We know that the Japanese are sticklers for cleanliness, but I don’t think that Parisians have a reputation for not being so neat and clean. I always thought that people in Paris were as “clean” as the people from any other city. Apparently, I was wrong.
There is actually a group of Japanese nationals who have volunteered to show the people of Paris a thing or two about cleanliness. The group is called Greenbird Paris, which is the first overseas branch of a nonprofit organization based in Tokyo. Greenbirds are basically volunteers of all ages, who have come to the city of Paris to clean it up.
Apparently, while Paris is known for its culture and historical monuments, these places are rife with trash such as cigarette butts, food scraps, and even dog poop! And the Greenbirds’ task? To get rid of all this trash with their “pincers”.
Why Paris, you might ask. Well, for one, Paris is one of the most popular destinations for Japanese tourists. As such, some members of the Greenbirds have seen firsthand what their city of dreams is really like in real life. Take the example of Mami Osafune. She is a 27-year-old student to psychology. She has been living in the city for 3 years now, but she still remembers when she first arrived. She shares: “When I first arrived at Roissy airport, it was a shock for me, because Japanese people always dream of Paris as being a beautiful city. When we find such disgusting trash, it doesn’t give a good image. So that’s why I got involved.”
One cannot help but applaud these efforts. And I am thinking that Parisians should pick up a tip or two.
Posted March 24th, 2011 by Maki | Comments (3)
If you find yourself in Japan and you want to visit a place that will offer you one of the best kawaii experiences, I suggest heading over to the Ghibli Museum. Located right smack in the middle of a residential area about 30 minutes from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, the Ghibli Museum provides a one of a kind experience. Its director, Hayao Miyazaki, expresses his sentiments about the museum and describes it as:
A museum that is interesting and which relaxes the soul
A museum where much can be discovered
A museum based on a clear and consistent philosophy
A museum where those seeking enjoyment can enjoy, those seeking to ponder can ponder, and those seeking to feel can feel
A museum that makes you feel more enriched when you leave than when you entered!
I have not have the chance to personally pay the Ghibli Museum a visit yet but from what I have heard and read, it is rife with kawaii just like many other places in Japan. You will be in for a treat of cuteness at this place. They are open on all days of the week except for Tuesday, from 10:00 in the morning to 6:00 in the evening. They also have a cafe, dubbed the Straw Hat Cafe, which is open from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. However, if you want to enter the cafe, do so before 6:00 pm as that is the latest that they allow people to go in.
The Ghibli Museum is very popular and they only sell admission tickets in advance so if you are planning on a trip there, make sure you buy your tickets beforehand. Do visit their web site for more information.
Posted February 28th, 2011 by Maki | Comments (3)
Disclaimer: For those who are averse to cuteness or anything related to it, I suggest NOT reading this post. Then again, the Japanese concept of cuteness is quite interesting so you might as well go ahead and read about it. 
So, what is kawaii all about? It is the idea of being cute in all respects – from pop culture to entertainment to clothes to accessories. Even the big businesses in Japan make use of the concept of kawaii. It is actually a bit hard to exactly explain it but let me give you examples, which will concretize the idea.
Wikipedia gives a very good list:
They do have a propensity for mascots, don’t they? Anyhow, if you ask the Japanese what they think of kawaii, you might get various reactions. A good majority, however, will tell you that it stems from the inherent peaceful and calm nature of the Japanese culture. There are some skeptics, however, who think that it is a mentality that makes for non-assertiveness.
Whichever way they think, it cannot be denied that the concept of kawaii has spread to other countries and is in fact one of the most intriguing things about the Japanese culture.
Posted February 9th, 2011 by Maki | Comments (11)
Japan has so many things to offer her visitors and for those who are animal lovers, there is also something for you. The Asahiyama Zoo is located in Asahikawa in Hokkaido, Japan. It is also the most popular zoo in all of the country. So why are people flocking to this zoo?
