Ichiro's Mission: Revival of a Farming Community

Ichiro at Narita (from Nikkan Sports News)

Back in 1998, a young athlete named Ichiro played for a Japanese baseball team known as Orix. The star was admired by a group of high school kids in a vicinity called Yanagidani in Kanoya City, Kagoshima prefecture on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan. These boys dreamed of watching him playing in Tokyo Dome stadium.

The village of Kanoya, on the other hand, was a typical farming community where young people left for urban areas, and the biggest population was retirement age folks. It seemed like a community that would one day in near future become extinct.

A leader of the community who had no way to stop the departing young people one day suggested, "Hey, why don't you go and see Ichiro by earning some money and making the trip to Tokyo?"  The kids started farming sweet potatoes. A land which no longer had people to farm was donated for the purpose. Since kids no longer worked in the fields, they didn't know how to grow sweet potatoes. Both active farmers and retired citizens helped the kids.

They made some profit from the sweet potatoes -- it was enough to get the kids to Fukuoka Dome stadium in Fukuoka, which is in the biggest city in the Kyushu island, instead of Tokyo Dome. The Ichiro mission of those kids was completed; it also presented a shining opportunity to the community. They saw they could do something to possibly revitalize the community and prevent a loss of residents. They tried different original products. The entire community participated in this mission.

Kagoshima is the capital of Shochu (claiming "a capital" since other places claim it too), one of Japanese' favorite alcohol  -- it is a distilled spirit made from rice, wheat, buck wheat, potatoes, etc. It is well known that Shochu from Kagoshima is made from sweet potatoes. The community of Yanagitani started producing Shochu from the sweet potatoes. It was originally grown for starch in the Ichiro mission. The brand name is Yanedan (the picture in the left). They gradually added other locally made products. Their touching attitude and modest locally made products won a few different community competitions. They divided the profit of the Shochu among the community members since all worked for that. The community was talked about in news and TV shows as "a village which pays a bonus".

Take a look. I want to show you the community and the products but this is the best image I could find on the Internet. I could hardly surf around in their text-only oriented blog style website. You probably can tell how commercial they are. Their site is www.yanedan.com.

One of their original products is organic compost from their livestock. Their local bacteria does something to it and it reduces the odder. It grows their organic vegetables and is used for other purposes too. Municipal governments from all over in Japan now come to learn now this industrious little community made such an ideal revival. They offer empty houses and buildings for artists to move in. Artists sell their art in the community store; young people once left the community returned, invited several families of the tsunami last year.

The area of Kagoshima has no railroad. This made the area isolated from contemporary conveniences therefore young people left. But the trend is changing. People pay extra for getting safe food and non-industrial commodities. Human nature fought back and it made the community one of the pretty getaways in Kyushu and elsewhere. Visitors enjoy browsing around the new artist workshops, and buying organic veggies, water and Shochu. I think (sorry, not many information available) it is not the business they run but in a near-by public bathing facility; their water is heated by burning trash. The water is mineral spring but the temperature isn't high enough so the trash burning heat is used. This way of using the same source for heating both the bath and swimming pool is pretty common in Japan. It is not their original idea at all but it fits their organic and community-oriented concept.

Here are their cornerstone ideas, called the Ten Articles of Creation School:

1. Laugh during hard times.
2. Always discover human treasures (human resources).
3. Respect everyone's opinion.
4. Pass and teach information to others.
5. Don't do it by yourself. Do it with 100 people.
6. Adopt the viewpoint of children and the wisdom of the old.
7. Support the successes of leaders who will lead the next generation.
8. Move other people by tears and sweat.
9. Put soul into each word.
10. Recharge the community with your own strength.

We'll report more about this amazing success during our next Japan trip. So we will be seeking help from the community to provide an accommodation for us when we visit!

As a big sports fan, I say it's a beauty of heroes. They move fans by working hard and doing what they are good at. Without a baseball hero like Ichiro, the first step might have never been taken.  It's another good job on Ichiro's part, though he probably he doesn't know about this. Even non-sports fans know and can applause.  The regular outfit of him like the above photos by the way, although it makes news in Japan every time he returns, uhh... well... no comment.
 

Hideki Matsui Announces His Retirement From Baseball

Here is big headline about another Japanese baseball player. In New York yesterday Hideki Matsui (松井 秀喜), two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, announced his decision to retire from baseball.

This is kind of a meaningful story to me because I got to watch his career take off when I first lived in Japan. In the early 1990s I remember watching him on Japanese TV when he was still in high school, playing at Koshien Stadium at the annual summer baseball tournaments. He was obviously a rising star in baseball; everyone watched and talked about him. I just didn’t know at the time that he would become an admired athlete in both Japan and the United States.

