Tokyo Sky Tree is the highest in Japan

I wrote this post last December showing photos I took of the construction so far at that point of the Tokyo Sky Tree tower, which will be the tallest tower in Japan and the second tallest in the world (click here for the post I wrote about the “world’s tallest tower”).

I also wrote this post when the construction of the Tokyo Sky Tree reached 30%.

And this post that I wrote almost two years ago is the first one I wrote about the Tokyo Sky Tree tower.

Well, today the Tokyo Sky Tree reached a height of 338 meters tall. It is now taller than the Tokyo Tower which stands 333 meters tall.

The Tokyo Sky Tree is now 338 meters tall...the tallest structure in Japan.

When it’s completed, the Tokyo Sky Tree will stand 634 meters tall.
There is a reason that this height was chosen…the Tokyo Sky Tree is being built in a “blue collar” area of Tokyo that was called 「武蔵の国」 (“Musashi“).
And the numbers six-three-four (as in 634 meters) can be pronounced “Mu-sa-shi” in Japanese.

I think “Musashi Tower” would have been a better name than “Tokyo Sky Tree” for this tower.

A artist rendition of the Tokyo skyline after the "Tokyo Sky Tree" tower is completed in 2011 December.

なぞなぞ

Do you study Japanese?

Japanese なぞなぞ (riddles) are a helpful study tool. The play on words in children’s riddles help expand your vocabulary.

If you don’t understand Japanese, these riddles will probably be difficult to understand because riddles in any language aren’t easy to translate to another language (since riddles usually incorporate a play on words, and different languages don’t often have similar wordplay).

Anyways, probably the most common Japanese riddle:

「パンはパンでも食べられないパンは、なぁに？」
答え:「フライパン」

Do you understand it? Have you heard it before? It’s an old joke that everyone in Japan has heard countless times.

Literally, in English it would be:
“Bread is bread but what bread is inedible?”
Answer: “A frying pan.”

See? It doesn’t make sense in English.
But in Japanese, the word for “bread” is “pan”.

Now does it make more sense?

If you write it in English, but use the Japanese word “pan” instead of “bread”:
“Pan is pan but what pan is inedible?”
Answer: “A frying pan.”

Here’s another one:

「トラを食べちゃう車ってなぁに？」
答え： 「トラック」 (とら食う)

“What kind of vehicle eats tigers?”
Answer: “A truck”

Meaningless in English.
But “tiger” is “tora” in Japanese. And “eat” is “taberu“…or sometimes “kuu“.
“Truck” in Japanese is “torakku”, which sounds similar to “Tora Kuu” (Tiger Eat).

If you want to see more Japanese riddles (and you can read Japanese), go to http://なぞなぞ.jp/.

Do you know any Japanese なぞなぞ (riddles)? Write them in this post’s comments section.
Feel free to write English riddles there too.

Walking With Dinosaurs

Have you ever heard of the “Walking With Dinosaurs” show from England?

It was originally a BBC documentary about dinosaurs…but now they have traveling exhibition / arena show with life-sized, very realistic looking dinosaur robot / costumes.

They’re bringing their show to Japan this summer for a seven-city Japan tour.
They brought one of their dinosaurs to Tokyo today to promote their show on morning talk shows on Japan’s “Fuji TV” channel.

The “baby dinosaur” and one of the show’s staff were in the TV studio in Tokyo this morning. The show’s Japanese cast were all impressed by how realistic looking, acting and sounding the dinosaur was.

I have three daughters. They’re not really interested in dinosaurs…so we won’t be seeing it.

But if you’re in Japan this summer, you can buy a ticket for ¥4,200 – ¥10,500 for adults (¥3.150 – ¥7,350 for kids).

The dates of the Japan show are:
2010 July 8 – 11: Yokohama
July 16 – 19: Hiroshima
July 22 – 25: Osaka
July 29 – August 1: Shizuoka
August 5 – 8: Saitama
August 12 – 15: Aichi
August 19 – 22: Fukuoka

"Walking With Dinosaurs" Japan Tour summer 2010

Click here for the “Walking With Dinosaurs” English site.
Click here for the 「ウォーキング・ウィズ・ダイナソー」 (“Walking With Dinosaurs”) 日本語 (Japanese) site.

March 23 and 31

If the world famous Japanese movie director Akira Kurosawa were still alive, yesterday would’ve been his 100th birthday.

Akira Kurosawa (1910 March 23 - 1998 Sept 6), R.I.P.

I wrote a post last summer about Hollywood remakes of Japanese movies…and of course it includes some of Kurosawa’s classics (such as “Yojinbou” and “The Seven Samurai“).
(Click here to read that post.)

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It has been announced that all homes in Japan must have a 煙感知器 (smoke detector) in every room by 2010 March 31.

A smoke alarm needs to be in every room.

If you live in Japan, and your house doesn’t have smoke alarms, you can buy them at department stores or electronics stores for about ¥2,500 – ¥3,000 each.
(Even if you don’t live in Japan you should have smoke detectors and a 消火器 (fire extinguisher) in your house.)

