I have been to this (and a few other Japanese Firefighter Ceremonies). Click here to see my post (with photos) about it.
The 「横浜消防出初式」 (“Yokohama Fire Department’s New Year Ceremony“) is on the second Sunday of January every year…so it will be held on January 10th this year.
If you’re unable to attend one of those festivals this month, there is a similar one in the Asakusa area of Tokyo in May every year.
It’s not as grand as the New Year’s ceremonies. And it’s actually a memorial ceremony for fallen firefighters.
It’s called the 江戸消防慰霊祭 (Edo Firefighters Memorial Ceremony).
I watched this ceremony a couple times. Click here to see photos I took of it almost six years ago. (There are also photos of the Tokyo Sky Tree under construction in that post because it’s near where the ceremony is held, and it was being being at that time).
Here are some videos of last year’s 「横浜消防出初式」 (“Yokohama Fire Department’s New Year Ceremony“):
In Japanese culture, when someone goes on a trip or even to a major amusement park, they feel compelled to buy お土産 (souvenirs) for friends and family…and even their co-workers (if they’re aware of the trip).
Normally, they like to give a “regional” souvenir. Something that represents the city or country that they visited…even a “I ♥ NY ” key-chain from a trip to New York could be a gift good enough for a co-worker or such.
When Japanese people go on a domestic trip (visit another town or city within Japan), it’s popular to buy a local food item as a souvenir.
So, currently, Kit-Kat Japan are offering ご当地お土産 (Regional Souvenirs).
Map of Japan showing regional Kit-Kat flavors for various areas.
Yesterday we went to Kanagawa. The prefecture to the south of Tokyo.
First we went to Kamakura. Kamakura has many temples and shrines…but is probably most famous for the 大仏 (Great Buddha) statue that is there. We didn’t visit the Great Buddha yesterday, but we’ve been to it many times before (Click here to see photo I took of the Great Buddha about six years ago.)
First we visited the 小町通り (Komachi Street).
Ghibli store
The “Iwata Coffee Shop”. It’s claim-to-fame is that John Lennon ate there when he visited Kamakura.
A toy store.
We ate breakfast at the well-known “Komeda Coffee” restaurant.
We went to the famous 報国寺 (Hōkoku-ji Temple), also called 竹寺 (“Bamboo Temple”) because of it’s bamboo forest!
After we left the “Bamboo Temple”, I saw this old Coke machine that sold the cola in glass bottles:
Some turtles in a pond came out of the water looking for food hand-outs from the people. Including this スッポン (Chinese Soft-shelled Turtle):
Kamakura has many local-brewed beers, including this 「大仏ビール」 (“Great Buddha Beer”) that I bought:
After Kamakura, we went to Yokohama:
「横浜中華街」 (Yokohama Chinatown)
The Yokohama Chinatown 交番 (Police Box).
In Yokohama Chinatwon, we ate 担々麺 (spicy “Tan-tan-men” Ramen) for lunch.
A shopping mall had a dinosaur exhibit.
Yokohama skyline.
For dinner, we ate at an 居酒屋 (Japanese “izakaya” pub).
In Japan, April 29th, May 3rd, May 4th and May 5th are public holidays. Collectively they are known as 「(ゴールデンウィーク」 (“Golden Week“). Technically only those days are public holidays and therefore only the May 3-5 period is “Golden Week”, but many companies allow their employees to have a Golden Week holiday from 「昭和の日」 (“Showa Day”) on April 29th until 「子供の日」 (“Children’s Day”) on May 5th.
(Click here to read my FAQ that explains a bit about the Golden Week holidays.)
Today is May 4th…「みどりの日」 (“Greenery Day“) in Japan.
This is the day to appreciate nature. Every year May 4th is one of three days that all of the public 動物園 (zoos) and 水族館 (aquariums) are open with no admission charge.
So you can go to the zoo or aquarium in Tokyo for free today…if you don’t mind the crowd.
Of the three days that Japan’s zoos are open for free, May 4th is the most crowded because it’s the day that is a national holiday.
Tokyo’s 「上野動物園」 (Ueno Zoo) will be particularly crowded because in addition to the zoo being open for free on a national holiday today…Ueno Zoo recently got new pandas.
The three days of the year that Japan’s public zoos and aquariums are open for free are May 4th (“Greenery Day”), 都/道/府/県民の日 (Prefecture Residents’ Day) (each prefecture’s “Residents Day” is a separate day), and the anniversary of the day that the zoo / aquarium first opened.
So, for Tokyo’s public zoos, the days that they’re open for free are as follows:
–May 4th 「みどりの日」 (Greenery Day)…which is today.
–October 1st 「都民の日」 (Tokyo Residents’ Day)…as for the Tokyo’s neighboring prefectures, 千葉県民の日 (Chiba Prefecture Residents’ Day) is on June 15th, 埼玉県民の日 (Saitama Prefecture Residents’ Day) is on November 14th, and 神奈川県民の日 (Kanagawa Prefecture Residents’ Day) is on March 19th—so Chiba Zoo, Tobu Zoo, Yokohama Zoo, etc. will be open for free on their respective prefecture’s Residents Day.