Matsui was born on June 12, 1974 in Neagari, Ishikawa, and grew up playing baseball with his older brother and friends.  He was such a good hitter that his brother made him bat left-handed. Matsui then became an overpowering left-handed batter, though he would throw a baseball with his right hand as an outfielder.

Matsui was recruited by Seiryo High School in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, a Honshu Prefecture school known for its high profile baseball team. During his high school years, Matsui played in four National High School Baseball Tournaments at Koshien Stadium.  In 1992, he drew five intentional walks in a game at Koshien. This was quite controversial. The intentional walks were thought to be unsportsmanlike. The strategy was effective though; Matsui's team lost that game and was eliminated from the tournament. His reaction to the intentional walks made the news. It was reported that Matsui was calm and emotionless.  He didn’t take it personally.  His demeanor was highly praised by everyone – fans, tournament officials, and news reporters.  At the end of the tournament, someone with the High School Federation stated all students should model Matsui's good attitude. After high graduation he ws drafted by the Yomiuri Giants, led by the great manager Shigeo Nagashima. He played on the Giants team for ten years.

In December 2002 Matsui signed on with the New York Yankees. In his first game at Yankee Stadium, the 2003 home opening game, he hit a grand slam home run - the first Yankee ever to do so.  He played with the Yankees for seven seasons and did very well.  On August 5, 2007 Matsui became the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball history to hit 100 home runs. In the summer of 2008 Matsui began to experience knee pain. From that time on, the physical issue affected his ability to play.  He eventually signed three consecutive one-year contracts afterwards, with the Los Angeles Angels, the Oakland Athletics, and Tampa Bay Rays.  Over his career, it is estimated he has earned $84 million in salary over 10 years in the United States, in addition to ¥2.3 billion ($27 million) paid to him by the Giants over 10 years.

The Nikkan Sports paper in Japan wrote about Matsui in its morning edition just before the announcement. This paper said in a headline that Matsui was due to "bring Godzilla II to the Giants," making a joking reference to the nickname "Godzilla" that he was given while playing for that team a decade earlier.

Hideki Matsui remains a famous and revered sports figure among baseball players and fans, especially at home in Japan. Many hope he will one day manage his former team, the Yomiuri Giants. We’ll have to wait and see what his future holds, including whether the Giants will lure him back into the game with a prized leadership role. Talking about his decision to leave the Major Baseball League and the United States, Matsui's father Masao, 70, said his son had "nothing to regret as a baseball player with such good results."

Old New Tokyo Station

Tokyo Station City

Tokyo Station has served as the main entrance to Tokyo since 1914. After the damaging effects of WWII, this historic building has been in use, even though parts of the structure were never renovated. Then in 2007 the city made strides to restore and rebuild the original look of the station. Now the construction has been completed. Tokyo Station is at the same location as it has ever been, and you can go take a look when it opens to the public on October 3. The new station with the 100-year old very original look is a sight you should see!

The video above showcases the Tokyo Station Hotel which also has been restored. It includes special suites that have a view of the inside of the restored South Dome of Tokyo Station, which had been lost in a WWII air raid. The video explains how precisely the dome interior decorations were restored using as references only six photographs and the descriptions in documents indicating the colors.

Last time I saw the station was right after the Earthquake. At the time the city was in energy-saving mode. Japan was not sure what could come next after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, so to prevent  blackouts, each individual managed to "save"electric power by reducing their use. In addition, each family followed their own power saving strategy, for example, to light only the living room or restrict hours of TV watching. Many street lights and electric signs were turned off so Tokyo and many (I guess"all" but I don't know any exception or sabotage) cities in the northern half of Japan had quite darker nights over the year. My last experience of Tokyo Station was under those darkened conditions. When I saw construction tarps all over the building, I thought it had damaged by the earthquake. Under the dim lights and the construction tarps, it seemed to me that Tokyo had died.

Well, I feel better now that I know the construction tarps actually hid such a beautiful building underneath.
The video clip further down features one of the opening events; the digital display projects the brick walls of the station.

Tokyo Station, as partially described in the 2/17 post, offers visitors many options for shopping and restaurants. Now you can have a completely updated shopping and dining experience inside of the Tokyo Station. But for the people who grew up before the age of flights, Tokyo Station was always the "central" of Tokyo. People moved here from elsewhere to Japan (mostly from the western half of Japan). The northern half arrived at Ueno Station instead of Tokyo Station. For people who were born and raised in Tokyo like me, the word "Tokyo" meant Tokyo Station. Its outside look with old bricks and classic architecture was the symbol of Tokyo, probably of Japan, for almost 100 years.

