On March 20th, We 're gonna have a Japanese Handicraft event here.
Never handcraft anything before? Want to make own cute Japenese souvenir?
You are most welcome!
Handicraft proffessional will teach you how to make from start to the end.
I bet you will have a fun!!
Today, October 31st is Halloween and also 'Rugby day' in Tokyo.
World best 2 teams, All Blacks (New Zealand National Team) and Wallabies (Australia National Team) faced off for BLEDISLOE CUP at National Stadium.
I was extremely excited by the speed, power, and skills. My favorite player is ... 
Thousands of Aussies and kiwis came to watch the game. I felt like I was not in Japan.
Tokyo Tower had Olympics colored lighting-up to support the campaign to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games last night.
Where will the 2016 Summer Olympics be held?
Early this morning (Japan time), the result of the vote by the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen, Denmark ...
Chicago (first round), Tokyo (second round) and Madrid (final round) were eliminated.
The 2016 Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
What do you think about this result?
Washoi Washoi Washoi........
On September 23rd, Mikoshi Matsuri was held at Hatagaya area.
Unfortunately, I could not join coz I worked at Ikebukuro on that day ... TEARS
If you would like to see more photos, please go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/36733168@N04/sets/72157622448919916/
P.S. photos by Kikuchi-san (Sakura House / advertising)
Congratulations on the 100th anniversary ! It has been 100 years since Yamanote line was named on October 12th, 1909.
I bet you have used JR Yamanote line once if you have ever visited Tokyo.
Yamanote line is one of the world's crowded rail lines and it runs in the center of Tokyo as a circle in which the clockwise is known as soto-mawari (outer circle) and the counter-clockwise is called uchi-mawari (inner circle). It takes about an hour to go around the Yamanote loop line.
Tokyo-Yurakucho-Shinbashi-Hamamatsucho-Tamachi-Shinagawa-Osaki-Gotanda-Meguro-Ebisu-Shibuya-Harajuku-Yoyogi-Shinjuku-Shin-Okubo-Takadanobaba-Mejiro-Ikebukuro-Otsuka-Sugamo-Komagome-Tabata-Nishi-Nippori-Nippori-Uguisudani-Ueno-Okachimachi-Akihabara-Kanda
COOL T-shirt ! 
Speaking of T-shirt, would you like to buy our Sakura group T-shirt?
It is September 11th today.
8 years have passed since the September 11 Attacks on the United States in 2001.
I was in Toronto, Canada on that day and I saw a lot of airplanes in the sky that attempted an emergency landing to Toronto Pearson International Airport.
'Sora wo koete ra ra ra hoshi no kanata yukuzo atomu ......' I got off at the JR Takadanobaba station and then I heard the melody of the theme song of '
akadanobaba is Atom's home! In the original story of Astro Boy, Atom was born in 'Ministry of Science' at Takadanobaba on April 7, 2003 and also 'the father of manga' Osamu Tezuka used to have the office at Takadanobaba , and then people from local shopping areas requested the melody instead of the normal departure bell and design for wall painting under the railway bridge.
On the night, on my way home, I happened to find fliers of ATOM exhibition at Tokyu Fudo-mae station ticket gates.
The next day, I went to Yokohama to see the exhibition.
'ATOM 'exhibition is being held at Broadcast Library in Yokohama Media and Communications Center, Yokohama-city from August 1 to October 4.
The exhibition is held to mark the 80th anniversary of the birth of Osamu Tezuka and it is also a part of the special event in the Yokohama Port Opening 150th Anniversary.
This exhibition features the history of Astro Boy that became first animated TV series in 1963 and also Tezuka's signed manuscripts and celluloid pictures are on display.
The Hollywood's CG film '
To be honest, I like 'original' Japanese 'Tetsuwan Atomu' much better because it seems to me that Tetsuwan Atomu looks more winsome and innocent than 'handsome' ATOM.
I saw Tezuka's message and philosophy in the exhibition ... I found the issues of War and Peace and the warning bell for the science in his manga world.
When I was on my way to Yodobashi Camera at Shinjuku this morning ...
Huge crowd of spectators came into my sight. Kazuo Shii, chairman of the Japanese Communist Party, spoke for election kickoff at the west exit of the Shinjuku station quarter past 10am.
Today, it officially announced the campaign for the 45th House of Representatives election (the Lower House election). Election day is August 30th.
According to a female police officer at the gate of 
the National Diet Building is in the middle of washing exterior wall.
I hope that Japanese politics will be completely cleaned up as well.
I want to say that politics is not for the politicians but for the people.
The city of Nagasaki marked the 64th anniversary of its atomic bombing today.
Peace Statue at Nagasaki Peace Park I was born and grew up in Tokyo, but I have another home. It is Nagasaki.
I heard that my ancestors were originally fleeing Heike warriors and reached Goto Islands in Nagasaki. Soft kyo-kotoba (Kyoto dialect) and a little bit strong Nagasaki dialect are still used among the families in Nagasaki.
Meganebashi If atomic bomb had been dropped on Nagasaki City a couple weeks earlier, my grandfather could not have survived (my grandfather just moved from the central part of Nagasaki City to the suburbs by military order) ... I would not have been here now. I am scared and also I am profoundly grateful for that I have been born into this world.
Nobody has the right to deprive people of their lives, dreams and happiness.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony took place
in the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima today and Hiroshima commemorated the 64th anniversary of its atomic bombing.
Participants offered a one-minute silent prayer for the victims with the sound of the bell at 8:15 a.m.
The Mayor of Hiroshima Tadatoshi Akiba said : 
"We have the power. We have the responsibility. And we are the Obamajority. Together, we can abolish nuclear weapons. Yes, we can."
Right after the Iraqi War broke out on March 20th, 2003, a major antiwar demonstration was staged in Toronto, Canada and everybody joined hands in a circle and sang 'imagine.' I remember the moment as if it were yesterday.
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No Hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
Human beings are still fighting and kill each other. When could we have John Lennon's ideal peaceful world?
Have you ever heard of Fukagwa?
If you are interested in downtown and/or the road less traveled, I strongly recommend you to go there.
They hold Fukagawa fair three times a month (1st, 15th and 28th of each month).
On 1st June and on 28th June, we went there with our guests.
On 1st June, 3 guests joined our tour.
And, on 28th June, 13 guests joined our tour.
We browsed around in street stalls that come up only on fair days,
visited Tomioka Hachiman Shrine and Fukagawa Fudo Temple.
If you are a big fan of sumo, you might enjoy Tomioka Hachiman.
It has
handprint of sumo wrestlers (much bigger than mine),
stone monument all the names of Yokozuna (the title given to the strongest sumo wrestlers) on it,
huge portable shrines (the below is heavier one),
As for Fukagawa Fudo Temple,
There are a lot of statues in the temple.
Unfortunately, taking photo is prohibited inside the temple, so we cannot show you how the inside of it is.
It means that you need to go there if you are attracted.
The picture below is Kiyosumi Garden (the Japanese garden located near from Fukagawa).
We haven't been there in these tours, but if you feel tired owing to much sightseeing, why don't you go there and take a rest.
It is the very place to make you relax and take a nap or siesta.
more info : http://www.sakura-hotel-hatagaya.com/index.php
much more info : Asking us
