Posted in Gardens, Nature, Tokyo on Jun 15th, 2008 3 Comments »
One year in June I wanted to see irises in bloom - Japan’s famous shobu, sung about in poetry and depicted in paintings and ukiyo-e. I opted for Horikiri Shobuen in the northern part of Tokyo, in what proved to be an eyesore neighborhood, but when I finally reached the garden, I felt happy seeing […]
Posted in Book, Food, Japan, Manga, Osaka, Tokyo on Apr 22nd, 2008 No Comments »
Food manga are not always about gourmet food, even when they are called The Solitary Gourmand (Kodoku no Gurume). For there is not a shred of fancy food in all these stories. Instead, they introduce us to the daily dishes and common eateries of the ordinary Japanese, and that is all the more interesting.
The setting […]
Posted in Festivals, Gardens, Japan, Kyoto, Nature, Tokyo on Mar 26th, 2008 1 Comment »
What is this year’s sakura timetable? You will find the best English guide here, at the Japan Metereological Agency!
But don’t leave just yet, as here are some more interesting sakura links:
Stories from Japan Navigator:
Sakura, sakura - some literary associations from the cherry front
One of the best sakura viewing spots in Kyoto: Nishiyama
An even better […]
Posted in Book, Gardens, Nature, Review, Tokyo on Mar 5th, 2008 No Comments »
Tokyo and flowers - that may not be the first association springing up in your mind when thinking about the Japanese metropolis. The metropolitan government seems to be in the race to cover every square inch of the city with concrete before, say, the year 2010. In some places, the houses and flats have been […]
Posted in Festivals, Gardens, Museums, Nature, Tokyo, Travel on Mar 1st, 2008 2 Comments »
I have given you directions to the plum groves of Ogose, deep in Saitama and a long haul from Tokyo. But there is another great (or even greater) plum viewing area much closer to the metropolis: the Yoshino Baigo Park in Ome, which is part of Tokyo itself.
[Yoshino Baigo, Ome. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
Ome […]
Posted in Food, Japan, Review, Tokyo on Feb 15th, 2008 No Comments »
Newsweek has taken up the Michelin-story in an interesting and knowledgeable article called The New Food Capital of the World by Christian Caryl and Akiko Kashiwagi.
“Japan is a food-crazy nation like few others,” they say - and as I fully agree with their judgement, I’d like to pick up a few points from the article […]
Posted in Architecture, History, Photography, Tokyo on Feb 2nd, 2008 1 Comment »
Sometimes buildings can be lost so thoroughly that you would never suspect their original existence. I am not talking about your favorite restaurant in Tokyo that has suddenly disappeared. Another one will take its place. Much more serious of the loss of things that cannot be replaced.
I am referring to the Taitokuin Mausoleum in Shiba, […]
Posted in Religion, Temples, Tokyo on Jan 9th, 2008 No Comments »
Lord Enma and Lord Jizo, or Hell in Shinjuku. That is only possible at a dusty small temple called Taisoji, standing in the middle of rows of boring flats.
[The Enma statue, from the temple’s pamphlet]
Enma has remained strictly Chinese in Japan. The Judge of Hell has remained a gaijin, perhaps because his kind of […]
Posted in Architecture, Business, Economy, Food, News, Society, Tokyo, Travel on Jan 7th, 2008 No Comments »
The British newspaper The Independent has undertaken a survey into the relative status of national (and regional) capitals. Tokyo scores fourth overall, behind London (surprise, the home ground of the newspaper), New York and Paris. It is therefore the capital of Asia!
But contenders are giving chase at high speed: Peking, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong […]
Posted in Food, Japan, Review, Tokyo on Dec 20th, 2007 No Comments »
The publishing of the first Michelin guide for Asia, dedicated to Tokyo restaurants, has set tongues wagging in Japan. The first printing sold out in no time, many of the establishments treated in the guide are fully booked until far into the new year. Michelin has awarded more stars to Tokyo than to any other […]
Posted in Art, Museums, Religion, Tokyo on Oct 26th, 2006 No Comments »
Until December 3, the Tokyo National Museum is hosting an exhibition of Buddhist statues in the so-called ichiboku style under the title Shaping Faith. Sculptures in the ichiboku style have been carved from one piece of wood instead of being made by fitting a number of wooden blocks together (and pasting over the lines between […]
Posted in Architecture, Fun, Tokyo on Oct 25th, 2006 No Comments »
What is the largest building in Tokyo? You never would guess: the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway! This concrete monster on heavy pillars is now about 280 kilometers long and crawls like a mighty dinosaur through the metropolis. It runs along the third or fourth story of buildings, stamps on high legs through Tokyo’s pityful canals, splits […]
Posted in Film, News, Tokyo on Oct 21st, 2006 1 Comment »
Today the 19th Tokyo International Film Festival opens (it will run until next week Sunday).