What a great job JR Higashi Nihon did choosing precise restoration of 100 years of nostalgia instead of demolition and adding another new building.

Original Shinbashi Station

Small History of Japanese Trains

The first station in Japan was not Tokyo Station, though. The first railroad ran between Shinbashi (at old Shiodome freight terminal) and Yokohama (nowadays Sakuragi-cho) and was built on September 12, 1872 (the test run was between Shinagawa and Yokohama in May 1872).

The original Shinbashi station has also been partially rebuilt at the original location and now is a small railroad museum. The original Shinbashi station gradually transformed into the Shiodome freight terminal after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. In 1909 Karasuma Station was built at the current Shinbashi station site. When the original Tokyo Station opened, Shiodome became freight-only terminal and Karasuma became the current Shinbashi Station. 

◆TOKYO STATION VISION (Opening Ceremony)

The whole experience of the new Tokyo Station is named Tokyo Station City. They have a nice website in Japanese but I haven't found one in English yet. I bet they'll have it some day soon but here is the Japanese version of Tokyo Station City website.

Softbank and Sprint Join Forces in U.S. Wireless Marketplace

Masayoshi Son

This month a press release by Softbank Corp. gave the world some big news. The Japanese smartphone maker had reached a deal to buy 70 percent of the U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. for $20.1 billion dollars. This is the largest ever foreign acquisition by a Japanese company. The agreement was announced at a joint news conference in Tokyo in mid-October by Softbank President Masayoshi Son and Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse.

So what does this mean?  For one thing, the joint venture of Softbank and Sprint signals formidable new competition for AT&T,  the world's third largest cell phone company.  The business buzz is that Sprint has struggled in recent years to compete with Verizon and AT&T and needed this boost. By combining forces, Sprint and Softbank will become a high visibility leading smartphone maker. The purchase is a major one for Softbank, which is essentially making a $20 billion gamble that it can bring its success in wireless phone services in its home market of Japan to the U.S.  It could be a really big development for us U.S. consumers who love our smartphones.

The new partnership is one of several related business developments in the wireless world. Another involve several companies coming together to form a Global Consortium. An important advantage of this Consortium is reported to be a global ecosystem of low cost phones and network devices that work off a common standard. Global ecosystem of low cost phones and network devices?  I don't know yet what this really means. Or if its good for consumers or not.

I just hope in means U.S. consumers will also get more choices of wireless services and slam dunk amazing smartphones - which so many Japanese now get to use.  Softbank offers consumers iPhones and Androids, among many others.  Five years ago when I moved back to Japan, I got a flip phone. It wasn't as fancy as the one pictured here but it was still impressive. And, I got to choose my own cell phone number! 

In Japan, Softbank is an industry leader in devices and in wireless innovation too.  SoftBank's recently-launched AXGP 4G network is capable of speeds up to 110Mbps.  This means super fast downloads. Let's take a look at one of these high speed phones.

The name of  this phone is the Softbank Sharp 007SH Aquos Hybrid Android Japanese Flip Phone. The phone actually came out in 2011, so it's not even a new model anymore.  But take a look at the cool features like High Def video recording, 16.1 megapixel camera and Japanese/English capability. Pretty amazing. Also, with a swipe of your phone you can buy something with your credit card or purchase a drink from a vending machine on the street. Of course you can tweet, text and surf the internet...and make phone calls too.

This is an Android smartphone, designed in the clam shell flip phone Japanese "keitei" style. It has a 16.1 megapixel camera and is capable of recording in High Definition, and viewing in HD and 3D.  This device has a 14/4 digital zoom function. It is waterproof and dustproof.  (Go ahead and take photos and videos underwater if you like~!)  This phone features a 3D touchscreen display, internet capability and is bilingual - capable of switching back and forth between English and Japanese.  Right now this phone is only available in Japan.

Advertising campaigns for new Softbank phones remind me of a new fashion line suited for a specific season. This is the Winter '12 - Spring '13 Collection!  The phones are sleek and stylish, like clothes on a runway.

A new phone was recently released by Softbank in Japan called the Pantone 5 107SH (pictured below).  This device has a built in radiation detector.  An eerie sign of the times, perhaps.

I do hope the Softbank - Sprint alliance will bring a new selection of innovative phones and services for  consumers, capable of doing things we are just starting to imagine. We will see.

Need Japan News Now? Check Out The Japan Times

My friend Nagamimi just wrote a great post on print advertisement media in Japan.  Here is a related follow up post from me. Years ago when I lived in Japan, I used to like reading the English version of The Japan Times, a print newspaper that brought me up to date on current news, issues, special events, book and movie reviews, even Japanese lessons. Today, though I no longer live in Japan, I still want news of what's going on there. I continue to look to The Japan Times for my info fix by going to my bookmarks and clicking on my saved link to The Japan Times Online. It's a mainstream media news source useful for catching up on Japan current events and trends.

