Before coming to Japan, I'd never even heard of the nighttime light-up
of flowers, but now it's fair to say I'm thoroughly hooked. And
embarrassingly, even after nearly 3 decades here, it wasn’t until just
last year that I was introduced to the amazing Nakameguro Cherry
Blossom Festival (中目黒桜まつり) by my very kindhearted Canadian musician
friend Mr. Jonny Barefoot.
The very narrow canal is lined with TOO many shops and food stalls,
with lots of spring-themed festival food, including the seemingly
over-the-top promotion of pink champagne. A few too many people for my
liking, as some sections, especially near Nakameguro Station, were a
bit difficult to walk around with so many revelers, but it was quite
the exhilarating sight to see nonetheless.
My low-quality iPhone pics don't do the place any justice, but I hope
you can somehow get a feel for the magic of these beautiful, nighttime
illuminated cherry blossoms as much as I did a few nights ago.
Mar. 28,
2019 - It's once again that magical time of year in Tokyo!
The beautiful cherry blossoms started opening up last week and today
have reached full bloom in the nation's capital. The cherry blossoms in
Japan are a very significant symbol of renewal and starting a clean
slate. Hence, both the new school year and fiscal year begin April 1st
in Japan. They are also a symbol and reminder of the fragility of the
human existence. The blossoms rarely last more than a week to 10 days,
and then they are GONE.... until next year.
When the magnitude-9 Great East Japan Earthquake (東日本大震災, Higashi Nihon
Daishinsai) struck 8 years ago today, even though cell phone networks
bit the dust, public pay phones turned out to be vital lifesavers, as
they continued to be operational after the disaster.
But in a survey by major telecom firm NTT East of parents with children
in elementary school, nearly 80% of them said their children don't know
about pay phones or have never used them.
To increase awareness of pay phones, NTT East has set up a website with
quizzes, videos, and virtual-reality experience for children to learn
how to use public pay phones, and also featuring a pay-phone locator.
Wow!
Only 16 more days till the cherry blossoms are forecast to begin
blooming in Tokyo on Mar. 22! Yay! This is the same day as last year,
but 4 days earlier than the average blooming date over the past 10
years. Full bloom in Tokyo is forecast for Mar. 30. Can't wait!
2019 cherry blossom front in Japan
(Source:
sakura.weathermap.jp/en.php)
Mar.
4, 2019 - Tokyo is very CONVENIENT!
If there's just 1 word to sum up my lifestyle in Tokyo, it'd be
"convenient."
My tiny apartment is only a couple minute walk from the subway station
and within a couple hundred feet of a 24-hour 7-11, supermarkets,
drugstores, 100-yen shops, recycle shop, police box, my bank, 24-hour
fitness gyms, medical clinics, pachinko parlor, karaoke boxes, and
multiple ethnic restaurants.
And even the sometimes annoying-yet-tolerable noise from living in a
somewhat commercial district is a small price to pay for all this
ultimate in convenience.
Just the other day I was reminded of another example of the Japanese
high-tech convenience
I often encounter, this time an automatic hand washer/dryer in a men's
toilet of all places. And the hand dryer is in the sink:
Japanese automatic
toilet hand washer/dryer
(If player above is not visible, you can view video
at YouTube here.)
Feb. 25,
2019 - Welcome to Spur, Texas, America's first tiny house friendly town
For the past several decades, massive urbanization and social changes
in America have caused many small towns to lose their residents to
larger cities, where better jobs and opportunities exist. But big
cities have also raised the economic threshold necessary for even the
most basic living expenses to the point that they have become
unaffordable for many of their citizens.
In July 2014, Spur, Texas passed a city council resolution that
declared Spur the nations’ first tiny house friendly town. This old
west Texas town, with a population of only 1000 and just an hour's
drive east of Lubbock, now welcomes new pioneers and their tiny houses,
generally defined as between 100-400 square feet. Lubbock is the
vibrant, rapidly-growing west Texas city (pop. ~300,000) which is home
to Texas Tech University.
As one who lives by himself in a tiny 1-room, 250-sq. ft. apartment, I
can definitely relate to this kind of lifestyle. So if you've ever
thought about scaling down and simplifying your life, Spur, Texas
could be just what you've been looking for!
Last week I was able to escape Tokyo's brutal cold winter for a few
days of sun and surf in the beautiful US territory of Guam, where I
haven't been in 12 years. I figured it was about time to get back and
refresh my data.
Guam has become TOO commercialized, especially with hordes of Japanese
and Korean tour groups, but there're still lots of beautiful natural
spots to see, like Marbo Cave and Ritidian Beach shown below in the
photo collage, as well as in my Guam Flickr photo album.
Enjoy!
Guam vacation - Feb. 13-15, 2019
(view my entire Guam Flickr photo album here)
Feb. 6,
2019 - TODAY'S HUMOR (今日のユーモア)
These are actual resume items submitted by job seekers, followed by the
personnel director's comments:
"Objective: My position will have pleasant surroundings, a reasonable
salary, low pressure, not require me to bring work home, and good
benefits." --- Just what we’re looking for. When can you start?
"Salary required: To be paid enough to buy a better house than I and my
family currently live in, which has 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and a
fenced yard. Inflation must be taken into consideration." --- We think
that sounds fair! We feel totally responsible for your standard of
living.
"Current salary: $36,000. Salary desired: $250,000." --- I know I said
"you have not because you asked not," but this might be stretching it.
Requirements: "I'll need $30K to start, full medical, 3 weeks vacation,
stock options, and ideally a European sedan." --- Wow, all we have to
do is provide a new BMW to help swing your decision?
Cover letter: "I'm the best accountant you're ever going to find. If
your company doesn't want to pay for the high quality, don't call." ---
Thanks for the tip – we won’t call!
