Join Local Festival for Free ! @Hanno, Saitama (Nov.2.2008)

October 30, 2008 - 5:58 pm by akko@hakata in Others  

Why not joining Japanese local festival, wearing Happi uniform ?
For those who love Japanese Festivals, and are not satisfied with just watching, this would be a perfect opportunity !
H.I.S. Experience Japan Co., Ltd. is going to conduct the tour supported by parties concerned in Saitam prefecture, which is placed next to Tokyo.
Date: November 2nd Sunday
Destination: [...]

Japan’s Annual Penis Festival (SFW) - Kanamara Matsuri

May 21, 2008 - 1:44 am by Bill Belew in Culture, Travel  

And I thought that Poop Museum might be the last thing I have never seen in Japan.
How about a penis festival that’s safe for work?
Absolutely.
I have been to shrines dedicated to the penis in Japan. But, gosh, I seemed to have missed out on the festival dedicated to the Phallus.
If 10’s of thousands of people, [...]

Feel Shitamachi-style in Ueno

February 13, 2008 - 10:42 am by sachie_kobayashi in Others  

When it comes to Ueno, we think of National Museums, the spacious park, Ameyoko Market and so on. However it’s also fun to look for the vertiges of ‘Old Tokyo’,or Shitamachi as it’s called in Japanese.
What is Shitamachi? If you would like to know, I would recommend visiting ‘The Shitamachi Museum’ first; it is the worth the 300 [...]

48th Kanda Furuhon Matsuri

October 31, 2007 - 11:05 am by kaorichani in Others  

If you are fast you still can pass  the Furuhon Matsuri in Jimbocho .   The stands can be found everywhere around  Jimbocho station along the streets.

For bookworms and antiquity hunters , this will truly be heaven … there are thousands of books and you will surely find something of your taste!!  The festival lasts until 1st [...]

Cosplayers and their followers in Akihabara

September 15, 2007 - 11:11 am by kiokitok in Culture  

Cosplayers and their followers in Akihabara
The main street in Akihabara goes car-free on Sundays.
Tens of cosplayers, mostly for giving out their ads, appear on the steet, and are surrounded by guys with camera.

Festival in Japan

September 1, 2007 - 2:59 pm by kiokitok in Culture  

Video
It is another matsuri (festival) season. People carry Mikoshi, portable shinto shrine with their god inside, all around town.

Cosmetic Guide; Japanese women and beautiful skin

August 20, 2007 - 11:37 am by akko@hakata in Culture  

1. Rush into Matsukiyo , for common & reasonable comsmetics.
Matsukiyo is a drug chain store, popular among young girls.
There’re hundreds of Matsukiyos all over Japan, but those in downtown or large shopping malls puts special emphasis on beauty related products, especially in this season, sunscreens and whitening cosmetics (lotion, essence, emulsion, facial masks).
Each brand (Shiseido, [...]

Tokyo ramen reviews in English!

August 15, 2007 - 9:05 pm by kamiosaki in Culture, Food, Travel  

http://www.ramentokyo.com
For reviews of Tokyo ramen shops in English, by a native, I definitely recommend that you check out this site. Frequently, foreigners in Tokyo (residents or visitors), are hesitant to go after “real” ramen, as opposed to the stand up 400 yen noodle shops on the train platforms. If you are concerned about not finding [...]

Cool yourself with `Shirokuma’, white-bear-ice!

August 10, 2007 - 7:56 pm by akko@hakata in Culture, Others  

Shirokuma literally means white bear, but here it means a bowl of shaved ice with condensed milk syrop and freezed colourful fruits.

It is a speciality of Kagoshima, as I introduced in my previous article as the mecca of Shochu, distilled spirit.
Kagoshima’s summer is realy hot, since it places in the southernmost prefecture of Kyushu Island, [...]

Cool yourself with Shochu-on-the-rock? Shochu (Distilled Spirit) boom of Kagoshima

August 9, 2007 - 6:32 pm by akko@hakata in Culture, Others  

Shochu (distilled spirit) is one of the main Japanese alcoholic beverages following Sake.

Kagoshima is the largest, popular, and traditional Shochu mecca, providing 155,900 kiloliters in 2006 (July 2006 to June 2006), which is the record high, with an increase for the 8th consecutive year!
Satsuma Shochu (meaning Kagoshima Shochu, Satsuma is the old name of Kagoshima) [...]