Among the opening/closing line-up is a new film by 91-year old veteran Ichikawa Kon, a remake of his own 1976 Murder of the Inugami Clan, after a complex detective novel by Yokomizo Masashi, featuring Ishizaka Koji as sleuth Kindaichi. Ichikawa Kon […]
Posted in Architecture, Food, Museums, Tokyo on Oct 20th, 2006 1 Comment »
Omotesando is the name of the tree-lined avenue leading up to the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. It is the most fashionable part of Tokyo and also features the highest number of shops by famous fashion designers; adjacent Harajuku is the fountain of youth culture. Omotesando is a place often crowded with photographers trying to capture […]
Posted in Architecture, Tokyo on Jul 31st, 2006 No Comments »
In Europe you will not easily find any imposing skylines (but we have those cosy red-tiled roofs), while in Asia skyscrapers are shooting up one after another. Italian Luigi Diserio has made a list of his 15 favorite skylines and no wonder that 6 of the 10 best ones can be found in Asia.
No. 1 […]
Posted in Art, News, Tokyo on Jul 16th, 2006 No Comments »
This summer, two interesting temporary events in the field of Japanese art are held in Tokyo, both fitting in the category “restored art.” The first concerns a rediscovered mural by 20th century avant-garde painter Okamoto Taro called The Myth of Tomorrow. This work measuring 5.5 by 30 meters was created in 1968/1969 for the walls […]
Posted in Architecture, Art, Tokyo on Jun 28th, 2006 No Comments »
A new design center (21_21 design Sight) is now under construction at Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi and if you look at the big names of the participants it promises to be very exciting when it opens in 2007. For starters, the architect is Tadao Ando, who continues to delight us, as with his recent Chichu […]
Posted in Architecture, Art, Food, Tokyo on Jun 27th, 2006 No Comments »
The Ginza, Japan’s major upscale shopping district is full of interesting galleries and design shops as well. On Gridskipper I found this suggestion for a design tour through the area, from the Ginza Graphic gallery to the International Forum.
[Inside the huge hall of the Tokyo International Forum. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
Some Ginza suggestions (non-design) I […]
Posted in Art, Museums, Tokyo, Writing on Jun 17th, 2006 1 Comment »
The Tsubouchi Memorial Theater Museum, Waseda University was established on the occasion of the 70th birthday of the critic and playwright Tsubouchi Shoyo (1859-1935), the first translator of Shakespeare’s complete works into Japanese and founder of the Department of Literature of Waseda University. The façade of the building is modeled on the Fortune Theater of […]
Posted in Art, Museums, Tokyo on Jun 15th, 2006 No Comments »
The first modern paper manufacture in Japan started in Oji (then a village at the perimeter of Tokyo) in 1873 by a company later named after the place, Oji Paper. The factory was established by entrepreneur Shibusawa Eiichi and still is (after several mergers and split-ups) one of Japan’s largest paper manufacturers. The Paper Museum […]
Posted in Art, History, Museums, Tokyo on Jun 14th, 2006 No Comments »
The Senshu Bunko, or “Library of a Thousand Autumns,” comprises the collection of manuscripts, documents, paintings, and old maps of the Satake clan, the hereditary daimyo family that ruled what is now Akita prefecture. It gives a good impression of the tastes of a local ruling clan in the Edo period. Above all, it provides […]
Posted in Art, Museums, Tokyo on Jun 4th, 2006 No Comments »
The Kite Museum in Tokyo is a small, quirky, but surprisingly interesting museum.
The former owner of the Taimeikan restaurant in Nihonbashi, the late Mr. Modegi Shingo, was a kite enthusiast who founded this museum on the 5th floor of the restaurant building. The rather confined space is literally crammed with kites of all sorts and […]
