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July 31, 2007
Tokyo Food Expo 2007
Lots of food and drink articles recently (burp!): wine, green tea, beer, shochu, sushi etc.
This article on Japan's changing diet was the first of 4 for the Japan Journal. The basic story is that Japan's diet is becoming more Westernized causing all sorts of health problems (although the distinction between "Western" and "Japanese" diets is not that simple it seems)
I visited Foodex 2007 back in March for the article -- definitely the most crowded expo I've been to in Japan.
As it happens, I was back at the Makuhari Messe convention center last week for the Tokyo Adult Expo. The sexpo probably had less than a 10th of the number of stalls than Foodex though; it looks like Japan has its priorities sorted out!
"For three days this March at Tokyo’s Makuhari Messe convention center, Foodex Japan 2007 offered visitors a veritable cornucopia of culinary delights. Nearly 10,000 people came to take in an array of food and drink from sixty-four countries. In the Mexican section of the international food exhibition, a young woman wearing a gigantic sombrero was advertising Mexican pork. In the Japanese section, two middle-aged Japanese ladies were ladling out bowls of noodles to a line of hungry visitors. Another company had set up a stall displaying a range of cherryblossom foodstuffs . . . Read more
Posted by tony at 11:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 28, 2007
Hachiko
I'm reading "Tokyo Rising", a lively history of the Showa-era city by Edward Seidensticker.
Here's a little nugget about the Hachiko statue at Shibuya station, erected to a faithful pet dog who waited there every evening for 10 years after his master died.
Seidensticker is a bit sceptical
"Such observers of [Hachiko's] behaviour as the novelist Ooka Shohei have held that he did not go to the station in the evening at all, but hung around it the whole day through, waiting to be fed."
Wikipedia says they discovered yakitori skewers in the dog's stomach after he died. In the end Hachiko was stuffed and put on display at the National Science Museum in Ueno.
Posted by tony at 11:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 26, 2007
Showa 1945-1989 exhibition
A belated blog about the Showa photo exhibition on at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. The exhibition (which I visited a few weeks ago) is in four parts and has photos from 1945 to 1989.
As a photographer friend pointed out, the Showa era started in 1925, but I guess the bit before Sept. 2nd 1945 got air-brushed out of this exhibition. The photo on the cover of the guide is of a young women emerging from a bomb shelter.
One of the most surprising thing about the exhibition was how raw the photos from the '50s and '60s were - especially the section on nude photos.
On the other hand, the guide-book only had one Araki photo, who must be Japan's best known photographers overseas. The photo is of the emperor's funeral cortege of all things. I hope Araki gets a better showing in the later exhibitions.
Posted by tony at 11:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 23, 2007
more politics
Next Sunday's Upper House election looks like it could be tough for the ruling Liberal Democratic party: Japan Times article
While the politicians are busy pressing the flesh, and rattling windows with their loudspeaker vans, I've been wandering around the backstreets of Northern Tokyo taking photos of political posters. I've put a few online here
Oddly, most of the rubbish pick up points here are plastered with posters. I think maybe those are the only free spaces after the English conversation school posters get the best spots.
Posted by tony at 12:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 18, 2007
New Worlds, Old Politics
"Surprisingly, in a country with some of the fastest broadband speeds and a wide internet penetration, it is now illegal for candidates to create new websites or update existing web pages between now and election day, 29 July."
The BBC has an article about internet campaigning in Japan (or rather the lack of it).
One thing the article didn't mention is that Japan's politicians are overwhelmingly elderly, male and un-wired. I suspect many of them struggle with e-mail, never mind Second Life. And obviously, the politicians most likely to have the power to change the rules are the oldest and most analogue too.
P.S. If anyone wants to explore the Japanese Second Life with me, I am Burton Nozomi. (Might be an idea to email me first as I am rarely logged on)
Posted by tony at 06:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 13, 2007
camera-otoko.com
This is now officially a text based blog!
I'll keep updating my portfolio, but the occasional photos I used to post here have now moved to my photo-blog www.camera-otoko.com.
Posted by tony at 02:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 12, 2007
maternity marks
nice article from the fantastic Ping Mag on the maternity badges Japanese women wear to try and get a seat on crowded trains.
As I noticed when my wife was pregnant though, unfortunately commuters are often to engrossed in their manga comics (or too asleep!) to see the little badge.
On time there was a young man snoozing in the "priority seat". I tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at my wife. Never seen somebody move so fast!
Posted by tony at 11:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 11, 2007
Photo story for the Number One Shimbun
This is a photo-story for the Number One Shimbun (the magazine of the Japan Foreign Correspondents Club)
"These photos of political posters were taken on the streets near my home. I live in Kita Ward, an area just below Saitama Prefecture, with Ikebukuro and Shinjuku to its south. In the last general election the local constituency was won by Akihiro Ohta, who has since become the leader of Komeito.
This is a lively shitamachi area, with crowded covered arcades, tatty but busy bars, small theaters and several sento (tattoos allowed). . . . ."
read the rest and see the photo-story
Posted by tony at 11:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack