Winter Illumination : 冬の風物詩（fuyu no fuubutsushi, Special Attractions of Winter) 7

Winter Illumination

Nabana no Sato 2011

 Winter illuminations around Christmas have become a popular attraction in cities across Japan, which is equivalent to fireworks displays carried out throughout Japan in summer. They are both a wonderful way to enjoy nights despite negative aspects of the Japanese weather.

 Many illumination displays are free and easily accessible by public transportation, on the other hand, there are some amusement parks and theme parks which provide people breathtaking and fantastic scenes of illumination after sunset.

Here are top 10 sites.

★Huis Ten Bosch "The Kingdom of Light"   
Oct.31 - Apr.13, 2015 : Sasebo City, Nagasaki

 The number of bulbs has exceeded more than 11 million to brighten one of the world's largest illuminations. The Kingdom of Light has continued evolving since the creation in 2010, and a new scene has been created this year. "The Canal of Light and Fountain" is the first display in Japan. Whenever a ship goes through the canal, the water shines in rainbow colors while the fountain is playing. It is like a fantastic "Dream Land".

★Kobe Luminarie
Dec.4 - Dec.15 : Kobe Chuo-ward, Hyogo  (free)

 This event started as the requiem for the victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995. It has become the main winter attraction in Kobe. The theme changes every year, and about 200,000 lights brighten the street in accordance with music.






★Yomiuri Land Jewllumination
Nov.7 -Mar.15, 2015 : Inagi City, Tokyo

 This started in 2010 being designed by Mikiko Ishii who is a famous lighting designer. The number of light balls has been scaled up from 2 million last year to 3 million. She produced the illumination newly by using  "forest jewelry colors", "aqua jewelry colors" and "lovely jewelry colors"in addition to the world's first 7 kinds of jewelry colors.

★Seibuen Amusement Park
Nov.14 - Jan.4, 2015 : Tokorozawa City, Saitama

  It has been five years since Seibuen amusement park started the illumination display, which is one of the largest illuminations in the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area. A lot of people visit including people from outside of the prefecture. The number of LED lights this year significantly increased from last year's 2.2 million to 3 million balls and the area called "Illumi Stage".  where people can enjoy the lights and music show, has been expanded. Furthermore, "Stairs Candle Illumination" using 2,000 candles has made its debut.

★OSAKA Light Renaissance 2014
Dec.14-25  Kita-Ward, Osaka    (free)

  Brilliant lights in every corner of Osaka are integrated into the "Osaka Light Festival 2014" which is held in the Nakanoshima area as a core program.    There is "Miotsukushi Promenade" with a romantic landscape in the south of Osaka City Hall garden, and "the Opera of Lights 2014" at the historic Osaka Central Public Hall which is covered with lights, images and music is the highlight of the show, as well. There is also a dining zone called "Hikari no Marche ; Marche of Lights", where people can enjoy European gourmet food.

★Pageant of Lights 2014
Dec.12 - 25  Sendai City, Miyagi   (free)

 This is the 29th winter attraction in Sendai. The zelkova trees along Jozenji street shine like stars with several hundred thousand lights balls, under the slogan of "the stage of joy and inspiration"



★Nabana no Sato Winter Illumination
Oct.25 - Mar.31, 2015   Kuwana City, Mie

 This theme park of food, flowers, greens and spas was established with the idea of a small village with the dreamlike waterside scenery of Riv. Nagaragawa. It is one of the largest scaled illuminations in Japan, including the garden around a pond being lit up. Three kinds of locally brewed beer are sold at the Nagashima brewery inside of the park.

★Ashikaga Flower Park "the Garden of Lights and Flowers"
Oct.25 - Feb.1, 2015    Ashikaga City, Tochigi

  "Light of the Flower Garden" which has increased in volume from last year's 2.1 million balls to 2.5 million balls was designated a Japanese Night View heritage, and it is one of the biggest in the three sites in Kanto area. This year "Miracle Oofuji(big wisteria flowers)" is attracting people as if they were like real wisteria in full bloom, wavering in the spring wind.


★Winter Vista Illumination 2014
Dec.6 - Dec.25  Tachikawa City, Tokyo

The area from the Tachikawaguchi gateway to the open area for meetings in the Tokyo oasis, National Showa Memorial Park has been covered with tender lights. This year, a fantastic Water Laser Show appears in the water beside the 5-merter high Candle Tower. People can enjoy the collaboration of fireworks and lights on Dec.23rd and 24th.

★Tokyo German Village, Winter Illumination 2014-2015
Nov.8 - Mar.31, 2015  Sodegaura City, Chiba

The Illumination in the Tokyo German Village is one of Kanto's three largest illuminations. People can enjoy the illumination with the theme which changes every year. The two million LED light bulbs produce a beautiful world with fresh excitement and a fantastic atmosphere.

