On Saturday (2013 September 7th), the IOC (International Olympic Committee) will decide which city will host the 2020 Olympics.
Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul are the three candidate cities.
If Tokyo is chosen, the famous 「新宿ゴールデン街」 (“Shinjuku Golden-gai“) might torn down and renovated.
If it does, that would be unfortunate. Golden-gai is a unique, well-known section of downtown Tokyo that consists of hundreds of very small restaurants and bars all with a small section of back alleys.
Very “Tokyo”.
Today my wife and I went to a Levi’s outlet sale in 新宿 (Shinjuku, Tokyo).
We bought some clothes for our kids.
While we were in 新宿 (Shinjuku), we had lunch at 三葉回転寿司 (Mitsuba conveyor-belt sushi).
Do they have 回転寿司 (conveyor-belt sushi) restaurants in your country?
At this type of sushi restaurant, the sushi chef prepares various types of sushi and puts them on different colored plates. Each colored plate represents the price for that particular sushi.
Then the sushi is placed on a conveyor-belt and goes around and when the one you want passes in front of you, you can take it off and eat it.
When you’re ready to leave, the restaurant staff calculates how much you owe by counting the colored plates from all the sushi you ate.
You can also request the sushi chef to make a particular sushi that you want, if you don’t see it on the conveyor.
Here are a few photos I took of the sushi and around 新宿 (Shinjuku):
フグ (Blowfish) skin
This building in Shinjuku has banners advertising Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympics.
The banner says: 「Tokyo 2016. 日本だから、できる。 あたらしいオリンピック！」 ("Tokyo 2016. This is Japan, so we can can do it...a new Olympics!")
Today my daughters each went out with their friends.
My oldest daughter went to お台場 (Odaiba, Tokyo) with her friends, my second daughter went to the 動物園 (zoo) with her friends, and my youngest went to 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland) with her friends.
So, my wife and I decided to go to 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) together at 新宿御苑 (Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden).
新宿御苑 (Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden) is a very large, beautiful park with both Japanese and Western-style gardens right in the center of metropolitan Tokyo.
We had a nice picnic lunch in the gardens and went home before our daughters were due home and we all had dinner together.
Here are some of the photos we took today:
「東京体育館」 (Tokyo Metropolitan Gym) was used in '54 World Wrestling Championship and '64 Olympics
「新宿御苑の千駄ヶ谷門」 (Sendagaya Gate to Shinjuku-Gyoen)
桜 (Cherry Blossoms)
The skyscrapers of Shinjuku can be seen from the gardens.
ツバキ (Camellia)
There were many people enjoying 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) today.
ボケ (Flowering Quince)
Japanese garden
(Click here if you want to see the official 新宿御苑の花見 (Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden‘s Cherry Blossom Viewing) page.)
My wife and I also stopped by 上野 (Ueno, Tokyo) to see the 桜 (Cherry Blossoms) there. It was very crowded there (as expected).
The crowd at Ueno.
Today is the last day of a 三連休 (three-day weekend).
(Click here to read why Friday was a holiday).
As I mentioned in an earlier post (Click here to read it), we paid a visit to our family grave on Friday…then we went to the 「アンパンマンとやなせたかし展」 (”Anpanman & Takashi Yanase Exhibit“) at the 日本橋三越本店 (Mitsukoshi Dep’t Store head store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo).
Here are some photos I took:
Advertisement for the exhibit near the store
"Roll-panna chan" has a split personality. She can turn on her friends.
Some of the main "good guys"
They've become bugs!
「カキクケコちゃん」って！ Funny name!
「だいこんやくしゃ」 His name sounds like "Radish-actor"...but it means "Bad actor"
The "Hamburger Kid"
After we left the exhibit
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Yesterday the weather was really nice in Tokyo. Clear sky, comfortable temperature…perfect weather. So we walked around downtown and stopped in a few stores to get my kids some things that they need for the new school year.
