JR Stations in Tokyo Soon Smoke-Free

Good news for non-smokers in Tokyo. JR Stations are to be Smoke-free Zones as of April 1st 2009. This poster on the platform at Shinjuku station says:

All Stations in Tokyo will be Completely Smoke Free from 1st April

JR East has always had separate zones for smoking and non-smoking, but due to many customers requesting protection from second-hand smoke, and increased drives at companies to discourage smoking, from 1st April the smoking areas on platforms in Tokyo will be removed, and we will begin to implement a "Total No-Smoking" policy. This will be inconvenient for customers who smoke, but we wish to sincerely ask for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.

And I look forward to breathing fresher air on the platforms.

Yuuri Waterless Urinal Helps Reduce Global Warming

Some places in Japan are very much concerned with the environment. I know we sure do a lot of trash separation, but I had to snap a picture of the sign above a special "ecological" urinal today. I am sure I got a few looks for that!

The "Yuuri" urinal sign says:

Non-Water System "Yuuri"

Yuuri is an ecological toilet that does not use water. Because it does not use water, water is conserved **, and CO2 gas emissions can be reduced. By the way, for every 1 liter saved, 0.58 grams of CO2 emission can be reduced. Yuuri is effective for both water conservation and reducing global warming.

No smoking. Do not put cigarette butts or gum etc in the urinal.

** Note: Japanese write fairly redundantly like this literal translation, restating things so they can be absolutely sure people understand.

Al Gore would be proud.

Novartis Zaditen Allergy Medicine Available in Japan

"Zaditen", an allergy medicine from Novartis, is now available over-the-counter in Japan. Last year it was by prescription only, but I'm blogging about it because it works for me where little else did. It's about 1800 yen for a 20 capsule pack, which seems expensive but "welcome to Japan" eh? Its main ingredient seems to be Ketotifen, and I noticed it makes me a little sleepy, but at least I am not wheezing from the Cedar pollen flying down from the mountainous areas of Japan in great clouds. Zaditen might be useful to allergy sufferers in Japan, and you can print this and take it to your local pharmacy (yakkyoku 薬局) to get some, but of course use it at your own risk.

Rick's New Zoff Glasses

Here's an isight snap via Photo Booth of my new specs from Zoff. The old ones were getting pretty crusty, so I made the excursion to Ofuna to Zoff, an inexpensive eyeglasses chain something like LensCrafters in the US, I would gather.

The Carpenters are Popular in Japan

Every morning on Japanese TV lately, there's a commercial segment that plays a cover of "Top of the World" by The Carpenters. I knew that The Carpenters were popular here, having seen their songs on many a karaoke menu and heard them played pretty consistently. I had mentioned their popularity in Japan to an American friend, who was baffled by it, and I laughingly mentioned this to my wife this AM.

She told me that their songs have been played for years in our local Gumisawa Elementary and in other Elementary Schools around Japan. "Top of the World" starts the day, and "Yesterday Once More" ends it, even on "Rainy Days and Mondays" and on "Saturday"s too. I've never heard such a thing in "All of My Life"! Maybe that is why so many Japanese people like them or feel nostalgic singing their songs at karaoke. Another factor might be that the English in the songs is sung clearly, and so it might be easier to understand for a non-native speaker.

My wife said it changes generation to generation, and her Dad's tune for leaving school was Humoresque (Dvorak). I prefer the Dvorak but that's just me.

"Goodbye and I Love You". [Sorry, couldn't resist. :-) ]

Eiken 3rd Level Pass

My daughter Kylie passed the first half of her 3rd level English-as-a-second-language test, the "Eiken" from Step. The numbering system is typically Japanese, where the testees start on the basic level 5, and proceed up to level 1 with a few sub-levels in between. She now has to pass the interview portion to get the certificate, so we plan to practice with her.

Zany Sound Experiments

Today on Japanese TV, which is generally either excruciatingly boring (watching people eat and talk, duh) or wonderfully creative, especially at year end, there was a show showing some interesting and zany experiments with sound.

