An interesting addition to Fukuoka’s nightlife

Among the many things foreigners find surprising when they first come to Japan is the country’s lax attitude towards alcohol. This includes 24 hour availability of alcohol in convenience stores, no laws against drinking on the street or public urination, and a (more…)

Checking out Osaka’s Korean area

As a big fan of Korean food and culture I was eager to check out the Tsuruhashi area of Osaka, the city’s ‘Korean Town’, and headed down there last week. The noticeably ‘Korean’ part of Tsuruhashi is found where the JR, Sennichimae subway, and Kintetsu railway lines converge and the area around the stations is a rabbit warren of narrow alleyways full of character.

The west side of the stations is home to numerous yaki niku (Korean bulgogi beef barbecue that you grill yourself at your table) restaurants, with a couple of streets devoted entirely to this cuisine. Several restaurants have been featured on TV and proudly display photos of the owners posing with tarento (TV personalities) who dined there, but more interesting than these were some of the menus outside the restaurants.
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For more Tochō photos check out Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (都庁) - Part 1

The first time I ever went to Tokyo I emerged from the east exit of Shinjuku station expecting to see a futuristic cityscape reminiscent of the sci-fi film Bladerunner. While the sea of neon I was greeted with was certainly impressive, I was actually surprised by the lack of skyscrapers in the area. Admittedly Shinjuku’s skyscraper district is actually located to the west of the station, but even after I figured that out and headed on over there, it was on the whole a disappointing collection of high-rises.

It seems that due to concerns over vulnerability in light of the earthquakes that frequently hit the city, attitudes towards skyscraper construction in Tokyo have (quite understandably) placed an emphasis on structural engineering and safety rather than on height and appearance. The result is that, while Tokyo has a comparable number of skyscrapers to other major cities in the world, its skyline lacks the diversity and innovation found among high-rises in places like New York or Hong Kong.
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According to Wikipedia the Fushimi area of Kyoto gets its name from the words fusu(hidden) and mizu(water), meaning ‘underground water’, and to anyone who’s familiar with the area(1) it’s obvious why: Fushimi has an abundance of natural springs and the purity of the water has led to the area becoming one of Japan’s most famous centres of sake production.

Despite living in Fushimi for over two years I had never visited a sake brewery until last month, when I decided it was about time I checked one out. For convenience I selected the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum, which - in addition to being a sake brewery - explains the brewing process and history of sake through its informative displays and collection of historical artefacts. Founded in 1637 in Fushimi, Gekkeikan has grown to become one of the leading producers of sake; this museum is located on the site of the company’s original brewery and attracts visitors from all over Japan(2).

Arriving with an empty stomach I got a buzz off the three small glasses of sake I was given to sample (a sweet one, a dry one and a plum one, all of which were quite palatable in case you’re wondering) and I contemplated cracking open the complimentary souvenir bottle I received with my admission ticket. I decided against this however - cold sake’s nice and hot sake’s potent, but drinking room-temperature sake would just be wrong, even for a non-connoisseur like myself.
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Japan’s national emblem and the Hirakata Doll Show

In addition to a national flag, which all officially-recognised countries have, most nations also have at least one national emblem. These adorn things like money, government information and documents, and are also sometimes incorporated into nations’ flag designs. Typically a species of flora or fauna that is native to the country, examples of national emblems include England’s rose, the US’s bald eagle, Australia’s kangaroo, New Zealand’s kiwi and Canada’s maple leaf.

In Japan’s case, the national emblem is a chrysanthemum, a rare example of a country having a non-indigenous species as its emblem. It may come as a surprise to most Japanese people that their national emblem is not actually Japanese, but the cultivation of chrysanthemums is believed to have begun in China around 17,000 years ago.

Although Japan does have its own native species of chrysanthemum, these have much smaller petals than the shiragiku (white chrysanthemum), which was brought to Japan in the 8th Century AD and adopted as the Imperial crest a few centuries later (hence the term Chrysanthemum Throne being used for the Japanese Imperial dynasty). As with so many of Japan’s cultural imports from China (festivals, writing, food etc), the chrysanthemum was embraced with such affection and enthusiasm that it is considered an archetypal Japanese icon today.
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Photos of my favorite Japanese skyscraper

Photo captions are below. (more…)