by Philbert Ono
On Nov. 19, 2013, I took a friend from Hawaii around Tokyo and when we headed for the Imperial Palace, we saw this large crowd on the streets. Most were middle-aged and older people. The palace was closed off to tourists as well. Couldn’t see the famous Nijubashi Bridge. I asked a bystander what was going on. She said they
» Read moreThis year’s year-long, weekly NHK Taiga Drama TV series will start airing tonight on Jan. 6. Titled “Yae no Sakura,” it’s about a woman warrior named Yae Niijima (1845-1932) from Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. Aizu-Wakamatsu is famous for Tsuruga Castle (photo) and as the site of a Boshin War battle between pro-Emperor forces and pro-shogun forces who lost. Yae was on
» Read moreAlways sad to lose a fellow Japanese/English bilingual person. Still young too 山口美江. Here’s a video (no longer online) reviewing her career in an interview. (dead link) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa6e65_yyyyyyyyyy_shortfilms
» Read moreI would call it the ultimate travel adventure in Japan. A man from Switzerland, 44-year-old Thomas Köhler, is undertaking a walking trek across Japan, from the northern-most point of Cape Soya in Hokkaido to the southern-most tip of Kyushu at Cape Sata. That’s about 2,500 km (1,550 miles). He started walking on Aug. 1, 2011 and plans to finish by mid-December
» Read moreThe song, Toire no Kamisama (The Toilet God or more accurately, The Toilet Goddess トイレの神様) sung by Uemura Kana (植村花奈) is back at No. 1 on the music charts in Japan (as of Jan. 2011). This song debuted in spring 2010, and no doubt, Uemura’s appearance in the NHK Kohaku Utagassen (Red and White Song Contest Festival) on Dec. 31,
» Read moreThe current visit to Japan by Kim Hyon Hui, a former North Korean agent who planted a bomb which brought down a Korean Air jetliner in 1987, is reminding us again of the ordeal of the kidnapping victims and their families. She is here to meet with the families of victims kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970s. Her visit
» Read moreI just saw a screening of my friend Peter MacIntosh’s documentary geisha film called Real Geisha Real Women at The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on June 22, 2009. It’s a well-done 52-min. film by Peter who interviewed several Kyoto maiko and geiko who give an intriguing look at how they became a maiko/geiko and how it has affected their
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