Chord around the Race Track - one experiment was whether a chord played in unison (the very definition) by trumpeters around a racetrack, will sound like a song from the vantage point of a passing car. They spaced the musicians according to the rhythm of the music, and had them play the notes from the theme from the latest Miyazaki movie "Ponyo". The notes make up a chord, and sure enough, as the car passes you hear Ponyo, in all its doppler-ized glory. Sounds like a bunch of cats doing quick crescendo-decrescendos. I quote:

mEOw, mEOwmEOw, mEOwmEOwmEOwmEOwmEOwmEOwmEOwmEOw, mEOwmEOwmEOwmEOwmEOwmEOwmEOw, mEOwmEOwmEOw, mEOw.

Cup Chorus - if you think of the string-phones children play with, the contraption in use was several of those strung together. Imagine a set of spokes made of string, tied together in the middle, with each outer end having a cup attached. There was one listener, and the listener's string was extra long. Manning the other cups was a group of chorus members spread out in an arc, singing the "Cutie Honey" theme into each of their cups - sopranos, altos, tenors, basses. It works quite well, as the listener could hear the theme perfectly, and, it sounded like it had a funky kind of reverb, too. Flash!

Racing Siren - the last sound experiment I saw was where they attached a police siren to an F1 car, to see if it would sound like a regular ambulance buzzing by some stationary listeners at 300 kph around a racetrack. Interestingly, you could hear the siren rising in pitch as the F1 car got close, and falling as it went away, but when it was close the engine was so loud it drowned out the sound of the siren entirely. Pshaw, you couldn't get an F1-er through the streets of Tokyo even if you could rig it up to be an ambulance!

Station Kiosks - the Hubs of Modern Japan

The Kiosks at Japan railway and metro stations are little stalls like US "News Stands" with two sides open, and two sides closed with storage. They have a refrigerator and a drink heater, as well as all manner of convenient articles - you can get drinks (alcoholic and soft), snacks (candy, bread, squid (yes!)), newspapers, magazines, novels, umbrellas, lighters, batteries, phone cards, neckties, handkerchiefs and the like.

They take cash and process it very quickly, but they also now accept "Suica" or "Passmo" cards, which are IC cards you "recharge" with cash at the ticket machines. When you make a purchase, you can touch your Suica on the sensor, and the price will be debited from your card balance. This is very smart, because people who live and work here usually go through the wicket with their Suica cards anyway, so one has it out and ready to pay for that little drink or newspaper purchase.

A couple of points about Japan Kiosks -

• They don't usually speak much English, but there are English papers for a small ransom (Japan Times is 180 Yen).
• They don't like one yen coins very much - I've been scolded a couple times when trying to unload my cache of 1-yenners.
• Sometimes they don't offer bags just for speed, but you can ask for a "biniiru bukuro" (vinyl bag) and they'll give you one.
• Japan does not really have a "haggling" culture - so asking for a discount will produce derisive stares rather than the desired result! The price is the price so pay and get out of the way.

The one thing that would be convenient, but is not yet sold at Kiosks, is pharmaceuticals - you can't yet pick up a bottle of Tylenol or some cold medicine at the Kiosk. Maybe some day, though, since they are trialling that at Convenience Stores like 7-11 and AM/PM these days. I hope this tip might help the traveller to Japan.

Asakusa Nakamise during Hozuki Matsuri

Asakusa is a popular tourist destination and fun for those of us who live here too. This was taken in the "nakamise" street (nakamise is something like central shops) which is the shopping area leading up to the Sensoji temple. It was a beautiful hot evening during the Hozuki Chinese Lantern Plant festival. An incredible number of people show up for this.

Rainy Monochrome Mood

I took this monochrome photo on the platform at Shinjuku station, waiting for the Shonan Shinjuku line. The black and white treatment suits its rainy mood. We have had more than our share of rain, even into the fall, so it's sunny days like today that make me feel grateful for this clear, crisp fall weather.