-And the other free day is the anniversary of the zoo’s grand opening…so, for each of Tokyo’s public zoos and aquariums, that day is:
Ueno Zoo...open for free every March 20th (first opened on 1882 March 20).
Tama Zoo is open for free on both (May 4) today and (May 5) tomorrow (both are national holidays). Tama Zoo first opened on 1958 May 5th.
Kasai Seaside Aquarium...open for free every October 10th (first opened on 1989 October 10).
Inokashira Zoo...open for free every May 17th (first opened on 1918 May 17).
Ooshima Zoo is always opened to the public for free.
Do you like zoos and aquariums? Which is your favorite zoo? Have you seen any of Japan’s zoo?
If you want any information about these zoos and aquariums in Tokyo (or the ones in the neighboring prefectures), feel free to ask in this post’s comments or e-mail me…I’ve been to them all.
First of all, as I mentioned in this comment, the “2011 Tokyo International Marathon” was held today.
30,000 people from Japan and other countries ran the 42.195 KM (over 26 miles) course through the streets of Tokyo.
For the past five years now, the Tokyo Marathon has been an annual event held at the end of February.
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Anyways, my friend has just informed me that the American rock band KISS will be coming to Japan this April to play seven shows around Japan to support their “Sonic Boom” album.
(I did an interview with the artist who designed this album cover, by the way.)
The dates of the shows that KISS are scheduled to play in Japan are:
2011 April 13 – Nagoya, Japan at the Aichi Prefecture Gymnasium
2011 April 14 – Yokohama, Japan at the Pacifico Yokohama
2011 April 17 – Saitama, Japan at the Saitama Super Arena
2011 April 18 – Kobe, Japan at the World Hall
2011 April 20 – Tokyo, Japan at the Nippon Budokan
2011 April 21 – Tokyo, Japan at the Nippon Budokan
2011 April 23 – Sapporo, Japan at the Makomanai Indoor Stadium
Tickets for the shows in the Tokyo area (which are Yokohama, Saitama and Tokyo) will go on sale on 2011 March 12th.
I have seen KISS play in Japan in both Yokohama and Tokyo before. In Yokohama, I saw them at the “Yokohama Arena” (not the “Pacifico”, where they’ll being playing this time). In Tokyo, I saw them at both the “Tokyo Dome” and the “Nippon Budokan”.
An interesting thing about this tour is that KISS will play a show in Sapporo, Japan. KISS has played many shows in Japan since their first time here in the 1970’s and they’ve never played northern Japan before. I’m sure that KISS fans in Hokkaido are happy to hear that there will finally be a KISS concert in their area!
The name of the 「日本武道館」 (Nippon Budokan) in Tokyo means “Japan Martial-arts Hall”.
Traditionalists don’t really like the idea of musicians playing pop music in this “sacred” hall. The first pop band to play there were The Beatles when they first came to Japan. The traditionalists protested their concerts. But The Beatles drew huge crowds to the Budokan…and they held the record for the most consecutive sell-out shows there. They played four sold-out shows in a row at the Budokan.
But KISS beat The Beatles‘s record when they played five sold-out shows at the Budokan on their first Japan tour in the late ’70s.
Since then it’s become quite normal for musicians to perform at the Nippon Budokan. Even with the bigger and newer “Tokyo Dome” not far from the Budokan, upcoming Japanese pop stars still consider it a sign of success to play at the Nippon Budokan…not unlike American musicians playing at the “Madison Square Garden”.
The famous "Nippon Budokan"; Tokyo, Japan
Have you ever seen a KISS concert? If not, you’re missing out on the best live show by any band. Their shows are quite exciting…fire-breathing, blood, flying guitars, flying musicians, outrageous costumes, kabuki-style face paint.
To get an idea, watch this music promotion video for the single “Modern Day Delilah” from their most recent album “Sonic Boom”:
And, in a more good news for us KISS fans…the band has announced that a new KISS studio album of brand-new songs is due out later this year (2011)!
A number of newspapers in Japan had articles about the upcoming KISS tour here.
I bought today’s copy of 「夕刊フジ」 (“Yuukan-Fuji“) evening paper:
Here’s a close-up of the article about KISS:
The headline says: "Hell's group" KISS return for a Japan tour after four-and-a-half years!
I was going to write a post about U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent visit to Japan for the APEC Summit that was held in Yokohama, Japan last week.
This summit was for world leaders to discuss free-trade in the Asia / Pacific region.
President Obama made a speech when he visited Japan shortly after his election in which he mentioned that he had visited 鎌倉 (Kamakura, Japan) near Tokyo on a trip with his mother when he was six years old.
On that trip, he remembered, he visited the 大仏 (Great Buddah) and enjoyed “Green Tea Ice Cream”.
