Posted in culture, life, intercultural on Nov 30th, 2006 No Comments »
I have written about the importance of bathing and cleanliness in Japan in my review of Getting Wet.
What Japan Thinks has now translated a survey about bathing habits. From this survey, held by DIMSDRIVE, it appears that 85% of Japanese take a daily bath, and others also regularly clean themselves.
It is still surprising […]
Posted in travel and places, religion and philosophy, temples, kyoto on Nov 30th, 2006 No Comments »
The Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in in Uji is so famous that it adorns one side of the 10 yen coin. The hall, with its wings and tail indeed resembling a bird, is an architectural wonder, and it is an even greater wonder that it has survived the ravages of more than nine centuries. Inside sits […]
Posted in life on Nov 29th, 2006 No Comments »
Kohaku Uta Gassen (”Red and White Song Battle”) is an annual music show aired by NHK on New Year’s Eve (omisoka). The program divides the most popular pop and enka singers of the year into competing teams of red (female artists) and white (male artists).
The show was first aired on radio in 1951 […]
Posted in life, architecture, kyoto on Nov 29th, 2006 No Comments »
As a “Kyotophile” I am glad to read in the Asahi that the Kyoto city government has decided to tighten building rules. For parts of central Kyoto this is already too late, but prevention of further damage is welcome. The proposed new rules:
Building height for new buildings will go down from 45 to 31 meters.
Flashing […]
Posted in life on Nov 29th, 2006 No Comments »
When you switch on Japanese television, there is a fat chance you will be staring at the face of Mino Monta.
As reported by BBC News, he appears weekly in 11 live shows, spending 22 hours on TV. This has now earned him an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.
But that is not all. Mino […]
Posted in writing and poetry, internet on Nov 29th, 2006 No Comments »
When you say “haiku,” you say “Matsuyama.” Matsuyama on Shikoku is the hometown of Matsuoka Shiki (1867-1902), who in his short life transformed the Edo-period hokku into the modern haiku. He is greatly honored in his hometown, with a Shiki Museum and numerous haiku stones. What is more, Shiki was not Matsuyama’s only famous haiku […]
Posted in travel and places, religion and philosophy, temples on Nov 28th, 2006 No Comments »
What makes Heirinji famous nowadays is the patch of green in which it stands, a rarity in the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo. It is the only spot where the memory of Musashino, as the area was called in the past, still survives in the form of a small forest of pine, spruce and mixed trees […]
Posted in life, intercultural on Nov 27th, 2006 No Comments »
First I thought “extreme ironing” was an example of the fanatism some Japanese bring to their hobbies, but now it appears the sport originated on that other island of eccentrics, the United Kingdom. Who else would carry an ironing board and battery-powered iron to a remote location, say a mountain top, just to iron a […]
Posted in internet, travel and places on Nov 26th, 2006 No Comments »
A Guide to Kamakura is a huge labor of love and the best site to read through before planning a visit to the old capital.
The website was written by Mr Tadahiro Kondo, who as he tells in his profile, worked his whole life as salaryman in the paper industry before retiring in 2001. He has […]
Posted in life, business, intercultural on Nov 25th, 2006 No Comments »
Is Japan expensive? Not if you know where to go.
Of course, rents and the price of houses are outrageous (considering the often low quality of what you get), but for the rest it is not so bad at all.
On the contrary, I find Japan often much cheaper than my home country, the Netherlands. That is […]
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