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!