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What size beer cans are commonly sold in stores in your country?
What types of places sell beer where you live?
In Japan, beer can be purchased 24 hours a day from convenience stores. It’s also sold in most restaurants (including some fast-food places), supermarkets, etc.

There are even beer vending machines in Japan.

Restaurants usually sell beer in mugs or glasses. Or else they’ll give a 瓶ビール (bottled beer), which is usually 633ml.

Canned beer is usually sold in 350ml or 500ml cans. But other sizes are available too.
Japan has very small 135 ml and 250ml cans, the “regular” 350ml can, the “tall boy” 500ml, and a very big 1,000ml can.

135ml, 250ml, 350ml and 500ml cans of Kirin Beer.

人力車

I was watching a TV program called 「きょうは何の日」 (lit. “What day is today?“).

This show tells something that happened in history on the same date in history. Something like “On this date in history…” might be a better translation of the show’s title.

It said that 140 years ago today, on 1870 March 22, the 「人力車」 (“rickshaw“) was invented in Japan.

(Click here to see a post I wrote about a trip we took to Yokohama about two years ago…and I took a photo of a 「人力車」 (“rickshaw“) near Yokohama Chinatown (there’s also photos of cool graffiti in that post)).

There seems to be a bit of controversy over who exactly invented the 「人力車」 (“rickshaw“).
Some say a Japanese businessman in Tokyo named Yosuke Izumi invented it, but others say it was invented by an American missionary in Yokohama named Jonathan Goble.

There seems to be evidence supporting both stories and neither can be proven conclusively.

Either way, the 「人力車」 (“rickshaw“) is 140 years old today and, although it was used as a major form of transportation in Japan back then, it is mainly only ridden by tourist (both Japanese and overseas visitors) in parts of Japan with a lot of traditional history…such as Asakusa, Kamakura, Yokohama, Kyoto, etc.
The 「人力車」 (“rickshaw“) pullers double as tour guides explaining the history of the sites to his customers.

Also, geisha can sometimes be seen riding in them as part of their image.

The 「人力車」 (“rickshaw“) was imported into other parts of Asia.
So the word “rickshaw” is famous around the world…but in Japanese, 「人力車」 is actually pronounced “jin-riki-sha“…literally “human-powered vehicle”.

Have you ever ridden in a 「人力車」 (“rickshaw“)?

15 years ago today

Today is the fifteenth year anniversary of the worst domestic terrorist attack in Japanese history…the 「地下鉄サリン事件」 (“Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Attack“)

On 1995 March 20, the religious cult 「オウム真理教」 (“Aum Shinrikyo“), led by the bizarre 麻原 彰晃 (Asahara Shoko), released a toxic gas called Sarin on five subways simultaneously.

Their intentions were to overtake the government of Japan and start a “new world order”.

Their attack killed twelve people and injured thousands, fifty people seriously.

The members of the cult who carried out the attack and their leader Asahara were put on Japan’s most wanted list. The posters were all over Japan.

A few of them were captured, including Asahara, and given death sentences. Asahara is currently on death row.

Also the government removed the Aum Shinrikyo group’s “religious group” status.
Soon afterwards, the Aum Shinrikyo cult changed their name to “Aleph and tried to distance themselves from the attack and gain a positive public image.

Even with the name change and new leadership, most people in Japan still distrust them and the government still hasn’t reinstated their “religious status”.

Most Japanese people, by the way, aren’t religious at all. So it’s very uncommon for people to join a religion…especially one as bizarre as “Aum Shinrikyo” (“Aleph”).

Three people who helped carry out the 「地下鉄サリン事件」 (“Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Attack“) are still fugitives on the run.

Their faces can be seen on “Wanted” posters around Japan. (If you see one of them, call the police. They have a 200万円 (¥2,000,000 (about US$20,000)) bounties on their heads.)

卒業式

Today was my second daughter’s 中学校の卒業式 (junior high school graduation ceremony).

In early April (after Spring Break), she’ll start high school.

Last year at this time, my oldest daughter graduated from junior high. (Click here to read the post I wrote about that day).

In America, high school starts at grade nine…but in Japan, elementary school is six years (America is only five), then three years of junior high, and three years of high school.
It totals twelve years just like in America but high school in Japan starts at the equivalent to grade ten in the U.S.

Last week she and her friends from school went to Tokyo Disneyland together.

Tokyo Disneyland was having it’s annual 「春のキャンパスデー」 (“Campus Day”).

This promotion is from 2010 January 4 – March 19.
So it ended today.

On Campus Day, students can buy a 「キャンパスデーパスポート」 (“Campus Day Passport“) to enter the park at a discounted price.

The price for junior high and high school students is usually ¥5,000 but during this campaign it’s only ¥4,000 for them.
College students usually pay ¥5,800 admission to Tokyo Disney, but on Campus Day the price is ¥4,500.
Of course, to qualify for these discount prices students must show their student ID card.