The animals of course! And the zoo has taken things one step further. According to Japan Now:
In the past, Japanese zoos focused on displaying only the animals’ figure. But Asahiyama Zoo started to design its facilities so that the animals’ habits and behavior can be seen as well.
The animals’ natural behaviors can be observed at a number of very innovative facilities. For example, at the penguin aquarium, there is an underwater tunnel where the swimming penguins look like they are flying in the air. You can also watch them eat underwater during the feeding sessions that feature scuba diving. The orangutan facility measures more than 10 meters high and is filled with rock-climbing walls, oversized hammocks, and ropes. This design provides a great setting for you to watch the tree-dwelling orangutans show off their skills.
Though this concept is not all that new – there are many zoos in other countries with a similar set up. In Japan, however, the Asahiyama Zoo has done it best. I was browsing their web site and I just couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement as I saw the pictures and descriptions. Here is my favorite.
I want to see how a polar bear swims!
Posted December 30th, 2010 by Maki | Comments (2)
Just like in many other countries, the Japanese people have many different religions. At the same time, there is one major religion that can be called indigenous to the country. In Japan, this is the Shinto religion. An interesting thing about the Japanese is that many do not think that one has to practice a single religion. In fact, there are some Japanese who may practice Shintoism but at the same time be Christian.
So what is the Shinto religion all about? Historians say that the Shinto religion dates back to 500 BCE. Their main belief is that objects in nature have spirits in them and that they have their own powers. These spirits, also considered gods, are called kami. When people and other natural objects such as rocks and trees exhibit greatness, they can become gods themselves and are called kami-kaza.
One focal point in the Shinto religion are the Shinto shrines. Currently, there are about 1,400 Shinto shrines in Japan. Those who practice the Shinto religion frequent the Shinto shrines for a variety of purposes. Just like with other religions, these shrines are considered to be places of worship. They are also visited when people want to celebrate something in their lives. They can also serve as places where people can seek guidance.
Although the principal worship is conducted in public shrines, many families in Japan have their own small Shinto shrines at home. These are usually basically high shelves which contain the objects of worship.
Posted December 23rd, 2010 by Maki | Comment (1)
Many s first time Western visitor to the rural areas of Japan has been surprised about the toilet facilities, where there usually is no “conventional” toilet bowl. Japan – like some other Asian countries – does not really traditionally make use of the toilet seat as Western countries do. Instead, they have fixtures which are akin to holes in the ground.
All this has changed in the recent decades, however. And indeed, the Japanese has outdone many other Western countries when it comes to advanced toilets. Only in Japan can you find hotels which advertise a certain kind of toilet in an effort to attract more people.
ABC News published a very interesting feature article on this topic and I found out that there are so many choices when it comes to commodes! The author even likened buying a commode to buying a car – the options are virtually limitless. Imagine this, you can choose based on features such as self-opening and closing toilet seats, strength of the water flow, accompanying music, lights, warmth of the seat, and so on. It does not end there, however. Consumers also have other options such as built-in deodorizers and fake sounds to cover the sound of doing your business in the bathroom. In keeping with the Japanese tradition of not harming the environment, commode makers also ensure that their products are environment friendly. In fact, one of the biggest things going for their products is the fact that one would not need toilet paper any more.
So how much does a commode set one back? Anywhere from $750 to $5000. Whew!
Posted November 23rd, 2010 by Maki | Comment (1)
Hara-kiri? I am sure that you have heard of – or even used – this term before. This term is actually more formally known as seppuku, which referred to a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai honor code, seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies, as a form of capital punishment for samurai who have committed serious offenses, and for reasons that shamed them. Seppuku is performed by plunging a sword into the abdomen and moving the sword left to right in a slicing motion. (Source: Wikipedia)
In his book, Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire, however, David Mura, dramatizes something else. He showcases the life of sansei, or third generation Japanese American. The main character is Ben Ohara, a sansei who is mired deep in a quest to find out what really happened to his father who died and his only brother’s disappearance. The Chicago Tribune has a review which narrates:
For Ohara, suicide begins at home. His father, interned during World War II, held his own shame as one of the so-called “No-No Boys,” a nisei (second generation Japanese American) who refused to join the American army and went to jail instead. That shame eventually led him to take his own life. Ohara’s brother, an astrophysicist with a drug habit, walks out into the Western desert, never to be seen again.