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Yesterday’s weather was perfect…but today’s rainy and very windy. And a bit cold.
It’s too bad because today’s the Tokyo Marathon!
It started at 9:05AM this morning in 新宿 (Shinjuku, Tokyo) and is still going as I type this.
I’m watching it live on TV. It’s scheduled to end at 4:30PM.
The finish line is in お台場 (Odaiba, Tokyo). As of 3:20PM (when I writing this), about 26,000 runners have crossed the finish line…there are still about 9,000 people running it.
It’s too bad they didn’t hold the marathon yesterday when the weather was so much better!
Anyways, I mentioned the Tokyo Marathon in a post a few days ago. (Click here to read it.)
At the beginning of the marathon all 35000 people were crowded together
Do you know the 歌舞伎座 (Kabuki Theater) in Tokyo? Have you ever been to this theater?
Of course, you know what 歌舞伎 (Kabuki) is…right?
A traditional Japanese performance that is mostly recognized by the white face paint that the actors wear (often decorated with designs in other colors…commonly black and red).
Well, the famous 歌舞伎座 (Kabuki Theater), which is in 銀座 (Ginza, Tokyo), is scheduled to be demolished in April 2010! This is because the building, which is a Tokyo landmark, is old and the government feels that it’s time for it to be rebuilt…for safety reasons.
Many people are petitioning the government to save the 歌舞伎座 (Kabuki Theater).
I have seen 歌舞伎 (Kabuki) years ago. I guess I need to go watch it again before 2010, so I can see inside the 歌舞伎座 (Kabuki Theater) one last time!
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And then…do you know 歌舞伎町 (Kabukicho, Tokyo)?
Despite the similar names, 歌舞伎町 (Kabukicho, Tokyo) has nothing to do with the 歌舞伎座 (Kabuki Theater) or 歌舞伎 (Kabuki) in general.
歌舞伎町 (Kabukicho) is the seedy section of 新宿 (Shinjuku, Tokyo).
It got the name 歌舞伎町 (Kabukicho) because after World War 2 the Tokyo government planned to build a large Kabuki theater there. But the plan was scrapped because the city didn’t have enough money in the budget back then.
The area grew into a famous red-light district (actually the Governor of Tokyo is cleaning the area up alot now).
歌舞伎町 (Kabukicho) means Kabuki Town.
I went thru some of my photos and decided to post a bunch of them on my blog. Mostly as Slideshows.
For convenience, here’s a menu of the pictures, slideshows, and video on this post:
First are some of the small animals that have been living in our house recently.
Our ミドリ亀 (Red-eared slider turtle):
My YouTube video of our ミドリ亀 (Red-eared slider turtle):
The アゲハ蝶 (Swallowtail Butterfly) (and his 蛹 (cocoon)).
Here’s a slideshow of our カブト虫 (Rhino beetle) eating gelatin.
[rockyou id=121255942]
A slideshow of our 蝉 (Cicada) emerging from it’s moult (outer shell).
[rockyou id=121304472]
Here’s ハロウィーン (Halloween) at 川崎 (Kawasaki):
And here’s a slideshow of the 流鏑馬 (Horseback Archery) at 鎌倉 (Kamakura):
[rockyou id=121313498]
And the 流鏑馬 (Horseback Archery) at 浅草 (Asakusa):
And here’s a slideshow of New Years at 浅草 (Asakusa):
[rockyou id=121314652]
東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland):
[rockyou id=121257747]
A park near our house:
[rockyou id=121256593]
花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing):
[rockyou id=121263734]
茨城県 (Ibaraki) is a countryside prefecture to the north of 東京都 (Tokyo):
[rockyou id=121260602]
横浜 (Yokohama):
[rockyou id=121261159]
亀戸天神 (Kameido-Tenjin Shrine):
[rockyou id=121269921]
原宿 (Harajuku) and 渋谷 (Shibuya):
[rockyou id=121271108]
These photos are from 上野 (Ueno):
[rockyou id=121304850]
東京タワー (Tokyo Tower):
[rockyou id=121315444]
The 東京ドーム (Tokyo Dome) area (including the amusement park and 小石川後楽園 (Koishikawa-kourakuen Japanese Gardens)). There happened to be a cosplay event on the day I took these photos:
[rockyou id=121316712]
東京駅 (Tokyo Train Station) and the 皇居 (Imperial Palace):
[rockyou id=121320484]
東京大学 (The University of Tokyo):
[rockyou id=121322650]
東武動物公園 (Tobu-Doubutsukouen Zoo):
[rockyou id=121323921]
両国 (Ryougoku), the area of Tokyo with the 国技館 (Sumo Arena):
[rockyou id=121324845]
Please leave a comment of what you think of these photos!
