Many things in Japan are high-tech far beyond other countries…such as toilets and bathtubs, vending machines, etc.
And the “accessibility” for the handicapped in Japan has become quite good…for example, braille is on many things here including money, alcohol and shampoo (Click here to read a post I wrote about that.)
But there was one thing that I also should be changed…the lack of safety barriers on train and subway platforms.
Thankfully there aren’t very many cases…but on occasion, drunk, blind or careless people have fallen off of the platforms.
And, unfortunately, suicidal people have jumped from them onto the path of oncoming trains.
But, of course, I’m not the only who noticed this problem and more and more train stations are installing safety barriers to keep people from falling (or jumping) from the platforms.
Eventually all of the train stations in Japan will have them!
And, of course, train station platform safety barriers in Japan are high-tech.
Did you hear about these recent Japan-related news items?
Takeru Kobayashi, the hot-dog eating champion from Japan who won the annual Fourth Of July Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City six times just won a pizza-eating contest in California.He ate 5 ¾ pizzas in six minutes. Just beating American Joey Chestnut who ate 5 ½ pizzas.
Kobayashi and Chestnut are always rivals at the hot-dog eating contests in New York every year. Joey Chestnut beat Kobayashi the last two years at the hot-dog contest.
They both said that they will attend the hot-dog eating contest this July to continue their rivalry.
The Japanese ambassador to America offered an official apology from the Japanese government to a group of American WW2 veterans who were held POW by the Japanese military and forced to work in a labor camp.
A 20 year old Japanese man who had been drinking all night on Saturday and was still drunk on Sunday morning fell off of a train platform at a train station in Tokyo…and, as he was falling, grabbed onto the arm of a nearby 59 year old female commuter.They both fell off of the platform onto the train tracks.
Luckily, no train was coming at the time.
The man sustained minor injuries. The woman, though, broke her pelvis.
The man is currently in police custody while they investigate whether he really did fall and pull the woman by accident…or if he jumped and pulled her intentionally.
Forty-five years ago last Saturday, on Friday 22 November 1963, the U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
And forty-five years ago today, on 24 November 1963, the man who was arrested for assassinating President Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, was killed by Jack Ruby.
This happened before I was born (my parents were only 14 years old at the time), so of course I have no memory of it…but I’ve heard that people who were alive can still remember exactly where they were when they heard that JFK was assassinated. Kinda like the September 11 attacks of 2001 (Speaking of which, Click here to read my Sept 11 post).
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Anyways, yesterday we went to a キク祭 (Chrysanthemum Festival). The キク (Chrysanthemum) is the official flower of Japan’s royal family. In fact, the 皇位 (Japanese Imperial Family) is often referred to as the “Chrysanthemum Throne“.
After that, we went where my kids really wanted to go: shopping. They’re girls, so that’s their hobby! 🙂
We took the train to a store that was having a big sale. My wife and daughters shopped, while I waited outside with a coffee and a newspaper.
Anyways, here’s a common sight on the platforms of train stations in Japan…the KIOSK that sells newspapers, magazines, snacks, gum, candy, bread, beer, juice, cigarettes, hand towels, neckties, etc:
The U.S. Navy Base in 神奈川県横須賀市 (Yokosuka, Kanagawa-prefecture) south of Tokyo was attacked by two rocket bombs last Friday evening.
Noone was hurt. But police suspect it was an attack by activists who are against the American nuclear-powered aircraft-carrier, U.S.S. George Washington, being stationed there starting later this month.
(I wrote a post about this ship coming to Japan here
(I also mentioned it in a few other posts. If you want to see them, you can use the Search function on this blog. A search for posts on my blog “USS George Washington” can be accessed here )).
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Speaking of 神奈川県横須賀市 (Yokosuka, Kanagawa-prefecture)…if you visit that town, the US Navy base is in 神奈川県横須賀市本町 (Honcho, Yokosuka-ward, Kanagawa-prefecture).
The closest train stations are JR 横須賀駅 (Yokosuka JR Station), 京浜急行汐入駅 (Keihin-kyuukou Shioiri Station), or 京浜急行横須賀中央駅 (Keihin-kyuukou Yokosuka-chuo Station).
You probably wouldn’t be allowed inside the American base (unless it’s a day of one of their “Friendship Festivals“), but the street across from the base (that many American sailors mistakenly call “The Honch” (because the town’s name is 本町 (Honcho)) is ドブイタ・ストリート (Dobuita Street) with many shops and restaurants that are unique to the area.
神奈川県横須賀市 (Yokosuka, Kanagawa-prefecture) is famous for 海軍カレー (Navy Curry) because the Japanese Navy (which also has a base there) brought curry from India to Yokosuka.
Another thing that 神奈川県横須賀市 (Yokosuka, Kanagawa-prefecture) is famous for are the popular スカジャン (‘Suka-jyan). Which are souvenir 神奈川県横須賀市 (Yokosuka, Kanagawa-prefecture) jackets that were popular with the U.S. Military but it’s now mostly Japanese people who buy them.