In that speech, President Obama said that he hoped to visit Kamakura again one day soon and eat Green Tea Ice Cream again.
His wish came true on his last day in Japan of this recent trip (well, he actually ate a “Green Tea Popsicle” rather than ice cream this time).
U.S. President Obama eating a Green Tea Popsicle in Kamakura, Japan on 2010 Nov 14.
U.S. President Obama in front of the 大仏 (Great Buddah) statue in Kamakura, Japan on 2010 Nov 14.
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I also wanted to write about the 2010 Asian Games which are currently being played in Guangzhou, China.
Forty-five countries are participating in these games which began on 2010 November 12 and will end with the closing ceremony on November 27th.
Japan is doing pretty good in these games…but China, the host country, has the highest number of gold medals so far.
Japan is upset though by the results of the women’s Judo matches. Judo is a Japanese martial art and Japanese athletes consistently excel in international Judo competitions…but in the women’s Judo match Tomoko Fukumi of Japan lost in her match against Wu Shegen of China.
Although it appeared to most people watching that Japan was winning, the judges awarded the victory to China.
Hopefully this doesn’t add more tension to the relationship between Japan and China.
In both Japan and China recently there have been protests against the other country due to Japan’s arrest (and eventual release) of a Chinese fisherman who entered disputed waters that are claimed as territory by both China and Japan.
And in the same waters, on two separate occasions a Chinese boat intentionally rammed a Japanese Coast Guard vessel that was patrolling the area.
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But I titled this blog post 「Chocolate for “adults”」 because I saw the Kit-Kat 「オトナの甘さ」 (“(Level of) Sweetness for Adults”).
I don’t eat junk-food often but two types of chocolate that I like are whiskey chocolate and dark / bitter chocolate.
This Kit-Kat is a bitter / semi-sweet chocolate so I decided to try it. It was pretty good.
The Japanese actress / singer 「黒木めいさ」 (Meisa Kuroki) is the promotion model for both the “regular” Kit-Kat (dressed in red) and the Kit-Kat 「オトナの甘さ」 “Sweetness for Adults” (dressed in black).
In Japan, especially during the summer, 「ビアガーデン」 (“beer gardens”) are popular.
Are they popular in your country?
Many places, such as the Tokyo Dome, Roppongi Hills, etc., have beer gardens only during the summer months.
And many beer gardens in Japan are on the rooftops on restaurants.
Beer gardens in Japan are simply an outdoor venue to drink beer and eat food with friends in the evening summer breeze.
A great way to cool off and enjoy summer.
The “Let’s Enjoy Tokyo” website has launched a “Beer Garden” website that shows information about most of the beer gardens in the Tokyo area this summer.
It’s in Japanese only…but click here to see the Beer Garden website.
Do you know what 「オクトーバーフェスト」 (“Oktoberfest“) is?
Have you ever been to one? What city did you go to Oktoberfest in?
Oktoberfest is a German festival that involves a lot of German music, German sausage, and German beer.
The festival began in ミュンヘン (Munich), Germany in 1810.
I’m not German and I’ve never been to Germany, so I don’t know if the festival is the same in Germany as it is in other cities around the world.
But I love drinking beer and eating meat…so I think Oktoberfest is a great festival! I’ve attended Oktoberfest festivals in Japan a few times and once in America.
As I wrote above, the first Oktoberfest was held in ミュンヘン (Munich), Germany in 1810…so this year is the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest.
Well, right now, the 「日比谷オクトーバーフェスト２０１０」 (“Hibiya Oktoberfest 2010“) is going on.
It started last Friday (2010 May 21) and will continue until Sunday, 2010 May 30 at 日比谷公園 (Hibiya Park) in Tokyo.
As the name implies, “Oktoberfest” is usually held in October (10月)…so I don’t know why this festival is being held in May–but it is.
I have been to the 「日比谷オクトーバーフェスト」 (Hibiya Oktoberfest) before. And I’ve been to the 「日比谷ワインフェスト」 (Hibiya Wine Fest) at the same park before, too.
Admission to the 「日比谷オクトーバーフェスト２０１０」 (“Hibiya Oktoberfest 2010“) is free and they have many German beers available with alcohol content ranging from 4.8% to 7.2% depending on the beer.
(Click here if you want to see the beer list on the official 「日比谷オクトーバーフェスト２０１０」 (“Hibiya Oktoberfest 2010“) website.)
I have also been to the 「横浜オクトーバーフェスト」 (“Yokohama Oktoberfest“) before at the 横浜赤レンガ倉庫 (Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse). That Oktoberfest is held in October every year.
Ad for last year's Oktoberfest in Yokohama
Also, for people in the 仙台 (Sendai) area of Japan, there will be two German beer festivals in that area this year…the 「仙台ジャーマンフェスト２０１０」 (“Sendai German Fest 2010“) from 2010 June 11 – 20, and the 「仙台オクトーバーフェスト２０１０」 (“Sendai Oktoberfest 2010“) from 2010 September 17 – 26.
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”.
Tokyo Five 
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