新宿駅 (Shinjuku Station), in Tokyo, Japan, is the busiest train station in the world.
Shinjuku Train Station was built in 1885 and currently services over 3.5 million commuters daily!
For comparison, there are about 3 million people in the U.S. city of Chicago, and the entire population of the country of Singapore is about 4 million.
Japan’s population is 120 million…and 10% of the country’s population lives in Tokyo.
Shinjuku Station is huge. Besides all of the train and subway lines, it also has bus and taxi stops and it’s own shopping center (of course, alot of train stations in Japan have shopping centers, though).
To help you understand how large it is…Shinjuku Station has over 200 exits!
The area called 新宿 (Shinjuku) is a large, popular section of Tokyo. It is said that Shinjuku was the inspiration for the ’80s Hollywood movie “Blade Runner” (Starring Harrison Ford).
It’s a huge town full of skyscrapers and neon. I like it!
Here’s a video I took of one of the exits of Shinjuku Station on a weekday morning recently:
東京タワー (Tokyo Tower), built in 1958, is 333 meters tall. Taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France that it was modeled after.
At the time, it dominated the Tokyo skyline. And was used as a transmission tower for Tokyo’s radio and TV stations…as well as, a popular tourist attraction.
The tower’s fifty years old this year and it’s still used as a transmission tower today (and a tourist draw, as well)…but Tokyo now has many buildings that dwarf the Tokyo Tower…and obstruct the radio and TV waves.
So, the government decided to build a taller transmission / observation tower, to be completed by December 2011 and stand at nearly 634 meters tall (2080 feet).
It will be built at 隅田川 (Sumida River), near 浅草 (Asakusa). And it will be the world’s tallest tower.
This is what it’s expected to look like:
I think it’s an awesome sight. But I really like huge towers, skyscrapers and bridges!
The only thing I don’t like about it is it’s name…
Before a final name was decided upon, it was temporarily referred to as 新東京タワー (New Tokyo Tower). That was bad enough…but the official name for the new tower is: 東京スカイツリー (Tokyo Sky Tree)!
What an unfortunate name.
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Did you know that Japan’s Sumo Wrestlers went to America?
For the first time in 27 years, the top-ranking Sumo Wrestlers held matches in the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
It was reported in the Japanese news that it was very popular with the American public.
Is 相撲 (Sumo) catching on in America?
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On Saturday, a new subway line will start running in Tokyo.
The 副都心線 (Fukutoshin Line) will connect Ikebukuro to Shibuya and eventually expand to go from Saitama to Yokohama.
The name of the line translates to something like “Nearly downtown”. That’s my own translation…not an official title. 副都心線 (Fukutoshin Line) is just a name of a train line, not a normal everyday expression—so it’s hard to translate.
Just some random thoughts and observations, and some photos of various places around Tokyo.
First, when we visited Florida a few years ago, I went to the 7-11 convenience store to buy a six-pack of beer late one evening. But when I went to open the beer cooler, it was locked. The cashier told me that it’s illegal to sell alcohol in Florida after 1:00AM!
