Author: Philbert Ono

When an earthquake in Japan is reported overseas, the problem is that they only report the magnitude of the epicenter (usually offshore). They don’t usually report the magnitude in the…

I’ve been visiting these prefectural “antenna” shops in central Tokyo. Most prefectures have these shops to sell/promote their local products (mainly food) and provide tourist info. If you’re in Tokyo,…

Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku has recently scored a brilliant PR coup with its “Udon-ken” (うどん県) tourism PR slogan/campaign. Kagawa is seeing a sharp increase in tourists as a result. It…

Happy Grrlz Day! Saw Hinamatsuri at Konosu City Hall in Saitama Prefecture for the first time. The lobby had a huge pyramid (7 meters high) of 1,800 hina dolls flanked…

Tokyo Marathon 2012 was held on Feb. 26, 2012. I took pictures near the finish line at Tokyo Big Sight. Amid 36,000 runners, there was lots of entertainment. Finish line…

Takahashi Naoko was giving an interesting talk at the Tokyo Marathon Expo at Tokyo Big Sight today. She gave marathon tips to a large crowd. Nicknamed “Q-chan,” she was the…

Updated: Aug. 22, 2023 On Feb. 18, 2012 in Yamagata city, we had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Takahashi Yoshio (高橋義夫), a prominent, Naoki Prize-winning novelist whose favorite…

Spa Resort Hawaiians in Iwaki, Fukushima is a Hawaiian-themed, hot spring and water park that suffered heavy earthquake damage on March 11, 2011. They partially reopened in Oct. 2011. Finally…

I made this to compare Japan with the US East Coast. Area-wise, Japan is about the same as Montana. But as you can see, it is very spread out, making…

Happy spring! Feb. 3 is Setsubun, which celebrates the coming of spring (even though it’s still freezing here). Every year, I visit a different shrine to watch them throw fuku-mame…