If you are interested in reading this book, you can get it from Coffee House Press for $14.95. It might be a good gift this Christmas.
Posted November 16th, 2010 by Maki | Comments (3)
In a few previous blog post, I talked about my love for the various sentai series that came from Japan. Well, the nostalgia trip didn’t end with writing that post.
I recently went to a toy sale at my local mall and found a whole stash of Kamen Rider 555 action figures. I immediately grabbed a Kamen Rider Kaixa figure (which is one of the coolest figures in the bunch). It was a 12-inch figure that lights up just like in the series — signifying that the armor is powering up.
Getting my hands on a Kamen Rider figure made me think of the other genre that is as popular as Sentai — the Tokusatsu genre. Tokusatsu is a looser grouping, not like the more genre specific sentai. Tokusatsu literally means Special Effects and is actually a contraction of two words tokushu satsuei, which means special photography.
The tokusatsu series runs the whole gamut of subgenres from science fiction, fantasy and even horror and monsters. Some of the most popular tokusatsu series or shows aside from Kamen Rider are the Ultraman series, the Godzilla and Gamera series, and even Doraemon.
The Tokusatsu is another one of those distinctly Japanese pop culture references that make their culture so unique.
Posted October 29th, 2010 by Maki | Comment (0)
I was watching cable television the other day when I saw this program about a young girl who left school to train to become a geisha. I do know that geishas still exist in modern day Japan but I haven’t really paid attention. That is, until I watched this documentary created by BBC Four.
The documentary is all about a 15-year old girl named Yukina. She left school and her family in order to train as a maiko. This is the Japanese term for an apprentice geisha. Did you know that in Japan, 15 is the minimum age required for girls in order for them to train as a maiko?
So there she was, practically a pariah in the eyes of her family and her friends. You see, Yukina has always dreamed of becoming a geisha. Her parents and friends didn’t seem to approve of her decision to drop out of school and go to Kyoto to train, though.
The documentary showcases her journey as she trains to become a maiko under the Okasan, or geisha mother. I found the whole show captivating as it showed a whole new light to what a geisha is and what a geisha does. It also highlighted some facts that I never knew about. For example, did you know that a geisha’s kimono costs thousands of pounds? More so, a geisha has to have about 7 of them in her wardrobe!
If you have not seen this documentary, visit Veoh, where I saw an online version.
Posted October 8th, 2010 by Maki | Comments (2)
Have you ever felt during a massage that the masseuse was just not strong enough to push through the ridges of tension in your shoulder blades, and at the same time not gentle enough to melt the tension in your neck or legs? Then try Japanese Hot Stone Therapy, a post-modern combination of gentle massage with ancient tools of muscular penetration. Japanese Hot Stone Therapy is based upon ANMA, the oldest form of East Asian Massage. It was developed over 7000 years ago and is a kneading, rotation, and vibration based technique. Japanese Hot Stone Massage is much more than placing stones along side of the body, or sliding stones over the body. An expert will “hook” into a muscle with the stone and then gently rotate and/or knead the muscle…then apply pressure and use a rapid vibration technique to further relax the muscles and drive the heat deeper. It is quite an experience to feel the deeply relaxing, penetrating heat from the basalt stones alternating with the toning and refreshing coolness of the marble stones. The use of extremes of temperature has long been scientifically and medically proven to be of benefit to the body. Those who wish to relax and tone their muscles with a minimum of effort see this in the use of ice packs for muscle trauma and the use of saunas. Stone massage makes you feel deeply relaxed, allowing you to let go of all the stress that is held within your body.
Posted August 5th, 2010 by geisha | Comment (0)