I was surprised by that. In Japan, alcohol can be bought at anytime day or night at 7-11 and elsewhere. There are even beer vending machines in Japan.
I looked at the internet and it seems that Florida’s laws are fairly liberal when compared to other states in America (In America, states make their own laws. Unlike other countries, like Japan, that have only federal laws).
For example, in Mississippi, not only are there hours of the day that you can’t buy alcohol…it also isn’t to be sold on Sundays and Christmas!
Missouri seems to be one of the strictest. In that state, alcohol isn’t sold after midnight or 1AM (depending on the day), public intoxication is illegal, and drinking outdoors is, as well.
I guess I have been living in Japan for a long time, because that all seems medieval to me.
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Speaking of 7-11 in America, they are quite different from the ones in Japan.
In Japan’s 7-11 stores, there are no “Slurpees” or “Big Gulp” drinks, nor nachos or aspirin or gasoline (there’s no “Slurpee”, “Big Gulps” or nachos because those don’t appeal to Japanese tastes…but 7-11 Japan doesn’t sell medicine or gas because, in Japan, medicine can only sold by licensed pharmacists and gasoline at petrol stands).
But at Japanese convenience stores, you can pay your bills, mail packages, buy DVDs, toothpastes, underwear, boxed lunches, ice cream, spaghetti, おにぎり (rice balls), squid, beer, whiskey, おでん (Japanese boiled “hot-pot” food), and more.
7-11, by the way, has over 34,000 stores worldwide. 6,200 of them are in America…but Japan has the most—over 12,000 Seven-Eleven stores are in Japan!
The Japanese department stores chain, Ito-Yokado bought the controlling shares of 7-11 stocks years ago.
Ito-Yokado‘s logo is a white dove and it used to be used above all of their stores. But since most of their profits come from the 7-11 stores, they decided to emphasize the 7-11 name. So now all of their department stores have a “7 & i Holdings” sign above the stores (“7” for “7-11” and “i” for “Ito-Yokado”).
Not only does Ito-Yokado own the 7-11 worldwide chain, they also own the “Denny’s” family restaurant chain.
Here’s the “old” Ito-Yokado sign (I took a photo of it a few years ago when I heard that they were changing the signs nationwide):
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Mariah Carey was on TV here recently because she came to Tokyo to promote a new CD.
I’m not a fan of her music so I don’t know much about her, but she seems right weird!
She was doing an interview on a popular morning talk show that I like to watch…and her young husband tagged along and they were snuggling the whole time.
Then the next day, she threw the opening pitch at the Tokyo Dome for a Tokyo Giants baseball game.
She wore stiletto heels on the field and rather than throw the ball…she dropped it right it front of herself.
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Did you hear about the homeless woman in 福岡 (Fukuoka, Japan) who was living in a single man’s closet for a year?
In Japanese homes, there’s a small storage space above closets that many people seldom open, and that’s where this woman was living.
She got into his house and stayed in the closet when the homeowner was home, but whenever he’d leave, she’d get out and take a shower and eat his food.
He found her because he installed a security camera in his house when he noticed food missing.
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Anyways…
here are a few pictures I took around Tokyo:
Today we went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building because they have a free observatory on the 45th floor.
We took the express elevator that goes from the first to the forty-fifth floor in 55 seconds! It made my ears pop like flying in an airplane.
I’ve been in this building before when they had a New York City photo exhibit that I went to see a couple of years ago…but I’ve never taken photos of the Shinjuku skyline from the observatory before, so I decided to do that today.
It was a bit overcast today, unfortunately, so the view wasn’t as clear as it could have been.
A sign there said that on a clear day, Mount Fuji can be seen from the observatory.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building isn’t the only place to get a bird’s eye view of Tokyo’s skyline. There are higher buildings and towers in the city…some offer a better view, too. But it’s one of the few free observatories in Tokyo.
Here are some of the photos I took:
Tokyo Five 
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