KISS in Japanese art

The American rock band KISS are currently on tour in Japan.
(I wrote a post about their Japan tour of 2015 here.)

KISS are doing many unique, only-in-Japan promotions while they are here.
Among them is the 「KISS激辛チリトマトまん」 (“KISS Spicy Chili Tomato Buns”):

Available in Japan now for a limited time!

These are delicious! If you’re in Japan, try them!  They were first available in Japan when KISS toured here in 2013.  Here’s the similar ad that was run then:

They were introduced to Japan in October 2013.

Now, KISS has commissioned Japanese artists to make unique artwork that combines KISS’s Japan-inspired images with traditional Japanese art:

A professional Japanese 書道 (calligraphy) artist wrote the KISS logo and the band members’ personas in Japanese kanji. (They were signed by the band members too).

A professional Japanese 浮世絵 (ukiyoe woodblock print) artist made two prints showing the KISS band members as samurai in one, and samurai battling Japanese monsters in the other.

Here is a YouTube video showing the ukiyoe artist carving the woodblock to make the KISS ukiyoe prints:

Japan’s amazing bike parking system

Tokyo has one of these too.

KISS Japan Tour 2015 goods

KISS is on their way to Japan now to begin their 2015 Japan tour on Monday.
(Click here to see my post about the announcement of this tour, the tour dates, and their special guests for the Tokyo Dome show).

The T-shirts and other merchandise that KISS will be selling for their shows in Japan have been revealed.

I like towels from concerts. These types of towels are unique to Japan, aren’t they?

Click here to see the page with the complete list of official KISS Japan Tour 2015 merchandise (Japanese only).

New Years Postcard Lottery 2015

I had almost forgotten about the annual 年賀状お年玉 (New Years Postcard Lottery).
(Click here to read an earlier post I’ve written about it).

What reminded me of it was the fact that today is 「旧正月」 (Chinese New Years).

On January 19th, 2015, the winning numbers were announced.

Check your postcards, if you have a winning number, you have until July 21st (2015) to bring winning cards to a post office (in Japan) to claim your prize.

The winning numbers and prizes for this year are:

Place	Prize	Odds	Number of winners	Winning Numbers
1st（last five digits）	¥10,000	1 in 100,000	33,185	82243
2nd（last four digits）	Various local goods	1 in 10,000	331,858	1351
3rd（last two digits）	Commemorative postage stamps	2 in 100 (1 in 50)	66,371,640	27 or 30

Click here to visit the Japan Post “New Years Postcard Lottery” page (in Japanese).

Only in Japan: the official KISS face pack

Narita

The city of Narita in Chiba Prefecture, Japan is usually associated with the international airport that is there.

People not so familiar with Japan may think that Japan’s “Narita International Airport is in Tokyo…but Narita is a part of Chiba, which is near Tokyo.

(There is an international airport in Tokyo…it’s “Haneda International Airport“.)

The airport isn’t the only reason to go to Narita City though.
“成田山新勝寺 (Narita-san-Shinsho-ji)“ is a beautiful famous temple that has many wonderful festivals and events.
The area near the temple has many traditional Japanese shops and restaurants.

Narita is known for ウナギ (freshwater eel). There are a number of restaurants there that serve it…it’s delicious! If you visit Narita, you should try it!

Anyways, it had been awhile since we’ve visited Narita…so we went there yesterday. Here are some photos I took:

Japanese children’s cartoon character “Baikin-man”.

It says that Narita is “a traditional Japanese hospitality town”.

These are “Daruma”…a traditional Japanese ornament most commonly seen at New Year’s time.

 

A 「たこやき」 (Grilled octopus dumplings) stand.

 

The entrance to 「成田山新勝寺」 (“Narita-san-Shinsho-ji”) temple.

 

A lion guard at the entrance to 「成田山新勝寺」 (“Narita-san-Shinsho-ji”) .

 

A 「招き猫」 (Maneki-Neko lucky cat).

 

The 7-Eleven store there has a brown sign to keep with the style of the area.

New Hachiko statue in Tokyo…with his master!

Japan loves Hachiko! There are already two other statues of this beloved dog in Japan (only one statue is well-known).
My post about the dog and the statue in Shibuya:
https://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/on-this-day/
(I want to see this new statue at Univ of Tokyo!)

Foreign brand T-shirts with crazy Japanese on them…

Today is Setsubun

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.

Could this teen’s simple but genius idea help put an end to cyber bullying?