Give Them an Inch...

...and they'll build on it! Or so it seems in Japan. 

Here you have a house, a noodle shop and apartments, built on a minimum footprint!

 

Which is Closer to English?

When it comes to syntax, it's Vietnamese, but I'd prefer Japanese to all those tones in Vietnamese. Interestingly, Vietnamese also had Chinese written characters, but centuries ago when the Bible was translated into Vietnamese a romanized system was introduced, and everyone switched over to that. Well, that's easier than Japanese, but still, those tones are a big problem in Vietnamese. 

 

A Familiar Name...

About 500 meters from our apartment is this office building, and at first the logo and name on the top might not seem out of place. 

But wait a minute! This is Japan! 

Foreign insurance companies, including Manulife, have entered the Japanese market, and appear to be prospering here, in spite of well-established domestic insurance companies. This is not Manulife's office, but rather a Manulife investment asset being used for advertising value. 

 

Sailing Across...The Lawn?

The Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology is right in our neighbourhood, and on the historic campus is the Meiji Maru, a ship built in Scotland in the late 1800s and used to service lighthouses around Japan. 

It's a good thing they put the anchor out, so it won't drift away! 

The museum beside the ship is probably not on the tourist travel guides, but it's an interesting place to visit. An unknown gem, right in our neighbourhood!

 

The New "Old" Building

 

The first time I ran past the Kudan Kaikan in central Tokyo, I was intrigued by the "East meets West" architecture, but then I wondered "How safe would a building like that be in an earthquake?" 

Then thought, "I'm finally thinking like a resident of Tokyo!" 

This building did have an interesting history. It was built in the 1930's and was used as a military rest house during World War II. With a large auditorium and meeting rooms it was used for many concerts and film premiers over the years. 

But, in 2011 during the earthquake that caused the triple disaster in northern Japan, part of the auditorium ceiling collapsed, killing two and injuring many people The building remained closed after that. 

In Japan, people look at buildings built prior to the newest standard of earthquake-resistant architecture "old" and "unsafe". The best that can be done to preserve them is what was done with Kudan Kaikan, as you can see below. Keep the facade, and build a new building within the footprint of the old building. 

Because of fires, floods, earthquakes, and also the bombings of World War II there are so few old buildings in Tokyo, so it's always good to see one being preserved, at least in part. 

Do "Barbecue" and "November" Go Together?

Yes, in Japan they do! We've been doing barbecues in early November for more than 20 years and have never been rained out, nor has it been too cold to enjoy. 

But I can tell you than in more than 20 years, the children never quite get the hang of doing S'mores, although they all want to try, at least.

 

Portmanteaus!

 When you combine two words, you've got a portmanteau, and Japanese have a real right-brain approach to English expressions. If they want to be precise, they'll use Japanese. If they want to give an impression, they'll use English. 

Sure, when you want to combine "fresh" and "precious" for your drinking water system, just make up a new word. Why not? 

This one isn't readable in English, but uses English. The script at the top says "Nihon (Japan) Logitem" for Logistics+System