Ｂ級ご当地グルメ ( B-kyuu gotoochi gurume, B-class Local Gourment) --- Japanese Cuisine 9

Atsugi shirokoro-horumon

B-kyu Gotochi Gurume

  "B-class local gourmet" is the term for simple yet tasty foods like udon noodles, yakisoba(fried noodles)  curry, bowls of rice topped with different ingredients. Those are usually simple and cheap but tasty, prepared using mainly local ingredients.

Hachinohe senbei-jiru

  B-1 Grand Prix Competition (B-kyu Gotochi Gurume Festival) is annually held nationwide to invigorate the local areas by introducing popular local foods, deepening knowledge of the place and strengthening ties between regions.

 In 2006 when the first festival was held, there were only 10 participating groups and 17,000 visitors, and it has gained popularity throughout Japan. This year 2014, there were 59 groups and 453,000 visitors in the festival in Kooriyama City, Fukushima.

Yokote yakisoba

The Winning Dishes
  Atsugi shirokoro-horumon (grilled beef or pork intestine) won the championship at the 3rd event in 2009, Yokote yakisoba(fried noodles) at the 4th, Kofu motsuni (stewed chicken intestines)  at the 5th, Hachinohe senbei-jiru(hot pot dish with rice crackers) at the 7th, and Towada-barayaki (beef ribs) at the 9th.

たこやき ( takoyaki, Octopus Ball) ---- Japanese Cuisine 8

たこやき (takoyaki, octopus ball)

  Takoyaki are grilled octopus balls. Ingredients include batter, octopus, green onion, tempura scraps (tenkasu) and pickled ginger. Sold at street stands, takoyaki are grilled on an iron plate, and served with bonito flakes,  and green laver(aonori), a thick sauce and sometimes mayonnaise.

  Crisp takoyaki on the outside and soft chewy in the center is considered as the best.

おにぎり、Onigiri : Japanese Cuisine 7

 Onigiri 

  Onigiri are rice balls of round or triangular shape. It is a popular food taken out of on picnics or eating while traveling.

 Onigiri originated as a food when refrigerators didn't exist yet. So the Japanese came up with a method to keep the rice fresh longer by filling the center with salty or sour ingredient as natural preservatives.

 Onigiri are available from convenience stores, restaurants and supermarkets in Japan. People also make them at home.

  Popular fillings are Umeboshi(pickled Japanese plum), Tsuna Mayo (tuna & mayonnaise), Shake(salted salmon), Ikura (salted salmon roe), Tarako (salted cod roe), Mentaiko (salted cod roe spiced with red pepper), Konbu (dried kelp), Takana(takana pickles)  and so on. They are wrapped with Nori(a dried seaweed-laver sheet), or sprinkled with sesame seeds and salt.


  Yaki Onigiri Grilled Onigiri
Yaki Onigiri are plain rice onigiri that are grilled with soy sauce until golden brown and crunchy. 

初音ミク (はつね みく, hatsune miku)

日本のサブカルチャー　(nihon no sabukaluchaa) Japanese Subculture 4

初音ミク(Hatsune Miku)

  Hatsune Miku, sometimes referred to as Miku Hatsune, is a virtual singing idol developped by Crypton Future Media, headquartered in Sapporo city. She is the second Vocaloid sold using the Vocaloid 2 engine, and her voice is sampled from Japanese voice actress Saki Fujita.

　

  Hatsune Miku has perfromed at her concerts onstage as an animated projection, that is a new style of enjoying music. Her popularity has spread around the world with the performance collaborating even with classical music. She performed as the opening act for Lady Gaga’s concert.

新幹線 (しんかんせん, shinkansen) : Japan's Technology 1

 Shinkansen

Shinkansen & Mt. Fuji

 The Shinkansen is a super express train also known as the "bullet train".  It started the service in 1964, the year of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Asama-Nagano shinkansen

 The Shinkansen network has been gradually expanding since then and now is almost nationwide from Shin-Aomori Station located in the northern part of Honshu the main island to Kagoshima-Chuo Station in the southern part of the Kyushu island.

Hayabusa-Tohoku Shinkansen

 If you take the Shinkansen between these two stations, it takes about ten and a half hours, which is much faster than the three days it takes by taking local trains one after another. The top speed at the time of starting operation was 210km/h but now it is 320km/h.

 It has a worldwide reputation for being extremely punctual and safe with very few delays and an extremely low mortality rate.

食品サンプル (shokuhin sanpuru) Food Sample

A mouse cover

日本の文化 (nihon no bunka) Japanese Culture 8

食品サンプル (shokuhin sampuru)  Food Sample

 Sample food was originally made as a way of attracting customers who could see it in a glass case outside of restaurants and imagine what they wanted to eat. In the Taisho Period, some one hundred years ago, the sample food was made of wax but these days the ingredients are plastic and silicone.

They look like real!!

Samples of a crepe

 It is helpful and indispensable not only for foreigners but also for Japanese people especially when we cannot decide what kind of food we want to eat in a restaurant area where there are a variety of Japanese food restaurants such as Washoku-ya, Udon-ya, Soba-ya, Tonkatsu-ya, Ramen-ya in addition to multinational food restaurants. It's very nice that you can easily draw a picture in your mind of your food and the amount you want and then decide a meal before you get in and hear "Irasshaimase" from a restaurant worker.
                                                                                                                           
 You can buy mini versions of sample food on key chains and phone straps for souvenirs.    