I grew up in Florida. Not too far from Orlando Disney World, but I’m not sure if they have “Campus Day Passports” there or not.

Have you ever been to any of the Disney parks in the world? What types of sale promotions do they have?

About five years ago, Tokyo Disneyland began going by the name “Tokyo Disney Resort“ because they built a second park.

So Tokyo Disney Resort comprises both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea.
They are next to each other, but they’re two separate parks.

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So, at my daughter’s junior high school, the students who graduated today are now on Spring Break.
They’ll start high school in a few weeks.

My other two daughters have another week of school before their spring break starts.
But this is a three-day weekend. Monday is 「春分の日」 (Spring Equinox), which is a holiday in Japan.

ピザ食べ放題

If you’re in Japan and you want to eat pizza, have you ever gone to 「シェーキーズ」 (“Shakey’s“) restaurant?

In Japan, especially Tokyo, there are plenty of places to get pizza…but in Japan, pizza is quite expensive usually.
But at Shakey’s, they have a pretty good deal.

If you go to Shakey’s in Japan, you can order the All-You-Can-Eat Lunch, Dinner, or Holiday plan (depending on what day-of-the-week and what time of day it is.)

Lunch on a weekday is the cheapest, and dinner on a holiday or weekend is the most expensive.
But it’s still a good deal. The prices range from ¥850 to ¥1,180 and you can eat all of the thin-crust pizza (all pizza toppings are “chef’s choice”), salad, spaghetti, spicy fries, and beef curry that you want.

I haven’t eaten at Shakey’s in about five years, so I had forgotten about their All-You-Can-Eat deals…but I saw an ad for it today and I was surprised that they still have this deal—and for almost the same price.

In Tokyo, there are Shakey’s restaurants in 渋谷 (Shibuya), 原宿 (Harajuku), 表参道 (Omotesando), 新宿 (Shinjuku), 高田馬場 (Takadanobaba), 世田谷 (Setagaya), and 池袋 (Ikebukuro).

Are there Shakey’s Pizza restaurants where you live? Have you ever eaten there? Does Shakey’s have a similar All-You-Can-Eat campaign in your country?
Do you like Shakey’s food?

300,000 hits and 1000 beer

I started this blog almost exactly two years ago.
It didn’t get many visitors at first…but the number has steadily climbed.

After eighteen months, my blog got 100,000 hits.

It was only four months from that point to reach 200,000 hits.

But currently this blog gets an average of over 1,500 hits a day. It took only two months to get another hundred-thousand hits. My blog reached 300,000 hits today.

So, thank you to everyone that reads my blog posts, especially those that comment.
Please continue…it’s the feedback that make blogging enjoyable.

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Kirin Beer released 「キリン・サウザン」 (“Kirin 1000 (thousand))“) beer yesterday.

Ad for "Kirin 1000" beer.

Kirin 1000 beer is actually a 「発泡酒」 (low-malt beer) which are much cheaper than “real” beer because there’s no beer tax added to their price.
Some people don’t like 「発泡酒」 (low-malt beer). I don’t know why…they taste good to me. Any type of cold beer (except “lite”, “diet” or “non-alcohol” beers) are good to me. 😉

Kirin 1000 got it’s name because it’s made with “hard water” container 1000 mg of magnesium per liter of water.

I haven’t tried this beer yet. I just bought a case of Suntory 「金麦」 (“Kinmugi”) beer (in the special “spring season” cans decorated with sakura).

Ad for Suntory 「金麦」 beer 2010 spring edition with sakura design.

This beer doesn’t taste any different than it always has…the cans just have a sakura design added to them.
(It’s a good beer at a good price either way).

Anyways, once my case of Suntory is gone, maybe I’ll choose Kirin 1000 next.

車イスカーリング

The 2010 Paralympics games started on 2010 March 12 and will continue until March 21.
Are you watching them?

(Click here to see the 2010 Paralympics medal count so far.)

At the time I wrote this post, Japan has one medal so far.
Kuniko Obinata won bronze in the Women’s Slalom Alpine Skiing event.
おめでとうございます！ (Congratulations!)

I wrote a post last month about Japan’s oldest Paralympics athlete…the 75-year old 比田井隆 (Takashi Hidai).
He’s a member of Japan’s 車イスカーリング (Wheelchair Curling) team at the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver.

(Click here to read it.)

So far in the Wheelchair Curling event, Japan won their match against Italy (9-6).
It was their first game of the Olympics and the Japan team was ecstatic, of course.

Mr. Hidai told the Japanese press after that match that he was “on top of the world!”

Takashi Hidai after Japan's Wheelchair Curling victory over Italy.

But their good luck didn’t continue for the next few matches.
The Japan team lost their games against Korea, Germany, and Canada. 😦

Today they’re scheduled to play Norway. And then Switzerland, America, Sweden and then Great Britain.

がんばれ！ (Good luck!)