The weather forecast for last Friday was outstanding. We woke up to blue skies. The future forecast didn’t look so great, and with rainy season just around the corner, it looked like this may be the last day of blue skies we may see for quite a while. So we grabbed Water Walks in the Suburbs of Tokyo and jumped on the train. Our purpose was to do “Walk 13: Nobidome 野火止.”

Along the way we could see Mt. Fuji from the train. It was that kind of day.

Our destination was Niiza in Saitama. The train station platform had to be the ugliest I have ever seen in Japan, but the direction we took from the station had a nice country feel to it.

Note that if you are following the same guidebook, the old, rustic sign before the first stop light is no longer there. Another stop light has been put in, so you want to follow the Astro Boy sign in the sidewalk before the second stop light.

If you’ve been in Tokyo for too long and need to see a farm (or a few dozen of them) again then this is a good place to visit. Flowers are everywhere in Tokyo and this place appears to be a supplier.

Family grave sites in the middle of farms are a common sight in Japan.

Posted on June 2nd, 2010 under Japan. Tags: mt. fuji, people, water walks in the suburbs of tokyo. Comments Off on Niiza (新座市)

A couple of Sundays ago we headed off to the Oedo Antique Market (大江戸骨董市) at the Tokyo International Forum near Yurakucho Station. We were a bit worried that we would have similar luck as when we tried to go to the flea market in Harajuku which was no more. I was expecting something like the flea market in Shinagawa, but this was totally different. Instead of mostly junk and cheap prices, this place had really cool, real antiques, with prices to match.

If you are interested, you can get there easily from a number of stations, including Tokyo Station, Hibiya Station, and Ginza Station. We exited at the Hibiya Station and hung out in Hibiya Park, listening to music and enjoying the fine weather. Things begin at 9 a.m. on the first and third Sundays each month. Some stalls were closing up at around 3 even though it is supposed to last until 4 p.m.

Posted on May 24th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: people, Tokyo. Comments Off on Oedo Antique Flea Market

While walking through Inokashira Park (井の頭公園) last Saturday we stumbled upon Rikimaru Toho (東方力丸), who I recognized from a piece I saw about him on TV. I asked him if he was the guy I saw on TV, and he said he was. We spoke only in Japanese, and he said he only does his manga readings in Japanese (while offering to do one for us). As Ryan contemplated which manga he would like Mr. Toho to read to us, he did one of his dramatic readings for another couple.

Above is his collection of very faded manga which customers can choose from. If you’d like to experience 東方力丸 in person I understand he can usually be found in Inokashira Park on the weekends during the day or at Shimokitazawa Station on weekend nights. He looks like he could be homeless, and I hear he started in this line of work by selling used manga that others had thrown away, but who knows if these things are true? I will chat with him in more depth if I ever see him again.

Posted on May 13th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: inokashira, Japanese Manga, people. Comments Off on Manga reading dude in Inokashira Park

In English, one would probably call this a parade. In Japanese 軍団出陣 implies the soldiers are heading to the front lines of battle, and such is the nature of the Takeda Shingen Parade. The loudspeaker calls out which regiment is summoned to the front lines as dramatic music plays through the streets.

You may remember the guy on horseback in the top photo from this earlier picture.

If it weren’t for the thousands of people in modern dress watching, and the retail outlets surrounding the scene, your imagination could take you back a few hundred years to the actual events. The Shingen Ko Matsuri (Takeda Shingen Festival or 信玄公祭り) is your next best thing to a time machine.

Posted on May 5th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: kofu, people. Comments Off on 甲州軍団出陣 Off to battle

The only things you can count on in Japan are surprises. Ellie had her 12th birthday party a couple Saturdays ago at Yoyogi Park. It wasn’t a surprise party. Ellie invited 8 friends (from 6 different countries), and the party went off as planned.

Near the end a Japanese guy came up to the group and asked me if I spoke Japanese. He explained that he runs a website, n-a-u.jp, which is sort of like itunes, and would like to know if the girls would be willing to have their photos on the website for free t-shirts. Of course the aspiring models were willing.

Posted on May 2nd, 2010 under Japan. Tags: ellie, harajuku, people. Comments: 1