Urban Renewal!

 The :Now" picture was taken from Shibuya Sky, a rooftop viewing area with panoramic views

No, the escalator does not rise from the ground floor, but it's the most scenic escalator we've ever ridden. 

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

American...or Japanese?

There are over 1,300 Mister Donut shops in Japan. This is the one and only shop remaining in the US, in Godfrey, Illinois. The backstory is that when Mister Donut was purchased by Dunkin Donuts, franchisees were offered the opportunity to rebrand their stores. This well-known "American" shop in Japan is virtually unknown in America now. 

Recently, ToyrRUs re-entered the US market with a flagship store in the American Dream mall in New Jersey, where the chain had started decades before. Meanwhile, there are 80 ToysRUs stores all across Japan. 

Tullys Coffee started in Seattle, as Starbucks was growing rapidly. While Tullys roasts and sells coffee in the US under its brand (owned now by Keurig) the stores in the US have all closed. There are over 600 Tully's coffee shops in Japan, giving Starbucks some competition here. 

Vie de France started in the US, and has a major business selling frozen baked products there, but its bakeries in the US total a mere 4, all in Maryland and DC. Yamazaki Bakeries of Japan bought the chain, and grew the chain in Japan to 263 stores nationwide. 

The franchisee became the franchiser! Ito Yokado is the franchisee for all of Japan for the 7/11 brand, and after prospering with the brand, it purchased Southland Corporation, the owner of the brand and franchiser worldwide. The very first 7-11 store in Japan opened not far from our apartment. 

 

Our Neighbourhood, On the World Stage!

I would suggest that no city and no country has benefited from hosting the Olympics to the degree that Tokyo and Japan did in 1964. It was just as television was proliferating, and showed the world a modern Japan, no doubt influencing people's opinions when it came time to purchase Japanese-made products. 

This year's Olympics could easily be the least beneficial of all Olympics, but despite empty seats, they're going on. As you watch this video, the archery and aquatic venues (3:45-3:53) are a few hundred meters south of our apartment. 

 

Bullet Train Bentos Right In Our Neighbourhood

We used to look at this building from our previous apartment here in Shiohama. One of our families lives right across the road from this place! 
 

Have You Ever Seen a COVID Store?

This whole store sells only masks (and maybe some hand sanitizer, too) Masks in any style and price point to suit the discerning consumer! 

 

The High Cost of Housing

The turtles have had to double up because of high rent in our part ot Tokyo!

In our area, there are many parks located along streams that were once canals. The whole area was swampland in the Middle Ages and channels were dug as land was reclaimed. The canals were used for transporting heavy and bulky loads, so our area was once heavily industrial and has rapidly become residential as factories and warehouses moved out. 

 

Our Neighbourhood Yaoya!

 Two 2 ton trucks go to the food terminal in Tokyo early in the morning and get good deals on whatever they can get cheap, and then haul it all back to our neighbourhood. They set up this place and open at 1:30pm, and the locals come shopping. No guarantee they'll have green peppers or anything else you might be looking for in stock today. But, whatever they have is a real deal. The guy in the middle of the picture talks non-stop all day, welcoming people and shouting out the deals they have. A little of the old Japan persists, even in the midst of the big city with all the chain stores. 

Blue Lights

 

In an effort to keep you informed, I stole this article from a newsletter from Japan Mission (jm@japanmission.org if you'd like to subscribe)

  Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Leaping from a station platform into the path of an oncoming train has been a common choice. It is a brutal, disruptive end that can also wreak havoc across the transit system.

        Many stations have gone to great expense to install chest-high platform barriers to prevent such suicide attempts. Much is being done to speed up the process to install these barriers, but 70 percent of Japan's largest stations still do not have them.

        In the meantime, station operators have employed an alternative solution to save lives, by installing small square LED panels that emit a pleasant, deep-blue glow. Operating on the theory that exposure to blue light has a calming effect on one’s mood, rail stations in Japan began installing these LED panels as a suicide-prevention measure in 2009. They are strategically located at the ends of each platform — typically the most-isolated areas, and accordingly, the point from which most platform jumps occur.

        This approach has proven to be surprisingly effective. According to one study by researchers, data analyzed over a 10-year period showed an 84 percent decline in the number of suicide attempts at stations where blue lights were installed.

Shocking When Stated This Way...

 In Japan, more people died from suicide last month than from Covid in all of 2020 - CNN

Put on the Headphones, and Enjoy Tokyo!

 

3 Ukuleles, 1 Guitar, 1 Bass Ukulele, 1 Tamborine, 1 Cajon

 

 

Practice before our Sunday Gathering

The thick strings are the indication that this is a bass ukulele. When connected to an amplifier, it sounds like a bass guitar. 

Same, Same but Different

 

This unsual "bridge" allows a road running along a high ridge on a mountain to continue at a lower level. It's in the scenic Izu peninsula. 

We have the same kind of "bridge" right in front of our apartment building! This one is not for cars, but for bicycles. 

This enables cyclist to traverse the train tracks and then cross to the next island. Our apartment is in the building at the top left, right side, third floor. 

The Population of Canada, In One Place

Because of COVID 19, the Tokyo Skytree (taller than the CN Tower, by the way) has been encouraging people to visit by offering a 50% discount. That was enough for us to go and check it out. The greater Tokyo area has a population equal to the population of Canada. We've just included a couple of pictures here to give you an idea of what Canada squished into one place would look like.

First, the immediate neighourhood, with the Sumida river and Asakusa across the bridge, and a sightseeing boat (with social distancing of course) heading down the river.

Next, a shot of the eastern part of Tokyo. Our apartment is somewhere to the south, and in the haze beyond is Tokyo Bay. It's impossible to capture "downtown Tokyo" in one picture, because the areas surrounding each major station on the Yamanote central circle train line are separate "downtowns" each with their own character. 

And here's a shot of the Skytree at nighttime, with the Arakawa river visible in the top left corner.