Sumo@Ryogoku：September 11, 2016

Many Japanese people sometimes go to sumo tournament. I am one of them.

I went to kokugikan or sumo hall in Ryogoku to see the first day of the autumn tournament.

Flags were raised along the street from JR Ryogoku rilway station to Kokugikan. 

I saw many people walking to the hall. Others were waiting the sumo wrestlers coming in. There were many foreign tourists.

I watched sumo from a box seat in the ground floor. Each box has four seats. We can enjoy foods and drinks there while watching the matches. It was my first such experience.

Families enjoyed not only the sumo tournament but also the foods and the atmosphere of the event.

Sumo wrestlers made big sound when they crashed in the fights. The color of their skins turned as they played the matches.

There were ceremonies of the first day including the speech of the president of Sumo Association.

People went out swiftly when the matches were finished.

Outside the building, the dram was played at the top of the tower. 

I really enjoyed the day.

Keihin Canal and Seaside Park@ Oi area: September 4, 2016

There are many canals and seaside parks around the Tokyo Port.

I walked along Keihin Canal in the southern part of the port. Today’s walk was from Oi Central seaside Park to Shinagawa Seaside railway station.

The canal’s water was dirty decades ago, but it has become cleaner. I saw sea bass and other fish jumping and people enjoying fishing.

There are many warehouses along the canal.

The Tokyo Monorail Haneda Line runs along the canal.

People enjoyed BBQ in the Oi Central Seaside Park. 

Kids ware playing at the seaside.

I also found walkers and cyclists.

Shinagawa Seaside station area was developed about 20 years ago.　Tens of office and residential buildings gather there.

All are summer-end scenes.

Kamaishi and Otsuchi in Iwate prefecture: August 20-21, 2016 (off Tokyo)

Nearly five years and six months have passed after the Great East Japan Earthquake. I visited the quake-hit areas several times after the disaster. I traveled again to the Sanriku coastal areas of Iwate prefecture, which were severely hit by the tsunami disaster.

I first visited Unosumai district in Kamaishi City, where more than 500 people were killed or missing. The construction works are under way everywhere. The lands are being raised. (see also the 3rd photo from the top)

New school is being constructed.

Still, many temporally houses remain.


There are more new houses and shops built than November 2015, when I visited here last time. Rebuilding the hardware elements of infrastructure -- lands, roads and houses -- seems to be moving ahead.

Questions remain. Even if they build new residential areas, it is not sure whether people come back to live here. The future prospects of local communities and economic recovery are not clear.

People’s ties are more important than before, many people say. Local community activities are reviewed. 

Traditional performing arts play important role.

I attended one of the gatherings and talked with local people. We enjoyed Tiger Dance together (see the top photo)

The situation of Otsuchi Town is similar. 

The town hall was washed out by tsunami and many people, including the town manager, lost their lives. 

The ruin of the town hall still stands. It is not determined whether to preserve the building as a monument or to clean it up.

There are construction works in many places. Construction machines are everywhere.

New roads have been built at the higher places. 

The question of "yes, rebuilding hard infrastructure is going ahead, but redeveloping soft infrastructure is far behind" also remains here.  

I visited a small garden at a side hill of a mountain. The “Bellgardia” garden was developed and is owned privately by Mr. Itaru Sasaki.

He built a telephone box after the disaster. 

The line is not connected. People come here to talk to the victims or to talk to themselves. It is called “the telephone of window” (see also the 2nd photo from the top)

He also opened a micro library called “the liberally of the woods”. The community’s children come here and read books.

The place works as an information center and a gathering place of the community. It is not open to the tourists.


Again, I have learned quite a lot in my visit to Iwate.






