Yokojukken-gawa-shinsui park

Before the “tsuyu”-rainy season-,nowadays,it’s one of the best seasons for a walk in the nature.

In Koto-ku, there are some parks or promenades along the canals.

 Yokojukken-gawa-shinsui park is one of them.

This park is 1.9k long, 5.1ha in area.

In this park you enjoy boating and especially for children,playing on the playing equipement on the warter.

Japnese iris are now in full bloom.

And you can also see some wild birds,like a Japanese cormorant or some kinds of heron.

If you have a chance,you can see a spot-billed duck with her baby birds!

About Yokojukken-gawa-shinsui park

https://www.city.koto.lg.jp/seikatsu/douro/10078/17620.html

By M. O.

Let’s Walk Around Toyosu Area

A lot of sunshine.  Temperature is very pleasant.

May is a very good season to walk around the town.

When you feel like spending a holiday somewhere nice,

Toyosu can be one of your choices.

【Toyosu】

Toyosu, one of the rapidly developing area in Koto city, can provide a variety of places to visit.

The following is a list of “where-to-go” in Toyosu.

1.    Urban Dock Lalaport Toyosu ( 3 minutes-walk from the Metro Toyosu station)

There are more than 180 shops and restaurants.

You can purchase anything you want and you can eat anything you like.

Recently many tour buses visit this shopping complex.

2.    KiZania Tokyo

Inside of Lalaport, children can experience his or her future job in Kizania.

They can be a pilot, flight attendant, bank officer or even a surgeon.

3.    Toyosu Civic center ( 1 minute-walk from the Metro Station)

          A new tall building (built in Sep 2015) provide a variety of information.

          You may enjoy concerts or performance on the 5^th floor, where you can see

          Rainbow Bridge in Odaiba from the stage.

          If you are a book lover, you can read or rent a novel or a magazine from the library on the 9^th floor.

          There is a gold statue “Byakko(a white tiger) in front of the entrance.

4.    Toyosu Park( 2 minute walk from the Metro Station)

      A beautiful grass field with colorful playing tools for children can be found

         near Lalaport.  On weekends, young parents and their children enjoy their

  “obento (lunch)” under the sun.

Toyosu Civic Center

Byakko statue

Lalaport from Toyosu Park

The above are very popular places you can visit. Today let me recommend one more place to visit: “ Gas Science Museum”.

【Gas Science Museum】

Gas Science Museum is just a 6-minute walk from the exit 7 of Toyosu Metro Station.

When you get out of the station, you will pass “Toyosu civic center” and Toyosu Park (explained above) and easily reach the entrance of Gas Science Museum soon.

This museum (2-story and rooftop) is operated by Tokyo Gas and have a lot of exhibits which you including young children can touch and learn a lot of things.

The main theme of this theme park is “Learning about all ”?” (questions) of energy and the environment, for your “!” (findings).

Good points of this museum

1.    Children (and parents) can learn many thing by participating in a science show with experiments and demonstrations

2.    A lot of programs(such as cooking) are provided

3.    Admission free

Another surprising thing here is that you can command a fine view on the grass on the rooftop. You can find a lot of skyscrapers across the canal and also can view the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower.

　

Lastly the attached is the picture of Toyosu Market, which is to open Nov 7 2016.

One more attractive spot is coming soon in Toyosu.

Toyosu became a very attractive spot in these years and still advancing.

Let’s find something new in Toyosu!.

By H. I.

Let’s go to Ningyocho! A district of old downtown Edo with history and tradition!!

 Ningyocho is located in central Tokyo’s Nihonbashi.  Ningyocho gets its name from being a town of dolls, ”ningyo”. About 400 years ago in the Edo era, puppet shows for the common people developed into affordable entertainment, gaining great popularity.
 There are still many traditional craft shops dating back to the Edo period and old established restaurants in “Amazake Yokocho” and other alleys.  One can find many items, such as a display of “tenugui” wash cloths, chinaware and incense.
 Ningyocho also features many popular shops serving traditional snacks such as “sembei”
rice crackers and “tai-yaki” fish shaped cakes, “ningyo-yaki” doll shaped cakes.

 If you feel hungry, you can find sushi restaurants and ”soba” noodles restaurants easily around there.
 You can also enjoy Japanese pubs, where you experience traditional Japanese fast food such as “yakitori” grilled chicken and ”tamagoyaki” soy-flavored omlets.

