looks and moves quite different. In Japan, it’s called 「獅子舞」 (Shishimai):
Japanese "Shishimai" Lion Dance
I like 浮世絵 (ukiyoe: Japanese woodblock prints).
Have you ever seen 浮世絵 (ukiyoe)?
It’s a traditional style of Japanese “painting“. Instead of using a brush, the picture is carved into woodblocks which are used like a printing press to make the picture.
But the whole picture isn’t carved into one block…different parts of the picture are carved into different blocks. So the picture is printed in layers.
It must have been alot of work!
I have seen a number of 浮世絵 (ukiyoe) exhibits at museums over the years.
As with many people, my favorite artists are 北斎 (Hokusai) and 広重 (Hiroshige).
One of the most famous (if not the most famous) 浮世絵 (ukiyoe) works is 神奈川沖波裏 (“The Great Wave Off Of Kanagawa“) by 北斎 (Hokusai):
I like that picture alot, too. But my personal favorites are the 妖怪 (monsters):
浮世絵 (ukiyoe) subjects aren’t usually 妖怪 (monsters) though. Common themes of 浮世絵 (ukiyoe) are 相撲 (sumo), 歌舞伎 (kabuki), 芸者 (geisha) and 自然 (nature).
Anyways, this month, the 江戸東京博物館 (Edo-Tokyo Museum) in Tokyo is having a couple of special exhibits.
One is the 浮世絵 (ukiyoe) collection from The Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston of America, and the other is a 「浅草今昔」 (“Asakusa: Then And Now“) exhibit.
I went to see them yesterday. It was pretty crowded in the museum because it was a Saturday, but it was enjoyable. As I said, I like 浮世絵 (ukiyoe) and I also like 下町 (traditional downtown areas of Japan) like 浅草 (Asakusa).
The 浮世絵 (ukiyoe) in the exhibit from the Boston Museum were items that were from three American’s personal collections.
It was interesting to see the types of art that Americans like to collect compared to the types of 浮世絵 (ukiyoe) that a Japanese person might choose.
Americans seem to like the very colorful, almost flashy pieces…but Japanese tastes tend to be more simple. I’ve lived in Japan for awhile now…I guess my style is more Japanese now.
It’s just an observation. Not to say one culture is better than another…just interesting to compare.
Inside the museum, there are places that it’s indicated that it’s OK to take a photo…but the 浮世絵 (ukiyoe) and 浅草今昔 (Asakusa: Then And Now) areas were marked 「撮影禁止」, which means “No Photography Allowed”, so I couldn’t take any photos of those exhibits.
But there was a traditional Japanese dance show at the museum that I was able to take a few videos of.
I took eight short video of this group, and uploaded them to My YouTube Page. They’re pretty good, click here to visit my YouTube page and you can see all of my videos.
Here’s one video of them:
After the museum, we walked to 浅草 (Asakusa), and visited a Japanese Garden there.
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There was a man at the Japanese garden playing a 三味線 (Shamisen) which is a traditional Japanese instrument.
I took this video of him:
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