The Japan Times Online is quite impressive for being a free news website. You can get late breaking news and current date news reports, weather, sports and general interest and cultural stories.  The English site (there is a Japanese website too) is well-written and organized.  It's aimed at Western audiences and all English speakers; the writers seem to favor use of American English, as opposed to British English (if that makes any difference to you), except for weights and measures.  In that case, the metric system, used by Japan, Britain and many other countries, is how you get your information. 

The Japan Times Online is the electronic counterpart of the flagship newspaper, The Japan Times. In the  electronic format you get a digest of news and feature stories from the newspaper.

One of my favorite sections is "Life in Japan." Click on this title in the menu bar to see a list of feature and special interest stories about life experiences and cultural discoveries.  Articles are written by both Japanese and non-Japanese writers, so you can get different perspectives on what it's like to live in Japan (or visit).  Here are examples of articles I recently came across that proved to be very interesting reading! I'll provide links if you'd like to read them in full.  1)  Farmers markets in Tokyo; 2) Jelly noodles. Of course, there are articles on many other topics besides food. This just happens to be one of my favorite subjects!

If you wish to read the entire contents of the current day print publication, that is made possible by subscribing to Japan Times Plus.  This can be set up online.  You can subscribe to receive daily issues, or weekly issues, in English or in Japanese.

I just discovered that The Japan Times has a You Tube channel, too. This is great since I spend lots of time on You Tube watching video news stories and special interest videos directly from Japan. (Okay, and Japanese singers and TV dramas as well.)  Some videos are in English, while others are in Japanese. Very nice to have both!  Keep in mind this is not the only media source taking advantage of You Tube.  I also subscribe to other Japan-related You Tube channels, including asahicom, modulartokyo, tbsnewsi, fujitv and tokyomx.)  Below is the banner for The Japan Times Online and one of the many video playlists you can choose from.

You can find videos like this one covering a summer festival that just took place last month.

 The Japan Times is quite visible on the Internet, including Facebook.

Want to receive tweets about Japan via Twitter?  You can!  Just log into your Twitter account and do a search, then subscribe to one of the many options. I follow  @japantimes_life.  What I really like about the Facebook page and Twitter feeds is that you can view comments and reactions posted by readers in real time.  It's fun to see what others think of the news stories published. Note: Another very reliable Japan-based tweeter of information I follow is Kyodo News (@Kyodo_News_EN).  Also, I like reading tweets by Hiroko Tabuchi, a New York Times reporter based in Tokyo. Below is her Twitter summary and a tweet she sent 13 hours ago. 

Of course, The Japan Times is not the only news source for Japan-related information - there are many options out there. But I like that it's very well organized in both print and electronic forms. It is a great place to start when you need more information or an update on what's happening in Japan right now.

Nakazuri: In-Train Advertisements

Those of who ever have lived in an urban area of Japan just might miss seeing the images above. These are examples of advertisement posters for magazines that are displayed inside the commuter trains in Japan. Japanese-packed commuter trains are well known, thanks to Freddie and Bowie. I was a big fan of them both, and was so excited when they used the Japanese scenes in Queen's "Under Pressure" by the way.

This train shown below is not one of the packed trains but you can see some of the advertisement posters hanging down from the ceiling. These are called "Nakazuri 中吊り meaning inside (of train) hanging ads.

In the bus and trains in Chicago we see advertisement posters on the walls above the seats. Japanese trains have those too of course, and stickers on the windows and the train car-size ads like we see in the US as well. But I haven't yet seen these Nakazuri ads anywhere in the US so far.

This is clever as well as too much, whichever the opinion goes, but they change these hanging ads a lot more often than the ones on the walls. So these ads are for a short span, focusing on upcoming store events, seasonal destination campaigns sponsored by travel agencies, and special alerts from the transportation service or authority. Posters advertising current magazine issues are the most common.

Lots of them are weekly, some are monthly or fortnight. All sorts of news and information I got in the deadly packed trains for years. These ads show only the headlines, which tend to be rather sizzling and attention-getting, but not necessarily representative of the actual article; that everyone knows. However, for those trains packed packed so tight with passengers who even can't open a book, the ads are offer some slight relief, information and distraction.

So, every time I visit back Japan, I enjoy looking at the Nakazuri ads. Since I rode those packed train for a long time, it still remains in my brain as a common way to get up to date information briefs.