 Buying take-out foods such as croquettes, “karaage” Japanese fried chicken or other fried foods, ”tsukemono”, pickles , tofu and taking them back to your room for a party could create a wonderful memory of Japanese food.

 Enjoy a downtown shitamati atmosphere in Ningyocho.
Access  Ningyocho Subway Station： Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, Toei Asakusa Line
        Suitengu Subway Station： Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line

By I.O.

Yasukuni Shrine Honozumo (Ceremonial tournament held in the shrine’s precincts)

Do you know Sumo?  

Sumo is one of national sports in Japan, and has a history of 1400 years.     

Referring to the official brochure prepared by Japan Sumo Association, it is said that “the first Sumo matches were a form of ritual dedicated to the gods, with prayers for a bountiful harvest and were performed together with sacred dancing and dramas within the precincts of the shrine. Since then Sumo has been maintaining its religions protocol and formalities.  And Sumo has managed to survive with its formalized ritual and traditional etiquette intact making it unique among sports.”

If you are in Tokyo April 18th, and if you are interested in viewing Sumo, why not visiting Yasukuni Shrine, and experiencing Hono Zumo! 

The word “Hono” means, dedication to the gods, and Zumo is dullness of Sumo. 

The first Hono Zumo was held at 1869, comforting the Spirit of Yasukuni Shrine, at the enshrined festival.  Since then, this event has been held every year, without interruption.

In this event, you can have very rare opportunity to appreciate Sumo traditions, such as, comic Sumo performances, Sumo Jinku (Sumo Lively Song), Original dividing drums.  

You can see the tournaments given by 200 wrestlers, representing by Grand Champions (highest rank in sumo), Champions (second highest rank in sumo), and all rank will be lined up at this event. 

The Details;  

The dedication  :  Japan Sumo Association 

Date and Time  :  Monday, April 18th 2016  from 9am to 3pm 

Place           :  Sumo amphitheater , Yasukuni Shrine

Admission      :  Free

Program

1.Dohyo (sumo ring) festival     9:00am

2.Tournament starts            10:40am

Comic Sumo Performances,  Sumo Jinku,  Drumming, 

3.Worship                      1:30pm

4.Intermission and Tournament (Yokozuna and higher rank of wrestlers) 

2:00pm

5.End of tournament        3:00pm 

Capacity 

      6000 people, First come, First Served based

Useful information   

1 The main gate of Yasukuni Shrine is open at 6am. 

2. The Sumo ground Amphitheater entrance is open at 8:30am or little earlier, from Central entrance, or South Entrance.   

3. All explanation and announcements are in Japanese only.  

4. Due to “First come, First Served base” , early entry is strongly recommended. These couple of years, all seats are fully occupied by 12:00pm. Once 6000 seats are fully occupied, nobody is allowed to enter the Sumo amphitheater. .

5.  Once the intermission (2pm) , you are not allowed to leave the seat till the end of the event (3pm). 

6.  Nearest station to Yasukuni Shrine is either Kudanshita, or Ichigaya.  

This event is not held within Koto ward, where KEV is located, however, considering the value and richness of this Hono Zumo, KEV introduces this event. 

We hope you could have a chance to see this wonderful event, and enjoy Sumo wrestling.. 

Using this opportunity, we express our appreciation to Public Relations Section, Yasukuni Shrine for their approval and support with regard to Hono Zumo.

Please note that during most of April,  all Sumo wrestlers are on the tour around Japan. For the details, please access their home pages.

by Y. T.

Cherry blossom in 2016

From the end of March till early April, cherry trees in Japan burst into bloom. It is said that due to warm winter in this season, we can enjoy cherry blossom longer than the usual. Cherry blossom is the iconic flower of Japan. People love its elegant look consisted with subtle pink of five petals, those look like pink haze or cloud.

Among many varieties of cherry flowers, Somei-Yoshino is the most famous and commonly observed all over in Japan. Somei-yoshino blooms for a particularly short period and fall as soon as it opened. Not only its whitish elegant look, but also its fragile life dovetails Japanese aesthetic sensibility. Since ancient era, Japanese reflects their short and mortal lives to cherry blossoms’ fragile life.