Japan is Mascot Land

There's no shortage of cute mascots in Japan. They look like they are made of fiberglass, and are in front of storefronts here and there. The one pictured here is the Megane Drug mascot, who has a peach on his headband, leading me to think it might be Momotaro, he of childrens' story fame. The thumb below is his back, with the kanji for trust "shinrai". Search Flickr for fiberglass Mascots and there is a whole group devoted to them.

Totsuka Construction - Big Pillars

There are these huge pillars being built near Totsuka station, on the Hitachi Software side of the main road, and these struck me as being an interesting photo. The 40 km speed limit seems to apply to the slow pace of the construction!

Click on the photo to explore my photo sets on Flickr, or see my Totsuka Construction photos.

Japan Rail Kudos - an amazing record

I ride the Japan Rail trains daily in Japan, and sometimes take it for granted that they will be on time. Occassionally there is a problem and a delay, but there's amazingly always an alternative route and always a clear announcement (er, incessant announcements?). Japan Rail - here's to your professional approach and to getting people to where they need to go. Amazing years of basically accident free operation!

Beiju - 88th Birthday

In Japan, a person's 88th birthday is called "beiju" and is a special celebration where yellow- or gold-colored gifts are given. The "bei" of beiju comes from the three kanji characters for eight "八", ten "十", and eight "八", or "hachijuu-hachi" (88), which combined together form the character kome, or rice "米". You can see one eight flipped upside-down on the top, the other on the bottom, and the ten as the cross in the middle. The "ju" of beiju is the character kotobuki, or celebration "寿", which is also the su of sushi. Beiju is written out as "米寿".

Because rice was so important to Japanese, as an integral part of daily life and vital to sustaining life, the 88th birthday is a celebration of importance in Japan. Beiju is also known as "yone no iwai" or Rice Celebration, the yone being another way to say kome or rice. The photo is from great-grandma's beiju celebration in Sept 2008.

Support the Local Stores - Imamiya

This is our local store "Imamiya", which is not as cheap as the local giant chain, but has a certain charm. It has been in business for quite a long time, but recently seems like it is a little bit run down. These places get driven out of business by the big guys, so I like to shop there when I can. Support your local store!

Japanese Evacuation Centers are Well-Marked

Japan is obviously prone to earthquakes, so there are designated evacuation areas or "hinanjo" here and there, usually in parks or stadiums (stadia?). This one says it is down in the US Military Fukaya Communications Base "tsushintai" in Japanese under the words "EVACUATION AREA". If you live here, keep and eye out for these markers, because that is where most people will proceed in the event of a major disaster.

Aging Population in Japan Needs Drugstores

Japan's society is aging, so you see more and more pharmacies and drug stores popping up. This one is in Odoriba, near Totsuka Japan, and has the bases covered by selling typical household goods as well as pharmaceuticals. The colors struck me as I was walking by. Taken with a Nikon D90 and 60mm Micro Nikkor.

Retro-looking Nissan Figaro, Gumisawa Totsuka Japan

This is a rather retro Nissan "Figaro", parked at its nest in Gumisawa Totsuka Japan. I saw it while cycling around, and compositionally liked the play of the sun below, and the angles of the ferro-concrete house. I took this shot with a Nikon D90, using the Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 Macro.

Kintaro-ame by anzyAprico on Flickr

This is typical Kintaro-ame next to kompeito.

Originally uploaded to Flickr by anzyAprico

"Kintaro Ame" Chopstick Stand at Robataya

Went to Robataya in Roppongi last night, and got this shot of some ceramic chopstick stands that look like "Kintaro-ame" candy. Kintaro's the guy on the right, and he is said to be Sakata no Kintoki, a Heian Period samurai. There is a traditional story about him that Japanese children learn, in which Kintaro, born with great strength, goes on to conquer a group of "oni" or demons. Kintaro-ame is a cylindrical candy produced from the Edo period on, which has the same image of Kintaro wherever you cut it. Kind of metaphorical and suitable for his legendary stature.