I get what's new and hot, in politics and among girls/boys, bargains of department stores, museums' current exhibitions, etc. The special airport express trains don't have these ads so I take regular commuter train into the city. It's just like a path to transform me from the US mode into Japanese mode.

It is funny though that I cannot understand what the ads say for a while right after boarding the train. It is like too much of information and overwhelms my brain, really. It could be related to the direction of the text too; English goes horizontally and Japanese mostly goes vertically (in the ads above, they have both examples). 

It makes me frustrated in the beginning because I can't read the lines as fast as I know I can. It is where I amaze how brain processes information with familiarity. The location in the train, typeface and size (present day font styles), the layout, the background color, etc.,  I used to be automatically able to process the information from looking at the ad text. I could pass the lines I didn't need without recognizing doing so. Now, I have to read each line from the beginning to the end to know what it says and see if it is needed, the magazine title to know what type of magazine that is, etc. It seems to frustrate my brain. My eyes even don't want to stick with the same eye site so long and start looking at something else before I finish reading as if the eyes know the estimate time better and I do. Therefore my comprehension of the information gets delayed and that frustrates me. Gradually I get better at reading and processing these ads the longer I stay in Japan, but my brain resets when I get back to O'Hare. This is fun to know that such a shifting struggle is going on in my brain though!

Anyway, they have a portal site of magazines with a page showing the current Nakazuri ads. I enjoy looking at them when I want to see brief updates on current events in Japan.  You need some background knowledge of Japan and common sense knowledge about the advertisements in addition to the ability of read Japanese but I think these ads are good learning tools.  When you click a magazine icon, some of headlines are displayed. You can copy/paste or right click the word or phrase or the whole sentence into either translation or dictionary page in the net. The headline sentences are short, so even translation tools may show a pretty accurate translation of the selected phrase. 

You probably can purchase some of these magazine from a few different services in the US. Also, Japanese are finally gets into the age of eBooks. We'd love to review the device or service, so please send us a free trial!   :D

Sen No Kaze ni Natte

August is a month in Japan when special remembrance is given to relatives who have passed away. In honor of that tradition, this video shows the singer Arai Man performing a song he wrote called Sen No Kaze ni Natte, or I am a Thousand Winds. It was inspired by an English poem written by Mary Elizabeth Frye.

Song lyrics and translation are as follows.

私のお墓の前で　泣かないでください
Watashi no ohaka no mae de nakanai de kudasai
Please don't cry at my grave

そこに私はいません　眠ってなんかいません
Soko ni watashi wa imasen, nemutte nanka imasen
I am not there, no way I'm sleeping there

千の風に　千の風になって
Sen no kaze ni, sen no kaze ni natte
A thousand winds, I am a thousand winds

あの大きな空を吹きわたっています
Ano ookina sora wo fukiwatatte imasu
That big sky, there I'm blowing

秋には光になって　畑にふりそそぐ
Aki niwa hikari ni natte hatake ni furisosogu
I am the light showering over the field

冬はダイヤのように　きらめく雪になる
Fuyu wa daiya no yooni kirameku yuki ni nari
In the winter, I'm snow that shines like diamonds

朝は鳥になって　あなたを目覚めさせる
Asa wa tori ni natte anata wo mezame saseru
In the morning, I'm a bird to wake you up

夜は星になって　あなたを見守る
Yoru wa hoshi ni natte anata wo mimamoru
In the night, I'm the star that looks after you

私のお墓の前で　泣かないでください
Watashi no ohaka no mae de nakanai de kudasai
Please don't cry at my grave

そこに私はいません　死んでなんかいません
Soko ni watashi wa imasen, nemutte nanka imasen
I am not there, no way I've died

千の風に　千の風になって
Sen no kaze ni, sen no kaze ni natte
A thousand winds, I am a thousand winds

あの大きな空を吹きわたっています
Ano ookina sora wo fukiwatatte imasu
That big sky, there I'm blowing

千の風に　千の風になってSen no kaze ni, sen no kaze ni natte
A thousand winds, I am a thousand winds

あの大きな空を吹きわたっています
Ano ookina sora wo fukiwatatte imasu
That big sky, there I'm blowing

あの大きな空を吹きわたっています
Ano ookina sora wo fukiwatatte imasu
That big sky, there I'm blowing


Here is poem follows that is referenced above.

Do not stand at my grave
   by Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft star-shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

Kagurazaka Festival of Tokyo

Steamy hot summer days in Tokyo and all around Japan call for everyone to take a break from busy schedules, dress "cool-bizu" style (lighter weight casual clothing for keeping cool), pour a glass of iced coffee, and celebrate the season.  It's time for the summer festivals. And with a flash of colorful yukata (summer cotton kimono), bright lights, drumming and flutes, the dancing begins.  The atmosphere seems to buzz and sparkle with laughing children, as oba-san and oji-san, the older adults, look on with nostalgic expressions.  Ah, these familiar sights and sounds bring smiles and sighs to the crowds of spectators who arrive to get in on the excitement.

