Doll Festival (Hina Matsuri): March 3, 2012

People decorate their houses with traditional dolls on March 3rd to celebrate the growth of girls. It is Japan’s Doll Festival or “Hina Matsuri”.

There are many Doll Festival-related events held in hotels, restaurants and public facilities at this season.



Google top page used a design based on Doll Festival in Japanese version at this season.

I visited an exhibition held at Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku. Hundreds of small dolls were hung in the ropes. Traditional dolls were placed on the display shelves.

I also dropped in Gajoen Hotel in Meguro where a special doll exhibition was held. Hundreds of people were in a long line. I was told that it would take an hour to enter the exhibition hall and I did not join the line.

Botanical garden@ Meguro: March 3, 2012

Cold day still continue.

But it was warmer than past days today and I visited a botanical garden in Meguro.

The garden belongs to National Museum of Nature and Science and is named “Institute for Nature Study”.


It is surrounded by offices and residential buildings. Highways run outside. But nature is preserved and it is calm inside. I found woods, flowers, birds and many other natures.

The number of visitors is limited to keep the nature.

The fallen leaves remained in the path. They have yet turned to soil. I found several spring flowers.

I hope spring will come shortly.

Ume Blossom@Umegaoka:Feb.18, March 11, 2012

Nearly two months have passed after the midwinter (the winter solstice) day. But we still have chilly days. Temperature goes down sub-zero in the morning in Tokyo. We had snow yesterday.

The ume (plum) blossom usually start in mid-February (See the posts in 2010, 2011). It delayed this year because of cold weather.


I visited Hanegi Park in Umegaoka, one of Tokyo’s famous ume garden. The local community holds Ume festival form Feb. 4 to 26.


Only a few trees (out of about 650 trees) opened flowers.
The sky was blue and the air was clean (probably because of the yesterday’s snow).

I also visited the park on March 11. About 30% of the flowers was open.

Wadabori Park, Feb. 04, 2012

We have very cold winter this year. The islands have been hit by series of cold waves since mid-January. Tohoku and Hokuriku districts (northern parts) were hit by heavy snow. Temperature went down below zero in Tokyo.

I visited Wadabori Park in Suginami ward, northwest part of Tokyo. The park lies along Zenpukuji River.


Colorful kingfishers are seen in the park. People were waiting photo opportunities around the pond. I also saw people enjoy jogging (in the road along the river) and playing ball games 8in the playfields.)


It is not too much to say that Tokyo’s history began in the area. People started to live along Zenpukuji River and other rivers in the region about 30 thousand years ago. Many dwelling sites were found.


A replica of bronze-age house was built in the park.

There are several leisure facilities including artificial fishing pond in the park.

There is a shrine called “Omiya Hachiman” in the area. It geographically locates at the center of Tokyo and the shrine stresses it.

Sumo@Ryogoku : Jan. 15, 2012

The most popular sports in Japan may be football and baseball. But if you ask which is the national sport in the country, it is probably sumo.

It is because of the long history of sumo. It originated in Japan’s ancient myth, developed in the Edo era and was widely accepted as the country’s national sport in the Meiji era.


Six tournaments (15 days par tournament) are held every year and they are broadcast through NHK, a public TV station. Watching sumo in the TV program is a nationwide passtime for old people.


I visited Kokugikan, the home ground of sumo in Ryogoku, Sumida ward in eastern Tokyo.

Vivid flags, in which sumo wrestlers’ names were printed, were deployed along the way from the nearest railroad station to Kokugikan. There were many visitors walking to Kokugikan.


There were more than 10 thousands seats in the building. Spectators can enjoy not only watching the matches but also eating and drinking in their seats. They looked relaxed.

People made “yoisho” calls when Yokozuna Hakuho made performances in his ring entering ceremony. It was a collaboration between sumo wrestlers and audiences.


I enjoyed the mood as well as the matches.

The sumo association, the organizer of sumo tournaments, was involved in various scandals in the past several years. They are now trying to recover the support from public.


I do not know whether they have improves their services, but their responces were good at ticket office, lunch box sales corner, information counter and othe places.

I walked around Ryogoku area before entering into Kokugikan. I found many sumo stables (where sumo wrestlers live) and sumo-related “chnkonabe” restaurants.

Lucky Cats @ Gotokuji: Jan. 14, 2012

I used a picture of lucky cats (which I took in the past) in my new-year card this year.

The lucky cat is believed to invite us good fortune and money. The legend was born t Gotokuji Temple in Setagaya ward, Western Tokyo.
(Previous visit of Gotokuji)

I visited the temple again and found a large number of lucky cat dolls. They were placed in three separate places and the total number may be more than 1000.


