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Brand name fever
I’ve never been sure whether to believe the idea that Japanese are excessively fond of brand names. None of the Japanese women I know display flashy, expensive belongings that are outside their means. If they have them, they don’t flaunt them. Since showing off is the main purpose of brand name goods, I think they…
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No more loanwords
The education ministry is setting up a committee “to propose ways to prevent too many imported words from entering the Japanese language.” Spoken Japanese is a mishmash of Japanese and ‘loan words’ from English, French, German, Dutch & other languages. Rendered in katakana, often both the pronunciation and the meaning change from the original. Are…
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Take that, smokers
Japan is one of the most smoker-friendly places I’ve ever lived. So many people smoke here I forget sometimes what it’s like to breathe non-smoky air. But one of Tokyo’s wards just passed a new ordinance against smokers–the first one of its kind in the country. As of October 1, Chiyoda-ku is banning smoking outdoors…
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World Cup view
This was my view of last night’s exciting US-Germany game. Although the US lost, they played well. One shot on goal really might have been a goal, but it was ruled not. Even in the instant replays, it was hard to tell if it went in or not. Half the US team got yellow-carded for…
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Marunouchi beauty
The Marunouchi line is a subway, but it peeks above ground several times along its route. Here is a view of the track between Ochanomizu and Awajicho where the train crosses a bridge over the Kanda River. I love this tiny section of track. It takes about five seconds to traverse it, but the view…
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World Cup quarterfinals
Well, the World Cup is quickly drawing to a conclusion. After a flurry of qualification games, the “round of sixteen is over and we’re down to eight games remaining. I’m surprised at how much I’ve been paying attention. It’s sort of fun, even if I don’t understand the esoteric rules of big-league soccer. The quarterfinals…
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50 man parade
50 men parading a mikoshi through Ginza.
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Bunkyo-ku merchants
Bunkyo-ku merchants have banded together to create a point card system. Pink banners with cartoon figures of bees declare “I (heart) Bunkyoker” let you know which shops give points. Last night, I filled up my first card. As a reward for spending 35,000 yen at the ward’s independent stores, I get 500 yen off an…
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Construction flagmen
What on earth are these construction workers doing? They are taping a battery powered, blinking light stick to the hand of their colleague–the mechanical flagman whose head and helmet are visible in the upper right corner of the frame. I guess his must have burned out; he’s not really able to just grab himself a…
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Otama-jakushi
otama-jakushi is the Japanese word for tadpole. We’ve been watching these grow in the Tokyo War Memorial Park near Korakuen station. Their heads are bulging out now and if you look carefully, you can see the budding legs (not in this photo, though, sorry!). The park was also the site of my first dragonfly (tanbo)sighting…
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