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Autumn fruits are appearing
Autumn fruits are appearing on the market shelves. That means nashi, among others. Nashi is very crisp. The skin snaps when you bite into it, and its white flesh yields in juicy, grainy bits. It is flavored like a pear but shaped like an apple. Its color is brownish-gold, a quintessential fall shade. It ranks…
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The mid-September moon draws
The mid-September moon draws people out for annual moon viewing parties. I suppose this harks back to agricultural traditions, when the nation’s rice was harvested by hand and farmers had to work late into the night to get the harvest in before the typhoon rains started. Now the moon viewing parties mainly mean lots of…
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Mikoshi
Mikoshi are portable shrines set on poles. Once or twice a year, Shinto shrines bring out their mikoshi and parade them through the streets. Dozens of men carry the heavy wooden beams that support the small, ornately decorated shrines. The bearers wear short coats and white shorts. They bind their heads with towels or scarves…
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Maps
You cannot live in Tokyo without a map. Tokyo addresses are organized in descending order by To, Ku, neighborhood, Chome, block and finally building number. For example, here is the address of the Diet: Tokyo-to Chiyoda-ku, Nagatacho 1-7-1 If you have an address and a map, you can find any place in the city. If…
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Immigration
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Office is a hulking concrete building designed to intimidate people. The entrance underneath a long, shadowy portico sets the tone for what’s inside. Colored stripes on the floor help to herd immigrants to the proper room for their application type. We followed the pink strip to Number 6: Business Visas. The…
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Typhoon season
Typhoon season is upon us. From August’s hot and muggy weather, we’ve reached September’s torrential rains. Typhoons are the Pacific version of hurricanes. This week we’ve been seeing rain caused by the arms of Typhoon 14. It’s parked at the western end of Japan and it’s predicted to head north towards Korea instead of east…
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Beer coupons
Yesterday on the train, five business men stepped on at Yoga station. As they settled into their seats the oldest one, who carried the nicest briefcase and was probably the “satchou” or section chief, handed his companions a thick wad of coupons. On top of the pile was a beer coupon. Beer coupons are nifty.…
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Cash not Credit
Consumers in Japan don’t use checks to pay for things. In fact, checks don’t exists; banks don’t offer checking accounts. Retail purchases are made by cash or credit card. The concept of a debit card is beginning to catch on now. For bills and other transactions, payment is made either via a bank transfer or…
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Tsukiji
Tsukiji is the wholesale market for fish. It’s a great place to go for sushi. You can’t get fish much fresher than at the market that supplies the city’s restaurants! We had lunch at Kura Maguro a kaiten zushi restaurant in Tsukiji that serves mainly tuna (called maguro in Japanese). Yum! At a kaiten zushi…
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Door-to-door sales
“Sumimasen! Sumimasen!” a high pictched voice called urgently from outside my front door. I rushed to answer it. A young, slightly moon-faced girl wearing a white shirt, blue skirt and a name badge stood on my steps. Behind her, a middle aged man dressed in a yellow shirt and khaki pants watched. “Konban ha” she…
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