新幹線 in Florida?

I grew up in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I left there two decades ago…but it’s still where I grew up.

So I was interested when I heard a story on the TV news recently that involved both Tampa, Florida and Japan.

The news said that Florida plans to build a 新幹線 (bullet train) line from Tampa to Orlando and continue on to Miami.

When I lived in Florida, there was no public transportation system to speak of…and definitely no train—especially a bullet train!

Many countries, including Japan, are putting bids in to build this new train line for Florida.

The trains in Japan are spotless, safe, and extremely punctual. But I wonder if it’ll be the same situation in America, even if Japan builds the bullet train system for them…because a big factor in Japan’s excellent public transportation system is not only the technology but also Japan’s culture itself.

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Until yesterday, Japan had a fifteen year 時効 (Statute of Limitations) for murder.
That meant that if someone killed another person in Japan and the police couldn’t catch them with that time limit they would be free of any chance of prosecution for that crime from then on.

But a new law was passed yesterday that completely abolished the Statute of Limitations for murder…and it’s retroactive. So there is now no Statute of Limitations for any murder committed on 1995 April 28 or later.

Actually, this bill was rushed through the Japanese Senate in order to be passed yesterday because there is an unsolved murder case that occurred on that exact date of 1995 April 28…so if this bill wasn’t passed into law yesterday, whoever it was that stabbed an elderly couple to death in their home and then burned their house down (apparently in an effort to cover their crime) would be free from any possibility of being punished for that heinous crime.
But now there is no longer a time limit for the police to catch murderers in Japan.

(Thankfully though, the violent crime rate in Japan is extremely low.)

Who is my boss?

On the train today, I noticed a new ad for DoCoMo, one of the main cell-phone service providers in Japan (and probably the biggest).

This poster had a picture of Darth Vader of “Star Wars” pointing and asking “Who is my boss?“.

The ad doesn’t say much more than that, so I was wondering what it was about. Will DoCoMo be releasing a new “Darth Vader” themed phone? And what does it mean by “who is my boss?”?

So I checked the website and it doesn’t tell much either.
But the site has an interesting application…you can enter your name on the site (but it must be entered in Japanese カタカナ (katakana)) and then it will show a movie of Darth Vader walking around Tokyo saying how he’s searching for his “boss” and then he encounters billboards and flyers with a picture of himself and the name you entered on it (but the name is shown written in alphabet letters even though it requires you enter your name is Japanese characters).
And then Darth Vader will say your name and then tell you that you’re not his boss.
When I did it, it said that I wasn’t his boss and that his boss is more 「美しい」 (“beautiful”) than me!

At the end it has a countdown til 2010 May 11 (Japan time) which is the day that Darth Vader’s “boss” will be revealed.

Darth Vader searching for his "boss" in Tokyo

Darth Vader saw a billboard that said that I ("Tokyo Five") am his boss!

On 2010 May 11, DoCoMo will reveal who Darth Vader's boss is.

Read my other “Darth Vader in Japan”-related posts:
The “Star Wars Convention Japan”,
Star Wars chopsticks,
the Star Wars Pachinko machine, and
my Star Wars postal stamps.

Gundam Cafe

Last summer I wrote a post about the “life-size” 「ガンダム」 (Gundam) robot that was in Tokyo.

A photo I took last summer of the giant Gundam.

Well, yesterday the “Akihabara Gundam Cafe & Bar” (also called simply 「ガンダムカフェ」 (Gundam Cafe)) opened in the Akihabara area of Tokyo.

"Gundam Cafe" logo

This cafe / bar is near the 「電気街口」 (“Electric Town” exit) of 秋葉原駅 (Akihabara train station).

It’s called a “cafe and bar” because from 8:30AM – 5:00PM it’s a cafe with lunch meals and coffee on the menu, and then from 5:00PM til closing it becomes a bar and serves dinner and alcohol.

They also sell souvenirs such as Gundam Coffee, Gundam ashtrays, Gundam coasters, せんべい (rice crackers),　ガンダム人形焼き (Gundam “Ningyou-yaki” (which is a traditional Japanese snack)) and 「ガンプラ焼き」 (“Gunpla-yaki” (which is a たい焼き (traditional Japanese bean-filled snack) in the shape of a Gundam robot)…

「ガンプラ焼き」 ("Gunpla-yaki")

Accessibility in Japan

“Accessibility” is a word that tells how easy a city is for handicapped people to go about their daily lives.

It’s not so easy for blind people, deaf people and those in wheelchairs to do the things that people who aren’t handicapped take for granted.

In your city…

how do people in wheelchairs manage all the staircases and curbs?

How do they get on and off the trains?

How do blind people use the vending machines?

How do they know how much a ticket costs? Or if a canned drink is cola or alcohol?

How can they tell the difference between the bottle of shampoo and conditioner?

How can blind people tell the difference between the denominations of monetary currency?

How do deaf people know when their station is coming up when they’re riding a train and can’t hear the announcements?

In Tokyo, there are now elevators in nearly every train station to help those in wheelchairs.

The train station staff have portable ramps to help the wheelchair go in and out of the trains.