There’s also 猿島 (Saru-shima (which translates to Monkey Island…but there are no monkeys there anymore)), which can be accessed by ferry.
And 三笠公園 (Mikasa Park) with the Japanese battleship Mikasa that you can take a tour of.
Today and tomorrow we are taking my oldest daughter to look at a few high schools to help us decide which one she should go to next Spring (she’ll start 高校一年 (10th grade (first year of high school in Japan)) in April).
In December, she’ll begin taking high school entrance exams! (Next year, my 2nd daughter will do the same…then the youngest after that!)
They grow up too fast!
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Yesterday we went to 銀座 (Ginza) and 上野 (Ueno).
Near 銀座 (Ginza), I saw this 新幹線 (Bullet train) pass by (it was going past a train station, so it wasn’t moving so fast at the time):
And at 上野 (Ueno), we went to a junk-food store that sold ラムネ (Ramune), which is a popular (especially in the summer) carbonated drink in Japan.
It has a distinctive bottle with a marble in the neck.
It usually has a lemon flavor…but this store had many odd flavors and there was a sign that said 「まずいラムネランキング」 (“Top Ten WorstRamune Flavors”)!
Some of the まずいラムネ (Worst Ramune Flavors) included
“Wasabi Ramune“, “Curry Ramune“, and “Takoyaki Ramune“…but the “#1 Worst Flavor” was 「キムチ・ラムネ」 (“Kimchee Ramune”)!
So I had to buy it!
I’ve haven’t tried it yet. I’ll let you know how it is.
(Actually, I really like 「キムチ」 (Kimchee)…(spicy, Korean cabbage). So I’m wondering how this drink tastes.)
From there, we went to a カラオケボックス (“Karaoke Box”), which is a private room for singing Karaoke (you can also order food and drinks from a menu and they’re brought up to the room you’re in).
I’m a terrible singer…but my kids enjoy it.
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In the news,
A wild monkey got into busy 渋谷駅 (Shibuya Train Station) in Tokyo. Over thirty police officers attempted to capture it, but the monkey managed to flee the train station.There are wild 日本猿 (Japanese monkeys) in the countryside but in the city they’re usually only seen in the zoos.
The American Navy’s nuclear aircraft carrier, U.S.S George Washington, will be stationed in 神奈川県横須賀市 (Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture) soon. There are a number of Japanese people who are against the ship coming here, mainly because it’ll be the first nuclear-powered ship to be stationed in Japan.The fact that there was a fire onboard the carrier last Spring compounded their worries.
(You can read my earlier post about the USS George Washington coming to Japan).
And now, it’s been reported, two sailors from the ship have been arrested last weekend in California, USA for murder!
Yesterday I took my two youngest daughters to a shopping mall that’s a short train ride from our home because they wanted to buy some things that they “really needed“.
I agreed to take them…but only for a short time because it looked like it would rain. And when we left the mall, that’s what it did. Really hard!
First there was thunder and lightning, then the rain came pouring down. But it was a summer shower…so it ended soon after it started.
Actually, we got lucky. It started raining soon after we boarded our train home, and stopped just before we got off the train. So we didn’t have to walk in the rain at all. Perfect timing!
Anyways, there are many summer festivals and fireworks shows in Japan this time of year. And many people wear 浴衣 (Japanese summer kimono) and 甚平 (Japanese traditional summer outfit) to these events.
At the mall, we saw a couple of girls who were probably going to a festival or fireworks show after the mall (it might have gotten rained out, though). I saw them browsing in a CD store.
It seemed like it’d make a good photo. So here’s the photo I took of them:
Here are some videos I took of the train ride while looking out the conductor’s window (a couple of them are from the ride home, so it’s raining hard):
The day before yesterday, I had to go up to Saitama for a few hours.
Do you know what station this lion statue is near?
Here’s a short video I took of a Game Center (video game arcade) in Saitama:
And here’s a video I took while walking into the train station:
And this is on the platform, waiting for the train:
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Then, that evening, I met my family at the 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine) for the annual みたま祭 (Mitama Festival).
This festival takes place during お盆 (O-bon) (click here to read my FAQ about O-bon). Most of Japan has Obon in August…but it’s often celebrated in July in Tokyo.
Here’s a video of the outside of the Haunted House attraction at the Mitama Festival:
And all around Japan during the summer there are many festivals big and small that have 盆踊り (Bon Dancing) to remember the deceased. Here’s a video of the Bon Dance at the Mitama Festival:
青森県 (Aomori Prefecture) in Northern Japan has a cool festival called ねぶた祭り (Nebuta Festival).
At the Mitama Festival in Tokyo, a group of Nebuta Festival dancers come and do a show.
Here are two videos that I took of them:
Finally, here’s a slideshow that I made of some photos I took at the festival:
Tokyo Five 
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