Shitamachi Museum

Up for a bit of authentic olden-day Japan? Then maybe you should try and include the Shitamachi museum in your weekend or holiday schedule. Situated on the edge of Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park, The Shitamachi Museum is basically an old Japanese building that houses many life sized models of houses and shops from the Taisho period (1912-1926), and offers some perspective of what it would have been like to live in Tokyo in the first couple of decades of last century. On the first floor you can sit in the living area at the back of a store, open drawers and cupboards and find inside the utensils of daily life, or visit a merchants house, a sweets shop, or a coppersmiths workshop, all offering hands-on experience with genuine articles from the period. The second floor offers a more varied collection of exhibits, with toys, dolls, photos, board games, and card games, plus exhibits related to festivals and other events. The museum is cheap (300 yen), provides free guides, and is certainly worth a look..

Debito and Tkyo Sam

Arudou Debito, formerly David Christopher Aldwinckle, was born in 1965 in the United States, and has been a permanent resident of Japan from 1996, and a naturalized Japanese citizen from 2000. In becoming a naturalized citizen he renounced his U.S. citizenship, as required by Japanese law. He is a father of two, is employed as a tenured associate professor at a university in Hokkaido, and has authored books in both Japanese and English. He is perhaps most famous for his website in which he blogs information pertaining to foreigner's rights in Japan. The website contains a wealth of information that is useful for both short and long term residents, as well as other resources that may be considered interesting or entertaining. He is considered by some as an activist, but by others as a troublemaker, as his methods often involve exposing allegedly racist elements of Japanese society as demonstrated in his Rougues Gallery of "Japanese Only" establishments. Tkyo Sam interviewed Debito during his recent visit to Tokyo, and while the interview does ramble a bit, it is an interesting insight into the controversial figure that is Debito..

Kyushu Festival '08

On a much smaller scale than any of the international summer festivals held here at Yoyogi park, the Hokkaido and Kyushu festivals over the last couple of weeks did nothing if not hold their own. Okay so enka is definitely not my thing, and I must admit to being a bit taiko'd out by this stage of each year, but I really enjoyed both of these weekends, eating and drinking my way through the days.

As I looked at these pictures again last night, I remembered a couple that I spoke to on the Sunday sitting at one of the many tables provided. They were an older couple from Fukushima, had had a few, and in our conversation disclosed that I was the first foreigner they had ever spoken to..

Softbank 921SH

The beat up old 912 has gone the way of the dodo, that is, I finally bit the bullet and went and got a new phone. The handset of the 921SH is kinda like Softbank's attempt at an iPhone, with a full face screen and neat little touch sensor at the bottom. The touch sensor isn't at all as responsive as the the iPod touch, but it does the job well enough, the tv works great, and it looks way cool!

Thanks to McGizzle for takin these pics..

The scary world in which we live..

Kenji Nagai, 50, a journalist on contract with APF News, was killed in Myanmar on Thursday while covering the public protests against Myanmar's junta. This video footage is chilling..

かわいい。。

Taken at Juban Matsuri.  Too cute!

Juban Matsuri

It was the Azabu-Juban festival on the weekend, always fun but soooo crowded..