This year, cherry blossom season has come again. Not only Japanese but also many foreign tourists seem enjoy cherry blossom that colors pink all over in Japan. 　by A.C 

Cherry blossom along each side of Meguro river

Would you like enjoying flower blooming season in Japan ?

If so, please join our free walking tours !

A joyful spring has come !

Hina dolls

It has already been in March. For Japanese, March is the joyful month in which we are relieved from dark & chilly winter and enjoy sunny, warm and flower blooming days.

The representative ceremony of spring is girls' festival or Momo no Sekku on 3rd March. Momo means a peach, Sekku is a ceremony. At Momo no Sekku, each household having daughter prays the girls’ happiness and joyful life. Momo no Sekku is also famous for dolls festival. As its name suggests, the highlight of this ceremony is the decoration of hina dolls in each household. 

The appearance of hina dolls is deeply influenced by fashion and lifestyle of imperial court around 1000 years ago. Hina dolls are consisted with a male doll and a female doll.A Male doll is called obina, a female one is called mebina. Obina and mebina are the married couple in aristocrat family. By displaying such gorgeous married couple, people wish eternal happiness and family prosperity of their daughters.

Japanese apricot

March is also the flower blooming season. From march to May, various flowers will bloom to decorate town in pastel color. The most famous flower in March is Japanese apricot. It starts blooming early in February till end of March. Its faint pink color tells us that spring has come. After blooming Japanese apricot, the cherry blossom season starts around end of March.

Rice cakes rolled with cherry leaf

Not only flowers, but also some confectioneries remind us the spring. 
The pink colored rice cake looks like cherry. The sweet bean paste is stuffed in it. The cake is rolled with the cherry leaf in salt. We can enjoy the combination of sweet and salty taste by eating the rice cake and the cherry leaf together.

In March, we will enjoy coming spring by eye and palate.   by A.C


Would you like to visit flower blooming town in Japan ?
If so, please join our free walking tours !

Sad History of Fish Cemetery

Memorial of the tuna fish at Yumenoshima Park,

Koto-ku, Tokyo

Everybody seems to be excited about the famous Tokyo fish market coming to Koto city this year from Tsukiji. Only a few people know that there is also a fish cemetery in Tsukiji: Cemetery of contaminated tuna fish, which had to be disposed of after being exposed to radiation from a hydrogen bomb test in the 1950s.


The fishing boat called Fukuryu-maru was on the Pacific Ocean near the Bikini Atoll of the Marshall Islands, when the United States carried out the H-bomb test on May 1st, 1954.

All the 23 crew members aboard were exposed to deadly ash from the nuclear test and suffered severe burn. One of them died of acute radiation disease after six months. Many of the others have died because of cancers.

The ship was left disposed of at a landfill in Koto city. In 1976, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government built a museum of the ship, in order not to forget, or repeat, the tragedy of the Fukuryu-maru.

Daigo Fukuryu-maru at the
 memorial museum

The deadly H-bomb ash fell not only on the Fukuryu-maru, but also on many other fishing boats, their crew members and catches. The fish could not be sold. Some 485 tons of such fish were buried deep under the Tsukiji fish market.

A memorial to commemorate the fish was placed, but not in Tsukiji for some reasons, but in Koto city along with the Fukuryu-maru museum. People are still calling for the fish memorial to be placed at Tsukiji.

The museum have displays of the Fukuryu-maru's body, samples of the deadly ash, crew members' diaries and letters, documents about the suffering of the people of the Marshall Islands, and more.

Now it has renewed attention following recent world events.

The "deadly ash" collected
fromFukuryu-maru. 27
radioactiveelements were
detected.

 
One of the crew members, Misaki Yoshio, predicted in his note while he was in hospital: "As long as the Earth exists, and as long as humankind is there, greediness of humankind will last. And tears will be shed.”

Was he right?

High school students donated
thousands of paper cranes,
wishing for nuclear-free world.

 
No.5 Fukuryu-maru Exhibition Hall:
Yumenoshima 3-2, Koto-ku, Tokyo. 10 minutes walk from Shinkiba station of JR Keiyo Line or Yurakucho Line of Tokyo Metro(Y-24)
Open 9:30 am to 4:00 pm
Closed every Monday, or Tuesday when Monday falls on a holiday
Admission free
English leaflet and some English explanation available.

 by Seiko