See also


Sendai, Ishinomaki@Tohoku; Sept 17-18, 2011

Save Iwate @ Morioka and Sanriku Coast (off Tokyo): May 10-11, 2014

3 years after the quake @ Iwate (off Tokyo) : May 10-11, 2014

Four and half years from the quake: Sanriku, Iwate: Oct. 31-Nov.1, 2015

Autumn Scenes @ Iwate Prefecture: Oct 31- Nov. 1, 2015

Traditional performing arts of Tohoku @ Zojoji Temple: March 12, 2016

Budapest: August 4-6, 2016 (off off Tokyo)

I visited Budapest for the first time in about 20 years. I found many changes –- political shift, economic reforms and the integration into the EU -- during the period

The Danube River flows between Buda and Pest, two main regions of the city. The Chain Bridge is the oldest one which linked the both sides. It was built in 1873.

People enjoyed a summer evening on the Freedom Bridge, which also links both sides of the city. 

I saw tourists and local people walking in the riverbank along the river.

The river flow slowly under the bridges..

Buda Castle is a complex of palaces, churches and other buildings on a hill in the western side of the river. It was first built in the early 13th century. (see the top photo)

The Matthias Church is probably the most famous building. The roofs were covered with modern ceramics. They were renovated around 2000.

The scene from the hilltop was beautiful.

The Pest part has many historical buildings including the parliament and St. Stephan Cathedral.

The Vaci street in one of the main shopping streets. There are many fashionable shops and restaurants with western European brands. It seemed to symbolize the economic integration with the EU.

Hungary was ruled by the Ottoman Turkey about 150 years (1541-1699) and by Austria (Habsburg family) more than 200 years (1699-1918). It was practically controlled by the Soviet Union after the World War 2.

The Hungarian Revolution in 1956 was crushed by the tanks of the Soviet Union and its allies.

There is a monument of the move just in front of the parliament building (see the 2nd photo from the top). The statue of Prime Minister Nagy Imre, who supported the revolution moves and was later executed, stands near the parliament. 

Europe faced a serious refugee crisis in 2015. Hundreds of thousands of refugees arrived in Hungary last year. The stations were overflown with them. Many pictures of the crisis were delivered from Budapest to the world.

The inflow of the refugees decreased this year because of EU’s stricter regulation and cooperation with Turkey.

Still, the problem remains unsolved. Hundreds of refugees stayed in the Eastern Station of Budapest. (see also the 3rd photo from the top)

Prague: August 2-4, 2016 (off off Tokyo

It was my first visit to Prague in about 20 years.

I found many changes which took place in the last quarter of the century. The political system has converted from the communist regime to democratic system. The economy has integrated into the EU economy. Many companies have come to the Czech Republic from western European countries.

The Old Town Square is the center of the old city. The Town Hall, churches, palaces and other buildings stand around it. There is a statue of Jan Hus in the center of the square.


Musicians were playing musics and tourists were enjoying their days.

The astronomical clock of the town hall is especially famous.

The Charles Bridge over the Vltava River links Prague’s old city and the Prague Castle. It is more than 600 years old (It was built between 1357 and 1402). It is 515 meters long and there are 30 statues at the sides of the bridge.

The bridge was full of tourists. There were many painters: some of they were drawing the landscapes; others were drawing the facial cartoons of the tourists. (see the top and second photos). 

The Plague Castle is a huge complex of buildings including the palaces and churches. It is more than 500 meters long.

The buildings are in various architechtual styles.

The St. Vitus Cathedral is in the Gothic style.

There are buildings of the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Art nouveau styles.

One of the buildings was used as a regional headquarters of the Nazi SS and is now used as Foreign ministry.

Prague is the home town of Franz Kafka. His birthplace is now a coffee. I enjoyed a meat there. (see the 3rd photo from the top)

There stands his sculpture in front of Spanish synagogue in the Jewish area. It is in mysterious design. 

It is banned for buses to go into the central part of the city. Instead, trams are popular.

The Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square), in the central part of the new city, was a stage of the Prague Spring in 1968 and the Velvet Revolution in 1989.

The square was crowded with business persons and tourists in the evening. I found a monument of the victims.

The Czech's history is full of glory and tragedy. The country is cultural rich -- these are parts of what I have learned in Prague.

I watched the Mochovce nuclear plant in Slovakia when I flew from Prague to Budapest. 

It was so impressive that I post the photo in the blog.