One popular summer festival held each year in late July in a neighborhood of Tokyo's Shinjuku district  is the  Kagurazaka Matsuri, an event that revives the lively atmosphere of Tokyo as it might have looked and sounded like long ago.

The name Kagurazaka is a combination of kagura (a shrine-dance to music) and saka (hill) and is the perfect name for this beautiful part of Tokyo. It's layout has not changed much since the town was established in the 17th century, even though most of the area was tragically burned down in an air raid on Tokyo in 1920. 

In the center of Tokyo is Kagurazaka Slope, a place that was just beyond the walls of the imperial palace grounds, where poets, artists, politicians and geisha once gathered. Today the cobblestone alleyways and shops provide an interesting historic ambience.  This is actually where Karyukai, or the geisha culture, was born. In 1910 there were as many as 600 geishas who lived here. A few Ryotei, or Geisha houses, are still in operation.

The annual Kagurazaka festival features a Hozuki Ichi (Ground Cherry Pod Fair). The highlight is the Awa-odori Dance. This dance originated in Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku. It was first held in Tokyo for the Kagurazaka Matsuri and now a part of many summer festivals in Tokyo, where fifteen to twenty groups of  musicians and dancers form a procession along Kagurazaka-dori, the main street and dance to the sound of the shamisen, flutes, and drumming. It is truly a family event, where kids participate too!  Here is an amateur video recorded by someone who attended this year's festival.

If you go next year, look for the Japanese lantern plant market, held in and around Bishamonten Zenkoku-ji Temple. There you can find volunteers dressed in yukata who guide visitors around the neighborhood. Local cafes and restaurants open stalls for business, welcoming everyone to enjoy a "taste of Kagurazaka."

 

Anytime you're in the mood to explore this part of Tokyo, first do a little research online on the website of the  Shinjuku City Tourism Association. For great walking maps published online in English featuring Kagurazaka and other areas of Shinjuku, click this link.  

Kagurazaka is conveniently located and accessible from the JR IIdabashi station on the Yamanote Line. As you exit the station, turn to your right and a one minute walk will place you at the base of Kagurazaka-dori.  Tokyo Metro Iidabashi and Ushigome-Kagurazaka stations also provide access to the area.

The Kagurazaka event has already wrapped up for this year, but you still have lots of options!  Japan Times Online has an excellent listing of summer festivals in Japan, inside and outside Tokyo, happening in July and August 2012.  Take a look here. 

Tokyo's New Shopping Complexes in Shibuya, Odaiba and Asakusa

Shibuya Hikarie, Diver City Odaiba and Sky Tree Solamachi

Japan has been going through a long period of economic struggle, and the natural disaster of last year damaged it even more.  However, Tokyo recently added three new shopping complexes -- one in Shibuya called Hikarie, another called Diver City in Odaiba, and the third, Solamachi, under the Sky Tree.

Shibuya Hikarie Grand Opening

Despite the lack of English information available right now, which is unusual for a newly introduced attraction like that, Shibuya Hikarie opened its doors on April 26th.  Recently (meaning except during the recession after the disaster) most visitors are from China so lots of tourist attractions provide Chinese information which seems to urge English information as well; but this place doesn't seem to have it set up yet.

 

This is the successor of Tokyu Bunka Kaikan (Cultural Center) shopping center. This place has long been known for its planetarium. Even when I was a child, the planetarium was that building. I was shocked by the news they closed the business there, but in fact it has been revived by a new, modern establishment. Taking the place of the old Tokyu, this impressive refurbished mall has shops, restaurants, movie theaters and event halls as well as several galleries; and of course the planetarium. However the complex has been completely updated and targets adult women rather than teenagers. The name "Hikarie" is "hikari e 光へ" means "towards light". It has in the lower floors corridors that connect to the Shibuya train terminal, where 8 train lines converge.

Sorry, I didn't find a good video in English, so here is a clip in Spanish.

Diver City, Odaiba

Odaiba is a whole new place to me, you the readers probably know about it a lot better than I do. So I will explain what I know. Odaiba means battery. The island was built as a battery to protect Edo, nowadays Tokyo, after the 1853-54 visit of Commodore Perry. It had been a coastal park for a long time but I grew up in the age of air and water pollution; I never went there. I only knew there were ruins of the battery on that site, which was interesting to me.