And there is 点字 (Braille) all over Japan.

The sidewalks in Japan have Braille…

The beer cans in Japan have Braille (that says 「お酒」 (“alcohol”))…

The elevators in Japan have Braille.

And the train stations in Japan have Braille all over. For example, the signs have Braille…

And the handrails in the train stations have Braille that tell where the staircase leads to (the platform, or the exit, etc)…

This handrail says that the stairs lead to the 「改札口」 ("ticket gates").

Just like the sidewalks in Japan, the train stations have Braille on the floor and platforms…

Shampoo bottles in Japan have Braille to help blind people tell which bottle in the shower is shampoo and which conditioner…

The shampoo bottle has the Braille, the conditioner doesn't.

Even Japanese money has Braille on the different bills (and the bills are also varying sizes depending on denomination too).

And then there’s the electronic sign boards that are now on almost every train in Japan. They tell the name of the upcoming station. It helps the hearing impaired who can’t hear the conductor’s announcements.

What examples of  “accessibility” can be found in your city?

Jason McMaster interview

Jason McMaster was kind enough to do an interview with me today.

Do you like heavy metal, southern hard rock, Dangerous Toys, KISS, Judas Priest, Metallica or Motorhead?
Of course, you do! Who doesn’t??
Then click here and read my interview with him. (And come back to this page to leave comments / questions).

Japanese rock fans are living (the) music. They believe in it’s power.

–Jason McMaster

歌舞伎座さようなら公演

About eighteen months ago I wrote a post about the planned renovation of the historic 歌舞伎座 (Kabuki Theatre) in the 銀座 (Ginza) area of Tokyo.

(Click here to read that post.)

Well, as I mentioned in that post in 2008, the Kabuki Theatre is scheduled to be torn down on 2010 April 30 and rebuilt in a more “modern” design. (I think that’s too bad. “Kabuki” is a old traditional Japanese art…so the theater should be a traditional Japanese design—like it currently is).

It’s already April 2010. The theater will be torn down in less than two weeks! Time goes by fast.

So, I had an errand in the Ginza area yesterday so I brought my camera to take some photos of the 歌舞伎座 (Kabuki Theatre) before it’s demolished.

Posters outside the theater advertising shows now playing.

The theater's front entrance

This sign in front of the theater says:"Kabuki Theater 'Sayonara' Performance".Eleven days left"2010 April 20, 11:55:52 (the date/time I took this photo)

The famous 歌舞伎座 (Kabuki Theater) in Ginza, Tokyo...set to be demolished for renovation on 2010 April 30.

While I was in the Ginza area I decided to take photos of the Seibu Department Store since that iconic store will be closing it’s branch in Ginza later this year due to high overhead costs mainly stemming from the expensive rent for property in the exclusive Ginza area.

(I wrote about this story on an earlier post. Click here to read it.)

Unlike the Kabuki Theatre, the building that the Seibu Store is in won’t be demolished.
The Seibu Department Store is simply leaving the Ginza area after occupying that property for over 26 years.

The "Seibu" name won't be on this building after this December.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, the rent that the Seibu Department Store pays in the highest in the world.
But near that building is a 交番 (police box) that is located on the most expensive property in the world per square meter.

This 交番 (police box) in Ginza has the world's highest rent per square meter.

Here are a few more photos I took in the area:

This is "Peko-chan". Mascot for "Fujiya Confectionaries".

"Peko-chan" candies

A "Hato Tours" bus with "Hello Kitty" design.

Odd news from around the world

Here’s a summary of some unusual news stories that I read on 「毎日新聞」 (“The Mainichi Newspaper“) website:

● Japan’s Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, is in Washington for the “Nuclear Security Summit”.
After Mr. Hatoyama met with U.S. President Barack Obama, the U.S. newspaper wrote an article that described the Japanese prime minister as “loopy”.

The Japanese government said in a news conference that Japan was displeased with the lack of respect and courtesy that the newspaper showed a state leader.

● The New York Society Library, the oldest library in New York, discovered that the first American president, George Washington, borrowed two books from the library and failed to return them.

The books are still listed as checked out by George Washington and overdue since 1789 November 2!

Mr. Washington owes the library over 220 years in late fees!

● A man in America was recently arrested after he got into a quarrel with another guest at a motel he was staying at…and then hit the man in the face with his 1.2 meter (4 feet) python snake.

● In Germany, a meat supplier delivered steaks to a restaurant but was angered when the restaurant manager informed him that the restaurant didn’t have enough cash on hand to pay his €400 (¥50,120 (US$541)) bill.

Rather than wait to be paid later, the meat seller recollected all of the steaks…including the ones that were already cooked and on customer’s plates at their tables.

● Reminiscent of Orsan Welles famous radio show “War Of The Worlds” in which he described an attack on Earth by aliens from the planet Mars in the 1930’s in America that caused mass panic when the public believed the show was actual live news….a newspaper in the country of Jordan printed an “April Fools” joke in their paper on the first of this month.

The paper said that giant aliens from space were attacking their city of Amman in Jordan. It caused mass hysteria.
Even the city’s mayor believed the story. He sent troops to search for the aliens and was considering a citywide evacuation.