Cover letter: "My top motivator is MONEY. If asked to choose between a
professional desk job and one sanitizing a barnhouse that pays more,
I'm headed for the farm." --- Are you competent or just greedy?
Cover letter: "I've updated my resume so it's more appalling to
employers." --- I find myself totally shocked already!
Jan. 30,
2019 - Surf's UP... right in the heart of the world's largest
metropolis!
Citywave Tokyo opened on August 11, 2018, and appropriately so since
Tokyo will be hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics where surfing will
be an official Olympic sport for the first time ever.
Located in central Tokyo only a 5-min. walk from Oimachi Station in
Shinagawa Ward, Citywave Tokyo is part of “Sporu Shinagawa” (スポル品川), a
sports park which features 7 olympic
sports, and joins other Citywaves in France, Swizerland, Germany,
Austria, Israel, with additional locations planned for Russia and
America.
Citywave Tokyo
surfing machine
(If player above is not visible, you can view video
at YouTube here.)
The German inventors, Rainer Klimaschewski and his wife Susi, who are
both trained engineers and were freestyle ski champions during the
80's,
have been developing action sport simulators for over 20 years.
Their early inventions included mobile water ramps to practice their
ski jumps year-round and a rotating endless ski slope. Then, inspired
by river surfing pioneer Arthur Pauli, they developed a rotating
“dry-wave” modeled on the Eisbach Wave in Munich. Their first surfing
simulator made it possible for surfers to execute the turns and tricks
of real surfing without ever getting wet.
But when the Klimaschewskis realised that genuine simulated surfing
needed real
water, after countless prototypes and tests, the first endless
stationary deepwater wave known as Citywave was created.
Jan. 22,
2019 - New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, Day 8 (January 20) (大相撲一月場所)
On Sunday I had the pleasure of viewing a sumo tournament for the first
time in over 20 years. In spite of yokozuna Kisenosato having already
retired a
few days prior, and another yokozuna and ozeki having already withdrawn
due
to injuries, I got to see some of my favorite sumo wrestlers, including
Kotoshogiku, Takakeisho, and Takayasu.
If all that weren't enough, for the very first time during my nearly
3-decade tenure in Japan, I got to see the Japanese Emperor and Empress
with my own eyes, who visited the Kokugikan sumo arena on the same day
as me. This was their 23rd visit to the arena and their last as Emperor
and Empress before Emperor Akihito's abdication in April.
Don't miss them waving to the crowd at the 21:16 mark in my video
below, and also the incredibly heartwarming applause from the sumo
fans. Wow, it almost made me cry.
New Year Grand Sumo
Tournament, Day 8 (January 20)
(If player above is not visible, you can view video
at YouTube here.)
0:05 Juryo entrance (west)
2:00 Juryo entrance (east)
3:41 Pano inside Sumo Hall
4:00 Makuuchi entrance (west)
6:11 Makuuchi entrance (east)
9:32 Yokozuna entrance
11:45 Kotoshogiku vs. Kaisei bout
14:06 Nishikigi vs. Ichinojo bout
15:38 Takakeisho vs. Onosho bout
17:11 Takayasu vs. Shohozan bout
19:10 Aoiyama vs. Hakuho bout
21:16 Japanese Emperor and Empress greet crowd
22:24 Sumo hall fans give rousing applause to Emperor and Empress
Jan. 7,
2019 - "GW’s 7 Magical Days in Pattaya, Thailand" eBook
Hot off the press! The eBook
project I started on Dec. 31st to document my amazing February 2018
Pattaya, Thailand adventure... over 4600 words (*), 30 pics, and links
to 27 video clips in my Pattaya YouTube video... is now
complete.
YAY!
Pattaya is a coastal resort city about 100 km (62 miles) southeast
of Bangkok on the Gulf of Thailand, is one of Asia's largest beach
resorts, and is the 2nd most visited city in Thailand, after Bangkok.
Highlights of the adventure include the breathtaking aerial view of Mt.
Fuji, the Sanctuary of Truth, the Art in Paradise 3D optical illusion
museum, the Pattaya Floating Market, Underwater World Pattaya, the
motorcycle-driven mobile women's bra, shoe, and dress shops, and of
course, all the stunning sunsets I saw between Feb. 7-14, 2018.
My latest eBook is now available for only $1.99 in the US Kindle store, or
¥214 in the Amazon Japan store (アマゾン日本). If you don't have a
Kindle
(neither do I), you can download the free
Kindle app (Kindle無料アプリ) and read my eBook on your PC or mobile
device by clicking on the "Read on any Device" image in the right
column on the pages linked above.
I sincerely hope you will enjoy reading this documentation of my
February 2018 Pattaya adventure, and that you will find at least part
of it informative or interesting, just as if you were taking the trip
with me!
(*) an estimated 58 pages if it were a physical book
Jan. 2,
2019 - Hatsuhinode (初日の出) 2019, First Sunrise of the New Year
I'm sure most folks will think this is about as exciting as watching
paint dry, but after all these
years of living in Japan, I still think it's really cool how many
Japanese like to kick off the New Year by viewing the first sunrise.
Before sunrise on January 1, many people will drive to the coast, climb
a mountain, or go to the top of a tall building or structure like the
Tokyo Sky Tree or Tokyo Tower to view it. Because it was cloudy on Jan.
1, MY 1st sunrise of 2019 occurred on Jan. 2 at 6:50 a.m.
The background music I chose is one of my favorite songs, Yanni's "In
the Mirror."
Best wishes for a wonderful 2019!
Hatsuhinode (初日の出)
2019, First Sunrise of the New Year
(If player above is not visible, you can view video
at YouTube here.)
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