Nicki Yoshihara, Author at Tokiotours

Doing hard time just got easier with this lovely mascot employed by a Hokkaido prison

Posted on Sep 17, 2013 in Japanese customs, News, Stories about Japan |

A Japanese prison housing a range of convicted criminals has unveiled a cuddly life-size mascot that bosses hope will help change the jail’s forbidding image. Officials say Asahikawa Prison in Hokkaido is too often thought of only as a dark place with imposing gray walls and not as a place of rehabilitation. They hope “Katakkuri-chan”, a nearly two-meter humanoid with a huge square face and an enormous purple flower for hair, will make people understand the true nature of...

Former train station renovated, now offers a unique dining experience

Posted on Sep 17, 2013 in History of Japan, Must see, Things to do, Where to eat |

Manseibashi Station (万世橋駅 Manseibashi-eki) can refer to two closed railway stations all in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. One was a railway station on the Japanese Government Railways Chūō Main Line and the other was a subway station in the Tokyo Subway network. Both stations were closed by 1943, though trains and subway cars still pass through them. The stations took their name from the nearby bridge, Manseibashi. The railway station was located on the south bank of the Kanda...

The shocking truth: One in four Japanese 65 years or older

Posted on Sep 17, 2013 in News, Stories about Japan |

Twenty-five percent of the population is now estimated to be 65 or older, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry announced ahead of Respect-for-the-Aged Day on Moday. As of Sunday, the number of elderly people in the nation was a record 31.86 million, an increase of 1.12 million, or 0.9 percentage point, year on year. This is one in four of every Japanese. The ministry attributed this situation to the fact that baby boomers are beginning to reach the age of 65. By...

20 Tokyo ramen shops you have to visit

Posted on Sep 16, 2013 in Where to eat |

From Jiro to Kiraku: the ultimate crash-course in Tokyo ramen Tokyo is a city of 100,000 restaurants, and sometimes it feels like half of them are serving the same dish: ramen. The nation’s most popular fast food comes in various guises, from simple, comforting chuka soba to rich Hakata-style tonkotsu and flavour bombs like the fiery noodles served at Mouko Tanmen Nakamoto. Rather than attempt to list all of the good ramen restaurants in Tokyo, we consulted some...

Where to go: Shinjuku Golden Gai, After7

Posted on Sep 16, 2013 in Japanese customs, Must see, Things to do, Where to drink |

Shinjuku Golden Gai (新宿ゴールデン街) is a small area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, famous both as an area of architectural interest and for its nightlife. It is composed of a network of six narrow alleys, connected by even narrower passageways which are just about wide enough for a single person to pass through. Over 200 tiny shanty-style bars, clubs and eateries are squeezed into this area. History Golden Gai was known for prostitution before 1958, when prostitution became illegal....

Secret treasures of Japan: Origami

Posted on Sep 16, 2013 in History of Japan, Japanese customs, Japanese technology, Stories about Japan |

Origami (折り紙), Japanese: ‘ori’ means to fold and ‘kami’ paper, is a traditional Japanese folding art and developed in the Edo period. Origami uses a limited number of folds but due to the combination of these folds intriguing designs are possible. The art originates in China during the first or second century, shortly after the invention of paper. From China it came to Japan, where it gained its shape and form as we know it today. In general the...

How to drink… Shochu (Japanese gin or vodka)

Posted on Sep 16, 2013 in History of Japan, Japanese customs, Japanese technology, Things to do, What to buy, Where to drink |

While sake is familiar to millions outside of Asia, shochu is the drink of choice amongst the Japanese. Since 2003, shipments of shochu within Japan have outstripped sake and the trend shows no sign of reversing. Shochu can be made from barley, sweet potatoes or rice and is distilled like whisky, unlike sake, which is brewed similarly to beer. The shochu is then aged in oak barrels giving the drink more kick (it averages around 25 percent alcohol, rising to 40 percent for...

A guide to Japanese whisky

Posted on Sep 16, 2013 in History of Japan, Japanese customs, Things to do, What to buy, Where to drink |

In Ian Fleming’s You Only Live Twice, the Australian spy Dikko Henderson gets a vile hangover drinking Japanese whisky. James Bond, more of a martini man, is amazed that Dikko would even consider drinking that gutrot, saying, ‘I can’t believe Japanese whisky makes a good foundation for anything.’ That neatly sums up the attitude of most foreigners to Japanese whisky for most of its more than 80-year history. In 2001, that all started to change when a 10-year-old Yoichi made...

September 16th, respect for the elderly day in Japan

Posted on Sep 16, 2013 in History of Japan, Japanese customs, Stories about Japan |

Japan has many strange holidays. In the past there were religious holidays, but the government decided that religious days should not be celebrated as public holidays unlike all the other religions in the world like for instance the Christians who celebrate chrismas and other major Christian holidays, or the Jewish people who celebrate passover or Muslims who celebrate their sugar feast at the end of the fasting period. I could go on and on. Many countries celebrate their...

Tags