People purchase the cats, place them in their houses and return them to the temple with their gratitude after certain period.

There were few visitors in the temple. They were making new-year prayers and were smiling at the cats.

Enoshima: Jan 9, 2012

Enoshima is a small island off Katase shore in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture. There are several shrines and other visiting spots in the island. I visited there.

People can now visit the island whenever they like as there are two bridges (for passengers and cars) link the island and the main land.


The situation was different more than a hundred years ago. The island was connected to the main land by a sand way only when the tide was low.


It is like Mont Saint-Michel in France.

A big shrine gate welcomed me when I moved into the island. There were many souvenir shops and restaurants along the approach to the shrine buildings. Fresh fishes and shell fishes were displayed in the water tanks. The scene was also like Mont Saint-Michel ( I visited there about 20 years ago).


Black kites and other birds were flying over the islands.

Various kinds of gods were enshrined there. Many people were making their new-year prayers. Some entertainments, including a monkey show, were held.

It was cold, but the weather was fine. The sky and the sea were blue. The surface of the sea was like a mirror.

The view from the top of a sightseeing tower was so beautiful.

The sunshine was fantastic. I found Mr. Fuji over the sea.

Meiji Jingu Shrine, Korean Food Festival @ Yoyogi Park: Jan. 8, 2012

I made a new-year visit to Meiji Jingu Shrine.

A week had already passed in 2012, but the shrine was still crowded. Visitors were walking slowly about a kilometer along a gravel approach from the entrance gate to the main building of the shrine. They were making lines in front of the main building to make their prayers.

I saw many people writing their wished in the wooden tablets. They hang the tablets on the wall. They were also making lines to buy Omamori, or lucky charms.

Foreign tourists looked impressed with the atmosphere of new-pear visits by Japanese people. I talked with an U.S. tourist and he said so.

I also visited Korean Gourmet Festival held in neighboring Yoyogi Park. Tens of Korean restaurants opened their stalls.

The foods included BBQ, noodles, soups, hot plate with sea foods and vegetables. People enjoyed the foods.


Millions of Koreans, including those who keep Korean nationality and who had gained Japanese nationality, are estimated to live in Japan. There are Korean towns in Tokyo (Okubo) and other cities.



Both countries have unsettled problems caused by the colonization history of Korea by pre-war Japanese empire. Some people keep negative feelings against the partner country.


The relations have improved rapidly in the last two decades. The Korean fools are more popular than before in Tokyo. Korean actors and musicians are making a “Korean boom” in Japan.

Yoyogi Hachiman Shrine: Jan 03, 2012

I usually visit shrine in one of the new-year days (It is called Hatsumoude). This year, I visited Yoyogi Hachiman Shrine.

Visitors had made a long line to make their prays to the main shrine when I arrived there.

Japanese calligraphy works by elementary school boys and girls were displayed in the garden. I looked at the works when I was waiting in the line. The phrases written in the works (assigned by the teachers) included: Revival of soil snd Green land – both reflect people's hope of recovery from the quake disaster and nuclear accident.

Millions of Japanese visit shrines in new-year season. The ranking of the visitors is estimated as follows:


1. Meiji Jingu shrine (Tokyo)

2. Narita-san (Chiba)

3. Kawasaki Daishi (Kanagawa)

4. Fushimi Inari Shrine (Kyoto)

5. Asakusa Shrine (Tokyo)

Mekong Delta: Dec. 29-31, 2011

I visited Mekong Delta during my trip in Vietnam.

Mekong River origins in China and runs through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, then flows into the sea in Vietnam. It is about 4000 km long.


It composes a huge delta in Vietnam. Thousands of main rivers as well as side streams flow in the area.

I first visited My Tho which locates about 70 km southwest from Ho Chi Minh. The city lies at the side of one of main streams of Mekong. I got on a cruising boat there.

The river was nearly 1km wide. Huge volume of brown water (as it contains much soil) flew slowly. There were ships collecting soil from the river. Petro stations were open for the ships. I also found fish farming pools in the river.


I visited one of the islands in the river.


They cultivate fruits and keep bees, but the life seemed still poor. Tourism is changing their lives.

Rice fields spread oustide of the city. They grow rice three times a year. They have developed rice cultivation in the last 20 years. Vietnam is now the 2nd largest exporter of the rice after Thailand.

I also visited a mangrove jungle around Can Gio, about 50 km south from Ho Chi Minh.


The jungle was defoliated by US forces in the Vietnam War. They have recovered the forest after the war. Large and small rivers run around the forest.


The landscape was fantastic.

Various animals, birds, fish and other aqua creatures live there. I met across a monkey. Many crabs and goby fish were hopping around in the waterside.

There were many shrimp firms around the area.