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Have you heard these news stories? have you heard any other odd or funny news stories recently?

Coldest spring in 41 years

Yesterday was cold and rainy in Tokyo again. In the evening the temperature went down to 2°C (about 36°F).

It’s sunny and warmer today…but still cool. The high temperature today is 11°C (about 52°F).

If you’re visiting Japan for the first time right now you’re probably surprised how cold it is for late April.
But this isn’t normal. It’s unusually cold for this time of year.

It actually snowed a bit in Tokyo last night.

On TV I heard that this was the first time that it snowed this late in the year in Tokyo since 1969!

But the weather forecast for Tokyo says that everyday next week will have a high temperature of around 18°C (about 64°F) and a low of around 11°C (52°F).
So hopefully the cold spell is over.

(But it’s forecast to rain next Wednesday to Friday in Tokyo. 😦 )

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My blog averages over 1,500 hits per day.
But yesterday my blog received the most visits in a single day so far…1,986 hits.

Before yesterday, my blog’s busiest day was 2010 February 14. It received about 1,850 hits that day.

Yesterday was my site’s busiest day…but I didn’t get a single comment yesterday. 😦

I appreciate all the visits to my blog. But I especially enjoy reading visitors’ comments…I guess most bloggers feel that way.

So, by all means, leave comments often.

Thanks.

泣きピタ！

There is a website by the Japanese company “Benesse” called 「たまひよweb」 (“Tamahiyo web“) based on their 「たまごクラブ」 (“Tamago Club“) magazine for pregnant women and their 「ひよこクラブ」 (“Hiyoko Club“) magazine for new mothers.

「たまごクラブ」 (means "Egg Club") magazine for pregnant mothers.

「ひよこクラブ」 (means "Chick Club") for new mothers of babies.

Their 「たまひよweb」 (“Tamahiyo web“) website has a new feature called 「泣きピタ！コンテスト」 (“Nakipita!  Contest“)…which means basically “Suddenly Stopped Crying! Contest”.

On this site people upload videos of their baby crying and then suddenly stopping because the baby was distracted by something else…often the baby resumes crying as soon as the distraction is gone, and then stops again when distracted again.
And then visitors to the site vote for their favorite one.

It’s cute.
My kids sometimes did the same thing when they were babies.

Here’s one of the videos from the site:

Click here to see the site. On the site you can click the pictures of a clip from the different videos to watch one…and you can vote for the ones you like by clicking the round, pink button on the right-side of the video.

You can also see the current “Top 3” listed on the site.

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Unrelated, but do you know 吉田えり (Eri Yoshida)?

She’s only eighteen years old. But she’s a baseball pitcher with an unusual style…she’s a “sidearm knuckleball” pitcher.

There are few male pitchers that throw this style, let alone female ones.

She has recently been signed to play professional baseball in the U.S. for the minor league team the “Chico Outlaws“.She was playing pro baseball in Japan for the Japanese minor league team the “Kobe 9 Cruise” before getting signed by the American team.

This makes her only the second women to ever play pro baseball in America…and the first women ever to play pro baseball in two different countries.

(You can click here if you want to read more about her story on the the “Chico Outlaws” website.)

スターバックス ヴィア

I like coffee a lot.
Every morning I drink a cup of coffee and every evening a can (or two) of beer.

But I don’t like Starbucks.

In my opinion, what Starbucks sells isn’t coffee but overpriced hot cocoa. It’s too sweet and too expensive.

But I understand that Starbucks is popular (although I don’t understand why that is), so maybe you’ll be interested to know that 「スターバックス」 (Starbucks) in Japan has just begun selling 「スターバックス　ヴィア」 (“Starbucks Via“) coffee.

“Starbucks Via” is their new brand of instant coffee.

Packages of "Starbucks Via" in the U.S. have "X" marks on them.

I guess Starbucks in America has already been offering this new instant coffee, but in Japan Starbucks began selling it today.

There are a couple differences between the “Starbucks Via” offered in the U.S. and how it’s sold here in Japan.

First, in Japan, the packages are smaller because Japanese usually consume food and drinks in smaller portions than the average American.

And secondly, the packages that the coffee are sold in are different in Japan too.
In America (and maybe other countries as well), they have large “X” marks to indicate the type of coffee, but in Japan that symbol isn’t usually used in that way.
Usually Japanese people would put an “O” (circle) there…but Starbucks Japan elected to use a check mark…still better than an “X”.

Packages of 「スターバックス　ヴィア」 ("Starbucks Via") coffee in Japan have check marks on them.

I guess I’m not the only one who thinks Starbucks coffee is too expensive. Maybe they’re losing business and decided to sell cheaper coffee to try to compete with places like McDonalds.

In Japan, “Starbucks Via” in sold in sets of either three packets for ¥300 (¥100 / packet (about US$1.08 / packet)) or twelve packets for ¥1,000 (¥83 / packet (about US$0.89 / packet)).

Do you like Starbucks coffee? Have you tried “Starbucks Via“? How much is it in your country?