だるま- Daruma

日本の文化 (nihon no bunka) Japanese Culture 7

だるま (Daruma dolls)

だるま

 Daruma are dolls without hands and feet representing the sitting meditation (zazen) posture of Bodhidharma, founder of the Zen sect. His legs were said to be paralyzed because of the continuous meditation on top of a rock for some nine years with his legs crossed.

だるま市 (Daruma Fair)

  Most daruma are made of papier-mache and painted red except for the face. The bottom is heavy and works as a tumbler. Because it bounces back to its original position when it's pushed over, it serves as a good luck charm. There is the custom of painting in the eyes, which are usually white,when a wish has been fulfilled.

自動販売機(じどうはんばいき, jidoo hanbaiki)

 日本の文化　(nihon no bunka) Japanese Culture 6

自動販売機（じどうはんばいき、jidoo hanbaiki)    Vending Machines

  Vending machines are everywhere throughout Japan. Products in them range widely, from drinks cigarettes, sweets flowers, cup noodles to underwear. Vending machines are probably more widespead in Japan than anywhere else in the world.

 Even when stores are closed  items can be purchased from vending machines, so they are convenient for consumers. in addition, it is said that they would be provisions in the case of natural disasters.

 The biggest reason why vending machines have proliferated in Japan is "safety".

 

The Vending Machine speaks Osaka-ben

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百円ショップ ( Hyakuen shoppu, 100-yen shop )

せんす (Sensu)

日本の文化 (nihon no bunka) Japanese Culture 5

百円ショップ (Hyakuen shoppu, 100-yen shop)　
(Acutually 108 yen including consumption tax) 


100 yen shops are very popular in Japan for not only the cheap price but also the quality for the price. The
goods in 100 yen shops are abundant in varieties of daily neccesities such as kichenware, underwear, bags, cosmetics, gardening materials, food and so on.

There are thousands of 100 yen shops across Japan, ranging in size from multi-story department stores to small corners in shopping malls. Some of the largest 100 yen shops in Japan are Daiso Harajuku in Tokyo, Daiso Sapporo Chuo in Sapporo city, Hokkaido, Daiso Osaka Keihan City Mall, Daiso Kobe Sannomiya Centergai, and Daiso Fukuoka Kotsu Center near Hakata Station.

電気炊飯器（Denki suihanki, Electric Rice Cooker) -- 日本の発明 (nihon no hatsumei) Japanese Invention 1

  Denki Suihanki (Electric Rice Cooker)

 In the past, cooking rice was not as easy as now. Housewives had to watch the rice cooking on a stove( in many cases a fire), hoping the grains didn't burn or stick to the pot. Thanks to the invention, it contributed for them a lot to decrease cooking time.　

Kamado

First Electric Rice Cooker

IH Rice Cooker

 Since Toshiba Electric Corporation produced the first fuccessful electric rice cookers in 1956, electric rice cookers have developed to IH (Induction Heating) cookers which enable to make rice tastier.

日本の世界遺産 (Nihon no Sekai Isan) World Heritage in Japan 2

Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)

  The UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) encompasses 17 locations in Japan, within the city of Kyoto and its immediate vicinity.

Kinkaku-ji

  The locations are in three cities: Kyoto and Uji (Kyoto Prefecture) and Ōtsu (Shiga Prefecture). Of the monuments, 13 are Buddhist temples, three are Shinto shrines and one is a castle.

Kiyomizudera

  The properties include 38 buildings designated by the Japanese government as National Treasures, 160 properties designated as Important Cultural Properties, eight gardens designated as Special Places of Scenic Beauty, and four designated as Places of Scenic Beauty.

 UNESCO listed the site as World 
Heritage in 1994, which marks the 1200th anniversary of the transfter of national capital to Kyoto.

   Welcome to Kyoto http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/theme/sites/shrines/w_heritage/

日本の世界遺産 (Nihon no Sekai Isan) World Heritage in Japan 1

Mr.Fuji & Lake Kawaguchi

Mt. Fuji was designated as Japan's 17th site of World Heritage in January in 2013.

Mt.Fuji in Ukiyoe

It spans roughly 70,000 hectares, including Sengen Shrine at its foot, five major lakes, the Shiraito Falls and the Hiho-no-Matsubara pine grove. Mt. Fuji is Japan's highest mountain (3,776 meters high), known throughout the world for its beauty.
　　　　《Mt.Fuji from Shinkansen》

日本の料理 (nihon no ryoori) Japanese Cuisine 6

お節料理（おせちりょうり、osechi-ryoori )

Osechi-ryori are special side dishes for the New Year holidays. A variety of ingredients such as seafood, black beans, rolled kelp, and vegetables are prepared and arranged artfully in a set of layered lacquer boxes.

Traditional style Osechi

Modern Osechi