This weekend I took advantage of some of my own advice and went to Rikugi-en Park and took in the Edo Ningyo. Edo Ningyo is a traditional Japanese marionette puppet show and the puppeteer was amazing! The emotions and lifelike movements he elicited from his stringed muses only enhanced the stories that […]
Typical Weekend? I got blessed by a puppet!
June 8th, 2008 · 2 Comments · My Photos, The sights, Typical
Tags:A typical Life·edo ningyo·japan·ningyo·rikugien garden·shane sakata·tokyo·Typical
Atypical Sight: A Cat in a Tree
May 30th, 2008 · No Comments · Atypical, My Photos
How often do you catch a cat napping in a tree? It’s an atypical sight that caught me by surprise.
This laid back cat was eying me as I snapped his picture but he didn’t move a muscle. He was relaxing and catching some rays in Tokyo’s Hibiya Park on Monday afternoon.
Photo Credit: Personal Collection
Tags:A typical Life·Atypical·cat·Hibiya Park·photo·shane sakata·tokyo·tree
Buy a train this weekend - a 35-Ton Train!
May 23rd, 2008 · 4 Comments · 1
Keihin Electric Express Railway Co. will put two commuter train cars up for sale on Sunday in Kanagawa Prefecture in celebration of their 100th anniversary. But there’s a catch…
You have to be able to afford to ship and have pre-arranged storage for the 35-ton cars that are approximately 18 meters long, 2.8 meters wide […]
Tags:1000 series·A typical Life·sale·shane sakata·tokyo·train·vintage train cars
It’s time to pull out my Tokyo Map -the sun is out!
May 16th, 2008 · No Comments · Daily Life
After almost two weeks of rainy, cool and cloudy weather the sun has finally come out and it feels like spring - yeah! I have been a little under the weather lately and haven’t kept my promise of checking out a new site each week lately so it’s time to pull out my map of […]
Tags:iidabashi·japan·kagurazaka·map of Tokyo·Sanja Matsuri·tokyo
Bloomberg Publishes Suicide Gas Recipe
May 3rd, 2008 · 26 Comments · 1
Today while surfing the web I came across an article on Bloomberg that was reporting on a recent trend of suicides utilizing a gas called hydrogen sulfide. This is a serious concern in Japan as innocent bystanders have been injured by these gas fumes. As a matter of ethics I will not provide […]
Tags:Bloomberg·hydrogen sulfide·irresponsible journalism·japan·suicide·tokyo
It’s hard to be taken seriously….
April 24th, 2008 · 5 Comments · Daily Life, The sights
….when you have Kleenex sticking out of your nose! But that’s just how Hideo Higashikokubaru, a one-time comedian using the stage name Sonomanma Higashi, and currently the Governor of Miyazaki prefecture in southern Japan, is portrayed on this tissue box cover.
I found this product while browsing through my local mall and just couldn’t stop […]
Tags:comic·governor·Hideo Higashikokubaru·japan·Miyazaki. product·Sonomanma Higashi·tokyo
Hono-ozumo - Ceremonial Sumo Tournament
April 6th, 2008 · 5 Comments · The sights
The past Friday I went to the ceremonial sumo match at the Yaskuni shrine in Tokyo. Based on what I’ve read its the only time this year that you will be able to see a sumo tournament for free in Tokyo and I couldn’t miss an opportunity like that! So, I braved […]
Tags:Hakuho·japan·Sumo·The Tokyo Traveler·tokyo·travel·Yasukuni Shrine·Yokuzuna
Acting Like a Tourist
April 5th, 2008 · No Comments · The sights
As most of you know I have started posting most of my touristy activities over at The Tokyo Traveler. For those of you that haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, here are some of the highlights of what I’ve been up to lately:
Hanami viewing at Chidorigafuchi near the Imperial Palace. […]
Tags:asakusa·hanami·japan·Subway·The Tokyo Traveler·tokyo·travel
The Tokyo Traveler
March 28th, 2008 · 6 Comments · About me
Today I have a very special announcement to make that is the culmination of some work that has been going on behind the scenes for a couple of months now. It is with great pride that I am announcing my debut as a paid blogger! I have joined b5media and will be writing The Tokyo […]
Tags:blog·japan·The Tokyo Traveler·tokyo·travel
Tokyo Fire Raids - 63 Years Later
March 11th, 2008 · 2 Comments · History
On the evening on March 9th and into March 10, 1945 the United States sent 334 B-29’s into Tokyo to drop over 450,000 fire bombs on the Sumida District in Tokyo. The resulting firestorm devastated almost 17 square miles of the city and approximately 100,000 people were killed as a result of the fire raid. […]