A few years ago, one day I was talking with a guy who had just visited Tokyo. I asked him where he stayed and he explained the location, which went, in my knowledge, off the cliff. I mean, Tokyo Bay ended in the middle of his explanation in my mind but it continued in his visit. Yeah, they extended the landfill -- that I never knew. So, I think this is built on the newer landfill.

Diver City, which opened on April 19th, features a large complex of shopping, dining and attractions; you can browse in this page too. It seems, in my observation on the net, to target a casual crowd rather than high end. It has the regular suspects in the malls all over in the US such as Old Navy and Auntie Ann's pretzels. I know these places, so seeing them there is nothing special to me. But they are new to Japanese. 

The most talked-about spots are the Calbee's store and the life size (?!) Gundam, a robot transformer statue. They only have a take out only shop for Gundam Cafe - the eat-in cafe is in Akihabara - but the statue is a big favorite of visitors. Calbee is a large snack producer, probably the biggest, for Japanese potato chips. They have a take out shop in the store which serves fresh fried potato chips that I've seen many times in Japanese blogs of common people. They line up for a long time to get these just fried chips.

Tokyo Solamachi

Okay! This establishment is built in an area I'm familiar with, near Asakusa, by the Tokyo Sky Tree. It opened on May 18th. This large shopping and amusement complex surrounds and is attached to the Tokyo Sky Tree. It has a couple of restaurants in the high floors of the building next to the tower so I don't know how to describe the building location.

The area is in Oshiage of Sumida ward in current address, commonly known as an area of Shitamachi which is old residential area. Therefore this place is more traditional and domestic oriented. They have 312 businesses including shops and restaurants and many of them are from the domestic area. Some of them have been carried by a few generations. The video introduced shops selling original sweets and jewelry as well as traditional crafts and curios. It also has an aquarium.

Although the near-by train station of Tobu line changed its name to Tokyo Sky Tree, the station used be called Narihira-bashi (業平橋 Narihira Bridge). It was named after Ariwara no Narihira, a legendary good looking romantic poet who lived during the 9th century, and supposedly the main character of Ise Monogatari (Tales of Ise). The area used to be Narihira which is from the shrine dedicated for him.

The broader area also is known as Mukoujima - it is familiar to people like me who grew up in Asakusa, which means "the island across (the river)". The area is on the other side of Sumida river from Asakusa.

For the both sides of the river, the area never had been fashionable. Well, actually it had been at the turn of the century, around the 1870's. But it was hit pretty hard by the WWII air raids, and was a forgotten domestic dead area ever since, especially when we were kids.

It was a big topic a few years back when I visited Tokyo that the city would soon see a new tall tower like Tokyo Tower by the Narihira river.  My friends and I didn't that expect a major attraction like this would be coming, though. Fashionable boutiques and updated buildings don't fit the area. I thought it could adopt the updated fashion like Shibuya or Odaiba and they are close but not quite.

Even though the sleek look of the tower and all new shops in the brand new Solamachi mall are nice to look at, the architects did not forget to add the spirit of Shitamachi, that is what I observed from the video. The domestic shoe maker doesn't have one of those cute girls or boys, instead, they have this middle age guy explaining his long time inherited business and a guy sawing a shoe. The guy of the fish market says he wants neighbors to come and shop everyday... uh... you want to turn this major tourist attraction a supermarket, my dear?? I love these people.

Well, it's not like any other shopping malls I've seen but I bet it is a fun place to visit. Of course, you'll get the updated attractions as well.

Nippon in My Neighborhood

Life has changed completely for me in a short space of time. Now I have a new home, a new job and a new commute. Every day I leave home by 6:00am, drive a few minutes to the train station, then take my place on the platform with the other Chicago "Metra commuters." My ride to work? A commuter train that takes me to downtown Chicago in about an hour.  Except for the train commute, I'm not new to Chicago. A decade ago I spent eight years living here, and back then I always got around by car.  Mass transit was not something I cared much about.

My transportation situation changed completely when I moved to Japan. Every single day I rode a city train to work, and took the subways all the time at night and on weekends. Sometimes I took the bus. On lucky occasions I got to travel on the fast and futuristic looking Shinkansen, Japan's network of high speed bullet trains that run like clockwork and zip you across the country to another city by the time you've finished your coffee and some lunch. They are clean, comfortable and beautiful. Train attendants wear uniforms and white gloves. Hostesses serve beverages and snacks stocked on drive-thru carts.  Life is good when you're a passenger on the Shinkansen watching the countryside go by, usually at speeds of over 100 miles per hour (especially if you're in the Green Car -- first class!).
 
Riding a train again is convenient and stress-free. Not only for getting to work but also for attending events in Chicago and other locations.  It removes the headache of parking and traffic. Metra commuter trains are comfortable, well managed and on time. Apps that run on my iPhone make checking schedules and getting updates very easy.

So, a couple of weeks ago I was standing on the train platform out here in Chicago suburbia, and noticed the tracks had "Nippon" stamped on them. Wow, we have rails made in Japan. Okay, that's interesting.

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Not long after that I was in one of the commuter train cabins when I looked up and saw this:

Chicago Metra has contracted a Japanese company to make our commuter trains? Excellent decision!  For years I have been hoping America would tap into the engineering expertise of Japan to make some trains for us. They are SO GOOD at it.  We have Amtrak.  Twenty years ago I rode Amtrak trains a few times. The seats were so uncomfortable I had back pain for days after the train ride was over. Once the train lurched so hard I thought our train car jumped off the tracks. The ride was very bumpy, noisy and unstable. Every experience was bad, so I promised myself, never again. Japan does it differently.


Nippon Sharyo, Ltd. (日本車輌製造株式会社  (Nippon Sharyō Seizō Kabushiki-gaisha) was established in 1896, and today is a major manufacturer based in Nagoya, Japan. In 1996, it abbreviated its name to "日本車両" Nippon Sharyō. Its shortest abbreviation is Nissha "日車.  In 2008, JR Central became the majority shareholder of the financially struggling Nippon Sharyo making the firm a subsidiary of JR Central.

This company has been in the train business for over one hundred years. Now it designs city trains and bullet trains in Japan; each have smaller carbon footprints - so much better for the environment.  Above right is an image of the N700 series Shinkansen. Below left is a photo of the Odakyu Railway "Romance Car VSE-50000" - both are built by Nippon Sharyō. These trains are currently running in Japan. Only time will tell which train designs will be introduced to the States.

 In order to expand in the North America market, the company entered into a joint venture company with Sumitomo Corporation to form a firm called Nippon Sharyō U.S.A. The headquarters is right here in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, IL.  Nippon Sharyō U.S.A. is doing well, winning commuter train contracts besides Illinois:  Indiana, Maryland, Virginia, California and Michigan, for example. If you want to read more, here is an interesting brochure in .pdf format. This is what the brochure looks like.

The company is also reaching out to help customers internationally.  You can find Nippon Sharyō trains in these countries outside the United States:  Brazil, Venezuela, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines.

I love the idea of Americans learning the Japanese way of transport: 1) walking more, 2) riding public transport much more, and 3) depending less on cars and oil as individuals and as a country. I think many Americans could get used to a different way of getting from Point A to Point B besides taking to the highways or airports.  I told my brother the other day:  "Imagine if you could get on a train here in Chicago and arrive in Indianapolis or St. Louis in an hour.  Or head west and be in Denver in a couple of hours flat."  "Wow, that would be great!" he said. Right now, Americans like us have only two methods to make such trips:  driving or flying.  Both ways are getting more expensive and becoming more of a hassle.  There are trains and busses, but they are slower.  A really nice modern train would be a perfect way to travel to another American city. Nippon Sharyō to the rescue! Today, commuter trains, tomorrow...mag lev trains that can take you to another state at high speeds.  It's not in the U.S. yet, but I think we're on that track~!

Back to Chicago now. Metra, the Chicago commuter train company, has several lines that meet up in downtown Chicago.  Each line is named according to the railroad company operating it.  From what I have seen, they all have these  bi-level cars.  There is another line too. The South Shore Line operates between the Chicago Loop and northwestern Indiana. As of a recent report they have 82 rail cars built between 1982 and 2009 by Nippon Sharyō. Sixty-eight cars are single level and 14 are gallery style bi-level cars like the ones I ride to work.

According to their website, Nippon Sharyō U.S.A. was created in 1982 with a contract to supply 44 single-level EMU cars to the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), and has been a consistent and steady presence in North America ever since. The contracts (totaling over 880 individual cars) have been delivered on time and within budget. 

Car body shells are manufactured in Japan. Then the company teams up with a local North American company for final assembly. Nippon Sharyō assumes responsibility for overall project management and quality control. The company is now building a factory in Rochelle, IL.  Metra has signed on for more train cars. The first car, a Gallery-Type EMU for Metra, will roll out of this facility at the end of 2012. I hope our train line will among the first of the train lines to place this car in service.

Everyone should ride on a Japanese train to experience what civilized, modern age mass transit is like.  Go for it by boarding a Japan Railways (JR) train in Japan, or in one of the places where Nippon Sharyō has partnered with local transport authorities.  You'll be in for a pleasant surprise.